Sunday, May 31, 2009

Last week we...


...took many afternoon naps.


...played baseball in the front yard.


...gave lots of kisses & hugs.


...spent many hours outside playing in the pool.


...watched cartoons & relaxed in the mornings.


... & went to the park almost everyday.

Tomorrow we are taking Evan to see the new Disney/Pixar movie "Up." It got great reviews & Evan loves going to the theater. Pullman has a great summer & winter movie program that is really inexpensive, so he has been to see a lot of great films in the theater. He is totally mesmerized! I am a little nervous about taking an almost five week old; hopefully everything will go smoothly!

Next week we have play-dates and more outdoor activities planned... we have to take advantage of our beautiful weather while it lasts.

I hope everyone enjoys their Sunday!

-E

Thursday, May 28, 2009

One Month Old.

Our little guy turned one month old today. I know I keep saying this, but time goes by so fast when you have kids! I can't believe I have a three year old & a one month old. Crazy.

We have been spending a lot of time outside
the past few days; the weather has been fantastic! It was a perfect 70 degree day today. One of the benefits of living on the West side for the summer is the abundance of parks & outdoor activities. We have been to Bradley park four times in the past week & the park in our neighborhood almost daily.

I have finally had a few minutes to do some creative stuff the past couple of days. I am working on Thank You cards for all of the lovely gifts from our friends and family when Jack was born. I also am finishing a digital scrapbook page of our trip to the Point Defiance Zoo:


[Ali Edwards Grid No. 1 Layered Templates, Katie Pertiet Jewelry Tag Alphabet]
This is still a work in progress. I am thinking about taking out a photo or two to make room for some journaling. I have a couple of stories from the trip I want to tell.

Not much else to report around here. I am learning to balance the needs of my two children. Some days I feel like super-mom, other days I feel like I'm balancing too many balls in the air and they are going to come crashing down on my head! I'm sure I am not the only mom who has ever felt that way. Thank goodness the weather has been so nice & we have been able to get out of the house.


I'll be back soon with more photos of the kids.

-E

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

This is our new normal.

Feeding my very hungry infant every 2 - 3 hours. Sometimes every 1.5 hours...

A sometimes sweet, most of the time sassy three-year-old. But I love him dearly.

Mark in Maryland for 3 days. Both of his flights were delayed, so I get to pick him up at the airport at 11:21pm tonight. Doesn't United Airlines know I have a three week old? And a three year old? Sheesh.

Hardly any time for scrapbooking or cardmaking, which is making me sad.

Feeding, diapering, consoling, burping, laughing, screaming, playing, running, yelling. Repeat. Everyday.

Remembering to slow down. It will all be okay. Even the bad days come to an end.

Loving my new little boy.

Jack smiled for the first time yesterday. It was priceless. It's like he finally said "thank you" for all my late night feedings and fussy mornings. He has a beautiful smile.

Finally figuring out how to get my photos onto my blog.

Balancing the time I have between my two children. A never ending battle.

I love the life we have created for ourselves.









Saturday, May 16, 2009

We Made It.

We are in Puyallup! Our drive over last Sunday was blissfully uneventful. Jack slept the entire drive, except for a small break in Othello to eat. Evan took a nap & read books & played cars. I love that my kids are good travellers!

I still have to figure out how to get photos off my camera and onto my parent's computer, so no photos this post :(

I am terribly behind in answering e-mails & calling people, specifically Karen & Cindy. I will get back to you! Between having a baby, (temporarily) moving, and Mark's new job I haven't had a lot of time for much else.

I hope to be back to our routine soon... whatever that might be!

-E

Sunday, May 10, 2009

From blog to layout...

I created Jack's first scrapbook page last night, using my previous blog post journaling & photo as the base of the page. I have been a little busy, so I did a digital page:



I will post credits/supplies tomorrow or Tuesday. We are off to Puyallup tomorrow & I'm a little behind in my packing. A new baby, finals, graduation parties, etc. have been taking up my time!

Jack is currently sleeping in his pack 'n play, yay! He is getting better everyday. I love our new little boy :-)

-E

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Nine Days Old.



1. Jack is a great sleeper/napper during the day, but a bit restless at night. He loves to sleep with Mama & Daddy, which isn't ideal. I want him to sleep in his pack 'n play, so we are working hard to make that happen. I think I'm working harder than he is, though.

2. Evan loves to help out with his new baby brother. He is super about turning the swing on & off, and he knows where the music & mobile buttons are. He also likes to close the lap latch for me.

3. I am spending a lot of time on the couch nursing Jack & holding him in his favorite position: on my chest all scrunched up in a ball.

4. My dad has been here for the last four days helping out. What a blessing that has been. My mom was here the previous week, which made the transition from hospital to home so much smoother than I had expected. My parents have been a wonderful support system for Mark, Evan, and me the last two weeks, and I am so grateful. Jack is lucky to have my parents as his grandparents.

5. I miss my one-on-one time with Evan. I am having to plan special times throughout the day to spend with him. Next week will be another adjustment, as we move in with my parents for most of the summer, so I am planning on making more time to spend with him. I don't want the bond we've had for the past three years to be lost in the midst of all these changes. I want our relationship to stay strong.

6. Evan is huge compared to little Jack! I didn't realize just how big he is until Jack was born. Evan is big for his age, but good grief! Mark and I agree: Evan seems gigantic compared to his little brother. It's crazy how fast they grow up in three short years.

7. Being a mother is hard, but I feel more at ease this time around. Maybe because I'm older, more experienced, or simply more comfortable with myself, but I feel more confident as a parent with Jack. When Evan was born I worried over everything; every cough, sneeze, spit-up, funny looking poop, etc. With Jack I am trying to let the day happen & not worry so much. He is a beautiful, healthy, content little boy & I intend to enjoy him.

8. The first page of Jack's scrapbook is (almost) complete. I am working on a photo in Photoshop, but it won't print for some reason, which is frustrating. Tomorrow I am going to do a couple of Google searches to see what the problem is. Grrrrr...

9. Life is good. Busy, hectic, happy, and full of changes... but life is good.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

A few things I want to remember...



* In the operating room, right after Jack was born, Mark brought him over to me and said: "I actually took a step, babe!" After Evan's birth, Mark was terrified he would drop him, so he shuffled down the hallway to the nursery before handing Evan off to my mom. This time, my experienced husband was able to lift his feet & still hold on to our newborn. I'm very proud of Mark!

* The Nurse Anesthetist calling Jack a "chubby wubsey" right after he was born.

* While the nurse and Mark were in the nursery having Jack weighed & measured the doctors & nurses in the OR were guessing just how big Jack would be. The closest guess was 9 lbs. 11 oz. My guess of 8 lbs. 6 oz. was just wishful thinking! Even Mark's 9 lbs. 6 oz. guess was way off. I guess I just have big babies!

* Right before Evan went to bed tonight Mark peeked in his room and said "I had fun playing with you today, Evan." to which Evan replied "yup."

*Evan only refers to his new little brother as "baby Jack.
"

* Evan also calls Jack's pacifier a "fire." While driving home from the grocery store yesterday Jack spit out his pacifier, and Evan started yelling "Fire! Fire!" from the backseat. It took Mark and me a few minutes to figure out what he was yelling about... and it wasn't that our car was on fire :-)

It's taken me three or four days to write this post. Being a mom of two is much more time consuming than being a mom of one! Right now my two boys are sleeping peacefully, which gives me a few minutes to check blogs & surf the internet. I am telling myself the dirty dishes & laundry can wait... I definitely need some time to myself.

-E