The Big Dig

On Thursday, we had a work crew digging up our backyard to address some drainage issues in our yard. They brought a ditch witch, and a small push front loader, and a mini excavator. I kept William home from daycare that day and Ed came home early, which made for a perfect day for William! William was outside almost the whole entire day. He only came inside to take a nap. Here are a few pictures.
He talked about diggers at daycare all day on Friday! If I was a stay-at-home mom, I'd know every construction site within a 15-mile radius!

William's Birthday Party

We had William's 2nd birthday party at our house on Saturday (yesterday) and it turned out really well! I wasn't quite as prepared as I should have been and did everything very last minute, which meant that some things just didn't get done, but I doubt anyone else noticed. My mom came back on Wednesday to help out, so on Thursday, she held Seth all day (literally, except when I fed him) so I could clean the house (while William was at daycare), and on Friday, we took both boys and ran errands in the morning, Mom went to the grocery store while William napped and I napped with Seth, and then we made fruit salad, pasta salad, and the birthday cake that afternoon and evening. Meanwhile, Ed came home early and put together the new kid-size picnic table that we bought, which turned out to take FOREVER and was a huge pain in the butt. But the table is cute.

Anyway, we were up until after 11:00 p.m. that night getting ready, and then bright and early on Saturday, I was up and running trying to get everything ready. (I had to clean all of the old sand out of the sand box and add new sand because we forgot the cover last week when we had torrential downpours!) The party was from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Our theme was Construction, and we used Caution tape to decorate, along with construction-themed decorations from the party store. Luckily it was a gorgeous day, and we had the sand box, water table, basket ball hoop, and bubble stuff in the back yard all ready for the kids. There were six kids in all--5 two-year-olds (or almost two-year-olds) and one four-year-old. Plus their parents and Ed's parents and my mom.

William had a blast and loved having his friends over. He hardly interacted with me at all, which says a lot! I was busy with party stuff, visiting with our friends, and taking care of Seth (although the grandmothers mostly held Seth so I needn't worry), and William didn't need me for hardly anything. The party wrapped up around 1:00 p.m. (a little late, but that's to be expected), and William took a nap shortly after that.

So without further ado, pictures! Here's the birthday cake that Mom and I made. We got the idea from the Internet:


Here's the Birthday Boy with his birthday shirt:

Eating lunch at the new picnic table with his buddies:


Singing "Happy Birthday to William!"

Laughing hysterically with Daddy over the party blower:

And here's a picture that just cracks me up. The two little ones are William's friends from daycare. Maggie is in the diaper and Michael is wearing pants. Why does Michael have that smirk on his face? (The older kid is William's second cousin Jimmy.)

Hopefully if I have another party at our house, I'll be more prepared. The only reason anything got done was become my mom was here. And I know I would have outsourced the food if Mom hadn't been here. But we saved a lot of money and I think everyone had a good time. Yay to us for pulling it off!

Where Have I Been?

Life got a little crazy on us. We made it through William's and Ed's bad colds, although Seth is sick now, but only with a congested nose so far (knock on wood). William is now on a daily dose of Pulmicort, which is an asthma medicine (steroid) that he gets with the nebulizer. I was hoping we could avoid this, but hopefully it won't last too long. He does fine with the nebulizer now, so at least that's not a battle. Then after getting through the week, it turns out that Ed has a hernia. So he'll have to have surgery in the not-too-distant future, and he can't lift anything heavy or do anything strenuous. More on that in a future post.

We had a pretty decent week last week. On Monday, Seth had an appointment in the morning to have his hearing tested, and William had a follow-up doctor's appointment in the afternoon. So I too both boys to both appointments by myself, and it all went very smoothly. We even went to McDonald's for lunch after the a.m. appointment! Seth was quite cooperative and slept in his car seat the whole time.

William went to daycare Tuesday-Thursday and did great all three days. Even the drop-offs were drama-free. I learned that he'll be transitioning to the Two's classroom in a month. He'll be going with five of his classmates, though, so I'm hoping it won't be a tough transition. I like the teachers in the Two's room, but I LOVE his Toddler teachers, so it's bittersweet. But time marches on. This is such a cliche, but he's growing up SO FAST!

Last weekend, William pitched a huge fit on Saturday after his nap. Definitely his biggest fit yet--the sobbing, freak-out-no-matter-what-we-say kind of fit. Thank goodness he doesn't do that very often!

William has started singing along with songs. He's been sing the lyrics to songs for a while, but now he likes to sing along and it's so cute. I've also noticed that he's engaging in more imaginative play.

Seth has decided he will not stay asleep anywhere but on somebody, preferably Mommy, so that has made it close to impossible to get things done (like blogging!), but this too shall pass. He hasn't fallen into any sort of recognizable pattern so far as far as sleeping and eating. Sometimes he eats a good long meal and doesn't need to eat again for 3 hours, and other times he snacks for five minutes and then wants more an hour later. I've kind of stopped keeping track, and just feed him when he smacks his lips. It seems to be working okay for us.

I missed posting on Seth's one-month birthday. I did manage to take a picture, but couldn't get him to stop crying. Here's the picture, though:


And here are a few more pictures:

Showing some love:


Napping together:


Brothers:

And finally, we had William's birthday party today. William had a blast and was so good the whole day. More about the party and pictures in my next post! (Hopefully it won't be a week and a half before I post again. Baba is here, which is why I have the time to post now!)

I Can Do This

Since my mom left us on Saturday, Ed and I have been on our own with the two boys. It's not too bad when it's the two of us. Ed tends to take care of William while I take care of Seth. It gets hard when William wants just me to do things for him, but we work through it. What I was most anxious about was being on my own with both boys. What I have learned this week, though, is that I can definitely handle it. It's not easy, and it's certainly not ideal, but I can do it.

Now, I know there are TONS of moms who handle multiple kids by themselves every single day. I have the luxury of taking William to daycare every day, so it seems silly and maybe even pathetic to pat myself on the back for being able to watch both of my kids at the same time by myself. But I also think it's a bit of a milestone for parents of more than one kid to be able to say, "I did it by myself and we're all still here to talk about it." So I'm patting myself on the back. I'm actually a bit proud of myself!

Things might go downhill fast, however, because William has caught yet another cold and tonight he started wheezing. And on top of that, Ed is sick, too. We might be in for a rough night. I'm very thankful that William and Ed have bonded more, though. When William wakes up in the night, he's okay with Ed lying down with him. Ed has been the one reading to him and turning out the light before bed, too, and tonight, he even asked for daddy when I was reading to him instead.

So wish us luck! As for William and Seth, William continues to show lots of love for Seth and he is very tolerant of me having to attend to Seth's needs. We're struggling a bit with listening and following directions. But I think this is more of a two-year-old issue, as opposed to him acting out because of Seth. It's probably a little of both, but we'll get through it. Seth is eating well and gaining well. He weighed 8 lbs, 11 oz. at his 3-week check-up. He's still sleeping mostly on me, as opposed to his bassinet or car seat or the swing. But I know that won't last forever, either. I can't say he's predictable yet, but hoping to get there soon.

Back to the topic at hand, I'm prepared for a big challenge tomorrow. I'll probably keep William at home, and may even have to take him in to the doctor's with Seth in tow. To make matters worse, it's supposed to rain all day, so no outside time for William. As I said before, wish us luck!

Happy Birthday William!

Dear William,

Today you turn two years old. Happy Happy Birthday! You are such a wonderful little boy and you make Mommy and Daddy so happy. We are so proud of you each and every day. I know your world has been a little crazy ever since we brought Seth home, but you have taken it all in stride. You are such a wonderful big brother, showing Seth all of your toys, thinking of him whenever you make a new discovery, wanting to share with him all of the things that make you happy. We love watching you and Seth together and can't wait until you make him laugh, show him how to crawl and walk, and even start fighting with him over toys.

You have learned so much over the past year. You can count to ten, sing your ABCs, sing lots of other songs, feed yourself with a fork and a spoon, run, jump, climb, speak in sentences, say please and thank you, and so much more. Lately you've been saying, "Hmmmm, let's see," and "Be careful!" (Wonder where you got that one from?)

You absolutely love trucks--construction trucks, diggers, backhoes, bulldozers, fire trucks, garbage trucks--and you have about a million of them that you play with. You love to play in your sand box in the back yard, and you love being outside. You love the playground, and playing with the hose, and watering plants, and your bubble lawn mower, and you love following Daddy around, helping him with yard work. You would stay outside all day if we let you. When you're inside, you play with your cars and trucks, and with playdough, and you would watch the movie Cars over and over if you could. You also love your Mighty Machines video, and the "There Goes A . . . " series that Mommy bought for you.

You still cry almost every day when I drop you off at daycare, which still breaks my heart every day, but you always have fun there. Your best friend is Michael, and the two of you play together, along with your other friends and teachers. You love to laugh and you like to ham it up so that your friends will laugh, too. Miss Gwen calls you and Michael the class clowns. You are shy when it comes to new people and new situations, though, always preferring to size up the scene for a while before you jump in. You are a funny combination of being reserved and shy, but very much a show-off once you feel secure.

You had your two-year doctor's appointment today and you were so good, as usual. You never fuss when we go to the doctor. You always sit quietly while the doctor examines you, and you carefully watch everything that the doctor does. Today you got a shot in your arm, and you didn't even cry. You didn't flinch. What a strong boy you are! Mommy and Daddy were very proud of you. You weigh 25 pounds and are 35 and 1/2 inches tall. You've grown very tall over the last 6 months! You're in the 75th percentile for height now. It must be all the chocolate milk you drink!

Speaking of food, it's still a battle to get you to eat a whole lot, but every once in a while, you surprise me. You love watermelon, blueberries, strawberries, and bananas. You almost always eat pasta. You used to love hot dogs, but not so much right now. You also like macaroni and cheese, and you'll eat a few bites of a sandwich sometimes. For breakfast, you'll eat french toast or pancakes or waffles. And you also like bagels. Green veggies are a little tough, but you generally eat broccoli and peas. I don't worry too much about how much you do or don't eat. But sometimes you get really cranky when you're hungry. And I don't think you even realize when you're hungry. You never ask me for anything to eat!

Anyway, we hope you have a wonderful birthday today. You have brought us so much joy over the past two years. We can't wait to see what you will learn and how you will grow over the next year. But do us a favor, okay? SLOW DOWN!!! Time passes by so quickly and we want to hang on to every bit of you for as long as we can. We love you so much and will do our best to guide you through the next year, providing you with all of the support and encouragement that you need, being patient as you test your limits (and ours!), and disciplining you appropriately when you need it. Lord knows that we aren't perfect, so please be patient with us, too.

We love you to pieces, buddy! Happy 2nd birthday!

Mommy and Daddy

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

I just wanted to quickly say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of you amazing moms who have supported me, helped me, encouraged me, laughed with me (that's with me, not at me!), and taught me more than I ever thought I needed to know. That includes my very best friends, MJ, ME, and TF, and long-time close friends Ruby and Stacey, and my fellow daycare moms who have become such close friends Jenna and Melissa, and my amazing blogging friends--Laura, Lindsay, T, Cathy, Megan, Bridget, Jill, Gail, Julie, Jennifer, Stacey--and my amazing cyber-friends, Sara, Sarah, Heather, and Carrie, and all of the Mature Mamas who I met through Babycenter.com, who have probably given me the best advice and the most comfort over time, and my family--my sister Rose, sister-in-law Cheri, and of course, saving the best for last, my mom. My mom left us yesterday and while Ed and I are ready to try this thing all by ourselves, boy has it been nice to have Mom around.

I cannot thank you ladies enough for helping me to be a better mom. You are all wonderful and inspiring and I feel sooo fortunate to call you all friends. The Internet is a wonderful thing and a lifeline to mothers everywhere. Now if I could just get my kids to let me spend a little more time reading blogs and message boards and e-mails . . .

The Second Time Around

[Disclaimer--I actually started this post last week some time and am finally getting around to publishing it. Yikes! Will I ever have Me time again?]

One of my friends asked me what's the same this time around and what's different. What great material for a blog post! I don't have much time, however, so I thought I'd just tackle the question a little bit at a time.

For starters, breastfeeding is much much easier this time around. I'm still pretty sore and have that initial 10 seconds of "Aiyeeeee" when Seth first latches on. But I'm so much more comfortable holding him while he nurses, and I can nurse just about anywhere. In fact, yesterday, when we got home from daycare, Seth, William and I played outside for about an hour and a half. I was holding Seth the whole time and even nursed him as we sat in the car while William played. With William, I didn't feel comfortable without my nursing pillow (My Breast Friend) and couldn't figure out how to nurse comfortably while in bed. And I also ended up with cracked and bleeding nipples and mastitis. Now, granted, I'm still stuck using one nursing position (the cross-hold), but it's not too bad. Side lying just does not work for us--maybe when Seth gets older--and I can't figure out the football hold, either. But overall, it's been a much better experience this time around, and I'm so grateful for that. I hardly even use My Breast Friend now! I've also been pumping and have quite a stash going. I've been freezing in two-ounce portions, so it looks like a lot more than it really is. But I'm in a much better place at this point than I was at the same point with William. It was almost impossible to pump after nursing with William. He was not content to sit by himself and look around like Seth is.

As for something that is the same, putting the sleeping baby down in the bassinet or swing or car seat and then crossing both fingers and praying and praying and praying that he'll stay asleep for longer than 10 minutes--that's the same as last time! Seth, like William, is not a big fan of sleeping by himself. He's had some long stretches in the swing, but he's not consistent, so the swing is not a guaranteed. He's had some long stretches in the car seat, too, but usually only after we've been driving somewhere. He sleeps best on his stomach, either on someone, or in the bassinet, but I only put him on his stomach if I'm right there with him and not trying to sleep myself. Swaddling hasn't worked so far. BUT--here's another thing that's different this time around--Seth likes the sling. William did not, AT ALL. But fortunately, Seth is down with it, so I can wear him while I'm running around the back yard and front yard playing with William.

So that's all for now. I know there are lots more things that are the same and different, so I'll try to write more another time!

Two Weeks Old

Two weeks old today! He's 8 lbs, 2 oz., so not quite back to his birth weight, but everything else checked out okay. He's still congested, but nothing to worry about yet. I can't believe it's already been two weeks!

Weekend Report

We had a great weekend and things seem to be settling into a bit of a groove around here. Of course, my mom is still with us, so who knows what chaos will descend once she leaves. In the meantime, though, William is getting used to having Seth around, and he's also getting used to having Daddy give him a bath, put him to sleep, and lie down with him when he wakes up during the night. What a relief that has been! He's had his moments of not wanting mommy to leave him, but he doesn't seem to correlate my unavailability to Seth, so that's a relief. He went to daycare all last week, and I think getting back to his normal routine helped him a lot. So we'll do the same this week.

Seth is a great baby, but I'm a bit worried because it looks like he's caught William's cold. He's pretty congested, and today, it seems that he's been sleeping more than usual, and eating a bit less. But maybe he's just getting more efficient with his eating. His two-week appointment is on Tuesday, so hopefully we can hold out until then. Otherwise, he's so easy-going, and only cries when he's hungry or really tired. He has long awake periods in the morning, and again in the afternoon. And he's eating about every 2-3 hours. Last night, he had a four-hour stretch of sleep! He was on top of me, but I slept so soundly that when I woke up, I forgot where he was for a few seconds.

As for the weekend, yesterday, we went to Ed's parents' house. Ed's sister and BIL were in town with their two boys (ages 5 and 3) and William had a blast. Ed's mom had back surgery the day before Seth was born, so she had not seen Seth yet. And there was lots of other family there, too. Seth let everyone hold him and slept in his car seat for a long time. William played with his cousins and took a good nap and generally entertained everyone. I actually got good pictures of Seth and William together (for the announcement, so I'm not showing them here!), and we even took a family picture of Ed's family. I also tried to get a good picture of the four grandsons, but here's how that went. (This reminds me of some of Laura's photo sessions!)

And here is the whole family picture:


Today's weather was absolutely gorgeous, so William spent most of his day outside. He played in his sandbox, filled the watering can over and over with the hose and watered the flowers, painted on the driveway with sidewalk paint, went to the playground with Mommy and Seth and Baba and played there for over an hour, and then took a nap. After his nap, I strapped on the Ergo baby carrier with Seth, and William got into the stroller and Ed, William, Seth, and I took a walk to the 7-11 to get slurpees. (Seth didn't get one, but he was okay with that. In fact, he slept in the Ergo the whole time. The Ergo is awesome, btw. Thanks to my friend MJ for making sure I have one!)

So that's our weekend report. Other than being tired, things are going very well. I'm trying to be productive and get things done, but also I'm trying to spend lots of one-on-one time with both William and Seth, and of course, I'm trying to catch naps where I can. As my blog says, we're definitely working it out!

No Time for Blogging

Seth is over one week old! I wanted to blog on Tuesday--the one week mark--but that just didn't happen. Oh well.

I had forgotten how you prioritize things when you have a newborn. There are two categories--things you can do when your baby is awake and you're holding him, and things you can only do when baby is asleep or someone else is entertaining/holding him. Although it's easier to do laundry when the baby is asleep, it's not impossible to do it while holding him, or after putting him in the bouncy seat or swing for a brief period of time. I can also eat while holding the baby, as inconvenient as that can be, and I can check e-mail and read blogs and even type one-handed if I'm desperate. But the only time I can sleep is when the baby is sleeping. So that's what I've been trying to do. And since Seth prefers to sleep in someone's arms, as opposed to his bassinet or car seat or swing, it's easier to just hold him and nap myself while he naps.

We've also been busy with the business of adjusting to life with two kids--a toddler and a newborn. My mom is still here and has been a HUGE help. She holds Seth so I can tend to William, goes to the store, fixes dinner, cleans up, she even ironed today. William has been going to daycare and I think it's helping him to be back into his routine somewhat. Ed has been putting him to bed after I give him a bath and get him dressed in his pjs. Last night and tonight, there was no crying, so that's huge progress. William still wants to show Seth everything he's doing, ("Look Sef!") and he's still a little rough, though he doesn't mean to be. He's pretty good about me holding and feeding Seth. I'm hoping as time passes, he'll feel more and more assured that he hasn't lost his place in this world.

So that's it for a quick update. It's late and time for bed. Not that I'm really sleeping, but a girl can try. Seth sleeps longer if I hold him, but he moves around a lot, which keeps me up. I'll get used to it eventually, and hopefully, he'll get used to sleeping on his own.

Finally, I'll leave you with more pictures. I have yet to get a picture of the boys together. Seth seems to power nap in the late afternoon/early evening, which is when William is home from daycare. Hopefully we'll get pictures this weekend. But I took these of Seth today:



This last picture is the place where I'll put him for his monthly photo shoot. I never put William in the same place for his monthly pictures, and wish I had. So here's Seth at one week old!