4

Jake slept 13.5 hours after his meltdown yesterday. He really needed it -- he was much happier today.

So first we did the head massages from day 3.
Someone get me a hairbrush.
Mommy showing Jake how it's done.
Much better.
Ryan got one from Daddy.

Today's kindness act: give the cats some catnip.
If you don't have cats, you can give a treat to your dog, fill up the birdfeeder, or just do something nice for any animal.

3

Paper chain kindness act for today: give someone a head massage.

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans... by the time Mike got home and we were getting settled into our evening, Jake, tired and with a cold, had a major temper-tantrum, bonked his head on a table corner and fell asleep in my arms after screaming for awhile. Poor guy!! He woke up an hour later, came downstairs and screamed some more, again fell asleep in my arms, and ended up like this:

So we'll have to do the head massage tomorrow.

For now, I'll leave you with a video of an incredibly cute baby who has just started reaching for things and playing!!

2

It's a bird... it's a plane...
It's SUPER BABY!

Today's paper chain kindness act: Tell someone 'I love you.'

Happy December! 1

Jake has really, really been looking forward to December 1st, the day the advent calendars start! This year we have 2 advent calendars -- a wooden one that we use each year and a paper chain one that we made this year. I figure it will be good for me to get into the habit of doing 2 -- when Ryan is old enough the boys will each have an advent calendar to open each day.

The paper chain one has to do with kindness as a family. Each paper chain has something written on it for something nice/kind/fun to do as a family that day, most of them really simple. I am going to be blogging about this and posting an update every day, sometimes with pictures. Perhaps you will join us in performing that act of kindness!

Today's kindness act: Have a warm foot bath.

So we did. I peeled an orange and added it to the warm water. It smelled really good. Felt good, too.

Mommy and Jake.

Jake loved it.
Daddy, Jake, and Ryan.

Ryan - 2 Months

Dear Ryan,

Today you are 2 months old! Time is flying. Yesterday your mama returned to work, and you came with me! We have lots of tools to make it smooth for both of us -- a bouncy chair, nursing pillow, yoga ball chair, moby wrap, and music. So far, so good! It will be even better when you start to be able to hold and play with toys, but you are not there yet.

You have definitely grown in the last month. Already I have had to take a bunch of the clothes you wore during the first month and pack them away, and will soon need to do that for a second set of clothes (the third set has already been pulled out and washed!). You can hold your head up really, really well, although you are still wobbly when you are tired. A recent discovery has been your hand. This last week you have begun gnawing on it and you seem to like that. You are learning to communicate with your body -- we can tell when you want either Mama or Daddy because you will throw your little body in the direction you want to go.

You love to play. You'll sit on my lap or Daddy's and play faces with us, or laugh when we wiggle your legs and make you run. You especially love to sit in your chair and watch Daddy and Jake wrestle on the bed and it is obvious that you want to join them.

Happy 2 months, Ryan! We are having so much fun watching you change and grow so quickly. Jake is enjoying it, too, and loves to hold you and make you smile.

November

Life with Two

I am finally feeling like the babymoon is over (no more meals delivered from awesome friends) and am getting settled into life with two children. It definitely has its difficult moments, but also the oh-so-sweet ones, such as when Jake and Ryan interact and smile at each other or when they are both sound asleep, at the same time, in the same bedroom. And this settling/figuring out life with two has led to a lack of blog posts!

We are establishing a rhythm of getting ready for school in the mornings and dropping Jake off (thank goodness for the school's drop-off lane, where a staff member escorts Jake directly from the car to the classroom so Ryan and I do not have to get out of the car. Especially nice during the cold, wet months!) then coming home and doing house chores. It has been fun cooking meals and taking up knitting again. Not to mention all the movies/TV shows I've been able to watch!

However, we'll have to re-establish a daily rhythm when I return to work November 29th, which I am not looking forward to even though I love my job. I am counting my blessings that I have a job and that I get to stay home with my baby while I work and I know it will be just fine after the initial adjustment. We might be eating some very basic meals in the beginning :)

Jake is doing so well in school. He loves working with letters -- reading and putting letters together to form words. His favorite "work" at school right now is the phonetic box -- there are small objects in the box along with strips of paper with the word for each object. He has to match the word with the object, and he's very good at it! At home he has been taking our magnetic alphabet letters and spelling words with them. He will make the initial attempt himself such as "odps" for octopus and then ask for help. His teacher says that he is also starting to show an interest in numbers so I am looking forward to seeing that develop.

Outside of school he is still playing tennis on Mondays and having lots of playdates with friends to keep him busy in the afternoons. We've discovered a whole new section of "early reader" books at the library with books that are fun for both Jake and mommy to read. I love reading the Amelia Bedelia books again.

Ryan is growing so fast. He is already wearing 3 month clothes and has a long body and cute smile. It is so fun to see how different he is from Jake! Jake always was and is still slim, whereas Ryan is chunkier. Jake only wanted to fall asleep while having milk while Ryan rarely falls asleep while nursing, but prefers it when you are standing up and rocking him. Ryan has been sleeping well -- multiple naps during the day and then about 12 hours at night. Of course he wakes up at night a few times for milk and for diaper changes, but the milk is in bed with him and the diapers are right next to the bed, and I consider it a great night when I do not have to get out of bed at all, which is the majority of nights now.

Now for some pictures!

Sweet baby-wearing daddy.
Ready for snow/skiing this winter!
My chunky baby.
Cute. I have a picture of Jake wearing this same hat.
Love!
Funny boy.