Lilypie Third Birthday tickers

Friday, January 31, 2014

So it's true what they say...

About second children that is... Much less gets documented!  In my defense, I do have thousands of pictures already and I do have a baby book started, but I had to laugh when I got a request for a blog update and I realized my last post was a year ago!  Well, that's partially due to the busyness of having two children, but more due to the fact that the littlest one doesn't exactly love to sleep.  Time to myself has been pretty much non-existent the last few months!  It's a good thing he's so stinkin' cute.  So now that our newest little guy will be 6 months old next week, how do I sum up half a year?  

After pursuing a VBAC, our big boy was born by c-section on 8-8-13.  He was 9lbs 2oz and came out screaming his little lungs out.  He was beautiful from the start and after that first outburst, he was quite quiet for the first month, rarely crying, nursing well and sleeping lots.

He loves to be held, snuggled and loved on.  We are quickly discovering that although they look so much alike and are almost identical size-wise, Nathan is quite different than his big brother in many ways.  He is much less vocal and wild than Josiah was at this age... More smiley and yet very focused and determined.  He is more of a Mama's boy and prefers me most of the time... Which is both wonderful and exhausting.  Daddy and Josiah are definitely favorites too. He loves to smile at people from a distance but is a little hesitant up close.  
And sleep... Oh don't get me started.  This boy.... Let's just say he loves his mama close all night too.  Breastfeeding has gone wonderfully with him... Maybe a little more so than I expected.  At this rate I'm a little scared I won't be able to wean him in time for middle school!  Ha! Hopefully we'll have a breakthrough before too long... I'm sleep deprived to say the least.  His little brain is just exploding with new developments though ... He's rolling all over the place, sitting up so well, discovering his voice and loving to play.  

Josiah is a wonderful big brother.  It's hard having to push your first baby to grow up a little faster now that there's another baby to care for but Josiah has done well.  I miss our one-on-one times but I cherish the moments of seeing them interact together and I know Josiah is learning a lot about not having everything cater to him and having to care for someone else too.  He loves to make Nathan smile and laugh and is really quite helpful much of the time.  He also started preschool this fall and that has been a great experience for him.  He's so ridiculously smart that I don't know how challenged he has been by the curriculum but it's still been an invaluable experience for him to make new friends, interact in a classroom setting, and have some routine and I'm so glad he's had the opportunity this year.  We are gearing up to start homeschooling next fall with kindergarten.  I know he will miss going to school but I'm excited to make it a special year for him and to keep fostering his love of learning. Although considering he can already read and do basic math, I don't know what we will work on first.  I just hope by September, Nathan will be sleeping better and I will have the energy to focus on it all!

So there's a quick little recap and I'll let pictures tell the rest of the story :) 
























Monday, July 22, 2013

Oops

If that last post came to anyone via email... Sorry about a bit too much personal info at the end.  I actually meant to post on a journal that I keep online just for myself but don't share with anyone but I accidentally logged into my old bump2bum blog instead. Oops!  :)

-Melissa 

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

I'd be shocked if anyone still follows this blog since I haven't posted in ages. Just to catch up super quick, we moved back to the condo we own (and rented out for two years) last September. We have very much enjoyed being back in Greenbrier, having more space and the freedom to decorate as we wish. The beach will be sorely missed, but other than that, we are very happy. We celebrated mine and Mike's birthdays (his 30th and my third 29th) :) we had a nice Thanksgiving and Christmas and we found out that we are having another baby his summer! I am almost 12 weeks pregnant and am due August 9th. I have had terrible nausea and been sick ever since 5 weeks, so right now we are just in survival mode. I am anxiously anticipating Spring for many reasons, hopefully feeling better being reason number one! We are excited to grow our family although it definitely still feels pretty surreal that there's really a baby growing in here!







Tuesday, July 24, 2012

A 3rd Birthday Party in Pictures

Blowing out the candles

So many fun new toys

Food Table (menu: chicken salad croissants, pizza pinwheels, kids' PBJ's and turkey sandwiches, fruit, veggies, chips & cheese balls)

Lots of little friends!  (Robertson, Simeon, Luke, Liam, Katie, Addison, John, Ben, Lia, Abigail, Evalyn & Esther)

Dump Trucks, Buckets & Shovels for serving food

The boys

Playing "Pin the Scoop on the Excavator"

Waiting Patiently

Throwing sandbags into the dump truck
My first attempt at cake decorating and it was a hit!  Cupcakes courtesy of Daddy & Oreo Cake Pops that Josiah helped make!

Oreo crumbs for a dirt pile :)

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

1 Month and counting...

Okay, so with exactly one month left, let's be honest:  here is why I'm not too sad about moving. (I posted about all the things I will miss here)

Things I will NOT miss about this place:
  • being in the flightpath for Oceana.  Love our military, but the jet noise is deafening.  Huh? What'd you say?
  • living below elephants my incredibly noisy upstairs neighbors.
  • having to blowdry my hair in either the kitchen or Josiah's bedroom because none of the other outlets are powerful enough... who am I kidding, I never blowdry my hair.. but if I did, what a pain!  
  • 850 square feet, but not a cool NYC loft.
  • nasty old carpet
  • tiny ugly kitchen
  • 30 year old stove with lopsided burners and and oven that sets off the smoke alarm anytime I cook above 400 degrees.
  • kitchen cabinets that aren't even big enough for a box of cereal or my dinner plates to fit in without tilting them.
  • a rusty toilet that looks like it's full of poo, no matter how clean it really is. 
  • darkness... seriously, it's like a cave.  Nap, anyone?
  • roaches... big ones!
  • having virtually no storage space... anywhere! 
  • driving 25 minutes to church, 30 minutes to Great Bridge, 35 minutes to Mike's parents' house and many of our friends.
  • doing laundry on the floor between the kitchen and my bedroom
  • the big ugly super-sketchy van that is parked next to mine but never moves
  • doors that won't shut (to my bedroom, bathroom, closets...)
  • the ghetto being right next door.
Not to complain...

:) 

6 more weeks

6 more weeks of living by the beach and then we're moving back to our condo in Greenbrier!  It'll be our 3rd move in 2 years, but at least we're coming full-circle!  It's bittersweet.  I have a love-hate relationship with our current place. 

Things I will really miss:
  • evening bike rides on the boardwalk
  • Fall & Springtime at the beach
  • impromptu beach trips with no planning involved
  • Grommet Island Park 
  • our library (cheesy as it sounds... but Josiah has been enrolled at Storytime for the last year, and I adore his teacher!)
  • the Aquarium being right around the corner
  • Trader Joe's & Kroger
  • the Whole Foods that's about to open nearby!
  • amazing Target clearance finds (apparently they are much more plentiful at the one out here)
  • one-story living
  • our neighborhood park
  • living so close to my grandparents, to the Gathings and the Perkins... it's been so nice to spend lots of time with them all and not have to drive far!
  • working out at our little Hilltop YMCA (even if it often seems like a geriatric social club)
  • the Hilltop Chick-fil-A (ha! we are regulars, and we love running into friends at Family Night with Ryan the Balloon Guy!)
  • sometimes going to the beach 3-4 times in one week, even if just for an hour.
  • did I mention being a mile from the beach?
"Things I will NOT miss at all" post... coming soon!