hello little blog

A lot has changed since I last visited this blog.  We added another to our family 3 months ago and I love being a mom of 2.  My two littles are 20 months apart and sometimes I literally have 2 babies even though Mack is getting and acting more toddlerish every day.  When I was pregnant with Ruby I asked my sister, Katy who had her 2 boys 19 months apart how she survived having 2 young kids so close together.  And she honestly couldn't really remember what life was like.  I want to remember my life right now and I think this blog is the best way to do that.  I love being able to easily add pictures and quickly type a story or thought.  This blog is 100 percent for me and my little family to remember our little life as we know it.  

As Mack got older I started to notice how hard it was for us to be home.  He really thrived on being out of the house and seeing new things.  I tried to leave the house before 1030 every day for some sort of an outing.  The outings weren't always things for him, sometimes it was going to the mall, grocery store, or a walk.  When Ruby showed up I knew that it would be imperative that we still got out of the house first thing.  If I leave the house in the morning Mack does so much better playing later in the day.  He is more independent and less naughty.  His favorite things to do are, go for walks, go to the park, the children's discovery museum, story time at the library, having a friend come visit and visiting Nona(my mom).  I had to quickly brave leaving the house with two when Ruby was just a couple weeks old because Mack would go crazy just being coped up at home.  I felt the opposite when Mack was a baby.  It seemed impossible to even eat breakfast before 12 let alone leave the house.  When Mack was born he totally froze my life, it was like my life as I knew it was over and I was starting over.  In the two years that he has been my little buddy I have learned a lot and especially learned how to be flexible and do things with a baby in tow.  I've learned that sometimes you will have the kid crying at the store.  Sometimes you will have to nurse in less than ideal circumstances.  Sometimes you won't look as cute as you want when you are leaving the house.  Sometimes you won't make your bed before you leave the house.  Sometimes you had a plan and that plan has to change because your baby needs something different.  I'm so glad I learned all this and then had another baby.  Ruby didn't shatter my world she only enhanced it and she continues to do so.  

Just the other day I was nursing Ruby on the couch in our back family room and watching Mack play with his toys.  He recently has gotten better at playing by himself and jumps from toy to toy.  I just enjoyed watching him play and interact with him while Ruby ate.  The moments that I have to sit and nurse Ruby were something I was really worried about.  I thought for sure Mack would be impossible while nursing but it's been quite the opposite.  It's been such a blessing to get to stop and be still and play with Mack while nursing.  I've gotten to spend more time with him because I had a baby.  Our life was more on go before Ruby and now we have seemed to settle down just enough to enjoy it.  

I've been totally blessed with a great baby.  She was sleeping 6-8 hour stretches at night for the first few weeks of life, then she digressed a little and woke up every 3-4 for a month or so.  Now at 3 months she sleeps about 9 hours straight at night.  She's pleasant and easy going for the most part.  She's smiley and loves attention but doesn't demand it.  She's great at sitting and gazing at something and totally content doing it.  

I know that everyone has way different experiences with 2 kids but I have loved it.  I've had moments where it's been absolutely exhausting and felt impossible but for the most part I really enjoy it and feel incredibly blessed to be at this phase of my life right now.  

one of those days

It was one of those days that I had to drink some Dr. Pepper at 10 AM with some ibuprofen to help mask the headache I was feeling.  One of those headaches brought on by not enough sleep.  I'm not a soda person at all- I love, no I mean seriously love water.  Anyways if it's not a day I go to work than I would have slipped on my nike's and exercised the ache away.  Luckily for me they ordered lunch for us here at work today.  Hires yum!  If you have never tried the grilled ham and cheese on a poppy seed bun you have got to try it.  It took me back to April, after birthing class Sam and I would stop at Hires on the way home and get a grilled ham and cheese and shake to share. (lucky for me my doctor was always worried about weight gain and said to eat whatever sounded good) Too bad we only made it to 2 birthing classes because after I went into pre-term labor I wasn't allowed to leave the house, even for birthing class.  PHEW! Mack still made it here safe and sound.  

Mack has always been a good sleeper.  Seriously the day we brought him home from the hospital my parents brought us dinner and left that night kind of laughing like- 'have a good night, good luck'  well Mack slept like 5 hours straight and typically did.  I've heard that is pretty good for a newborn.  By 2 months we were sleeping at least 7 hours uninterrupted.  I think it's because the last 2 months of pregnancy I couldn't get up, he learned to sleep being still maybe??  You can imagine what a shock it was when at about 4 months he learned to really move, like seriously get around using his crib rails.  He woke himself up over and over again and we had no idea what to do!  It felt like it lasted forever those sleepless nights of waking up ever 2-3 hours.  (however I admit I look back at it and it seems like forever ago and like a blink of the eye).  We got back to sleeping through the night about a month later 10 hour stretches it was perfect, then Christmas hit and then Mack got sick and then he got his bottom 2 teeth in the middle of being sick- so sleeping through the night is a very foreign concept.  Well we had a discussion 2 nights ago deciding how to take care of it, we decided we wouldn't pick him up in the middle of the night, we would give him his binky and sing one song and leave him.  We would go in originally after 5 minutes, then increase the time out of his room by 5 minutes each time.  We went to sleep ready to take him on and guess what he slept!  yep 10 hours straight.  He is such a tease.  Last night was a different story, but our plan worked and he fell asleep on his own after about an hour of on and off complaining crying.  He woke up this morning at 730 bright and happy!  How do you feel about letting your little ones cry themselves to sleep?  What did you do?  What worked and what didn't? 

I can't believe how no matter how frustrating or challenging a night can be I always wake up eager to play with Mack and see him.  I just can't be mad at him or not excited to see him. 

Watch this clip of him learning a new trick... he is so clever. 

hello there

I totally jinxed myself.  I was noticing back in November that I had written 85 blog posts and last year I had written 93 total, I thought I will totally write more this year.  Well that was not a premature thought.  What I didn't know was that I would get an error from blogger telling me I couldn't add any more pictures unless I bought more space or started a new blog.  For awhile I decided to just be done with blogging but over time I have really missed recording little blurps from our life and especially miss looking back at how I was feeling and thoughts I had.  So here's my new blog.  It will be just like the old one recording thoughts, experiences, trials and triumphs.  Mostly for my viewing pleasure but of course to stay in better touch with family and friends we don't get to see very often.  

and just because no post is complete without a picture here's one of MC helping shop at IKEA