Sleeping & Smiles...

I needed to blog today to document two important events in Landon's life. Today, on his 6 week birthday, he...

1. Slept through the night!!!!!!!! (from 11:30pm until 6:45am)

&

2. Smiled. =)

All of this makes one HAPPY Mommy!

Kirsten is here visiting us and we are LOVING having her here!!! She is here until Wednesday...more pictures to come then!

Unbelievable!!!

Check out what happened at my home church last night during a Starfield concert.

SOOO thankful that no one was more seriously hurt!!!

Just because...

...he's cute.

I'm a proud Mommy...can you tell? =)

We're all doing pretty good. I'm not liking this whole thrush thing though. The poor little guy's mouth must be super sore because he's not latching on properly and not eating as much as normal. I'm hoping that we can get back to normal feedings soon...because it's getting a bit frustrating!

Today I went to my final OB appointment and I'm cleared to start working out (and also to do other sorts of "married-people" things that Shaun is more excited about then me working out...sorry, TMI!) I am excited about working out and trying to lose some weight...I'm not sure how I'll do on dieting while breastfeeding...I am just WAY too hungry these days. Does anyone know how many calories you should eat while breastfeeding?

poor little guy...

...has thrush!!! =(

But...we were at the doctor's today and he weighs 9 lbs 9 oz!!! He's my little chunker. =)

new do...

new hair = more self-confidence despite the not wonderful post-baby body!!!

"Twin" Cousins

Landon (4 weeks 4 days) & Makenna (7 weeks)

Landon - One Month Old!

I can't believe our little man is already one month old!!! This last month has just flown by...

Landon is SUCH a blessing. He is laid back most of the time, although there are moments when he definitely needs to be cuddled. I love that he likes to be held because Natalie isn't really a cuddler...so I'm hoping this means I'll have one now.

Landon is eating 7-8 times a day, and he is up once a night for a feeding. Usually I am feeding him around 10:30pm, and then he'll sleep until 4 or 4:30am. Then he'll go back to sleep until 7:30 or 8am. He's doing great!

I'm not sure how much he weighs...I'm guessing around 8 1/2 lbs. He is almost out of his newborn clothes, and his face is getting chubby, which I love! I love the double chin.

We're still waiting for a smile...I can't wait to see one! The other day I mentioned to Shaun that I'm needing a smile from him because I want to know that he likes me. Shaun replied with, "You'd think that the fact that he only stops crying when you're holding him would be a good enough sign that he likes you a lot!" True...very true.

Oh, and it's not like he cries all the time when other people hold him...it's just that if he's upset I'm the one that calms him down best. What can I say?!?!...I've got the touch. =)

Big Girl Bed & Bubbles...

Our girl is officially growing up! On Monday her new "big girl" bedroom set was delivered! We had them put it in her bedroom and we kept her crib in there for a gradual transition.

Yesterday I set up her mattress and bedding and she was SO excited to test it out! I decided to let her nap on the bed but she kept getting up so I ended up putting her in the crib for naptime. I promised her that at bedtime we'd let her sleep in her big girl bed. At bedtime I laid down with her for about 15 minutes. She was SO chatty...I kept telling her that it was time for sleeping and that she needed to stop talking and close her eyes...but she was so excited to talk about everything she could think of. It was actually quite cute...it was like we were having a little sleepover! Finally I decided she wasn't going to sleep anytime soon with me there so I left the room...she cried for almost half an hour, but didn't get out of bed. I think it was too dark in there and she couldn't see her stairs so she figured she was stuck. Finally she gave up and slept. We kept checking on her before we went to bed, and when I was up feeding Landon at 4:30 I checked her again and she was fine! In the morning at around 8:30 I heard her say "Mommy?"...she had climbed out of her bed and come into our bedroom. She was so proud of herself...and we were so proud that she slept the WHOLE night in her big girl bed!

Naptime today was a more difficult situation...I put her down but wasn't able to lay down with her because I needed to feed Landon. I told her that it was time for nap and that she needed to stay in her bed. I closed the door...but a few minutes later heard her knocking on the door from the inside. After a few disciplines and putting her back in her bed, I decided she was going to nap in her crib. I didn't have the patience to keep going back and forth...plus she needs a nap before I need to teach piano this afternoon and then head to 3F practice after that.

One of Natalie's favorite activities lately has been going outside and blowing bubbles. She literally could do it all day, if we'd let her. But unfortunately she'd be a sticky wet mess and I'm really not okay with that. =) I just LOVE this picture though...

And last, but not least...our new cheap (inexpensive!) patio set from Costco!!! Woo hoo for good finds. =) I'll be back tomorrow to post a picture and update on our little man...who will be ONE MONTH old tomorrow. Wow, time flies!

We Survived!

Time for a MUCH needed update. It's amazing how time slips away so quickly. I keep thinking about all these things I need to blog about but then something else comes up (like nursing, or burping, or changing a diaper, or reading Natalie a book, or doing a load of laundry, or preparing a meal...oh goodness). By the time I actually sit down at the computer I either only have 3 minutes or I am WAY to exhausted to even think about putting words together in a coherent sentence. Will I ever NOT be tired?!?!

This last week was our first "real" week as parents of two kids. I say that because we didn't have any live-in helpers. =) It actually went pretty well...much better then was expected! While my Mom and Shaun's Mom were here Natalie had quite a hard time...many temper tantrums and crying fits. Honestly I didn't know how I was going to handle that on top of dealing with a newborn. But after everyone left she really calmed down and has been such a good girl. There still have been moments of insanity...many time outs and spankings but we are definitely making it!

This past Monday we went to the doctor Natalie's 2 year well check-up. She is still SUCH a little squirt...only 22 lbs! She is 33 1/2 inches tall. I've heard that in order to determine the height a child will be when they're an adult, you double their height at the age of 2...which means she will probably be the same height as her Mommy! The doctor was not very concerned about her weight...he said she's just petite and she has been consistently that way. He does want her to come back in a few months for a weight check just to make sure that she's gaining continuously.

Here are some updates on Natalie:

• her love language is definitely quality time! If she doesn't have any quality time with either Shaun or I she acts out a lot!
• she is VERY strong willed! The other day she threw her sunglasses on the floor (in anger) so I told her to go pick them up. She replied with "No!" so I gave her one more chance to do it. Again she said "No!" so I gave her a spank. This was repeated three times and I finally decided to try time out. I sat her on 2nd step of our stairs and told her she needed to sit in time out until she was ready to say sorry to me and pick up her sunglasses. She sat there nicely (which surprised me since this was the first time out we'd had outside of her crib) and every minute or so I asked her if she was ready to say sorry. She kept saying no...so she kept sitting there! FINALLY after about 30 minutes she decided she was ready to play again so when I asked her, she said "yes!", ran over to me and gave me a hug, and then went and put away her sunglasses. It was actually quite funny. I kept thinking that it's a good thing that I'm so strong willed too...she will never win in these situations. =)
• she is finally starting to put some sentences together. And it's really been in the last few days! We were a bit worried about her speech because even though she's said single words for a long time it seemed like she hadn't really picked up on any new ones for awhile. Now it seems like every day she is saying something new. Yesterday she put together one of her first sentences...we were having lunch and she was eating shredded cheese (one of her favorites). She was almost done and said, "Mommy...mo (more)...cheese...me...peez (please)?" It was SO cute and Shaun and I killed ourselves laughing! She is trying SO hard to talk. Often we'll find her explaining things but using absolutely NO words...all you hear is "Ahh ah ah uh...ahh uh uh uh!"...you can tell by her vocal inflection (hmmm...can't figure out if that's the right word) that she is in her mind completely making rational sense. We just keep reminding her to "use her words". I look forward to how she'll progress even more in this area in the coming months!
• she still LOVES sleeping...we rarely have any issue putting her down for naps or bedtime. She naps for around 2 - 3 hours in the afternoons, and sleeps from 8pm to around 8:30am. For this I am thankful!

On Tuesday evening our dear friend Renelle drove out for California with her son Cole. It was SO good to have them here! We hadn't seen them since November and it was so special to spend some time with them. On Wednesday we headed out to the Phoenix Zoo, which was awesome! The weather was perfect and the kids did great despite not having their naps at their normal time. That night we met up with Shaun for dinner at our new favorite restaurant...Logan's Roadhouse. It was TASTY! =) Thursday we hung around our house and chilled, and they headed out that afternoon. It was so great having them here...we love you guys!

Last night Shaun & I got to go on a date with Landon in tow...we got free tickets from some friends to the Arizona Diamondbacks game. It was a blast...Landon did awesome. Of course he was the center of attention for all the people sitting around us. =)

Okay...that's it for now...sorry it's a novel!

A Little Update...

Thought it was about time I give you some updated pictures of our little man. He is just SO precious and we are completely smitten by him. I honestly didn't know how I would love a little boy...no issue there now.

We took him to the doctor on Wednesday for his 2 week check-up (16 days)...he weighed in at 7 lbs 11 oz! Woo hoo...he's gaining weight like a champ. I'm so glad...with Natalie we constantly worried (and still do!) that she wasn't eating enough and gaining enough weight. Thankfully this little guy likes to eat...and quickly at that. Usually he's feeding about 15-20 minutes. And he's an awesome sleeper...only up once a night. The other day he actually slept 8 hours at night...from 10pm until 6am. Needless to say that I woke up and MADE him eat...no explanation needed. I'm blessed to have another good sleeper!

I should also mention (maybe TMI???) that at that appointment our little man underwent his circumcision...SO SAD!!! We had wanted it done at the hospital before we left, but for some reason the attending pediatrician didn't perform them...so we went to our pediatrician who said they didn't do them until 2 weeks old. So we had that done...Shaun & I both sat in with him and both almost passed out. Landon did great though...hardly cried during the procedure (even though he was strapped down). Afterward he had a pretty rough time...it was so sad.

Natalie is doing okay...in the last month or so her favorite word was "yes"...we'd ask her a question and the answer was always a sweet "yes". Well suddenly her favorite word is "no"...and not a sweet no at that...it's a very defiant NO! I was talking about this with Shaun today and I said how has it changed within a week? He said, "Well, she did turn two this week!"

It's just hard to know if she's being defiant because she's two or because she's adjusting to all the changes...maybe both?!?! Either way, it's so hard to know how to handle her and discipline her. We're just trying to be consistent with her...but oh my she is stubborn. I wonder where she gets that from?

=)

Please Pray!

Since January I have been following the lives of Nathan & Tricia. They have an amazing story and an even more amazing faith in God!

Nathan & Tricia have been married for a few years, and Tricia has CF (Cystic Fibrosis). Tricia has been waiting for a double lung transplant for quite some time...in the process they found out they were pregnant, and despite doctors advising them to abort their baby they decided to trust God. Gwyneth was born 15+ weeks early, at the beginning of January. Despite being very small she is thriving...and she is just adorable. Tricia was placed back on the transplant list shortly after Gwyneth was born and TODAY she found out that she is getting her double lung transplant!!!

It's amazing how you can care so much about a family you have never met. I pray for Tricia daily...I can't imagine being a new Mommy, to a preemie at that, and being hospitalized yourself...

Their blog and story has become huge...they were just recently interviewed and a story aired about them. If you'd like to see that video, you can here.

I am just thrilled for them...please pray for this little family right now...and check out their blog for updates.

Thanks!

For Natalie...

your baby blues so full of wonder...

your curley cues, your contagious smile...

and as i watch you start to grow up...

all I can do is hold you tight...

knowing clouds will rage and storms will race in
but you will be safe in my arms...

rains will pour down, waves will crash all around
but you will be safe in my arms...

story books are full of fairy tales of kings and queens
and the bluest skies...

my heart is torn just in knowing you'll someday see the truth from lies...

when the clouds will rage and storms will race in
but you will be safe in my arms...

rains will pour down, waves will crash all around...

but you will be safe in my arms...

castles, they might crumble
dreams may not come true...

but you are never all alone
'cause I will always
always love you...

when the clouds will rage and storms will race in
but you will be safe in my arms...

rains will pour down,
waves will crash all around...

but you will be safe in my arms.

-- Plumb, "In My Arms"

Happy 2nd Birthday, Natalie Ryan.
We love you SO much!!!