Catch Up

One of these days, I'll be a more consistent blogger. 

We took a week to visit our family and friends in Middle Tennessee this earlier this month, and despite having taken my camera with me, I did not take a single picture.

One of these days, I'll also be a more consistent photographer-of-my-daily-life. 

 Ozzie is still sleeping wonderfully at night (last night he had a six hour stretch-- too bad Hannah Grace cried off and on for two hours of it. I think her two year molars are making their presence known). He is staying awake for longer stretches during the day, and I've even gotten a couple of little sweet smiles from him. 

Hannah Grace has had a huge language explosion over the last few weeks. Not only is her everyday vocabulary increasing, but she has also learned her colors (red, blue, green, purple, yellow, orange, and pink). We are also in the process of teaching her to count; she can repeat numbers 1-10, but I'm working with her to understand that each number represents a quantity. It's been fun!

John and I are finding a new groove with two children, but it has been far easier than the first time around. 

So thankful for that. 

One Month

Ozzie turned one month old yesterday! He has become much more alert during the day, staying awake for 1.5 to 2 hour increments before falling asleep for a couple of hours. He goes down "for the night" between 10:00 and 11:00 and sleeps for 3-4 hours at a time. Occasionally he'll have a fussy period at night from 7:00-10:00, but it's not too bad. 

Ozzie is NOTHING like Hannah Grace as an infant. He is rarely fussy without reason (reasons being gas, hunger, or sleepy), he is not colicky like she was at night, and he is content to sit, whereas Hannah Grace wanted to be walked around all the time. 

Speaking of Hannah Grace, she loves her brother. She always wants to hold him, she gives him kisses, and she likes to walk over to him and say, "Hi, Ozzie!" (even when he's asleep). She is still taking her daily nap (hallelujah), and sometimes I'm able to get Ozzie to sleep an hour or two during her nap. 

I've been asked many times how life is with two kids, and my answer is BUSY. Between nursing Ozzie (this takes up the largest portion of my time), cooking, cleaning, spending time with Hannah Grace, and the general care of having a toddler an infant (diapers, baths, etc.), I don't stop. The only reason I have time to blog is because I am putting off things that need to be done. Ozzie is sitting in his bouncy seat next to me (rather discontentedly, poor thing, ha), but I am hoping he falls asleep soon. 

((After I wrote that last sentence, Ozzie began crying, so I nursed, then rocked him to sleep)). 

What surprised me the most, and the most challenging thing about two kids, for me, is Hannah Grace. At two, she doesn't understand so many things about having Ozzie around. She sees that Ozzie is with me a LOT and doesn't understand that it has to be this way for awhile. Don't get me wrong, again, she is thrilled to have a baby in the house, but it's still an adjustment for her (and for me). I so badly want to take her to the park or let her swim in her pool out back, and I'm hoping to do one of those things this week, especially since these temperatures have chilled out (literally and figuratively, ha). 

I keep telling myself this is a season, and Hannah Grace won't always be so whiny (I really do believe that she could be much worse). John and I have already seen improvement in her behavior over the last two weeks, and for that I'm grateful. I know it's a lot for her to go through. 

Another challenge is maintaining the house. I understand my house does not have to be spotless, but seeing toys scattered all over the place, dishes in the sink, and laundry piled up stresses me out. I like order. I have been doing a pretty good job of keeping up with the laundry (especially John's, which requires the most work since his work clothes have to be ironed). The kitchen is cleaned at least once a day, but I have yet to be able to maintain it's tidiness all day long. Cleaning up after Hannah Grace's messes is my definite weakness right now, mostly because those messes never stop. It has gotten better, and I've started having her help me clean up after herself once she's finished with an activity. Again, it's an adjustment, and I know it won't always be so difficult to keep up with everything. 

I am beyond grateful to feel so much more relaxed than I expected. I was SO nervous the first few weeks with Hannah Grace, and this time around I am much more relaxed. Everything feels so much more natural, and I'm so thankful for that. 

On the Go

Hannah Grace and Ozzie are both sleeping, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to share what we've been up to. 

Last week was my first full week with both kids and no help. Part of me was nervous and the other part was happy to start to get back to some sort of routine (although I use the term "routine" loosely). 

One thing I was a little anxious about was going out with both of them. A lot of people suggested that John just go with me or that I wait until Hannah Grace was in bed for the night, but neither of those options are realistic, not for us anyway. I'm happy to say that the three of us went many places last week (one outing per day) with very little drama! I took them grocery shopping, to Target (twice), the doctor's office, Chick Fil A, Wal-Mart, and one other place, but it has slipped my mind. I also went to church for the first time since Ozzie's birth on Sunday (taking Ozzie, too, of course). Ozzie nurses anywhere from every 1.5-3 hours, so I do my best to plan outings around his feedings. So far it hasn't been a problem. 

With today being Independence Day, we thought we'd have plans, but the one fireworks show we were considering going to was canceled, so it looks like we'll just be hanging out at home this evening. That's o.k., though; the heat would not have been very pleasant. 

Ozzie is waking, so I'm off to feed him. Have a safe 4th!