New Year = New Beginnings

Well, things our way have been ok...not great, but ok. Jacob is dealing w/ being scared a lot now. I know it's just his age. He freaks out if he realizes he's alone. I can tell him that I'm going to go get something from the bedroom and I'll be right back. He will say "OK" and as soon as I'm out of his sight, he FREAKS. This has actually gotten somewhat better, but is still present. He never really went through seperation anxiety when he was younger, so maybe that's what this is. All in all, he's still a good boy. He's just a normal 4 year old full of energy and life. He's a spaz most of the time, but again, I'm pretty sure that's normal for his age. Something new that he's doing is waking up at night again (if it's not one, it's the other....I guess I'll sleep again....someday). He had started coming in ~ 5:30, and since it was so close to normal time to get up (and I'd been up so many time w/ Jordyn and was exhausted), I'd just let him get in bed w/ us. Well, I guess he decided that was a good idea. So, the time started getting earlier and earlier (like 1:30). I don't mind him sleeping w/ us really, but I don't exactly sleep well with him kicking me, grinding his teeth and coughing in my face. So, finally, I have been walking him back to his bed. The first night he cried, but since then, he just lets me walk him back to bed. Sometimes we do this twice a night...but at least it's quick. So, that's our next thing to tackle...getting him to stay in bed all night again (he did it last night!!)

Jordyn is doing a lot better. We did some sleep training w/ her. I'm soooooo not a CIO (cry it out) person and I was trying the method that we used w/ Jacob, which is sitting beside her crib so that she knew we were there. Then, each night, you move further and further away. So, the first night, she cried for 45 min. The second night she cried for 30. After a few more nights, Kyle was taking his turn with her. After 5 min, he came out and said, "well, if she's gonna cry with me sitting there, I may as well not sit there". I couldn't stand it and gonna go sit by her and he basically put his foot down and said, "SIT! She is fine. She is not hungry. She is not dirty. She is safe. It won't kill her to cry". She was asleep in 5 minutes. I hate it when he is right! So, basically what worked for Jacob didn't with Jordyn. Now we put her in her crib wide awake and 90% of the time she doesn't even whimper. Even for naps, which btw, she is now doing better too. So, I have to acknowledge that Kyle does know what he's doing (sometimes).

Jordyn is now 9-1/2 months old. She has 7 teeth! She is still not crawling (which I'm perfectly fine with!), however, she can scoot and roll pretty much wherever she wants. She's a very happy, content little girl and she absolutely LOVES Jacob. And he loves to make her laugh. It's awesome to watch! I guess I'm done with breastfeeding. I got the stomach flu over Christmas and I didn't pump or nurse for a full 24 hours. Since that time, I could basically only pump 1/2oz. Plus, Jordyn started sleeping better w/ a bottle at night. I am still nursing her maybe once per day, in the evening, but she really seems very uninterested. I must admit, it's been nice to not have to pack my pump to work, but I do miss feeding her. She is now all about table food. She doesn't want much to do w/ baby foods, so I pretty much feed her off of my plate. She seems to have gotten over her rash (which the pedi thought was a milk intolerance early on) and so far, she's done fantastic w/ LOTS of different foods.

It's almost Christmas time!!

Well, it's been a while since my last post. Things have been kind of hectic around our house. With Christmas coming and planning for Jacob's 4th birthday party in full swing, there's really very little time for "extras", like blogging. Jacob has been going through a "phase" (or at least I hope that's what it is). And for the record, I'm not a fan of the 3's (age)!! In fact, Kyle and I were saying "what's up with the "terrible two's"? 3 is WAY worse!!".

Jacob is going through a "scared" phase. He absolutely FREAKS out if he is alone. Before, I could put him on the couch with the tv on while I got ready for work. Now, if I tell him I'm going to get ready, he says "OK", then 2 seconds later when I leave the room, he freaks out saying, "I was lost". Poor guy. I hope it's a short phase. Oh, and bedtime. He is afraid, so we constantly catch him opening his door and peeking out to see where we are. And he's getting up 1-4 times per night to come get me.

Jordyn still isn't sleeping well, and now w/ Jacob not sleeping well, it's exhausting. I'm very grateful to my mom who is helping me tremendously! Jordyn is just about to turn 7 months old. She is still not crawling. And she's still not interested in eating, just nursing. She seems to be on track with her weight, so I'm not worried. She'll eat when she's ready. She is wearing mostly 9 month clothes and size 3 diapers.

We're in the process of making decisions about health insurance. I'm very blessed to have options. At work, we have about 8 health insurances companies, 6 dental/vision insurances companies and a flex spending acct to choose from. While the variety is fantastic, it makes my decision making VERY hard. Every year they change and it's so hard to know which is the best one to take. I actually sat down and compiled numbers today. One is higher in premiums but lower in meds....etc. Anyway, looks like we'll be switching yet again.

Anyway, that's what's going on in our world.

Here's a few current pics....

6 months!

Well, we had our 6 month f/u appt yesterday. Baby Jordyn is doing great. Well, mostly. Her growth is right on track--16 lbs, 10 oz (70th percentile) and 26 inches long (60th percentile). However, she is still not sleeping for me. And she seems to have times when she just can't be consoled. Almost colic-like. So, we've tried EVERYTHING we could think of. Seriously. Nothing seems to matter. Our last-ditch effort was a trial of 2 days of just formula (thinking it was maybe something I was eating that was bothering her). One full bottle of formula = vomit 5 min later. Fluke?? Nursed her during the night = fine. 2nd full bottle of formula = vomit 5 min later. *Light bulb moment*....hmmmm, could this be a milk intolerance?? Discussed this with the pedi. After hearing our struggles, and finding a rash on Jordyn's back that she said looked like a food allergy rash, she suggested that I try a strict non-dairy diet. And she gave us a sample of non-dairy formula. We'll see. It can take up to 2 weeks to determine if this is helping. I'm definitely not looking forward to this (have you ever noticed that EVERYTHING has milk in it?!?!), but if it helps, I'm game!

Jordyn won't touch the formula. Can't say that I blame her. It smells absolutely awful! So yesterday, we mixed it with breast milk. I'm hoping to add more and more formula each time to get her used to it. However, my goal is to continue breast feeding through the winter months (cold/flu season).

I'm also worried that she is just using me as a pacifier during the night. I'm trying not to nurse her every time she wakes up, but sometimes that is all that works. I need to just let her cry, but 1) that breaks my heart and 2) her room is right next to Jacob's and I prefer to not wake him up and have to deal w/ 2 cranky kids at 3 in the morning. However, I do realize that if I don't nip this in the bud NOW, it's only gonna get worse. And no offense to any die-hard breastfeeding advocates out there, but I don't plan to be nursing if my daughter can come up and start unbuttoning my shirt. ....just a bit too creepy for my taste.

Anyway, despite the nighttime sleep struggles (oh wait, she won't nap much either, so that'd be nighttime AND daytime sleep struggles), she is perfect. I'm a walking zombie these days, but still awake enough to notice how stinkin' cute she is.......

Our first family hike....

I'm sooooo proud of our lil' man. He is such a big boy. At 3...almost 4 years old, he held his own on our weekend hike. We hiked a little over 3 miles of wooded, grassy, hilly trails and he kept up like a champ (and only complained a little....maybe even less than we did...of course, we were carrying 16 lbs of baby and a back pack w/ water, etc....LOL).

It was a GORGEOUS day and we couldn't stand being inside, so off we went. This trail is a conservation area about 18 miles from our home in Hartsburg. Once you get to the "top" of the trail, there is an overlook deck and the view is just amazing.

I'm so happy that Jacob enjoys being outside. I hope to enstill a love of nature and the outdoors over sitting in front of the idiot box all day. Seems like he's on the right track so far. Hopefully, he'll learn some good habits to teach his sister.

5 months

It's official...as of Labor Day, our lil' angel is 5th months old. I know I say it all the time, but I just cannot believe how fast time is going. As much as I long for uninterrupted sleep at night (and yes, I realize that a far off dream), I really wish I could slow down the clock. It makes me sad to think that this is the last time we'll have a 5 month old around. I absolutely LOVE this stage. Jordyn is SO STINKIN' CUTE, I can't stand it. Yes, I'm a bit biased, but I could just eat those cheeks up! I absolutely love watching Jacob interact with her. She is in love with her brother, and he just eats it up. It is the sweetest thing!! He can make her belly-laugh better than anyone else.

Anyway, here's a few new pics.....


Think they look alike????
















And of course, Chloe will always bee my baby too!

A different kind of outing....

Monday was my Dad's birthday. If he was still with us, it would have been #74 for him. Something dawned on me that day. This year marks 18 years since his death. I was 18 when he died. That means that I have now officially been without him as long as I was with him. I feel jipped. I had the best dad, and I only got 18 years with him??? Then I thought...wait, I got 18 years with the BEST dad. That's way better than 40 years with a crappy dad. But, now I feel jipped for my kids. They will never meet their Grandpa Ernie (on this earth). They are jipped. My dad would have LOVED them SO much.

Anyway, not to start a pity party or anything.....
I wanted to make sure that my kiddos know their Grandpa as best they can. We made a visit to the cemetary. On our way, Jacob asked where we were going. Kyle said, "We're going to see Momma's dad, your Grandpa". So, when we got to the cemetary, Jacob sat down at the grave, put his hands on the headstone and said, "Is this where Papa lives?" Sweet and sad all at the same time. And I love that he just automatically called him "Papa". Melts my heart. Here's some pics....
As you can see, Jordyn slept through the whole thing.....haha.

3 months already????

Actually, it's been 3-1/2 months already!! I know, I know, it's been quite a while since I've posted....oops! I knew that having two kids would be a lot of work and take a lot of my time, so this shouldn't really surprise me :)

Jordyn is growing fast. She is doing great. During the first month, I was griping quite a bit about how she was a "clingy" baby (wanting to be held all the time). Either that's just the way ALL babies are in the first month (DUH!) and I've forgotten, or it was just her. Either way, she is finally getting used to the world outside of my tummy. She is now a very happy, content little girl. She is more than happy to sit back and watch the world around her. She loves her big brother and watching him play. He makes her smile, which of course, makes us smile.

She had her first round of shots back in June. She was a bit cranky that day, but otherwise, she did great! She is already coming close to her second round of shots. I dread those appointments for obvious reasons.

At 2 months, she was 11-1/2 lbs and 23 inches long. That put her in the 75th percentile for both height and weight. We are still breastfeeding (which I'm SO excited about!) and she is eating about 4oz every 3-4 hours during the day. She varies her sleep so much, it's hard to say what's "normal" for her. She generally just cat naps during the day. Then, she usually falls asleep in her swing around 9pm. I feed her one more time at 10pm and put her to bed. Some nights she sleeps all the way until 7:30am (LOVE those nights), and some times, like last night, she was up at 12:30 and 4:00 to eat (YAWN). She is still tightly swaddled which seems to make a big difference in her sleep. Of course, on the nights she sleeps straight through, Jacob usually doesn't. Guess that's the joys of having two :)

Jacob is still doing fantastic with her. He loves his little sister so much. In fact, yesterday morning, I guess I was so tired, I didn't hear her crying at 5:45am. Jacob came to my side of the bed and said, "Momma, Jojo is crying". Before I could get in there, he had climbed up on her crib, trying to get her binky for her. Like I said, he loves her.

He is definitely a very active toddler. We got a Wii a few months ago and he has just about mastered it! We basically just turn on the tv and hand him the controller and he can navigate through it like a pro. He can even set himself up to play "live" with other REAL people online. It's really scarey how quickly he's caught on. Of course, we shouldn't really be that shocked....he's IS smart, y'know... :)

He is almost completely potty trained now. He has been without diapers during the day (even for naps) for about a year now. He's still wearing pull-ups at night, but most of the time, he's dry when he wakes up in the mornings. He has been such an adaptable kid. We are truly blessed!!

Being parents of two small kiddos is very tiring and between both our full-time jobs and maintaining the house, we're both wiped out pretty much all the time. I'm sure EVERY parent out there can relate! We're tired, maybe a little cranky now and then, but we wouldn't trade it for the world!!