Photo Dump Wednesday: Hodge Podge

I know I haven't done one of these in a while. I figured now's as good a time as any to start back up. 

This is a hodge podge of random pictures taken in the last 7 - 10 days. 

I have made rice for lunch the last few weeks. I finally decided that perhaps it was time to change things up a bit. So this week, I decided to make spaghetti and ground beef. It was definitely a hit at home and JOE can't get enough of it. 

I took out the back braids in my hair to go get a new passport picture taken since I have to renew my passport. While I was at it, I wanted to see how long my hair is now. I am really amazed at how much its grown in such a short period of time.

And here is the reason I took out my hair. Both pictures are 10-years apart. Gosh...I have aged! Well, I like to think I am now more "seasoned" :-).

JOE is always asking for me to take a picture of her and JAE. This picture is from Monday night. She wanted to hold JAE so I let her. The look on JAE's face is priceless. Its like she is saying "really? You held me so you can take a picture?"

I love my girls!

And who doesn't love "just because" flowers? J brought me flowers last week. I love that he still randomly brings me flowers especially my favorite colored roses.

I took this picture because just a few short weeks ago, she was so tiny in this swing and now, she is quickly growing into it. Go JAE. She is definitely a good eater. No begging or bribing like we do with her sister.

I love podgy toes. That's my JAE JAE!

And her yummy fingers that captured my heart 8+ weeks ago :-).

This year, we were a little late doing the beautification of our yard since we had our hands full with JAE's arrival. J did most of the work and he did a fabulous job. 

Our rose bed is coming along nicely. We added 3 more rose bushes. Can't wait to see it in ful bloom next year. 

Well, that's it for this week's photo dump Wednesday. I hope you have enjoyed it. 

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Are we done yet?

"Are you done yet?" This is a question I have gotten a few times since we had JAE. Both friends and acquaintances have asked this question to know if we'll have another baby after JAE since we have 2 girls.

Sometimes when people ask me this question, I want to say "its none of your business!" But my mom instilled in me politeness and I often just say "time will tell" or "we don't know." The truth is we just don't know. I always said I'd want to have 3 kids. However, I haven't had the easiest deliveries. And I find myself wondering if I am foolish to be thinking of #3 when #2 just popped out not too long ago.

My girls are awesome. I love them with all of my heart. But part of me also would love to experience what its like to be a mommy to a boy. Which is not to say that I would be disappointed if we go for #3 and end up with another girl. 

My husband would also like a boy but if we go for #3 and its a girl, we would be just as happy. The most important thing is a happy, healthy child.

So in answer to the question "are we done yet", I simply don't know. It is in God's hands. J and I will decide sometime next year if we feel our family is complete. For now, I am thoroughly enjoying being a mommy to 2 awesome, happy and healthy girls. 

J loves his girls. On Sunday after I got up to go pump, J took JAE. She quickly fell asleep. I just had to snap this picture when I came back to the room and saw this. Don't worry...she is safe. We are very careful when she's in our bed.

Our weekly mommy/daughter selfie. Can you tell who will be the kid making faces in pictures? One guess...its the kid who isn't smiling :-). Scroll on...

Apparently, we bore JAE.

And here she is saying "oh you mean, I should smile? But why???"

I love this picture. JOE and JAE truly are the best parts of J and I. I feel so blessed every morning when I wake up to their beautiful faces.

Question of the day:
Would you go for a 3rd child if your first 2 were of the same gender? If so, why or why not?

Hair Update

I haven't done a hair update in a while.  That's because during my pregnancy,  I didn't do much other than put it in a puff or wear it out.
My hair did grow but I'm not quite sure of how much given the fact that I haven't straightened my hair in over a year.  I was planning on getting it straightened just so I could see the length but I am yet to find a good natural hair stylist.  I have stalked a few on instagram and sadly, the before and after pictures they post of their work tells me they are too scissor happy. I am not anti-trim. However, my experience has taught me that most hair stylists that I have encountered are scissor happy.

Since having JAE, free time is a luxury and I just can't dedicate time to doing my hair when I'd rather catch up on my sleep. 

Instead,  I have been keeping my hair in braids and just co-washing it once a week. So far, so good. When I had JOE, I kept my hair in a bun and ended up with a lot of matted hair and breakage. I ended up having to cut my hair. That began a journey that would eventually lead me to the decision to go natural. 

My natural hair journey started in February 2014. My last texturizer was in October of 2013 and I did the big chop in October 2014 figuring that I'd get a growth boost from pregnancy hormone and I did.

This is primarily how I wore my hair towards the end of my pregnancy with JAE. This picture was taken hours before I had JAE. Little did I know then :-).

This was another one of my go to styles.

Like I did when I had JOE, I wore a bun to the hospital.Only this time, I had no bonnet on when I had the baby. JAE came too fast for me to worry about the state of my hair.

Afterwards, I put 2 french braids in my hair.

Then I wore 2 puffs for a couple of weeks. Occasionally taking it down to moisturize and seal with oil.

For our family photo sessions, I decided to do a flat twist in front and puff at the back.

Shortly after that, I put my hair in 4 single braids and that's how I have worn it for the last 2 weeks with the exception of yesterday when I took it down for a meeting.

Since I haven't had a chance to blow out my hair, I wanted to see a comparison of my hair from last October. This is a picture of my freshly washed and braided hair.

Here is a comparison of my hair from last October. It really has grown quite a lot in the last 7-months.

I plan on continuing with my current regimen until I am able to get time for a blow out and flat iron. I will likely need a trim at that point. I am also almost 2-months postpartum. I started shedding at about 3 months postpartum with JOE'S pregnancy. 

This time,  I will be taking manetabolism at my 12-week postpartum mark to try to stave off the shedding. I'll be sure to document my before and after when I do that.

If you have any good postpartum shedding prevention or minimization advise,  please share them.  

Semblance of normalcy

We are slowly getting back into some of our routine and adopting new ones to accommodate our newest family member.
Before my mom left last month,  she made several dishes which we froze.  My mother in law also brought us a couple of dishes which we kept in the freezer.  As a result,  I haven't had to cook in a while. 
Last Sunday was the first time since JAE arrived that I cooked a lunch or dinner meal. 

J went back to work on Tuesday and since we often pack our lunch to take to work,  I figured it was time to start getting back in the habit of making the week's meals on Sundays. 
Since I pump 8 times every 24 hours to mimic JAE's eating habits and stabilize my milk supply,  I have very limited time. For the record,  I'll say it again...I hate pumping!!!

I decided to make some Nigerian fried rice and fried plantains. While my mom was here,  she gave me tips on how to make the rice in less than 30 minutes and have it still taste delicious.  Score! I'll be sure to share the recipe at some point in the future. In the meantime,  here are some pictures of the yummy goodness. 

In other news,  my rings finally fit again!  I haven't won them since I was 7 months pregnant. Last time, it took me 3 months to get here so I count this as progress.

Since it's been hot here,  we decided to go for Rita's again last weekend.  JOE was so excited.  We told her we'd go get some ice cream and then go to the airport park to watch planes land and take off.  All was good until we got the ice cream and started heading to the airport park.  JOE promptly fell asleep. We waited for a bit at the park and even tried to wake her up at one point but she would have none of it. Of course,  the minute we got home,  she woke up.  Go figure.

JAE is such a good sleeper,  I just love taking pictures of her beautiful face while she sleeps.

I love that if she's crying and I take her and put her in my chest,  she calms down. She doesn't do it for anyone but me  :-). I guess she knows my heart beat.  She was inside of me afterall.

I love that when she sleeps, she tucks one hand in my shirt or holds on to my shirt like she'll never let go.

I love that she is quickly getting used to her sister's toddler screams and habit of watching the ipad in our bed.  I love their sisterly bond that's already apparent.

I love that she is starting to get a hang of the whole selfie thing.  I mean her mom's a blogger afterall so taking pictures is a regular part of my blogging.

We decided to update our family wall to include pictures of JAE. Last weekend,  we got our pictures taken by a professional photographer.
Here are some pictures from the session.

This is an unprofessional picture of my makeup.  I did a flat twist in front and put the rest of my hair in a puff.

Our clothes for the session. 

Before we headed out,  I decided to take a quick picture of the girls in their outfit.
Here's one of JOE.

And one of JAE.

A professional sneak peak of the photo session. The pictures turned out great and I can't wait to share them with you.

We celebrated the end of J's paternity leave by going out to lunch. I got a salad so I could indulge in some yummy dessert :-). Oh did I mention my sweet tooth is back?  :-). Apparently,  pregnancy is the cure for my sweet tooth cause I have lost my desire for sweets while pregnant both times. 

The salad was delicious but I couldn't finish it.  I packed it to go and enjoyed it later.  Of course,  JAE decided to join in on the festivities and woke up after I was done eating.  Good girl!

The hubby...J

And here's an update of where I am with my weight loss. I am back in my old clothes and some of them are too big.  Yay!

I should have cleaned the mirror before taking the picture but why bother? JOE  has decided that she doesn't like a clean mirror.  She adorns it with her palm prints once it's cleaned.

One of the best things about having a baby when it's warm is the ability to go for long walks. JAE and I go for a 3 mile walk most days of the week.

Hope you had/are having a nice week. My maternity leave ends in 2 weeks.  I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by.