Today

Had a good day today - both kids slept in (sorta...Annika got up a little before 9 while Declan got up at 4 and 7, but then slept till 10:15.). So I snuck in some good rest...sorta.

Rounded up the troops for a Starbucks run around noon. I prefer to get it earlier, but with the late start and treating myself to a shower mixed in with some feeding, that was pretty much our first shot.

After a quick drive-thru experience, I decided to keep driving because I wasn't ready to face the rest of the day in my messy home. Annika and I pretended we were underwater - she was an eel, Declan was a jellyfish and I was a whale...not my choice.

We passed by the bookstore and I suggested we check it out - Annika was game, and I've been steadily trying to improve Declan'a book collection. We had a blast there, picked up two new books for Miss Annika and one for Dex.

When we got home, we "played" with Declan which translates to laying on a blanket and waving toys in his face. Annika is pretty good at keeping him entertained and we had a great time - no one more than D who loooves attention of all kinds.

Scooby Doo movie for Annika, feeding for D , and a quick game of backyard I Spy rounded out the afternoon.

Whew! I am beat, but not too shabby. Though, my house is still a mess.

2...the new 1?

Before we even considered having a second baby, Chris and I heard horror stories of additional children....we were told that having 2 wasn't twice the work...it was exponentially more work! A number high enough couldn't be assigned! Ahhh!!!

I'm sure I'll eat my words, but after 12 weeks, I have to say that 2 might be...wait for it....easier than 1. WHAT IS THIS?

Now, before we get crazy, let's remember that I'm still playing stay-at-home-mom/housewife right now, so maybe when I'm back at work, I'll be singing a different tune. We also have to take into account that Annika is in preschool 3 mornings a week and with her sainted grandparents a great majority of the rest of the week....effectively limiting my 'on the clock' time with both kids. And on the weekends I have a wonderful husband who happily shares the workload with me...it's a pretty sweet deal.

That said, when I do have both of them, it's...dare I say? Fun. Annika is usually a sweet dear (with notable exceptions) and makes it easy for me to feed Declan throughout the day or is patient when we have to delay her lunch by 20 minutes after I settle Declan down for a nap. She completely understands that he's a baby that needs much of my attention, and she is usually satisfied with the 1:1 time I can give her when he's occupied. We usually spend the day completing a couple of art projects, going to the park, or having a picnic outside. It's such a pleasure getting to know her during those moments that it makes the day go by quickly.

The flip side of that is by the time Chris gets home, I'm wiped out. With two kids, there is no downtime...but is that exponentially harder? KNOCK ON WOOD...not for us, so far. Declan appears to be gearing up for a teething tragedy while Annika is having a week of whininess unparalleled.

What makes it "easier" is that with #2, I sorta know what I'm doing. I don't worry about how much he's eating (apparently a lot), when he's eating, how much he's crying, what's he's crying about, when he's sleeping...you get the picture. Declan is not an easy baby, but he's not the roughest either, and I think having the experience with Annika oh-so-many years ago makes it so much more....possible. I don't fear so many things as I did with her...I just do it. I would imagine this has a lot to do with the assumption that first borns are high strung and babies of the family are waaayyy relaxed. It's all making sense...

Nothing is perfect, but I thought it was worth noting that we have it pretty good. I do recommend having the second kid! Sleep is not bountiful, your life is utterly centered around your kids but what you get from it - another little life to love, and a closer family than ever - makes it a pretty awesome thing.

Oh - are we going for #3? Hell no!

My poor son's wife

You need sound for this video.

Making good on a promise

I promised some video footage of Annika's pool party. Here's a clip of her swimming "on her own." She needs some materials to make this happen, but it's actually a handy little system to keep her afloat.

Entertainment?

Maybe I've blocked this part out, but when Annika was Declan's age, I don't recall her being so hungry for attention and entertainment. Don't get me wrong - I realize that 11-week-olds enjoy the attention and want to be cooed at, fed and cuddled, but Declan is *starving* for it. He just needs someone to be in his face at all times and if you're not in his face, you better be holding him - or else! I type this as he screams in his crib...he's completely tired and ready for a nap, but refuses to fall asleep.

Any ideas? We have the playmat, which is useful for about 10 minutes. He does like it, but the magic wears off. He started to enjoy Annika's old bouncy chair, but now he gets furious off when he sees the toys that dangle from the overhead bar. Annika used to squawk at the bird, but Declan screams at it like it's going to come alive and peck his eyes out.

He has a new toy named Sandy the Seahorse that captures his attention for about 2.48 minutes. He picked it out at Babies R Us (after I showed him a few toys while we shopped - and that one elicited a smile) but since he's not ready to fully grab and grasp things yet, it's usefulness is short lived as well.

Maybe he's going through a phase. Maybe it's second child syndrome - since his attention from birth has been split with his sister. Maybe he's just a needy little boy. I'm ok with that, but it sure does make the day go by slllooowwwlllyyyyy....

If you have any ideas for entertainment, drop me a comment. I'm open to all & any suggestions!

I think my kids look alike

Who's with me???

Annika at 10 weeks:



Declan at 10 weeks:

For Chris

Chris said he doesn't like the picture of his son, topless in a denim hat. So I'm posting this so we can move on with our lives.

Weight check

When Chris and I take Declan out, we get one of two comments: "He sure looks like a boy" or "Wow - he's big!" I guess it's a good thing that he looks like a boy, but the big comment is mixed. I mean - he's two months old - do I need to worry about weight problems already??? Probably not. We went to the doctor's yesterday for his 2-month check-up and one thing we know about our doctor is that he'll say something's wrong if something is. He said that he's big for his age, but also tall, so he didn't have any issues. It is a little disturbing though when you see a walking 1-year old at the Injection Clinic and she's the same size as your 10-week old son...

But whatever! He's damn cute!

Here are his stats:

Height: 24.13 inches (81st percentile)
Weight: 15 pounds, .5 ounces (96th percentile)
Head circumference: 16.14 inches (66th percentile)

Annika's head circumference was never smaller than 95th percentile. Chris made the comment - no wonder it seems easier to put on Declan's shirts...

More fun updates on Declan - he is smiling more and staying awake longer. He is much more interested in his surroundings and he's always looking for entertainment. If you're unable to meet his expectations of entertainment, he'll cry...loudly.

Today he purposely knocked his hanging car seat toy. He was so proud! He smiled and even laughed a bit. I saw him continuing to try and hit it and he was so excited when he connected.

Oh and yesterday when he got his first series of shots, I marveled at how differently my children reacted. Annika was always a trouper about it - she would feel the needle go in and go still...then she'd look at you and then SOB. But she was overit pretty quick. Declan cried the second the needle grazed his skin and so deeply that he stopped breathing. His face was so red and the screaming so loud. I'm sure we scared a couple of kids in the waiting room...sorry!!

We had a bit of a scare yesterday - Declan vomited up blood. Luckily we already had the doctor appointment scheduled, so I tried not to panic too much. It only happened once, too, which was good. The Doc said that his esophagus could be irritated by all the times he spits up (usually 2-3 times after every feeding) so he prescribed an antacid. No blood any more, but not sure if the antacid is helping. But it's been 12 hours. So maybe I'll give it a little more time...

Lucky

"Momma...I feel lucky."

"You do, sweetie? Why is that?"

"I feel lucky to have parents like you."

Back at ya, kid.

Looks cute now

But puked all morning and can't stay asleep. Annika just woke him up after he finally went down. Yay.......

But this (sorta) makes it worth it.

Some more birthday stuff

Since Annika's birthday was on a Wednesday, we kept the actual day of her birthday pretty low key. She still went to school where she brought cupcakes. She went to her cousin's house after school then Chris and I picked them both up for a trip to Chuck E Cheese. We all came back after a couple of hours to have cake and ice cream. Wednesday kicked off the weekend of birthdays, and it'll probably take her another day or so to fully recover. She's napping on the couch as I type this, and is incredibly cranky. Tough life!

Party weekend

Not only was Annika's pool 4th birthday party this weekend, but so were two other important birthday parties - Nico's and cousins Pierce and Audrey. This is what she looked like after her 6-hour party yesterday:

Backing up a bit, this is what she looked like in the middle of the party after a 2-hour swim and after she swallowed some water:

Then it got a little better when the pinata made its appearance:

Oh, and she enjoyed her birthday cake and the party theme - Scooby Doo. Have I mentioned how much she loves Scooby Doo? It's unnatural. So unnatural in fact that she's watching the live action movie right now...who would do that willingly? Only a true fan!

I'll post some video from the part(ies) later this week. I have some great pool action shots, though I missed Chris's cannonball.

Baby turns 4

My little girl is 4. Four years old! Four going on 18....

Annika is a really special person. She is caring. She is smart. She is selfless, and she is picky. She's so unique that Chris and I often marvel that we created her...we created this awesome person.

Annika asks a lot of questions. She understands a lot. We had a conversation last week about creationism vs. evolution. She so far is pretty sure that God created the Earth and people, but respects Darwin's position.

This year will be remembered for Declan's birth. But I hope we also remember that this is the year that Annika entered Pre-K, tried to learn to swim, asked for "Jack In The Box" for the first time (embarrassing...but true) and told me that she would "never break up" with me and that we'll be "best friends forever."

Annika - I love you so much, it swallows me up! You'll always be my baby and my best friend. Happy Birthday to you.

Woo hoo!

He slept 7 hours last night! Not that I expect that to last....but I'll take it.

Annika loves to cuddle with her baby bro in the morning.

I've never seen this before

When we first started giving Declan baths, he really didn't like them. Can't say I blame them - we did them in our kitchen on the island and he wasn't allowed to be submerged because of his umbilical cord - so he was freezing. This is a kid that loooves to be warm, so he would complain. Loudly.

A few weeks ago I discovered that he could take a bath while I took a shower. I discovered this out of necessity since he would be screaming his head off every time I'd turn off the water and start to dry off. Most showers end with me soaking wet, racing across the room to get to him and staying wet and undressed until he fell asleep again.

So the shower thing really worked. He loves the sound of the water and he likes being warm and submerged (his umbilical cord fell out when he was nearly 4 weeks old). The last two times he took his bath, his eyes would start blinking heavily and he almost fell asleep. I thought it was the cutest thing - until this:

This is not a picture of him blinking - he's fast asleep. He slept for a good five minutes while I finished up my shower and Chris took pictures. He didn't wake up until Chris put him down on the changing table to get him dressed.

I wish I could say he could sleep anywhere...and often...but that would be a lie.

P.S. I blurred out some of the more controversial content of the picture....that's not really what it looks like.

Harder than it looks

...to get a picture of him when he's not blurry. He never stops moving!





Also, is it just me or does he look older than his 7 weeks of life?

He smiles!

He smiles...even on his sister's lap! This is big news...whether or not it seem so to you.

He is actually picky about when he smiles - you really have to earn it. He smiles most often for Daddy who works for it. Though last night I walked up to him just to say hi and he gave me the biggest little grin. Made my night.

Annika and Declan and I have been hanging out today. A day with both the kids is exhausting, but goes fast - definitely no down time. However, I do have to say that Annika has been a model daughter and model big sister. In fact, today she really came through by entertaining Declan while I was getting ready for us to go out and run an errand. He thoroughly enjoyed it and she was gentle enough with him not to freak him out. Success!

Happy birthday, Chris!

Chris is 29 + 4. Just to be clear, I am 29 + 3. I love June 12!

But seriously - happy birthday to the best husband and daddy ever. Love, love, love you!

How it is...

Right after he's been fed. More than happy to have anyone hold him ... Including his intense sister.

Annika, however, is ecstatic to hold him whenever he'll let her. She is a sweetheart.

But what about Annika's adventures??

This blog has been Declan-heavy lately, so let me catch you up on Annika's life.

She's a big sister and she takes the responsibility very seriously. She insists that he likes to be tickled on his feet (though I agree he is ticklish, not sure he likes it), wants to be patted on the back...vigorously (true, actually) and is awfully annoying when he cries and cannot be consoled (also true). She told us last night that "Baby bro keeps waking me up!" but I actually think she wasn't ready to go to bed.

Bed time is a little different for her. She had a monitor in her room until just last week, when we finally weaned her. Having two kids on a monitor wasn't something I was personally into, and she's old enough to get out of bed if the situation warrants. The issue is that she thinks all situations warrant it.

"Mommy, Declan is keeping me awake."

"Daddy, I want new stuffed animals."

"I have to go pee." (a legitimate reason to get up, but often times it's just a few trickles...another stall tactic).

"Mommy, I have just one thing to say to you....are there mummies?"

She has friends at school - two girls for the most part, but one that she is particularly enamoured with. She told me "I hug her soooo tight, and she asks me to stop, but I can't help it!!!" My baby has a friend crush! Literally. We had a talk about personal boundaries, but not sure it took.

Speaking of boundaries, according to her, Declan doesn't have any. Whether he's feeding, sleeping, crying, pooping, taking a bath...all of his activities are fair game for her to jump in and rub his head (vigorously) or hug him sooooo tight or tickles his feet, etc...you get the idea. She's madly in love with him and her preschooler ways don't really understand quite yet how to tone it down. But I am so grateful for how much she loves him. She is not jealous at all. She just wants him to be her toy.

We are trying to teach her to swim this year, but she really just wants to hang out in the pool. She's not a fan of ....learning. We'll keep trying, but thinking she might have to get group lessons so she'll succumb to peer pressure. Ahh, the American way.

She is very much into art. Loves to paint, play with Play-Doh and draw most anything. She's also into 3-D art where she'll glue an item to a paper and then draw around it. Her Nana says she has a great sense of color, and I have to agree. I need to get her a portfolio to keep these pictures...they're all over my house and I have no idea what to do with them.

Her 4th birthday is coming up quick and she talks about her birthday party a lot. She also knows what she wants to be for Halloween this year - a cat.