Happy Halloween!!

Faster than a speeding bullet...

 ....It's SUPER OWEN!!

And fast is an understatement.  Nearly every single picture I tried to take of him was blurry 

because I couldn't get him to stand still.  As soon as he put on the shirt he was channeling Clark

Kent and we kissed our chance of a decent picture goodbye.  Trying to get him to keep the 

glasses on his face was a whole separate challenge in itself.  I actually feel lucky that I got any 

pictures snapped with those in place. :)

On the other side of the spectrum, Joe was very calm and quite easy to take photos of.

We went over to Tim and Val's with the intent of taking Ruby and Owen trick or treating for the 

first time.  Unfortunately the weather didn't want to cooperate and the rain kept us inside.  Owen

didn't mind though.  He LOVES hanging out with Ruby and had just as much fun indoors.

 Happy Halloween Everyone!!

Love, Clark Kent and his friendly Bat sidekick (Baby Batman perhaps?)

Two Weeks :)

The end of this past week marked two major milestones.

Joe is 2 weeks old

and

I survived my first week solo with the two boys.  :)

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little terrified imagining what life would be like with Owen and

a newborn.  Owen is so full of energy and likes to be busy at all times.  Pair that with the fact

that he is slowly creeping into the terrible twos and it is enough to make anyone a little 

apprehensive.  I am very happy to say however that I'm pleasantly surprised with how we 

managed this past week.  Truth be told, Joe made it really easy on me which helped out a ton!

He sleeps most of the day, except for the times when he wakes to eat.  He is happy to sleep in

his snuggly bouncy chair or bassinet, which leaves me plenty of hands-on time with Owen.

  

I still have my days when Owen tests my patience and challenges me to the point where I feel

like I'm going to go crazy, but that's to be expected with a 21 month old.

The weather has also cooperated warming up into the 50's and allowing us to get out for

walks to the park in our fancy new double stroller.  It's nice to get some fresh air and exercise,

and I like being able to let Owen blow off some steam at the park for a little while.  

There are only so many things we can come up with to keep ourselves 

busy inside the house all day.

  

Play-Doh was a big hit and kept him busy for a good 30 minutes...

 

 The only problem was I couldn't turn my back for a minute or I would find him trying to eat it.

Overall we had a great week, with one of the highlights being Joe's 2 week doctor's visit.

Height - 20.5 in (25th percentile)

Weight - 8 lbs (25th percentile)

Yes, you read that right....8 lbs already!!  WOO!!  He's eating like a champ which is such a huge

relief for me.  The doctor says he looks great and all is well.

Here are just a few pics of Joe from the past week.

 

Joe's First Week Home

Just one week ago today, I was sitting in this same exact spot on the couch with no idea

that in just a few hours our lives were about to change forever.  What used to be a family

of three is now a family four.  That little boy who used to be an only child and have 100% of our

undivided attention now has the big responsibility of being an older brother.  

With all the changes I am actually very surprised with how seamless the transition has been

so far.  When I brought Owen home I was terrified.  He was so tiny and we had to be so careful

with him.  I had to wake him every 2 hours to eat.  I had to set my alarm in the middle of the night

to get up, bottle feed him so I knew exactly how much he was eating, pump so I had milk to feed

him at the next feeding, get him back to sleep, then get myself back to sleep.  That left me a

half hour, or an hour if I was lucky to sleep before I did it all again.  And I didn't even think about

leaving the house for a good month or two after he was born.  Just going to the grocery store

made me anxious if he wasn't with me.  Things are so different this time around. 

Joe is a great eater and has taken to nursing extremely well, which is such a relief.  I don't have

to wake him to eat, but rather I get to wait and let him tell me when he's ready.  The most

exciting part of all is I haven't had the breast pump out even once yet!  Everything is so much

more relaxed.  Maybe it's because we've done it once before, maybe it's because we have no
choice but to go with the flow, but no matter what the reason I am so thankful that things feel 
like they are fitting right into place bringing Joe home.  

He's been sleeping pretty well too which has been a huge help.  I would have never dreamed of
bringing Owen in bed with me because I was so afraid I might roll over on him.  With Joe
it is our sleeping position of choice.  It works out perfectly.  I feed him for the last time around
11:00 PM, bring him in bed with me, we sleep for around 3 hours, he wakes, I feed him again,
we sleep for another 3 hours and then we are up for the day around 7:00 AM or so.  Now my
only challenge is fitting in Owen's preferred wake up time of between 5:30 and 6:00 AM.
It's been great having Ryan home from work because he gets up with Owen.  Not only does it
 give Joe and I a little more time to sleep, but having that special one on one time together has
brought Owen and Ryan so much closer which is awesome.  I know it really means a lot
to Ryan.  Once he's back at work we'll have to figure out a new plan, but you can bet they'll
still make time for those special Daddy and Owen moments.     

The biggest adjustment of all will be having not only Owen, but now Joe to watch all day. 
Owen is very spirited lately and full of energy.  He is so sweet and loves cuddling, but he also
is not afraid to let you know when he's not happy.  For the past week my mom was in town and
helped out SO much with Owen.  She would take him for walks, keep him busy while I was 
feeding Joe, and give him the attention that I just couldn't give him.  She left us with an
awesome bin full of little wrapped presents for Owen.  Books, stickers, games, activity books,
etc..  Seeing as how we are going to be in the house a lot over the next few months with the
weather getting a little colder, when we need a new toy or something to distract Owen we can 
simply go to our new bin, pick out a package and unwrap something to keep Owen busy.  It
was such a smart idea and I appreciate it more than I could ever tell her.  We love when she
comes to stay with us and this time was no exception.  It is always sad to see her leave.

Thankfully Joe has been pretty easy going so far, so hopefully even with my two back ups back
home and back at work I will be able to manage.  He sleeps most of the day, except for the
times when he wakes up to eat.  He seems to be cozy in the bouncy chair or bassinet so it 
gives me plenty of time to hang out with Owen.  We might not get outside as much right away, 
but we'll find plenty of things to do inside to keep us busy.  With our new basket of goodies and
a new indoor basketball hoop Owen will find ways to tire himself out without making multiple
laps walking around the block.  I'm just trying to stay optimistic that Joe will continue on this easy going path as time goes by to make the transition a little easier for Owen.  :)

Here are a few pictures from Joe's first week at home

The First Bath

  

Don't let this calm little face fool you.  This was right before he decided to poop through

the towel and all over his mama.  We definitely know he has no problem in the pooping

department.  Looks like next time we should get him in a diaper before we continue 

with our photo shoot.  Lesson learned little buddy.

Going Home