Hello!
Its been awhile since I last posted on here, life has been a bit crazy! I wanted to write this around New Years but then life happens. Oh well!
We celebrated Grahams first birthday in late December. Griffin's first birthday was fun but I went a little overboard with making decorations, cakes, smash cakes and food and ended up stressed and feeling like I really didn't get to enjoy the day. So this time around we went simple and it all turned out great! Nachos, cupcakes, family and friends was the winning recipe this time around! My favorite parts of the day included watching the kids help Graham open his gifts, actually catching up with friends and family but mostly watching Graham slowly devour his first birthday cake. Man, that kid knew exactly what to do and truly enjoyed his cake! That's the difference between baby #1 and baby #2. The second kiddo gets a little more sugar and a little less organic because its the second time around and you have a better grasp on things :)
The first birthday is always pretty incredible to me because you have this awesome opportunity to look back on the last year and really marvel at how quickly they grow, change, and become their own person. I can say that the year flew by but I can also say that I felt like I really was able to appreciate every stage that Graham entered (and exited). I absolutely took less pictures and videos but I feel like I made more memories with him because I was present in the moment. In the days leading up to his birthday I reflected a lot on his birth and our holidays last year. I can't tell you how wonderful it was Christmas morning to wake up in my own bed, snuggled up to a sweet baby and hubby and watch Griffin see all the presents under the tree. No stress, just hot cocoa, Christmas music and happy kids. Having such a scary and stressful Christmas in 2014 will always make me thankful for what it means to be together as a family and all be healthy (well, relatively healthy :).
So far 2016 hasn't been all that kind to us in the health department. Graham came down with an ear infection in late December, then another ear infection, then RSV (again) followed by another ear infection. The RSV almost landed us in the ER but that would have meant packing up the entire family at midnight because I was on call and wouldn't be able to go alone. So instead I spent the night holding him on my chest watching his chest retract until we could get into the pediatrician office in the morning. I usually love my job but that night all I could think of was how sometimes it really just stinks. So, breathing treatments and antibiotics and it seems he's had the same ear infection for 9 weeks now. After 7 rounds of antibiotics we made a trip to our trusted ENT and scheduled surgery. In his consultation we found out he has some moderate hearing loss which should resolve after the tubes are placed in his ear. I would like to also take a moment to say that this was quiet possibly the WORST year to go to a HSA health plan, but that's life and sometimes I totally suck at it :) Graham's surgery is next week and I'm literally counting down the days to the possibility of more sleep and for that sweet boy to feel better.
Every night before I put Graham to bed I close the door to his room, put him down and ask him to go pick out a book to read. Last night was no different, he toddled over to his bookcase and picked his three favorite books, Brown Bear Brown Bear + On the night you were born + Happy Baby book. We read the first two as usual but on the last he did something that literally blew my mind. In the Happy Baby book there are pictures of babies faces and body parts. He loves it because I point the picture then I point to where the body part is on him. So as usual I point the baby's eye, nose, mouth and ear and then do the same to Graham. He giggles as usual and practices saying the words as I do. All part of the routine. But then he takes my finger and uses it as pointer to point to the different body parts on the page and I repeat the word that goes with them. So I say "eye" when he uses my finger to point to "eye" and what not. He has me point to all parts and then takes my finger and about ten times makes me point to "ear". Over and over again he has me say "ear", then he grabs his own ear and says "owweee". It broke my heart because he was trying so hard to tell me he was hurting. So I acknowledged his "owwee" and kissed his ears. I wish I could tell him so he would understand that he will feel better soon but I can't so I just need to be there to listen to his hurts. I was also very impressed by his persistence and his drive to communicate his feelings to me, totally incredible. I know I say this often but I feel like our babies have so much more understanding then we give them credit for. Incredible.
Things are not all bad though! Sean is rode his bike in the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo mountain bike race a couple weeks ago. We are slowly making progress on both our front and back yard and enjoying the nicer weather. Griffin is about done with a 12 week soccer session and loves his "Coach G'. She's pretty incredible with him and has what seems to be unending patience. Basically she's amazing! After he's done with soccer I'm going to sign him up for private swim lesson at the YMCA. Hopefully we can get him swimming by summer! Griffin is really starting to grow up and be a little easier on his parents. We are working really hard as a family to try and praise the good things, ignore the small things and work through some of the hard stuff so we are not constantly on him about everything. So far its been good, he doesn't push back so hard about the non negotiable things like holding hands when we cross the street or staying together and not running away. Sean and I signed up for a free 4 session parenting class that the U of A is offering in hopes to continue to grow and learn and be the kind of parents we want to be to our kiddos. It starts tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to what it has to offer.
Other then being sick, Graham is doing really great. His personality is really starting to shine. Currently his favorite things are giving kisses, dancing, throwing balls, destroying his brothers creations, climbing up on the couch and coffee table, going down the slide at the park, dinosaurs, Leo and Jake, sitting in my lap, laughing, his brother and wrestling with his daddy. We found out this week that Graham will be able to start at Griffin's preschool when he is 20 months. We were so excited because having them at one place will mean a total life upgrade for the entire family! Sean can ride in to work now and drop the kids off on his way, we will save almost $300 a month in daycare expenses, the boys will have each other and as great as Grahams' current daycare is, Desert Springs is simply amazing! Also, now we won't have to cover two different daycare closure schedules. Between the two schools Sean and I basically use up all of his vacation days covering the closures, which means no summer vacation for us as a family :( Grahams current daycare is run out of a Jewish temple so they close for all Jewish holidays, which adds up to about an extra 14 days a year! Its a great school though so its worth it until September.
I'm hoping to try and start slowly regaining some time to myself in the next year. Mostly just to exercise and do some things for myself that I haven't even attempted since Graham was born. This time around I didn't give myself any expectations of getting back in shape like I did with Griffin. I knew that going back to work and still breastfeeding meant that I would need to be with Graham when I wasn't at work so I didn't have to pump all the time. Now that Graham is one I'm not pumping at work anymore so I don't have to worry about my milk supply. This means when I'm not working I can head to the gym for an hour or so and I can start to look at my diet and cut back without worrying how I was going to feed my baby. Also, now that Graham is in the one year old room at school he naps from 12-3, so I can't even pick him up until 3 unless I want a cranky baby. So hopefully I can head to the gym before I pick him up! Trying to find time to exercise and stay in shape with two kids is pretty hard so if I can do it without having to schedule it with Sean then its a win-win! .
So, that's what we have been up to! Surviving the sickness, making home improvements, enjoying our boys, learning how to be better parents, maybe getting healthier.....oh and binge watching TV at night until us parents fall asleep on the couch :)
We celebrated Grahams first birthday in late December. Griffin's first birthday was fun but I went a little overboard with making decorations, cakes, smash cakes and food and ended up stressed and feeling like I really didn't get to enjoy the day. So this time around we went simple and it all turned out great! Nachos, cupcakes, family and friends was the winning recipe this time around! My favorite parts of the day included watching the kids help Graham open his gifts, actually catching up with friends and family but mostly watching Graham slowly devour his first birthday cake. Man, that kid knew exactly what to do and truly enjoyed his cake! That's the difference between baby #1 and baby #2. The second kiddo gets a little more sugar and a little less organic because its the second time around and you have a better grasp on things :)
The first birthday is always pretty incredible to me because you have this awesome opportunity to look back on the last year and really marvel at how quickly they grow, change, and become their own person. I can say that the year flew by but I can also say that I felt like I really was able to appreciate every stage that Graham entered (and exited). I absolutely took less pictures and videos but I feel like I made more memories with him because I was present in the moment. In the days leading up to his birthday I reflected a lot on his birth and our holidays last year. I can't tell you how wonderful it was Christmas morning to wake up in my own bed, snuggled up to a sweet baby and hubby and watch Griffin see all the presents under the tree. No stress, just hot cocoa, Christmas music and happy kids. Having such a scary and stressful Christmas in 2014 will always make me thankful for what it means to be together as a family and all be healthy (well, relatively healthy :).
So far 2016 hasn't been all that kind to us in the health department. Graham came down with an ear infection in late December, then another ear infection, then RSV (again) followed by another ear infection. The RSV almost landed us in the ER but that would have meant packing up the entire family at midnight because I was on call and wouldn't be able to go alone. So instead I spent the night holding him on my chest watching his chest retract until we could get into the pediatrician office in the morning. I usually love my job but that night all I could think of was how sometimes it really just stinks. So, breathing treatments and antibiotics and it seems he's had the same ear infection for 9 weeks now. After 7 rounds of antibiotics we made a trip to our trusted ENT and scheduled surgery. In his consultation we found out he has some moderate hearing loss which should resolve after the tubes are placed in his ear. I would like to also take a moment to say that this was quiet possibly the WORST year to go to a HSA health plan, but that's life and sometimes I totally suck at it :) Graham's surgery is next week and I'm literally counting down the days to the possibility of more sleep and for that sweet boy to feel better.
Every night before I put Graham to bed I close the door to his room, put him down and ask him to go pick out a book to read. Last night was no different, he toddled over to his bookcase and picked his three favorite books, Brown Bear Brown Bear + On the night you were born + Happy Baby book. We read the first two as usual but on the last he did something that literally blew my mind. In the Happy Baby book there are pictures of babies faces and body parts. He loves it because I point the picture then I point to where the body part is on him. So as usual I point the baby's eye, nose, mouth and ear and then do the same to Graham. He giggles as usual and practices saying the words as I do. All part of the routine. But then he takes my finger and uses it as pointer to point to the different body parts on the page and I repeat the word that goes with them. So I say "eye" when he uses my finger to point to "eye" and what not. He has me point to all parts and then takes my finger and about ten times makes me point to "ear". Over and over again he has me say "ear", then he grabs his own ear and says "owweee". It broke my heart because he was trying so hard to tell me he was hurting. So I acknowledged his "owwee" and kissed his ears. I wish I could tell him so he would understand that he will feel better soon but I can't so I just need to be there to listen to his hurts. I was also very impressed by his persistence and his drive to communicate his feelings to me, totally incredible. I know I say this often but I feel like our babies have so much more understanding then we give them credit for. Incredible.
Things are not all bad though! Sean is rode his bike in the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo mountain bike race a couple weeks ago. We are slowly making progress on both our front and back yard and enjoying the nicer weather. Griffin is about done with a 12 week soccer session and loves his "Coach G'. She's pretty incredible with him and has what seems to be unending patience. Basically she's amazing! After he's done with soccer I'm going to sign him up for private swim lesson at the YMCA. Hopefully we can get him swimming by summer! Griffin is really starting to grow up and be a little easier on his parents. We are working really hard as a family to try and praise the good things, ignore the small things and work through some of the hard stuff so we are not constantly on him about everything. So far its been good, he doesn't push back so hard about the non negotiable things like holding hands when we cross the street or staying together and not running away. Sean and I signed up for a free 4 session parenting class that the U of A is offering in hopes to continue to grow and learn and be the kind of parents we want to be to our kiddos. It starts tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to what it has to offer.
Other then being sick, Graham is doing really great. His personality is really starting to shine. Currently his favorite things are giving kisses, dancing, throwing balls, destroying his brothers creations, climbing up on the couch and coffee table, going down the slide at the park, dinosaurs, Leo and Jake, sitting in my lap, laughing, his brother and wrestling with his daddy. We found out this week that Graham will be able to start at Griffin's preschool when he is 20 months. We were so excited because having them at one place will mean a total life upgrade for the entire family! Sean can ride in to work now and drop the kids off on his way, we will save almost $300 a month in daycare expenses, the boys will have each other and as great as Grahams' current daycare is, Desert Springs is simply amazing! Also, now we won't have to cover two different daycare closure schedules. Between the two schools Sean and I basically use up all of his vacation days covering the closures, which means no summer vacation for us as a family :( Grahams current daycare is run out of a Jewish temple so they close for all Jewish holidays, which adds up to about an extra 14 days a year! Its a great school though so its worth it until September.
I'm hoping to try and start slowly regaining some time to myself in the next year. Mostly just to exercise and do some things for myself that I haven't even attempted since Graham was born. This time around I didn't give myself any expectations of getting back in shape like I did with Griffin. I knew that going back to work and still breastfeeding meant that I would need to be with Graham when I wasn't at work so I didn't have to pump all the time. Now that Graham is one I'm not pumping at work anymore so I don't have to worry about my milk supply. This means when I'm not working I can head to the gym for an hour or so and I can start to look at my diet and cut back without worrying how I was going to feed my baby. Also, now that Graham is in the one year old room at school he naps from 12-3, so I can't even pick him up until 3 unless I want a cranky baby. So hopefully I can head to the gym before I pick him up! Trying to find time to exercise and stay in shape with two kids is pretty hard so if I can do it without having to schedule it with Sean then its a win-win! .
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| Christmas 2016 |
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| Cave making |
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| I love this big boy! |
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| Riding the bus to the mine. Thanks for the hats Dad+Debbie! |
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| Birthday time! |
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| Such a fun day! |
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| Graham had some help opening his gifts |
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| Griffin is such an incredible big brother. |
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| Grandpa time |
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| I'm a lucky momma! |
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| My "threenager" |
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| Guess who can climb almost anything? |
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| He's got his sad face down! |
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| Griff is not impressed with Graham's new couch climbing abilities :) |
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| "what Mom?" |
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| Soccer! |
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| Dino obsessed |
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| Ama! |
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| I walked into the living room to find this...I ran as fast as a could to capture the moment. |
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| Graham loves to climb up and snuggle with Griff |
So, that's what we have been up to! Surviving the sickness, making home improvements, enjoying our boys, learning how to be better parents, maybe getting healthier.....oh and binge watching TV at night until us parents fall asleep on the couch :)
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