Daddy's Birthday

Dearest Miracles~

Grace .... happy two week birthday!  Wow, time has flown by!  You go back to the pediatrician's office this friday for your two week check up.  :-)  I wonder what you'll weigh then.

Guess who else has a birthday celebration today .... daddy!  :-)  Daddy turns 31 today!  It's ok if I tell you his age since I'm actually 3 months older.  ;-)  I bet you all think we're really old!  Also, today is 'Pi Day' .... you'll figure that one out when you're older!  ;-)

Daddy had to go to work today, so we spent the day together playing.  I was exhausted from last night and this morning since Grace was up.  Whenever I put you down, little lady, you wake back up immediately.  So, I have to hold you for a while to make sure you're sleeping.  There's even been a few times where I had to lay you on my chest to sleep and then take a little 'cat nap' myself briefly.  Anyway, as luck would have it, Joshua ended up sleeping in a little which was greatly appreciated! 

We went into the bonus room to organize ourselves for the day.  Joshua, I'm still changing and feeding you on the floor, so I know you're probably getting bored of staying upstairs all day.  But at least we walk all around the upstairs when Grace naps to stretch your legs.  I have, just a few times, had to 'lift' you small distances (like over the play gate or on the bed), but I try not to do it a lot to give my muscles a little longer to heal.  I have my 3 week follow up appointment with the OB next week.

After a round of nursing this morning, I put Grace in the swing and then fed Joshua while pumping.  I'm going try to do one pump in the mornings to build up a little supply of milk in the freezer for emergency.  It wasn't a lot since I had just nursed Grace, but I'm hoping it'll add up .... and something is better than nothing.  :-P

Oh, I got some icky news today.  Apparently, since I'm not full time, I don't qualify for short term disability.  Therefore, my maternity leave is leave without pay.  :-(  It doesn't effect the amount of time I'm allowed to take, but it's still a bummer that we'll be down to only one income for a while.  Daddy and I will look at our budget to see how long that will work.  Of course, the HR department at my work just now told me this!  How organized!  :-P

Anyway, the rest of the day was pretty relaxing.  We played together and both of you all went down for a nap around 4:30pm.  :-)  I started to read on my Nook the book 'Around the World in 80 Days' since I knew I would have to nudge Grace to eat soon after (or else I would have napped too!).  

Daddy got home early and Joshua immediately woke up to see him!  You two played as I nursed Grace.  Then, we went downstairs for some leftovers .... Joshua, you actually ate some lasagna for dinner!  And, we had a piece of ice cream cake. We even sang 'Happy Birthday' to daddy!  :-)

Daddy had a late soccer game tonight (it didn't start until 9:45pm!).  Uncle Brennan came over a little before to visit with you all.  Once they left, we stayed in the bonus room until Joshua got tired.  Then, I moved you all into the bedroom hoping you two would fall asleep.  Joshua actually woke back up and Grace started crying.  :-P  So, it took a while to calm you two .... but you all were perfect, sleeping angels by the time daddy got back home.  ;-)  Oh, and they won their game.  :-)

Daddy said that coming home from work and seeing you two was all the birthday gift that he needed.  And, I believe him!  We're so blessed!  

Tomorrow is our third wedding anniversary!  I can't believe it's already been three years!  :-)

Sleep tight little blessings!

I love you both!  :-)

~Mommy

The Park

Dearest Miracles~

Hello little angels!  Today was a beautiful day!  We had the windows open again and had a nice breeze go through the bonus room as we played.  :-)

Daddy made breakfast again!  Grace, you and I were up all night again, so I was actually 'going to bed' a little before daddy and Joshua woke up!  Once we took a little nap, we woke up to the smell of a homemade breakfast!  Daddy made pancakes and bacon.  :-)  Yummy!  Joshua, you still didn't eat much of the food, but you at least tried a piece of a pancake.  :-P

After breakfast, we got ourselves ready for the day and walked up to the park.  It was crowded!  Everyone was out there on the playground.  Grace started to get hungry, so she and I went over to a bench so I could nurse her.  Daddy put Joshua in a swing and pushed him.  We got back home in time for lunch.  We made a pizza and then headed upstairs to watch UNC and DOOK.  Ugh.  This game was painful to watch.  Our Heels didn't play very well at all and we lost.  :-(  But, we're still in the NCAA tournament and play on friday.  Hopefully we'll pick it up for that game or the season will be over!  

After the game, we had a little bit of down time before company came over.  Gigi, Uncle James, and Grandpa Jim were the first ones to come over.  Grandpa Jim and Uncle James took Joshua for a walk in the stroller.  Little man, you eventually fell asleep in the stroller and Grandpa Jim carried you in the house to sleep on the couch next to Gigi and I.  Gigi, daddy, and I visited with Grace when you all went for your walk.

Shortly after, Uncle Brennan, Aunt Katie, Mimi, and Grandpa Mike came over.  Mimi made a lasagna, salad, and bread for daddy's birthday.  Gigi, Grandpa Jim, and Uncle James brought an ice cream cake.  Everything was so good!  I think I ate too much!  ;-)  

Daddy opened his presents and liked ours!  We got him a grill accessory kit with a framed poem from the two of you.  The poem said:

Happy Birthday to our daddy

We hope you will enjoy,

These tools and utensils from

Your little girl and boy!

We know you want a grill

You’ve been looking for a while,

We thought about buying one

But didn’t know your style! 

So, we need your help in finding one

To make this gift complete,

Once you find one that you’d like

We’ll even buy the meat!   

Happy Birthday to the best daddy in the world!  We love you!

~Joshua & Grace

Daddy said he would help pick out a grill so we can get him the one he likes.  Now that the weather will be getting nicer, it'll be fun to have a grill and eat out on the screened in porch.  :-)

Oh, today is daylight savings .... so, we lost an hour of sleep.  That's another reason why we were so tired today.  :-P

Once company left, it was pretty late.  I put Joshua in some pajamas as daddy held Grace.  Then, we relaxed in the play room before going to bed.  

Tomorrow is daddy's birthday, but we won't see him until the evening since he has to work.  

Sleep tight little children!
 

I love you both!

~Mommy

Quick Trip

Dearest Little Blessings~

Hello miracles!  Guess what daddy did this morning .... he cooked breakfast for us!  He made eggs, bacon, and toast.  It was good!  Joshua, you even had a little bit of the bacon.  You didn't eat much of the eggs.  

Grace, you did a little better last night.  We got a few hours of sleep, but we were still tired today.  

After we all got situated for the day, the four of us ran an errand to Target.  Joshua, you've been to Target about a billion times!  ;-)  But, Grace, this was your first time there.  Joshua, you sat in the cart as daddy pushed you around.  Grace, I carried you around in front of me in the infant carrier.  I use to carry your brother around like that as well.  You and I went and picked up the item we still needed for daddy's birthday gift.  Then, we met up with the boys in the grocery section.  We only needed a few things like milk, cereal, and diapers.  So, we were back home relatively soon .... of course with children, there's no such thing as a 'quick trip to the store' since we have to pack and unload you all!  ;-)

Mimi was waiting at our house when we got home.  She had a friend come into town from up north who wanted to see you two.  She brought you two some little gifts, though one was a book for Joshua that he promptly started to eat!  We had to take it away from him.  :-P  

UNC was playing and you two were hungry for lunch, so people didn't stay long.  I fed Grace as daddy fed Joshua.  This was another very close game, but we managed to win in overtime!  Ugh!  We're playing DOOK in the championship game tomorrow, so we'd better step it up.  Oh, our player, Harrison Barnes, scored 40 points in the game today against Clemson .... the most in ACC history by a freshman in a tournament game!  Woo hoo!

After the game, we continued to relax in the bonus room.  Joshua, you got fussy since you never took a nap today.  Daddy tried to rock you, but you kept fighting it.  Once I put a pillow in your play area, you started to calm down and took a very short nap!  You woke up crying in about 45 minutes because you were hungry.  We took you downstairs and we ate dinner together.  

This evening there was an 'I Love Lucy' marathon on television, so we all watched a few episodes.  This is my favorite television show!  It's so funny and the humor is classic, timeless, and ageless.  :-)  After a while, we turned the television off and just had you all playing.  Daddy took a little nap.  

Tomorrow, everyone's coming over to celebrate daddy's birthday.  His birthday is on monday, but people are coming over tomorrow to visit.  I wrapped our gift to daddy this afternoon as people napped.  I think he'll like it.  :-)

The weather should be nice tomorrow, so we'll try to go for a walk.  We had the windows open this afternoon and the breeze felt so good!  

Sleep tight little precious ones!

I love you both!

~Mommy

Car Wash

Dearest Little Miracles~

Hello cutie pies!  Grace, you were awake a lot again last night and this morning.  :-P  I found that I need to hold you for a long period of time before you go into a 'deep' sleep.  If I put you down too soon after nursing, you wake right up.  :-P  Also, I noticed that you sometimes fall asleep while nursing, but you're not eating .... you're just lightly 'sucking' as comfort.  If I give you a pacifier, you don't appear to like it.  So, I occasionally have to let you suck until you fall asleep.  Then, I have to hold you to make sure you're sleeping.  After that, I can place you in the bassinet.  I think I was awake every hour this morning either holding you or nursing you .... and there was one hour in there where I was woken up by Joshua tugging on my hair.  Again, little man, you managed to noodle into our bed.  Our bed is getting more and more crowded.  :-P

Mimi came over around 9am and took Joshua to get new shoes.  The shoe store employee said that a child's foot can grow every two months.  So, since it's been a while since you got fit for shoes, she took you this morning.  Your size 4 shoes technically still fit you in length, but when they measured your feet, they found out your feet are wide.  So, now you have size 4W shoes.  ;-)  I'm not too surprised .... there are a lot of people in our family (both sides) who have wide feet!  While there, Mimi also picked up a pair of size 5W for you to have.

Afterward, you two went to the car wash.  Joshua, this was your first car wash experience.  Daddy and I just wash our cars at the house, so you've never been to a place where the car is on a roller and huge brushes wash the car.  Mimi said you liked watching the cars go by and seeing all the machines go off to wash, rinse, dry, and wax the cars.  But, you two had a little bit of a scare too.  The car wash employee accidentally locked Mimi's keys in the car!  So, they had to 'break into' her car by popping the lock.  :-P

You two were back home by lunch time, but Joshua had fallen asleep in the car.  So, Mimi and I ate as you napped.  Grace, you and I then went upstairs to nurse and watch the UNC game.  The ACC tournament started yesterday, but we didn't have to play until today since we were the regular season champions.  We won, but barely!  It was a buzzer beater shot (literally 0.2 seconds left) by Tyler Zeller that gave us the win over Miami .... and ironically our only lead of the game!  Whew!  So, we play again tomorrow at 1pm.  Hopefully that game won't be so close.  :-P

Oh, Grace, you and I also did a few loads of laundry this morning and cleaned up a little around the house.  Also, we finished part of daddy's birthday gift!  Now, we just need to pick up one thing from the store and we'll be done.  :-)

Joshua, once you woke up, Mimi gave you some lunch and then she left to run some errands.  The three of us played in the bonus room until daddy got home.  Which, by the way, is our favorite time of day .... when daddy is home and we're one little family of four again!  :-)

Since daddy didn't see the game, he quickly watched it since it was recorded.  We played around while the game was on.

Tomorrow is saturday and the weather is suppose to be beautiful!  Maybe we can get out and enjoy some of it.  

Sleep tight little precious gifts!

I love you very much!

~Mommy

Different Textures

Dearest Little Miracles~

Hello precious children!  Today we had a fun day together.  :-)  

Penny came over a little after 9am so she could start to bond with Grace.  She also wanted to help out around the house and show us some of the things she learned in a child development conference she went to yesterday and the day before.  The conference was about sensory perception.  

Joshua, you know that scarf that Penny has that you do a little 'shiver' with when you touch it?  And, the Hawaiian leis hanging on the bonus room door that you 'shiver' with too?  Well, she learned that when a child makes that motion with something, the child is perceiving 'pain' and doesn't like the texture.  So, we placed these items on the floor and had you come to them .... only if you wanted .... instead of us putting them on you.  Also, we had you feel different textures with your fingers and hands.  For example, we filled two containers for you to play with.  One had beans in it and the other had rice.  We then held the containers and had you gently place your fingers in to touch the items to get a feel for them.  It was so interesting to watch you slowly place your fingers in there and gently feel the uncooked rice and the beans.  You got more use to them after a while and then you started to pick them up.  Of course, we had to watch that you didn't eat anything.  ;-)

Also, we practiced walking with you.  Penny and I stood at different parts of the room and had you walk between us to get different toys.  We also walked you around as you held our hands.  :-)

Grace, you would not fall asleep last night.  :-P  You finally started to doze after 1am.  Once you fell asleep, you did pretty good and didn't stir until 5am!  Woo hoo!  I'm trying to 'cluster feed' you during the day.  So, all day I nudge you every 2.5-3 hours (unless you're already hungry) to nurse you.  Some times you wake up every 2 hours on your own. Then, at night, I don't nudge you so that you learn to feed during the day and sleep at night.  Hopefully it's working.  :-P

Oh, Penny enjoyed holding you, little Grace.  She said you have the prettiest ears.  Joshua, she also missed seeing you and had a lot of fun playing with you in the bonus room!  

It stormed all day today.  In fact, our neighbors across the cul-de-sac had a tree come down!  It didn't hit the house, but it fell across the yard.  It was a pretty dogwood too.  :-P

Once daddy came home, we heated up a Shepherd's Pie for dinner.  Joshua, you actually ate some of the potatoes, meat, and veggies in it!  Woo hoo!  You didn't eat a ton, but you at least tasted it and had a few bites.  :-)

This evening we all just relaxed in the bonus room and played around.  :-)

Sleep tight little angels!

I love you both!  :-)

~Mommy

Chasing That Cat

Dearest Blessings~

Today we flew solo again!  I didn't get much sleep last night and this morning though, so I was a tad sluggish.  :-P  Grace was up all night.  But, despite being tired, we got through everything pretty well together.  :-)

Joshua, you were so picky at breakfast this morning!  I hope you learn to eat more soon!  Once Grace was fed and napping, you and I practiced your walking.  We walked all around the upstairs.  At one point, you and I walked around and around the bonus room 'chasing' after the cat!  You never did catch him, but you got really close a few times.  ;-)  Before we know it, Grace will be moving around and that cat will have to hide from both of you!  

After lunch, Joshua napped as I nursed Grace.  Then, I cut Joshua's finger nails since that hadn't been done in a while.  You were still wearing pajamas which covered your feet, so I'll have to do your toe nails later.  I was just happy to get those fingers done!  Oh, and once Grace fell asleep, I was able to nap for one hour!  Woo hoo!

Grace, I don't know what it is, but you tend to get the hiccups every day!  :-P  I rocked you when you got them today and they eventually stopped.  I also noticed that you're getting little 'crusties' around your eyes.  Joshua use to get those too.  I've been gently wiping your tear ducts with a warm washcloth each time I change you.  Hopefully, they'll go away soon.  :-P

Grandpa Jim came over to see you two after work.  He was heading over to church for the Ash Wednesday service but wanted to visit first.  We had a really nice visit with him!  Joshua, you walked all around with Grandpa Jim as Grace napped.  Then, you ate some cheerios.   Also, you sang your 'nanana' song for him.  It was so cute! We're planning a visit next month to see your Great-Grandparents in Asheboro.  We talked about that while Grandpa Jim was here.  Once Grace woke up, Grandpa Jim got to hold her before heading to church.

Mimi and Grandpa Mike came over for dinner afterward.  Mimi gave Joshua a bath as I swept and vacuumed the kitchen after dinner (this also has not been done in a while).  There was food everywhere since we were behind on our chores.  :-P  Grace, you took a little nap in the crib as Joshua had a bath.  See Joshua .... the crib is for sleeping!  If Grace can do it, I'm positive you can too!  Let's continue to work on that so you can sleep in your own bed for a full night!  :-P

It rained this evening so the four of us relaxed in the bonus room.  It's still amazing to think 'the four of us' or our 'family of four' .... we're so blessed to have you two!  Oh, Grace, you have the cutest little smiles and half smiles as you nap .... especially when you're full!  ;-)

Tomorrow, Penny is coming over to help out and to start bonding with Grace as well.  Also, the ACC tournament starts!  UNC doesn't play until friday, but I'm sure we'll have some of the games on tomorrow too.  ;-)

Sleep tight!

I love you both!

~Mommy

Solo Mommy

Dearest Blessings~

Hello little miracles!  Today was our first day by ourselves!  Mommy was flying solo with you two, and I have to say we did pretty well together despite the fact that I was out numbered.  ;-)  I don't think the two of you realized you had the upper hand though!   

Also, despite being by ourselves with no help, this was a pretty peaceful day!  We had no television on and just listened to music, talked, or read together all day.  Whenever Grace would nap, I would walk Joshua all around the upstairs to stretch his legs and practice.  We tried going from crawling to standing a few times, but you would rather crawl, little man.  

Breakfast, I have to admit, was a little rough.  But, after three diaper changes (Grace was twice!) .... one round of nursing .... 1.5 yogurt containers .... half a sippy cup of formula and whole milk .... one hiccup episode followed by one throw up episode (I caught most of it on your daddy's shirt which I was wearing) .... and two outfit changes (Grace and myself) .... Joshua was finally playing and Grace was sleeping on me.  :-)  Not too bad for my first day.  :-P

Joshua, you had a big poopy diaper this morning!  I still don't lift you around.  So, I change you on the floor and feed you in a little chair on the floor in the bonus room.  But, we got in the habit of doing that when I was pregnant with Grace.  I didn't want to lift you a lot then to save my back, so we did a lot of things on the floor the last couple of weeks I was pregnant.  I don't even think you notice it anymore.  :-)

Oh, speaking of poopy diapers .... we tease you two because Grace poops all the time, but Joshua's diapers are stinkier!  ;-)

We worked on daddy's birthday gift together.  His birthday is on the 14th .... monday.  And, our 3 year anniversary is on the 15th!  We're cheating a little and trying to combine the two for him, but we thought of something nice to get him, so I don't think he'll mind much.  :-)  I still need to pick something up from the store and finish another part on the computer.  Then, we should be pretty much done.  :-)

This evening daddy cut Grace's nails as she slept.  I tried to cut Joshua's, but you wouldn't let me.  I'll have to try again tomorrow when you're napping.

Oh, I had to take the batteries out of the play yard gate since they were going dead.  I felt bad because Joshua kept going over there to turn the music on, but every time I went downstairs I forgot to get new ones.  Plus, Grace was napping and I didn't want her to wake up.  

Tomorrow we'll be flying solo again!  So far so good .... we all seem to be bonding together well and Joshua has even begun to touch Grace on the head (usually gently) while I nurse her.  :-)

Sleep tight!

I love you both!

~Mommy