Stat Updates

Chloe had her 4 month checkup on Monday...and her first shots. She's 19lbs and 26.25 inches. She did really well with the shots. Monday afternoon she was pretty uncomfortable, but once she got to sleep (6:15ish) she stayed asleep all night and woke up her normal happy self.
Noah had his 2 year visit the same day and weighed in at 33 lbs and almost 36 inches (I was a little preoccupied so I didn't catch the exact height. Noah absolutely loves going to see Dr. Marsh, so he had a good time.

Sorry I've been away for a while. I've had a lot of trouble uploading pictures to blogger so that's most of the reason I haven't posted in a while. Not sure if it's blogger or our computer, but I'm thinking it's most likely our computer...it's getting old. *sigh* More posts soon!

Adam and Sarah's Wedding Weekend

Adam and Sarah actually got married a few weeks ago. It was the week that Noah got the croup (again). I know, you're wondering how I could have gone to the wedding if Noah had the croup. He was diagnosed on a Wednesday, so we thought that with the medicine, he would be pretty much back to normal by Saturday. Problem is that I was planning on going to this wedding with the kids, but without Matt. The plan was to caravan down with family so that I'd have help (have I mentioned that the wedding was in Asheville, NC?). Once we knew Noah had croup I was on the fence as to whether or not I should go. We love Adam and Sarah and were already so sad that Matt couldn't go. Against my instincts, I agreed to go. Two sets of Chloe's great-grandparents wanted to meet her, and one great-grandmother hadn't even met Noah yet. For those reasons I decided to suck up my concerns and go. So I was on the road with the kids by 6:30 Am Thursday morning. Chloe was wonderful and slept most of the way. Noah talked about trucks on the road for the first hour, and then watched Handy Manny for the remaining 5 hours. I know, that's way too much tv. The alternative was a screaming/whining toddler who would have woken up the baby, so don't judge me. Because Noah had to get up early for the trip, and he refuses to sleep in the car, he got behind on sleep immediately. The sleep loss got worse as the days went on, so between that and the side effects from his medicine, Noah was not his usual sweet self.

Here's Chloe with Grandma McGowan, Aunt Denise and cousin Nick (the former two I hadn't even met yet).

Noah and Riley still had a good time playing together. Unfortunately Noah did get both Micah and Riley sick (I could have prevented this by waiting to drive down by myself on Friday - darn it!)

Noah was so handsome in his suit...but he was obviously not happy.

He did like playing with the piano. Barry, Silas and I all ended up missing the entire ceremony due to our kids that didnt' want to stay quiet, so we played in the reception hall.

I had never seen him look this tired/sick. Poor boy.

Papa has the magic touch with Chloe.

And they both slept in the stroller. Noah slept through almost the entire reception.

The hotel had a pool, so Mimi took Noah swimming.

Out! I felt awful anytime I looked at Noah because by Friday I knew that I should have either come later (if Noah was feeling better) or not come at all. Lesson learned. Trust my instincts. I still feel guilty for making decisions that made Noah feel worse. It was good to see family, but all in all it was a really difficult weekend.

Learning Curve

Last night I was in the kitchen getting dinner ready as Matt was finishing diaper duty with Chloe.
Matt: "Lauren, is there a certain way you're supposed to put these tights on?"

mutter, mutter..."stupid girls clothes..."

Chloe was a good sport - I think it took Matt a couple of minutes to get her tights on!

Just like Daddy!

I decided that with Noah's 2nd birthday right around the corner, it was time to introduce him to the clippers. It is so hard to cut his hair using scissors (mostly because he won't stay still), so I thought I'd save myself the trouble. He was pretty sqirmy through it, but it was much easier and faster to cut it this way. He thought it was hysterical when he saw himself in the mirror after. Every once in a while he asks us: "ma heya go?" (meaning: where'd my hair go?). And he laughs again...so sweet.

Join me...

Praying for Gwenyth and the Carpenters. Here's their story

Photo Dump

All I've got time for folks.

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.