Back to School, Back to School...

After an intense, 9am to 9pm week-long orientation, Aaron was prepped and ready for his first day of school. I wanted to get a picture of him by the front door with the kids so that I could compare it to his last day of school pictures. Christian will be two for heavens sake! Unfortunately Grace was still asleep, so it was just Christian in the picture.

People had informed us of what to expect with Aaron getting his MBA. I had heard things like, "It's crazy and super intense." But just like with marriage, and having kids, you have no idea what it is actually like until you're in those phases of life. So, I convinced myself that despite the warnings, business school would be cake compared to Aaron's job. Holy moly, was I wrong. He is on campus from 7am to 11:30pm during the week and normally goes back to campus on Saturday for study groups, or seminars, etc. There were a few days last week where Grace never saw Aaron, morning or night.

In response to this sudden change (and one I was warned would happen), we have fallen back into busy season mode where we text and send pictures all day.

Took the kiddos to the fountains. I'm loving the weather in the low 90s.

 All aboard the basket train. Poor Christian.

 Headed to the doctor with this chunky-monkey in tow.

 Apparently I should have put sunscreen on before I sat outside at the splash pad with Grace.

 Dinner time!

 This is a common sight. It's just how my posse rolls.

 Worst. Day. Ever.

 Grace is getting more brave with the fountains. She is actually standing on one!

 CCB is a gangsta.

 Always fear Grace being quiet whilst nursing the baby

 Grace was disappointed when I couldn't play "Candies" with her, but was excited when she realized she could just have Christian play with her.

Hopefully things will calm down, and if not, hopefully the days go by quickly. Until then, I am extremely grateful for my phone camera.

Always Remember, Never Forget

I took note of September 11th on the calendar and reminded myself to do something patriotic for today. I'm ashamed to say that in years past I have actually forgotten beforehand and treated it as any other day.

I remember in the days that followed 9/11 I told myself that I could never, and would never, forget that day. The thoughts, feelings, emotions, and sights that I took in and experienced are engrained in my mind. I could tell you when, where, and how I was at any given point that day. But years of change, and growth, and thousands of other thoughts and responsibilities have laid neatly over the top of those memories. And in years past I haven't dug down deep to find them, and give that day the remembrance and respect that it deserves.

But this year, I made sure it was different. Last night I laid in bed and told Aaron, "Tomorrow is September 11th, I'm going to dress us all up in red, white, and blue." Aaron said, "That's a really good idea." Mentally I already had everyone's outfits picked out.

Wearing patriotic colors is not the grandest of gestures, but it was symbolic for me in remembering what happened on this day 11 years ago.

It's crazy for me to think about these two beautiful little babes that weren't even here on that fateful day. I wonder if they will talk about it in school. Will it be in their history books? They have never known life without the day that America was attacked. I hope I can do it justice and make them truly understand the selfless sacrifice of those who fought to save others.

I'm sure they'll roll their eyes and think "My Mom is so old she was actually alive when 9/11 happened." But maybe, just maybe, they will learn to respect this day and to love this country the way I did 11 years ago.

To all of those in the military and the service men and women throughout the world, thank you so much for fighting for our country, and for allowing me to raise my kids in this wonderful, and free, nation.

God Bless the USA.

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

Christian was born with a full head of hair. The back was more lush but the top had it's fair share as well. I looked forward to the days and weeks of normal hair, and smiled at the thought of not having to bring my hair cutting shears off of the shelf after I had retired them due to the Justin Beiberizing incident. 

But as the days drifted on, so did his hairline, and he lost all the hair to the crown of his head.

I shouldn't have been surprised since his genetic code had "baby receding hairline" written all over it. My Dad rocked the look way back in the day,

And so did Aaron.

More recently was Grace. Her hairline was identical to the one that Christian started rocking.

Christian had new hairs growing in.

However, the blond baby hairs had no effect on his Mr. Clean-ness.

I remember thinking when I got Grace's haircut at 3 months, that it was ridiculously early to be cutting my child's hair. At a mere 7 weeks I was itching to cut Christian's but still felt totally crazy for doing it since he was only 7 weeks old.

One fateful Friday, I decided to go for it. I took some before pictures.

Comb-over?

I got the clippers out and found the shortest plastic covering and got to work. I was surprised by how much hair I actually cut off, and I definitely left patches all over the place (I had zero desire to subject my poor baby to more haircutting in order to fix them), but I was pleased with the results. Even hair all the way around.

I then sent a picture out to Aaron informing him of Christian's new 'do.

The haircut made him look so different to me and I found myself staring at him trying to take in his new "look." Despite the difference I was so glad that I cut it, and I will admit, all of the "he looks like an old man" comments totally stopped.

I love my little buzz cut boy.

The Second Baby

Having the second baby has been a different experience for me than having the first. With Grace I was always worried about doing the wrong thing. I wanted to do everything the experts suggested/required. I wanted to hold her enough, but not too much. Feed her the right amount at the right time. Lay her in the proper positions without blankets, and not have her in our room very long to establish boundaries. I had absolutely no experience to go off of and desperately wanted to do the "right things" to make sure my child had the optimal growing and learning experience. Even typing this all out makes me look back and know that I was being totally ridiculous. But, in all honestly, that is exactly how I felt.

The second time around I basically said "screw it" and I did whatever the heck I wanted. I didn't let my mind be governed by outside rules or restrictions that told me this was better than that. I still practiced necessary caution and safety, of course, but when it came down to what was "best" for my baby, my policy was just to love him as much as I wanted.

It made the first days and weeks of Christian's life pure bliss. I'd nuzzle his neck and breathe in that newborn baby smell, convincing myself that oxygen was totally overrated and newborn baby smell was all I needed to survive. I'd slowly trace my finger across the skin on his face watching and trying to memorize the way his eyes shut and slowly reopened as I traced my finger down the ridge of his nose.

 I'd kiss his lips, his cheeks, his chin, his belly and whisper into his ear, "I love you so much baby boy."

In the mornings after I nursed him I'd lay him in between me and Aaron and pat his back until all of us unintentionally fell asleep.

There would be moments where Christian would be sitting in his bouncy seat and I'd pick him up and hold him because, gosh darn it all, newborns shouldn't have to sit in a seat they should be loved and cuddled and held all the live-long day.

The different perspective helped me to soak up and cherish these newborn moments. I had done this before and it flew by so quickly that I knew I couldn't take it for granted again. I did my best to live in the moment and I feel like those sweet experiences, the ones where the minutes and seconds seemed to stop ticking by, are now engrained in my memory, cutting deep grooves into my mind.

I can feel the newborn-ness fading and Christian is starting to coo and become aware of his surroundings and as I watch his brain taking in this new world that he is a part of, I know that he is growing up. Although I will miss this phase I know that I really, truly, did enjoy it with everything that I had, and I look forward to the next phase that is coming.

Like Riding a Bike

Aaron's Mom left early Wednesday morning on August 1st. I teared up as she walked outside and down the stairs. I shut the door behind me and with a quick turn of the lock my reality suddenly shifted. Two kids, one apartment, one adult keeping things together. I was nervous. In all honestly I expected the worst. Meltdowns at every corner, both kids crying simultaneously, meals not being prepared, the apartment in shambles, you name it, I was expecting it to happen. So we all stayed home, in our jammies, and had nothing on the agenda but: survive.

And survive we did. Actually we did better than that, we enjoyed ourselves.

Lunchtime, naptime, dinnertime, and bedtime were all about 3 hours off. But we worked it out and I mentally high fived myself because I didn't even come close to crying (which considering how easy it was for me to cry, was a pretty awesome feat). We made it, completely unscathed and a little exhausted but I could see that being a Mom of two was in fact a very possible undertaking.

 The first official day being without "The Moms" a friend invited Grace over for a playdate. I prepared the night before and had all outfits and materials ready for a quick dash out the door. Both kids were clean, dressed, and ready to roll by 10am.

I even had the chance to a few errands with just my little man in tow.

 We spent the rest of the afternoon at home, and I finally got it out of my head that I couldn't do this alone. Two days in and we were rockin' it. We even did tummy time, or as Christian does it "Lay on the floor and kick your feet time."

 And then after that it was like riding a bicycle. It was a bicycle I had never been on before, but the pedals operated the same way and I pushed forward just as I normally would have. We still played.

And made dinner (sneaking cheese as we went).

 We still went for walks at the mall (I'm slightly obsessed with the newborn doubles setting of my stroller.)

 I still got pedicures- okay maybe they were just pretend Crayola pedicures by Grace, but it was a pedicure nonetheless.

 We still did the laundry and cleaned the apartment. Grace was "doing the dishes" when I caught her like this scrubbing the sink. I gave her a gold star and told her to keep up the good work ;).

 Things were just a little bit different since we had this awesomeness in the house.

The added babe slowed down the pace for how quick and efficient we were, but the "to do" list could always be pushed aside for moments to snuggle and love.

Soon we were flying around on our new bicycle and wiping out when things got ridiculously overwhelming. Yes, I cried and yelled, and there were time-outs and frustrations and trips to Taco Bell when I couldn't get my stuff in order to make dinner. But we got back up and kept going and everyday seemed to be better than the next. And most importantly, we were happy.

Very happy.

And I wouldn't trade it for all of the ease and comfort in the world.

Grace

I'm not sure how, or why, but Grace fell in love with Christian from day one. She made it seem like having him in her life was the most normal transition and she stepped up to the plate in her new role as big sister.

I wasn't sure what to expect with her. She talked about the baby before, but I knew at the age of 2 years and 11 months, she really couldn't grasp the concept of my belly meaning a new sibling. Heavens I barely grasped the concept sometimes.

The nurse gave us some tips before Grace arrived: 1.) Don't be holding the baby when she walks in. 2.) She will probably be standoffish to you because she sees you in a different setting. 3.) She will probably want nothing to do with the baby at first. I had Christian in the bassinet and prepped myself for her underwhelming reaction as she walked through the door. But, she was the opposite of all the warnings. She saw me and said "Hi" and them immediately ran to the baby. She wasn't phased by the hospital room or me hooked up to an IV. She peered through the bassinet and was super excited to see Christian.

The first time she held him, she looked at him and then nuzzled his nose. She looked up and smiled as if she had done this a million times. (don't be alarmed, that is just my underarm being shown through my hospital gown)

The second day in the hospital, when Grace arrived, Christian was getting his circumcision (poor guy) and was in the nursery at the time. She was pretty bummed that it was just me and Aaron, but was excited when they wheeled Christian back into the room.

Her love for her baby brother has yet to diminish. Perhaps she loves him a little too much. As expected she is a mini little Momma. When he cries she says "Shhh, shhh, shhh Bubby, it's okay, I'm here." Or gets him a pacifier. If I'm helping her with something and Christian is crying, she looks desperately at me and says, "Mom! Christian!"

Helping at Christian's post hospital doctor's appointment

Let the dressing up begin

The transition for her has not been flawless, and we have definitely had some bumps in the road. Temper tantrums, refusing to sleep, etc. But overall, considering the huge life change she just experienced, she did really well.

My biggest concern when we brought the baby home was that I wanted Grace to continue to receive a good amount of attention. Aaron, my mom and Aaron's mom were amazing at making Grace feel special and involved, but there was one time that I will never forget. We had friend come over to visit and meet Christian. As they walked in, everyone immediately went to Christian. I watched Grace while everything unfolded and the look on her face absolutely broke my heart. She seemed so confused that this group of people, which normally would come and talk to her first thing, weren't even acknowledging her. I did my best to get close to her to make her feel better, I'm not sure it helped. After everyone left, I burst into tears. She had been such a trooper, but the look of hurt on her face was too much for me.

Thankfully those moments were few and far between, heaven only knows my hormones couldn't handle it. And in between snuggling our new sweet boy, and attempting to sleep, we soaked up moments with our favorite little girl.

I think she is going to enjoy her role as big sister.

I sure do love this girl.

Two Weeks

Two week stats

9 lbs 3 oz

21 inches long

Everything looked great, his frenulum was recovering well and after his appointment I nursed him and we headed up to the hospital for his final heal prick test.