Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for....

1) Good friends to do life with. We've had play dates galore this week and it's been fun. Yes there has been a stressful moment or two, but I love seeing my girl play with her best buddy! We had a great time trick or treating at the high school tonight and a yummy dinner afterwards!

2) My husband! He's been a trooper this week. The multiple places to be, outings, and things to do this week  made me go into super plan mode! ( Freak out the night before and get as much together as possible and totally flip if something is in the washer or dishwasher and I wanted to put it in the diaper bag ... yeah I'm a little neurotic.) And as I am typing this right now, he's ridding our fridge of its multiple unidentifiable leftovers! I have a severe phobia of spoiled food/milk. Like I won't touch the milk carton if its sell by date happens to be today. In my mind that means it's gross and off limits. Ryan though, he laughs at me but cleans out our fridge anyway, because he knows how hard it is for me.

3) Lazy days. The kids and I will most likely lounge in pj's for most if not all of the day tomorrow. No where to go and nothing to do = a nice relaxing day at home!

4)Snuggly babies who want their mama. Sarah and Andrew have been extra cuddly this week! I think it's our family cold that's going around, but I'll take the snuggles. My girl has always been independent so I love getting cuddle time with her! And sleepy/sleeping babies just scream "Snuggle me close and remember forever what it feels like to have the weight of me in your arms. Remember my baby smell as I burrow into you for a nap. Memorize the curls on my toddler head so that when I'm a teenager you can remember what it was like to hold me." Man my babies are getting big too fast! 

What are you thankful for?

Semi-Wordless Wednesday (Pumpkin Patch Edition)

Pumpkin patches should only be attempted with both parents present. Also you should check to make sure that the breastfeeding infant is not going to be STARVING while his sister wants to climb the hay bales and jump into the wading pool that's supposed to be for fishing. And one last note, do not go on a super windy day. Hay+wind+roaming toddler+contacts=stressed mama with blurry vision!

Climbing up to the "Wee"

One of the only happy faces of the day

Sarah was not amused by my attempt to include Andrew

In the corn tunnel

Upset baby in the pumpkins. What do I expect when I dress him in a onesie saying "Mommy's Little Monster"

Trying to pick all the flowers

Andrew lying on a bench while Sarah ate lunch. He was pretty happy then.

My little dare devil. The only child to go head first out of our play group.

Dedication

Today was Andrew's dedication at church and my mom threw together a surprise "sprinkle" for us! It was so nice and thoughtful and I was reminded just how much my family is blessed. My kiddos will never be lacking someone to love on them!

Two Months

Happy two month "birthday" to my big boy Andrew! It's been 8 1/2 weeks since the little guy entered our family, and things seem to have calmed down a bit! I feel like life has settled into some type of routine, loose as it may be. There's a bit more predictability to our days, which is a good things for all of us! And I'm happy to report that laundry still gets done, dishes get washed, and we make it out of the house at least 3 out of the 5 weekdays!

At two months Andrew is:

• in size 1 diapers. (He's been in them since about two weeks old!)
• eating ALL the time! Seriously, sometimes I feel like all he does is eat, take a nap (10 minutes) and then eat again! He is gaining weight and growing like crazy though, so I guess I can't fault him. In all reality, he eats at least 10 times a day (24 hours) if not more. 
• well on his way to becoming an even bigger boy. He has to weigh over 12 pounds by now. I'm going to try and weigh him later today and find out for sure. Carrying him in the infant carrier is truly an upper body workout!
• sleeping well at night. He usually gives me a 5-6 hour chunk of uninterrupted sleep from 2:00 - 7:00 or 8:00 am. It's great! But now that I've bragged about his amazing sleep skills, I'm sure we'll have an all nighter!
• refusing to take pacifiers! I can't decide if this is a good or bad thing. On one hand, it means we won't have to wean him off of it later. On the other hand, it means that the only thing that will comfort him about 90% of the time is me/food. It can be kind of taxing.
• usually able to put himself to sleep. If I set him down for a nap, or put him to bed awake, he will take about 10 minutes to settle down (not crying just grunting and wiggling) and then he's out. The first time he did that, I wanted to shout from the rooftops that my baby had put himself to sleep. (This was something we never really figured out with Sarah, you live and learn I guess.)
• tolerating tummy time pretty well. He can raise his head and chest off the ground when he wants to and has fairly decent head control. He wiggles from side to side when laid on his back or tummy, and often looks like he may roll over, but he hasn't reached it yet! No worries from this Mama, I'm totally okay with him staying immobile for a while. (Not that I don't want him to reach milestones, but if he is less mobile than Sarah was as an infant, I would love it!)
• wearing mostly 0-3 month clothing. He has a few larger newborn things that he can still fit into, but the majority of things are 0 - 3 months. 

And since it is a Thursday, I will grace you all with things I don't want to forget about him!

• The first one is a great memory from yesterday! Andrew has acid reflux and he spits up, like a lot! Anyway I was standing in the living room, holding him with his head on my shoulder and he spit up down my arm. No big deal, I asked Sarah to bring me some wipes. She walked over to me with them and that's when I realized Andrew had not only gotten me, but her as well! He spit up past me and onto poor Sarah's head. She had spit up dripping down her little forehead. Cue afternoon bath time!
•  All of the adorable little half smiles and his big, happy, toothless grins. He's a happy, smily baby and I never tire of his face.
• His burrito wrap. Somehow a swaddled baby always looks so cute and cozy! And now that we have some awesome Aden & Anais blankets to fit our little chunker in, he sleeps much better! Fewer wiggles.
• The milk coma face! Such a sweet sight to see a baby with a full belly, totally passed out! That's when you know everything is good in their world!
• Cooing! He makes the most adorable little noises when he's awake. My favorite is when he yawns! It melts my heart every time.
• How much Sarah loves him! She's constantly kissing him and asking to "Uck" (hug) him. I'm so glad we have very few jealousy issues.
• Our swing and bouncy seat our complete life savers. For a baby with reflux, you can't set them flat after eating. Lucky for us Andrew loves the swing and bouncer and is content to stay there.
• The way he snuggles into me after finishing a night feed and falls asleep on my chest. LOVE IT! I honestly think there is nothing better in life than snuggling a sleeping/sleepy baby!
• The way he "sings" in his sleep. He makes little humming noises and they are so nice to listen to!
• All of his cute little sleepers. I love a baby in footy pj's! And I love that it is totally acceptable to take a baby out in public in them! 

Wordless Wednesday (Our Past Few Days)

Monday Mind Dump

1. Why does it always rain when I have an outdoor play date planned? I was planning on taking the kids to a pumpkin patch in the morning and there's like a 60% chance of rain. Plus it looks like fall weather is moving in to stay. A high of 58 degrees and rain do not make for happy healthy kids..
2. I love MOPS and the ministry that I get from it, but being on the leadership team can be frustrating. I LOVE fellow shipping with other moms and would stay all night if I could, but I have babies that need their mama to tuck them in! It's hard to keep 13 women on task though, lots of stories to tell, food to eat and good times to share!
3. I'm going to learn how to use Ryan's camera so that I can take pictures of the kids with more than my cell phone! I feel like this could lead to me becoming a member of the "Mama-razzi." I fear for their retinas already. (Just kidding)
4. I LOVE my husband! He knew how desperately I needed my mom's night with my fellow MOPS ladies tonight. So what did he do? He kept Andrew with him (and about 20 oz of pumped milk). That way I could enjoy my time away and just feel like an unattached adult, that is until the meeting ran long and I needed to get home. :) 
5. Fleas are evil. The good thing about the weather turning cold? Hopefully they all die. We had to bomb the apartment, bathe the dogs in apple cider vinegar (SMELLY), and re-treat them with flea medicines.
6. I need to start working out now that I have the all clear from the doc. But the thing is I haven't really ever worked out. So I need to know how to ease into it. Any suggestions?
7. I'm ready to wear my long sleeves and hoodies! Happy fall!!

The Sad Reality

When Sarah was born, I was adamant that she wouldn't be a kid who became obsessed with TV. I didn't want her watching any (I know it was wishful thinking) until she was at least two. Cue getting pregnant while having an active toddler. Suddenly those kids' shows didn't seem too bad.

It all started out innocently. We would watch an episode of "Veggie Tales" together. Or more like 5 minutes of it before Sarah lost interest.  Then I decided that since "Veggie Tales" just wasn't cutting it, I should try something else. Enter "Dinosaur Train". This was Sarah's first love! 11 minute episodes and it was available on Netflix! Perfect. This show allowed me to get her fed and dressed without too much complaint in the morning. Then there was "Blue's Clues" (another Netflix find). She loves puppies and it's got some catchy songs. I was okay with her watching both of these shows as long as it was limited to one episode of each a day. She never has the attention span for an entire episode of Blue so we were doing great!

Then one day Mama left the TV on after "Dinosaur Train" ended on PBS and we entered the world of "Sesame Street". I have nothing against "Sesame Street", but I never wanted to be the mom that had a kid obsessed with Elmo. Well guess who has entered my house and doesn't plan on leaving anytime soon?

Sarah asks for Elmo multiple times a day and absolutely LOVES him! She loves watching "Elmo's World" and any YouTube video of him. It's even better if Elmo's singing. So in light of her new infatuation, my Christmas shopping will have to include some little red monsters ... I guess you can't ever say never as a parent.

Wordless Wednesday (Happy Fall Ya'll)

18 Months and 2 Months

Yesterday was an adventure. I took both kids to the pediatrician for their "well child" check ups. It was for Sarah's 18 month and Andrew's 2 month appointment. (Technically Andrew isn't 2 months until the 20th of this month.) Sarah's appointment had been on the calender for months, so I asked if Andrew's could be at the same time. I know crazy right? But let me tell you, it was much easier to get it done and over with than load everybody up and come back in a couple of weeks to repeat the process.

Anyway both kids are pretty healthy! Sarah is getting over Hand, Foot, and Mouth. She still has a few lingering blisters on her feet, but we are out of the contagious stage. It was pretty tough going at first though. We weren't sure if she was teething, sick, or both. She just had this really weird rash on her bottom (which we attributed to a teething rash) and kept sticking her fingers in her mouth. Well apparently she was doing that because of the yucky and painful sores that developed in her mouth! She was totally inconsolable and both Ryan and I were at a loss as to what we should do. But like I said, she's getting over it and her case was only a mild one. I would have hated to see a severe one! 

The pediatrician was happy with both kids and said they are both growing well and right on track if not advanced developmentally. Our girl is a dainty little thing, and Mr. Andrew? Well he's a bit of a porker!

Sarah's Stats:

• 31 1/2 inches (50th percentile)
• 22 lbs exactly (20th percentile)
• Size 4 diapers
• Mostly 18 month clothes but still in some 12 months
• Size 5 shoes
• Learning new words every day. Her vocab is growing at a ridiculous rate! One of my new favorites it gorgeous pronounced Gaw-Jus. Her sheet from the pediatrician said she should understand 50 words and say at least 3. Well, Sarah easily has 50 words in her vocab now and can understand a lot more than that.
• She absolutely loves kissing and hugging on Andrew. (Ah-NEW)
• She can name a lot of her body parts and show you where they are. Her favorite is knee. 
• She's showing mild interest in the potty, but after those first two times of going in the potty she totally could care less about it. Even if we offer M&M's. So I'm not going to push it.
• Haven't weaned off the paci yet, but we are limiting it as much as possible. I'm just not ready for the crazy sleepless nights that will happen if we take away her "Bebe".

Andrew's Stats: Keep in mind that he was 6 weeks old and not the average 8 weeks which means that had we waited until he was exactly two months, his percentiles would probably have been higher

• 11 lb 9.6 oz (85%) 
• 22 1/4 inches (50%)
• Size 1 diapers
• 0-3 month clothing
• Raises his head whenever he's on his tummy and often times tries to fling himself out of your arms with how much he moves
• Started to suck on his hands and thumbs
• Has slept 6 hours straight for about a week in a row and then will wake up every two hours again
• Smiling and starting to coo!! (It's a cute sound)
• Makes the most adorable noise when he yawns

Wordless Wednesday

New Things

We went to a local Cider Mill today and Sarah got to ride a pony for the first time! She wasn't too sure at first, but once she got on and the pony started moving, she was in love.

"Horsey, neigh, weee!"
"Hi!"

I'm so glad my girl got to have a little bit of fun today, even if it was super crowded and stressed me a little  lot. Now we are currently dealing with the nightmare of teething and I think a cold on top of it. These canine teeth better come in quick, because Mama cannot handle too much more of the constant tears!

But here is a picture of our sweet girl having fun today!