One Month

ok, so it has been a little over one month but his doctor appointment wasn't until today!

sprout is a big healthy boy. he now weighs 11 pounds 6 ounces, is 22 1/4 inches long, and has a big ol' head (40.2 cm). he had one shot- hepatitis b. he handled the shot just like his big sis. screamed until his clothes were on then magically he was fine. he fell asleep before we made it to the car. :)
he is, of course, different than his sister. he is a "hold me" kind of baby. really likes to be held and snuggled. bean was rather indifferent about that. was would be the key word in that phrase- now that there is someone else being held she wants in on the action!

it has been an exhausting month for all of us. physically and emotionally, i'm drained!

My Night

10:30pm i feed sprout.

11:00pm i put him in his crib. i go to bed.

1:05am bean wakes up crying. she wants me to sleep with her. i tell her no, there isn't enough room. i kiss and hug her. i say, "i love you, goodnight."

1:25am bean starts yelling my name. she has to go potty. sigh. i had just fallen back to sleep.

4:20am sprout wakes up to eat.

did you catch that!! sprout went from 11:00pm to 4:20am without waking to eat! that is UNBELIEVABLE people. he usually can't go more that 4 hours without a snack.
apparently, he is a smart little dude and knew that mommy really needed some sleep. unfortunately he failed to mention this to bean.

6:55am bean is up for the day. double sigh.

Best Shot Monday

captain sprout says, "arrrrrrgh matey!"
(bean was playing dress up and we decided that sprout should play too! he he he!)

was totally going to have a "smiling sprout" picture today- that's right, he smiled at me. but, good grief it is hard to capture that fleeting baby smile!! stay tuned- i'm determined to get that shot!! ;)

stop by tracey's to see what everyone else was up to this week.

You're what?

if you were at my house last night you would have heard the following:

bean: no, i don't want to brush my teeth!
me: you have to brush your teeth honey.
bean: but i don't want to!
me: sorry about your luck, honey. you gotta brush. it's a rule.
bean: but mommy, i think i might be allergic to teeth brushing!
me: umm. no, i don't think that it is possible to be allergic to teeth brushing. good try though.

ha ha ha!
honestly, where does she get these ideas?!?!

Bean had a great fall.

bean pushed her chair away from the dinner table. the problem: chair doesn't slide, chair tips backwards. mommy can't get there fast enough. bean flies backward. bean's head slams into the wall.the dent/hole you see in the wall is where her head hit. you would think that if you left a large dent in a wall you would have a matching lump on your head. surprisingly that isn't true. i can't find a mark on her. hmmm.
watching it happen took about 6 months off mommy's life though.

Mama's Handsome Boy

sprout must be a good looking baby. of course, i think he is. i'm supposed to though, i'm his mama! but seriously, people come up to me all the time telling me how adorable he is. not that people didn't tell me that bean was cute. they did- but not to this extent. people, total strangers, go nuts over him. bean was simply "cute", while sprout is "adorable", "handsome", "beautiful", etc.
as an example, my next door neighbor came over to see him. when he went home he told his wife, "that is one good looking baby. he may be the best looking baby i've ever seen." HA! i hope his grandkids never hear him say that!! ;)

Devil in Disguise

she looks sweet enough, right?? don't let her fool you. she is a demon dressed in angelic clothing!

if you could have witnessed what happened in our house last night you would understand. the shit has hit the fan people! but something funny did happen during her time out. daddy was trying to talk to her about what she did wrong (everything) and she looked at him and cries "i'm just so tired!"
he says, "why are you so tired?"
"because i have to get up and change my babies' diapers and feed them," she yells at him.
"well, maybe your babies should sleep with me so you can get some sleep," daddy says calmly.
and what does she say in response??
"i appreciate that daddy, but i have to take care of my babies!"

HA HA HA HA! she appreciates that!!! HA HA HA!

i didn't appreciate her behavior BUT i did appreciate the comment. ;)

Not going to win mother of the year....

ok, so we went to the zoo. it was good. it was HOT. i know the thermometer says it is currently 71 but, OMG it feels much warmer than that! the sun is bright and hot today. and that, my friends, leads us to the reason i'm not going to win any prizes.
you see, i forgot to put sun screen on myself and my children!!!!! i also forgot hats and extra water. what the heck was i thinking?!?! so bean and i are now sporting red arms and faces. sigh. i feel like such a jerk letting my kid get a sunburn!

anyways, here is a picture of bean, sprout, and a gorilla eating cheerios. yes, he (or she) is really eating cheerios. bean thought that was pretty interesting and just couldn't seem to look away for a picture. (and of course sprout slept through almost the whole thing- he woke briefly to eat then promptly fell back to sleep.)

the zoo (and the sun) must have worn the bean right out because she is now sound asleep! oh my! i carried her in from the car and she didn't even wake up!! the child who will not nap is napping, praise god! :)

Magolia Kids

yesterday we did the magnolia by itself. today we add children!

we took pictures of her in the tree two years ago and i was hoping to make it a yearly event. sadly, last year we had a late frost that killed ALL of the blossoms before they opened, so no picture. :( i really didn't want to miss another year, so even though she was in her pajamas we headed out to the tree. bean likes almost any excuse to sit in a tree. so with daddy standing by as her spotter, i took some pictures. i got some pretty good ones before she decided that she had had enough.

sprout, well, he was asleep as usual. so daddy held him up by some blossoms and i snapped a couple shots. we wouldn't want him to feel left out, you know! ;) he looks like a little chunk with that double chin he has going on! ha ha!

so, today is the day. i'm getting the kiddos dressed and packing a lunch and we are headed off to the zoo. i suppose that everyone will think i'm crazy again.... i really need to come up with a snappy come back for that one. of course, since he's almost a month old, i probably won't be hearing it so often anymore. yeah, he'll be a month old on friday. whoa! :)

Best Shot Monday

OMG, it isn't a picture of one of my children! do i have a fever? ;)

yes, it is best shot monday and i decided to share my beautiful magnolia tree instead of my beautiful children. (tune in tomorrow and you can see their gorgeous mugs then!)
i took this picture thursday. friday all of the buds were open. today there is a sprinkling of petals on the ground beneath the tree. only a few more days and the tree will be naked again. i love the tree in bloom. i don't care for raking up all the petals after the tree is done with the blooming!

hope you all had a beautiful weekend! if you want to see more best shots head on over to tracey's!

Beautiful Day

it was a absolutely gorgeous day today. so, after taking the kids to library story time we went to the park for a picnic lunch and a little play time. here is a sweet shot of bean getting ready to go down the slide.

i was told by at least 3 people that i was crazy while i was out today. the librarian said it and 2 people at the park said it when they asked how old baby sprout was. apparently when you have a three week old you aren't supposed to be out and about! ;) i have to say, i would feel much more crazy if i stayed home all day long!

we got a nice surprise today at the library. bean's little friend and her mom got sprout a present. now, these are people that we ONLY see at story time and they don't come every week so we only see them 2-3 times a month. i couldn't believe they were giving us a gift. then it was even nicer when i opened it. she made him a quilt and a shopping cart cover thing. isn't that sweet!

A little cuteness and a bunch of weirdness...

look at the big boy holding his toy! how cute is that! i like to think of it as hugging the giraffe not strangling it, by the way! ha ha!

baby sprout is now 3 weeks old. 3 whole weeks. things are going fine. but, at the same time things are.... weird.
i remember when bean was born. when i saw her face i totally fell in love. i felt complete, whole. i was jealous when my husband got to both hold her and feed her before i did. even though it was terribly difficult at times i couldn't imagine my life without her in it.
fast forward to sprout's birth. when i saw him i thought, "he's huge" and pretty much nothing else. i never got that rush of intense love. i didn't feel jealous. i guess what i'm saying is i don't feel particularly bonded to this baby. it's not that i don't love him, because i do. he is a very sweet boy. it just makes me sad that i don't have that emotional tie to him. why don't i?

is it because having bean was a struggle and having sprout was relatively easy? is it because he's asleep all the time and i haven't had the chance to figure out who he is? is it because bean takes up all my time and i just can't take the time to get to know him? is it because he's a boy and i just don't know what to do with boys? is it because i'm so tired that i can't see past the diaper changes and feedings? is it because i secretly had a dream of two little girls running around my house and i'm still mourning the loss of that dream?

i wish i understood why i feel this way. i want to be a good mommy to him but i just don't feel like i am. sigh.

Best Shot Monday

it is monday! the beginning of a new week. let's hope this one runs as smoothly as the last one!! :)

here is my "best" shot of the week. this is the face that a child makes when she realizes that sicking the bubble wand (covered in soap, of course) in her mouth was a bad idea. (this was immediately followed by gagging and crying, by the way) why is it that no matter how many times you tell them not to do something they still seem to feel the need to try it?? she did this last year too, only with sand. sigh.
so, i had to go get her some water to wash down the soap. she drank and drank and drank. apparently bubble solution doesn't rinse out of your mouth easily. she kept saying she could still taste it. i'm sure it tasted awful. hopefully she will remember that this time and not do it again. (how much do you want to bet that she does it again?! ha ha ha!)

hope you all had a lovely weekend! don't forget to stop by tracey's and see everyone else's shots!

Weekend Goodness

i got to take a shower yesterday. a long, hot, steamy shower without anyone interrupting me. it was devine! "how did you manage that?" you ask? everyone else was still in bed, of course. no, not sleeping! no, no, no! bean wakes up at the CRACK of dawn so sadly no one was sleeping.
here is a picture of what i found when i got out of the shower. bean reading books to daddy and sprout (and the magpie too, she just didn't fit in the picture!). i believe that she is currently sharing the tales of olivia the pig, one of her favorites. it looks like sprout is enjoying it too! (really i think he is about to start fussing but honestly, doesn't that look like a laugh?!)

hope you are all having a fun and relaxing weeked!!

I can't complain.

awwww, look at that face! look at it! you could just melt from the sweetness of it all, couldn't you?!?! seriously, is that not the cutest sprout you have ever seen?!?
ok, ok! i'll stop gushing over my child now. ;)

so, anyways, we have made it 4/5ths of the way through our first full "alone" week and i must say it was much better than i expected. we all had our "moments" (including mommy) but i think we came through without too many scars! ha!
i am pretty proud of myself too. we left the house 3 of the 4 days! we shopped at a craft store, went to playgroup and attended library story time. and ALL of that went amazingly well because my boy slept through 90% of it! hooray! really, it went SO well that i have plans to leave the house at least 3 times next week too. lets hope it all goes just as well. heck, i'm even ready to tackle the zoo on the next beautiful day!
(clearly i'm deranged or living in a fantasy world... whatever you do don't disturb the crazy lady. allow her to continue to believe in the magical world she has created for herself! there is NO reason to tell her that you know the baby will eventually "wake up" and everything will be blown all to hell. just sit back and nod encouragingly as she spouts her happy drivel. really, it is the best thing you can do for her.)
;)

Going to be an aunt again!!

my little sister is pregnant! hooray! so i will get a new niece or nephew in november. (hopefully a nephew so that sprout has a playmate!) :)

best part of the story is this:
she took my nieces (4 years old and 2 years old) with her to the ultrasound appointment. the 4 year old could not have been happier when she found out. she kept hugging her mom and patting her belly. when they got home she says this, "mommy, did you want another baby?"
my sister says, "yes, of course i did."
and my niece says, "good, i'm glad because i made it happen."
"what? how did you make it happen?" my sister says in disbelief.
"mommy," she says, "i have been very good and i prayed for you to have a baby. i prayed every night. that is how i made it happen."

is that not the cutest thing ever!!! my nieces can be soooo adorable!

Another good day.

yesterday was a pretty good day. first, i took both kids with me to the craft store and did a little shopping. bean was good because i told her if she was i would let her finger paint when we got home. a little bribery never hurt anyone, right?

it was a beautiful day outside- it hit 70 degrees! so the afternoon was spent outside. we did sidewalk chalk, swings, slide, sandbox, ball- it was great fun. sprout, of course, slept through the whole thing. i'm sure he enjoyed the fresh air though. ;)

there wasn't much whining. there wasn't much crying. there really wasn't any drama of any kind until the annoying neighbor boy climbed the fence and came into our yard and wouldn't leave. claimed his mom said he could come over... gah! we will just say that THAT was the worst part of my day and since it had nothing to do with MY children i'm going to call it a successful day.

today is supposed to be super nice again. (we start with the rain again on wednesday.) so, outside we are going to go. hope you are all enjoying some beautiful spring time weather!

Best Shot Monday

ok, enough with the sprout! we need some bean! (i mean, sprout has kinda been hogging the spotlight since he has been born!)

here are a couple of shots of bean in the rain. it was sprinkling the other day and she desperately wanted to go outside with her new rain boots, raincoat, and umbrella. so we did! she had a BLAST! i had a very hard time getting her to come inside when the rain really started coming down. she just loves being outside. and while i don't LOVE being outside on gray rainy days, rain makes the flowers grow. so bring on the rain! ;)

the weather has improved quite a bit here in the past few days. it is definitely spring time now. it is warm. we have daffidils and crocuses blooming. all the bushes and trees are starting to bud. the grass is starting to green up. i just love watching the earth come to life every spring! such a beautiful time of year.

hey, don't forget to visit tracey today and check out what everyone else has been up to this past week!

Sprout Facts

1. after sprout was born, the doctor proclaims "would you look at the size of that placenta! it is HUGE!" i of course look down. why, oh why do i do things like that?! i of course really didn't want to look at it.... it was huge, by the way.

2. shortly after the doctor alerts us to the size of the placenta the nurse says "whoa, look at the knot he tied in his cord!" sure enough there was a very large knot in that umbilical cord. he must have been doing some serious acrobatics in my belly to do that!

3. the pediatrician came in and gave us information about the circumcision. she then left to go do the procedure. this was at 8:00am, so sprout was less than 12 hours old. 30 minutes later she came back and said, "it went really well. he is doing just fine. it seriously couldn't have been any easier, he slept through the whole thing!" WHAT?!?! that is right. my son slept through his circumcision! does anyone else think this is crazy??

4. he sucks his thumb....
5. he did not have a name for 23 hours and 43 minutes. we came up with a girls name about 45 minutes before he was born but we had NOTHING for a boy. husband INSISTED that he be named before the day was through. and it took ALL day to agree on something. the first name was from my list of names, husband picked the middle name. i'm not exactly sure all of our family like the name but what can you do!

6. he likes to "peek" at people. we refer to it as "the pirate eye."
then again, maybe he's just a little flirt? ;)

Kinda feel like a whiner....

yesterday was much better than thursday. not to say that it was perfect but i never felt like i had to cry and that is always a plus! heck, she ate a meal at dinner time that she usually won't eat! there was no arguing or anything! whoa! :)

bean is actually really good. i've heard a lot of stories about kids adjusting to new siblings recently- all i can say is "WOW, bean is an angel compared to some of those kids!" she really is doing a good job overall. she is a big helper, especially if the chore helps sprout in some way. she will do anything for him. and she isn't upset when i'm feeding sprout, she just sits with us and watches. she wants to know where he is at all times, "where is our baby boy?" is something i hear frequently. she loves him very much. she reads him stories and tries to share her toys with him. yesterday, she even offered him her blankie... yes, her beloved blankie! i was a little shocked myself!
something that i'm really proud of her about is her potty training. everyone told me that she'd have major issues with it once the baby came home and i shouldn't even bother with the training at this time. well, she decided that she wanted to use the potty and i wasn't about to tell her no. she has only had two accidents since sprout came and that is normal for her- she averages one accident per week. she HATES having an accident. she cries and cries when she does, i think it is embarrassment. she has even stayed dry overnight several times now. so, she is doing a super job!!

i'm wondering if part of her problem is that she is tired. is she waking up when sprout does? if she isn't sleeping well she would be much more likely to throw a fit over something silly. hmmmm. it is something to consider. if she is really tired AND she has to share her mommy with a baby... yeah, i could see where that would make her a little demon! ;)
i KNOW most of my problem is that i'm tired!!! i could deal a lot better if i got a little more sleep.

anyways, thanks for all the support and well wishes! you are all wonderfully kind. i feel much better now! hopefully it will stay that way....

Yesterday

for the most part yesterday was fine. unfortunately by 5:00, when daddy got home, i was very close to a breakdown.
you are thinking, "how could it be fine and send you to have a breakdown??" right?

well, bean is doing anything and everything to get my attention and HOLD it. i can't leave her sight, even to go to the bathroom, without her freaking out. she does whatever you tell her not to do. she asks for daddy to come home, not because she wants to see him but because she wants him to take care of sprout. she pouted, whined, and cried- A LOT.... well, a lot for her.
and all this is completely normal for someone her age. plus, there were moments of good spread about here and there. that is why i have to say it was fine overall.
the breakdown comes in because i'm NOT used to fighting with my little girl like this. i've never had to deal with some of the stuff she's done in the past few days. she has always followed directions and listened to what we said to her. it is very difficult when you are suddenly facing the exact opposite. i mean she colored on the carpet, on purpose, right in front of me! when i asked her why she would do that she said, "i just wanted to." i said, "but it is naughty to color on the carpet!" and she responded, "sometimes i like to be naughty" and then she smiled. arrrrrrgggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh! so the coloring book and markers went to time out. and then the high pitched banshee wailing started. she literally screamed for 15 minutes. sigh.

i think she could tell i was about to lose it when i was tucking her into bed because she stood up and gave me a hug and said, "its ok mommy. its ok." all i could do was hug her back.
i must admit that i cried for 15 minutes after i put her to bed. i cried because i suddenly feel unable to parent my little girl, she has turned into someone else. i cried because i feel like i'm ignoring my baby boy because i have to have him in the crib or bouncy seat 90% of the day- bean is too demanding of my time. (and i so just want to hold and cuddle him!) and i cried because i'm just so damn tired that there isn't anything else i can do.

so here is to a better today. it has been a little rough already but what can you do?
i guess i'll just stare at this picture and try to remember what is good......

Today...

... is my first day completely alone with two children. alone with a nearly 3 year old and a one week old. i'm a little nervous. i'm a lot tired. how am i going to make it through the day???

i know in my head i'll be fine BUT it is a long time until 4:30. a LONG time. ;)

Big Sprout

sprout had to visit the doctor today for his one week check-up. let's just say i have a big boy who likes to eat! ha ha!
sprout gained quite a bit in the past 7 1/2 days. he now weighs 9 pounds 3 ounces (up from 8 pounds 9 ounces). he is in the 90th percentile for weight. he is my little chunk!! ;) but i guess that is what happens when all you do is eat and sleep ALL DAY LONG.
this is what he looks like 90% of the time. really, he sleeps, wakes up enough to eat, then goes back to sleep. i'm not sure what i'm going to do when he starts to wake up.... ;)

What's the name?

so you want to know the boy's name, huh?? well, how about this. i'll tell you what his name means and you can see if you can figure it out. kinda like a little game. ;)

sprout's real first name means "hunter".
sprout's middle name means "resolute guardian"

and if you have any desire to know the girl's name here's your clues.

bean's real first name means "god is my strength"
bean's middle name means "consecrated to god"

it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. there are probably tons of websites that can tell you the answers. have fun!
...and here is a little cuteness to inspire you!