Brain Dump

I had a TON of pictures on my camera, and we have a LOT going on here lately, with a few busy weekends ahead...so if I dont just dump all this cuteness off my camera NOW, it might never see the blog.  I want to make sure to remember life right now, and the blog is the best way to ensure our memories are captured.  Eric and I have both been referencing the blog posts I wrote in 2009 when Whitney first came home, as a way to try to figure out what worked/didnt work/etc with a newborn in our house.  Apparently Whitney was as sleepy and non-responsive as Grady is currently, but we just have soooo many memories of her smiling, cooing, laughing, and responding to us, so we have forgotten this "lump" stage of newborn life. Ha! Grady is having great nights with fairly routine stretches of sleep with bottles every 3-3.5 hours, sometimes even stretching 4 hours (the ONE time Eric said he would take the next feeding!).  His days are hit or miss right now.  We get about two hours of awake time in the morning, where he is interested in our faces and in looking out the windows, or sitting in his bouncer or on his belly, followed by some fussiness as he struggles to fall asleep.  It appears he doesnt want to miss anything, though he isnt yet interacting with us.  He naps in his crib, swaddled in the same sleep sack Whitney used, with white noise on.  He starts with a binky, then loses it mid-sleep. Sometimes he wakes up wanting a binky retreival, other times he couldnt care less if the binky ever showed up again. 

I think we have a few legitimate smiles from Grady, but they arent consistent yet.  He tracks our voices around the room, turning his head to try to see his big sister quite often.  He doesnt mind tummy time and really loves the walls in his room and Whitney's lady bugs from Aunt Gerry! 

There isnt really anything new or exciting to report, but Im hoping his one month update (next week!?) will bring some new highlights to share :) 

On to the picture dump:

Grady's First Chair Pictures

We attempted the chair pics at quite possibly the worst time of day.  We had already brought Whitney to her room for a nap, even having her change into jammies, only to decide that we wanted to try to snap some pics while Grady was awake/happy.  We threw on their matching outfits and said a little prayer.  Whitney cooperated as well as a tired three year old could, and we got what we needed :) 

I promise he was awake when we started this process.  He doesnt keep his eyes open long!

Handsome kid, huh? :)

We werent planning on taking side-by-side pics, but Im thinking we might try it each month.  I am ordering Whitney a new chair cover since hers is filthy after three years of daily use, and then I think we will try to tackle a side-by-side each month to see how both kids grow :) 

And if you are lucky enough to have one of our birth announcements, you have already seen this pic...the monthly family chair pic at my parents house :) 

And because Whitney is VERY into the "wet's make siwwy faces!" game, we had to oblige :) 

We didnt plan to take any pics of just me and the kids, but Whitney climbed up on the chair so sweetly so Eric just started taking pics.  I love them :) 

Aaaaand, more siwwy faces, of course.

My favorite:

We have had some GORGEOUS weather here lately, so we've enjoyed a lot of pool time. (Well, I still have stitches, so I cant go in the pool til June, but Whitney and Eric have loved it :))  Whitney got a new bathing suit from my parents and Grady had a hand-me-down suit that matched nicely :) 

Grady is three weeks old today, and the last three weeks are all blurring together.  I think this pic is from the week after his birth when Eric was still home for paternity leave.  Whitney got soooooo many gifts at her birthday party, so we tried to spread the wealth by only opening/unpackaging one or two at a time.  She couldnt WAIT to open them, and would stare at the packaging deciding which ones to open next.  She couldnt wait to rip into this Barbie doll house from her Aunt Summer, Uncle Rudi, and the boys next door :)

Eric put all the stickers in the proper places, added all the special features and decorations, and instead of just handing it to her or saying, "There. Its done. Have fun.", he got into it! He sat on the floor and played Barbies with our girl for hours! They both made special voices for each doll, and each doll had their own story/plan/career. Im not sure who's imagination is better!

"I have to get weddy to go to work, Tiana! I'll see you waiter!"

Isnt he the BEST Daddy!? How many three year old girls can get their daddy to sit on the floor and play Barbies for hours?!?

And just when I think this Daddy cant get any more amazing, he strikes again! Whitney woke up at 3am puking her little guts out on the same day Eric was scheduled to return to work.  While I dreaded the inevitable, I think Eric was eagerly looking forward to returning to his own office with his normal routine and no tears, diapers, or requests for more string cheese.  Poor guy delayed his escape return to work and stayed home just one more day to help me care for a sick, puking, sad Whitterbug while also trying to keep newborn Grady far enough away to avoid contamination.  I am not sure I wouldve survived the day if he had happily skipped out the door to head to work.  Thankfully, he is loved by his peers and boss and company in general, so they understood when he was taking conference calls from the couch next to his puking daughter, and answering emails from home instead of at his desk.  I will never understand what I did to get so lucky.  He is the BEST.  

Whitney was completely better by 3pm...just a 12 hour yucky that I think had something to do with the amount of pool water she consumed the day before :)

Poor Whitterbug.

This is what I found that first week flying solo.  Whitney was "worried about Gwady in his cwib all awone, so I juss wanted to check on him."  What a great big sister.

And while this dude is growing and changing right before our eyes, I still see my brother, my Grandma Mac, my mom, and myself in his face.  Sometimes I catch brief glimpses of Eric, but most people say he looks like me :) 

Whitney is really doing great with the whole big sis gig so far.  She asks to hold him a lot, and when she wakes up, she instantly asks "Where's Gwady? What is he doing?" 

I am sure I made some big huge post about Whitney's first bath three years ago, but poor Grady is already a victim of "second child status".  I gave him his bath while Eric and Whitney played in the playroom, then called Eric to "come snap a pic real quick" before his bath was done.  With Whitney, we had supplies lined up and towels warming in the drier and the camera was ready with new batteries.  Poor Mr. Grady. lol

He fell asleep and was absolutely adorable :) 

I mean seriously!? Does it get cuter??

We headed to our first dinner out as a family of four last week.  We met Eric's dad and crew to celebrate our nephew's birthday! Whitney struggled with being three and I was quickly reminded of the days when I never ate a meal warm in a restaurant. :) Grady needed a bottle/to be held/attention as soon as my plate hit the table. Im not complaining! Just noting that I had forgotten those details of life with a newborn :)

Daddy snapped more pics of me with our kids before dinner....and I still cant believe I have KIDS. Plural. More than one. Wow. 

We are in the thick of the "cheesy smile/let's make silly faces" phase of picture taking.  Should make monthly chair pics a LOT of fun. 

We celebrated another special boy's 3rd birthday last weekend, and Mr. Grady was the life of the party! When we arrived, several girlfriends said "Oh! As soon as he wakes up I want to hold him!!" But they never got that lucky, as Grady slept through the entire party.  Too cute :)

More pool fun :) Whitney is enrolled in swim lessons at the YMCA.  She starts in a few weeks and says she is "very excited", but I will be honest....this is a Daddy-only gig.  This mama cant bear to hear her daughter scream and flail and kick and protest when we try to teach her to swim at home, and I have heard the YMCA lessons are "great, but traumatic" so this girl is staying home. Im sure Eric will tell me "She did great!" but Whitney will tell me the truth....and we'll see if she goes back for week two. Sigh.  Gonna be a long summer if she doesnt learn how to swim to the side/float. 

It is widely known around this house that I am not the best game-teacher.  I can brag that I taught Whitney the letters of the alphabet, all the sounds the letters make, how to write a 'W', how to spell her name, how to count to 20 (and sometimes 30), all her shapes and colors and the sounds animals make and alllllllllllllll the other things preschoolers are supposed to know......but I simply have NOT been able to teach this child how to play games like CandyLand or Chutes and Ladders.  I have a lot of patience for children, but for some reason...perhaps the combination of her age-appropriate lack-of-attention combined with my lack of sleep? Whatever the reason, I have put off those games for months, always suggesting Memory or puzzles or Hi Ho Cherry O instead.  I finally found another game that Whitney and I can happily play together....and it was only $1 at Target's Dollar Spot! 

Alphabet Bingo ROCKS this preschooler's world! She is GOOD at it, and its educational! Woot! Woot!

She beat me twice the other night before bed :) 

This dude may look sweet and innocent, but he is loud.  VERY loud.  He will certainly not be the shrinking violet in this family. When he wants our attention, he gets it FAST. 

And because I am slightly crazy (or perhaps Mother of the Year?), I said, "sure, why not?!" when Whitney sweetly asked me to take her to the splash pad after school on Wednesday.  The entire time I was driving home to pack her swim suit and some snacks, I was half kicking myself and half giving myself a pep talk trying to convince myself that none of us would A) die B)drown or C) get arrested if I just made it a quick visit to the splash pad near our house.  

And with a face like this, how could I say no!?

I am sooo proud to report that the event was a success! Brief, yes.  But still a success! 

Whitney had a BLAST and couldnt have been cuter, and Grady slept the entire time.  I thought ahead and anticipated bathroom scenarios, changing of clothing, wet towels, shoes on and shoes off, and all the other thigns that might be tricky if I found myself feeding or holding an infant simultaneously.  No one died, drown, or got arrested....and not one tear was shed! I felt like Super Mom. ha.

Everyone keeps telling me that it gets easier....well, almost everyone. lol Some girls have been brutally honest and said it just never gets easier, you just get used to it.  I knew how easy my life was with Whitney. She was an easy going baby, an easy and happy toddler, and a fairly reasonable and happy preschooler. I am still getting to know Grady and he is still getting to know us, but it is safe to say he isnt as easy as WHitney was at three weeks old.  I am not doing anything differently, but I suspect he can probably sense some of my tension and anxiety about being responsible for two other human beings all day, every day.  I have cried and laughed and cried some more but I am certain that the tears are 98% related to the lack of sleep I am experiencing.  I am happy.  SOOO happy.  I am just soooo tired, too.   

I am choosing to smile and laugh when things get tough or when plans change or when things dont pan out the way I thought they might.  Life is good. We are all healthy and happy and excited about where life will bring us next (though a stop for some birth control will be along the way, count on that!) 

When I see Whitney's happy, smiling face and hear her infectious laughter, it is easy for me to take a deep breath, reassess the situation and realize that, while this may seem like the hardest job Ive ever had (and it is!), it could be soooo much more difficult.  We have it easy.  Life is good.  When I say "this is hard", I mean, "It is harder than it was 20 days ago when I only had one kid to track down, feed, educate, and make happy."  We have a nice house stocked with food and flooded with central air. We have our health and healthcare. We have cars and Eric has a fantastic job.  We are in a great spot in our lives as individuals, as a couple, and as parents.  Its just hard to remember how "great" this spot is when I havent slept more than a 3 hour stretch in three weeks, I still cant use toilet paper, and I need an app on my iphone to remind me to change my kid's diaper. But times like now, when both kids are napping quietly in their beds and I have been given the chance to look through these pictures and remember the last three weeks of our lives, it is nice to sit back, take it all in, and just say "Thank you, God".  Because it could always be way more difficult than it is today. And we are truly blessed. 

We got this. Its not always easy, but it can be fun if we look at it the right way.  

Will I keep patting myself on the back and doing a little victory dance when we arrive at our destination on time or early and in one piece? Probably.  Because getting two kids and myself fed, dressed, packed, and out the door, buckling into carseats, and finally getting on the road is NOT an easy task to tackle solo. 

But life is good. :)

And moments like this dont last forever....