Another month flies by...

We are continuing to survive as a family of four, though the fatigue is still a significant factor playing in our household these days. I realize this is the stage we are in, and shouldn't expect anything else, but that somehow knowing it doesn't make it any less tiring! That being said, Noah's nights were getting worse and worse, taking up to 2 hours to get him back to sleep every time he woke up, that in an act of desperation, we started sleep training about a week earlier than we had planned. Thankfully, unlike his brother, he took to it quite well. We certainly aren't yet at the point of considering him a good napper in the daytime, but his nights have been fabulous. It only took the first night of him crying for a good amount of time for him to go to sleep on his own, quietly. Now, that is the norm - a wonderful blessing for us at night! He has found his hands, so he sucks on his fists quite a bit while soothing, but we are totally ok with that! Thank you Lord! We are a much happier family for it. I know lots of parents and families disagree with this method, but this is the choice we have made, and we can be there for each other more now because of it.

A little thing only an obsessive Mommy would notice or care about - he seems to be real finicky about his feet - he doesn't like them to touch anything, including pajama bottoms. We had to give up the sleep swaddlers because it seemed he kept fighting to get his feet free (things you can learn from watching the video monitor!), so we went to the sleep gowns, which he almost always kicks so much that they end up at his waist as you can see. He's quite the little kicker - once moving himself all the way up and to the side of the crib, requiring some repositioning! All from kicking those legs!

So, with that out of the way, Noah is beginning to smile! We absolutely love it! But who wouldn't! It's just absolutely adorable to see his gummy little smile! Most of the time it seems to be quite random still, but he's starting to notice the difference when there's a face in front of him...he already locks in on Drew quite a bit! He also smiles lots while he's nursing - truly a sweet moment for Mommy, making all the other frustrating moments slip away! He is starting to follow us as we move about the room, so that's exciting to see. His head control is getting better, able to keep it in neutral for a bit when held up in sitting, though he's still quite fierce with it at times, throwing it around, often ending with a crash against our chest or collar bone, leading to some sad cries!

He is definitely growing, as this month we are officially in 0-3 month clothes, in size 1 diapers (after too many blowouts in newborn!), and had to move the car seat strap up a notch! He measured 24.5 in (90%) and 10 lb. 15 oz. (25%) at his 2 month appointment - he's long & skinny, just like his brother, just like we like 'em!


Drew, well, did we mention he's 2! He is such a mess, literally & figuratively, sometimes, but at the same time, he's absolutely a blast to be with. I guess it all depends on the moods we are all in! He certainly knows what he wants, and he always wants it about 2 seconds ago! I have to admit, we aren't model parents for teaching your children patience, because Drew doesn't have any! And ironically, I have found I have very little patience for his lack of patience - hmm, this could be a problem! He insists on all sorts of things these days, like drinking from a cup without a lid - great, until he dumps it off the side of the table to see the kind of mess he can make! He also loves to dunk his food in his cups, grossing us out quite a bit, but inevitably, leading to a huge mess again - can you tell how much fun meal time is at our house! He has also started to show us his chewed food at times - ah, being a boy can be so much fun!

But this new - found independence has it's perks too...he's more helpful around the house when possible. Though it takes a bit more time, he loves to help with sweeping, laundry, bringing things to us, helping getting himself dressed, etc. - as long as it is what he wants to do. If not, well, then we've got a kid who "run away Mommy" or a full blown tantrum on your hands! So, we are trying our best to include him on things, a new & fun challenge for us!

But the fun we have can be endless too! It is a blast as his ability to play with more 'advanced' toys can be. Every day Drew plays with his trains - oh how he loves trains! But he also loves his floor puzzles - something his Daddy introduced and we now do on a daily basis, and without being completely obnoxious - he's incredibly good at! He has started 'reading' books to us and Noah, which is just wonderful. At bedtime, he waits til we read the book and get to the last page, then inches closer & closer to snatch it away right as we finish so that he can 1) read it to us and 2) stall going to bed that much longer, because it's so hard to tell your kid he has to stop reading! He also still loves music, often running for an instrument of some sort when he hears it play.
He is quite the little ham, clapping for himself when he's accomplished something, or come running for us to give him High Fives! At dinner time, we'll use the old bribe trick of 'eat a piece of meat and you'll get another french fry' - often he'll eat the meat and then clap for himself, and then put out his hand for the fry...we're creating a monster!

In case anyone was wondering, Drew is all boy, with little fear. He will join in with the bigger boys at church without hesitation. He will jump off of or over just about anything. He will climb up and over anything within his grasp. He is getting louder and louder - waking up from naps sometimes as a dinosaur, roaring and screaming as loud as he can. And as he becomes more and more boy, is beginning to rely on Daddy more and more...something that was inevitable at some point, and probably hastened by Noah's arrival, and so necessary, but difficult for Mommy at times.

And one more note about our Drew - he's becoming more and more vocal and aware. Many people have commented recently on how well he talks for a 2 year old boy. He's recently become more aware of the 'sounds of the house', announcing for us "Dinner ready!" when the oven beeps, or "Who's heeere?!" when he hears the beeps for when a door opens. It's just amazing what they learn by just being - I think those are the things that amaze me the most sometimes - when he shows me something that he's learned that I did not intentionally teach!


Our boys are a blast, and they are keeping us happy, and busy, and tired, and blessed...we wouldn't have it any other way!

One Month as a Family of Four

Well, we are tired to say the least, but we are even more blessed (though at times it's hard to remember that part) to have two healthy, beautiful boys.


Noah is doing well, eating much better these last few weeks, making up for a slow start. He now weighs 8 lb. 5 oz. (25%) and is 23 in. (90%) long, so he's long & skinny! Like his brother, he's a slow & sleepy eater, making for long feedings during the day and night, but at least at night, just in the last week or two, he's giving us a 4-6 hour stretch at least once a night, so that's nice.


He is starting to make the cooing noises that are just so sweet, and starting to become aware of his surroundings, trying to look around a bit. He loves his baths in the sink - pretty sure he likes the warmth of it all. He is currently in the stage of not wanting to take naps in his crib, pack n play, or anything else besides someone's arms, so we are being challenged by that, more so since there's another child running around begging for attention this time around! But, we have been blessed by so many people willing to help, either with babysitting, moral support, meals, and the like - so thank you to you all! We have been able to go out one evening for dinner without the boys already thanks to some willing Grandparents as well!


We are starting to have the energy/strength/courage to venture out with the boys in the last few weeks too - still a stretch to keep Noah happy the whole time, but there's been some much needed relief from 'cabin fever', as well as just the necessity to get some things done. Mommy is dealing with some 'minor' post-partum depression again, but thanks to early awareness this time, and some more frequent interactions with the OB initially due to the blood pressure issues (which are resolved, yeah!), I'm back on some medicine to get me through the initial rough spot of it all.


Drew is a wonderful big brother, always looking for a chance to love on "Baby Noah"! He loves to give kisses, hugs, hold him, and even read him books and sing him songs! It's absolutely adorable! We are so happy that has been his reaction to Noah. Granted, he's testing his freedom now that we are a bit more distracted, so we are dealing with that parenting challenge, though we are sure that would happen anyway, it's just more evident now that we have to juggle two kids! But he also is loving to be a big boy helper with lots of things around the house, and becoming more independent in his play, so it's not all bad for sure!


He is getting more and more vocal, which for the most part, we love. He is such a little parrot! It's amazing how much they pick up and hear and repeat so quickly! He tells us stories, we can have 'conversations', and he'll read us books - all at a 2 year old level of course, but still, quite impressive we think! Now, of course we also think he's just as bright as can be, this month showing off his skills with matching games and puzzles - he can be so good at these games, it's just wonderful! And it's so fun to see the beginnings of actually playing games with him - something we are sure to enjoy for years to come!


He is such a boy, it's quite hilarious! He loves to "GO FAST!" all the time - in the car, on his bike, swinging, running, up the stairs, you name it! I sometimes joke that he's my little Ricky Bobby! He does love to run, and chase, and will spontaneously throw in some ninja moves or start dancing or jumping or singing - it's just hilarious - what IS going through that mind of his! He's learned to jump and climb with even more proficiency, thanks to Daddy's coaxing, and who knows what he sees at daycare! He has recently picked up on making himself dizzy by spinning/jumping in a circle - he loves it, falling down with a "I'm bizzy!"


He also had a good check up this month at his 2 year appointment - measuring at 27 lb. (33%) and 37 in. (100%) - also tall and skinny!

So that's life right now. Matthew is back to work, but able to still work from home 3 days a week usually. Lynn is at home every day - Noah of course is always home too, and Drew goes to daycare 3 days a week. It feels like the month has flown by, and yet at the same time, been very long. We love our boys, and love being a family of four, but we are looking forward to more sleep and the opportunity to have a few minutes to ourselves sometime again...the infant stage is just exhausting!

Family Photos

We had a photographer come to our house and take these photos of the boys and our new family of 4!

A True Two Year Old!

2 years old

1 year old

1 week old


Hard to believe it's been 2 years already, our Drew is such a delight in our lives!

The boy continues to grow & learn at such an amazing rate! He picks up so much so quickly, it is so fun to see him learn and change and challenge himself with new and harder tasks.



Here we are, honoring the 4th of July!



We have more and more spontaneous singing coming from his direction these days, especially Happy Birthday - he knew his day was coming! There are also lots of kids in his class that celebrate their birthdays this month, so I think he's hearing it lots! He is also requesting us to sing songs we've never even heard of before - there's apparently a Dinosaur song and an Alligator song that we don't know, but he seems equally pleased with whatever lyrics and music we make up! He is also more and more vocal, telling us stories, reading us his books, and talking amongst himself and his toys quite frequently. He gets a kick out of telling us "WAIT!" while holding up his hand to us - something he learned from Daddy!



He is also showing more and more "Boy" aspects to his playtime - spitting with his tongue between his lips, blowing bubbles in his bath water, spinning around and around to make himself dizzy, and laughing silly by breathing in, making it a deeper laugh than his 'God given' laugh! He can be quite the ham! He has also learned to walk on his heels or on his toes - he came up with that all on his own, but we were impressed!



He loves to play with balls - he tries to do tricks with the soccer ball just like Daddy, and has started to try and bounce the basketball. He loves to play a game he 'created' where he throws the ball and we are all supposed to chase after it to get to it first - he gets the biggest kick out of this! He continues to love to play chase and hide and seek - starting to count before he seeks, but usually comes out if he's hiding, so still some learning to do there! :)



We have had oh so much fun this past month, and past 2 years, it's hard to believe there was life before Drew really (that or we are so tired we just can't remember!) He loves to play with cars and trains, be outside as much as possible, and just flat out run & be active! He is such a sweet little boy (most of the time), we just love that God has blessed us so much through Drew in the last 2 years!