Collin is two months old today! We went to Mass this morning as a family of four + Meme, and both kids behaved like angels (whew!). At two months, Collin:
is smiling and finding his voice - is there anything sweeter?
is sleeping through the night. He slept 10 hours straight last night!!
is wearing 0-3 month clothes, but is in some 3-6 month sleepers (tall boy!)
is wearing size 2 diapers
still loves to eat; I doubt we'll make it to 4 months before starting cereal
does very well with tummy time and is trying to roll over!
fights his sleep sometimes still during the day, but it's now a rare thing instead of an all-the-time thing
is a sweet and happy baby, and seems very happy that we threw the eating schedule out the window --- feeding on demand suits him much better (this was more of an adjustment for us since Sydney was so scheduled)
loves bath time!
The final bullet leads me to this next confession. I bathe my son in a pink bathtub. I don't know what to say. :-) We were very good about getting baby "gear" that was gender neutral when Sydney was born, but we did get a pink tub, and I always thought if we had a son next, we'd buy a new tub. Well, now that the time is here, it seems wasteful, so the pink tub it is! One perk is that my two month bathtub comparison picture is a near perfect comparison....is that a perk? Oh well. I do use a blue washcloth, at least. Haha
Collin's bath picture is from tonight, and I'm starting to see what everyone means when they comment on how he really looks like a boy. He just does! I'm also moving away from any thought that our two kids look alike. They definitely have their own look at the two month mark. We'll see how time changes him and if he starts to look more like her or not.
I also love this photo from post-bath. Thanks to Tracey for the adorable hooded towel gift! Otherwise, he'd be in a purple princess hooded towel to complete his girly bathing experience. :-)
I look forward to getting his official length/weight stats at the end of this month. According to our home weighing practices, he's around 12.5 lbs. HAPPY TWO MONTHS TO OUR SWEET BOY!!!!
Randall's mom (Betty, a.k.a. Meme) arrived a week ago, and we have had a great time so far. She is a tremendous help to us and will be spending time "babysitting" Collin during her 4-week visit. Aside from the fact that she loves time with our kids (and us too, I suppose - ha!), we love that Collin will be close to three months before starting daycare. She helped us out in the same way with Sydney, and we're very lucky she's able to do it again.
Our St. Patty's Day was full of fun. Randall played golf in the a.m., so Betty and I took the kids to the library and to the park. We met Randall for lunch and then after Sydney's nap, we all went to the mall to shop around and grab a bite to eat. The following pictures of our sweet greenies are from Friday evening after we all got home from work/school. How cute are they?!?!?!
We have been having gorgeous weather and I hope it continues for the rest of her visit. It's great to be able to play outside in the evenings and on weekends. Happy St. Patrick's Day!! (Especially to my mom's hubby, whom I lovingly refer to as Saint Patrick!)
This is a question we hear often from friends who either have zero children or just have one and are considering more. What's it like with two kids? Today is my last full day of maternity leave, and I feel like after almost eight weeks, I can say - to this point - what it's like:
There aren't enough hours in the day, thus our decision to hire a housekeeper who comes 2x per month and has drastically changed my life. I will only love her more when I'm back at work. :) With two kids comes choosing priorities, and this is one area where we decided to get some help.
We live for the weekends even more now because the weeks fly by like crazy. In the evenings, we are busy, busy, busy and before I know it we're all sleeping and the day is gone. Saturdays and Sundays can't come often enough.
If you are lucky, your older child will ADORE the baby, and that is (so far) the case in our home.
Suddenly, your older child seems extremely grown up, and I've had to be careful to not expect too much from her. She is still only two.
The "your older child will regress" scenario isn't always true. Sydney has only done better with her potty-training (we're about 99% there!) and she is extremely patient when she can tell Collin's needs are more urgent than her own. Talk about maturity and luck!
I have never been so happy, exhausted and overwhelmed all at the same time.
Having three is out of the question ;-) We already knew this was our plan for a family, but now I KNOW for sure. Two is perfect and plenty for us!
Twice the love is twice as great, and seeing the love between the kids is priceless. Yes, I already think Collin loves Sydney. He is actually calmer when she's talking to him, which is funny to me because she is loud and right up in his face.
Having two was definitely the best decision for us, and I am also pleased with the spacing of two years between. Sydney already doesn't remember a day without him, I'm quite certain. Also, being only two years old, she isn't aware of some simple things that would possibly upset her if she were older. For example, she has no clue that Collin and I have spent every weekday together for the last 7 weeks while she was at school. She would tell me that Mommy and Daddy go to work and Sydney and Collin go to school. I wonder where she thought his school was?! Ignorance is bliss.
So, almost eight weeks in, that's what I know about having two kids. I feel very fortunate to have my sweet family. I know Randall and I have many, many more years of crazy/happy/fun/stressful times ahead, and I wouldn't change it for the world.
Beth - Randall's eldest niece - visited this past weekend from Virginia. She arrived Thursday and left today. This was her first visit to Arkansas (in fact, her first flight ever) and I think it's safe to say she enjoyed the time, especially with Sydney and Collin. She is their first cousin, but is more like an aunt since she's more than 20 years their senior!
During her visit, she was able to see all around Fayetteville and the U of A campus and spend some quality time with the kiddos. We will see Beth again in mid-June when we all travel to Virginia for her dad's wedding and to meet our kids' newest cousin who will be welcomed by my older brother and his wife in early June.
During Beth's visit, Sydney had a breakthrough! She rode a pony for the first time. Now, this isn't the first time she has asked or pretended to want to, but this is the first time she actually did it! This took place at the safari/petting zoo we frequent.
