Guilty

Kelly's Korner is a blog I read on a daily basis.  I have no idea who the woman is or how I even found her blog SO long ago but I just love reading her blog.  She is a Christian, a mommy, a wife, a witty southern woman, and her blog is real.  It's real life.  She doesn't sugar coat her frustrating day with two toddlers or her feelings of inferiority of the momma's that have it all together.  She is real.  She posted a blog titled Words today and it hit me like a ton of bricks.  We all get in ruts, we all feel inferior, and we all stoop to the level of being negative towards things and negative towards others so her goal for 2013 is to be an encourager.  Instead of competing with others, encourage them.  Instead of having wishful thinking that we were in someone else's situation, encourage them.  I don't usually make new years resolutions, so since it's not New Years I won't call it that, but I too pray that I can encourage others in coming days instead of the other (if that makes sense).

A 2 Year Old and A 1/2 Year Old (haha)

We all say it and I'll say it again, "Where has the time gone?" I can't believe that today my first born turns 2 and my second born turns 6 months!  These two babies seriously bring SO.MUCH.JOY to our lives. 

Braxton

 

He is so sweet and sensitive but every ounce of him is "all boy."  He loves to build, bang, throw, destroy etc.  He knows exactly what you do with a hammer and loves to play with all of daddy's tools, as well as, ride along with daddy on the mower.  He is our little scientist, doing things over and over with such focus.  He could spend hours pouring water from one bucket to another or placing dog food piece by piece into one container only to pour it into another container then to start all over- don't judge, atleast he doesn't eat it right?  He is a momma's boy  through and through.  Don't get me wrong there are definitely times when he would much rather be with his daddy than with me, especially when it has something to do with the outdoors.  The love he has for his sister is precious. They have an amazing bond and love for each other already, seriously never expected this with them being so young.  It is not like anything that I can explain.  As soon as they see each other their eyes light up.  He greets her every morning by squealing/screaming "sister", talks to her in the car, tickles her, lets her slobber all over him, wipes her mouth with her bib as he says "ew, nany (nasty)," takes her hands and "dance" as he would say, etc.  It is the sweetest thing ever. One day she was playing with something that he wanted so he handed her his caprisun and took the toy.  I about died.  Atleast he was being fair right??   He has started helping me do things around the house like unloading the dishwasher.  This sometimes leads to him putting a clean dish in a sink full of dirty dishes or him unloading them way faster than I can put them into the cabinets but I serioulsy love his help and love this time together.  He will also help me do the laundry.  When I go get the dirty clothes from the hampers I give him a couple of pieces to carry and he follows me right to the washer. . His eating is so, so.  Sometimes he has a great appetite and will eat like a horse and some nights he basically goes to bed without dinner--not because we didn't offer it to him but because he literally does not want to eat.  He loves fruits and vegetables most of the time and he has started eating meat again (again, we always offer him some kind of protein but he doesn't eat it well) He has become quite the breakfast lover.  I make a big breakfast every Saturday and Sunday and he will scarf it down!  His talking is coming right along.  He is no longer a child of few words like I used to call him.  He has not stayed silent in days, haha.  He is a big copycat and attempts to say a lot of the things you tell him to AND he has started talking in 2-3 word sentences.  My favorite being one night when I got home, fairly late, from a meeting and he squealed and said "I hold you."  Melts my heart!  He was also very confused about Thanksgiving and some how got the idea that it was "How-ween" but by Friday when we had Thanksgiving with my mom we finally convinced him that it was NOT halloween so he was then walking around shaking his head saying "it not how-ween."    Now don't get me wrong, he still has his own language but I am very impressed with his talking.  He knows two numbers 1 &2, a lot of times he will say them backwards "2-1."  He can also recognize and say 6 letters out of his name.  B-R-A-X-T-O.  This has taken A LOT of practice and I give hubby all of the credit!  He still only knows two shapes: star and circle.  We are working on colors-- he will point out objects that are orange and he picked up the yellow marker and said "ye-wo" but most of the time everything else is blue. He loves trains and airplanes.  We listen for both of these things when we are outside.  If he hears and airplane he immediately screams "airfane" and starts looking for it.  I also catch him trying to sing along to songs.  This boy can't help himself but to dance when he hears music.  We will be out in public and sometimes he stops, perks up really tall, puts his hand to his ear and says "AH!" then starts dancing, cracks me up! He is starting to show more (I use that term lightly because it's only slightly more) interest in the potty.  He will sit down on it and say "I poo poo" but he hasn't ever really used it.  He is showing other signs of getting ready but we are not pushing it until we think he is truly ready.  He has been sleeping in a twin size bed since sometime this summer and he loves it. He likes to put us "night night" and will tell us to "yay down" then covers us up. He is wearing a size 5 diaper, size 7/8 shoe, and 2T clothes.  On our scale he weighs 28 lbs and I have no idea how tall he is. 

 

He truly is a ray of sunshine and makes our lives so much richer!  The last two years have been so amazing and we are so blessed to be his mommy and daddy. 

 

 

Brooklyn

 

My little Brooklyn Leigh.  This little girl is the happiest/smiliest thing ever.  She has her moments but she is usually all smiles.  She loves her momma but she defintely perfers her daddy over her momma to calm her down.  She is taking 5 oz in her bottles every 3-4 hours.  We have been trying solids (baby food) 1-2 times a day consistently for two months and we are just now getting to where she will eat 1-2 tbsp. When she is done, she is done and there is no way of getting her to take anymore. She is still getting up 1-2 times a night and although I am tired, I am going to miss these precious moments with her when she starts sleeping more.  She has started sitting up, although she is not a pro, she is pretty good at it!  She looks so little to me still.  When she was sick she weighed around 15lbs so I assume that is still what she weighs.  She is wearing size 2 diapers and 6-9 month clothes.  She loves the exersaucer-She bounces and jumps and is very intrigued with all of the toys on it.  It makes her so happy to find someone across the room, behind her, etc and she just smiles.  She loves to lay on her changing table and kick her legs over and over and over.  She also loves to be outside.  She is not a paci baby, we have offered and offered and she is to the point now that she won't even latch on to it. She much prefers her hand or fabric (blankets, bibs, etc) over any teether you give her.  She has two bottom teeth.  She is quite the messy bather.  She kicks her legs repeatedly and splashes water everywhere but she has a blast so who cares!   This little girl is SO ticklish.  Literally her whole body is ticklish!  She loves to "talk" and loves to blow raspberries even more.  She loves her brother.  He will walk up to her and she reaches out and puts her hands on his head and a wide open mouth on his cheek/head (where ever it happens to land) and will then scream. 

 

She is such a sweet, happy spirited baby and we have loved every minute of the last 6 months!  Now if the next 6 months would slow down, I would be ok with that!

 

Life

IS SO BUSY!!!!  I really don't think I ever though about how much things would change with two kids but man, it's BUSSSYYYY!!!  I go from sun up to sun down!  It's fun and I would never ever eva' trade it but busy is how I will describe it. Let's see what's going on:

• We had a first this past week- both kids have been sick.  If there is one thing I do not like, it is my kids being sick.  It just breaks my heart (and yes, I am the mom who once broke down bawling (like unable to talk I was crying so hard) in the doctors office because Brax was so sick-- embarassing, I know!)  Anyways, they both woke up Wednesday morning with fever and I can officially say that we are fever free, finally.  I thought that it would never leave us!  Oh, goodness, I won't even describe what my days were like on Wednesday and Thursday.  Let's just say that at one point my hubby told me I looked like a ghost.  Lots of good snuggle time though! 
• Work is still going great!  Teaching is a lot of work...(understatement)... and there is a lot more to the teaching profession than most people think and I think it's easy to get burned (burnt?? haha) out.  I think I was to that point at my old job.  I LOVEDDDDD my co-workers, I mean love love loved them but I think that sometimes we just need a fresh start.  I was so over the commute, so over the extra hours that came along with the commute and I was just burned (burnt??) out, so I have my fresh start!  I am still SOO thankful for this job and the extra amount of time that I get with my family. 
• My oldest baby is about to be TWO.  WOAH! 
• I am so ready for Christmas!!!  I have my gift list going on what I am buying everyone and I have officially started shopping.  I can't wait! 

So, this post was completely random but I am so tired and ready for bed! 

Moments Like These

It was moments like this morning that make me count my blessings and moments like these that convict me of having any selfish thought.  Moments like Brax opening his door at 5:00am ready to get up and play and me wanting to atleast get a few more seconds of sleep.  Hubby got him some milk and put him back in his bed but I heard him say "mommy, mommy."  So I went in and laid with him with no luck on him falling back to sleep so I decided we were getting up for the day!  Brax and I got up and I never thought twice about how nice it would be to still be sleeping.  We played and wrestled and tickled for an hour before Brook woke up.  We chased, cuddled, screamed, snacked, and talked for 2 and a half hours before Daddy made his debut.

It's mornings like these (and many other moments) that litearlly hit me in the face and make me feel so guilty about ever wanting more sleep.  I love my babies and I am so thankful that the Lord trusted me to be their mommy!!!

A Day In the Life Of...

A Day In the Life Of Two Full Time Working Parents With Two Kids Under Two

 

I thought it would be fun to document a typical day in our life right now.  It's busy, it's crazy, it's sometimes chaotic (of most of the time), but it is all so worth it!  This is the outline of a "typical" (if you can say that) day in our life.

• 5:20- My alarm goes off and yes I am a weirdo that jumps right out of bed and gets going.  I don't always like it and I sometimes/most of the time think it's not normal to be as tired as I am but I still jump up! I shower then fix my cup of coffee. 
• 5:35ish-6:00- I get ready.  Hubby's alarm goes off starting at 5:35 and he snoozes a couple of times (I still don't understand why people hit the snooze button but hey it works for him--as his alarm keeps going off I am secretly praying that it does not wake Brax up so I have can continue to get completely ready). I continue to get ready and he will mosey on in the bathroom to get dressed for work.
• 6:00ish- I am dressed and ready for the day, hubby is ready and making his lunch and breakfast as I try to decide whether I need to get Brook up for a bottle or if she is good to go until after she gets to Mrs. D's house.  During this time I usually pack my lunch and put our bottle bag into the car so that I do not have to carry all of that out as I try to wrangle Brax out and carry Brook in the car seat. 
• 6:05- Hubby leaves.  If Brook doesn't need a bottle I enjoy a couple of minutes alone if Brax isn't up.
• 6:10-If Brook needs a bottle, I wake her up, change diaper, get her dressed, and talk and smile with her. Brax is usually up by now.  On rare occassion I have to go wake him up after her bottle. 
• 6:15-6:30- I make Brax a milk cup, sometimes cut him a banana, or get him some other kind of snack.  I am usually still tending to Brook at this point. 
• 6:30-6:45- Get Braxton ready.
• Somewhere between 6:45-6:55 I load the kids up.  Our routine:I get Brook in her seat, I turn the lamp off and tell Brax it's time to go to Mrs. D's, then we say bye bye or night night to Mickey or Bubble Guppies, I pick up sister's carrier and tell Brax to come on, we walk (slowly) to the garage.  Brax usually likes to close the doors.  I put sister in the car then wrangle Brax out of whatever trouble he has gotten himself into (haha, kidding). 
• On the way to Mrs. D's house we have the same conversations about schools and houses and how a school is not a house.  We literally have this conversation everyday. 
• I drop them off between 7:00-7:10 and I am off to work. 
• Work for me is 7:30ish-3:45.  Hubby works 7:00-3:30.
• 3:45- I get off work and head straight to get the kids.  The BEST thing about my new job is that I am so close to home/Mrs. D's house.  I can get to her house to pick them up by 4:00.  If I have an afterschool activity/meeting hubby will pick them  up. 
• 4:15ish- get home.  Fix Brax a snack and a cup of milk or water.  Put sister in the swing for her nap. 
• Usually by 4:45 I am working on dinner.  Sometimes Brook needs a bottle so I start that and hubby starts dinner! 
• Sometimes I will wash bottles and prepare them for the next day while dinner is cooking or I will wash them while Brax is in his highchair finishing his dinner. 
• We are eating dinner usually by 5:30.  This is a big deal for us and we eat dinner together EVERY night at the kitchen table.  Before we had Brax hubby and I would eat in the living room, etc haha... but once Brax started eating food we changed that! 
• 5:45-7:00 is play time.  We play outside if it's nice, we play in the playroom, in Brax's room, or in Brook's room, or sometimes all of the above. 
• 7:00ish, sometimes a little later, we start baths.  Usually we give the kids baths at the same time, one of us will bathe Brook while the other one bathes Brax.  This doesn't take as long as when I am doing it by myself (this only happens if hubby is not home for some reason).  If I am alone I put Brax in the tub and let him play while I bathe Brook then I put her in the bouncer and bathe/play with Brax.  This takes me like 30 minutes but I enjoy it!!! 
• 7:30-8:00 Hang out/cuddle with the babies. 
• 8:00 Prayers and bed for Brax.
• Between 8:00-9:00 Brook will take a night night bottle and go to bed. 
• To be honest, once Brook is in bed, I rarely stay up- maybe that's why I can bounce out of bed in the morning, haha. 

Anyways, this is a day in the life of.  I mainly included what I do but hubby does do a lot!!!  He is a good wrangler (haha and wrangles Brax while I get stuff done) or sometimes just takes over and let's me go somewhere alone!!!!  Love him!

I know I have been missing...

I know I have been missing for a while, actually a LONNGGG time so this could be a long post!  I do not even know where to start......

• Work- it's been an adjustment but a good one so far.  I am still learning the ropes of the new school and new district it's definitely very different but so far so good.  I loved the people that I worked with at Townley and I miss them dearly but then I remember that I am getting SO much more time with my babies, so much more time in the evenings, I get to sleep a little later and so do the babies, and my favorite thing is that the babies get to stay up later which means we get a lot more time with them every night (this happens to be my most favortist time ever)!  I was very nervous to switch schools, I was so comfortable at my old school and SO comfortable with all of my co-workers but everything has just kind of fallen into place. 
• Our family- To say that we were surprised when we first found out we were going to be a family of four is an understatement.  I think back tonight about how nervous I was, how anxious I was, and how I just didn't know how this was all going to work and I feel so silly...actually STUPID for ever feeling these things.  We are so in love with our babies and love being a family of four.  Sure things take a little more planning, like usually we get two separate babysitters if we are going to be gone a long time or over night because two under two is just a lot to handle for one person that is not used to it, getting ready to go anywhere takes longer, screaming kids are inevitable, things can be wayyyy more chaotic- but thankfully we have learned to just take it in stride. 
• Brooklyn is now three and a half months, yes time flies, and she is just thriving!  After we figured out the reflux issue and everything is under control she transformed into the sweetest, smiliest, little girl.  She smiles at everyone and gets so excited when people walk up to her or talk to her.  She has giggled some.  Daddy is better at getting her to laugh then mommy is but I have been able to get a couple of giggles.  She is still waking up once at night but that is ok because that is our special time and I rarely ask daddy to get up because I know I am going to miss those sweet middle of the night smiles that I get when I go to pick her up out of her crib.  I have no idea how much she weighs but this little girl has filled out.  I know that she has not "chunked up" as fast as Brax did and she still is not eating as much as he did by this point so I imagine that she will be smaller than he is.  She is literally growing up so fast and we are making sure to enjoy every tiny second of it.  Goodness, we literally could not imagine our family without our sweet girl and we are so thankful that the Lord had her in our plans!
• Brax, oh Brax.  He is still our very active boy, but very sensitive little guy.  He is into everything and has such a personality but he is super sensitive and very attached to his mommy (as he calls me now) and daddy.  He can be very strong willed but we continue to push through this phase.  He is talking so much more lately.  Some things are probably not understood by the outside world but we know what he is saying.  He is starting to put two words together and is still in LOVE with animals.  He is now in a twin bed and for the most part has done great.  He never tried to escape his crib once we converted it into a toddler bed so I knew that this wouldn't be too big of an adjustment.  His room is right next to ours so usually I jump up when I hear his door open but there have been a couple of times that he wakes me up when he is standing at the side of my bed saying "up up."  He LOOVVVESSSS his sister.  I really do not know how to explain this love but man it melts my heart.  If I had to guess, on average he kisses her 25-30 times a day for no reason.  These are kisses that he just walks up and gives her not ones that we tell him to give her.  In daddy's truck the car seats are right next to each other and he always leans over and says "sissy sissy sissy" over and over.  He still isn't quite sure why she won't give him a high five as he stands there so patiently with his hand up for what seems like forever (haha).  He has started taking attendance ALL the time- he goes through the whole family over and over.. mommy, daddy, sisssy and sometimes throws in his child care lady "nonna" (Donna).... or every man that he sees is "Papa"... anyways, yes attendance is taken several times a day.  He can say both of his cousins names "Pey Pey" for Peyton and he will call Madelyn "Maddy May."  His appetite is starting to come back, I think.  Some nights he eats like a horse and some nights I just know he has got to be starving but he refuses to eat. 

I am sure there is so much more I could write about but I am literally falling asleep so I am going to gladly go to bed even if it only 850!

I am so behind!

OOPS

Sorry this is sideways and she looks a little stunned.  OOPS

Brother got a big boy bed. 

I know I have been MIA for like four weeks but there is SO much going on and life with two babies is very busy!!!!  All I have for you today is a few pictures.

A New Challenge

Before we get to the title of this post let me back up and fill you in.  Weight has always been a struggle for me... I have gone up and down up and down over and over (and over) in my life.  Weight does not define me as a person but I always feel better when I am in a healthy range.  Weight has always been a huge mental thing for me too... I do not like shopping because I hate being disappointed when things look bad on me or I have to get a size bigger than what I think I should be etc. (I told you it was a huge mental/HUGE insecurity thing)  I was in a healthy weight range when my husband and I first started dating (seven years ago this last Sunday--don't ask why/how I remember that but I do, haha) then the weight started creeping up and up and up.  I was bigger than I wanted to be on my wedding day and guess what happened after the wedding.... it kept going up and up.  I woke up one Saturday and decided that I was going to do something about it so I joined Weight Watchers.  I walked in their that day, all by myself, and that was it.  I lost almost thirty pounds then got pregnant with Braxton.  Knowing what I know about how I gain weight and how easy it is for me to gain weight, I should have known that pregnancy would accelerate that and it did.  I was huge for my short frame.  There was no turning the weight gain around by the point that I had that "Oh poo-poo" moment and realized that I was gaining too much.  So... I got huge and I mean really huge--like saw numbers on a scale that I never ever ever wanted to see.  When Brax was 4 months old I joined weight watchers again and the weight was melting off of me.  I was going to Zumba, I didn't curve from the path, I felt GREAT.  I bought my first pair of shorts in honestly over ten years last summer (again, shorts are a mental thing for me and when I say HONESTLY TEN YEARS, I mean it).  I loved shopping, it was fun!  Then guess what???  I got pregnant again, what??????  haha.  Not the weight gain again.  Anyways, I was more sensable with this pregnancy but the weight still hasn't melted off of me, imagine that.  So, here I am post baby and itching to get in the gym, back to Zumba,etc. 

So onto my new challenge... I am currently working through the Couch to 5K running program.  Now if you know me you know that I can walk from here to El Paso without stopping (ok, not really) but I really do LOVE walking and I walk at a pretty fast pace for my short little legs but I can not stand running.  I have never liked it, even when we were forced to run in middle school cross country (I did win a ribbon once for my mile run), BUT I am determined to finish this.  I started it and now I have to finish it.  I am currently on week 4 and I almost died just now getting through the work out but I turned my radio up so I couldn't hear my foot steps or my breathing pattern (it's a mental thing), turned my phone over so I could not see the countdown timer on my free C25K app, and I ran and better than that... I completed the run for today.  It's not fun and I do not leave the gym thinking that I will ever like running but today I feel accomplished because the run today was the most running I have done so far. 

Anyways, this was a random post about a bunch of hoop-la but I will keep ya'll updated on how the rest of it goes.  I am trying to talk hubby into running a 5k with me when I finish this so we will see. 

Routines, Changes, Etc.

Lots of happenings, kind of, well not really just have not had time to write.  Before I forget to post about her two months I need to do that. 

Brooklyn-2 Months
Things have calmed down for the most part.  We put her on reflux medicine and it has made a world of difference.  She still has her moments but it is mainly when she is fighting sleep or if it is time for her medicine.  We are so thankful that we have found comfort for her and sanity for us, haha.  She is wearing size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes.  I know we (all moms) say this but they grow so fast.  I took the head padding thing (I have no idea what to call it) out of her car seat the other night and she just looked so big.  She is sleeping better, usually up two times a night.  Once between 12 and 2 and once between 2 and 4.  ***Last night she slept all night!!!  Well I say all night, but she slept from around 8:30 until 4:30!!  She also rolled from her stomach to her back yesterday.  I think that it was just a fluke because she was very upset about being on her stomach but we will see--she has yet to do it again.  She loves her brother.  I know it sounds weird saying that because she is only two months old but she tracks him every time that he walks by her and she smiles so big at him.  It melts my heart to see this interaction already going on. 

Brax is 20 months now and we were talking last night and decided that if we could have our children stay one age forever it would be this age.  He is a blast!  I won't bore you with details but he is learning SO much.  He loves animals and knows the sounds to most of them.  He is obsessed with puzzles and this boy is so good at them.  He knows two shapes, stars and circles.  I was so surprised but SO proud, in my nerdy math teacher mind, that he actually started pointing these things out to me and saying the word.  He loves putting the shape blocks into the correct spot and he has a flip up shape book that we has been obsessed with for a while.  All of our time this summer doing these two things has paid off!!!  I am working on other shapes but they are a bit harder to say.  It is so amazing to me at how much he has learned and continues to pick up on so fast. Next week we are starting addition...BAHAHA kidding!

Now onto changes--I say changes but really it's just my babies growing up (mainly Braxton).  I will admit, I am going to be the mom that cries at every milestone, every school program, etc that my children are involved in.  In the last week Braxton has started walking himself to bed.  We say "ok it's time to go night night" and he gets him blanket and walks in there.  (Of course we follow him in there)  Again, I know this is probably not a big deal but this is our "baby," our first born.  He also walks himself into daycare.  Of course, I have no other option because I have to get Brooklyn out but it makes this momma sad.  I have carried my "baby" into daycare since the first day I took him when he was 9 weeks old and now he walks himself in.... hmmph.  Onto another change.... Brook started "school" today because my new hire training started for my new district.  I was better today than the first day I took Braxton, I actually didn't cry (I know you can't believe it, haha) but it still hurt this momma's heart to drop both of them off.  THEN, I got a picture text from Mrs. Donna that said "sleeping on a big boy mat." He no longer sleeps in a pack-n-play but on a mat.... he looked so cute, so peaceful, and SO grown up.   

We have found a new norm with two babies and will continue to find another new norm as school starts back up.  Hopefully, I get into a good morning routine really fast, haha, this morning I was doing so good...both kids up, dressed, packed and ready to go.... then I got in the car and realized I didn't eat breakfast!  Oops, I guess that's part of being a mommy. 

A Blessing

So, remember me posting a picture of being 37 weeks pregnant and having a job interview?  Well, that job didn't work out and neither did 4-5 other teaching jobs that I interviewed for...... BUT, I found one and I am so excited!  The job issue has been a concern of mine since I was very first pregnant with Brooklyn.  The drive was awful, very far, and the time that I had to get my baby up (it was just Brax then) was already early and all I could think about was getting two babies up and ready and out the door by 6:20ish every morning was such a daunting thought.  So in April I started sending resumes, emails, applications, etc. etc. etc. to every school, district, and principal.  I was so excited to get that first interview but it didn't work out.  Then I didn't hear anything else for a couple of weeks then Brooklyn was born and I was so tired/overwhelmed/exhausted/emotional, etc so I had stopped the pestering, yes I will gladly admit that I pestered principals with emails over and over (In the teaching field this is honestly what you have to do so they do not forget your name), and I was just trying to survive day in and day out.  Well, one day the calls started coming and they kept coming and the interviews kept coming and going.  I think I went on 4 or 5 interviews and they were all pretty awful.... I despise the job search and interview process.  Anyways, one afternoon I got a call around 2:30 and this very nice lady asked me if I could be there at 4:30 for an interview so I frantically called my sister to come babysit and went.  The interview went great and I got the job!  I will still be teaching 5th grade math, which I am excited about, but I will be SOO close to home.  This means, my babies can sleep in, I can sleep a little later, we can take our time in the mornings, and even if I have a meeting or some activity in the afternoon, it won't take me another hour to get home!  I am very excited about my new job and the time that it is going to free up for me to be with my family! 

We have a 19 month old and a 1 month old

Before I start.... I know you are totally shocked that you see a new post from me, ha, it doesn't seem to happen much anymore and I do not think for the time being that it will happen much.  I caught a few free minutes (this has taken me over a week to write), if they both stay asleep, so I wanted to do a growth update!

Braxton 19 months

Goodness, where do I start big boy.  He has adjusted well to being a big brother.  I can't say it was an immediate thing but we have seen a huge growth in him recently.  He has become more independent and actually plays with his own toys now.  I know that sounds weird but before Brooklyn he never played with his toys... weird I know because he has so many.  His favorite things right now are books and puzzles. Of course we have our favorite dinosaur puzzle that we put it together at least 50 times a day and every time it is a new exciting adventure--he can actually do this puzzle all by himself!!!  If we lose a piece he walks around looking for it, SO cute and I have to say very smart!  We are working on his colors and animals sounds, no such luck yet, but we go over them every day.  We point to every animal then he looks at me to make the sound-little toot, haha.  His favorite book is a flip up shape book--we read this one several times a day too.  His vocabulary is growing!!! YAY!!  He is still a very quiet child and will talk in his "own" language ALOT, which by the way melts my heart but he does repeat words to us (sometimes) and sometimes he just says words.  He tells us when he is ready to eat by going to his chair and chanting, I mean, repeating over and over "eat,eat,eat." I LOVE LOVE LOVE when we give him something and he says "thank you."  He wears 24 month/2T clothes and a size 5 diaper.  He is our big boy.  Size 5/6 shoes and we weighed him on our scale yesterday and he weighed 28.4 lbs.  I don't think that I did an 18 month post but at his 18 month appt he was in the 75% for heigh and weight and the 99% for head circumference, haha, no big surprise.  He got his momma and papa's head.  He loves the water and still LOVES to be outside, even when it is 100+ degrees.  He now sleeps without railing on his bed.  To be honest, he is probably still a little young but we had changed it to a drop down bed rail (these are the usually used on like twin size beds or you can get them in hotels) and... it was such a hassle.  He drinks a lot of water and then has a glass of milk at night time so he leaks out of his "over night" diapers all of the time.  Well, every time that mommy went to change the sheet (at least 3 times a week) the side rail would come off, annoying!!!  So, one night we decided to let him sleep with it down and he did great so the next morning I  just took it off.  He has done great- no escapes, no falls, etc. (Got a little side tracked there)  He is such a love bug.  We cuddle every morning and every night and then sometimes in between.  Mommy cherishes each and every moment!  He is not very fond of either one of his grandfather's.  He calls them both papa--guess we will figure that one out when he gets a little older, haha.  Side note- yesterday when my dad walked in my grandmother's 94th birthday Braxton yelled "PAPA"--don't let that trick you though, he then bowed his head, puckered his lips, and walked away. HAHA.  He has adjusted well to his "sissy."  There are times when he doesn't quite knows his strength and tries to pat her (gently of course, HA!) or shows me where her eyes are (gently of course, HA) but for the most part he ignores her.  When she cries he says uh-oh, when he gets up in the morning he has to find her-he looks like the bouncer, the swing, etc, he loves to feed her or give her the pacifier.  His fits have calmed way down--I am trying to not get too optomistic about this because I know it is part of the developement process but ever since we brought sister home he has not really been throwing himself on the floor anymore, YAY!  Brax loves doing boy things outside with daddy but is definitely a momma's boy.  He says momma probably close to 200 times a day and when we are sitting on the floor he often runs up to me, puts his head on my shoulder, and pats my back--melts my heart!

Brooklyn- 1 month
Let's see.... she is now in size 1 diapers.  At her two week appt she already weighed 8lbs and when I took her to the dr last Monday she was already up to 9lb 5oz.  She is thriving.  She can still wear some newborn clothes but I have had to move her to some 3 month clothes.  She doesn't take a pacifier very well.  We have had a bit of a learning experience with her--she has cried for the last month.  I even took her to the dr and just said "if she is awake she is crying."  Poor baby.  We have switched her formula, her bottles, put her on gas drops and she was still crying!  Her pediatrician did send us for a sonogram to check for reflux and we found out that she did have some reflux but at this time it is not bad enough to treat so we just keep trucking and figuring this all out.  Last weekend we switcher to soy formula to see if it was a milk issue.  She has been better, not 100%, but we actually have time when she is awake that she is not screaming.  She is sleeping pretty good.  We usually go 4-5 hours during the first span then 2-3 hours after that (usually about 4am).  After her second feeding she is very restless and so she and I usually end up in the living room (her in the swing and me on the couch--hopefully we figure this out soon!).  She has the sweetest smile.  I am not sure if it is actually a responsive smile but she does smile when I talk (sometimes).  This week we brought a play mat home from grammy's house and she has actually been laying on it, kicking her feet, flailing her arms, cooing, etc. Mommy thinks that she is just beautiful and can't wait to get to do girly things together as she grows up. 

Birth Day 5/30/12

I know this is terribly late but life for me after baby is always super overwhelming, emotional, etc (more about this later) and having two little ones under two only adds to the craziness.  Anyways, the night before 5/29 was very emotional, this would be our last night with our first baby, this would be the last night that he was an "only" child, the last night that he wouldn't have to share our attention (can you tell this was a little difficult on this momma?!?!). Anyways, we actually slept that night.  I set my alarm for 3:30 to get up and eat because I couldn't eat anything after 4:00am but when I woke up my chest was literally ON FIRE... WORST heartburn ever- so I didn't eat.  We got up the next morning, I fixed breakfast for Brax, spent time together, loaded up the car, and headed to the babysitter to drop Brax off.  This "normalcy" was important to us because Brax without a nap is a disaster, haha, so we wanted him to go to daycare until after nap then he would come up to see us and meet baby sister.  I cried a little when we left him-it was so scary- would he think that we replaced him? would he feel left out?  All of these thoughts crossed my mind over and over and over.  Anyways, hubby drove awful to the hospital, I joked that maybe I should have driven myself.  We parked the car and walked up to the hospital with nothing but ourselves (ok I had my purse, but that was it).  They instructed us not to bring anything in until we had already delivered and were in an actual room so we just walked in the doors, checked in, got a room, got changed into my lovely gown, and waited.  We got there at 10 and by 1140 they wheeled me back.  Most of our family was there, minus the teachers since it was their last days of school, so we were all in good spirits.  I was STARVING!  The nurse swore up and down I could not eat or drink anything but I told, ok maybe I whined to the anesthesiologist that I was hungry when he came in and he got me some ice chips, the nurse said I lucked out and told the right person.  At 11:40 they said the doctor was ready so they immediately wheeled the bed out of that room....I literally didn't get to tell anyone bye.  Hubby stayed back in the room to get his scrubs on and wait for the nurse to come get him, you know ORs are a no joking matter, haha, he even had to wear a mask!  Last time it was such a rush/emergency to get Brax out that I do not remember much, but this time I was coherent and knew everything that was going on.  The OR was freezing! My nurse, the anesthesiologist, a couple of surgery techs, and I were the only ones in there.  They got my spinal block and epidural put in (this is a whole other post--FYI I hate being numb especially so numb that I can not move most of my body) so this definitely is NOT my favorite thing.  PLUS, just like last time, this medicine does something to my body and all I can do is lay there with my eyes closed.  It is not a good feeling and quite honestly after Brooklyn was born I made the comment to hubby and my mom that I was very glad that this was the last time I would have to ever feel this way.  Anyways, back to the story- hubby came in and of course asked if I was ok, since I was laying there like a dead fish with my eyes shut, haha.  I assured him I was and I was just trying to relax and not panic.  Then it hit me, I thought I was going to lose my lunch, ok so the only thing I had was like 5 ice chips, so the anesthesiologist got me an alcohol swab to sniff and administered some anti-nausea med.  It seemed like this time it took them forever to get the baby out.  Of course they were all talking about normal every day stuff, a house on PK, vacations, etc and here I am wondering what in the world is taking them so long, haha.  At 12:26pm they pulled her out, boy was she mad, I head them suction her and then she let loose.  My dr. brought her around the curtain, you know the big blue one that they hang across your neck, haha, that differentiates between the sterile environment and the non-sterile environment, and all we could say was that's a girl Braxton.  She looked just like him!  Hubby and I had a moment then I sent him off to be with her and I laid there still in my dead fish position with my eyes shut. (PS- I joke now but at the time I really couldn't stop crying because the feeling that this medicine gives me is AWFUL!) I could hear the nurse telling hubby to take all of these different pictures (of her being weighed,etc) and of course our camera batteries went dead so he had to pull out his phone.  Then they brought her to me!  Now, holding a baby when your arms are straight out beside you is impossible AND the nurse was wanting Brook and I to be skin to skin and since I was obviously still being operated on the only skin we could touch was our faces so she was literally JAMMING her up against my face and all I could so was try to breath and ignore the nasty taste of that shiny slimmy stuff they put on the newborns eyes that was obviously dripping in my mouth, haha.  (Side note- my mom said that when I got back to the recovery room my face was super shiny because this stuff was ALL over me!).  Anyways, they finished me up and we headed back to the recover room, I believe it was 1:05ish if I remember the clock correctly as they wheeled me out.

These are my completely drugged eyes. and NO I had not been crying... this was literally from the medicine. Not fun! 

Very unhappy to be out of her dark, warm living quarters

Meeting Momma

And you thought I was kidding.  This nurse was literally laying her on my face! 

We fell instantly in love with Brooklyn and she is such a joy to have in our family.  We are a complete family of four now!

I promise

I promise I will write an official post SOON! I have to say that going from one to two leaves little extra time! For now I'll leave you with some pictures from my phone

Photo Dump

I have taken so many pictures with my phone, this isn't even half! Delivery, coming home, adjusting, still adjusting, etc is keeping us busy busy! No update yet- just a photo dump of random pictures that explain what's been going on :) I promise a formal update will come soon!

This....

This sweet face makes being up at 4:30 so much easier! Love this little girl!!

Such a big boy

Jump Right In

Brax decided last night he was ready for bath before I could even get him undressed! He jumped right in.

Are we there yet?

Yup, I am to that point.... I feel like poo-exhausted, weepy, overwhelmed BUT I keep on chugging.  Hubby insists on me taking the day off but if you could only see my "check out" list that I need to complete before Friday (my last day of work) you would understand why I absolutely can NOT take a day off.  Whew.  Today I feel exhausted and out of breath.  I woke up out of breath... baby must be sitting weird but I am here, at work, and I will survive-hehe.  I am really trying not to complain because I know there are so many women that long to be in my position that struggle with infertility so I just keep picking my weepy self up and chugging on.  I just keep telling myself there is no option, haha.  I am so very thankful for my hubby who just hugs me or lets me cry, A LOT.  I am telling you I am an emotional wreck.  He has also put up with my not so nice self this pregnancy and dealt with my OCD over a lot of things.  He might make the occassional comment that he is ready for my "chipper" self to be back and I am able to laugh about it because I know it is true.  He is such a blessing to Brax and me. 

Anyways, I now have two car seats in my car which equates to NO backseat- but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I did look back yesterday and think how weird it will be to actually have another baby back there.  Our bag is mostly packed.  I have all of hubby's stuff and a few things of mine (I need to get on this) and I have our cosmetics bag started.  I have set out some of Brax's stuff--guess I need to get that done too. 

Brax is such a sweetheart- man I love that little boy.  Random thought, I know, but hey!

Mother's Day Park Adventure

**you won't see me in any of these pictures because I was sort of the tag along, haha, 37 weeks pregnant at the park is not easy.