Feliz Navidad!

 

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

The Paper Mama 2012 Holiday Photo Challenge!

Here's my entry for this year's Holiday photo challenge hosted by the lovely Paper Mama: I had great plans of getting an adorable picture of the two boys in their matching Christmas jammies, but it's easier to herd cats than it is to get a two-and-a-half-year old and an infant to do much cooperation in the photo department.  And because I'm an inveterate procrastinator, this is probably the closest I'm going to get to actually sending out any Christmas cards this year.  Be sure to check out all of the other entries by clicking below!

Charlie's four-month update

It's official--my little boy is not so little anymore.  Charlie turned four-months old last Wednesday and had his four-month well-baby appointment the next day, which is when I learned that he was now topping the charts at seventeen pounds and twenty-six inches long placing him in the 95th and 90th percentiles, respectively.  I looked up Sammy's four-month stats to see how the two boys compared since I recalled Sammy was pretty big for his age.  Well, Sammy was two pounds lighter and an inch shorter.  Yowza.  Charlie seems to have skipped the 6-9 month sizes of clothing and jumped right up to twelve-month stuff. 

During the day, Charlie is a super laid-back and easy-going baby.  But nighttime is a completely different story ever since last week.  My formerly good sleeper is now getting up almost every 1-2 hours after I put him down for the night and I am completely frazzled/exhausted as a result.  I really, really, really hope that this is a short phase/developmental stage.  Speaking of development, Charlie has become a champion raspberry blower and also recently discovered that his thumbs fit perfectly inside his mouth.

Charlie's getting pretty close to being able to sit on his own, although I'm hesitant to let him try thanks to our complete and utter lack of carpeting to cushion his fall should he decide to face plant on the floor.  He's also been supporting his weight on his legs for about a month now and can stand while holding onto my fingers.  Charlie absolutely adores his big brother and watches everything that he does--fortunately, Sammy seems to be just as enamored with Charlie and goes out of his way to make him laugh by making silly noises (a new favorite of the two is fake sneezing).

My get up and go has got up and went

Wow, it's been awhile, huh?  It's not that I've been incredibly busy since my last blog post, although the boys and I did manage to travel a total of 6,000 miles over the course of sixteen days last month.  (Sammy and Charlie are excellent travelers by the way.)  We visited with family and spent some time with friends that I haven't seen in a year and the sad thing is that I didn't even come close to seeing everyone that I wanted to...I guess there's always next year, though.  As per usual, I took approximately a gazillion photos during our trip that I'm woefully behind on editing and uploading...the last time I added to my Flickr stream was in October.  Yeesh.

I remember when I couldn't wait to write about our adventures here on the blog but now it seems that there's just not enough hours in the day.  I can't even recall the last time I was able to visit everyone's blog and, I know this is going to sound nuts, but I miss you guys; I miss reading about all of the fun and exciting things you've been up to and looking at your lovely photographs and your creative crafts.  Who knew that taking care of the two boys' wants and needs, maintaining the house (or, rather, keeping it from descending to a Hoarders level of disarray) and finding a few minutes here or there to hang out with Captain Husband after the kids are down for the night would be so incredibly time consuming?  The things that I used to find so enjoyable, like photography, just seem like another chore that needs to be done.  Hopefully I'll break out of this rut soon--any advice?

Charlie's three-month update

Charlie turned three months old last week and I just can't get over how fast he's growing.  Thanks to our trip to the emergency room for his recent bout with croup, I have a general idea as to his stats, which has him weighing a little over fifteen pounds and measuring approximately twenty-six inches long.  Charlie's currently wearing mostly six-month sized clothing, although I have to put him in nine-month sleepers at night in order to accommodate all of the junk in his trunk thanks to his giant night-time cloth diaper.  Speaking of night time, Charlie's back to waking up once or twice a night for a feeding--I accredit his recent sickness and all of the traveling we've been doing lately with this change in his sleep schedule and I really hope he gets back to sleeping through the night soon as I miss REM sleep.  In other news, Charlie's starting to support his weight on his legs and can sit up with only the smallest bit of assistance.  He's also mastered grabbing and can pass his toys from hand to hand when he's not putting them in his mouth; he's also discovered his fingers and will snack on them from time to time.  If I had to describe his personality with only one word, I'd have to go with sunny--he's almost always smiling and happy and can usually be found charming the pants off of the nearest person around.  Charlie's very ticklish and will laugh out loud whenever his neck or underarms are tickled.  He loves to watch his big brother play and will stop whatever he's doing in order to focus all of his attention on Sammy whenever Sammy's around.

Boo to you

So I'm about two weeks late with my Halloween post, but better late than never, right?  It's been kind of crazy around here lately--Sammy was sick with a low-grade fever off and on for about a week and then Charlie came down with croup so I've been busy playing nursemaid and haven't had much time to just sit down and go through any of the pictures I've taken until now.  Fortunately both boys have recovered and were happy and healthy for Halloween; Captain Husband handed out candy while I took both boys out to do some trick or treating in our neighborhood.

You may notice that Sammy was a cowboy again this year; I had purchased him a different costume but he refused to wear it and threw a holy fit, so we went with the repeat.  Oh well, he can always wear the other costume next year!  Other than the costume debacle, the evening went really well--it's amazing the difference a year can make.  Sammy went up to most of the houses on his own and even remembered to say trick or treat half of the time; it was pretty adorable and I had a lot of fun taking him around--his little pumpkin bucket was filled in record time!

Always juggling

Some days I feel like Super Mom, like when I've successfully managed to get both boys dressed, fed and out of the house without anyone having a major meltdown (myself included) and I'm able to take care of errands, put the laundry away and get dinner on the table before Captain Husband comes home from work.  And then there are the days when everyone is still in their pajamas at three o' clock in the afternoon and Nick Jr. has been playing non-stop because that's the only way I can get Sammy to take the whining down to a level that doesn't make me want to scream while I'm stuck on the couch with Charlie latched on to me every half hour...this sort of day happens more than I'd care to admit.  Of course, it doesn't help that there's a huge part of me that's convinced that I'm neglecting the boys in some way, so I just hope that at the very least I'm neglecting them equally.  Gotta keep things fair, right?

I've got so many balls in the air and I know that unless things change in some way I'm in serious danger of dropping them all; I spend so much time taking care of the boys' wants and needs that there's really no time for myself.  And don't get me started on my relationship with CH: to say that it's strained would be pretty accurate and the demands of his job haven't exactly made things any easier.  There just aren't enough hours in the day for me to satisfy everyone and since Sammy and Charlie still can't really fend for themselves, that means CH drops to the bottom of my priority list...well, actually I'm at the bottom of my priority list, which really isn't much better to admit.  If anyone has any advice for me, I'd really appreciate it.  I'm trying to find a sitter (the sitter that we loved moved back to Michigan this summer) and am looking into daycare options that would at least give me a morning or two when I'm down to only one kid to look after, but so far that's all I've got.

Charlie's two-month update

Charlie turned two-months old on the twelfth but thanks to a combination of procrastination and forgetfulness I wasn't able to take him in for his well-baby appointment until last week.  I knew he had been growing but even I was rather surprised by his stats: 14 pounds, 7 ounces and 24" long (I think I can now say with some certainty that breastfeeding is going well).  Now I know why he's barely squeezing into his 3-6 month clothing!

Charlie is such a happy and easy-going baby; he always greets me with a big gummy smile and coos of happiness.  He's recently started laughing out loud and seems to enjoy being tickled and surprised.  One of Charlie's favorite things in the whole wide world is watching the ceiling fan followed closely by some good ol' fashioned nekkid time whenever he gets his diaper changed.  Charlie has also recently discovered how to splash in the bath and has started to grasp for toys and such just within his reach.  In other news, Charlie has been sleeping through the night since he was about five and a half weeks old and has recently given up night feedings entirely, which is awesome albeit kind of uncomfortable for me as I usually wake up feeling like a soggy Dolly Parton impersonator.

Grandpa to the rescue

Due to a tragic accident involving one of Captain Husband's soldiers two weeks ago, CH had to attend a funeral out of town for four days last week, which meant I was going to be on my own with the two boys.  I've got the day-to-day routine of juggling the two of them at once down pretty well, but I admit that I am far from confident in my abilities to handle both boys on my own once the evening rolls around--that's when CH and I deploy the divide and conquer tactic; he tackles the toddler while I handle the baby.  Thankfully CH's dad had some vacation time burning a hole in his pocket, so he offered to fly down and help out around the house while CH was gone--plus it gave him the perfect excuse to come and meet his new grandson.

Sammy immediately warmed right up to his Pop-Pop and was very happy to have someone to play with while I was dealing with Charlie; and Charlie definitely seemed to enjoy all of the attention that his grandfather lavished upon him, especially whenever Grandpa would sing or speak to him in Italian.

The four days were up before I knew it and soon it was time for my father-in-law to return to New Jersey; CH returned home Saturday afternoon and his dad was leaving Sunday morning, so they didn't have a lot of overlap time to spend together, but I was at least able to grab a few photos of the three generations before my father-in-law had to leave for the airport.  With any luck, we'll be able to visit with CH's grandparents over Thanksgiving and then I'll be able to take a photo that captures four generations all at once.

The first glimpses of Fall

The temperatures are finally making their long-awaited dip downwards around these parts and the days are getting shorter, which means that fall is almost here.  I don't know about you guys, but fall is my favorite season of all; there's just something about that crisp feel to the air that I can't help but love.  We don't get a lot of fall love here in El Paso--it's a very short season and it won't be long before things have transitioned completely from summer to winter, so I'm trying to make the very best of the short window of gorgeous fall days that we have (though to be perfectly honest, the winters are pretty nice, too).

The cooler temperatures means breaking out the warm footie pajamas for the boys and spending most of the morning lounging about in them while the house slowly warms up from the previous night's chill.

The rose bush in the backyard is making one last colorful hurrah before it hibernates for the winter.

And of course there's an abundance of fall produce, like these Granny Smith apples that a sweet friend was kind enough to share with us.  I tried my hand at making apple crisp from scratch last night and while it was a bit labor intensive (I definitely need to invest in an apple peeler and corer if I ever want to make it again), it was definitely worth every minute spent slaving in the kitchen.  Has fall arrived in your neck of the woods?

Our first rodeo

The rodeo came to town last week so Captain Husband and I decided to round up the boys and check it out; I had never been to a rodeo before, so I was pretty excited to see what it was all about.

The horses managed to hold Sammy's attention for a bit, but he was soon distracted by all of the other kids in attendance and spent the rest of the evening trying to play with them; as for Charlie...well, he slept through the entire thing, which made it easier for me to wander around and take some photos of the action.

We wound up leaving after only an hour (it was past both boys' bedtimes at that point), but it was a nice introduction to the world of rodeo nonetheless.  Now all I need to do is find the boys some cowboy boots so they'll be appropriately attired the next time the rodeo comes to town.

Puddle jumping

These photos were taken a few weeks ago (shows just how far behind the eight ball I am these days) before my mom returned to Pennsylvania, but they're just too cute not to share.  We'd been hit by a big rainstorm one afternoon, so my mom took Sammy and Charlie outside to do some puddle jumping, something that Sammy doesn't get to do too often on account of us living in the middle of the desert and all that.  Sammy had a blast as you can see and I had a great time photographing him having fun.

Charlie's one-month update

Charlie turned a month old last Wednesday and I know that pretty much every person with a baby says this, but I just can't believe how fast the time has flown by--it probably has something to do with the lack of sleep effecting my perception.  I can't really complain too much, though; Charlie is definitely one very easy going baby.  He's pretty happy as long as his belly is full and his bottom is dry.  Charlie has been smiling socially for the last two weeks now and is also starting to coo and gurgle when he's happy, which is usually when he's getting his diaper changed.  I think he had a growth spurt over the weekend as he was nursing around the clock and now all of a sudden he's wearing 3-6 month pjs and onesies (for reference, he's wearing a 12-month onesie in the above photo; it was the only plain white one that I had).

The rest of the family is doing okay for the most part, although Captain Husband is really feeling the effects of having to wake up once or twice a night to help me with the diaper changes and feedings.  Sammy has been pretty good with the new normal, although he's still acting out at the most inconvenient of times and has recently decided that hitting me while I'm changing his diaper is hilarious.  Newsflash: It's not.  I'm coping the best that I can, although some days are harder than others (like last Tuesday, when both boys decided to try out synchronized crying); but for every rough day there's at least one really good day, so I think things are going pretty well all things considered.

All smiles

Not much to say, thanks to the late night I pulled watching the Pittsburgh vs. Denver game (I'm a Steelers fan while Captain Husband is a Broncos fan, so much trash talking was to be had in the house), so I thought I'd share this incredibly cute photo of Charlie that I took last Sunday.  Only three weeks old and smiling for the camera--the kid is a fast learner.  And in other news, where has the time gone?  This kid's going to be a month old in only a few days!

Brotherly love

I just wanted to pop by and give everyone a quick update on how things are going with the boys; my c-section made it difficult for me to get in and out of bed on my own, making it virtually impossible for me to tend to Charlie's needs at night, so Charlie had been staying in my mom's room with her while she was here.  Well, she returned to Pennsylvania on Wednesday last week, and I was feeling a lot better, so Charlie made the move into the master bedroom and has been doing well ever since--he actually only gets up once in the night for a feeding and then usually goes right back to sleep; I credit the a/c unit's white noise for just how easy of a transition this has been so far.  He's a super easy baby--possibly even more easy-going than Sammy was as a newborn, which is saying a lot (knock on wood).

In other news, Sammy has come to the realization that Charlie is here to stay in a mostly positive way, although his whining has increased about a hundred fold in the interim.  There's no jealousy per se, but I've noticed that Sammy tends to become more insistent in his demands whenever I'm unable to do anything for him, like when I'm feeding Charlie.  If anyone has any tips or tricks for keeping a toddler occupied while I'm indisposed, I'd really appreciate it (I've already ruled out more extreme measures, such as duct taping him to the wall).  Have a great Labor Day!