Happy Father's Day

A day late but we were super busy yesterday. We headed to church in the morning, then to have lunch with Grammy, then Grammy, Owen, and I did a little shopping while Josh took Jake to the playplace at the mall. After the mall we came back to our house and went swimming. We did not stop all day. Of course, Josh and I were hopeful that the busy day would mean Jake would sleep in, but we were not so lucky this  morning. Up at his usual 6:20, which I guess is better than the 5:40 that he has been up at the past couple of mornings.

Our boys are incredibly lucky to have Josh as their daddy. I see so many dads that aren't involved with their kids, especially when they are little, and I am so thankful that Josh has never hesitated to jump right in with either boy. He is perfectly willing to change diapers, do laundry, deal with a sick kid, let Jake jump on him over and over, or just sit and talk to Owen. I am never worried about him being able to handle both boys or take both of them out by himself. We don't always do things the same way, but his way works just as well as mine. We are all so blessed to have such a great daddy in our family!

Josh and the boys

 (Grammy had bought them all matching shirt before Owen was born; so cute!)

 

And one with all the babies

 

Summer Time!

Josh is out of school so that means it is officially summer time here! We have been busy the past few weeks. I have been getting out a lot more with the boys and since I am working on Saturdays we have only had Sundays for family time. We celebrated Josh's birthday on Memorial Day with the Morrows. We were hoping to get in pool that day but it wasn't quite warm enough. Then we celebrated again the next day at home with a chocolate cheesecake Jake and I made. He loves helping in the kitchen.

The boys and I have been getting out for a walk/bike ride most mornings so we get out once a day, especially since the weather has been awesome lately. We've also made a few trips to some local parks and splash parks with our friends. This week we actually headed to Dallas to a new park right in the middle of the city. We had a blast! We met some friends down there that don't live close  to us. We stopped to see Josh at work on the way home from the park and let all of his co-workers meet Owen since we haven't had a chance to get there yet. It worked out well since it was the last day of school so there were no kids there when we got there and everyone was just hanging out and finishing up.

In kid news, Owen is doing great. Another good baby, can't beat that! He usually sleeps a 5-6 hour stretch at night and seems to be growing very quickly! I can't wait to see what the official measurements are at his 2 year appointment in a couple  of weeks. Jake is doing great most of the time. We have had a few rough days lately, usually after not getting enough sleep. I have been trying to make sure he gets some individual attention every day, but some days it is harder than others. He loves his little brother though and likes to get in his face to make him smile. He loves when Owen looks at him and touches him. He also wants to show Owen all the cool things he can do.

Trying to get a picture of this kid standing still is almost impossible

 

Cake for daddy's birthday!

 

Headed to church. Poor Owen is trying to figure out what is going on.

 

Grammy and Owen

 

 

Boys are Awesome

How we feel about it! (Because I know some people don't agree)

Catch Up: Mother's Day and One Month

I keep thinking of things I need to write and then never manage to have time to sit down and actually type them. It doesn't help that I spend most of the day holding the current winner of the world's cutest baby title and when I'm not doing that I am playing with the big brother. Which means lots of other stuff doesn't get done. I usually get one or two things done around the house a day.

Mother's Day
We had a pretty low key Mother's Day, just how I like it. We went to brunch with Grammy in the morning then came back to our house and planted the flowers Grammy gave me for Mother's Day and just hung out until dinner. I love being Momma to my two boys and couldn't ask for anything more. 

Next up, Owen is 1 month old!
It is so weird that he is already a whole month old! He has spent the majority of the month being held by me. Jake has grown up so fast and I know that Owen will do the same so I am taking advantage of every minute of this time. He is pretty attached to me (or my boobs, but I like to think it is me) and likes to sleep on or next to me, so he has been sleeping in our bed which I don't mind at all.  He slept in the pack n play for the first time last night. He loves to eat, we are in trouble when he gets older, our grocery bill is going to sky rocket! We have settled in to a general non routine routine during the week which consists of a lot of sitting on the couch nursing. He doesn't like a pacifier so when he wants to sleep or eat or just needs to be calmed down, he wants a boob. Right now that is working so it is fine, plus it has greatly helped my milk supply. In return for all that nursing, he has lots of poopy diapers (Jake's favorite!). Sleeping has been variable. Some nights we will get a good 4.5 hours in the first stretch and sometimes he is up every 2 hours. He also thinks he is a big boy and lifts and holds his head up pretty frequently, kid is strong! He usually spends at least one nap time in the swing and has been playing on the floor more often in the last week or so. I headed back to work on Saturdays last weekend so he had his first bottle. Josh said it went ok but he didn't eat nearly as much as he does when he nurses. He is a mostly laid back kid, but he does get fussy in the evenings. Which is solved by letting him nurse, but sometimes he eats too much and spits it all back up. That is always fun to clean up! We are also starting to get some real smiles. Jake got Owen to smile the first time last week by tickling him. It was the cutest thing ever. We did attempt to go to the pool last weekend, but it got cloudy right before we left, it was windy, and the water was cold, so Owen didn't get in and Jake was only in for a few minutes before declaring it was too cold and he was ready to go. We are going to try again this weekend. It is supposed to be warm and sunny through the weekend so hopefully that helps warm up the water a bit! We have settled in to having a second baby so much that is feels like he has been here for so much longer than a month!

Mother's Day brunch

With my boys

Big Brother and Little Brother

Headed to the pool

 

 

 

 

Brothers

Jake has been an absolutly incredible big brother. He loves to introduce Owen to everyone and show him to people. He tells them, this is my baby brother Owen. Most of the time he is really good about tolerating a lot of my attention on Owen while I am feeding him or while he is sleeping. Once in a while I have to remind him that screaming is not a good idea during those times, but for the most part he does really well. We have been very careful with how we word things and making sure we don't blame things on Owen when we ask him to do or not to do something. We don't want him to resent Owen by saying be quiet so he can sleep. This is still Jake's home and life too and it is important to us to foster a good relationship from the beginning. 

Jake loves to cuddle and hold Owen, of course, he really wants to hold him right as he is getting ready for nap and bed. But if Owen starts crying he will try to calm him down for about 5 seconds before wanting me to take him. My favorite is when Owen cries and he yells to me, Mama Owen is hungry! He knows that we have to change his diaper and loves to help with the poopy diapers and see the poop. If I need something he will go get it for me and rarely do I have to ask more than once if it is something for Owen (any other time his selective hearing usually kicks in).

Having 2 kids, and 2 boys, is definitely new territory for me. I was worried about splitting my attention between them and Jake feeling like he was not getting the same attention that he was used to and worried about them not having a great relationship that I always envision, but so far neither of those have been an issue. Jake loves Owen and Owen will stare at Jake when he is awake and Jake is talking to him. I know that as they get older we will still have to help foster that relationship, but I am glad that it is off to a positive start! It is such a cool thing to watch for me, not having any siblings of my own. I can't wait to see how they grow together and play as they get older.

Jake hanging out on the play mat with Owen

 

 

With all my babies on my birthday

 

 

2 Week Appointment

Friday we had Owen's 2 week appointment. According to the doctor, he is perfect. I love hearing that. She was also impressed with Jake's big brother skills. Jake was very concerned about the doctor checking Owen's mouth and ears. She was also impressed with his weight gain. She said it is normal for babies to be back to their birth weight by 10-14 days old. Owen is almost a pound over his birth weight. Clearly he is getting plenty to eat!

So 2 week stats:

Weight: 10lbs 9oz    
Length: 22 1/4 inches

He is in the 92nd percentile for both. Big boy!

We also had our first "normal" week this week. It went much better than I anticipated. Jake has been amazing! He loves to help change poopy diapers, he sits on the changing table and hands me supplies then wants to see the poop. He will also get me things if I ask him while I am nursing Owen and he has mostly been very patient while Owen is eating. We spend at least an hour every morning playing on the floor together while Owen is in the swing, so that has been helpful. We also got out a couple of times, which ended up going really well, again better than I anticipated. I can only hope  most of the coming weeks go as smoothly as this week did. I know there will be some rough weeks, but I know that they can go well so I hope that gets me through the tough ones.

In Jake news, he just seems so much bigger now. Holding him, cuddling with him, just holding his hand, everything about him just seems bigger. It is definitely one of those bittersweet  moments. He is growing up and doing so much and he loves it, but it is hard to see my first baby as such a big boy and definitely not a baby anymore.

Week 1

We survived week one with 2 kids! Of course, week one was just a pretend week since Josh was home with us all week. It is pretty easy when we have 2 parents and 2 kids, so we will see how it goes once we have real week one with Josh back at work all day! Week one with Owen was much different than with Jake. We were out doing something almost every day this time. Throughout the week we went to a doctor's appt, the diaper store, the mall, Thirsty Thursday, and to the photographer for newborn pictures. So we perfected the outting with all of us!

Owen has been a pretty easy baby so far. He rarely cries, usually just when he is hungry. And after Tuesday he was much happier since my milk came in! My boobs were happier too since Owen was sucking like a Dyson trying so hard to get something out before then! He is a great eater and has taken to nursing like a champ. He is sleeping pretty well (for a newborn!). We got one night where he slept for 5 hours and another 4.5 hours, but generally we are getting at least a 3.5-4 hour stretch at a time.

Jake is loving having Owen here. He is so sweet with him. Jake loves to share his blankie with Owen and often just wants to cover him up to keep him warm. He gives him a kiss every night before bed and introduces him to everyone. Sometimes Jake will just sit and look at him and want to hold his hand. It is awesome and I am so glad that he is adjusting well. I can't wait to watch their relationship develop as they get older. I know Jake can't wait to have Owen running around and playing with him. 

 

First bath...he was not a fan initially but calmed down and enjoyed the last half

 

After bath time

 

 

 

1 week....that baby was in my belly....whoa