Hit the Road, Jack!

Braylen had his first long road trip this week.  Just like his sister, I selected Lancaster as my first attempt at traveling more than 30 minutes with both kids.   We left on Sunday afternoon so Jason could help me pack the car and get both kids situated.  With 2 carseats there is very little room for Parker... no dog vacation this time!  I couldn't leave Jason without any responsibility for 48 hours!

Braylen likes the car, if it is moving.  I have become that person that slows to a crawl about a half of mile from a red light to see if it will change to green without me stopping. Luckily the route to Lancaster is mostly highway.  I made it to and from Lancaster with very little crying.  Yippee!

My main reasons for going to Lancaster were to get help from my parents, get out of the house for a few days, allow Jason to work a few extra hours and get some uninterrupted sleep, and of course to give G and Poppop some time with their grandkids.  Mission accomplished.

Evie was spoiled with back to back grandparent affection.  Me-ma was here Saturday-Tuesday then G and Poppop's Sunday-Tuesday.  It took her a few hours to realize G and Poppop go together, not Me-Ma and Poppop.  She kept asking for Me-Ma.  Poppop was the favorite.  She wants him holding her or in the room at all times.  Poppop played with her for hours.  She was bummed he had to work on Tuesday.  (me too!)

Great Nana spent the afternoon and evening with us.  Evie has a fear of gray haired women.  She eventually warmed up, but still liked Nana better from a distance.  News flash Evie, your teacher this summer is an older lady with gray hair.  I won't be there to protect you.

Braylen loved watching TV (it's rarely on at our house) and Tigger.  He gave G and Poppop lots of smiles. 

So when is Jason taking the kids on a road trip and leaving me with a quiet house?  : )

2 Months Young

Our little guy is 2 months old! 

You can tell he is growing from his monthly giraffe shots.  I don't have any other stats since his 2 month appointment isn't for another few days.... and we donated our scale. 


1 month old

I can also tell he is growing because size 1 diapers are small.  His 3 month clothes, depending on label, are getting snug as well.  Yeah!

After some early fears that we had another colicky baby, we think we are in the clear. Braylen has his moments of unhappiness due to gas and exhaustion, but nothing a good swaddle job and a boob can't fix. 

We thought we were doing the right thing with the bottle this time, starting it earlier than 1 month.  He was taking it fine, but decided recently that he doesn't want anything unnatural near his mouth.  Here we go again.  I want to scream!  Why do we have zero luck with bottles?  I just want a break!  BUT I am not going back to work and have nothing major planned to be away from him, so if he doesn't ever take one, well, too bad for me.  The same goes for the pacifier- no go. 

On the brighter side, Braylen has found his hands. Maybe the thumb will eventually soothe him.  Until then he grunts and drools over his hands.  Since his hands keep him up, we still swaddle him for sleep. 

Braylen loves his bath.  He upgraded from the Puj to the blue tub.  Every night we all hang out in the bathroom while Evie takes her bath.  He likes to look around and listen to the water. 

Evie's voice and antics are interesting to Braylen.  He looks at her a lot and smiles.  She loves her brother too which she shows by smothering him.  One minute she is sitting nicely next to him, the next she is slapping his head.  Sigh.

Hanging out on the kitchen floor after dinner



Yep, that's how I look almost every day- hair a mess,
sweats, glasses- an all around exhausted, hot mess.

Not much progress with sleeping through the night.  He did sleep 7 hours straight last night, but since I am writing this post way after the 14th, I will tell you he has not repeated since that night.  Boo.  He has one long stretch (4-6 hours) then is up 1-2 hours later.  Getting up twice before 5:30 AM is not ideal for this sleep deprived mama.  Praying 3 months will be the month.

I love the sneaker socks!

Another month in the books (and the blog)! 

New Hairdo

We all know Evie has crazy hair.

It's difficult to tame that curly beast when it is not wet

She may never model due to her height and wild hair,
but those eyelashes are stunning! 

After bath, we brush it and it looks like this

In the morning, it volumizes and looks like this

We are not sure what happens in her sleep.

Brushing doesn't do anything, so our go-to 'do is the Pebbles look

Her hair is actually long, but it bounces right up into a curly, hot mess.  It is now long enough for a ponytail!  Pictures did not capture her cuteness in her new 'do, so I took a video, my new obsession.

It might be time to give up on the brush and buy some product to control her locks.

Evie's New Tricks

Evie is growing up so fast!  I am slacking on recording all her milestones.  There is already a large void in her baby book between 12 months and now.  Oops!  Braylen is really doomed.

Here are some new things she's learned and mastered over the last month-

Saying her name

Evie loves to watch the videos we shoot of her.  When I played this one back, she repeated everything at the same time as the video, except she actually touched her head.  This girl loves her Auntie Laura!

Buckling herself into her booster seat.

I could video her all day.  She cracks me up.  More to come!

Turned the Corner

I am seeing the light at the end of the newborn tunnel! Around 6 weeks old I started to notice some significant changes in Braylen.

First, he's growing. So simple, but something that we don't take for granted in this household. He has outgrown all the swaddle-me contraptions except the Halo snuggle sack for bed. He is too long for them and I can't get them to Velcro over his expanding chest. He fits into 3 month clothes perfectly. He just feels heavier.

Filling in nicely!  Side note- yes, that is Jason wearing
a Ravens shirt.  He loves purple Fridays (jeans allowed).
The Ravens won the Superbowl 2 days later. 

Second, he is sleeping much better at night. We put him down for bed between 8-9 pm after a bottle. He has consistently been sleeping 5-6 hours. Up between 2-3 am, feeds, and is usually back down in after all that in 45 minutes. (Not like I watch the clock...). Then he is up again in 2-3 hours. I don't love this short interval, but sometimes it lines up with when Jason is getting up for work so it is sort of ok with me.

Third, his neck control is improving. He still head butts us in the chin and gets really mad, but has pretty good control when we hold him upright.

Tummy Time

Fourth, he is alert. He loves to look around on his mat on his back. He swats at the toys. He smiles at us.

Slight smile, slightly creepy

Two more weeks until we see the Pediatrician. More details on Braylen after that appointment and more pics from month #2!

Such a Gift

Braylen gave me the best birthday gift this year, some extra sleep! He slept six straight hours! I only had to get up with him once at 3 am. Sleep is glorious. He has been averaging only 2-4 hour stretches at night so this is a huge improvement!

Thanks buddy!

(I waited until way later to post this for fear it would jinx it)

Sledding

Frigid Arctic air filtered into our region this week, keeping temperatures below freezing for days.  We had some snow on Friday afternoon that stuck around until this morning since it is so darn cold.  I'd say we got a little over an inch, but enough to cover the grass and cause us to oil up the sled!  In Grandmom/Me-Ma's cleaning spree, she gave us a sled she had at her house. 

99% of the year I dislike our steep yard.  It's a pain to mow (I wouldn't know first hand, but I heard...), we can't play corn hole, it's a workout to bring the trashcan up and down from the back deck, and it only gets sleeper and more dangerous after our property line.  However, it was a perfect hill for Evie's first sledding experience!

Evie squealed with delight from the first ride to the last.

As with all sledding, it's fun to go down, but always a leg workout to get back up the hill.  Kudos to Daddy for dragging her back up the hill at least 10 times.

Aren't you proud of me for adding videos??!!  Get ready blog readers, I have caught up to the times.  You will be able to hear Evie talk and my annoying voice.  Gosh, do I really sound like that??

Some more pictures from our fun morning

Sledding