Sweet Sundays

This Sunday was exactly what I had envisioned family life being as a little girl.  We went to church in the morning, Newbo Market for lunch right after, and ended the outing with ice cream.  The block where the ice cream shop is located has a couple pianos outside, so of course Liam was drawn to them like a magnet and we were all entertained by the musical talents of a toddler.  A treat for the ears if I've ever heard one.  When we got home and laid both kids down for a nap, I realized that I am right where I am supposed to be.  Life is obviously not perfect and I'm not going to pretend like it is, but those couple hours when we were out as a family of four for the first time, it seemed pretty dang close to perfection. 

 

The First Born

Since everyone loves a fresh new baby, Eva has been getting most of the attention for the past month.  Guests go straight to Eva when they visit.  Liam has to wait for a drink of milk or cereal bar until after I change and feed Eva.  Evenings are spent trying to comfort Eva during her witching hour while Liam entertains himself.  My biggest worry when we had Eva was how Liam would adjust to the new family dynamic.  While I have heard and agree that when you have a second child, your love doubles, the attention aspect still remains divided.  So, Liam, here's to you!

You are my first born.  You are the one who made me a mama.  You are my only son.  As a two year old, you have boundless energy and your Great Grandpa Jerry's smile.  Everyday you make me laugh and everyday you surprise me with what you have learned.  You can count to ten, name colors, and know a handful of letters.  But, more important than that, you are sweet, humorous, and helpful.  My love for you continues to grow each day and I love seeing you in the big brother roll.

You will always be my baby boy, but something changed when we had your sister, Eva.  When we brought Eva home, I no longer saw you as a baby.  Granted, you were no longer a baby for quite a while, but I saw you in a new light.  You are a toddler on the brink of becoming a preschooler and it wasn't until we had Eva that I really accepted that.  You still need cuddles, to be tucked in at night, and your diaper changed, but you are also putting away your own dishes, cleaning up your own messes, and putting on your own shoes.  Although you will always be my baby boy, you are no longer the baby in the family.  Part of me felt heartbroken, but the other part of me beamed with pride.  You are such a good big brother and are becoming quite the little man.

Know that mama feels just as bad as you do when I can't tend to your needs right away because your little sister needs attention.  I realize that you are frustrated, but I also realize that it will teach you patience.  Know that just because I am paying attention to Eva doesn't mean I love you any less.  If anything I love you more now that Eva's here because I've gotten to see what a great big brother you are.  Know that I feel guilty about the times where the TV is on most the day and dinner is less than spectacular because we are in straight survival mode.  Someday you will become a parent and realize that not every single moment can be filled with magical childhood memories and that having children can be straight up exhausting.  Know that I look forward to our one on one dates more than ever now.  I so much appreciate the time we get to spend together, just us.  Know that however our family dynamic may change across time, you will always be loved and that love will continue to grow.

Love, 

Mama

Touch-a-Truck

Greg came home unexpectedly early on Friday, so we gathered up the kids and went to a local event called "Touch-a-Truck."  This is right up Liam's alley, or at least I thought.  He is currently obsessed with all vehicles, but would not sit in one single truck we saw on Friday.  When we would ask him if he wanted to sit in any of the trucks, his response was similar to that of us asking him to jump in a pit of fire.  Needless to say, we didn't push the issue too much and let him admire the trucks from afar.

The rest of the weekend was spent with family, which most weekends are.  We are so lucky to live close to both sets of parents so that Liam and Eva can grow up being close to his grandparents.

As far as some of my favorites for the week go, Liam and I made this cookies and cream ice cream recipe we found on Pinterest.  Seriously so delicious and so rich.  It was probably more rich than the original recipe would have been, but we added about 5-10 (closer to 10) more cookies than the recipe called for.

I've also been loving the Burberry Eye Colour Creams for those quick days where I need to get ready, but don't have a lot of time.  One sweep on the lid with your finger tips and you're good to go!  These are as close as I'll ever get to owning anything Burberry, but they are well worth the money and I can see them lasting a long time.  I have several colors, but have been enjoying the Gold Copper the most.  Such a good color for summer!

I ordered these muslin quilts from Little Unicorn in summer poppy and navy stripe on a whim and ended up loving them!  We use Eva's for a blanket to lay on in the living room and Liam uses his to cuddle up on the couch or even take naps with.  Liam is not a kid to get attached to a blanket or stuffed animal, and has had many blankets and stuffed animals in the past, but he will ask for this one when he naps.  They're well worth the money since I can see both kids using them for several years, as long as they hold up.  I also love how they're meant for kids, but the patterns are sophisticated enough that they're not eye sores when left around the house, if anything they bring a nice little pop of color to the room!

Adjusting to Two

The weeks are seriously flying by and it's a bit bittersweet.  It's a toss up between being ecstatic about having another adult to help me with the childcare responsibilities and to interact with during the weekends and realizing that it's one more week closer to going back to work.  Each week it gets a little easier to handle two kids and I've been in awe of watching Liam fall more into the big brother role.  He helps throw away her dirty diapers, is always handy with the pacifier when she needs it, and is ready to block the sun from her face when we go on our walks.  Don't get me wrong, he still has his moments and seems to always want something the minute I sit down to feed Eva.  Whining has also become somewhat of a new habit since we brought Eva home, but overall the adjustment has gone smoother than expected.  I even got the balls to take both kids to the grocery store this week, which was my first outing solo with both kids.  A small success, but it seriously made me feel like super mom...whose super power is running errands with two kids.  

Now that Eva's a month old I feel a little more comfortable having others babysit her.  My mom offered to watch Eva so I could take Liam to his last kindermusic class, so I took the opportunity to spend some quality, uninterrupted, time with Liam.  I could tell he was enjoying the one on one attention.  Usually if I ask him for a hug or kiss, he's too busy playing and will flat out say no, which, by the way, makes me want to crawl in a hole when he does that in public, but he was all about the hugs, kisses, and mommy's lap during his class. We celebrated his last class with Orange Leaf and he got his chocolate fix with chocolate frozen yogurt and about a million chocolate flavored toppings.

On a total random note, my kids dress way nicer than me.  I realized that as I was snapping the above picture of Eva.  Since having Liam, my fashion game has seriously suffered, even to the point where I've worn jeans to work for the past two years.  Once I loose the baby weight I plan to do some revamping in that department, especially since my new job role requires a lot of teaching and in services.  I'm sure staff would respect me more if I wasn't teaching in distressed jeans...

A One Month Old and the Weekend



Well, our little lady is one month old already!  Little Miss Eva loves to be held and really lets her temper shine through when she's not in the comfort of someone's arms.  Greg calls her our little elephant because she is so noisy and sounds like a little elephant when she is grunting in her sleep.  I don't remember Liam being this noisy as a baby, but maybe I'm just forgetting.  It is so fun to hear Eva vocalize, grunt, and squeal (not so much at midnight, though)!

We are still in survival mode and adjusting to having two kids to look after, which means a lot of subway and cereal for dinner, but we're getting the hang of it and are just now starting to get into somewhat of a routine.  Saturday night I went out with my mom to see Jim Gaffigan and left the kiddos in Greg's hands.  Luckily the troops (a.k.a Papa Randy, Grandma Joni, and Uncle Logan) came in for support.  It ended up being a late night for all of us, so Sunday was a pretty sleepy day.  Not that I don't love playing with the kiddos when they're awake, but there is something magical about the whole family taking a nap at the same time.  Sunday afternoon I looked over to see Greg and Liam cuddling and sleeping and my heart about burst.  Most the summer has been us camping out at home during the weekends, so now that Eva is a month old I am hoping I'll be brave enough to take the kids out more.