2 months

As of yesterday, Ozzie is two months old!

Ozzie has been giving us small smiles since six weeks, but over the last couple of days he has broken out the big grins. He also has the sweetest little coos!

This morning was his two month check up. He weighs 13 lbs, 4 oz. and is 24 inches long. When Hannah Grace was 2 months, she weighed 11lbs, 15 oz. I couldn't find her stats for length, but I saw that at four months, she was 24.25 inches. So, so far, Ozzie is just a bigger baby!

The last four or five nights, Ozzie has been going to bed between 9:30 and 11:00, waking to eat 5-6 hours later, and then falling back to sleep for another 3-4 hours. I am perfectly fine with this schedule and hope it continues!

Hannah Grace continues to be sweet with her brother, even though she tends to wake him up from naps more times than I'd like. Oh well, that's life with infants and toddlers, right? 

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!

Ozzie.

Oscar Michael

Ozzie, one day old. 

6.8.12

8lbs.14oz.

20 in.

Named to honor John's grandfather, Oscar, and my dad, Mike (Michael). 

Ozzie is super sweet, very relaxed, and a great sleeper (so far)!

Big sister Hannah Grace loves to hold him, kiss him, and cuddle him (think Elmyra, ha). 

At his "two week" appointment this morning, he weighed 9lbs, 13 oz and was 21.5 inches long, so he is growing a lot already!

I am adjusting to two kids, but it has not been nearly as bad as I feared. So far, ha. 

We are very thankful for another healthy baby!

Two!

I never got around to doing a two year update post (other than what I wrote about her check up) for Hannah Grace, so before things get crazy, I thought I'd write one up!

Hannah Grace wears a 2T in clothes most of the time, but I occasionally buy a 3T in shirts; her shoe size is a 7. 

She loves Curious George, but she is making fast friends with Minnie Mouse. Elmo and Dora are friendly acquaintances :) 

She loves being read to. Any of Eric Carle's books are her favorite, along with Curious George and books that rhyme. 

Hannah Grace loves to help. At two years old, she can pour laundry detergent into the washer (I pour it into the cap, then give it to her), load the dryer, unload the dishwasher (she knows which drawers utensils, measuring cups/spoons, and spatulas, etc. go), and put kitchen towels where they belong. She also helps me by picking things up off the floor, wiping up spills, and bringing me things I need. 

She LOVES to be outside, whether its in her little pool in our back yard, at the Chick Fil A play place, or at the park. I so wish we had a splash pad around here; I think she would love it. 

She has quite a few words but doesn't string them together much. I think that's about to change in the next couple of months though. Despite that, she is very good at communicating her wants and needs. 

Hannah Grace loves going to church and always says, "God, church, Bible, and Jesus" when we are in the car. I think she thinks we're always on our way to church when we're in the car, ha. It's sweet, though. Because she enjoys being there so much, we have contemplated putting her in a mother's day out program, but we are planning to enroll her in gymnastics soon, and the cost between the two would be over $200/month. 

She loves her baby dolls (and anything that could be used as a baby, including her rock star Elmo doll, ha). She is always strolling one of them around or trying to put a diaper on one. It's super cute, and I think she will be a big help when her brother arrives. 

Bedtime is around 8:30 (earlier if she's moody), and she sleeps until about 7:00. Lately, though, she has been waking at 6 because she keeps losing her pacifier. Once I find one and give her a sippy with milk, she'll stay in bed (sometimes asleep, sometimes half awake) until 7 or so. 

Hannah Grace is a ton of fun, and has gotten so much more pleasant over the last year. She makes John and I laugh all the time. We have yet to see any signs of "terrible twos", but that does NOT mean she doesn't throw the occasional fit or have a bad day. It's just not the nightmare that so many parents make it out to be. 

We love watching her grow! Thankful to be her mommy (and John her daddy)!

Productive.

Despite being home all weekend with John and Hannah Grace, I don't have any pictures to share. Bummer.

I dedicated the last three days to emptying out night stands, side tables, bathroom cabinets, closets, dressers for unworn clothes. I rearranged a bookshelf, got our guest room/baby closet in top shape, and organized Hannah Grace's "sock drawer" (which had become a hodge podge of miscellaneous baby/toddler items. The laundry was caught up, last minute odds and ends for the baby washed, and many, many things sorted into three piles: keep, donate, and throw away. 

Our house is almost completely clutter free. This is not to say that our house is spotless (our living room shows very little evidence that I spent any time cleaning and organizing this weekend), but it does mean there is a place for about 90% of the stuff in our house. It also means that drawers (nightstands, side tables in the living room, etc.) do not contain junk. Their contents are very intentionally placed, and it will remain that way from now on. 

We are less than two weeks out from the baby, and I think we are about ready. Oh boy!