So close

We're so close to having a baby that sleeps through the night.  Emma slept through, consistently, at 9 weeks.  We moved her to her crib at 10 weeks.  She slept.  We slept.  That's how it works right?

SEVEN.

That's how many hours baby D gave me last night.

SEVEN.

I'll let it soak in.

Hallelujah people.

Chubby wubby

Baby D is napping on my chest.  I know I should be encouraging the crib sleeping, but I just can't pass up moments like this.  I remember when Emma was older, we looked back on some pictures of when she used to sleep on us (mostly daddy) and we missed it so much.  So, I'm trying to soak it in.  Because, today, he is EIGHT WEEKS OLD.  Yep, already.  I have already purged his dresser of all "newborn" sized clothing, and there's some 0-3's that are not far behind.  He's in 1 diapers.  His hair is getting longer by the second.  His eyelashes & eyebrows are darkening.  He's getting chubby wrinkles in his thighs.  He really sees faces.  He smiles back.  He needs his pacifier less.  He is awake more.  He's cute & more cute.

Hi you.

Click! Take a pic!

Eureka!

Fact:  I eat [so much more] during the day when I wear loose fitting clothing.

Fact:  I will stop wearing so much loose fitting clothing.

Old School

^^ This is the reason I keep everything. ^^

These are my old jammas that my mom kept for my daughter to wear "one day".

Well, that day has come.

How cute!

My fix.

To follow up on a recent post on wanting a change....I got my fix.

A new car!

Isn't she glorious?

I had been rolling in a 2-door Honda Civic for 5 years.  It was very reliable, my first car payment ever, and got me back and forth to David when I was down at IU.  It was a great car & I was really sad to leave it.  But...it was time.

Two doors = the exact opposite of family friendly.

The car was in Chicago, so we spent our whole Saturday driving up and back to get it.  We also took both kids.  [Yeh.  We're insane.]  So, with stops for food/feedings and traffic, the whole day was about 11 hours long.

Long day for all.

My Therapy

A few reasons why clotheslines ROCK:

--It's green.  No energy used but my own.

--The smell.  Is there anything better than sniffing your line-dried sheets when you crawl into bed on a summers night?  (one of my best memories from my childhood)

--It's therapeutic.  o.m.g Is it ever.

Sun shining.

Birds chirping.

Those summer bugs buzzing.

Detergent in the air.

Dogs running the yard.

Time to think.

Calmness.

The satisfaction in knowing that I am not running the dryer & Emma will be crawling into a wonderfully scented bed tonight.  :)

Piece of cake

Having your first child:
Challenging because it's new and unknown.  Although, in a matter of days, it becomes easy because you start to learn what that cry means, the feeding schedule, and that the pacifier is a wonderful thing.  Yes, you're up in the middle of the night.  And yes, you're still learning that you needed this toy, but not this swing...or whatever.  It's a big change in your life.

But not as big as having kid #2.

Having your second child: 
Challenging because it's not new and unknown, so you thought you would remember everything that happened with child #1, and it would all be exactly the same (because that's the only way you know); and then all of the sudden...it's so not.  You're still up in the middle of the night.  You slowly learn again that baby #2 doesn't like the swing either (although everyone else in the world swears by it).  Baby #2 eats every 2 hours instead of every 3. <--Big difference.  #2 cries and you soothe with the pacifier rather than pick up and hold, because toddler #1 is upstairs and needs you to go help her.  Baby #2 needs to start napping in his crib, but you can't lay him down at the same time as #1 because you don't want #2 to cry and wake #1 up.  But you would rather they both lay down for naps at the same time because then maybe, just maybe, you could take a shower nap.  (Priorities people.)  Laundry x 2, enough said.  When you have just 1 baby, you can skip lunch because you don't have time to eat.  When you already have #1, you can still skip your own lunch...but not hers.  And no matter what kind of routine you try - it will not work for a while.  There will be days when it all falls exactly where you want it, and you say "I can do this."  Then, that night you'll get woken up 5 times, instead of 3, and nothing seems right as the rest of those 24 hours play themselves out.

Don't get me wrong.  I LOVE having 2 kids.  I know that this is the way it's supposed to be.  I understand that it's not always going to be easy.  I am just simply saying....two is harder than one.  It's a good thing I love these munchkins.  :)

Milestone!

As I type, a very wonderful thing is happening.

Baby Dean is taking his very first nap...in his crib!

Today he is 5 weeks, and he is proving himself to be so much older than he is.  David & I always talk about how we sometimes forget how young he is because he tries to be such a big boy.  He holds his head up on his own about 85% of the time.  He leaned himself up on his elbows at the pediatrician's office at his 1 month check up.  The dr. said "Wow!  That's so great!"  He was born a big boy, so he was never that fragile, tiny baby that we felt we had to be super careful with.

Plus, he rocks the faux-hawk.  :)

Craving

Not for food, but for a change.  I am craving a change with myself.

New hair color? Cut?  No, I've been working way too hard growing it out to cut it now.

Tattoo?  Nah.  I've got 2, and I think that's enough.

Piercing?  I have always wanted to get the little "door" to my ear pierced with a tiny silver hoop.  Am I too old for that?  Can moms have that?  But I'm not sure this would satisfy my craving.

Maybe it's an internal change I need. 
I have been trying to simplify my life.  Get rid of the silly, extra nonsense & fill up with more substantial necessities.

I have these cravings about once a year.  It's just this little bothersome nagging sensation that hangs around until I do something about it.  I just have to figure out what to do.  Hmmmm....

Mama, mama, mama...mama? Mamma! Mama.

There was a time when I could not wait to hear Emma say the word "mama" & know what it meant.  And I feel the same way about Dean finally saying it to me.  But goodness gracious.  I am pretty sure Em has said "mama" twenty-seven-thousand times today....and it's not even 5.  I love the girl.  && I love when she says this.  But I really, truly did just put cartoons on so she would be quiet for 5 minutes. 

Is that wrong?

I need to remember what I told my bf Jill the other day.  One of these days, she is going to be 16 and MAD, and she's going to drive away in a hurry to some boys house.  At that moment, I'm going to think to myself, "Gosh, I wish she was 2 again and my biggest problem was how many times she said 'mama' to me in a day."


....and now I feel guilty.  :(

I'm not the only one that does this right?