Checking In!

I'm so exhausted and still am not finding much time to post. But I hope you enjoy the new look and an updated photo taken back in September!!

Reminiscing....

At this time 3 years ago, we were just arriving at the hospital awaiting the arrival of our sweet Little Liam. What a joy it has been to see him grow!!

Summer Summary

Thank you to all my friends and family who have still encouraged me to keep up the blog! I cannot believe it has been two months since my last post, nor that Fall is already here. Here are the latest updates, and I hope to get more pictures up soon!!

Liam is getting so big and acting more and more like a three-year-old. He's very active, and can be very challenging at times as he asserts his independence. Recently he moved into the big boy bed, after he became confident in his climbing skills and one afternoon decided his crib was basically a jungle gym to be climbed on!  He has been in there over a month. We started out converting his crib to a todder bed, but now he's sleeping on a twin mattress. There was a very stressful period of time when he reacted to his new found freedom by getting up at very early hours and trying to run out of his room. Part of our solution to this problem was using his Explore and Learn Helicopter toy (by V-Tech) as and "alarm" so we knew when he was opening his door (his room door is one you push open). Thankfully, most of the time we don't even need this alarm as he's usually better about just calling us or waking up better times. He's also been potty-training and was doing well for awhile. Then he started getting a rash from the new Target pull-ups, and since that time really seemed to loose motivation. I'm backing off a big and will try a new campaign soon I think, I really don't know what to do, but I know it is something kids have to decide they want to do and be ready to do before it will fully be successful. Let me know if you have done things and have tips!

Madeline is an active, mobile baby now! She's crawling all over, has two bottom teeth, babbles, sits up, and pulls herself up all the time. Also, one day she was holding on to my leg then let go and stood up for about a second! Today I let go of her and she stood for two seconds and was trying to balance! She really wants to chase her big brother, and at this rate should soon!

Both kids keep me very busy! Sometimes they nap well, sometimes they don't. I still have some steady freelance work that fills part of my free time, but it has trickled down (this is actually good as the kids were more demanding recently and I had less time anyway). We still haven't sold our house yet, only had one low offer back at the end of June we declined. There are days I almost regret not just getting out while we could, but the timing wasn't right and we weren't able to take an offer that low. But more recently, we've built our savings and we are now more ready than ever. I just hope we aren't moving right at Christmas, in the middle of winter, or that the interest rates don't go up and limit where we can go. We are ready to be in a home that has a decent yard and is much more kid friendly! A lot of my daily frustrations and stress are from living in a home that isn't a good fit for our family. We keep praying, and waiting. We had a showing yesterday and there is another on my birthday this coming Tuesday. All I want for my birthday this year is a decent offer, but I might have to wait. We'll see ;-)

Well, I have to run again! I got a chance to post while relaxing a bit at my parent's house. Keep checking back and I won't give up doing updates!!

Reading

So, I have learned something. When you have small 2 children, are trying to sell your house and have had 20 going on 21 showings in less than 3 months, and you are still working at least 10 hours a week blogging is simply impossible!! I have so much I wish I could share with some of you, but for awhile I'm going to continue to be a bit MIA. I wish it was faster and easier to upload stuff on here (hence those of you on Facebook will see more pictures sometimes!). Tonight I do have a little break, and am going to post a couple videos of Liam "reading" to Madeline!

This first one is from May. Madeline is 4 months old. This was the first time he did this, and it was so sweet!!


Here is a more recent one from just a couple weeks ago...

To Aunt Amy

Since you live far away and couldn't see them open their gifts in person, here is the next best thing! Liam keeps asking me where you are now!

A Few New Pictures....

Here are a few new pictures (I know some people in the family were waiting for new ones to print out)!! I have some super sweet videos I'm going to get around to if I can soon. We are going to have our third house showing this Thursday! So far having one a week is just enough to be encouraging, not enough to be overwhelming.

First, pictures of the 4-month old (wow, I realized I forgot to post pictures when she was three months old... oops)!

Here is Liam being silly and deciding to use Mommy's make-up as finger (I mean face) paint!

Finally, a few from a wonderful Mother's Day!

Baby Laughs!

It started with just one giggle when I tried tickling her feet when I was putting on her pajamas, while Liam was splashing around in the bathtub. Liam laughed too, and I was so delighted. Few things could be cuter than hearing a baby laugh. Especially your own baby! And later in the evening when I was kissing Madeline goodnight, I kissed her chin and discovered that makes her laugh like crazy. It's so sweet. Just yesterday at her well-visit they asked if she had laughed or giggled yet, and she hadn't out loud that I had heard. I didn't know the moment was only hours away. I'm definitely accepting it as an early Mother's Day gift!

4 Months!

Oh no, I didn't post at all in the month of April!! I have gotten used to being perpetually behind with somethings, but I always try to keep my priorities in order. I did at least want to touch base though, because we all are still doing well. But, it always seems the busy keep getting busier, and added to my challenge has been putting our house on the market. It's a very exciting, but daunting process that is surely complicated by having little ones. I hope to share more strategies later, but our hope and prayer is this won't take too long. One week after our house went on the market, we have our first showing today. It is definitely encouraging!

Madeline also had her 4 month-well visit today. She is currently 12 lb, 12 oz (25 %) and 24.75 inches long (75%). Her head circumference is 15.75 inches (25%). She is right on target with everything, and ready to roll over any day now. I saw her roll her entire body over except for her shoulders when she was on her back at the doctor's office, and they commented her hips are really strong so it's only a matter of her figuring out what to do with that arm.

Liam is now 2.5 years old, and he says about everything now. He loves puzzles in particular, and is so fun to watch. I can tell he's been growing a lot as well, he looked taller to me today. He's currently got half of of two-year molars out finally, and all his canine teeth broke through and are finally filling in. He's looking more and more grown up every day!!

Living the Dream

Generally, I have been getting into the swing of being a mom of two and have been able to get out and about pretty much like I used to. It is a lot more work these days, but like the cliche says where there is a will there is a way. I started out doing very small steps, like going to the post office or bank without getting everyone out of the car. Gradually, I got more brave or learned how to time outings between feedings and Liam's eating and sleeping times. Sometimes I didn't time things well and ended up with cranky kids, but every experience was a learning experience. It is very empowering when you begin to get some of your old freedom back, and I felt this happening sooner the second time around. There are still limitations, but I am learning to focus more on the possibilities.

We had a challenging time in early March where some nasty respiratory illness gave Liam, Madeline and I all nasty ear and sinus infections and we all had to be put on antibiotics. Liam got over it fairly quickly, but this bug made me miserable for at least a week. Thankfully somehow Michael averted this one, which was fair since he had the bad case of the flu before. I can definitely say the greatest parenting challenge I have had so far was being really sick while caring for a sick baby (who was sleeping exceptionally poor), with a well toddler. So glad all that is behind us and the antibiotics did their job. I really hated that the poor girl had to get them at such a young age, but she seemed completely fine and recovered fully from her nasty double ear infection that was making her very miserable. It was so sad to see such a little 2 month-old baby with a fever and in that much pain.

Last week we had a wonderful taste of spring 70-degree weather, and I took the kids out on a walk every single day. Right now Miss Madeline rides along in either the Moby or the Baby Bijorn carrier, while Liam is still in the BOB stroller. I need to get around to looking for a double stroller, especially now Madeline is getting a little bigger, but it works for now. It's a great work out, especially in a hilly area like ours. I really enjoyed walking to a local Panera to pick up my lunch to go, then eating at home. What a fun way to use some of the gift cards I got for Christmas!

One of the biggest things that has kept me busy and off my blog has been a wonderful opportunity to freelance from home! I started working back in mid-February when Madeline was 6 weeks old, with the company that I had resigned from. They did get me back when my maternity leave would have ended, but this time we weren't dealing with daycare (and the insane expense of putting two kids there), commuting while the gas prices are also really high, and I would just slip in work here and there. I get to set my own hours per week, and I love the flexibility. When I became a graphic designer, I always dreamed I could stay at home with kids but still work from home, and I'm so thankful this dream has come true. I love working with the company, still doing some work, but being around for my kids. Living this dream isn't always easy, but I have found it worth it over the last month and a half. I enjoy the challenge of trying to find a balance and using the time I have effectively and efficiently.

Here are a few more pictures and videos, as promised!! I'm going to try to pick the highlights from the past month. Madeline is changing all the time, and is just such a sweet little girl. I love how she enjoys attention and loves smiling at me or other people she sees. She is getting even more alert now, generally trying to keep herself awake as long as possible when there are people around or new places to see. It's like she doesn't want to miss a thing, and wants to take it all in. Liam has been very cute and trying to play more with his baby sister as well. They go in order from younger to older.

Liam laying down playing with Baby Sister

Liam showing her one of his favorite toys, Keys of Learning

One of the sweetest photos of both kids Grandma got!

Madeline showing how strong she is! She lifts her head up very well.

Here is a conversation with Miss Madeline!

Liam has a fun imagination now! I let him try gnocchi (Italian potato dumplings) and he not only enjoyed eating it, but playing with it too!

Yes, we're still alive!!

Oh no!! I cannot believe it has been almost 1 month since I updated our blog. Definitely not my intent at all. If you have been faithfully checking back, thank you. I just hope no one has given up. I have plenty of new photos and videos to come. One of these days!! I hope by this weekend.

Also, our little 2 month old had her 2 month well visit today! She is currently 10 pounds, 4 ounces and 23 inches long! Her head circumference was 14.75, up a quarter inch. They were impressed by how strong she is at this age. She can hold her head all the way up when she wants to while on her belly, and she is already trying to roll over. The poor girl definitely hates her shots, but was otherwise very happy and trying to chat with her doctor today.

The Flu Foe

Last weekend, I was all set to upload more pictures and have a relaxing day just catching up on things around the house before Valentine's Day. We had a fun date night Saturday night, and all seemed well until Michael woke up Sunday morning and noticed unusual congestion in his chest. I still felt completely fine, and decided to go ahead and haul both kids to church with me in order to give him a chance to have a little peace and quiet. It was a challenge, but I felt like Supermom as I was able to handle it... with a little unexpected help that went a long way. One lady who goes to our church helped me get the kids out of the car; another lady had brought roasted vegetable chili for us and helped me take them back out to the car. A huge blessing indeed!

As the day progressed, it was clear Michael was dealing with something nasty. He laid in bed all day, and it was only thanks to Grandma and Great-Grandma coming down to visit that I got anything done at all. I had been watching the flu outbreak, as I had noticed an unusually high number of people I knew coming down with it. I was hoping the virus wouldn't cross our threshold, but when Michael ended up with a fever and all the classic signs I knew that the invasion had begun.

Ironically enough, the times before a more major illness took over our house I tended to have some kind of weird dream. Before we had a stomach virus back in the fall, I had a dream we were stuck in this van with this old lady that got sick and were fearing getting sick ourselves (then Liam got sick the following morning). This time, on Saturday night I had a dream I was driving in the interstate with the kids in the car, when Liam was point out there was a train "gordie." I looked and was shocked it carried a military battalion, who started just swarming the area. All the cars just stopped or pulled over on the interstate, and soldiers started hunching down, lifting weapons toward the sky, and firing. I tried to see what they were firing at, but no enemy was visible. Then I tried to flee, and found this park as I pushed through some trees along the interstate... but even there I saw chaos and no where to run.

Since Michael and I have known each other, neither of us has ever had the flu. He only remembers having it once, I don't remember having it. He had intended to get a flu shot this year (never had before), but kept forgetting his voucher from his employer the days he had time to get it. I also had a chance to get it in the hospital but had declined at the time because I had feared having a reaction to it like my aunt had, and I didn't plan to be out in crowds or anything for the remainder of flu season anyway and figured I could avoid it (also thought Michael had the shot). Michael went to the doctor's office on Monday, and though they didn't test him they said there was almost no doubt (and the test wasn't that accurate anyway), so he started Tamiflu. Those days without him were so hard. I had no breaks, constant requests, and constant fear of illness (especially when I looked at my little 5 week old girl). It was awful. Everything just fell behind as we were in pure survival mode. It did feel a little like I was in that dream I had!

I was having a really hard time being "Supermom" that long. I wasn't always cheerful. Liam has been extra challenging a lot lately, and Madeline extra fussy. I was so drained by the end of each day I was going to bed around 9pm. But I can clearly say God took care of us. Thanks to Him, I was able to get both kids down for bed, without either crying, by myself for the first time that first night Michael was sick. I had Michael's Dad, then his Uncle to help at bedtime the following two nights. Liam slept through the night a couple nights I really needed him too (I prayed God would just surround Liam with comfort and peace, and if needed even send his Great Grandma Doris or Louise, who is no longer here on earth, to comfort him if I wouldn't be able to ;-) The one night both Liam and Madeline were crying at the same time at 4:15am, I was able to pick her up and comfort her (she started going to sleep immediately in my arms), then go stand next to Liam's bed and quickly comfort him to sleep. I was just amazed! Then when I started noticing symptoms early on Wednesday, I was able to get started on Tamiflu right away and it stopped the virus in it's tracks so I never really got sick. In the middle of this, God's also been protecting our little Girlie with the best anti-viral on the planet.

The craziest part of this whole ordeal, was on Thursday night. Michael's parents had planned to come take Liam to "grandma's house" for the weekend at last, and this would be the first time he had gone there since Christmas. He was so excited about this, he was jumping up and down and cheering. They got all the way down here, when his mom noticed Liam felt a little warm. I checked his temperature and it was 101.9! I was shocked. He had acted completely normal!! I then felt horrible they got all the way down and now we couldn't send him away. We all hoped it was just an ear infection, so I called the doctor's office the following morning and got him in at 10:15. Liam's fever broke on it's own by morning, he acted like his normal self. It all looked so good and we continued to plan to go out of town for the weekend.

At the doctor's office we learned Liam is a little over 28 pounds now. We also learned with certainty we were dealing with influenza after they decided to test him. Liam had the flu shot, so we also discovered our family got hit with the strain going around our area that had hit other families who got the shot. Even if we got the shot, it wouldn't have prevented this. It was nice to have some of the questions answered and remove some of those "what ifs" floating around in our minds. Thanks to taking Liam to the doctor, he also got started on Tamiflu that was getting increasingly hard to find (had to call three pharmacies to get it). He's still been acting well overall; I'm hoping the shot helped him get a mild case and the Tamiflu really works well for him too.

Sadly we couldn't salvage our weekend plans, but Michael's parents graciously stayed an helped a lot yesterday. I just cannot believe how well God has taken care of us in all of this.

For now, we are going to quarantine ourselves awhile and hope to see everyone next weekend.

Doll Baby

Having a little girl really does make you feel like you have a living doll to dress up! My mother-in-law talked about this (she also had a girl after having boys), and it is so fun. Here she is in her first dress, all ready to go to church yesterday! (I couldn't resist taking several pictures, she was just too cute... she won't have to worry about being the second child that only has half as many pictures as the first child!


Videos of her in action, for those of you who haven't seen her in awhile or who live far away!
Madeline at night when she's alert and active (thankfully, she's doing this earlier in the evening now as opposed to in the middle of the night)!

Here's the video of her from her 1 month photo shoot too!

Madeline is cute and awake, but Mommy is hoping she'll fall asleep soon!

Liam tried to cheer her up with his train bank!

Madeline is 1 Month Old!

Here are just a few pictures from today's photo shoot. Video of her in action coming soon when I have more time (hopefully tomorrow)!

Her eyes look dark in these pictures, but it's mostly from the low light (Mommy also doesn't like using flash with this camera since it drowns out her more subtle features). Currently they are dark blue.
One of her early smiles
And another cute preview of more expressions she'll be making soon!

Working

The title of today's post applies in a lot of different ways for my second full week as a stay at home mom! Things are still rough at times, but I feel like it's definitely getting better and I'm starting to get the hang of things and enjoy it more.

Initially Liam was testing me a lot. We were having power struggles left and right, as Liam was perhaps wondering if any rules had changed since the new baby arrived. Since baby sister came home, he also started having sleep issues. Couldn't be sure if it was his new teeth coming in (one of his canine/eye teeth FINALLY broke through last week; he still has the rest of those and his 2 year molars to go), Madeline's arrival, or something developmental (a lot of 2 year-olds seem to do be doing this when I asked other moms and looked into it) but it was definitely frustrating. Usually we ended up every morning with Michael in Liam's room and me in ours with Madeline as he stopped sleeping through the night. He also started taking shorter naps and taking forever to go down, and demanding someone to lay down with him in order for him to fall asleep. And he's very stubborn and intense, so just letting him cry (which we tried one night for about 10 minutes when we were completely exhausted and fed up) simply got him more hysterical and clearly wasn't going to work at all. So for awhile I did just lay down with him, because I figured he needed the extra reassurance for whatever reason for awhile.

Liam showing off a bunch of stickers a cashier at the grocery store gave him he decorated himself with on the ride home (this was taken the day before Madeline was born)!

For the first week I was a SAHM, I tried napping in the room with him and Madeline. The problem was, I noticed every single day it would take him an hour to fall asleep. This got really frustrating to me as well, as I was desperate for a nap and low on patience. So I ended up just fighting with him more, and sometimes leaving the room for awhile that always resulted in a horrible tantrum. I'd go back and he'd usually go down quickly. I knew part of it wasn't his fault. Madeline is a noisy sleeper! Also she usually woke up at some point and ended up waking Liam up early. We were lucky if we napped an hour. I decided for all the trouble I was going through, it just wasn't worth it and there had to be a better way.

So this week I tried a new strategy. I started waking Madeline up every morning and making sure she was awake and active a good part of the morning. Then, I figured out how to put her down to sleep for a nap usually by noon. For now I was usually putting her in the swing for awhile, so I could have her right outside the door and be sure I would hear her if she woke up (right now I still don't have a lot of luck leaving her in her bassinet during the day longer than 10 minutes or so...she naps better near were we are). After Liam finishes his lunch, I always take him upstairs. He's so familiar with the routine now, he even says "Nap!" as we go up the stairs. When I time it right, he also rarely fights. I started laying down and helping Liam relax alone in the room again, just like I always did before. Lo and behold, he peacefully went down for his nap usually in about 10-15 minutes, and I was out of the room in no more than 20. Then I could either go nap, have some time with Madeline, get something done, or just get a break. Ah!! So nice, much nicer than trying to lay in the room fighting to get him to sleep and keep Madeline asleep for an hour. So far this has worked for several days, and a I hope I can keep it going!

We also started limiting the time we lay down at night and will leave the room for awhile then come back. We're slowly reducing the time we are in there, while still providing reassurance. He hasn't even cried at all now when we leave the room. Sometimes he'll start whimpering, but responds well to a little more reassurance. And now we aren't staying in the room until he falls asleep, he also started sleeping through the night again. Apparently when he sees I am gone if he wakes up in the middle of the night was just freaking him out. This is also much better and we're hoping we finally are finding what is working again! He was sleeping fine before the baby arrived, and after over 4 weeks of only sleeping through a number of times I can count on one hand we are definitely ready and hoping all will settle back to normal.

He's still a challenge some days, and has turned into a super-picky eater. But we're also avoiding giving into those power struggles as well, and hoping maybe part of it is because his mouth is just sore because of the new teeth. It's also hard because he has so much energy and we aren't getting out a lot right now. My stroller has a flat tire that needs repaired, plus we've had a lot of bitter cold and nasty winter weather, and there's also the fear of going to too many public places and exposing ourselves to all kinds of nasty bugs ranging from respiratory to GI ailments. I can tell we're in the peak of flu season right now, as a surprising number of people I know have the flu regardless if they got the shot or not. I am mostly fearful for Madeline, and will definitely avoid places or people recently sick to help protect her. She already had her first cold at about two weeks of age, that was thankfully mild. But we did get a new Y family membership we can start using in mid-February. Mostly, I'm just longing for spring. But I'm still trying to enjoy this newborn phase of my baby girl. It really does pass way too quickly!

This video features one of Liam's favorite new phrases. Sometimes he also says "Mommy I'm working now!" This is often a protest if I try to take him away from whatever he is doing.

(He's also so obsessed with trying to "help" me when I have to wash dishes, it's been really hard to get a lot done! He isn't as interested in his toys as he is in helping Mommy.)

A few more pictures of the Baby Girl!

Liam made her something out of Play Doh and took it too her.

Cute little baby hands!

And here were three more gems my doula gave us taken back on the day she was born!

There were more pictures of me in labor! This is when we were checking into the hospital. Last pictures taken of the pregnant belly!

Sweet one of Daddy meeting his Baby Girl