Life Lately

I'm bummed about the frequency of these posts!  I have been working TOO MUCH, in my opinion.  I try my hardest to leave work by 5:00, though it is usually closer to 5:30, but this means I typically leave with several notes to write.  I usually write notes for at least 2 hours in the evening, so that leaves little time for blogging.  Now that Andy is done with school, I really don't want to be doing work from 7:30-10:00 every night!  I'm going to try my hardest to get my work done at work this summer!  But enough whining!   On to the fun!  I can hardly believe that this weekend Josh will already be 5 months old!  He is getting so big!  He rolls all over the place and you really can't leave him on his play mat anymore because he will definitely be on the other side of the room within 30 seconds.  Ben is getting equally grown up and even goes potty on the toilet/potty chair now!!!  He went to school in undies for the first time today.  Proud momma over here!!

I'm going to do my best to recap some of the highlights from the past month.  Josh was baptized on Sunday, April 19.  He was a perfect little angel and didn't cry at all.  In fact, he was grinning from ear to ear.  It was so sweet.

Ben requested a candle on the cake...

Later that day, we went to a funeral for my great uncle Wally.  It was the happiest celebration of life that I've been to in a long while.  

The next day, we went to the Brewers game!  

It was freezing!!!  We had to tailgate in the car.

Ben and Josh didn't mind.  It was fairly warm with the roof of the stadium closed, thankfully!

This past weekend, Ben, Josh, my mom, and I went to Hannah and Emily's dance recital.  Ben loved it!

This past Sunday was Mother's Day, so we were sure to see all of the mothers in our lives!  After mass, we went to brunch at my cousin's house.  

We also visited great grandma in her new place!  Josh loves great-grandma!

I think it's time for bed now!  I think I say this every time, but I'm going to try REALLY hard to keep this little blog of mine up to date!  It's almost time for Josh's 5 month post and I can hardly believe it! 

4 Months (4/18/2015)

I can't believe it has almost been a month since my last post!  Life has obviously been busy.  I've been doing work pretty much every night, but I decided to take the night off.  Partly because I'm exhausted and partly because I don't want to fall any further behind on my blog posts!  Besides, all my notes (and then some) will still be there tomorrow!

GENERAL: Dear Josh, these months are going by SO quickly!  You had your 4 month check up on Monday and once again you are perfection!  You're 24.25 inches and you weigh 11#5oz.  I continue to miss you and your brother like crazy when I am at work, but I sure love coming home to your giant smiles!  You have started giggling a lot more and you're always happy!    

SLEEP:  You continue to be a great sleeper!  The times that you wake up in the night haven't been as predictable, but you typically go right back to sleep after you eat.  You're waking up once or twice (usually twice) a night to eat.  You're still in the bassinet in our room and I like having you in there!  We did buy another video monitor, so you might be making the move to your crib soon.  (If we can figure out how to get the camera to work…)  You go to bed at 7-7:30 like your brother and the first time you wake up is usually around 1:00 or 2:00.  It's not bad!  The only hard part is if I try to go to the gym in the morning and I want you to wake up to eat. :)  You're typically up for the morning at around 6:30, but then you like to go back down for a nap around 8:30.  You take a few naps during the day, or so I'm told!  You fall asleep pretty quickly.

EATING: I thought eating had been going well, but you're weight has dropped off the growth curve a bit.  I'm still nursing you when I'm home and you get bottles when I'm gone.  I've been working hard to pump for you while I'm at work!  It's not always the easiest but my goal is to not use any formula.  However, the pediatrician is recommending that we add 1 teaspoon of formula to your bottles during the day.  We just started that yesterday.  You usually have 4-5oz bottles 2-3 times/day.  I really hope you're getting enough!  You look so healthy and are one happy little guy, so I'm trying not to stress too much!

COMMUNICATION/COGNITION: You still love to "talk" and have little conversations.  You giggle whenever we kiss your neck and it's the sweetest little noise!  You definitely know your momma and you've started fussing for daddy a bit at night when he is trying to put you to bed, but you'll calm instantly if I take over.  You must have learned that trick from your big brother!  (Who now seems to prefer daddy to be the last one to tuck him in at night…go figure!)  Ben loves you just as much as you love him, and he seems to get a little bored with your monthly photo shoots.  But he gets over it quickly!

FINE/GROSS MOTOR: You have been rolling from your tummy to your back for several weeks now, and you've rolled from your back to your tummy a handful of times.  You LOVE putting things in to your mouth and you are SO drooly!  You're latest favorite thing is the Sophie the giraffe that you got from the Easter bunny.  You reach for toys and you still like sitting in your bouncy chair.  You've been getting bored a little more quickly, but as soon as we pick you up, you're happy again.

My goal is to write a 2.5 year update on Ben in the next week or so in addition to another post about the fun things we've been up to lately including Easter and Josh's baptism! 

Life is so good with my 2 boys (and daddy too, of course!)  

Our first try with the video didn't end well, but Ben did such a good job with his fingers that I had to include it.

He loves his numbers!

Back At It!

I'm going to try and get back in to the blogging routine!  With Josh being the awesome sleeper that he is (I really hope I didn't just jinx things), I definitely have time to do fun things in the evenings like blog and read!  After 5 years in this house, I FINALLY got a library card the other day.  That's kind of embarrassing, but I checked out some books and I'm determined to read more.  And I'm also determined to start training for that half marathon I signed up for…  There are just not enough hours in the day!

Anyway.  Life has been good over here.  We have slowly but surely been getting out our Easter decorations and I can't believe Easter is already next Sunday.  Andy had school 3 of the weekends in March (BOO!) but I'm excited because he only has 3 weekends left this semester!  I'm not sure who is more excited, Andy or me!  While I strongly prefer when Andy is home, I do have fun with my baby boys!  Last weekend we attempted the mall.  I only crashed in to like 5 people trying to maneuver the double stroller.  Ben is getting to the age where he is really bored by clothes shopping, so we spent the majority of the time watching the Easter bunny from a distance.  He was very intrigued by the bunny, but he didn't want to get too close.

Believe it or not, it wasn't very crowded on a Sunday afternoon, so the bunny came over to say hi to Ben.  Ben was not interested, but he did accept a gift from the bunny.

But then he hid from us all.

We're going to brunch with the Easter bunny next weekend, so we'll see how that goes!  Speaking of bunnies, have you ever seen such a cute one?!  Love this boy and all of his smiles. 

Ben started gymnastics a few weeks ago, and it is really high up there on the list of cutest things ever.  He is quite the brave guy, and it is probably better that Andy has been going with him, because I am terrified of a spinal cord injury with every move he makes.

Look at this kid.  The other kids were feebly holding their parents' hands as they ran down the mat, and this guy jumped right in on his first try.  (Not the best video, but you get the point.)

Yesterday, we went to lunch with Maddie and Sarah.  Note that Maddie's grilled cheese and chips are completely gone (plus she ate a cookie) and Ben took literally 1 bite.  Sigh….

After mass this morning, we went over to Andy's parents' house for brunch.  Ben got to play with balls so he was a happy camper.  Josh got to smile so he was a happy camper, too.

This one is blurry, but that doesn't take away from his awesome smile.

We ended our weekend by dyeing some Easter eggs.  There was only one spill but a lot of splashes, and Ben's fingers will probably be blue until Easter.  

Josh took an amazing 2+ hour nap this afternoon, but he didn't want to miss all the fun!

I'm so excited for next weekend!  Lots of Easter egg hunts, kind of like last year, but I think Ben will have even more fun this year.  I'm ready for some warmer weather around here!  Ben has caught so many bugs this winter and Josh currently has a junky sounding cough that I'm pretty sure he got from his big brother.  I just want everyone to be healthy and stay healthy! Alright, time to READ and go to bed so I can get up at 5:00 tomorrow morning to RUN! 

3 Months (3/18/2015)

Well, my maternity leave was over in the blink of an eye.  I went back to work on the 12th, which was Josh's 12 week birthday.  It wasn't as traumatic going back the second time around, probably because I knew I would survive and it was actually nice to talk to some adults again.  I am so lucky to have the BEST co-workers ever.  They make work not seem like work.  (Most of the time.  It actually felt like I had never left after my first day back...)

Now that I am back in the groove with work, I'm going to try and get back to blogging more regularly and working out more regularly too!  I signed up for a half marathon in June, so I should probably start running.  Eek!

GENERAL: Dear Josh, you are such a good baby!  You make me think I could handle lots more babies!  (Haha, hopefully Andy didn't pass out when he read that one!)  But honestly, you almost never cry and when you do squawk, you're easily consoled.  When I weighed you today, you weighed 10#7oz and I think you're a little over 22 inches or so.  You have the best little rolls!

SLEEP:  Your sleep has been nothing short of AMAZING!  You typically go to bed around 7:00-7:30 when your big brother goes to bed.  You had been waking up consistently at 3:30, but this past week or so you've been waking up around 1:30.  You don't really cry when you wake up, you just make little noises and I wake up and feed you.  You're still in the bassinet in our room and you still prefer to sleep on your tummy.  After you eat when you wake up at night, you will go right back to sleep until you wake up again around 4:00 or 5:00 and eat again.  You like to have a morning nap and then you sleep every few hours throughout the day too.

EATING:  Eating has been going pretty well too.  You still nurse like a champ when I am home, but I've had to start pumping more now that I am back at work.  You've been taking about 5oz a few times a day while I am at work, and then I nurse you the rest of the time.  My supply has been going up and down, so I hope you're getting enough!

COMMUNICATION/COGNITION: You are still the happiest baby in town.  I love coming home from work and seeing that sweet smile!  You continue to coo and it's just music to my ears.  Oh, and you GIGGLED for the first time earlier this week and I can't wait for more of those!  I really think you love hearing Ben the most.  He always comes down to snuggle with us in the morning, and your face lights up when you hear and see him.  You two love each other SO much and I hope that is always the case!

FINE/GROSS MOTOR: You are quite the tough little guy, just like your brother.   You haven't started rolling just yet, but you sure know how to wiggle and move.  You like your head to be at the top of the bassinet.  You're also getting so good with your hands.  When you're not putting them in your mouth, you are starting to reach for toys.  When you're in your bouncy seat, you grab the toys and start to do mini pull-ups!  Like I said--TOUGH!

Sometimes Ben wants to be in the pictures, sometimes he doesn't, and sometimes he is just plain silly. 

I love you boys more than life itself!