Paparazzi

be honest. does it make me a horrible mother that the photos that turn out really, really bad are just as great as the ones that are frame-worthy? Or that I continue to take photos while my boys are clearly done having their picture taken because I kinda find it funny? No? Great. Then enjoy a few of the not so obviously great pics above...especially the one where he's falling over and yet I didn't put the camera down.

Shots and Stats

We took Noah to his two month appointment today. If you mention the two month appointment to parents of young kiddos you get a sympathetic "oh, good luck", and they mean it earnestly. That is because this appointment comes along with 4 shots. Four! Horrible.

We gave him the obligatory tylenol a bit before his appointment to try and avoid the fever that one of the vaccinations often brings on. Unfortunately, Jeffrey accidentally gave him the Children's Tylenol and not the Infant Tylenol so he panicked while we waited for the doctor to come in and assure him that he hadn't just OD'd Noah on pain killers. Strike one. :) Obviously everything was fine...did I mention that Jeff is home with both boys alone this week? Not a simple task getting them both out of the house...especially when there is a set time you need to be somewhere.

So, I knew Noah was gaining weight well and I was not wrong. TWELVE POUNDS, EIGHT AND A HALF OUNCES! That places him in the 75th percentile for weight and his 23.5 inch length puts him in the 75th for height as well. He's big and strong. Our wonderful doctor assured us that even though he's eating double what most kids this age eat, he's not overweight and he's doing great. Good news. She was pleased with his growth, appetite, sleeping and even agreed with our parenting technique of letting him scream and self soothe instead of tending to every whimper. I know some parents don't roll like that but...well, we do. A rested parent is a good parent :) We did the same with Connor and he's pretty damn stellar.

We were worried that one side of his head was looking a bit flat and although we know they always favor one side...it's pretty flat over there. It's all good though, with a prescription of lots more tummy time for Noah Bear. The rest of the appointment went well and Noah tolerated the poking and prodding of temperature taking, boy part checking out and other annoying stuff. Then it was time for the shots. While we waited for the nurse to get them all ready Connor comforted his brother :) Love.


They do an oral vaccination first and then the four injections in the theighs. He did his horribly creepy silent scream and then it erupted into full scale call CPS immediately screams. He stopped as soon as he started though and calmed down after being loved on for a bit.

We weighed Connor on the way out and he came in at 29.5 pounds at 39 months old. just kidding I hate that.

Flashback Friday

We kept some of Connor's clothes for Noah to wear that we really liked or that were still in great shape. One of the things we kept were these super cute Cubs onesies - one in blue and one in red - that I got Jeffrey for his first Father's Day. Jeff showed up to Noah's appointment today with Noah dressed in the blue onesie. I had to do a comparrison here for obvious reasons. See below :)

Connor rockin the Cubbies shirt at ELEVEN months...

...and Noah wearing it at TWO months. sigh :)

Two Months Old

Well, we've been a family of four for two months now and it's flown by. Lots of changes this week, namely I'm back at work. I looked forward to this while dreading it at the same time. I went back a few days ago and while I'm feeling way more productive than I have for the past two months I feel like there's a part of me that is missing.

This week, Jeffrey is at home with the boys. Next week they will start their new school, which I hope will go well. It is so tough finding a good place that doesn't cost the same as out of state college tuition. Seriously. This place is right next to my office, literally. It's right next door. That's great, except that it means I now have to do both drop off and pick up duty. Ugh. That's tough stuff, especially with two...especially at the age that mine are.

Some great things about them being next door? I plan on going over every Wednesday and having lunch with Connor. I can't wait to do this. I figure I have a very small window of time where he's going to still be so excited to see me and I'm going to soak it up. The day will come soon enough where my eldest won't hold my hand or kiss me in front of his friends, so I'll take all the sloppy kisses I can right now :) and they are really sloppy people. So, besides my standing Wednesday lunch date, I'm also planning on visiting with Noah every day. I'm going to go over mid-day everyday and bring him back to my office so I can nurse him once a day. I can do it there at the school if I wanted to, but this way I can get some work done at the same time. If that doesn't epitomize a working mom I don't know what would!! Yesterday Noah was at the school for a trial day and my system worked out great. It was a good way to break up the day and I was able to get work done while we visited :)

Since nursing is new for me I'm just going day to day. I enjoy it, although it hurts sometimes...on the left anyway. I know some people set goals for themselves like nursing for 6 months, 9 months, a year or whatever but I'm really not doing that. It's working for us now, so I'm doing it. If a month from now it's just too much work pumping 3 times a day while at work, then I'll stop. No pressure here. Pumping is a pain in the ass and I only lasted 3-4 months with Connor so we'll see. Noah's classroom includes formula in their fees so we're already saving lots and lots of money there, which I'm all for.

During their time off together, my three boys haven't really done a hell of a lot. :) Jeff and I are so different in that way so it's great for our family...good balance. I have to constantly have something planned so when I was off it was full of bounceU, storytimes, swimming, visiting grandparents at work, playdates, library visits, crafts at home and even errands. Jeff and the boys watch tv, play wii and nap. I think he's the smart one here! Yesterday while Noah was at school Jeff & Connor did go to see Toy Story 3 again and Connor loved it just as much as the first time around, though this time he was more freaked out by the creeper monkey.

The top of this post has Noah's 2 month pic with his owl friend, along with the newborn and one month pics. Can't believe how big he's getting. We have his two month appt tomorrow afternoon so I'll be sure to post his stats after. He was 9lbs, 11oz at one month so my guess is 11lbs, 3oz but I don't know anything. What I do know, is that he'll be getting 4 shots at this appointment so that's miserable. Poor baby. Anyone else have any bets on weight? :)

I still need to name the boys' owls. Any ideas?

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

I have no idea how it happened, but somehow my baby noah turned 2 months old today :)

If I ever have to go to a baby shower again I know what I'm getting the person. A swaddleme. Connor loved being swaddled, meaning wrapped up like a burrito, all the time and Noah is the same. Unfortunately, both of my kids are destined to be soccer players. Soccer players who punch and thrash around. The swaddleme is like a blanket, but with velcro...like a straightjacket I suppose if you're getting technical. Love it.

the only way i could get connor to clean his room was if noah and i went in there with him. i stuck noah up with all connor's bed animals and noah hated it. a lot. he's screaming in this photo, but since it kinda looks like he's laughing i'm posting it.

we visited the Calabretti family last week so the boys could play and noah chilled in Gabi's Bratz chair for a while. I found out later that it's their Naughty Chair, which Noah clearly found hilarious.

I took Connor to his new school last week on a "try it out" day. We know he'll for sure be going there but I figured this would be good for him to have a day there before the big day. I kept Noah at home with me and Connor had a great time. The one thing he didn't love is that "no play baseball in room, play baseball at house". Apparently, that's a rule. :) The two pics above are from his "unofficial" first day of school.

Noah continues to be a pretty happy baby. He's pissed when he's hungry but pretty chill and full of smiles when he's held and well-fed. Found out today that the other kids in his new school who are his same age are eating 2-4 ounces every 4 hours...Noah eats 6 ounces just as often. My kid's a fatty is what I'm learning :)

it's for you

It is what it is

I go back to work tomorrow. There's so much running through my head about this right now that I'm positive this post will be pure, messy word vomit but that's where I'm at right now.

It's bittersweet. While I have enjoyed being home with my boys for the last 8 weeks I know myself well enough to know that being a stay at home mom isn't what I'm meant to do. This is in no way meant to diminish the incredibly important job that stay at home moms do so let's spare the debate, k? k. I just know that I enjoy having a job to go to during the day and that it's important to me and my saneness that I have a job. It's tough. Working all day at your job and then coming home to a second job at home as wife and mama is exhausting. Anyway, I digress. I have loved this time with my boys and it seems horrible that tomorrow I don't get to be with them all day long.

I enjoy my job well enough. I like what I do well enough but it's not really something I'm passionate about if that makes sense. But that was intentional--my family is my passion now. I know it may sound odd but when Connor was born I left the job I was passionate about and found one that simply paid the bills instead. Something that I go to, work and leave to be with my family. When I had kids, my priorities shifted in a HUGE way. I left the job that allowed me to travel, boss people around and have a fancy pants career. Now, I still have a career but it's just there as a paycheck. I'm good at my job and have zero intentions on leaving. I guess what I'm saying is that at this point in my life I work to live...I don't live to work. That's a recent adjustment for me. Recent since I had Connor. And now...it's just multiplied by a million since Connor is getting older and Noah has arrived.

So, tomorrow I'm getting up a few minutes early so I can cuddle my boys, stop for good coffee on my way in, and remind myself how to put on makeup since I haven't done it in 8 weeks. Seriously. I'll muddle through the 8 hours and rush home to be with my three boys...jeffrey took this week off to be with them. I'll secretly wish during the day that both boys throw hissy fits all day because they miss me so much and being with dada all day just isn't quite as grand. I'll note what size picture frames are in my office so that I can bring in more pics later this week. I'll pump 3-4 times while at work because I have to, hating every moment of it. So, that's what my day tomorrow will most likely be like. But I'll get through it because that's what mom's and all parents do. They do what they can because they know it's best for their kids and themselves. I know that working is good for me and is in turn good for my boys. Working helps us pay for them to go to school where they have structured days and become the friendly, little social boys that they will forever be. So I'll keep thinking that all day and I'll be ok :)

Hope your Monday doesn't shape up to be nearly as traumatic as I'm thinkingmine will be :)

Noah's Birth Announcement

yeah, i love hims :)

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

Connor is really being an amazing helper...almost too much of a helper sometimes :) He won't just let me give Noah a bath. He has to "help".

connor and bradley at their lame toy playdate

crouching boy, hidden agenda

Noah's Big Smiles

Love him. He's either super smiley or super upset. Here's a quick video of a super smiley Noah.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

Here are more cute ones from my cell phone. Some are a few weeks old.

Connor and Aidan wrestling at Bounce Jungle. I am not sure when this tongue thing started. Not a fan.

his future's so bright...

Jeff and I never, ever have photos together anymore so this actually looks kinda odd to me now.

lovin' on his new tball bat!

love this. he's carrying around the Hockey Tiger he made for Noah

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

Nearly Wordless Wednesday - Noah Addition!! I take so many pics with my cell phone every day that never make it to the blog or fb so here are several :)

after his first bath

i have no idea what connor has in his mouth, but i kinda love this picture

his very first smile caught on film :)

already annoyed with how many pictures I take of him!

bowl-a-rama!

forgot to post this quick video of connor's mad bowling skillzzzz when i posted his bowling pics here.

4th of July 2010

This year for the 4th of July we celebrated a day early. The dbacks do fireworks after the game when there is a home game on a friday evening. This year they moved the show so that it followed the game on Saturday night. The game sucked, 14-1, but the fireworks were great. There was an employee suite that evening so we took advantage. It's just so much easier with the kiddos that way. Connor can sit in the bleachers that belong to the suite or watch from the room if he wants to or he can run around the suite with the other kids.

as much as he loves watching the game, he seriously loves "reading" the program just as much. He keeps them and calls them his books.

Noah really enjoyed the holiday by sleeping in one of the chairs in the suite

me & my boys

Connor is just like me when i was his age...loved to watch them, hated the noise. We're hoping next year we don't have to squeeze his head like this because the noise scares him :)

this is what Noah did throughout the fireworks!

We hope you all had an amazing 4th of July this year!

Here are a couple 4th of July posts from the past years!

4th of July 2009

4th of July 2008