A day in our life

January 7, 2015

1:34am  change and nurse Brooks. He's back asleep before I lay him down and I quickly fall back asleep once my head hits my pillow. 

5:55am  Brooks is back up with a dirty diaper. Change him and he eats a little before he's ready to go back asleep. He coughs a little waking him up and he wiggles out of the sleep sack. I go back in and swaddle him and leave. I crawl back in bed and I see on the monitor that his arm is back out. I curse the swaddle and go wrap him up again. He tries to get out again but falls asleep. Me too. 

7:00am I just dozed off and I hear Derek get out of bed and in the shower. I go back to sleep and he makes coffee (we're both newly coffee drinkers) and slips out of the house about 7:45am.

7:50am I hear Brooks talking over the monitor. As I walk into his room, I hear Collins. She always requests that "baby brooks" lays in her bed when she wakes up. It lasts all of 2 min. before she's begging to eat. French toast (frozen kind, I'm all about quick in the mornings), peach and milk for her, coffee for me Brooks hangs out in his seat.

8:20am I get the kiddos dressed and then put Brooks in the pack n play in our room and Collins on our bed with some books and cartoons and I take a quick shower. Brooks joins sister on the bed to play while I do my make up and get dressed. 

8:50am nurse Brooks and then we head downstairs so they can play in the playroom while I do my hair in the bathroom down there. Brooks is ready for a nap at about 9:30 so I let him sleep in my arms before I have to get him in his car seat. 

9:45am get Collins some dry cereal to eat in the car and we are out the door for our weekly play date. I swear we've only been here a few times but I think we went the last time I did a day in the life too. Ha!  We meet at the indoor swing set place which is normally nice and toasty in the winter but the thermostat said 54 today. Yeah, we didn't last long before heading home. Brooks got a little nap in the ergo and Collins got to play with friends so it could have been worse. Not to mention it was in the single digits outside so it felt slightly warmer then being out there. 

11:15am My always hungry child has been begging to eat (again) so I make her a pb&j sandwich, pretzels, blueberries and milk. Derek comes home for lunch and we have leftover soup. 

11:40am change and nurse Brooks and then back downstairs to play before nap. 

12:30pm lay Brooks down in his crib for nap and he's asleep very quickly. I play a little with Collins before she goes down at 12:45. 

I should finish the cleaning I started yesterday but the couch is calling my name. I start this post and then Instagram, facebook, shopping etc take my attention till I hear Brooks. 

2:40pm longest nap in a long time for Brooks! Collins is up right after him and as always, requests to eat. Cheez it's, fruit snack and water for her while I nurse and then change Brooks. They play and I vacuum and mop the kitchen real quick and then join them to play till daddy gets home at 4:30. 

5:00pm lay Brooks in his crib for nap and start making chicken tacos for dinner. Collins helps wash the bottles and has an appetizer of chips and salsa while we are cooking. Brooks takes his normal 40 min. nap and then sits in his rock n play while we eat dinner. Collins eats really good so she's rewarded with a couple skittles (she's on a purple kick and is ecstatic when she gets 2 of them. She's also obsessed with having 2 of things. Easily pleased this girl) and then downstairs to play with daddy and watch tv. 

her new "maybe if I close my eyes, I won't have to take these last 2 bites."

6:30 not even an hour since dinner and Collins is hungry again. She won't stop begging if you tell her no so I give her a cereal bar. 

7pm bath time! Collins helps me wash Brooks and then Derek takes over washing her while I put lotion and pajamas on Brooks. We all gather in Collins room while she gets lotion and pajamas on. She's hungry again! I attempt to not give in but she throws a fit. Gotta love 2 year olds. I give her a cutie and make Brooks' bedtime bottle. We give him a bottle to ensure he's nice and full for bed and he also gets his probiotic in it. 

7:40pm Collins chooses Derek to brush her teeth, read her a book and get her in bed so I feed Brooks his bottle and get him in bed.  Collins comes in 5 times to give us kisses. It's ridiculous how long she stalls at bedtime. Kisses for daddy, mommy, Brooks, Elsie (the dog), going potty, washing her hands, on and on. 

8:15pm both kids are asleep and me and Derek watch tv and spend time on our phones. 

9pm I pump and then we head to bed to watch tv. I'm exhausted and he has an early morning so the tv is off and we go to sleep at 9:45pm. 

Brooks at 4 months

This was written on December 21 when he turned 4 months but his appointment got pushed back till after the new year so I didn't have his stats.  Quite a bit has changed since I wrote this but I'll save it for his 5 month post. 

 

 (crappy pic because I can't get my camera to turn on. Rest of pics taken by aunt Amy)

Stats| 14 lbs 9oz (50%), 25in (50%).  He's an average fella all the way around. Still in a size 2 diaper and 3-6 month clothes. 

Eating| Like a newborn. Ok, not that much but he has definitely regressed in the sleeping and eating. Eating every 3 hours, night and day. 3-4oz when he takes a bottle.  

Sleeping| I had hoped it was just a growth spurt but about a month later, sleep is still sucking. On a good night he will go to bed about 7:30pm and do a 5 hour stretch which would be nice if I too went to bed at 7:30. Then it's every 2-3 hours. This is right when we sleep trained Collins because she did this exact thing.  I dread doing it but mama needs more then 3 hour stretches of sleep. We've also resorted to letting him sleep on his stomach. We're desperate for sleep and that seems to be his favorite. 

Play| something is always in his mouth whether it be a toy or his fingers. He really enjoys laying on the floor and watching sister. We got out the excersaucer and he'll stand in it for a little while before getting bored. He hasn't really figured out how to play with the toys on it so I'm sure he'll like it more once he figures that out. 

Health| We've been off the reflux medicine for almost a month now. The side effects of the medicine were worse then the reflux itself so I stopped giving it to him. He's struggling a little with #2 so I've had to help him out a couple times to get things going. We started him on a powder probiotic after I heard from Vanessa that it helped her little boy with gas and sleep.  I haven't noticed a huge difference yet but they say to give it a couple days. The cradle cap cleared up but we have to stay on top of his prescriptions or it flares back up. Both my kids have super sensitive skin and he has started to get eczema. Mostly on his back so we're gonna try a prescription to get it cleared up.   

Likes| chewing on his fingers or anything that comes near his mouth, laying in mommy and daddy's bed, bath time with Collins, standing up, watching sister run around, telling stories, laughing and kisses. If you get near his face, there's a good chance he'll try to give you an open mouth kiss. More like eat your face but we'll call it a kiss. 

Dislikes| me sneezing when I'm feeding him, solids and the car. Omg this kid and the car. He does fine in his car seat at restaurants but the second you click it in the car, he is ticked. He's recently had a strong opinion on how you rock him. He prefers you to stand until he's somewhat asleep and then you can sit. 

Despite your crappy sleeping, you are the best little guy to be around. You have the biggest smile and as long as your not tired or hungry, your pretty easy to please. Your mommy's baby boy and I could just eat you up I love you so. 

A very merry Christmas

 Santa came, the decorations are down and Christmas is officially over. I think me and Collins both cried when the tree came down. The house is back to its boring self. Before I completely move on from Christmas, here's how we celebrated. 

 Our best Christmas present arrived in August and it was so special to celebrate his first Christmas. 

This was the first year we didn't go to Derek's parents on Christmas Eve/Christmas morning. I just wanted to stay home for Christmas morning this year and not worry about packing our presents and worrying about Santa getting her big present there. My mom came over on Xmas eve and we had tacos and then her and I took Collins to a few places to look at lights. Collins is obsessed with lights and all the blow up yard figures. Brooks doesn't do well in the car and since me and mom are just as obsessed as Collins with Christmas lights, Derek got the boot. We did our traditional 1 present (always pajamas) when we got back and then the kids put their new, matching pajamas on, set out milk and cookies for Santa and went to bed. 

Unfortunately, Collins woke up at 3:30am throwing up. She did it again at 4:30am and I just knew we were gonna have to call off our Christmas plans. 

Derek slept the rest of the night with her so when Brooks woke up a little before her, I brought him downstairs and we waited in anticipation for Collins to wake up. She was ecstatic when she came down the stairs and saw what Santa brought. I was surprised she didn't go straight for "baby boo boo," the only thing she asked for. Instead, she went straight for her new kitchen. 

We enjoyed Santas toys, dumped out our stockings and opened presents. She was acting like her normal self so after attempting to rest a little, we headed to my brothers house. 

We spent Christmas Day with my family and then left the day after Christmas to spend a couple days with Derek's family. Collins never threw up again but she didn't have an appetite for 4 days. She had so much fun with all her cousins and family. 

It was the best feeling to experience Christmas through my kiddos eyes. Collins really got into it this year and I'm sure each year is just going to get better and better. 

2 years old

photos taken by the ever so loving sister, Amy with The Studio El Dorado. 

 

 

"The days are long but the years are short." I heard this quote this week and it couldn't be more correct.  2 years gone in the blink of an eye.  Hold me.

 

At 2 years, you are FINALLY free from your binky. It's been about 3 weeks now and I wish I could say it was easy but it was pretty brutal. Still is. You have cried at almost every nap and bedtime since we took it away. You don't ask for it anymore but your not happy to go to bed either. I've been so tempted to give them back. But they "broke" (I cut the nipples off) and we threw them away. On the plus side, you are 100% potty trained. You no longer hold #2 for days or put up a battle when we know you have to poop. Accidents are few and far between and you must check out the bathroom in every public place.  Drives me crazy when you say you have to go and I lug you and your brother to the germ infested bathroom to have you not even go a drop.

 

In other big girl news, we recently moved you into a new (to you) queen bed . Well, we thought it was a full but turns out, it's a queen. The toddler bed just wasn't big enough for you and your 10 babies and 500 stuffed animals you take to bed. We put flannel sheets on your bed and mommy and daddy have a hard time not sleeping with you. It's SO comfy!

 

 

 

You got away with no shots and only the flu mist at your 2 year appt. Weighed in at 23 lbs and 12oz (12%) and 32.5 in (25%). Small gal. Wearing 18-24 month clothes, size 6 shoe and size 5 diaper at bed time. You almost always wake up dry but I'm not ready to go 100% underwear. Changing sheets in the middle of the night doesn't sound pleasing. 

 

Your pretty shy so people won't believe me but you are talking so much more. Your doing way better repeating words and are constantly saying 2+ word sentences. You call Brooks "book" or "bubba" and Elsie is "nene."  You are a huge helper with Brooks. You give him his binky, turn on his swing or just talk to him if he's crying and I'm not right there. "Hi bubba, hi!" comes from your mouth a lot. 

Your still baby obsessed. Pointing each baby out you see in public and ALWAYS having one with you.  You have an old onesie on one of your favorite babies and you can snap the buttons on the onesie. You did it for no less then an hour the first day you learned how to snap them. You see me taking a lot of pics with my phone and now you always take my phone and take pictures of your babies and stuffed animals. Your also obsessed with dogs, which was the theme for your 2nd birthday party. 

 

 

 Pretty soon we are gonna have to give you an allowance. You love to unload the dish washer, throw away diapers, mop, fold laundry, etc. Folding consists of you shaking out every piece of clothing and then laying them flat on the couch. You did a whole pile of laundry one day when I was feeding Brooks.  I just laughed as you were shaking out the wrinkles of our socks. 

 

Favorite moments: we taught you to  put your hand on your heart for the national anthem and after it was over and it went to commercial, another song came on a commercial and you immediately stopped what you were doing and put your hand on your heart. You say excuse me after you burp or toot and I kept hearing you say it one day. Turns out you had the hiccups and thought you needed to say it after each one. 

 

Needless to say, you make us laugh daily. We are so proud of the polite, mostly well behaved little girl that you are. Now please take this next year easy on your mom. I can't handle a terrible 2 year old and a baby. Love you bunches. 

Brooks at 3 months

 

Stats| No appointment this month so I'm gonna take a wild guess and say he's close to 13lbs and 22-23 inches.  Currently in size 2 diapers and 3-6 month shirts but 0-3 month pants.  Big belly and short leg problems.

Eating| About every 2.5 hours during the day, usually a 5-6 hour stretch at night followed by a 3-4 hour stretch.  I try to give him a bottle before bed but it's usually quicker to just nurse him.  When he takes a bottle, he'll drink 2-3oz. 

 

 

Sleeping| He was doing great and taking a long afternoon nap when Collins does but recently it's been a lot of cat napping.  Sometimes he'll sleep 1-3 hours but its usually 30-45 min.  The only good thing about cat naps is that he's been ready for bed about 7pm.  I make him do a dream feed at 9:30 before I go to bed.  I could never get Collins to wake up enough to do a dream feed but this guy doesn't turn down a meal.  After that little snack he sleeps till about 2:30am and around 6am he's ready to snack again and then go back to sleep in bed with me.   

Play| He'd be totally content with no toys and just his fist.  He goes to town on it and I've been putting a bib on him to catch all his drool.  I'm wondering if a tooth is on its way? His favorite thing to do is lay on the floor and talk to people.  He's getting good at hanging on to toys and when he gets a good grip on one, it goes straight to his mouth.  I sat him in the gumbo chair and he had pretty good head control in it.  He despises tummy time so we gotta work those neck muscles other ways. 

 

 

Health| We are battling a severe case of cradle cap.  He's had it for about 2 months and we've been on a prescription shampoo but it's still not working.  I called the doctor and we started a prescription cream today to go along with the shampoo.  I have no idea why we can't get it cleared up but he constantly scratches it and rubs it on anything he can.  We are on reflux medicine number 3.  He went about a week without any but he was getting the hiccups and swallowing a lot again so we got him back on it.  He's been such a happier baby the past couple weeks.  He still has some screaming fits but I finally don't want to pull my hair out on a daily basis.  Of course he had a 3 hour crying spell when Derek was out of town which led to me crying right along with him.  I was ready to take him to the emergency room but he finally passed out on my shoulder.   We are so glad to be at the end of the colic stage.  He so easily breaks out in a smile, is a chatterbox and has the cutest little laugh.  Whole new baby. Praise jesus. 

 

 

Likes| snuggling in mommy and daddy's bed, eating, anyone talking to him, falling asleep with his binky and the TV.

Dislikes| his binky after he's fallen asleep, his car seat (wwhhhyyyy don't my kids like the car), tummy time and still hates getting out of the bath.

Bubba, Brooksie bear, mama's boy, etc.  You are such a smiley boy now. You just light up when you see someone and always have something to say.  Those chubby cheeks and scrunched nose smiles are irresistible.  I love you so so much. 

5 on Friday

Back at it this week for 5 on Friday. I can't seem to finish a post so I'll just dump it all into one. Linking up with a couple favorite blogs:

 

 

1. Baby's in leotards. Nothing cuter. Collins started gymnastics with her bestie this week. She did amazing! I was hesitant to do a morning mommy and me class because of Brooks but he quietly watched from his car seat so hopefully we can stay in this class. It will be great to having something to do 1 morning a week this winter. 

2. Her binky "broke."  Ok not really. I cut the tips off but I told her that her teeth broke them. She's potty trained and in a big girl bed, it was time for the binky to go. She seemed ok with it until we left the room and then she freaked. And I thought the cry it out method was rough when she was a baby. This might have been even harder cause now she can talk and yell for us. Broke our hearts but the crying is getting less and less. She'll thank me later when her teeth aren't all whack. 

3.  This mama is sssooo thankful that the baby is finally happy. He has rarely been crying and just lights up when someone looks at him. Please stick around, happy Brooks. 

4.  Little miss turns 2 in a week. Fastest 2 years of my life. She already thinks she's two but is so excited for her doggy party. Too bad I've really been slacking on the planning. Hopefully I don't disappoint her. 

5.  I can't put the tree up till after her party but we've busted out the decorations in other ways. We love our ho ho ho cups. 

Happy Friday! We're supposed to get snow tomorrow so we'll be staying inside, probably in pajamas all weekend. 

Halloween weekend

I hosted a play date the morning of Halloween.  Basically it consisted of kids in costumes for all of 15 minutes and Halloween shaped macaroni and cheese and jack o lantern faces drawn on mandarin orange cups. But hey, the kids got to play and the moms got to chat so whatever.

 

 

After Aiden got out of school, we headed to papa Long's in Manhattan.  Amy was there with the kids and my dad had pizza ready for us when we got there.  We quickly ate and got the kids in costumes before heading out to trick or treat.  We made a pit stop at my grandma and grandpa's and then walked a neighborhood for maybe an hour before it got too cold.  It didn't take Collins long to learn that if she said trick or treat, she got candy.  She was eager to go from one house to another, eating candy along the way. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The main reason we went to Manhattan was for Paxton's birthday.  He is a smart boy and chose to go to a k-state game instead of have a birthday party.  We started his day with Varsity Donuts.  Some of the kids took naps and then we headed up early to do some tailgating.  It was a little chilly so when Brooks wasn't asleep and covered in the carrier, we were chilling in the car.  And Collins favorite thing to do is play in cars so that's where she chose to stay too.  Except to eat, which she did a lot of. Papa, the kids and myself left before the game started.  We had purchased tickets for me and Collins but when I saw the forecast a couple days before we left, I knew there was no way I was staying in the cold with both kids.  So we built a fire at papa's and watched in the warmth. 

 

 

 

Always a great time when we get to be with family.