Adam: 22 months

As I have said before, life is hard right now with two little boys, but so good! I find that the days seem to fly by even when I have such good intentions. We still are up a bit a night so we sleep as late as Adam will let us (ha!), and it seems that by the time we all get cleaned up for the day, we have a bit of playtime before lunch, then its nap time, and then its time to get stuff together for evening activities, dinner, bedtime etc!

So a few things like thank you notes, laundry, and weeding are taking a backseat to baby loving, baby holding, baby feeding, diaper changing, puzzle working, book reading and ball throwing. Honestly, I probably don't let chores "go" as much as I should. I do not want this time with my boys as little babies to pass me by, so I am working on it, but it is something with which I often struggle. I am thankful for gentle reminders to live in the moment, even as I walk through figuring out how to get two babies to sleep on nights I'm home by myself, but I wouldn't have my life any other way. So I try to take in my sweet Adam's sing song-y voice as he talks himself to sleep at night, breathe in the smell of my new Caleb's hair while he rests on my shoulder, and know that I only get to live this day once.

Today is the day that my sweet toddler turns 22 months old! Two months from now we'll be celebrating his SECOND birthday (reflectant sigh....).

Adam, there are SO many precious things you are doing right now that I just want to take it all in! If I could videotape all day, I would (well, MOST of the day). I just want to take in every moment, enjoy it, LIVE it, and remember it, for life with you is just so much fun! You made your dad and me a real family, and we love you so much. Now we also have your baby brother, and it is so fun to watch you love on him. You are such a good big brother!

So what are you doing these days?

• Talking! Everyone has told me that you will get to a point where your spoken vocabulary takes off, and since the last week or two, I really think we are there. You are like a little sponge, listening and saying so much. You've started putting strings of words together, and I love your little voice. You say, "Tank tu mama" (thank you) and it makes me want to give you anything you ask for!


• You love to wave bye bye to everything and everyone, even the house when we back out of the driveway. Airplanes in the sky, cars we pass, animals we see, and people we visit. You say, "Bye-bye, c-ya!", wave and blow kisses.


• You love to brush your teeth, but you really love the toothpaste. We are working on brushing better but you really want the toothpaste reapplied about 7 times per brushing! At times I've seen you try to eat it straight from the tube.


• You are starting to climb on everything. The toilet to get to the sink (turning the water on and off is fun!), the kitchen chair to get to the stool to get on the bar (yikes!). Your bed, the couch, Caleb's crib, etc. You will lift heavy objects to bring them in to help you climb better! Even at the playground you are less afraid of heights.
  
• Sound puzzles are your favorite toy now. You have learned animals and modes of transportation and the sounds they make, and now we talk about animals and cars all the time. You give us a good growl when asked what sound a Wildcat makes, and our favorite is the sound a horse makes ("Whoooaaa!" as in "Whoooaaa, horsey!")


• Since Caleb was born you have been sleeping fairly well in your new room and in your twin bed. You made the decision to start sleeping there and are getting the hang of it. When you wake up, you come get in our bed, sometimes scaring the life out of me!
  
• You are an active little guy, and it takes some stamina to keep up with you! You play hard, and you rarely go at a pace slower than a run. You are so fun. You tell us, " 'Mon mama" while motioning for us to "C'mon!"
  
• Little Rosie dog is your favorite. You talk about her, miss her, know which way we should turn in the car to get to her house, and even look at pictures of her. Anything she does makes you laugh!
  
• You love to go bye-bye. This month was the first time I noticed you were really able to sing along with a few of your favorite songs.


• You love to sing and dance.


• You try to open all doors with our keys, and your own fake set of keys will not suffice. Many times we must look for our own car keys under the seat of your little fire truck ("Woo Woo!"). Its also a good place to hide our phones, too!


• You love to help put things away, and your dad often jokes that we should not try to mess with your sense of organization! You always seem to remember which toy pieces go together and where everything is put away.


• You laugh so hard when your daddy throw you in the air or kisses your belly.


• While you are talking yourself to sleep, you always play with your daddy's wedding band or flick my finger nails (ouch a little bit!)
  
• You are a good helper with your brother, and you give him lots of love and kisses.


• You love to read your board books. Your current favorites are the Night Night book, Farm Animal book, the Truck book (still), your books that make noises, the Foot Book, and any books with animals or cars.
  
• You are wearing Size 18 month shirts and Size 12 month shorts (soon to move up I think), Size 5/6 shoes and Size 4 diapers.

You are now the big brother, but you are still my little boy.

I love you!

- Mama

Gameday Ready

So this is how we roll on game days...

The whole team gets up and puts on our game day uniforms

This time we went to Nana and Grandad's to eat lots of food and watch the game.

Gran Jan came over too.






So maybe EVERYONE doesn't watch the game...


But we sure look cute anyway...

And we even "DROOL BLUE" on game days... (thanks Bridger!)

It can be pretty exhausting, really.

I remember when Adam first wore this. Remember? But Adam was about five months old! Caleb is five weeks!

One Month Old

While it seems that it was only last week that we woke up and went to the hospital knowing that would be the day we would meet our sweet Caleb, it has now been one month! Time flies when you are having fun…and have a 1 year old…and are sleep deprived!

What is life like with "little bit" right now?
-Caleb is growing! Today we had a doctor's appointment and he weighed 10 lbs, 15 oz. He's gained nearly 2 lbs in ~2 weeks!
-He sleeps quite a bit during the day and night. When he is awake, he is bright-eyed, usually hungry, and still easily startles.
-He is a grunter! He grunts and makes a cute snorting noise when he is mad or hungry.
-He is wearing some a couple of bigger newborn-sized outfits, and some 0-3 month clothing. He now wears size 1 diapers.
-He loves the bouncy chair when the vibration is on, and today has had a really nice nap in his swing.
-He has really long fingers and toes, plenty of dark brown hair, dark blue / gray eyes.
-Caleb loves to make pouty or serious faces. We'll have to work on that or he'll get permanent frown lines on his head! He doesn't cry much, though. Usually only if hungry, wanting held, or cold.
-Speaking of cold, he is not! Caleb is like having a little hot pack on you.
-Bath time starts with lots of cries (hello, this is when I am cold!) but once he is in the water he is fine to stay there.
-Caleb is not too fond the of paci, but is soothed by drives in the car (with minimal stoplights, ha!)
-Yesterday I noticed Caleb watching the mobile on the swing.
-Two weeks ago, Caleb managed to roll over while getting a diaper changed, but he hasn't offered to do this since.
-He still looks a lot like Mommy's baby picture. I'll try to scan that picture in for comparison sometime.
-Today he had his first "sick" doctor's appointment (boo!). He doesn't seem to feel bad, but he has had a cough for two weeks that he just can't kick! The pediatrician prescribed some medicine for him, so hopefully this will help.

Check me out relaxing outside with Mommy!

Life is different with two little boys, but so good! We have two sweeties, for sure!

Backseat Driver

We thought we'd give you a peek into all the new vehicles we have at our house now. Since we've gotten all these new rides, we've noticed that Adam has opinions about which way we should go when David or I am driving. There is one street in particular that Adam is opinionated about, and if you aren't paying attention, he will remind you which way you should go. The answer is LEFT!

This is one of the newest "rides". You may recognize it from your childhood, in fact!



Aww, yes...the Cozy Coupe! Also available in blue top at Nana & Grandad's house.



Complete with a cupholder / bubble wand holder. What more would a boy want?



This may be the newest ride we have, and let's just say we have some work before we can say we are competent with the accelerator. But there's a handy place to keep your tools in the front!



This little ride has its days. We've had it awhile, it was a gift from Mamaw and Papaw Bell, Adam's great grandparents, and we've been waiting on his feet to reach the pedals. I'm pretty sure they can now, but we're still learning to pedal. But the streamers are fun, and it has a storage bin in the back that's great for carrying leaves and sticks. Also available in green at Lan and Papa's house.



We have this model available in several different options: brown double stroller, gray umbrella stroller, or gray and green single version. Either way, we get our use out of them.



The first and last come equipped with baskets that should not be used for this:



And even though this picture is from Christmas, Adam still loves this fire truck. He loves to beep the horn and ring the bell button, and he has now learned to jump up with his legs while sitting on it. (Boys + loud noises = fun times)



So we've left off a wagon or two...you get the idea! But let's hope its awhile before he drives anything like this! As Aunt Debbie learned, when you are around Adam, you must keep your keys ("tees") out of sight at all times!

Caleb's Crib

Caleb wanted to invite you to take a peek at his room!











Thanks for looking. Come visit us sometime!

Visiting the Doctor

Wednesday was Caleb's two week appointment at the doctor. We are enjoying these appointments before immunizations begin. The purpose of this appointment was to make sure Caleb had made it back to his birth weight. When we left the hospital, Caleb was already gaining some back after losing down to 7 lbs, 11 oz. Sure enough, he had far surpassed his brith weight and was up to 9 lbs, 1 oz (55th percentile), and measured 22.5 inches in length (95th percentile). All was well with our baby boy!

I am down to my last few days of having David home with me. I have been really fortunate to have him for these three weeks! I can't imagine what I would have done otherwise. He is always a wonderful husband and father, but he has been especially appreciated. Recovering this time for me has been a bit slower, and its been compounded by having an active 21 month old at home.

Adam has done well with Caleb at home; he loves to kiss and pat baby brother and is usually eager to offer the paci to Caleb or throw away dirty diapers. But as expected, Adam makes sure that he isn't lacking attention, so if he wasn't already, he is Daddy's boy now!

Welcome Home Caleb!

After three nights at the hospital, we came home on Friday, July 30. It was a hot, hot, sunny day. David picked up Adam so that the three of us could bring Caleb home together. Uncle Scotty had stopped by to visit so he was also at the hospital to help carry stuff out and served as the answer to how we would logistically get ourselves out to the car since I couldn't walk that far or carry much and it was doubtful Adam would walk that far either. I'm sure this is only the beginning for us in learning how to function as a family with two small boys.



Thanks to Nana for decorating our yard!

Adam made sure his new brother stayed in his seat.



It looks like Mommy or Daddy should have made sure his head didn't slump to the side!



Later in the day Lan (David's mom) had fixed a tasty lasagna, salad, and Italian bread for all of us with homemade angel food cake and fresh strawberry toppings for dessert. Nana and Grandad, as well as GranJan came over to eat with us.



Caleb has made himself pretty comfortable at home!

Introducing Caleb James...

Our newest miracle was born on Tuesday, July 27th at 8:49 AM, Caleb James. Caleb weighed 8 lbs, 4 oz and was 20.5 inches long, with a head full of dark brown hair! Caleb has the sweetest little cry, is a cute little snorter, loves to be cuddled and loving him is irresistible!



Check out that hair! It was long enough for a part!



Sweet sleeper...

Dreams of Little Boys

When I was a little girl, I can remember my Nana tape recording my brother while he made different siren noises. Even when he was really little, he could distinguish between a police car, a fire engine, or an ambulance. At his third birthday party, we played "pin the wheel on the firetruck", and his room was filled with firemen stuff. It was always his dream to be a fireman.

You can imagine the excitement of two boys, one grown and one little, when my dad took Adam to the fire department on Friday while Uncle Scotty was working. Uncle Scotty gave Adam the grand tour, and Adam got to "drive" the big engines, try on the fire hats, and even see an ambulance and a fire call. Thanks Uncle Scotty! I am sure we will be back!

Preparing for Baby...

So yeah, its been awhile. When I first learned about this pregnancy, I was very excited but also a little scared about how we would manage with a busy little 19 month old (almost 20 now) and a new baby. As time went on, I allowed the encouragement I received from others to sink in and I became busy making plans and getting things ready for this baby. I have had a long list of things I wanted done before the baby came, and while most of these things are of utmost importance only to me, I have made a good dent in that list. Rooms are now painted (its a boy, by the way!!!) and I feel less pressured now that we have a few things replenished such as newborn diapers, thanks to my husband. So now, its starting to become real again that in a few short weeks, another sweet babe will be here taking over, ahem, sharing our home with us.

In all that busyness plus some time of just not feeling like it, I neglected writing even when I had ideas or things I wanted to share. So it will make me feel better to say that Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's day, our 4th anniversary, the big 3-0 for me, plus other milestones for Adam, all happened at our house even though I probably won't be uploading pictures. We're moving forward from here, friends!

I am now at 35 weeks as of tomorrow morning, thanks to many answered prayers, this little guy has stayed put. Its hard to believe that by this time in my pregnancy with Adam, he was home after spending a month in the hospital! How different this time has been! So now my friends who are moms can relax that I am experiencing many of those third trimester joys that I "missed out on" last time. Swollen feet and fingers-check, back pain-check, fatigue to rival the first trimester-check. You get the idea. Our little man is scheduled to come on July 27th unless he comes earlier.

Sixteen month update

My baby boy turned 16 months old this month, and in case I haven't said it before, he is such a blessing. Here are a few things I don't want to forget:
My baby boy turned 16 months old this month, and in case I haven't said it before, he is such a blessing. Here are a few things I don't want to forget:
• He's learning new words every day. I really struggle to pinpoint the day of his "first word" but I'd guess it has to be dada. He's been saying that forever and at some point along the way, is now sure of its meaning. Some other words he can say when he wants to are: Momma, ball, bye-bye, bobby (bottle), wo (hello, when he's talking on the phone), and baby. I know I'm missing a few… He babbles nonstop though, and has babbled "diddler, diddler, diddler" for quite some time. We're still working on that one, but I really think he just loves to work his tongue.
• He loves to pick out books to read, and while he doesn't always sit long enough for the entire book, he jumps up to get another one. His faves are "Night Night Little Pookie", "My First Truck Board Book", "Baby Einsten First Words", and "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can you?"
• Adam currently wears about 12 month clothing. Sometimes a little smaller, sometimes 12-18 months. His 9 month pants are getting too short, but his 12 month pants are still a little big in the waist. We need baby belts or something. He wears size 4 shoes and size 4 diapers.
• Adam still loves to take a bath. He loves to splash and play with all his bath toys. He also has learned to let the water out of the tub.
• He loves putting lids on things now, so emptying and filling is a favorite.
• He loves to put the phone up by his head (read…on shoulder, elbow in air) and say "Wo", then babble into the phone
• He loves to climb stairs, go back down, get in his toy box, rock in his rocking chair, and give kisses and hugs to Mommy and Daddy. He also loves it when he gets a piggyback ride or when Daddy tosses him into the air.
• He eats whatever he can feed himself, plus whatever anyone around him is eating. He's like a little scavenger.
• He's a pretty good sleeper; not perfect, but pretty good.
• He loves to open our front window shutters and watch everyone outside. Since its been warm, he now cries when he has to come inside. He loves to ride in his wagon or walk around outside, and he loves the big snow scraper. We sometimes even have to bring it inside.

We can't wait for spring and more time outside!

Late Announcement

Well this announcement has been awhile coming...Adam is going to be a big brother! I say its taken awhile because we are nearly halfway to the arrival of this new little one! This upcoming Tuesday, the 16th, we find out if our lives will continue in baby blue, or add a little pink to our house. We are very excited!

So yes, we've known awhile. I actually found out the week of Thanksgiving, and we told our families at Christmas. Little Adam has no clue what is about to hit him, but we pray that Adam and this baby will be best buddies in no time!

So yes, we're excited, and yes, we're nervous about two babies in diapers, but its coming our way. We would really appreciate your prayers that we have a healthy baby and that this one will decide to stay put until closer to its due date!

Fifteen months

Adam is now 15 months old! He is a very happy, active little guy. He runs all over our house, and loves to empty things (think drawers, baskets, trash cans, etc) then fill them back up (at least a bit). He also loves anything he can push or pull. He pulls a little puppy on a string around, a pair of pants he finds in our bedroom, or an apron by the string that he finds in a kitchen drawer.

That's not all he finds in a kitchen drawer. And this is not even part of it...



The good news is that he does have a slight tendency toward cleaning up...or maybe this just falls under things that he likes to pull!