Like Father, Like Son

Keith was on the living room floor one night last week, and Alex got down on the floor, too. It took a little while for us to realize what Alex was doing, but I think these pictures will make you smile like we did...

First Tub Bath

On Saturday night, Max had his first tub bath. I expected him to get upset when his little body hit the water, but he just kicked back, relaxed, and totally enjoyed himself!

Just to compare, here is Alex's first bath:

Life With Two

With a toddler, it's hard to just sit still & cherish those little baby moments. Rather than snuggling on the couch with a newborn, I'm convincing the toddler to stop shoving his shoes down the floor vent and other crazy things that would never have crossed my mind until I saw the act in progress!

It's nice, though, every once in a while to snag some cuddle time with my sweet little one. Keith got Alex's bath started the other night while I just sat & enjoyed Max. He was calm, content, and awake. It felt so good to just sit there & look at his wide-open eyes. Here's what I saw...not a great picture, but I love looking into those big blue eyes.

Then I lay the baby down & head into the bathroom to give Alex his bath while Daddy has some Max time. I find Daddy turning around to get something while Alex dumps his clean pajamas & diaper into the bathwater. Sigh...and we're back to the "new normal" at our house! :)

(unrelated picture of my mischievous toddler)

Life with 2 kids is easier than I thought it would be, actually! I expected mischief from Alex, nights with often-interrupted sleep, and all the other craziness. Maybe since I knew what to expect, it just seems easier than those early months with Alex. For the most part, the sleep-deprivation doesn't get to me and I'm not really frustrated or stressed very often. (I didn't say never stressed...there are moments!) I know these baby days go by far too quickly, so I'm trying to enjoy every minute!

We've managed to find new routines that make the day go fairly smoothly. The house is not perfect, but usually good enough to suffice. We're all wearing clean clothes and eating 3 meals a day (well, Max is eating 8 or 9 meals a day...the little piggy!) We've done a major grocery shopping trip with Mama & the two little ones...and no one cried, screamed, or struggled. We've made it to Bible study (ON TIME!) two weeks in a row. We've had no problem getting out of the house by 9 AM, with everyone showered, dressed, and organized. This is far better than I handled it all with Alex at this age. I'm definitely not bragging - just saying it's easier this time around!

Of course, there are "those days". When I looked up last Wednesday morning to see the bassinet falling on top of Alex & the baby rolling out on to the floor, the day got stressful in a hurry! I felt bad for Alex when he was wandering the house in boredom all day because Mama was handling a fussy baby. I got grumpy when Alex (who woke up at 6 AM) took only a 45 minute nap, leaving me with a crabby boy by 3 PM. Wednesday was a day when Keith couldn't come home soon enough! Thankfully, that's been our only truly rotten day so far.

Overall, I am LOVING being Mama to these two little boys! They are a wonderful blessing, and I am enjoying (almost...) every minute with them!

Who Let Him Grow?

Max had his 2 week pediatrician visit this morning, and he's a healthy & happy little guy. Keith & I were making guesses last night, and Keith guessed that Max might be up to 8 lbs by now. I guess that he was about 7.5 lbs. As it turns out, Max has exceeded both of our guesses...

He is 8 lbs, 4 oz already! He's also grown 2 inches. Needless to say, the Dr. Brewer was pretty happy with that. Mama, on the other hand, is only a little bit happy...Stop it, little boy! You & Mama have a deal that you're going to stay a newborn forever, remember? ;)

Of course, we're thrilled and blessed beyond measure to have a healthy, growing baby boy. Good job, Maxwell!

Other things to note -
I asked if we could weigh Alex as long as we were there, and he's now 23 lbs...my little pipsqueak! At 18 months, he was 21 lbs...so he's making progress. That ought to make Dr. Brewer at least a little bit happy. :)

We don't need to return until he's 2 months old unless we have concerns. Since we're "experienced parents" now, Dr. Brewer suggested that we just skip the one month visit.

We LOVE Dr. Brewer! I wish she could be my doctor, too...but I'm not sure that I qualify for a pediatrician anymore. She's the BEST, kindest, most patient & understanding doctor around...she let Alex wear her stethescope and "help" her examine Max today. So cute! She even gave us cloth diapers & cloth wipes as a baby gift when Max was born! Pretty special, if you ask me! If you live in our area & need a pediatrician, we'd highly recommend her!

Labor Day weekend

Well, life is never dull in this house! On Friday night, we went to Grandma & Papa's for dinner. On Saturday night, we went to Deb & Tony's for dinner. On Sunday afternoon, we took Alex to a new park that we've been wanting to visit for quite a while. On Monday morning, we went to a very LONG Labor Day parade...but it was still fun!

We're definitely not over-doing it, but still trying to make sure that we have family time & that Alex gets to do some special things, too. He's about to have a rather boring week while Daddy is at work, so I'm glad he got to enjoy some fun activities and extra attention this weekend.


Nothing gets to interfere with naptime at this point, as Alex is in definite need of good naps these days! If only we could get him to nap for longer than 1 - 1.5 hours. I think he needs more sleep, but nothing in the world will make him sleep longer. Same is true at bedtime. He willingly goes to bed at 8 PM, but he's been waking too early in the morning (6ish, sometimes even earlier...) and won't go back to sleep. It's sad when the little baby sleeps better than the "big baby"!


Here are some pictures of our weekend fun...and a few cute pics of the baby, just for the fun of it! :)

a little more family...

Deb & Tony invited us for dinner on Saturday night - YUMMY pork, by the way! Thanks!
Alyssa, Tony, & Derek hadn't met the baby yet. I only managed to get pics of Alyssa with the baby. Derek was taking off with friends, and Tony was busy with his little buddy Alex. (Alex got his first ride in Uncle Tony's old car!)

After dinner, Donna/Emma/Greg and Grandma & Grandpa S came to visit for a while, too. Alex had his first slice of strawberry pie, and he quickly learned the word "pie" that night! He LOVED it!

Meeting Family & Friends

(there are two new posts today...this one is long, so scroll w-a-y down for the other one)

Just a bunch of pictures of Max's first visits with our family and friends

(has Papa been hiding from the camera?!)