5 Months Old

Happy Birthday, Jesus!
Happy Birthday, Charlie!

Christmas Day was Charlie’s 5-month birthday, and he celebrated it by taking lots of naps, lounging in his Granddad’s arms, and “talking” to anyone who would listen (which was pretty much everyone).

Here’s a quick recap of Charlie’s past month:

• You love standing (with support, obv) and jumping.  Your legs are getting so much exercise!
• You took your 2nd and 3rd plane flights.  I’m sure no one will be surprised when I say that you were PERFECT during both.  Not a peep!
• We lost your precious Sophie.  Looks like you’ll be getting an after-Christmas present this year.
• You talk and talk and talk... just like your brother!  We can’t wait to hear what real word you say first.
• Eye infections are no fun.  You had to have antibiotic drops to clear it up, and you also had a pretty yucky cold.  Thanks for sharing both with me!
• You are still pretty obsessed with any food in sight; it’s obvious that you really want a taste.  I’m curious to see how you do with your first foods.  One more month!
• You are a roly-poly baby!  Now, you are consistently rolling over, especially when you are trying to get a better view of mom or dad.
• You have some seriously fabulous belly laughs - the best are saved for your brother, but you are getting more generous with the rest of us.
• Sleep is not nearly as awesome when we are on vacation.  You are currently waking up every 2-3 hours... which you haven’t done since you were a week old.  Crossing my fingers that this gets better once you are back in your own crib.  Please?

Sometimes it is still hard to believe that we have a second son, and yet it seems like we’ve had Charlie forever.  I wish time would slow down just a tiny little bit, and let me enjoy this infant stage just awhile longer... but I’m excited to see what the next month brings!

Merry Christmas!

Our family has been enjoying another wonderful trip to Arizona.  We have spent time with friends, grandparents, great-grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and more.

Christmas morning took just about forever... Carter wasn’t terribly interested in most of his presents (note to self: try buying him things he wants, instead of things I want him to have), but he finally got pretty excited about his new ipod touch.  “It is so important!” Uh, sure it is.  Just what every 5-year old needs, right?  Still, he loves it and has been having a great time blasting playing his music for all to hear.

Charlie was even less enthused with the whole present-opening excitement.  He took two naps during the morning, and left me to open his presents for him.  Luckily, I love unwrapping presents, even if they aren’t for me.

It was a wonderful day, and so special to celebrate the birth of Jesus on the same day as Charlie’s 5-month birthday.  We are so thankful for the gift of our family, and being able to spend so much time together this Christmas season.

I hope your Christmas was as merry and bright as ours was!

Fall Photo Shoot

Don't you all wish you had friends that asked to take gorgeous pictures of your kids just for fun?  I'm so lucky to have met a sweet friend that is just that awesome!  Look at these fantastic moments she captured of my little man...

It was such a beautiful, sunny fall day.  I'm still in awe of the gorgeous leaves - I've been missing out on "real" fall my whole life! A huge THANK YOU to Heather for helping me capture my favorite season and favorite 3-month old - I'll cherish these pictures forever! 

 

1/3 of a Year

Charlie turned 4 months old on Black Friday!  We were enjoying a wonderful trip back home, introducing him to many friends and family that have all been loving on him and passing him from lap to lap.  As long as he is being held, he is happy!  We are so thankful for our sweet baby boy.  I can’t believe how well-tempered and laid-back he is.  Certainly didn’t get it from me...

Charlie, you had a busy, busy month!  Here’s a recap:

• You were an Angry Bird for Halloween... but you were asleep by 6:30, so you didn’t see any trick-or-treaters.
• Every day you get bigger and bigger.  You were 18 pounds, 8 ounces at your 4 month checkup! WHOA!
• Your laughs are plentiful and often.  They light up my days like nothing else.
• You get especially giggly when we play "airplane" or I nom on your tummy and pretend to eat you!
• You love playing with toys, especially stuffed animals.
• Your favorite lovey is a stuffed teddy bear from Carter.  Big brother named him Ronaldo Picklehead.  Awesome.
• You took your first airplane trip.  Even though we flew way past your bedtime and had a stop on the way, you didn’t make a peep the entire trip.  Strangers were complimenting us on our well-behaved boys.
• Thanksgiving was spent with Grandma and Granddad.  You wanted pie SO badly.  I had to hold you away from it because you kept trying to get some.
• You are finally happy to take a bottle.  It's about time!  
• You are a drool-monster!  Slobber, slobber everywhere!
• It is adorable to watch you try SO hard to blow raspberries.  You put so much effort into it, and it is pretty much the cutest thing ever.
• You had your first photo shoot with our friend, Heather Skogen.  It was a beautiful fall day, and you were full of the sweetest smiles. 
• Your second photo shoot with Janelle Zeller was nearly smile-less.  You must have been worn out from all the visiting friends and family.
• You met two baby friends, Eli and Sienna.  It is great to have little friends to play with when we are in Phoenix!
• You are this close to rolling over.  You get halfway then get stuck.  Soon!

What a Love.

So, lately, this blog has been all things Charlie.  And while I'm sure you can understand my obsession with my darling baby, let's not forget baby #1 - Carter.  That boy is something else.  Too much like his momma when it comes to stubbornness and a tendency to talk back... which makes him crazy difficult for me to deal with, but so incredibly easy to love.

My boy has an incredible sweetness and is so incredibly affectionate.  He doesn't care who is watching.  He doesn't yet need to put on a show for his friends.  He just loves us - unabashedly and completely.  Yesterday, I drove him to school for the very first time this year (he usually rides the bus).  I gave him and hug and a kiss and watched him walk from the parking lot to the front of the school.  A few steps from the car, and he turned and yelled, "Another hug and kiss?" He proceeded to blow kisses to me the rest of the way to the door.  Can you believe the sweetness?  I know that the day of all this affection drawing to an end is probably nearing... he is growing up so fast and it is hard to believe that someday he won't want me to hold him and snuggle him and give him "one more" hug and kiss.  But, for now, I'll just enjoy it.  What a little love bug.

Project: Bottle

Charlie is a stubborn little guy.  He knows that if he holds out long enough, he doesn't really have to take a bottle.  If a babysitter or Chris are with him, he'll cry, refuse the bottle until he falls asleep... or until I come home.  No fun for anyone.  It usually isn't a big deal.  I don't have much going on outside the home that takes longer than an hour or so, so it has been almost a month since our last bottle attempt (a miserable FAIL).  But, with a trip back to Phoenix just around the corner, and a 56-hour getaway -without kids- in December, I know it is about time he starts taking the bottle on occasion.  Preferably without tears.

Chris tried this morning.  No luck.  I tried a while later.  YES!  He took it!  My excitement was short-lived when I realized that if I am the only one who he will accept a bottle from, it hardly solves the problem.  Sigh.  Looks like we'll need to try again in the morning.

Trick-or-Treat!

Halloween has never been a big deal to Carter.  He doesn't care much about dressing up in costumes.  Candy doesn't really impress him (I know!! So strange!).  Walking around the block usually makes his lazy side appear.  As you can see, Halloween just really hasn't been his thing.  I figured this year would be just like years past - he would visit a half-dozen homes, complain of being tired and come on home... but, no!  Our little man surprised us all by getting into the Halloween spirit.  He was so excited to go trick-or-treating, mostly to figure out which homes his school friends live in, I think.  Chris took him on a tour of the neighborhood and he returned with quite a nice stash - he even shared his only Butterfinger with me.  Sweet boy.

The absolutely cutest thing?  After he got home, he parked himself on our freezing cold porch with the bucket of candy to pass out to the Trick-or-Treaters.  Instead of waiting for them to come up to our house, he called out to anyone he could see, "Hey!!!!! Kids! Come up here and get some candy!"  He even reported that one girl gave him a hug (let that be a lesson - chocolate makes girls like you!).  We finally had to pull him inside to go to bed, with much protest.  He was just sure that there were more kids that needed his candy.  I love this kid.

 Luigi Carter, eating his Halloween dinner

Before Trick-or-Treating

No cute stories about Charlie's first Halloween night - he was fast asleep by 6:30pm.  I'm lucky I even got one picture with his Angry Bird hat on!  I hope your Halloween was as fun as ours was!

Happy Halloween!

I like to torment my family by making them be in lots and lots of pictures.  Chris and Carter are used to it, and just give me a little eye-roll and sigh.  Charlie, on the other hand, is the main participant in 99% of my photos these days.  For the most part, he just sits/lies there.  Doesn't move much, doesn't complain.  Until now.  Obviously, this was my own fault, but I just had to take one of those baby-in-a-pumpkin photos that all the cool kids are doing now.  First mistake?  Cut the hole too small.  Then, we made it bigger and tried again.  Still too small.  Repeat. Again.  Seriously?!  My child is ginormous!  He needs a super-sized pumpkin for this kind of activity.  Thankfully, my pumpkin-carving professional mom was on hand to help, being supervised by my dad.  Good times for everyone.  Well, except Charlie.  Poor kid... he was doing great the first 3 or 4 tries, but finally gave up and started screaming just when we finally made it the right size to fit his chubby body.  Did I stop and wait until later?  Of course not.  What fun would that have been?  He may end up needing therapy, but I think I captured the best Halloween moment EVER.

The Pumpkin Patch

Grandma Joy and Granddad came for a visit this past weekend.  It was WONDERFUL to see them!  It has been quite an adjustment for me to be living so far from my parents.  When I was a new mom to Carter, my mom was around regularly.  She is one of the most helpful people you'll ever meet - she does dishes, vacuuming, cooking, and on and on - and was so great in helping me adjust to motherhood.  This time around, I don't have her just a short drive away.  A few hours on a plane just isn't the same, you know?  Lucky for me, my mom and dad are able to visit fairly often, but it still felt like forever since their visit 2 months ago.  Charlie has grown and changed dramatically since he was just barely 3 weeks old.  I think they hardly recognized my big boy!

Our favorite part of the weekend was a trip to a nearby pumpkin patch.  We have gone to the desert-style pumpkin patches in AZ, but they were nothing in comparison to this!  Bizi Farms had a cider press, corn/feed grinder for the kids to use, hay bale maze, corn maze, pumpkin "launch"/slingshots, hayrides, pony rides, petting farm, pony rides... it was seriously amazing.  We took the hayride out to the pumpkin patch and picked out 5 fabulous pumpkins (Chris has quite an eye for this!).  It was nice and chilly, but not rainy at all.  A perfect way to spend time with our super-loved Grandma and Granddad.  I think Charlie had the best time of all - Grandma carried him around in the wrap all morning.  Soooo comfy!

3 Months Old

Little Charlie, what a beautiful boy you are!  You have had a fantastic 3rd month of life, and are learning and growing faster than I ever thought possible.

• You are obese very healthy!  Today, you weighed in at 17lbs, 3oz. Whoa. 
• You are sleeping like a CHAMP!  You go to bed at about 7pm and don't wake up until around 5am to eat, then back to sleep until around 8:30.
• You are in love with your thumb.  It soothes you in your crib and entertains you in the car.
• You find your hands to be quite fascinating - you stare and stare at them while you slowly move each finger.  
• Your favorite toy is a little stuffed monkey.  You could look at him all day and give him the sweetest smiles.
• You love to be carried around in the wrap.  Anything that keeps you superclose to momma is a good thing!
• Putting yourself to sleep has become easier and easier.  We snuggle you, kiss you, and tell you goodnight... and you usually let us leave the room without too much protest.
• Big huge smiles and *almost* giggles are our favorite things.  You always have extra smiles for Carter.
• The way you break away in the middle of nursing, just to give me an ear-to-ear grin is so very precious.
• The bouncer is lots of fun.  You hang out and play while I'm cooking or folding laundry, and watch the waterfall and birds intently.
• Toys are finally becoming interesting.  You love to lay in the "baby gym" and touch the hanging toys.
• Tummy-time is lots of fun!  As long as we put some interesting toys in front of you, you'll hang out on your stomach for quite some time.
• You love to walk outside.  Taking Carter to/from the bus seems to be one of your favorite things to do.  You are so focused on the trees, and love feeling the fresh air.
• Old MacDonald is your favorite song.  You smile SO big every time I sing it.
• Your eyes are still blue.  I'm starting to think they might actually stay this color! 
• You have the smallest patch of hair on the nape of your neck that hasn't fallen out.  Otherwise, you are pretty much bald. 
• The carseat is your least favorite place to be.  Lucky for you, we keep the car trips to a minimum these days.
• Your sweet personality is starting to come out - you are such a happy and content baby.  How lucky are we?

My Grandma Jan kindly pointed out that I haven't been posting many pictures of my darling baby boy... and that is something that needs to be rectified promptly!  Enjoy this moment captured of little Charlie -

Perspective.

Charlie has a little sniffle.  Nothing major, just enough for me to want to give him extra sleep and snuggles and keep that awful nose-aspirator handy, just in case.  A little cold is hardly blog-worthy, usually, but today it felt so different.  I had this moment of incredible thankfulness.  I am thankful that all I have to deal with is a cold.  The worst injury Carter has ever sustained only required a couple of stitches.  No big deal.  My two boys are healthy and happy and have such very minor complications in their lives, so far.  How very blessed are we?

Yesterday, I was introduced to the blog of a seriously amazing mother, Courtney Roth.  Her sweet boy has a condition called Epidermolysis Bullosa.  Her son, Tripp, has an incredibly difficult and painful life, and somehow she manages to be positive and see the best in the situation that has been given to them.



How often do I complain or get caught up in the "difficulties" of our life?  Too often.  Especially considering our life is pretty amazing.  Yet, here is a woman who was told that her precious child probably wouldn't even survive his first year, giving all of her love and energy so selflessly, day in and day out.  There are probably few easy days for her and Tripp.  And there are so few hard days for our family.  We are so incredibly blessed to have been entrusted with the care of these two perfect boys.  I need to take a lesson from Courtney and remember to enjoy the blessings I have.  Every single day.  Because I have no idea how long I have to enjoy them.

If you want to read more about Courtney and Tripp, or to vote for them to win a feature in Reader's Digest to spread the word about his condition and $25,000 for the cause (she's in the lead right now, and every vote will help keep her there!), please click HERE.

Just a little reminder to hug your babies (or mine! They love extra hugs!) and be extra thankful for the blessings in your life.

Worth Remembering

This is probably something I should re-read... everyday.

“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather.I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous.

I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized.


If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”  -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Save My Life!

Carter: Mom, I need you to buy Lifesavers.  You know, the kind that are red and green and other colors with a hole in the middle.  They are really healthy.  They save your life!

Uhhh... thanks for the genius marketing ploy, Lifesavers.  I gave him an apple instead - I told him it would keep the doctors away :)

2 Months Old!

Happy 2-month birthday, little one!

This month, Charlie...

• has been sleeping 5-6 hours before waking to eat
• has 3-4 naps each day
• took his first bottle
• had his first babysitter
• has been a coo-ing machine - ooos and ahhhs, gooos and gahhhs
• smiles all day long
• loves to be carried in the Moby wrap
• prefers to be held
• enjoys the swing or bouncer for about 10 minutes before asking to be held... again
• loves bathtime
• protests when I try to clean out his neck rolls every morning
• still hasn't had a single "blow-out"... knock on wood
• has pretty blue eyes
• attended 3 mommy&me yoga classes
• went to his first Kindermusik class
• weighed in at 14lbs 10oz

It is so fun to see Charlie's personality start to develop.  He is such a sweet and happy baby.  So easy-going and loves to smile at his family.  His adorable coos are getting longer and more complex every day. I'm pretty sure he's a genius.

Chubby Baby

Being that Charlie is my last tiny baby, there is something in me that just longs to keep him small and snuggly forever.  However, in his first act of rebellion, Charlie has decided to grow. Rapidly.  Of course, I have noticed that he's been getting bigger... I packed up all of the 0-3 month clothes and my arms are constantly tired from holding my little man.  But nothing prepared me for his two-month check-up.  Charlie is already 14 pounds and 10 ounces.  Oh. my. obese chubby. baby.

Month One Recap (just a little late!)

I am really good at a lot of things.  But I am really bad at keeping track of important dates/milestones.  You would think that a baby book would be the perfect thing... but I can never seem to remember to write anything in it.  Occasionally, I'll think about it, but that usually happens when I'm out to lunch or in the shower or somewhere decidedly bad for actually following through and writing.  So, in an attempt to keep track of some stuff - here is a (late) recap of Charlie's first month:

• You graced us with your presence 10 days early.  Thank you!
• You were a water-in-water baby (water birth, plus born with the amniotic sac intact)
• You had a fabulous head of hair, but at one month it is half-way gone.
• You sleep about 4 hours at a time at night.  Not bad!
• You aren't very fond of the pacifier.
• You still haven't had a bottle yet.
• You stay awake for about 1 hour between 2-3 hour daytime naps.  Such a sleeper!
• You aren't thrilled by the swing or the bouncer.  You only tolerate them for about 5 minutes.
• You are a "hold-me" baby and always want to be in someone's arms.
• You have visited at least a dozen restaurants around Portland.
• You make the most unbelievably cute face when you stretch right after eating.
• You seem to choke and cough every single time you eat.
• You spit up a ton. Gross.
• You love the bath, and big brother loves to help bathe you.
• You grew out of your newborn cloth diapers in 3 weeks - they were supposed to last 3 months!
• Your brother calms you down when you are fussy by singing, "Twinkle, Twinkle".
• You started smiling - REAL smiles - at 4 weeks old.
• You can only manage a few smiles a day.  Hard work!
• You will nap anywhere - the car, the couch, our arms, the floor, the crib.
• You moved into your crib at 4 weeks old.
• You are a super noisy sleeper.
• You rarely cry, and just "complain" a little bit.
• You are gaining weight like a champ - 11 pound 6 ounces at 1 month old.
• You have perfect chipmunk cheeks.
• You are pretty much the most amazing baby I ever could have dreamed of.

Only a couple of weeks until he is two months old.  Time is going too fast! I wish he would stay tiny and newborn forever :) Okay, maybe not...

Milk

Charlie boy is already 6 weeks old... and still hasn't had a bottle!  A few nights ago, I fed him and then escaped to the grocery store.  Chris was a little worried about being alone with both of the boys, but I reminded him that it can be done.  After all, I do it everyday, right?  Well, I underestimated just how much Charlie would need me.  Even though I had fed him right before leaving, he quickly decided he was hungry again (boys - they always want what they can't have, right?).  So, he cried and cried until Chris finally gave up and texted me - Please come home!  Poor baby finally fell asleep, thanks to the good use of the paci (he's finally taking it occasionally).  Here's what he looked like when I got home:

Isn't he cute??

So, it looks like if I ever want to grocery shop alone again, I need to make some changes.  I've been lazy about starting to pump.  It isn't a big deal, I just have about a million other things that I'd rather be doing, you know?  But, this morning, I finally set everything up and got to work.  I already have 4 oz. of milk to put away for my next outing.  Now the only question is... where should I go?  

Meet the Teacher

Meet the Teacher night always makes me nervous - usually because I'm the teacher.  Somehow I was still a little apprehensive tonight, as Carter and I set out to meet Mrs. T.  Will she like Carter?  Will she like me?  Will she think I'm a bad parent because he is a challenging kid?  Sigh.

This Meet the Teacher night was unlike any I've ever experienced in my teaching career.  First of all, I have only taught in Title I (read: POOR) schools, and parental involvement was super low at all of them.  My last school usually only had 1-2 parents show up for PTO meetings.  So sad.  So, imagine my surprise when I show up 10 minutes early, and the parking lot is already completely full.  I had to park down the street and walk the rest of the way.  Seriously!  I can't imagine if I'd just been on time... I would have needed a shuttle!

Kids and parents were already lining up outside of the classrooms, and we quickly discovered that Carter knows two of the boys in his class from our neighborhood.  Carter was his usual chatty self, asking all of the kids questions - name, age, favorite soccer player - and jumping around yelling, "I'm going to kindergarten!"  His excitement was adorable.

Mrs. T seemed nice enough, but I just couldn't stop myself from taking inventory of the classroom.  I was judging.  No smartboard.  No computers.  No RUG.  How do you have a kindergarten class without a rug?!  I know that kids are taught successfully without all of the bells and whistles of classroom technology, but I've become so accustomed to having access to the very best technology available that I can't imagine running a classroom without it.  It will probably be good for Carter to have 6 hours a day without anything electronic though! 

I am so excited for Carter to have his first day at Kindergarten on Thursday.  I hope he loves it... and I hope his teacher loves him.  How could she not?  He's pretty awesome.

Changing My Ways.

So, in case you haven't heard - I have a challenging child.  Not just a little challenging, but big-time-behavior-plan-push-your-buttons-on-purpose kind of challenging.  I love him... a lot.  But I definitely find myself at a loss in dealing with his behaviors sometimes.  The arrival of Charlie has brought on some new interesting behaviors, such as throw-himself-on-the-floor fits, hitting himself in anger, and saying pretty hurtful things.  I'm not surprised that things are especially difficult right now, but it certainly makes things worse when I'm so very tired from being up 2-3 times each night and have very little extra patience.

Thankfully, I stumbled upon a really fantastic blog the other day.  On Real Child Development, the author, Leslie has really given me some insight into dealing with my spirited child.  I've found that I'm so concerned with stopping the behavior, that I don't always bother to address the feelings behind it.  I'm too focused on making sure he is obedient, which of course is also important, but there is SO much more to his behavior issues than just choosing to be disobedient.  He makes those choices because he is usually truly upset about something.  I have been using some of Leslie's ideas, have challenged myself to NOT raise my voice and give orders... but to keep calm (the hardest thing of all) and talk to Carter.  This doesn't mean he doesn't have to listen to me.  It just means that I will finally listen to him, too.

So far, so good.  It hasn't been a miraculous turn-around, but there have been some huge improvements.  Acknowledging his feelings calmly, but still being firm with my boundaries and consequences isn't always easy - but I can tell that he is slowly coming around.  He's a challenging one, all right.  Good thing I'm up for the challenge!

Family Outings

While some days I like to laze around the house, never even bothering to get out of my pajamas, I know that our family gets a little restless if we don't leave the house on the weekends.  This weekend, I found lots for us to do.  We started on Saturday morning at the Portland Farmer's Market.  I seriously love this place.  It is by far the very best market I have even seen.  There are millions (or a hundred-ish) vendors selling the most beautiful produce, fabulous flowers (the dahlias are unbelievable right now), and delicious food.  To be honest, we really go for the prepared food.  We have a favorite vegan/gluten-free bakery that only sells their product at the market... so we can only get our fix once a week.  Now, if I am declaring love for a vegan/GF bakery, you know it must be great.  I usually only endorse full gluten-containing products with lots of butter in them, but Petunia's really knows what they are doing.  Delish.  Carter surprised us by finally having a decent trip to the market.  I totally get that it isn't his favorite place.  There are lots of things he can't/shouldn't touch, it is super busy and he has to stay close to us at all time - not his favorite things.  But, I'm a firm believer that even though he doesn't love it, he still has to come and behave - we shouldn't have to skip our favorite weekly outing just because the dictator 5-year old says so.   He was rewarded by a lengthy visit to the adjacent playground, which was full of kids that had been dragged to the market by their parents.

On Sunday, we all went to a street fair.  Portland is so much fun.  Every weekend there are a huge number of great family-friendly activities to choose from, and one of my very favorites are the street fairs around town.  This weekend, the Hawthorne neighborhood had an incredible street fair - complete with kids' activities like face painting and rock-wall climbing, good food, bands, and businesses displaying some cool stuff.  Charlie was amazing - he had an awesome power nap... for 3 HOURS while we walked around.  Didn't wake up once!  Carter rode his new razor scooter around, chatting up every person he saw, and even attempted to climb the rock-wall.

It was a great family weekend.  Now, back to single parenting, as Chris gets ready to head out of town tomorrow morning until Thursday night.  4 days with my 2 boys - and no more summer camp.  Uh-oh!  At least it'll probably give me something good to blog about!

Happy Birthday, Charlie!

Wow. One month old.  It actually makes me a little sad to see how fast Charlie is growing.  Our family is complete with two beautiful boys, but I just adore this newborn stage so much that it is hard to believe that this is my last one!

Little Charlie is growing so quickly.  He was born at 7lbs 15oz, but came home from the hospital at 7lbs 4oz.  At one month old, he is already 11lbs 6oz!  What a little chub!

Charlie at 1 week, 2 weeks and 1 month

What a little love bug!  We'll definitely keep him.

A New Project!

I just don't have enough to do.  Life as a stay-at-home-mom of 2 busy boys is just too easy.  I needed a new project.  Oh, wait.  You aren't buying that?  Hmm.  Well, even though my life is crazy busy at the moment, I have some high hopes that I'll have a tiny bit of extra time once Carter starts kindergarten next week.  What will I do with that extra time, you ask?  Blog!  Obviously, I already have a blog, but it is all about the family.  My new project will chronicle my attempts in the kitchen, craft room, and garden (if I ever get going with that!).  I hope you find a minute to stop by and say hi at The Happiness of Rainy Days.

So Hard.

I thought adding a new baby would be tricky - back to sleepless nights, endless amounts of poop, and a baby that is attached to my boob 20 hours a day.  But, here's the thing... I really just thought the baby stuff would be hard.  Not so.  The baby stuff has actually turned out to be relatively easy (dare I say that? Knock on wood...).  Charlie is a sweet baby - he sleeps well, for a newborn, he eats well, and my obsession with cloth diapers has made the frequent changes better than expected.  The hard part was what I didn't expect - Carter.

He is pushing every button he can think of to try and get attention - negatively - from me.  This morning, I told him that he could not bring snacks to summer camp.  He's been going to camp ALL summer, and they provide the snacks - why are we even talking about this?  Instead of being reasonable about it, he totally flipped out.  Seriously.  Like a two-year-old-on-the-floor tantrum.  Of course, this was followed by my threat of "Put those snacks away and get in the car in the next 10 seconds or else...".  Unfortunately, it just got worse from there.  Refusal to leave the house.  Refusal to buckle seat belt.  Unbuckling seat belt as I was backing out of the driveway.  I thought it was going to make my head explode.  Luckily, my head is still intact, but now we have a host of consequences - no wii, ipod, ipad, computer or tv for the rest of the day.  Have I mentioned that it is raining outside?  Bummer.  He's going to have one boring afternoon.

Maybe I'm not providing enough positive reinforcement?  Maybe this is completely normal?  I just feel like mornings like this are *way* harder than I ever thought they would be.  Sigh.

Pacifiers

As a first-time mom, I swore I wouldn't use a pacifier.  I felt like many parents just pop a pacifier in their baby's mouth instead of trying to figure out what their baby actually needs.  I didn't want to start a habit that would be hard to break later, and it seemed like Carter got along just fine without one.

Fast-forward 5 years to baby #2: Charlie loves to eat.  Well, more accurately, he loves having something in his mouth.  Unfortunately, this means that he wants to eat all of the time - but ends up spitting up tons of milk because he truly isn't hungry at all.  What a waste a of precious sleeping time milk!  I'm definitely a lot more relaxed this time around, and I'm no longer concerned about starting a bad habit or relying on the pacifier too heavily.  I went to my favorite eco-friendly baby boutique and bought a couple of bpa/phosphate/phthalate-free pacis and an adorable clip to keep it attached to Charlie.  Can't have it falling on the floor!

We'll find out soon if he actually likes it...
 

2 Weeks Old!

Our house has been a whirlwind of activity during the past two weeks.  Nana (Chris's mom) stayed with us for the past 3 weeks - one week in anticipation of Charlie's early arrival - and Chris's sister and brother-in-law were with us over the past weekend.  Carter and Charlie have had tons and tons of attention... but now it is time to get back in the routine of our regular life.  

Charlie had his 2 week check-up today, and he has already hit 9lbs!  Not bad, considering he came home from the hospital weighing about 7lb 4 oz (born at 7lb 15oz).  He is one happy eater and is growing fast. He has also gained almost 2 inches!  He's definitely going to be a little chubber like his brother.  He is sleeping really well, 3-4 hour stretches usually, and he doesn't seem to know how to cry.  Well, he definitely makes his needs known, but in a much cuter, squeakier way.  I'm sure the crying will kick in at some point, but I'm hoping he holds off as long as possible!

Carter has had a hard time adjusting to the diverted attention.  He does not like to share mom and dad, and the disruption of his regular routine has been really tricky.  Luckily, he LOVES his little brother and cuddles him at every opportunity.  He even "babysits" him when I take my shower (don't worry - Charlie is always strapped in a bouncy or swing, so Carter doesn't have to really do much of anything!).  This morning, Carter called to me, "Mom! Charlie is making noise, so I'm singing to him."  Awww... brothers.  Love it!

Guess Who!

Time to play the "Guess the Baby" game!
So, which baby is which?
Carter? Charlie? Hmmm...

Cloth!

Here's a little peek at Charlie in his very first cloth diaper, getting ready from his trip home from hospital #1.  Other than the disposables we used at the hospitals, and a couple that Nana used while Chris and I were out, Charlie has been in cloth diapers the whole time.  I was a little intimidated at first, but I'm definitely starting to get the hang of it - and Chris is, too!  The washing isn't nearly as yucky as I imagined it to be, and there really isn't anything cuter than a little cloth-diapered bum.