Super Mom!

I admit...I've always tried to be that Mom. That Mom that always has fun activities planned for the kids.  That Mom that always tries to keep snack & meal time new and exciting.  That Mom that volunteers in her kid's class.  That Mom that plays video games with her boys and says silly bathroom words like "poop" to make her son chuckle. That Mom that only promotes educational cartoons.  I am that Mom. Well, I'm that Mom, but a little slacking lately.  It's nearly impossible to be that Mom when I'm running on an hour's sleep, have a baby that only nurses to sleep, and have a 5 year old that thinks all my latest activity ideas are now "boring."  My patience runs thin faster.  My creativity is lacking.  My pantry is bare.  "Spongebob" has taken over my TV lately.  I so want to be able to do it all, but some days its just not possible.  Even my blog is feeling neglecting.

Today, I started to feel more like that Mom again though.  I set up a cute decorative chalk board chore chart for Connor.  I went out to lunch with my Hubby to a new Mexican restaurant & packed appropriately to keep my sweet 5 month old content the entire time.  I cleaned house.  I ordered Noah's personalized Easter basket. I delivered a bag of some of Noah's hand-me-downs to a neighbor with a baby boy.  I'm slowly feeling like myself again. 

Maybe it was after that 6 hour stretch of sleep last night that Noah gifted me!  Sleep is so under-rated.

As I take a break from my Super Mom duties, I figured I'd catch up on my poor blog.  Here are some photos from the past week or two. 

Matt & I found ourselves at Jaycee park a few weeks ago, as we were in the Cape, but had a few hours to burn before we picked up Connor.  We didn't know where to go with Noah, so ended up pulling into Jaycee park.  The views are so refreshing.  I always seemed to avoid the actual park with Connor over the years, because of the sand.  Oh, how the clean freak in me hates sand.  The weather was perfect that afternoon though and it was a great place to park Noah, feed him his carrots for supper, and wait to pick up C.

I remembered taking Connor to Jaycee Park when he was a baby for a picnic supper with my parents.  I tried to recreate the photo with Noah, just 5 years later.

 It's pretty amazing how much my life has changed in those 5 years.  I had no idea in the top picture of what my life had in store for me.  In the bottom picture, I may be aged with a few gray hairs already (eek!), but so so happy with where God has brought me.  And by golly, I make some adorable, smiley babies!

My boys are lucky to have such a wonderful Dad.

Sidenote: After having Noah, we refer to Matt as "Dad" quite a bit around the house.  I knew C might have questions with both the boys having different "Dads."  I made a point to explain to C back when I was pregnant that he's lucky to have two Father figures and that Matt is known as his Step Dad.  C didn't really seem to care, since he knew Matt as "Matt," and he didn't really worry about the title since he'll never actually call him that when talking to him.  Well, in the past week, I have been with C when he is talking to his friends about Matt.  C made a point to say, "See Matt.  He's my Stuff Dad."  He says it so fast that it sounds just like Step Dad, so the kids didn't question him.  I asked C later what he called him and he said, "He's my Stuff Dad."  C assumed I was saying "Stuff Dad," as in the "Dad he does stuff with."  We got a good giggle out of it and I told him he can call him that if he wants. :)

Noah's been doing much better trying new foods.  He was pretty picky to start, making lots of gaggy faces and refusing anything other that sweet potatoes and carrots.  I just kept trying with new flavors and he began to accept them.  We even busted out C's mesh eater to try some banana and avocado.  It made me want to do another fun comparison photo of the boys.  Oh, the big blue eyes!

Noah's officially at the point where he won't stay asleep in his carseat if the car stops moving.  I carried his carseat in the house with him sound asleep, then looked down to see this face.

Another month has passed...

Lots of big changes this month!

-Eating baby food (sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, peas, bananas, avocado, pears)

-Rolling over both ways

-sleeping better (up 2x instead of 12x)

-fresh hair has grown in

-grabbing toys

-everything goes directly in the mouth

-able to go in the pool

-cries less in the car (cries half the time instead of the entire time)

Our little Piranha baby wants to chomp on just about anything.

Still no teeth coming through though.

Last week, I posted on our neighborhood Facebook page asking neighbors if they were selling a jogging stroller.  Within 5 minutes, I had found someone down the street that was selling a perfectly good jogging stroller for $25 (same one was $150 brand new).  We picked it up & it has become our new go-to stroller.  I have jogged a few times with it, fed Noah babyfood in it when we're out and about, and walk him in it every day.  He wouldn't sit long in his other stroller and with this one, he falls asleep in it almost every time!  It was well worth the purchase!

We usually walk while Noah and his Octopus hang out.  He usually just chomps on him until he falls asleep.  This is how I caught him on our walk a few days ago.  So cute.

He stays asleep as long as I keep walking.  It's great motivation to shed my remaining baby weight!

Last Tuesday, Connor hung with Nana & Papa.  Papa snuck home early from work to get some pool playtime in with his little buddy.  Seeing Dad play with Connor in the pool reminds me of when he used to play with Craig, Katie and I as kids.  After launching C in the pool, I can imagine Dad was sore the next day though.  C isn't light!!

Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, it was just me & the boys.  Holy long 3 days.  Matt went to Ohio for work, so we were home alone.  Behind this happy baby was lurking a congested, stuffy nose that kept us up alllllll night long those few nights.  It was not easy entertaining both boys running on zero sleep, without a break when Matt would usually come home in the evenings.  

I managed to take both the boys to our dentist appointment on Thursday.  I had no idea how it would go!  I was blurry-eyed from no sleep, C was on his own in the Dentist chair while I held Noah, and Noah was awake during his regularly long afternoon naptime.  I think God knew I couldn't handle much more, so he gifted me an exhausting, yet easy visit.  No tears. No cavities.  The girls in the office held Noah for me while I got my x-rays.  I managed to hold Noah on my lap the entire time I got my teeth cleaned.  Connor scored some Star Wars goodies out of the treasure box.  We all did great!  Phew!

  

Matt got in Friday night.  He entertained C while I headed out before bedtime to load up on all things Vicks for Noah's room that night, in hopes it would help him sleep.  To my surprise, Noah slept MUCH better, and we all woke refreshed this morning.

  

Let's hope another wonderful night's sleep is in store for us tonight!

1st time in the pool!

My babies were born to swim!  Connor was the happiest in the water and Noah seems to be following right along in the same direction.  With the Dr's approval to put sunscreen on Noah, I dunked the kids in SPF 500 before heading to the pool.  Before we hopped in, I had to sneak a photo in of my adorable matching boys!

Connor wanted to do the kiddie pool/fountains first, so we headed there first.  While my big boy was content, I knew the non-heated-kiddie pool was going to be a little too chilly for my littlest guy.  We dipped our feet in and patiently waited for big bro to get his play time in before we headed over to the heated pool.

We headed over to the big pool where Noah was pretty emotionless at first.

We wrangled all the beasts for some pictures.

Sidenote: I saved this SPF hat from when Connor was a newborn.  It used to have a matching swimsuit, which made it look a little more boy-ish.  After putting it on Noah without the matching suit, it did appear a little bonnet-girlish.  I was worried about sun on my fair-skinned babe, so I didn't really care.  I did get a good confirmation that Noah won't be wearing this hat again in public, after a woman in the pool muttered across the pool,

 "Awww...Is it her first time in the pool?!"

Yep...bye bye sunhat!

Connor was set on going in the fountains again, so Matt & him went back over there while I got some one on one swim time in with my babe.  Once we were alone, Noah was happily chatting away!

He decided this pool stuff was pretty great!

Tackling the pool with two kids in tow isn't super easy, but I see it happening quite a bit in the months to come!

Happy Love Day!

This little cutie went for his 4 month checkup this week.  Since Connor was a giant lug always in the 95th percentile for height, weight & head size, I wasn't sure what to expect with Noah's measurements since he seems so 'tiny' compared to his big bro.  Noah & Connor have the same heads :)...both in the 90th percentile.  My 'tiny' guy still had some impressive stats--16.6 lbs & 25.5 inches long...both in the 60th percentile for his age.  The Dr. noted he was 'perfect,' with all measurements straight down the middle of the growth chart.  He's hitting all milestones right on cue-chatting away, drooling like a teething beast, and grabbing for toys with his pudgy little hands. My growing babe is doing so good :)

This Valentine's day, I got a little carried away.  I didn't have the patience to wait until Easter!  I found matching swimsuits for the boys (that's really a gift to me!).  I set up a heart scavenger hunt for C when he woke up Friday for school, which led to a new water table and Batman towel for the boys!  C was pumped!  I was just so excited to see him so excited!  Holidays with kids are the BEST!

Mr. Noah enjoyed his 1st Valentine's Day :)

Oh, those eyeballs!

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to try to get a baby to smile all while firmly telling your 5 year old to lay still, stop smothering the baby, and look happy?!  Child photographers are my heroes!

Then Saturday, we went to visit Uncle Mitch & Aunt Michelle at their new house in Cape Coral.  Noah was on his best behavior & got a 2 1/2 hour nap in their guest room.  Score!

Family photo minus my sweet Connor.

Among many goals, one of them is to make sure my kids aren't afraid of dogs.  Noah enjoyed checking out his fur cousins--Seemore & Sally.  Not sure who was drooling more...

Then yesterday, I captured this beauty while we were outside playing with the water table.

My sweet boys are two peas in a pod!

Photo overflow

I know it's been a while since I've made time to blog when my photos start to pile up on my computer.

Noah should be awake any minute, so I'll try to sum up the pictures quickly. 

Sidenote: I do everything quickly post baby--eat, shower, clean, get dressed, etc etc etc. Just add blogging to that list.

Sidenote #2: Noah is now awake, so looks like I'll be blogging quickly AND with one hand.

I am so grateful to have so many kids for C to play with in our neighborhood.  This photo was from last week when we were up at the pool & we ran into our neighbor friends who have three kids.  C enjoyed some play time with his buddy, Michael, who is 2 years older than him.  I don't usually notice their age difference, but on this day, we did.  When it was supper time, we decided to load up & head home.  C went over & gave Michael a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  Michael quickly pulled away & said, "Ewww, were you trying to kiss me?!"  My sweet little boy didn't know it wasn't cool to do that with big boys!

I was big on not buying large baby gear until we realized what we could really use (since Connor hated half of his fun baby gear when he was little).  The swing that I bought only got a few uses, before Noah decided he didn't really care for it.  A few weeks ago, I decided that a jumper would be great, since he loves to stand upright.  I thought I'd just pack up the swing & ship it on over to my bro's house for his future twins.  Well, the jumper is a hit.  Yippee!  And to my surprise, Noah has grown a liking to the swing now too.  He's fallen asleep in it the past two nights.  Looks like the living room is going to be consumed by baby gear for a while.  Whatever keeps this little guy happy (and my hands free!).

On January 30th, our little guy turned 4 months.  Holy moly.

He's really stretching out...

Noah likes to wake every night & stay awake for about an hour.  Sometimes its 2am, 3am, 4am, 5am...

We usually camp out in the living room watching Sprout while the other boys in the house sleep.  On this day, C and Noah woke at 5:30am for the day.  Instead of fight it, I just surrendered my bed & we watched Sesame Street together.  Matt was snoozing on the couch.  Life's unfair sometimes!

Last Saturday, we went to Shelby's 5th birthday party at Skyzone.  C parked himself at the trampoline basketball hoops & spent the entire party there.  There were three different hoop heights, but C preferred the adult (highest) hoop.  He had it to himself for most of the time, but toward the end of the party, C stood in a line of grown men.  It turns out the adults pay to 'play' per hour, so some were a little impatient to wait behind a 5 year old.  Sorry guys--my little guy's got skills & can hang with them best of 'em!

A rare weekend with C called for non-stop fun.  On the top of C's list-- play time with his best bud, Coen.  After our last experience with the boys together, I opted to have them at the pool to help me from becoming referee between the two of them.  It worked out pretty well!  The boys swam and played in the fountains, while Noah enjoyed the fresh air. 

I rarely get pictures of me & my boys since I'm always being the camera.  I took advantage of the opportunity while Matt was with us.

The next morning, Nana & Papa were over bright & early for more Connor fun.  C was pumped to spend the day at the trailer fishing with his fave people!  Papa snuck in some Noah time while we got C ready to go.

Connor was thrilled to tell me about his fishing trip with Papa, Nana, Uncle Pete, and Aunt Jill.  

"I caught lots and lots of fish!  Some were 17, 14, and 16 (inches).  Uncle Pete caught a Goliath Grouper, but he was 30, so he threw him away."

Oh the fish stories...

He had one exciting weekend & I was so glad he was able to squeeze in so much excitement!

A few days later was C's day of the week at Nana & Papa's.  Here are the photo updates I got from Nana while I was at home missing my boy.

(Zingo Bingo before bed)

Looking all cute hanging in Nana's sunroof before school.

This week marked a big milestone for Noah.  Hello babyfood!  I wasn't sure how he's accept the idea, but he dove right in & loved it!  His baby bird mouth would open & he'd suck on his hand to help get food & slobber to go down.  He'd fuss if I didn't get the spoon to him fast enough.  Day 1: Sweet Potatoes. Yum!

 Sweet Potatoes, Day 2.  This food thing is great.

One happy kid :)

Another big milestone: sleeping in his own room.

I'm not used to the fancy video monitor with Connor, so it's neat to be able to see whats going on without them seeing you.  The only thing that kinda creeps me out is that the 'night vision' rids all dark color-- making Noah's hair, jammies & blanket all white...just doesn't look like the baby I put in the crib! :)  Once he starts moving around and squawking, I'm quickly reminded that this is my child!

We woke up this morning in the living room.  Noah slept in his swing from 5:00am on and I curled up near him on the rug.  Connor stumbled out around 7:30am (from my bed...) and cheerfully says, "Look, Noah's smiling at me!"  For the next 10 minutes or so, Connor blew bubbles on Noah's belly to make him smile in his swing.  He was a proud big brother, knowing he could make Noah happy.

Matt's currently walking Noah around the neighborhood to keep him content and awake, as he's wanting to go to bed at 5:45pm.  I am preparing to go pick up Big Brother and each minute is crawling by.  He'll be happy to know we have plans for strawberry ice cream with marshmallows on top when he gets home!