Cherishing this time...

I started this post a couple of days ago now and have been waiting for Blogger to cooperate before actually posting it. By that I mean that I wanted to have another video and some pictures...but every time I try to upload something else it won't let me. So here it is folks...it looks long, but there's videos of my super cute kids at the end!

Matthew and I are so incredibly blessed to be the parents of Noah and Chloe. I am overcome when I think about how undeserving we are as individuals, but God in His greatness has redeemed us. Even entrusted these two amazing children to us. Such a gift...I've been busy soaking it all in...

I only have a few days left before I have to go back to work full time. As I'm sure you can imagine this is pretty difficult for me think about, but it's happening soon, so I have to deal with reality. This time I'm trying to focus on all the good stuff rather than wallow in self pity and guilt (although there is some of that - I'm human). I'm looking forward to having a reason to shower daily. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that Noah and Chloe appreciate it that I have gotten to shower pretty much every day of my leave...but normally not till Noah's nap time, and even then I didn't really have to do it. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends and coworkers again, free coffee, and Bagel Fridays (maybe even the occasional chocolate finding mission). I'm looking forward to seeing my boss with her almost ready to pop belly (she'll be on maternity leave a couple of weeks after I get back). I'm excited for Noah to be excited to see me. Yes, he's excited every day we spend together, we've been having a blast. But...when Matt gets home from work after being gone all day, Noah is just over the moon to see him. I guess I'm glad that Noah will get a chance to miss me again. I'd say that it will be nice to miss him too, but I've been missing both him and Chloe a little prematurely due to the knowledge of what's to come.

For everything I look forward to, there are many more that I'm almost dreading. I know, I can be a little dramatic at times, but that's really how I feel right now. I just want to be home with my kids. I've started crying now so to spare you I'll head in a more lighthearted direction.

In the past few weeks I've gotten into a good routine with the kids. This has become my new norm, and I've been loving it. There's been some crying and fit throwing (talking about the kids now, not me), but over all I have had many moments of true joy with my babies. Chloe is such a happy baby. She loves to smile, coo, and just watch all of us. She doesn't mind being alone for short periods and tolerates Noah's squealing and other loud toddler sounds very well. Noah is such a wonderful doting big brother. He's full of energy and has such a compassionate heart. He understands that I'll be going back to work soon and seems to be handling it pretty well. He does ask me to pick him up a lot (Praise God that I'm completely healed from surgery and can even run around holding him now!) and has been a little extra dependent on Mommy lately. Here's a peek into our day together on Thursday (or was it Friday??) In the first video listen for the noise Noah is making in the background...

The laundry area is Noahs new favorite place to hide. Doesn't really work too well for the purpose of hiding since he bangs on the washing machine while he's there, but he loves it. He is just so fun right now, I'll miss them both so much.

Who do you think she looks like?

One of the most common questions that all parents get. We decided with Noah that he's a good mix of the two of us...and Chloe is just a girl version of Noah. So here they are in the same outfit at around the same age. Noah on the top and Chloe on the bottom. She definitely looks a lot like him, but she has very girly features. I know, I know, our kids are so good looking!

14 lbs. 24.5 Inches and Croup

Chloe had her 2 month check up today and weighed in 13oz lighter than Noah at this stage. It is possible that the weight difference is entirely in their head sizes. So the cough that became a bad cough over the weekend is a mild case of croup. It appears to be getting better so we're going to give her another day or two before giving her any medicine. The good news is that she didn't get any shots today because of it. The bad news is that she still needs shots, so I'll have to make another trip to the doctor once she's better. Sigh.

Oh, and remember how excited I was about her taking the bottle? Yes, well, she's currently downstairs screaming her little head off because she doesn't want it. At least she has figured out how to suck on it...that's step one. Now we just have to get her to drink more than 1/2 oz without turning into a "hornet." It's so sad. I have the big headphones on to try to block out the noise, but it's awful. I really want to go rescue my baby but I will not be doing her any favors if I always swoop in to feed her when she decides she doesn't want the bottle. Perseverance. We can do this. Or maybe I'll just take her to work with me every day.

Backseat Mommy

I took the kids to Target and Costco this morning. Chloe fell asleep at Target and woke up when we were leaving Costco...and she woke up mad. Matt refers to her as a "hornet" when she gets mad.

So she was crying in the car on the way home...

Noah: "Koe-ee, a minit...a minit Koe-ee, a minit!"

Apparently I say "just a minute" pretty often when Noah's whining. And since I expect him to quiet down he thought that telling Chloe "just a minute" would calm her down too. She did fall asleep on the 5 minute drive home:) I loved that he was trying to 'mommy' her...so sweet!

Still loving Chloe...

Noah loves being a big brother...

More Antics

Noah loves punching balloons and the most recent one he had been playing with popped recently. Matt got a new one out for him the other day...

Me: "Noah, what color is the ballon?"
Noah: "Red."
Matt: "It's purple Noah."
Me: "Actually Noah it's blue. Your Daddy isn't really the best person to help you learn your colors."

And some new pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Snack time! Not sure what happened to his pants...

Noah is not a morning person, he likes to chill with his "O-s" and watch toons. This morning he was sharing with "Big Mickey".

Noah decided he wanted to wear his puffy vest over his pjs on this particular morning...I should have realized at that point that he'd be getting into mischief before too long. He emptied the entire contents of my purse and most of my wallet before I caught him.

"May-uhls, may-uhls!" When Noah can't reach something we encourage him to go get his stool so he can reach it rather than whining for us to get it for him. This is the downside to us teaching him to problem solve on his own. Guess I ought to take the Christmas cards down soon...

Noah is still liking to snag Chloe's stuff...thankfully this was a clean empty bottle that he got ahold of.

Success!!

I was starting to picture what my days at work would look like if I had to leave three times a day to nurse Chloe. That's how worried I was about her taking the bottle...or not taking it. It wasn't just that she didn't like the bottle...she couldn't figure out how to suck on it. She won't take pacifiers either. So after 4 different types of bottle, we found one that she takes.

The Medela bottles were what we primarily used with Noah and the Soothie bottles were back ups for him (they're what we first bought to ease his transition since the nipple is the same as the paci the hospital uses). Then we heard about Dr Brown's, but she didn't like that any better. I finally tried the Breastflow bottles (which did not exist when I had Noah) and after some stubbornness on Chloe's part, she figured it out.

You have no idea how happy this makes me. Yes, we spent some extra money on different bottles...and pacifiers too (just to try to get her used to having something other than me in her mouth). But praise the Lord that the stress of that situation is over!