Life with a 7 Week and 2 Year Old

Dear Children,
I feel like this past week we have finally settled into a pretty good routine. Life with 2 children is starting to work itself out and become less unpredictable. One thing for sure is that second time around, I am definitely able to really enjoy the blessings of a newborn without being stressed out about whether or not what I'm doing will pave the way for the next serial killer.

When Hannah wakes up in the middle of the night, instead of grumbling and desperately wondering when she will sleep through the night, I actually find joy in providing her with nourishment that only I can provide.

During the infamous (misnamed) "witching hour" I don't mind spoiling her with cuddles while being completely unproductive.

And while I stressed out about sleep schedules and feedings with Nathan, I find it surprising that I don't even think about those things anymore. She sleeps when she's tired and eats when she's hungry.

While I find many joys with being blessed with two children, there are also some challenges that come up occasionally as well. I think the toughest moments for me are when Hannah is crying and Nathan desperately needs my undivided attention for some reason. I'm still trying to find a balance between rushing to pick up Hannah while having Nathan wait and just letting Hannah cry while I work things out with Nathan.

Hannah's sleep schedule has started to become a bit more predictable. At night she will start sleeping around 8:30 for about 3 hours. Then from that point, she will sleep for 2 - 3 hour stretches until about 8:30 in the morning. In the afternoon, she will take a nap from about 2 to 4. The rest of the day is random. She takes about a 2 hour nap before lunch and then in the afternoon, she just takes short cat naps. She is just a little over 10 pounds at this point.

As Hannah becomes more alert during the day, I'm going to have to find some activities that we can do to entertain both Nathan and Hannah. If there are any moms reading this, please feel free to comment below.

It seems like Nathan talks non-stop recently. I just realized how vocal he was today while we were at the play ground. We were on the swings and he was the only one talking and screaming joyfully as he swung back and forth. He's also mastered the phrase, "Mommy, Lai! (Come)" and will repeat it constantly when he wants my attention (even if I am right in front of him). He also called me "Mom" for the first time this week. I'm not sure where he got it, but I prefer Mommy for now.

Nathan finds so much pride and joy with helping me out. He can now get water by himself from the fridge, turn on light/fan switches (which are all super helpful for a nursing mom) and pull out laundry completely by himself and pull it to a specified location.

He is also more adventurous in trying out new phrases and words. Things like "poo poo boo boo"
(pain from being constipated) only have to be said once before Nathan picks it up and knows what it means. Nathan is starting to develop a sense of humor. He knows when things are socially funny and sometimes he will join in the laughter during an adult conversation.

Nathan doing the "Wei Baby" (Feed Baby) 

Two weekends ago, we went to the museum at Camp Mabry. Nathan was pretty intrigued by the different military vehicles. While we were at goodwill, I found this plane and showed it to Nathan. He immediately took it and handed me me the other toys that were in his cart quickly and said, "all done." He played with his new $.59 plane the rest of the day. 

 Nathan still really likes to play with his train set. Today he overcame his fear of the battery powered Percy and actually included it during his play time.

So, ever since Nathan was born, I secretly wished that I could put these huge flowery headbands on him. Luckily, Hannah came around and  now I can publicly parade her around in cute headbands and bows. I saw a few tutorials on Pinterest and decided to try it out during my rare free moments. I was able to use the fabric from clothes that I was going to throw out to make all of these bows (except for the top left one). They are surprisingly easy and don't take much time to make at all. Plus they are super cute.

Can you believe that these were all made from old shirts? (except for top left corner)

Well, that's all I can remember to write about for now. Oh, we are getting ready for Halloween and I'm getting the family costumes together. I already have Nathan's completed and will work on Hannah's next. Daddy and my costume will come later. I can't wait.

Until next week,
Mommy