Babymoon

Well, we've passed week three and we're still surviving out here. I must say, my mom leaving and Brad going back to work was a rude awakening for me! If you can't tell from my lack of blogging the past few weeks, it has felt quite hectic at times. I won't lie ... there have been days that have been just plain hard physically and emotionally. The hardest part really has been dealing with my toddler. In sleep deprivation mode, I just lack sufficient patience to handle his outbursts, which have been pretty frequent because he is still in adjustment mode himself. So there's been plenty of crankiness (on my part and Eli's) interspersed with tears (mine and Eli's!) the last few weeks. Really, the kids must plot out their crying spells because they will either alternate in perfect synchrony so that I'm running between them both all day meeting immediate needs, or they are both bawling at the same time so I get the stereo effect. I'm not sure which is worse. Anyway, I try to be honest when people ask how things are going and just say "we are still adjusting" instead of the pre-programmed "great" or "fine" =). On Sunday I feared I was losing it completely! I was so grumpy it was all I could do not to snap at people at church, and I was feeling sick of both my kids. Then I was able to take a 2 1/2 hour nap while Brad took care of Owen (and Eli napped!), and I woke up with a refreshing change of attitude. It really is amazing what a little sleep can do, as well as the lack therof!

But before I start sounding too negative, I also have to admit that there have been plenty of great moments too. I am so pleased that Eli has not been aggressive at all towards the baby. Jealous, yes. He will often insist that Brad hold the baby so that he can have some mom time. It goes like this "Dada! Baby!" while pointing back and forth between them. Or he will state his inner desires simply with "Bye bye baby, ah gah (all gone) baby." This really cracks me up. After the first week of Eli's ambivalence though, he has discovered Owen as a source of entertainment, which is both good and bad. Good because I can see them developing a bond already, but bad because now I have to be on constant guard to ensure no mortal injury befalls my newborn because my toddler is "playing" with him. Eli likes to try and hold Owen, and laughs hysterically when Owen does the newborn flail because Eli thinks he's trying to play with him. This usually elicits rougher play from Eli so I have to watch out. This makes escaping for potty breaks tricky for me, lol.

Another fabulous blessing has been how we have lucked out with Brad's schedule. He has ended up being home a lot more than we anticipated, which has really helped my sanity, and helped Eli alot as well. Brad is still putting him to bed at night, but even after three weeks there are nights when Eli still just cries for me. Whether or not I can actually help him depends on if Owen is nursing or not. So yes, there's still a great deal of adjusting for all of us to do, but thankfully we've got Brad here as a full participant in the process.

In other news, Eli is learning how to use adjectives. His favorite right now is "BIG." It's so heartwarming to enter a room and have your toddler enthusiastically shout "BIIIIG Mama!" He also shrieks "BIIIIIG Dada" when Brad comes home, and sometimes just chatters about his big family: "BIIIIG mama, BIIIIG Dada, BIIIIIG Baby" while pointing to each of us... then he usually throws in a "BIIIIG Way-o (whale)" which granted, the whales are his favorite toys right now but it's not so flattering to be grouped in with them. Speaking of whales though, (no offense Owen) my baby is chunking up quite nicely. At two weeks he was already up to 10lbs 2oz (born at 9lbs) and now at just over 3 weeks his 0-3 month clothes are getting too small. He is going to be even bigger than Eli was, and he was quite the butterball! What can I say? Mommy's milk is nummy! =) Ok here is some photo proof of our happier moments.

Brotherly LOVE:

Watching "Blue Planet" documentary about the ocean - thankfully it sometimes puts him to sleep:

Just being cute:

Watching "Happy Feet" together:

"Talking" to the monkey: