A Day in September

A Day in September
September 26,2010


My day started around 7:15 am. The littlest man now consistently sleeps 6 1/2 hours straight a night. The bad news is he is a wild man till 1am...so we are still getting just those 6 sweet straight hours of sleep at night.

After a nice lazy nursing session, Colin got a little supplement. We see the doctor this week to see if we still need to supplement him with formula once or twice a day.
I love how he holds his little fist. He does this while nursing as well. So cute.

Jack is usually happy or crabby in the morning. Today, he was pretty laid back. Any morning that Ryan is home he is happier.

Jack does a little coloring while I start to get ready for church and Ryan is fixing breakfast.

Jack loves to talk with Colin. They are quite the pair. Colin is the happiest baby ever in the morning, full of smiles and coos.

It will be interesting to see the dynamic of these two in the coming months.

My lovely Hubby and I were missing our days in NYC and he went out and bought stuff to make our favorite Brooklyn bagel breakfast sandwich. Not quite like Brenner's, but still so good.

During breakfast Colin passed out completely. He kept sleeping right through getting dressed, put in the car seat and off to church.
( All the nursing and supplementing is starting to pay off...little tiny baby chub!)

Does it seem impossible to get out of the house and making on time for church for anyone else? Our church just started their second campus that is now 1 mile from our house and the time is perfect for our nap schedule. Can we ever make it there early? Not yet...

One of the things that we love about Virginia is our church. We LOVE it. It has been the perfect place for us and our busy lives here. After being heavily involved at Cedar Valley Church and than Southbridge, we were tired and completely overwhelmed with our new life in Virginia. We were able to just sit and rest at this church and it was wonderful.

A few months ago, the church was given a miraculous opportunity to buy church property that was in foreclosure and the bank was selling it. In a few short weeks, God worked miracle and we have a new building, a second campus. It is also in our area and we are so exited to get involved in our community here. You can read about it here.

I could go on and on about it... but I won't. We just love our pastor and our church and are so blessed to have found a perfect fit for us when we are so far away from our family and friends.

We left church a few minutes early so that I could feed the babe again. Jack was ready for some dinner and a nap as well.

While Ryan grilled some pork chops and feed Jack and himself, I nursed Colin and did a little blog reading as well.

After feeding Colin, I ate and cleaned while Ryan and Colin watched a little football together. Jack was down for a nap and the house was clean and peaceful. I got all the needed diaper bag supplies, pumped for Colin's next feeding and got us ready to leave.

After Jack's nap time, we headed off to the oceanfront for the Neptune Festival to meet some friends. The Neptune Festival is a huge sandcastle competition with lots of arts and craft vendors as well as food vendors. The weather was pretty overcast and humid, but we wanted to at least try to get down there for a bit.

We met up with our friends and let Jack play at the beach playground while I feed Colin. It was his first time to the beach. He didn't really care. He just cared that I fed him.

Jack played shy while Miss Nora and Millie waited with Jack for the slide. He loved playing with the dog more than he liked the playground!

After a little play time and feeding time, we were off to try to make it to the sandcastles before we got rained on. Little did we know that we parked at the end of the arts vendors and had a full 20 blocks till we got to the massive sculptures.

Colin thought it was fun regardless of the weather.

Mike and Nora bought Jack a bubble gun and he was happy as can be. He actually didn't fight staying in the stroller! Shooting bubbles was obviously more fun than fighting with mom and dad.

The gross realities of festivals.

Well, we failed. It rained. Hard. We stood under a canopy for a bit and contemplated walking the 10 more blocks to see the sculptures or just heading back to the car. The rain died down for a bit, but was still misty and gross. We opted to head back and not risk another downpour and getting the baby wet and cold. We did stop to get a vendor corn dog and a picture of bubbles by a crab. Not the most successful trip, but still fun none the less.

Once we arrived home it was a quick little dinner and than bath time for Jack, while Colin nursed.(again)

Bubbles are a favorite at this house. A must for bath time.

Than is was bed time for one little boy. This is a pretty typical picture of our family around 8pm. I am holding a milk induced comatose Colin and Jack and Ryan are reading books before bed.

This is my little family.

Jack goes to bed and Colin wakes up ready to play. Don't let that previously passed out picture fool you. That lasts 10 minutes. Than it is wide awake happy baby who wants to kick and wiggle and coo...till 11:30pm. So, we watch a little football and make fun of Rex Ryan, the Jets' head coach and play with baby.

I hand happy smile guy to Ryan and start some stomach recovery exercises. I have a pretty severe stomach separation from having Colin (and Jack) and I have to do special stomach exercises to help bring my abdominal separation back together. Awesome. I can't do a hard Pilate's or any heavy normal ab stuff till I get this fixed. Awesome. I guess when you carry babies like this, you get to do fun boring exercises and wrap your stomach with a fun pink band. The joys of a post partum body...

So, after my little stretch-work out time, it was the final feeding for baby and off to bed...around 1am...

And that was our Sunday.

Head over to Mrs. B's site and check out what other people do in a day.

See you next month!

Two

I've got two now.

Two babies.

Two boys.

Twice the diapers.

Twice the laundry.

Twice the kisses and twice the hugging to give.

Twice the praying.

Twice the tears.

Time that goes by twice as fast and boys that seem to grow twice as big.

I take less showers, get less sleep and my house is twice as messy.

It takes my twice as long to get out of the house with double the amount to pack.

Two car seats are parked in the back of my car and a stroller that is now a double.

But life that has gone from one boy to two has doubled in all of its pleasures.

Double the love pours from my heart as I kiss two sweet sleeping boys.

Double the smiles to brighten my day as I clean up spit up and spills.

Double the laughter ringing through the house as one boy begins to laugh at another.

The joy in my boys grows twice as strong, as my alone quiet time becomes twice as sweet.

My home has been taken over with double the trouble, the right kind of trouble you don't want to live without.


These are my boys, my sweet handsome boys.

And I am the mother of two.

Over the river and through the woods...

...to Grandmother's house we go...

Grandma has the perfect house. Warm and cozy, bright and cheery and perfectly comfortable all at the same time.

Everyone likes to go to Grandma's...even the littlest one.

Eight year old relatives take the hands of their two year old counterparts to venture down the hill to the river's edge.

Another game of 'Ring Around the Rosies' is a must on the deck.

The fishing boat is ready to go.

The old fishing boat is not. It rests happily next to the shed and the wild flowers.

Careful steps take you back up to the house.

Brothers and Daddies greet you at the top of hill.

After a nice long day you can cuddle up with your Grandma and sippy cup and stare at the warm fire.

Warm fires, green woods, murky waters lined with white swans and lots of good food is what you get at my Grandma's house.

Just one of my favorite things about being home in Michigan.

Recap

~We got back from a ten day trip to Michigan last night.

~I am exhausted beyond belief.

~We flew with a 6 week old and a 2 year old.

~They did amazing. Super proud of both of them. People loved them and commented on how well behaved both boys were.

~Olivia Newton John was on one of our flights and loved Colin's hair and chatted with Jack.

~I didn't recognize who she was. The baggage guy told Ryan were she was sitting, thus alerting us to who we were talking too.

~ I LOVED the cool weather in Michigan.

~ I packed for warm weather.

~ I wore my only cardigan every. single. day.

~I ate so much food that I should fast the rest of the week.

~I love being home and wish I had family closer.

~ I loved sleeping in my own bed last night.

~ I went on a date with my Husband.

~ I seriously considered napping for the high majority of our time away from the boys.

~ I didn't. We actually went out.

~ I will post pictures later.

~ I am beyond exhausted.

Cone of Uncertainty

Yes. We are in the cone of uncertainty with Hurricane Earl.

Yes, that is a real term. I thought it was a joke...a Will Ferrell type joke.

The Cone of Uncertainty is not like the Cone of Shame from 'Up'. It the predicted path the a hurricane may take. A hurricane can go from the far west to the far east of the cone.

We are on the far west of the cone. Islands in North Carolina are being evacuated and we are under a hurricane watch.

We are also leaving for Michigan Thursday evening. We are flying and I really don't want to get delayed or stuck in an airport with a two year old and a 5 weeks old. Just flying alone with them is enough...I don't need any more time occupying them.

Oh yeah, and I don't want damage to my house...or cars... stuff like that.

So Cone of Uncertainty...you just wander your little way east.

Thanks.