a 8 month Khloe and a 3 year old MK!

It's been way too long... here's the quick update on the girls!

Khloe at 8 months:

It was just one of those days...

-Sleeping: from 7pm-7am at night. She sometimes wakes up at 5am and fusses, but she puts her self back down until 7. She's napping still twice a day from 9-11am and 1-3pm.

-Eating: Khloe's still breastfed and she eats at 7,11, 3 and 7. She eats solids three times a day, and besides from oatmeal in the morning, most of her other meals are finger foods. This girl LOVES to feed herself and she's got the pincer grasp perfected. Khloe girl LOVES to eat.

- Milestones: She's crawling like a champ and pulling up on everything. She's recently mastered transitioning from one thing to the next (like the couch to the coffee table). She's not trying to cruise or walk yet, but I think she may soon just to try to catch up to big sister! Her first top tooth came in, so now she's got three teeth! Her second one is visible under the gums, so it'll be in soon too.

-Personality: Khloe girl is a cuddle bug. She's happiest in mommy's arms, sucking her thumb and holding tight to mommy's shirt or necklace. When she's playing on the ground or with MK and I'm sitting with them, she comes back to be held for a bit every couple minutes. She also lets us know when she's not happy... which is basically when she's hungry or sleepy! Generally she's a very happy, smiley baby.

Khloe bear's favorite place to be!

Maddie at THREE years (I still can't believe that!):

Maddie is THREE!!!!

-Sleeping 12-13 hours at night still (7-7/8ish).
-Napping from 1-3, or 2-4 on school days
-Going to preschool from 9-2 on T/Th and LOVING it!

first day of preschool!

-Weighing in at 33.5lb and measuring 38inches (I think... i lost the sheet of paper with her stats from the dr!). She's 75% for weight (dropped a bit from last year) and 80% for height (dropped a lot from last year). Mk's really starting to look like a little girl to me... she's turning into a string bean!
-MK loves: princesses, dressing up, football, Baylor, playing and laughing with little sister, going to church, cheese, Chuys, the color pink, playing "soccer."
-Favorite book: a Fairytale book she got for her birthday
-Favorite tv show: Sofia the First or Doc Mcstuffins on Disney Jr.
-When asked what her name is she says "Maddison Katharine Vogelaar"

birthday breakfast of champions!

All smiles at her princess pool party with Mckinley!

Our girls are getting bigger by the second and we are enjoying being their parents more and more every day!!

Love,
The Vogs

Wrecked by 7.

(Source)

My world has been rocked by a book I’m reading for a book club. It’s called 7: an experimental mutiny against excess by Jen Hatmaker. My friend Ashleigh invited me to join her neighborhood book club and I jumped on the opportunity. Her neighborhood is awesome and they do so many fun social events. Plus, I’m secretly/not so secretly praying that God reveals to Mike that that neighborhood is where our next house should be. Any who and most importantly, back to the point of this post!

7, chronicles the journey of Jen and her family as they choose 7 specific areas in their lives to simplify: food, clothes, spending, waste, possessions, media and stress. When I first heard what this book was about from Ashleigh, I was a little bit not impressed with the subject. A book on simplifying your life? I think our lives are pretty simple… I mean we are on a tight one income budget, we don’t buy a lot of things we don’t need, compared to most of our friends and especially the Dallas norm I think we’re doing pretty ok. Maybe I would read this book and find it to be a pat on the back! Even when I read her first chapter on food I wasn’t too impressed. She limited herself to only 7 foods for a month and she is a self-proclaimed foodie. I do love food, but we eat to live not live to eat. The book club was going to do a week long challenge for each chapter, and so I set out to find my food challenge. The Vog house has started the 100daysofrealfood.com 14 week “Real Food Challenge” and week one was “eat 2 fruits/veggies at each meal.” Check. We’re already doing that and more! Even though the food challenge ended today, we will keep up with the 14 week challenges in an effort to rid/drastically reduce our consumption of processed foods. Next week is “no beverages other than water, milk, coffee and tea.” No diet coke??? Let’s do this!

So…then I get to book club, and that is where the Lord wrecked my heart. I listened to women who talked about how the Lord was revealing himself to them through their food fasts and was humbled. I wasn’t using this fast to make my life so uncomfortable that I was being driven to the Lord in desperation. Next week, I’m going make myself more uncomfortable, more dependent on Him.

The other thing that the Lord used to wreck me was a discussion on why He chooses some to have plenty and others to be in desperate want. One woman used the quote “We live simply so other can simply live.”  This is actually very biblical. Check out these scriptures:

1 John 3:17 (NLT)¹⁷ If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

 Matthew 25:35-45 (NLT)³⁵ For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. ³⁶ I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’³⁷ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? ³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?⁴⁰ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,^[a] you were doing it to me!⁴¹ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.^[b] 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’⁴⁴ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’⁴⁵ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

 James 2:14-17 (NLT)¹⁴ What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? ¹⁵ Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, ¹⁶ and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

Jen writes in her book: “Sometimes the best way to bring good news to the poor is to bring actual good news to the poor… It’s almost like Jesus meant what He said. When you’re desperate, usually the best news you can receive is food, water, shelter. These provisions communicate God’s presence infinitely more than a tract… They convey, “God loves you so dearly, He sent people to your rescue.”

We have been blessed so we can be a blessing… to be the hands and feet of Christ. Not so we can continue blessing ourselves or bless the blessed… OUCH.  

That one phrase has been causing deep pain in my heart. Do we REALLY live simply? Are we sacrificing our comfort so that others can have what they need? I looked around me at what I thought was a modest house with modest possessions and was disgusted. We have SO much. We waste SO much. We live very comfortably. We don’t want for anything. We were just having a serious discussion about what to do with our savings and freaking out that maybe we don’t have enough… we have enough money in the bank to feed a family for two life times… we are worried about ourselves in 50 years when there are moms who are worried about what to feed their babies tomorrow. This makes me sick. Disgusted at myself, my greed.

My heart is broken for my attitude. So broken that I’ve wept several times. Mike must think I’ve lost my mind because I can’t make it through a conversation about what I’m learning without totally loosing it. I was comparing myself to Dallas, my friends, American culture and have found that the phrase “comparison is the thief of joy” to be true. I have been robbing myself the joy of giving. Robbed myself of allowing the Lord to use me to provide for someone.  Robbed myself of whole hearted obedience to the Lord. Robbed myself of learning what it truly means to be content.

Where do I go from here? I’m sitting in my brokenness and waiting on Him to show me the next steps. I’m confessing my ugly sin struggles with materialism, discontentment, comparison, distrust.

 I do know one thing-  I am continuing with the challenges and praying that the Lord reveals his will to me. Tomorrow I am going to do the clothing challenge. I will only wear 7 items of clothing all week (not including underwear). A pair of shoes counts as one item, so does my bathing suit. So I’m down to 5… should be interesting!

I’m so excited about what the Lord is doing in my heart, in our family… I feel like we are on the verge of something big. I sense the Lord moving like crazy. I love this! 

Love,

K Vog

Finally, an update!! 6 months and a trip to the Sunshine State!

Summer has been filled with fun activities for the Vog house, so the blog has taken a bit of a back seat... I've enjoyed the little break, but we're back! :)

My sweet 6 month old!

At the end of June, Khloe turned 6 months!!! The first 6 months of K's life flew by, I'm just wishing the next 6 slow down a bit.

At 6 months, Khloe still breast feeds 4 times a day (7,11,3,7). We cut out the 10:30 dream feed and she handled it great! I was anxious about weaning that feeding, but like with most transitions, the anticipation was worse than the reality. She's eating solids once or twice a day, but lately she's been super hungry, so I'm thinking I'll be increasing her solids to 3x a day soon. She's loved everything I've offered to her so far, but only if she can feed herself! We have a spoon battle every time we feed her. She also LOVES the mesh feeder and gets that 2 or 3 times a day with different fruits in it.

Khloe is still sleeping 12 hours at night (thank you Lord!) and takes naps from 9-11am, 12:30-3pm and sometimes a cat nap around 5. She's no longer swaddled on her legs, but likes to be in a sleep sack.

As far as milestones go this month K has started trying to crawl. She's getting up on all fours and lunging herself forwards. She's also sitting up on her own, and only occasionally topples over. We are getting to know our sweet Khloe even better as the months go on and falling deeper in love with her. She's such a sweet baby who LOVES to be cuddled and is pretty easy going unless she's tired or hungry. This girl adores her sleep and her big sister! Her face lights up when she sees MK, I love how they interact!

Big sister is getting closer to 3 by the day and acting like it! :) I'm now understanding the "terrible threes" description of this age. She's getting more opinionated, smarter and more independent and that sometimes clashes with Mom and Dads rules. She took swim lessons this summer and can now swim by her self!! I had a blast taking her to swim lessons, it was our mommy-Maddie time in the week and I treasured that.

My little swimmer!

The Vogs traveled to Vero Beach for the 4th of July, my sisters wedding, and a little vacation with my parents. Khloe did amazing on her first flight and MK is now at the age where some coloring books, the iPad and her own seat make for an easy flight. We had a blast in Florida, spending lots of quality time with my family. MK was one of Lissa's flower girls and totally exceeded my expectations! She walked down the aisle like a champ and looked so adorable! I definitely got emotional when she walked down the aisle... thinking about watching her walk down in 20 plus years on her own wedding day! Ek! Maddie was obsessed with "Princess Lissa" and still asks about her! Maddie perfected her swimming in Florida since we went to the pool at least once every day, but that wasn't without injuries... MK got a bad case of swimmers ear and ended up with an outer ear infection. Khloe had a blast too, and she's decided that her favorite aunt is Caroline! :)

Our family on the 4th!

Maddie and Daddy enjoying the beach!

Gigi and Poppy and their grand babies!

Caroline got lots of Khloe snuggles during our visit!

Playing in the sand.

Vicky introducing Khloe to the ocean

The rest of our summer is filled to the brim with celebrations! Most of MK's sweet friends have summer birthdays which is so fun! We will also celebrate MK's 3rd birthday with a joint party with her friend Mckinley... I think it's going to be a princess pool party, but we haven't nailed down the details yet! Mike and I will also be celebrating our 5th anniversary in August... we will be celebrating with a night away in Waco to watch a Baylor football game and we are working on planning a trip to Vero Beach just the two of us (my parents wont be there!) in late October! And to add to all the fun, my sweet little sister Caroline will be staying with us for 3 weeks in August and we will get to celebrate her 21st birthday with her while she's here!! :)

Well, that was a long update, but it was definitely due!

Happy summer blog readers,
The Vogs

5 month old Khloe update!

I can't believe this sweet girl is 5 months... I know I say this every month, but seriously it seems like she is growing like a weed! Here's what K's up to at 5 months:

Eating: Breastfed every 4 hours- usually at 7,11,3,7 and still doing a dream feed at 10 (whatever I pump before hand... usually 6 ounces). She also now has 1 cube (~1 ounce) of homemade baby food at the dinner table with us. She's only had sweet potatoes so far but she LOVES them! She even grabs the spoon and shoves it in her mouth.

Sleeping: Khloe's sleeping from 7pm-7am at night (we get her out of bed at her dream feed at 10 but she usually stays asleep). She's still taking 3 naps- if she gets up at 7 she naps from 9-11 and 1-3 and takes a 45 min cat nap around 5. She's still "swaddled" on the bottom and if we don't swaddle her she sleeps really fitfully. She's also now officially a tummy sleeper! She is an awesome napper and sometimes I have to wake her up when it's time to eat because I don't want her to go longer than 4 hours between feeds. How I got lucky with two good sleepers? I have no clue (maybe Baby whisperer helped a bit? Prayer? And reading and responding to her cues?.. but mostly just the temperament of my babies which I had nothing to do with!).

Milestones: Khloe's getting so much more interactive! She's cooing and babbling at us a ton and laughing more too. She's rolling all over the place and now we've got to really keep our eyes on her since she's getting mobile (Lord help us!!). She's even scooted forwards and backwards a couple times... mama's not ready for crawling any time soon though! Khloe's also sitting up pretty well with a little help and I'm sure will be doing on her own soon.

What we've been up to this month: It's been a low key month in the Vogelaar house. We've been enjoying some sweet family time. It's been such a joy to watch my girls start interacting with each other. Khloe thinks MK is hilarious and laughs at her constantly. Maddie loves playing with K, but is starting to get a little jealous if Mike and I are playing with her.

I'm hoping to get updated on here soon... The Lord has been teaching me a lot recently that I'd love to jot down.

Hope y'all are well!
The Vogs

Khloe 4 months!

This is two weeks late... but such is life with two little ones!

Eating: Khloe put herself on a 4 hour schedule right around 4 months. She's still breastfed all but one feed (her 10pm dream feed) which she gets pumped breast milk in a bottle. I got the go ahead from her pediatrician to start solids at 5 months, and that's when I think I'll start phasing out the dream feed. She's had a couple nights where we didn't do the dream feed and she did fine without it.

Sleeping: Khloe's naps also started getting more scheduled this month. She naps pretty consistently 1.5-2 hours after she wakes up... so on a normal day that looks like 9-10:30, 12-2 and a little cat nap from 4-5. She goes down at 7pm and wakes up at 7am.

Milestones: Khloe can now roll from her back to her tummy and now rarely ever wants to stay on her back. This includes during the night, which means we had a couple rough nights of rolling her back several times in the middle of the night until she figured out how awesome sleeping on your belly is!

Sweet Khloe is still very smiley and happy... although she will let you know when she's not happy! Thankfully, she's usually only fussy when she's tired. She's starting to put everything in her mouth, which makes mama nervous with big sisters little toys around! We've started training MK that certain small toys can only come out when little sister is napping. Which makes for some fun special time with me and MK while K naps.

Dr. appointment notes: Khloe's growing strong and healthy! Still 75% for weight and 90% for height. She's hitting all of the developmental milestones for a 4 month old which is great! She got her second round of shots and was such a trooper. Maddie kept telling her "be brave Khloe, be brave."

I'm loving getting to know my sweet girl better every month. She's such a joy and our whole family is nuts about her... especially MK!

Love,
The Vogs

April Date Night!

This month, Mike planned our big date night and it was a “blast from the past!”

We started out by driving by some of our most memorable relationship spots in Dallas: Baylor Hospital/nursing school- where I went to school, had my first job, and where we welcomed both of our girls into the world- our old apartment in Lakewood and finally we arrived at our favorite Mexican restaurant: Matts! We used to eat at Matts at least once a week and would walk there from our apartment when the weather was nice. 

Our first place! Such fun memories here...

I was so fun to reminisce about the good old days and talk! It was also so wonderful to have a kid-free dinner!!! Seriously, not being interrupted while talking and not having to worry about a two year old tantrum or a 4 month old spitting up was so amazing. I LOVE my girls, but I LOVE spending time with their daddy too. 

After dinner we drove to Starbucks, grabbed some chai/coffee and walked to the spot at White Rock Lake where we got engaged (the second time!). Surprisingly we’ve never been back to that spot in the past 5 years! The weather was beautiful and we made it just in time for the sun set- just like when we got engaged.

Where I said "Yes!!!"

It was so wonderful to talk about where we’ve been, where we are and where we want our marriage to be. Mike planned a perfect date for me: Mexican food, margaritas, lots of talking, chai tea lattes, Lakewood and reliving old memories!

Thanks sweet hubs!! 

The Love Bird Vogs

Khloe- 3 months!

Eating: Every 3 hours… her meal times are usually 7-10-1-4-7 and 10. She is breastfed for almost all of them but the 10 which is her “dream feed” and we wake her up for it and give her a 5 ounce breast milk bottle. Sometimes she’ll wake up at 5 and want to eat and then goes back to sleep until 7/8ish.

Sleeping: She’s sleeping from 7-5/6 interrupted by the dream feed at 10. She’s taking roughly 3 naps a day- 1 hr morning, 1.5-2hr afternoon and a cat nap before dinner. We weaned her from the paci last week and she’s starting to learn to self-soothe! It takes her usually 5-10 of crying and then she’s out. Total opposite of Mk- she rarely ever cried to sleep.

Milestones: K has head control pretty much down and she’s starting to like to sit up in our laps to observe her surroundings. She’s definitely found her hands, and they are pretty much always found in her mouth. She hasn’t gotten the thumb sucking thing down yet, but I’m hoping soon. She’s started laughing at us too.

K is roughly 13lb (based on our home scale) and she’s in 3/3-6month clothes and size 2 diapers when she’s not in cloth.

Our sweet Khloe is such a love bug- she loves snuggling and being held by mommy and daddy. She’s also such a social girl, always looking around and smiling! Tiny sweets (my nickname for her)- we adore you!

Love,

The Vogs

Reflections

I love looking back on my life and seeing God’s hand so clearly. One of the reasons I love to blog is because it’s like a journal that I can reflect back on… a very public journal! ;)

 I was reading this post from almost a year ago and just remembering the state of my heart. This time a year ago I was closer to Jesus than I had been in a while. I was daily depending on him, praying  constantly, working diligently on the ugly sin skeletons in my closet of jealousy and entitlement.  I am SO incredibly thankful for that time in my life. It was such a short time of waiting compared to some, but the Lord used it in mighty ways. It was a sweet time of falling more in love with my Savior as he continually reminded me that He was there, He loved me, He was sovereign, He had a perfect plan for my life, He was dependable.

I hate that my heart wonders away from the Lord when things are going ok, when I’m “in control.” What a terrible lie that Satan uses in my life to pull me away from my Lord. I have to fight like crazy to put Christ back in His rightful place in my life- the throne. I’m so thankful that He uses times where we feel like we are at the end of ourselves to remind us that we can’t do it alone and to draw us closer to Him.

Thank you, Lord, for your mercy and allowing a selfish, self-righteous, control freak like me to crawl in your lap, to rest in you and to allow you to work in and through her. Thank you for making me a mom, another way to expose my own selfishness and daily opportunities to pour myself out for my littles and to be filled up by You. I adore you.

Love,
Katy 

Confessions of a Paciholic

We were both addicted… I loved having an easy fix to a fussy baby and a sure fire way to get her to sleep and she just plain loved it… and then two weeks ago happened. She started habitually waking up at 2:19am on.the.dot…. and out popped the paci, which started the frantic search, which lead to the freaking out, which prompted the crying, which woke up the mommy, who put the pacifier back in... and this cycle repeated for 2 hours, for almost a week.

So, on Sunday night during one of these cycles in the early evening I decided to call it quits… cold turkey… good bye pacifier. And guess what? We’ve have the best two nights of sleep in three months!!!! She’s finally finding her hand/thumb (one arm out of the swaddle).

Self-soothing for the win! J

Adios cute wubanub at night time… you might still be useful to us at church or the gym nursery as a soother for sweet K, but your services at night are done!

Thanks for the reminder sweet Khloe, that sometimes mama has got to get out of the way and let you/help you discover new things on your own. 

Love,

Mama Vog

Lately...

I finally feel like we've gotten into a good routine and have time to update this blog!

Miss Khloe is putting herself into a wonderful routine and I've been able to keep up with our house and work on some fun sewing/house projects.

I've learned more about my selfishness and insensitivity to others needs by having kids and here's one of my latest reflections: After having two babes and letting the Lord really work on my heart, I think I've found the key to happy Vogelaar babies- learning their cues and respecting them- putting aside my selfish desires to better serve my kiddos. I did not do this well with MK and the first couple months were touch and go... not terrible by any means, but not great. She slept awesome at night, but our days were unpredictable and sometimes just filled with tears- both hers and mine! Finally around 4 months I started picking up on her tired cues and respect them and life was MUCH easier for us! I also tried to let her run the show with naps ... if it was nap time, we were at home (only exception was on weds for bible study). I learned quickly that a napping baby is a happy baby so I was going to do everything possible to protect those naps. My "my baby will just go with the flow" attitude was quickly changing and still is! My selfishness reared it's ugly head and I had to realize yet again that life is so not all about me! Fast forward two years-  Khloe has been a very easy baby to read- she cries when she's hungry or tired. She typically eats every 3 hours and naps for a hour or two about an hour after she eats. If she starts getting fussy after she's just eaten I know it's nap time! Maybe I've just been blessed with good babies, but I learned the hard way that if I don't respect their needs (especially the sleep needs) and let go of my own selfishness it does not go well for me! :) I am so thankful for the insight and wisdom God gives mommies to know just what our babies need! That has been my continual prayer during Khloe's short life and He has answered abundantly- like he always does (see James 1!).

During Khloe and Maddie's afternoon nap time (yay for coordinated naps!!!) I decided to tackle our living room. I made some one yard poufs- using this tutorial- for the girls to sit on that I'm storing under our coffee table. I also made some coordinating pillows for the chairs and couch. I'm in love with this mustard yellow and how it looks with the green and white! Also, since the time change we've been getting blasted with sun through the parts of our windows that aren't covered with blinds, so in a moment of frustration I decided to put up some curtains! These white ones are the same as in Khloe's nursery and they are from Ikea- $19 for a pack of two! Can't make them for cheaper! The rod is from Target. I love the way they look... they make the space so clean, elegant and break up the green on the walls very well. Plus, they are functional so I can pull them closed to block the light in the morning!!

The yellow is def more of a mustard than in this pic... and our walls are not THAT lime green! :) 

I've also tried out some new recipes lately. I missed cooking, although it was a huge blessing to have meals provided for us for almost two months! Pinterest continues to be my recipe inspiration and these two did not disappoint! Mike raved about them and MK ate them up without complaint- hence why they were a hit at the Vogelaar house!

It's beginning to look a lot like spring here in TX and we've been taking advantage of the gorgeous weather by taking lots of trips to the park! Khloe sat in the second (back) seat of the Phil and Ted on our most recent trip and she LOVED it! I usually take her in the Ergo carrier on walks to the park, but this time I decided to change things up. The Phil and Ted continues to make me fall more in love with it! :)

Easter is only two weeks away and has really come fast this year! I had fun shopping for two Easter baskets this year! Can't wait for MK to open hers! I also want to try to be super intentional these next few weeks to prepare my heart and MK's for Easter. We've been reading the Jesus Story Book Bible about Jesus' death and resurrection. Mk is very curious and concerned about Jesus' "boo boos" (picture of him on the cross) and we talk about how Jesus had those "boo boos" because He loved us. She also loves to shout "He's alive" with me when we read about the tomb being empty! I'm also working on some craft ideas to help initiate more conversation. She's memorized a few bible verses in the last month (Proverbs 17:17 for when she's not being nice to friends, Phil 2:13 for whinning and Psalms 24:1 for sharing) so I going to be looking for an easy one for her that has to do with Easter!

Ok, this post is long enough! I'm hoping to be back on here more often!

Love,
K Vog

March Date Night Challenge: MJV

Mike and I suffer from a severe case of laziness when it comes to planning dates. So, after we were inspired by a talk at our church's marriage conference (you can listen to them here) we decided to come up with a plan: One big date night a month, $50 budget, planned by one person for the other and using a creative challenge. We organized a date night swap with the other couples in our community group that have kids, so we know at least once a month we are going to have a sitter!

Here's what I planned for Mike for our March date!

Challenge: Plan a date that Mike would enjoy using his initials- MJV 

M= Mission:
Mike loves games and challenges, so I started off our date by handing him a card with 5 missions that he/we had to complete during our date. His reward was... married people fun- a PG way to put it on the blog ;)

J= Jump:
Mike is a very active guy and likes trying new things, so I decided to take him to an indoor trampoline park! We were surrounded by middle schoolers, but we still had a blast! We played trampoline basketball with each other and just acted like silly kids! It was so fun to do something so out of the ordinary and not have to act like responsible parents. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't go back again- unless it was with MK- but it was a fun adventure anyways!


V= Village Burger Bar
This is our favorite burger place and they have a fun outdoor patio. We got our usual Blue Burgers (blue cheese, bacon and avocado= AMAZING!) and sweet potato fries and yummy margaritas and just talked. Having dinner out without a two yr old and an infant is so amazing... although we love our kids, we also love our mommy-daddy time!

I was reminded during this date of how much fun we used to have when we were dating and how much I've missed that aspect of our relationship. Mike is my best friend and I love hanging out with him and making memories. We both remarked at the end of the date that we felt like we were back in college! Date night= success!!! :)

This fun date totally spurred us on to keep being intentional with each other, even if it's just at home without a sitter. We've been having "no screen" nights once a week where we turn off our phones, iPads and TV and just talk, study the word/pray together and play games! Its been such a great opportunity for us to connect.

I'm so thankful that I have a husband who I want LOVE to hang out with... who adores, cherishes and honors me so much.

Hoping this encourages you to be intentional with your sweetie today!
Love,
The Vog lovers

Khloe at 2 months!

I can't believe my sweet girl is two months old!

Eating: Khloe's eating every 3 hours during the day. She's still breastfeeding like a champ and if we give her a bottle (she gets one before we go to bed- her dream feed- and sometimes she gets one during the day with Mike if he's watching her while I'm at the gym) she eats 4-5oz! I'm slowly adding back dairy and caffeine since she's not spitting up as much anymore. I'm pumping only once or twice a day- always in the morning when she only eats on one side. I still have quite the stock pile of frozen breastmilk, more than 100 ounces... I'm researching how I can donate it to NICU babies since it's only good for 6 months and I'm not thinking I'll need it by then.

Sleeping: Khloe's been giving us an 8-9 hour stretch consistently for two weeks now. Sometimes she goes down at 7 to sleep and we have to wake her up at 10 to feed her, other times she's up and wanting to play until 9:30/10 and then falls asleep. Either way she sleeps until 6/6:30/7 which is WONDERFUL!!! During the day she has a couple cat naps after she eats and usually one long 2 hour nap in the afternoon. She's gotten much better about putting herself down to sleep without having to be held this month. I can give the Baby Whisperer book credit for that... it was my life saver with MK and it's proving to the be the same with Khloe! Khloe still likes to be swaddled to sleep and sleeps propped up on her side with a white noise sound machine blaring (a must with a noisy big sister around!).

Milestones: This month Khloe slept through the night (2/9/13) and rolled from her tummy to her back (2/19/13). She is lifting her head up really well during tummy time and definitely has control over that wobbly head when we're holding her! She's also been smiling up a storm. She is such a happy baby and loves when we talk to her... I think she's going to be my social girl!

What we've been up to this month: This month Khloe got to experience her first super bowl party at the Davis', spent the day with Aunt LaLa and big sister while mommy and daddy were at the Uncommon marriage conference at Watermark, and she went to the Dallas Zoo for the first time with mommy and big sister! She also got to snuggle with her Poppy and Gigi and meet her Opa this month... lucky girl!

Dr. Appointment notes: Khloe is weighing in at 12lb 2oz (80%) and measuring 23 1/4 inches (also 80%). Her head circumference is 15 1/2 inches (60%). She checked out great and we'll go back in 2 months for the next check up. Khloe got her 2 month shots today- Polio, HIB, pneumonia, hep B, DTap and Rotavirus... 3 injections and one oral vaccine. She wasn't a fan (who is?) and cried a whole lot :( The sweetest new grad from Baylor nursing school gave her her shots... I just love how our pedi still uses nurses in their office.

Our family is adjusting so well to our sweet new addition! She and MK have made this mommy of two thing so wonderful and a very easy transition. I love seeing miss K's little personality coming out already and how she's starting to interact with us! :)

Love y'all,

M, K, MK and KM Vog!

Maddie- 2.5yrs

Maddie is 2.5yrs old!

I can't believe my sweet Maddie is two and a half years old. Time is going way to fast... I keep asking it to slow down, but its not listening! I can't believe she is closer to being three than two... yikes!!!

At two and a half MK loves:
-Watching Dinosaur Train and Wild Kratz on PBS and Doc McStuffins on the Disney Jr. app.
-Watching Tangled and singing the "Flower gleam and grow" song while touching her hair.
-Reading the "Opps book" which is what she calls it but it's really Red Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton- we've read it so many times that she can actually "read" it now to us!
-Playing with puzzles
-Playdough and coloring with markers
-Her little sister, who she calls "my Khloe" or "baby sister"
-Poppy and Gigi- she asks me at least once a day "Poppy and Gigi coming back?"

-Picking up sticks and rocks on our walks to the pond
-Playing at the park
-Her best friends Mckinley, Lilleigh and Ava
-Pretending that she's a doctor, and holding our faces in her hands and saying "don't worry, I'm a doctor!"
-Going to "Donalds" (Mcdonalds) to play with mama, Khloe, Mckinley, Randi, Jessica and Jude and sharing a diet coke and fruit and walnut salad with mama.
-Singing "Jesus loves me" in the car to mama and Khloe and inserting our names in the song. She also likes to sing it loud, quiet, fast and slow! :)
-Eating applesauce, cheese sticks, raisins, broccoli and cheeseburgers

She loves her sister! 

At 2.5 MK dislikes: 
-Wearing shoes in the car
-Chicken- unless it's from chick-fil-a! :)
-Random things that she's liked the day before and will like again tomorrow...and she says "I don yike it!"

MK sleeps from 6:30/7pm to 7/7:30am and takes a 2-2.5hr nap in the afternoon.

She eats three meals a day and a snack in the mid-morning and after naptime.

MK is now officially 100% day time potty trained... we haven't had an accident in weeks!!!! She still wears pull-ups at nap time (usually dry after naps) and at night (usually wet in the morning). She was wearing cloth pull-ups, but they really weren't super absorbent and I was so sick and tired of washing her bed sheets!! 

MK's stats at 2.5 yrs:
Weight- 32lb 10oz
Height- 37 inches... still on track to be a tall tall girl!

Almost as tall as an emperor penguin! ;)

My Sweet Mk,
You are such a bundle of joy and your dad and I love watching you grow up! We pray continually that the Lord would keep revealing himself to you and that you would come to know Him at a young age and walking closely with Him. Dad and I are trying our hardest to shepherd your heart the way that the Lord calls us to, please forgive us when we fail to do that. We love you more than words could even describe. You have our hearts forever and we are so proud of you sweet girl.
Love you thiiiiiiiisssss much!
Mama and Dada

KMV's 1 month!

Khloe is 1 month old!

Eating: Khloe is eating every 2-3hrs during the day and between 4-6hrs at night. She's always been a very efficient breast feeder and usually takes only about 15-20 minutes to eat. We introduced the bottle to her at 2 weeks and she's had a couple. She's taken to it great and usually eats 3-4oz. 

Sleeping: She sleeps a lot during that day, usually for an hour or two after she eats during the day. Her long wakeful period is from 5-8 at night and then after she feeds at 9 she's down for the night and sleeps 5-6 hours until 3ish. After that feeding she's down until 6. Khloe has a hard time putting herself down to sleep and prefers to fall asleep being held, and I'm going to soak up those cuddles for a little while longer until I help teach her to fall asleep on her own. During the day she naps in the car seat or Ergo carrier if we're out or on the couch or swing if we are at the house. She's a very noisy sleeper and likes to grunt and squirm a lot, so we moved her out of the pack-n-play in our room and into the crib in her room at 3 weeks! 

Milestones: She's smiled a few times at us... and not the gassy smiles, but real smiles!
What we've been up to this month: Getting used to the routine of two little ones in the house, celebrating mommy's 26th birthday and getting loved on by friends at Khloe's sip and see!

Dr. Appointment notes: 

Khloe is 10lb 3oz and 22 1/2 inches long. She's in the 90th percentile for both height and weight- just like big sister! I'm gonna have beautiful tall girls! :)
At our 2 week appointment Dr. Hayes heard a systolic murmur and sent us to a cardiologist to get it checked out. Khloe had a EKG and echo done and was diagnosed with pulmonary artery stenosis and a PFO (fetal opening between the two atrium that's supposed to close after birth). She should grow out of it in year, and if not we'll re-evaluate at the cardiologist!

My brave girl getting her echo.

Mike and I can't believe our littlest is 1 month... we both were saying the other night that she doesn't even look like a newborn anymore!

Love,
The Vogs

Day One!

These are my girl... MY GIRLS! :)

 

I can't believe I've been a mom of two for over two weeks. It's been quite the transition, but we are adjusting slowly. We've had family in (my parents, sisters and twin) until yesterday, so I've had lots and lots of help with MK... but today I was flying solo... just me and the girls. It was hard and easy all at the same time. I'm trying to learn the balance of splitting my time between the needs of a newborn and a two year old... and right now I'm not sure which one is more needy! I've never been more thankful for a husband who works from home than today... He was a text or call away if I needed an extra hand if I was breastfeeding Khloe and MK needed to use the potty. We survived the day, even though mommy and Maddie both needed mid-day showers (MK had a #2 accident and mommy was in the path of an epic down the shirt spit up) and Khloe had rough gassy morning.

 

All and all, the transition from one to two has been much easier than zero to one. It's like riding a bike... having a newborn is familiar instead of totally strange and intimidating. I was also able to prepare my heart and have realistic expectations. My heart is much more peaceful and less anxious this time around. I think a lot of that has to do with focusing on how short of a time period infancy is... If I start to get overwhelmed, I just look at pictures of MK and realize that her first year flew by. I wish I lived more in the moment when MK was a baby, instead of focusing on the next best milestone. This time I'm savoring every moment because I know at some point I'll miss the midnight cuddles.

 

One day down... many more to come! :) "I can do all things through Christ..."

 

Love,

The Vog girls!

MK vs. KM

I thought it would be fun to do a little comparisson between my pregnancies/deliveries with Khloe and MK!

Getting pregnant:
Maddie: Mike and I got pregnant our first month of "trying"... which really was just not using protection. I didn't use OPKs or anything, just knew my body from a yr of natural family planning.
Khloe: 9 months of actively trying, using OPKs and finally getting diagnosed and treated for a luteal phase defect. After three months on progesterone and increasing my dose we got pregnant! It was a hard time for me, but God used it to grow me in my faith and trust in Him. And now,I am so thankful for that time of waiting. I wouldn't have my sweet Khloe, MK would be a different age... I totally know and can trust that God knew what He was doing.

Weight gain:
Maddie: Gained 40lb- 7lb in the last few weeks (mostly swelling). Lost it all and 5lb by 6months post partum
Khloe: Gained 26lb. Not sure how long it will take to loose! :) As of a week post partum, I've lost 16lb.

Morning sickness:
Maddie: Terrible morning sickness from week 7-10, I was working nights and threw up every day on the way home from work. I didn't take the meds cause I was to stubborn!
Khloe: Starting feeling nauseaus at 6 weeks and started taking 4mg Zofran at least every morning. Also made an effort to eat more protein and I think that helped at ton. Took Zofran before I got out of bed every morning until 11ish weeks.

Movement:
Maddie: Didn't really feel her move until 18 weeks, she was a predictable mover- after meals and when I was sitting down. She gave me way more "no movement" scares than Khloe has... one time at a Rangers game when even a huge diet coke didn't get her moving! Then as we were about to call the dr, she started going crazy.
Khloe: Started feeling her little kicks at 13 weeks and she hasn't stopped since! She moves constantly, although her movements are slowing down now (at the end of pregnancy) and in more of a sleep/wake pattern. She is much more active than MK, especially at night!

Swelling:
Maddie: I swelled terribly with MK. I couldn't wear my engagement ring (the bigger of my two rings) from 8 months until delivery, my shoes didn't fit and after a day of work I had terrible pitting edema on my feet. My nose also swelled up and was super super wide at the end!
Khloe: My wedding ring has been off since 20 weeks (it's a size smaller than my wedding band), but my engagement ring slips on and off very easily still. No swelling in my feet and all of my shoes still fit- even my boots that are usually a little snug when I'm not preggo. My nose is a little wider, but not nearly as bad as with MK!

Last month:
Maddie: At my 40 weeks appointment I was 3cm and 50% and MK was very high. Even though I was huge, I wasn't super uncomfortable and never had false labor.
Khloe: K's always carried lower than MK, but the past few weeks she's gotten super low. I've had much more pain and pressure in my pelvis/pubic bone than with MK and I've had contractions on and off for the past week. At my 38 week appointment I was 3cm and 60%.

Birth:
Maddie: You can read about it here. She was 8lb 13oz and 21 3/4 inches long... my chunky long girl!  It was an easy labor and delivery, but due to post-partum hemorrhage that required two units of blood afterwards and a 3rd degree laceration, it was a rough recovery.
Khloe: You can read about it here. She was 7lb 11oz and 20 1/4 inches long... my tall and skinny girl! It was a very quick and not very painless labor and delivery, but no post partum hemorrhage and only a 2nd degree tear so it was a very quick and easy recovery.

Ok, that's the end of the MK and KM comparissons... Khloe is her own girl and I'm going to focus on her uniqueness as a baby! I'm going to try really hard not expect Khloe to reach her milestones when MK did.

Much love,
The Vogelaars

KM's birth, one week old update and big sister's reaction!

It all started at 8am on Friday December 28th when we arrived at BUMC for the induction. We'd been planning on inducing Khloe on the 28th for a couple weeks (although we were on the waiting list until the 26th so we didn't know for sure that the 28th was a go). We decided to induce for many reasons, the main ones were that my Dr. was only available to deliver K on the 28th or not until after her due date (and based on what happened last time, I really wanted her to be there) and Mike's PTO/time off conflict... our $3000 deductable and a tax credit also played a small part too!

Our nurse, Lori was super sweet and around 8:30am she started my IV and hooked me up to the pitocin (or so we thought... keep reading!). Dr. C came in a little after that to check my cervix and break my water. At that point I was 4cm dilated and 60% effaced. For the next two hours or so I was having contractions every 2 min apart, but not really painful at all. In fact (something I would regret later) I was telling Mike "these are nothing" and taunting them by saying "bring it on contractions!" Around 10am my nurse came to check on me and noticed that she had forgot to hook the pitocin to my IV... so for the past hr and a half my body was laboring on its own- triggered by Dr. C breaking my water. Stuff like that happens all the time, and as a nurse I totally understood and had grace with her!

Once the pitocin was actually running into my IV, my contractions immediately picked up in intensity and frequency. My goal was to make it to 5-6cm before getting my epidural because I didn't want it to slow down my labor. At around 11am, I was in a lot of pain with the contractions and asked Lori to check me. I was 5cm and 75% so I decided to get the epidural. The anesthesiologist came in 10 min later and started preping me for the epidural. This guy does all of his epidurals laying down, which I actually really liked cause it was alot easier to manage a contraction laying down verses sitting up hunched over. The epidural was in pretty painlessly in about 10 min and started taking the edge off of the contractions. Last time I had a spinal/epidural (that was just what that particular anethesiologist does) and it was immediate relief from the pain, this time with just an epidural the pain relief took about 30 minutes and I could still feel when I was having a contractions, they just weren't as painful. After I got my epidural, Lori said she thought we would be pushing around 1.

At around 12:15ish I started feeling intense pressure and it was unbearably painful. I called my nurse and she checked me and said it was baby time. She also told me that Dr. C was just going into a c-section and that we would have wait a little while to push. I told her I didn't think I could handle the pressure that long and she went out to talk to Dr. C. While she was gone Mike was eating lunch and I told him "you need to finish that up right now, we are having a baby now!!!" At 12:30 Lori and Dr. C came in and we started pushing. It felt so good to push through the intense pressure and I was very motivated to get Miss Khloe out of me! She came into the world after 3 rounds of pushing (we pushed 4 times with each contractions) at 12:43pm!

She was brought right to my chest and both Mike and I started crying! She was on my chest for several minutes and then they took her to the warmer. She had to be suctioned a couple times because she wasn't in the birth canal for very long and had some fluids and secretions in her lungs. She also got her vitamin K shot and eye antibiotics. She weighed in at 7lb 11oz and was 20 1/4inches long.

Dr. C and Lori were watching me closely to make sure my uterus contracted and my bleeding stayed under control. After the placenta came out, they gave me pitocin (normal after a vaginal deliver) and started massaging my belly to help my uterus contract (super painful by the way!). I also got sewed up from a 2nd degree tear... not nearly as bad as last time! As a precaution, I got a shot of Methergan and took a Methergan pill every 8 hours, 3 times to prevent any bleeding. Once Miss Khloe was all wrapped up and checked out, I got to feed her and she latched on right away.

After we were all cleaned up and checked out, Maddie, Larissa and Jay came in to meet Khloe. Maddie was very concerned about me and my IV and not that interested in Khloe. When Larissa showed MK a picture of Khloe on thier way down to the hospital, MK said "that's my Khloe!" She held Khloe for a little bit with me and wanted to point out all of her features- her eyes, nose and hair!

My recovery has been so much better this time! I was up and walking around an hour after Khloe was born, and took a shower shortly afterwards. We had some sweet visitors from our community group and church on friday afternoon and saturday and MK was with us for a couple hours each day too to hang out with her new sister.

We were discharged on Saturday at 3 and it was so nice to be at home in our own environment and in our own beds! Our sweet friends, the Combs brought us dinner and some groceries and it was such a blessing!

We had her two day post-discharge check up with Dr. Hayes on Monday and she weighed in at 7lb 6oz... which is totally normal to loose a little weight. My milk had just come in on Sunday night/Monday morning, so we weren't concerned about it. We go back next Friday for her two week check up and we'll see if she's gained any weight then. Mom and Dad both think she's gained weight, they think her little cheeks are filling out. She did have a little jaundice that we and her pediatrician have been watching closely, but it looks like that is resolving.

I can't believe sweet Khloe is a week old already! She has been a pretty easy baby- she's eating every two to three hours (sometimes 3.5/4 at night!) and sleeping in between. She has a few wakeful times during the day and she makes the cutest little faces during those times! She loves the swing and moby wrap and isn't a huge fan of having her arms swaddled. Big sister is taking to Khloe very well. She's had lots of fun playmates around (my dad and my two little sisters) to keep her occupied. But, whenever she sees me without Khloe she asks me "where's Khloe?" and she's already been nursing her baby dolls... from her belly button! :) She likes to hold Khloe, but only for a couples minutes. Khloe's umbilical cord fell off today, but before it did and MK was helping me with a diaper change, she would say "I can't see that" when I lifted up her shirt! She really wasn't a fan of the umbilical stump!

We've got my parents here for a few more days and then my twin sister will come stay with us for a about a week. And then we are on our own! I've tried to take it one day at a time and not get too overwhelmed with the thought of me taking care of my two girls on my own during the day.

Our hearts are full and we feel so blessed. We are truely feeling the joy decribed in Psalms 127: 4-5- "Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warriors hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!"

Much love,
The Vogs
M,K,MK & KM

*My silly computer isn't letting me upload pics, but you can check them out on my facebook or follow me on instagram: katyvog

39 weeks!

This week we are 39 weeks pregnant!

This is officially our last belly picture... so bittersweet...

 

How big is baby? according to babycenter.com she is 20in and a little over 7lb... the size of a little watermelon! I can't wait to see how big she really is.

Weight gain/loss: Up 26lb.

Sleep: Not sleeping well at all if I don't take a Tylenol PM :( She is getting me prepared for sleepless nights in the very near future.

Movement: Miss K is still moving, mainly at night when I'm trying to sleep. I'm hoping she doesn't have her days and nights mixed up outside of the womb.

Symptoms: Feeling like a 9 month preggo! I feel like I'm going to cough this girl out she's so low and my back's killing me... I'm ready to hold her in my arms!
Food Cravings: Nothing this week, not had much of an appetite lately.

Gender: A girl- Khloe Margaret! I hope she's still a girl when we meet her on Friday!!
Belly Button: An outtie! Not for much longer though.

What I'm looking forward to? Having Miss Khloe!!! I can't wait to meet her, see what she looks like and snuggle her. I can't wait for Maddie to meet her and to see what she thinks of her.
What I miss? Being comfortable! But, I won't be 100% comfortable after she's here either!
Big sister: Had so much fun on Christmas, opening presents and playing in the snow (yep, we had a WHITE Christmas!!). On our last day as a family of 3, we're taking her to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science that opened up here recently and I think she will love it!
Dr. Appointment notes: We had our 39 week appointment this morning with one of Dr. C's partners. Weight, BP, Khloe's HB and fundal height checked in great. I'm 3.5cm and 60%, so not much progress since last week. We also confirmed our induction for 7:30am on Friday the 28th! Miss Khloe should be here be the afternoon/early evening if all goes well.

 

Our next blog post will be introducing you to our newest family member!!

Love,

The Vogs