Jump Jump Jump

Max loves his trampoline. Really love is an understatement he would play and jump all day if he was allowed. I keep telling my dad it was the best purchase ever made because he sleeps like a rock when the day is done. He loves to throw all his balls in then throw them out and do it multiple times a day. He has learned to do a butt drop, summer salt, and can get pretty high when he jumps. Its fun to watch him play and occasionally climb in there with him. 

 

 

 

I Could Eat This Baby Alive, He is So Cute!

Noah I love you. Thank you for being such a sweet baby. How cute is he? I guess I should say handsome, it is more manly. I remember after giving birth to Max feeling this amazing high...It sounds funny but it so true. Its like you feel so empowered and appreciative of your body that just gave birth to a human its completely amazing, and you feel like you can do anything in the world. Then you get drunk of this sweet little newborn and feel like you can have a hundred more of these little things because you are so in love and feel so great. Well that is me at least, but then as the weeks go by you start to feel so tired because that amazing birthing adrenaline wears off and the newborn buzz starts to fade because your sleep deprived and you think many a hundred more babies is to many. But for these first few weeks its a pretty amazing feeling that I don't want to forget ever. 

A Special Message On A Special Day....

Happy Birthday Larry!! I tried so hard to get a cute picture of the boys celebrating your special day. This is the best one I came up with, and its pretty classic. We love you! Hope you have a great day filled with studying for law school finals and then coming home to a special dinner! I am so grateful for everything you do for us. Most people don't know how hard you work all day then go to school and then finally come home to craziness most nights with Max running wild and a disheveled wife sitting nursing Noah in the exact same spot she was when you left that morning. I know you don't hear it enough but you are a great guy, and amazing dad and a loving husband. Everyone should be jealous because your pretty awesome. Happy Birthday my love...one day, hopefully not a millon years from now we will go on a awesome vacation to celebrate your special day!  

This Day In History...

5 long years ago today Larry got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! Sometimes it feels like yesterday and other times it feels so long ago. We have 2 kids now and have been through so much together its amazing how time really does fly. I remember bursting with happiness and not being able to stop smiling after we got engaged. I love him more then I did 5 years ago and I have a better appreciation and understanding of what it means to be eternal companions. I can't say that every day or month or even year has been blissful happiness but thats real and we have eternity to figure out how to have a blissful marriage.

Also today my very favorite toddler turned 22 months old! Max is amazing and I feel an overwhelming out pouring of love for him, even on the days he frustrates me. He makes me laugh, cry, and scream and every night I pray for him and his sweet little spirt that I am trying my hardest to take care of. He has changed so much in just one month. He talks so much now and a lot of it I can understand. He loves to kiss people and some of his new words are nice, gross, more, please, baby noah, and david (dave). He is still obsessed with balls and knows where all the basketball hoops are. When we go on our walks he can spot them on every house and says ball every time he sees one. He loves his baby noah and gives him kisses whenever he can. Every time the phone rings he thinks its his dad calling and wants to talk to him. He runs to the front door whenever he hears it open, greeting whomever is there. He loves his grandpa and grandma and will go everywhere with them and cries when he gets left behind. He loves playing with his cousins and jumping in his trampoline. I could go on and on about Max he really is the light of my life!

The last thing that happend today is that my sweet new love Noah is 3 entire weeks old now! He is so sweet and innocent and I am loving having a new baby around again. He is nursing great, sleeping great, and once he has a full tummy he is happy as can be. He is really alert throughout the day and is happy sitting in his swing watching Max run around or being held by anyone that is around. He can hold his head up pretty well already and makes the funniest faces when he is gassy. He still has his new baby smell but I think he is getting so big but its just me I am sure. I love to hold him and hold his small tiny hand with his long fingers. I never knew I could feel so much love for so many boys in my life:)

Things are busy and feel crazy yet I don't do anything but take care of my family every day its pretty great  most of the time :) Some days I know I have accomplished nothing except kept my kids alive and happy. Other days I feel like I don't do anything for myself, only for others and I throw myself a pity party. I have my ups and downs and I know thats normal but at least today I know things are always changing and we can celebrate the small things like engagement aniversaries and by ever growing boys!

I like to make messes....

Max is the maker of a million messes. Everywhere I go I see little things everywhere that he has pulled out to examine, play with and make a mess with. Really I should look at it as my child leaving me little presents to remind me how special he is right? Every night he sits down and eats a good amount of peanut butter which gets all over him and then he gets a bath, brushes his teeth, reads a story, says a prayer and then he is out. It is amazing how quite and clean the rest of the evening goes when he is peacefully asleep.      I really can't wait for when Noah is running around after his big brother learning to make these messes too. Now on to my other new mess maker....

 

 Noah how cute is he? Today he is officially 3 weeks old and so cute I can't get enough of him.  I love having this baby in our family. At three weeks he is still nursing like crazy but we are getting into a routine which is nice and I feel like sometime soon we will get a hang of all this. His head is super strong so I let Max hold him often which he likes. I love his small features and I think his eyes might be blue like Max which is so cute on little boys. Overall 3 weeks of craziness but I don't think I would change if for a second because I know how fast it all goes. 

Breastfeeding Might Kill Me.

After doing nothing but nursing my baby for over 2 weeks now I am on the brink of exhaustion. I do nothing but sit and let him eat, eat, and then eat some more. Typically then he will fuss for a good hour until I give in and give him either pumped breast milk or the dreaded formula. I am pumping, nursing, and even drinking this gross mothers milk tea so I can produce enough for this child. I am above and beyond frustrated after sitting and nursing for an hour and he still ends up eating about 2 ounces of formula...seriously baby your killing me, and sucking the life out of me.

Natural, beautiful?? I think NOT. I only breastfed Max for a few short weeks because he up right refused and after many tearful and painful weeks I gave up because life was to short to cry over milk issues right? This time Noah who is a good nurser is out of control with his appetite. If I am not feeding him I am thinking about it and even dreaming about breastfeeding. Its all consuming and my days are blurring. The other day Max spilt some of my pumped breast-milk...who ever said don't cry over spilt milk never pumped and breastfeed a growing baby. Every drop counts.

I think documenting these important thoughts is pretty important for my future references. I know one day many years from now when all my babies are grown I will look back and read these posts and laugh about the craziness of raising kids and the sacrifices and many tears that were shed from both me and babies. I love having a sweet newborn but its only a short phase and today after long feedings and lots of bloody murder shrills from Noah I realize its a good thing these little humans don't stay little for forever!

The Wild Child

Don't we all wish we could run around half naked after our night time bath? It must be so fun to be little and have no cares in the world. I love watching this busy little guy all day long. He is crazy, and wild and these pictures capture him perfectly. Some days I want to cry because he is definitely hitting his terrible 2 stride, but other days are so smooth and perfect so its pretty much worth it. 

 

 

2 week Stats:

Well its been a LONG day. Poor Max has been sick, and at first I thought it was just teething but then it turned into 2 days of over 102 temp and I knew something was up. I started the day nursing the baby then rushing Max over to a dr. appointment then rushed home nursed the baby and took him to his 2 week check up. By the time I got home it was 2 in the afternoon and I had yet to even get dressed. I must have looked awesome running around town in workout clothes looking very stressed and disheveled.

The good news is the day is over, and Max is okay only a virus...but with a 2 week old baby you can never be to safe. Noah is also excellent and has gained back all his weight! After dipping down into the 5 pound range he rallied and is not back to birth weight and looking great. That is a relief because he has been nursing non stop and I have been pumping non stop because the kid only wants to nurse on one side so needless to say I am not really wearing a bra these days ha! I keep hoping he will want to latch on to my right side again one of these days and have had many trips to the lactation consultant...we keep working on it and I know he will figure it out.

Overall we have made it 2 weeks now with this sweet little baby and things are going good. Tomorrow is my first day alone with the boys because my mom is going back to work and everyone is gone. I am sure things will be okay as long as Max is feeling better. Wish me luck once we get over this hump of pumping and nursing the entire day I will venture of on the town with the 2 boys by myself...once that happens I know I've made it!

Noah Harris 2 weeks
Weight:  6 pounds 7 ounces
Height: 20 inches

Sleeps great, very calm, has long fingers and toes, dark hair, soft smooth kissable skin, and dark undetermined color eyes. He is so beautiful and I never thought I would feel so much love. He is such snorty baby and grunts for a good 10-15 minutes after he eats which is rather amusing and annoying around 4 am but I am sure he will grow out of it. He loves to be swaddled and lay on his dads chest. Oh I love him so much.

Taking A Little Sunday Stroll.

How cute our my boys? We didn't do much on easter because of the new baby but we were able to get out and start walking again in this awesome stroller. I love being able to get out and this makes my life so much easier! How cute are they together, I am so in love. I have to make a comment as well that I really could not be doing this without my amazing mom. She is always here helping me with everything. She takes care of Max so I can nurse Noah and continues to encourage me and tell me I am doing great with 2 kids which is good to hear sometimes. I was overwhelmed for awhile thinking how I could manage 2 kids that were close together but now with my moms help I have been able to enjoy them both and forget about the cooking and cleaning for a little while. Thanks mom your the best! And Happy Easter to everyone, hope your day was sunny, special and centered around the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

My life has changed forever...

I might have had a hard time with our surprise baby but man oh man I could not imagine my life without sweet little Noah. I am so over the moon in love with this little new baby, and really is there anything more amazing then watching a new baby sleep? I am so glad he has come into our family, I feel so lucky and a bit guilty for ever doubting loving another baby.

Noah Dean 1 Week Old.

Waking up to this sweet little face in the middle of the night is pretty worth it. I can't stop taking pictures of him, I don't want to forget this feeling and any little detail about him. Sorry about my blog being completely taken over by Noah and Max but thats pretty much my life, and I am pretty proud of them :) I am trying to practice self control and not post a thousand more of them, especially this sweet thing!

Noahs First Week Home

The first week of having Noah home went pretty smooth but only because my mom was home to help all week long! Having 2 kids is tricky especially when you have one boy who wants to eat all the time, and another boy who wants to constantly play and get into everything. I know things will come naturally over time and that these first few weeks are so precious and fly by so I need to soak in all the newborn goodness before he gets big! I keep telling Larry I am so sad this doesn't last forever.Overall though its been so sweet to have a new baby in the house. He is so tiny and perfect I can't say it enough. We even ventured out on a walk in the double stroller one day and both boys did great!

Noah has been eating really well and sleeps really well too, so I have been feeling really good during the day. The hardest part is that he nurses for a long time during the day so I feel trapped on the couch while Max runs wild. Max has been doing really great though as a big brother. He doesn't really care much that I am not giving him constant attention and he loves to give Noah kisses constantly. Max is kinda up in Noahs business when we change diapers but he is good help at throwing them out. We are teaching him that he doesn't need to rip off Noahs hat every time he wants to kiss his head and that mouth kisses are a no no. For the most part he seems totally fine with the baby and he knows who Noah is and that he is his baby. When I ask him where his baby Noah is he always runs to him and pats him, it melts my heart.

I feel so blessed to have 2 healthy little boys who will be keeping me very busy for the rest of my life :) I really do feel so grateful that I can stay home with them day after day even though sometimes it feels like the day might never end. Some days Larry leaves the house when both babies are crying and comes home 8-12 hours later to them both crying but he knows I am trying my best to be a good mom to both of them. Here is some pictures of Noah and Max during our first week as a family of 4! 

Super Quick Update....

The baby is sucking the life out of me, literally. I would love to blog about our first week home, Max meeting his new brother, and many more things maybe tomorrow. For now I have just a few seconds to type before Noah starts screaming for more food. He is so perfect and I am so in love. I feel like alls I do is sit on the couch and nurse him because he wants to eat every 2 hours for about 45 minutes each time. I feel torn because when the day ends I feel like I have barely interacted with Max. I feel like he is getting the short end of the stick when it comes to mom time with me, but luckily my mom has taken over. I couldn't do this without her. Larry went back to work yesterday, I was very teary eyed as he walked out the door. He is only home 2 nights a week so I am a single parent of 2 now most days and I miss him and his help constantly.

Don't get me wrong though I LOVE LOVE LOVE being a mom to these 2 precious little boys. I think if I can survive these first few weeks of constant nursing everything will be alright. The one good thing is that he is a great little sleeper at night so I am not feeling sleep deprived and Max still takes his long afternoon naps so we all go down for naps at the same time its precious. Another precious thing...driving in the car the other day with my 2 baby boys asleep in their car seats...oh so sweet. Being a mom is worth it even though I feel like life draining slowly out of be via by boobs.