I have been incredibly hesitant to venture out of the house with the two babies on my own. I have come up with a list of excuses why I cannot do it. They nap at different times so I would have to wake one up to go out. I'm still under lifting restrictions after the c-section so I can't lift them both at the same time, thus can't get them into the stroller/car. If one of them freaks out on the walk, there is no second pair of hands to take her out of the stroller and carry her/feed her/calm her while we continue. The list keeps growing.
But it is BEAUTIFUL outside this week. Seriously. And I HATE winter and know that it will be here all too soon and am really getting bummed about not being able to soak up every minute of warm sunshine because of my dumb list. SO! Today we did it.
After lunch, they took turns getting dressed (hey, its okay to lounge in jammies for the morning nap!) and diapers changed and then it was time to figure out the transfer. Here is where the problem lies. My stroller is in the garage (detached from our house). There is not an option of me carrying both babies to the stroller and getting them in simultaneously. So, breaking those lovely rules of lifting restrictions, I put Delia in her car seat for the transfer. This made her WAY more heavy. With a 20lb babe in the other arm. Then we had to get out of the house. Our entry area has a really funny set up. There are 4 doors to open from the kitchen to get outside. FOUR doors. Can you just try to picture how ridiculous this was? But alas. I got through three of the four and was able to set Delia down (still in her car seat) in the sunroom. Eden and I walked to the garage and got the stroller and then parked it right outside of the 4th door while I put Eden in and then got Delia. Did I mention I also had my phone/keys/water bottle/camera in my hands? Just absurd.
But we got OUT! We walked about a mile before Eden decided she was ready for her nap and we headed home. The weather was beautiful and it felt great to be out....and its quite lovely now that they are both sleeping at the same time after all that fresh air!
It was much needed stress relief. Eden is cutting 4 teeth all at once - great because we get them over with all at once, but man is she a terror! She is so incredibly moody - it is seriously like living with a 13 year old girl! Her aunt will love having her for the weekend ;)
for some reason this tool is not letting me add pictures today so I'll have to come back for that later :)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Oh no...
I missed a day! Maybe I'll do a double post to make up for it? ;) Its quite comical. Off and on throughout the day yesterday I was thinking "ooh, I need to get a post done!" and then a child would cry/poop/puke/fall and I would be distracted. Its amazing to me how spacey I act these days! Living my days with 24/7 distractions makes me appear rather ditsy. I'm not, I swear!
Yesterday, at the end of the day, I had to sit down with Josiah and try to tell him (in a way that a 4 year old would understand) that our life will not always be like this. That one day very soon, these babies will be a bit older and Mommy and Daddy won't be running around like chickens with our heads cut off. And we'll be able to do more fun things because they won't be needy all the time. Actually have fun with Josiah instead of him wanting to escape to his own world of legos.
Thats not to say that we don't hang out with him, we do. But I feel like its so not enough lately - or maybe it can never be enough, and maybe its also compounded by the fact that I see the girls all day but don't see him as much. Either way, we need more time with him. And frankly, babysitters are expensive when we do take him out by himself - and then I feel guilty for leaving his sister with a babysitter.
Truthfully, I feel kind of bad for Josiah. As the older sibling - and there is a 3.5 year gap between them - its a rough position. He plays way too rough to really play with Eden, and his toys are too small/choke-worthy for her to play with him. He wants to be a helper with his sisters - SO badly - but again, isn't gentle enough, but also thats just not what I want for him. I don't want his childhood to be spent caring for his siblings. I want him to be a kid!
But alas, right now things are hectic and it seems like Steve and I just play tag-team with the babies all the time and Josiah gets the raw end of the deal. Sounds like I need to plan an outing just for the big kids! That will be a nice break for me too (no offense girls!).
How do you balance your time? I wish there was a manual for this ;)
Yesterday, at the end of the day, I had to sit down with Josiah and try to tell him (in a way that a 4 year old would understand) that our life will not always be like this. That one day very soon, these babies will be a bit older and Mommy and Daddy won't be running around like chickens with our heads cut off. And we'll be able to do more fun things because they won't be needy all the time. Actually have fun with Josiah instead of him wanting to escape to his own world of legos.
Thats not to say that we don't hang out with him, we do. But I feel like its so not enough lately - or maybe it can never be enough, and maybe its also compounded by the fact that I see the girls all day but don't see him as much. Either way, we need more time with him. And frankly, babysitters are expensive when we do take him out by himself - and then I feel guilty for leaving his sister with a babysitter.
Truthfully, I feel kind of bad for Josiah. As the older sibling - and there is a 3.5 year gap between them - its a rough position. He plays way too rough to really play with Eden, and his toys are too small/choke-worthy for her to play with him. He wants to be a helper with his sisters - SO badly - but again, isn't gentle enough, but also thats just not what I want for him. I don't want his childhood to be spent caring for his siblings. I want him to be a kid!
But alas, right now things are hectic and it seems like Steve and I just play tag-team with the babies all the time and Josiah gets the raw end of the deal. Sounds like I need to plan an outing just for the big kids! That will be a nice break for me too (no offense girls!).
How do you balance your time? I wish there was a manual for this ;)
Monday, September 27, 2010
And then came YOU.
Miss Eden (I have a feeling you will demand you be called this very soon),
You are a rather....interesting...child. Sometimes we call you our monster baby. I believe my dad called me this as a child, but it was for totally different reasons I am sure of that.
You have the most...unique...attitude. You want to be the boss at all times. You are fine playing on your own - until you aren't in the mood for that and then will scream if we set you down or turn our head the other way for a second. You do everything on your schedule and expect others to fall in line. I can see a little bit of Margaret in you (from Dennis the Menace!).
You are...aggressive...it sounds harsh, baby girl, but you are. You attack everything. When you crawl, your hands pound the floor so hard with each movement. When you play with your activity table, you don't merely push buttons, you beat on them. I'm surprised more of your toys haven't broken by now, to be quite frank. You attack food. You put everything into your mouth with mucho gusto. Or, on the flip side, spit it out with mucho gusto as well. You have more bruises in any given week than Josiah ever did before he turned 2. You think everything is a good thing to pull up on. You've tipped your piano and barn over on yourself more times than I can count - but you just keep playing as you lay there with it on top of you. You attack strings. Any kind of strings. One of your favorite toys, for sure. Strings on my sweatshirts, strings on shoes. Strings on my pants. Straps from your highchair, from your car seat. You yank on them and shake them like mad. You shove them in your mouth, of course, and then return to shaking them with all your might. You have chewed every beautiful edge off of your crib. Mommy and Daddy had a little talk when we were worried about you getting too much of that finish in your mouth!
You are exhausting. No sitting and playing for you. You are everywhere, constant motion, and trying to find trouble - I swear! So Mommy and Daddy are constantly chasing after you - closing doors, picking up anything from your path. Keeping you off of things, getting things out of your mouth. I can't sweep the floor enough times in one day for you!!
You are the most curious child! You have to check out everything, and are most curious about the very places we forbid you to go (of course!). The bathroom is highest on your hit list. You are bound and determined to make it all the way from the door to the garbage can on the other side of that little room without being spotted and swooped up. This feat has yet to be accomplished, but one of these days I'm sure you'll get us.
You are sweet. You have the most beautiful, redemptive smile out there. God blessed you (me) with this on purpose, I just know it. Your smile is infectious; your laughter contagious. Making you giggle is one of our favorite pastimes. Ah, but your favorite is your brother. Anything Josiah does is incredibly hilarious to you. The two of you will be great friends in the years to come.
You make me smile even in the worst moments. When the very thing you need is a nap, and yet I hear you jumping in your crib singing a song at the top of your lungs, it makes my heart melt. When its late you refuse sleep because you aren't feeling good (or just plain don't want to give in!), rocking with you is the most wonderful thing. I swear you remember me singing to you while you were still in the NICU. 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' is still the one song that gets you to calm down.
You are so BIG! I'm not sure how that happened! How can you go from one pound to nearly 20 in the blink of an eye?! In the midst of the hardest moment, God is gracious to remind me that you are such a miraculous gift.
You have the most...unique...attitude. You want to be the boss at all times. You are fine playing on your own - until you aren't in the mood for that and then will scream if we set you down or turn our head the other way for a second. You do everything on your schedule and expect others to fall in line. I can see a little bit of Margaret in you (from Dennis the Menace!).
You are...aggressive...it sounds harsh, baby girl, but you are. You attack everything. When you crawl, your hands pound the floor so hard with each movement. When you play with your activity table, you don't merely push buttons, you beat on them. I'm surprised more of your toys haven't broken by now, to be quite frank. You attack food. You put everything into your mouth with mucho gusto. Or, on the flip side, spit it out with mucho gusto as well. You have more bruises in any given week than Josiah ever did before he turned 2. You think everything is a good thing to pull up on. You've tipped your piano and barn over on yourself more times than I can count - but you just keep playing as you lay there with it on top of you. You attack strings. Any kind of strings. One of your favorite toys, for sure. Strings on my sweatshirts, strings on shoes. Strings on my pants. Straps from your highchair, from your car seat. You yank on them and shake them like mad. You shove them in your mouth, of course, and then return to shaking them with all your might. You have chewed every beautiful edge off of your crib. Mommy and Daddy had a little talk when we were worried about you getting too much of that finish in your mouth!
You are exhausting. No sitting and playing for you. You are everywhere, constant motion, and trying to find trouble - I swear! So Mommy and Daddy are constantly chasing after you - closing doors, picking up anything from your path. Keeping you off of things, getting things out of your mouth. I can't sweep the floor enough times in one day for you!!
You are the most curious child! You have to check out everything, and are most curious about the very places we forbid you to go (of course!). The bathroom is highest on your hit list. You are bound and determined to make it all the way from the door to the garbage can on the other side of that little room without being spotted and swooped up. This feat has yet to be accomplished, but one of these days I'm sure you'll get us.
You are sweet. You have the most beautiful, redemptive smile out there. God blessed you (me) with this on purpose, I just know it. Your smile is infectious; your laughter contagious. Making you giggle is one of our favorite pastimes. Ah, but your favorite is your brother. Anything Josiah does is incredibly hilarious to you. The two of you will be great friends in the years to come.
You make me smile even in the worst moments. When the very thing you need is a nap, and yet I hear you jumping in your crib singing a song at the top of your lungs, it makes my heart melt. When its late you refuse sleep because you aren't feeling good (or just plain don't want to give in!), rocking with you is the most wonderful thing. I swear you remember me singing to you while you were still in the NICU. 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' is still the one song that gets you to calm down.
You are so BIG! I'm not sure how that happened! How can you go from one pound to nearly 20 in the blink of an eye?! In the midst of the hardest moment, God is gracious to remind me that you are such a miraculous gift.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
What I've learned from living with a four-year-old...
Disclaimer: My four-year-old may be different from yours. Also, despite the challenging points listed here, I love every piece of him.
Mine is ALWAYS right.
Mine will argue about anything if he gets the impression you are saying he isn't right. About anything.
Mine still needs naps but will assure you repeatedly that he doesn't. Meltdowns may ensue.
Mine truly thinks he is/should be the boss. About everything.
Mine has learned the art of complaining. "I don't like that soup" "That makes me puke" "I'm allergic, I swear".
Mine has learned the art of manipulation. "Mommy said I could do this" (when Mommy said no such thing). He will move on to the next parent/adult in the room immediately after one says no - right in front of you!
Mine has lost most of the baby features about him. It makes me sad when I notice this across the dinner table.
Mine is all boy. 500% boy. Wrestling. Ninja. Transformers. Star Wars. Dirt. Battling of any kind.
Mine is mischief. He doesn't know who knocked his sister down/peed on the floor/broke the toy, but surely it wasn't him.
Mine is a protector. Constantly checking on his sisters' whereabouts and making sure they are okay.
Mine is sweet (yes, despite all characteristics listed above!). He says "I love you mommy/daddy" before leaving for his day. He still offers hugs and kisses freely. Still says he loves me more than dinosaurs or chocolate - or, my favorite, anything in this world. His prayers before bed make my heart melt, even when he prays for dinosaurs.
Mine is smart. The words that come out of his mouth are impressive. He's covered the basic addition, telling time and is figuring out reading.
Mine is brave. So many new things tackled this summer. Fears overcome. Growing up before my eyes.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
We're back!
In the midst of pure chaos all around us right now, we have decided to take another crack at keeping up with this blog stuff ;)
At the moment, the house is quiet - three kids napping all at once! But it won't last long, and so for now, just a quick run down of the news (pictures to follow).
Josiah is now four and a half and seems like he's all grown up. Somehow, as much as we try to prevent it, there comes a day when a child wakes up and is no longer your little boy (girl) - but now a full fledged kid. He doesn't look like a little guy any more - the baby features are fading fast. Sigh. He is currently in a great preschool program called KinderChallenge - we had a very proud parent moment when they tested him into this class even though he wasn't quite old enough for the test. He is loving school though. He goes to daycare/preschool in the morning and then to his school in the afternoons - definitely exhausted by the time he comes home! He is very busy mastering his bike and now that there have been some cold/rainy evenings again, he's been working on the wii skills with Daddy too. And of course, he's busy 'taking care' of his little sisters too.
Eden turned one in August and she is our wild child by every definition of the word. She has a very strong personality and is such an aggressive kid - such a difference from Josiah at that age! She is hilarious and exhausting all at once. Right now Eden is home with me while I am on maternity leave. This has been an adventure, to say the least! She isn't quite sure she likes having another baby in the house! She is crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything she can find. Her favorite food is probably ice cream, but don't worry - we don't feed her treats every day ;)
And our newest addition, Delia Grace, joined us on August 28th. She was born at 35 weeks but was still a solid 6lbs 11oz and 19 inches long! Good thing we didn't go full term with that one - yikes! She has been a great baby - a good sleeper, of course, and generally just content unless she's hungry. We've gone on a ton of walks with her and Eden in our new double stroller and she just passes right out. I'm sure there will be some interesting arguments between these two ladies as the years go by: "I'm more special, I was in the NICU longer than you", "No, I'm more special - I was a medical miracle" - that sort of thing. And if Delia's personality is anything like Eden's, it should be quite the ride for the rest of us! Here's hoping she is our one calm child ;)
There you have it sportsfans. More to follow...
At the moment, the house is quiet - three kids napping all at once! But it won't last long, and so for now, just a quick run down of the news (pictures to follow).
Josiah is now four and a half and seems like he's all grown up. Somehow, as much as we try to prevent it, there comes a day when a child wakes up and is no longer your little boy (girl) - but now a full fledged kid. He doesn't look like a little guy any more - the baby features are fading fast. Sigh. He is currently in a great preschool program called KinderChallenge - we had a very proud parent moment when they tested him into this class even though he wasn't quite old enough for the test. He is loving school though. He goes to daycare/preschool in the morning and then to his school in the afternoons - definitely exhausted by the time he comes home! He is very busy mastering his bike and now that there have been some cold/rainy evenings again, he's been working on the wii skills with Daddy too. And of course, he's busy 'taking care' of his little sisters too.
Eden turned one in August and she is our wild child by every definition of the word. She has a very strong personality and is such an aggressive kid - such a difference from Josiah at that age! She is hilarious and exhausting all at once. Right now Eden is home with me while I am on maternity leave. This has been an adventure, to say the least! She isn't quite sure she likes having another baby in the house! She is crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything she can find. Her favorite food is probably ice cream, but don't worry - we don't feed her treats every day ;)
And our newest addition, Delia Grace, joined us on August 28th. She was born at 35 weeks but was still a solid 6lbs 11oz and 19 inches long! Good thing we didn't go full term with that one - yikes! She has been a great baby - a good sleeper, of course, and generally just content unless she's hungry. We've gone on a ton of walks with her and Eden in our new double stroller and she just passes right out. I'm sure there will be some interesting arguments between these two ladies as the years go by: "I'm more special, I was in the NICU longer than you", "No, I'm more special - I was a medical miracle" - that sort of thing. And if Delia's personality is anything like Eden's, it should be quite the ride for the rest of us! Here's hoping she is our one calm child ;)
There you have it sportsfans. More to follow...
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