Recent Pictures

Spring seems closer everyday. Spring/Summer activities too are starting up. We're beginning a storytime at the local library next week and both Joshua and I are looking forward to being able to walk there. :-) Almost all of our snow is gone, and now Joshua has decided to miss it. He insists on wearing his boots everywhere, not a bad idea in March, I guess, excepting the fact that they're snow boots, not rain boots.

I'm also starting to anticipate spring projects--pondering what color to paint the kitchen and how to decorate Lydia's room for starters. I'd also like to work on some landscaping, but I've not done any before, so it will be a learning experience!

Here are the promised pictures from our trip the week of Easter, a day late, but all-in-all not too bad.

Precious Sleeping Baby

Happy Family of Four (Joshua insisted that I couldn't hold both him and Lydia for this picture, so if she looks a bit awkwardly positioned, that's why.)

Hunting Easter Eggs

Extremely Focused on the Mobile (this keeps her happy for a LONG time)

"Are we done yet?"

Welcome Home Weary Travelers

We're back from our big trip (well, actually, we got back Sunday evening, but are just starting to feel "settled" again). I think the more we travel these days the more we realize that this has truly become home--maybe kids help with that as much as anything else.

I don't think we could possibly manage to fit in any more visits in a week than we did--we saw all five of the kids great-grandparents, all of their grandparents, all five of our brothers and their wives/fiancees, etc., plus four of our aunts and uncles, seven of our cousins, and a few close friends from college! It was great to see everyone, but needless to say a bit of a whirlwind.

Joshua loved having so much time to see the extended family, especially his aunts and uncles, who he thinks the world revolves around! As much as he enjoyed seeing people this was probably the first time that he expressed/verbalized his desire to be back home. Starting the second or third night and every night following, his bedtime would go something like this: take a bath, give good-night kisses, whimper "Joshua sleep in Joshua's bed, go home please." I often feel that way about my bed when I'm traveling, but it's so hard to see your little boy so sad when it's something when you can't do anything about it. Thankfully, he had the time of his life when he wasn't sleeping, so we didn't feel too bad.

While traveling safety was our first concern and all went smoothly, our trip to Michigan was still quite eventful. I usually think I've gotten used to all the gross moments parenting throws your way--there have been days I've changed half a dozen messy diapers or more, and pre-kids that was pretty high on my gross meter. Unfortunately, about the only thing that ranks higher is being nauseous (pregnancy has made me pretty used to that) or hearing someone get sick. Well, no pregnancy sickness/queasiness, but Joshua had his first case of the flu--while in his carseat, in the middle of traffic in downtown Chicago. Ick! It's still amazing to me how "mom-ness" steps in and your previous repulsion is overwhelmed by your parenting instincts. As awful as it was, I didn't really think about it until later, even as I scrubbed down a carseat, wiped up a little boy, or rode in the vehicle afterwards. (I'm sure it helped that I'd gotten a bad cold the day before, so my sense of smell was less than stellar, but even that usually doesn't do it.) Not the most pleasant story, but still amazing to me because of how unnatural the whole thing would have been for me before children and how it didn't phase me this time. Other than that hour which Lydia chose to scream during as well, our kids were thankfully cooperative. However, it's not something we look forward to doing often-- it's long/tiring for everyone.

Also, we crossed another "when I have kids..." milestone. I always declared portable DVD players were unnecessary for smooth trips, but I'm a convert now! I'm sure it's doable without, but oh so nice to have. :-)

I'll try to post several pictures from our journey later today, provided the kids cooperate.

Just an update

There hasn't been much new or exciting happening here the past couple of weeks, but they've seemed very busy so the combination has led to a long gap between posts. So, I still don't have much that is newsworthy, but I didn't want to go for weeks without writing or I figured it would go the way of a New Year's resolution...
We've been hoping that spring would hasten it's arrival, both Mommy and Joshua are completely DONE with winter! Joshua's making a list of all the things he plans to do when "snow all gone." This includes everything from writing with chalk outside to grilling his hot dog. :-) I'm looking forward to being able to go to the park, play in the yard, and have a larger space to absorb the sound of my son's constant and often demanding conversations. :-) On Monday, we went with friends to an indoor soccer type field containing all sorts of balls, mini-trampolines, and most importantly a large open space to run! It was a pleasant break from the usual and a reminder of the beauty of spring/summer/fall!
Lydia of course knows nothing besides winter, so she's happily content with whatever. Her new "skill" is mastering a sling with mommy--we've gotten quite good with it, and boy is it nice to have two free hands. :-) She's two months old now and becoming more charming each day. I love getting her up in the morning because she's full of smiles and you just can't help but start smiling with her! Lydia's continued to sleep quite well which also helps put mommy in a good mood in the morning. She enjoys sitting where she can see what's going on around her and unless she's hungry or tired can amuse herself for quite awhile just watching her big brother (who never stops moving except when he's asleep).
We're traveling for Easter, so hopefully the kids do well--it's always unnerving to start out on a 400 mile trip not knowing how it will go, and having two only increases that feeling! Maybe they'll both decide to be angels or sleep the whole way. Probably not, but hey, a mom can hope right?

Back to Work

Well, after 12 weeks off, I'm back to work. I love my current schedule! (For those of you that don't know, I nanny part-time.) I only work two days a week from 11-5. This provides a chance to get out of the house, but limits the burn-out factor on the rough days with sick kids, kids who refuse to nap, or after rough nights with Lydia.
Also a huge positive, I was able to go back to my previous family (the kids I'd been watching before Lydia's birth). I wasn't sure if that was going to work out, as it's usually a question mark following maternity leave, since 12 weeks is a long time to be gone and sometimes arrangements have to be drastically (and permanently) changed over that time. Anyway, all that being said, I'm really glad it worked out, I enjoy these kiddos a lot.
Joshua's thrilled because he and the little boy are great pals and he sees it as a regularly scheduled playdate! I've got four kids age two and under when I'm at work, so needless to say my days are never dull and I change ALOT of diapers, but I can't think of a better job while my kids are little!
The little girl I watch turns one this week and is fascinated with Lydia--however on a one year old's limited vocabulary my sweet little girl has been reduced to "doggie!" Oh well, she's too little to know and it's really adorable to see how exciting babies are to toddlers. :-)

Yay!

We've been dragging a bit the past few days--it seems the kids can communicate already and are planning their parent's demise. Lol. OK, that's a bit dramatic, but Lydia has been up late keeping us from getting to sleep in a timely manner and Joshua seems to find the need to wake with the sun, so the nights have been somewhat short. Background given, stage set for the last night:

I woke up at 6am this morning wide-awake--then I realized that Lydia was still sleeping, so I hadn't woken up to her fussing. In fact, I hadn't woken up with her at all--she'd just slept through the night!!!! If was funny, because we'd been noting yesterday that Joshua had has first whole night of sleep within a week of Lydia's current age. We'd "mentioned" to her that she only had a few days to keep up with the big bro, so perhaps they're competitive already too! ;-)

Given the aforementioned Joshua-sleeping-through-the-night feat we're very aware that this is probably just a step on the way to sleeping through the night regularly. He did it at this age, then only sporadically until probably eight or nine months. So while I'd love to think this will be a regular occurence, I am experienced enough to realize that's probably wishful thinking. But, even if it was just a rarity, I'll take it, a good night's sleep is worth a lot. :-)

Musings on the "Terrible Two's"

I've always heard of the Terrible Two's--talked about by veteran moms in a particular tone with a shrug of the shoulders and roll of the eyes, and sometimes, if enough time has elapsed since their child was actually two, a smile of remembrance at all the crazy battles and phases they experienced. I always thought it was because the child became a true monster in the rebellious teenager form, only younger. That may actually be true for some people, but I don't think that's what makes it difficult for me.
In general, as Joshua approached, and now has been two, I think he's still a pretty good, obedient kid most of the time. What I think wears me down is the constancy of his demand to exert control over what he does or doesn't do! Add to it all the major changes a child is supposed to make during that infamous year (bed transitions, potty training, pacifier weaning, etc.) and I guess it's no wonder that both parent and child feel tried to the limit some days.
I have been surprised at how willing my typically sweet child is to instantly melt down into "that" toddler, the one every non-parent sees in the mall and rolls their eyes at...a frazzled parent leading a seemingly-boneless, screaming/whining/yelling/crying toddler who may or may not be kicking as well. Particularly if he's tired or hungry, Joshua can instantly become that child. I always thought having a child throwing a fit like that was the influence of poor parenting (and it still could well indeed be, I suppose), but now I think it might be more poor planning on the parent's part.
If I go somewhere at a time when he is both well-fed and well-rested, stick to what it is I needed to get in the first place, and keep browsing to a minimum, it usually goes pretty well. (A snack during the trip is usually a good idea too.) If not, well then it's only good luck if we get out of the store/event without some sort of meltdown or trauma. I'd like to think that since putting this revelation if writing I'll be a reformed shopper, always sticking to the list and only taking kids at good times, but in reality, that will probably never happen, but hey, it's a good goal.
Mostly, though I'd like to be able to look past the challenging moments where I want to pull my hair out or declare that he may not eat chicken nuggets for every meal (he doesn't, but it seems like it at times) and simply cherish the moment of right now. It seems all too often my focus (and my standard response to requests) is "later." In reality, I don't think we get a "later" with our kids. Miss the moment and it might be gone for good, they change so fast! So, I'd like to be able to stop and just be with my kids: enjoy the wonder of seeing a really cool truck outside, or dancing to the current favorite cartoon character, just snuggling together reading a book, or going for a walk. Oh, I'll still try to maintain a semblance of organization to my house keep up with my other responsibilities, but I'd like to more fully embrace the fact that I'm a mommy first and foremost at this stage of my life and not worry as much about everything else. Because really, it all melts away when your baby smiles at you or your toddler says "I love you mommy" with a big bear hug and those are experiences I get everyday!

100% Parents

Ok, so I realized again yesterday how becoming parents has completely changed every aspect of our lives--including our social life! We had friends over last night and there are five kiddos between the three couples. So what did we do the whole evening? Well, we did the talking and eating that we would have done before kids, but the bulk of the evening was spent watching the three toddlers play "hide and seek" and, upon request, hiding for them to find us or "finding" them. Furthermore it seemed completely comfortable and normal to have a conversation around toddler interruptions, breastfeeding, and building towers! And truly, if our kids hadn't been there we would probably have spent the majority of the time talking about our kids and their funny actions/activities anyway. My life would be so dull without my kids in it!

Last weekend we had Lydia dedicated and Gigi and Poppa (James' parents) were able to come and be there for that and spend the weekend, so Joshua was super excited. He also knows that he'll be the star of many pictures when they're in town, and would repeatedly ask both to have his picture taken and to take pictures. Since the camera James' mom uses is a higher end model than our little pocket digital camera it is equipped with a neck strap, and since Joshua is not the most gentle, she requires that he use it when "taking pictures." Well, apparently he thought that applied to all cameras, yesterday he came to me with our camera to take pictures, and he'd placed the wrist strap around his neck! Ooops...You've got to love how two year olds see all things as universally applicable. I'm not quite sure how he got it on, since I almost had to cut it to get it off!

Otherwise, the past couple of weeks have been pretty "normal." We've spent alot of time just trying to catch back up with things that took a sideline during those first few weeks after Lydia's birth. I've been trying to sort through and organize Joshua's closet, since it's been the catch-all for things I didn't have a place for when they came in the house--but it's taken much longer than I anticipated given that I'm constantly getting interrupted to read books, get a snack/juice, or take care of Lydia. I also realized after starting that I couldn't do it during my usual "powercleaning" time (read: naptime) since it's in Joshua's room! Oh well, maybe over the weekend it'll get done with Daddy around to help out.

(The photo on an unusual angle showcases Joshua's photo skills--pretty good, except for the tilt--but I guess that's kind of artsy)