My Babies!

This morning both kids were as sweet & cute as can be so I decided to whip the camera out & take a few pictures.





I wanted to get some pics of Reese in just her diaper since I haven't seemed to have done that yet.



And this week I noticed just how meaty her little thighs have gotten so I definitely wanted to get a picture of that too! Love those chunker thighs! (And I love that you can see a tiny spot of blue on the line of her diaper showing she tinkled a bit!)



Cam wanted to get his blanket out after he saw I brought out Reese's!



Such a goofball!





I've been savoring the heck out of my family this weekend since it's back to work tomorrow!



I'm one lucky Mama!



We've been having a great weekend with Papa who is in town visiting from Chicago. It was his first time meeting Reese on Thursday night & he loves his first granddaughter!



Today we're relaxing with friends & family, eating some food & watching football! Happy weekend!!

Back in the Saddle

My maternity leave came to a screeching halt on Monday morning as my alarm clock rang at 6am. Part of me felt excited about going back to work & another part of me was not at all ready & felt very sad that the one-on-0ne time I had with my kids was coming to an end.



The nine weeks went by incredibly fast. Way too fast.



Almost as fast as Cameron cruises in his Lightening McQueen!



I was very sad and anxious last Sunday. The idea of leaving my baby girl after being home with her 24 hours a day felt very overwhelming.



And I also had so much fun spending time with my first born. He is my best buddy & we have so much fun together. We really get each other!



I thought back to how I felt when I was working full-time with just Cameron. Many, many times I felt that there were never enough hours in the day to get things done or spend quality time with my child. If that was the case with Cam alone, what was it going to be like with another baby? Luckily my MIL is still here & I'm able to ease more gently into things. After she leaves, my little girl has to go to daycare & that will be another hurdle to jump.



My first week back went fairly well, but I definitely felt very overwhelmed at times. I'm not super woman & I cannot do it all. We're working through the obstacles & tweaking our schedule as things come up. I'm realizing that we need to plan our weekly dinner menu & grocery shop on Sundays because there is just no time after work. By the time I get home, wash & sterilize all of my pumping bottles, cook, clean, do baths & the million other things that need to be done, I have little left in me. I'm trying to take things one day & moment at a time & stop looking ahead because that makes things seem so much more overwhelming.

I know that things will get easier as we find a stronger routine, but I hope I can keep a positive attitude through it. I just want to feel like I'm doing a good job in each role I play. My first priority in everything is my family & keeping them number one is my biggest concern!

Two Months!

Reese, you are officially two months old today! Time continues to fly by, but we're loving every minute of it! Well, maybe not the middle of the night wake-ups, but you're even ridiculously sweet & cute during those times too.



You usually sleep from around 8pm until about 3am & then again until 7:30am or so. You are such a little sweetheart & so incredibly kissable. I could literally kiss your bald little head all day long. I love it so much when the little hair that you do have gets all messy in the back after you've been laying down.



You smile so much, especially in the morning or after a good nap & a feeding. You're eating five ounces of breast milk every three to five hours & you take about five feedings per day.



The only times you cry are when you're very hungry or fighting sleep which you normally do after your evening meal. During the day you eat, lay around & kick, smile & charm all those around you & then you take another nap after you've been up for an hour & a half or two. During the late afternoon you usually stay up for a longer stretch of time.



You love your baths & get about two a week. You're obviously not getting into things yet so you stay a lot cleaner than your big brother. You rarely spit up either, but when it's time for a bath I say, "Lets go clean that stinky milk neck!" You wear a size one diaper but can still fit into a newborn size if you need to & you're wearing 0-3 month clothes.



We love it when you "talk" to us & enjoy every "story" you tell. I'll never get tired of hearing all those sweet little coos!



Your big brother loves you to bits & pieces & is such a helper for Mommy & Daddy. Cam's always grabbing us any little thing that we may need like a clean diaper or rash ointment. And speaking of diaper rashes, yours is finally better! After we used the Nystatin cream that the doctor prescribed, things started getting better & better & you're pretty much as good as new now.

Things aren't always easy around here since Mommy & Daddy are so busy & not getting as much sleep as we're used to, but we love you & your brother more than anything in the whole world & thank God for you both each day. I look so forward to experiencing all of your changes & watching you grow!

I've been told many times that Reese looks so much like Cameron... Check out their blog to see if you think they look alike!

Fun Times

Saturday morning we headed to Busch Gardens on an absolutely beautiful day. We had such a great time just walking around, enjoying the beautiful park & soaking up the warm weather. Every time we go to Busch Gardens, we feel like we're on vacation. We're so lucky to live so close & to have yearly passes.



Reese was an absolute angel the entire day & either slept or just took in the sights.



We all love eating our sandwiches while overlooking the animals!





It isn't every day that you have this view on your lunch break! Hop over to Cam & Reese's blog to check out more pictures from the day!



I'm savoring the last moments of my maternity leave & we've kept Cam home both yesterday & today since I haven't wanted to be away from either of my babies. Today proved to be a very trying day since Cam not only skipped his nap, but was completely disrespectful in the process. As I tried to get him to sleep, he continued to get out of bed, jump around, run away from me & throw his toys around. I told him that I would take away every single toy of his for the rest of the day if he got out of bed one more time. Well, he got out of bed one more time so I literally took every toy & locked it in his bedroom until it was time for bed. Mike's been out both last night & tonight, so it's been a bit rough. But, I wasn't about to back down & I dealt with his crying & pleading & did not give in.



And though he can try my patience very often, Cameron is still my favorite boy in the entire world! I took my guy for a much needed makeover today. I cannot tell you just how much I disliked his bowl cut!!! He doesn't get all that many haircuts & I didn't take him for his past two, so this time I was able to take charge of what I wanted! He looks so cute with his new do!



Getting broken sleep each night with a newborn can be exhausting & even frustrating at times, but seeing this smile makes me forget all of that. This girl is such an absolute doll & I am beyond in love with her! I am so excited to experience all of her changes as she grows!

Tomorrow Mike has the day off so I'm hoping we'll do something fun for Uncle Nick's last day here. I know we'll be going for a nice dinner at Bonefish which I'm so looking forward to! Last time I was there Reese was in my belly so I couldn't get my usual martini or my beloved Ahi Tuna appetizer!!

Recent Happenings

This week was very busy & has completely flown by! I cannot believe it's already Friday!



Monday was great because Mike was off of work with the New Year holiday. We went over to Matt & Kelly's to hang out & watch the OSU football game. Cam & Leah dressed up as princesses which was hilarious! It was so funny to see Cam walking around in heels & wearing earrings. Luckily Mike was a good sport about it!



Tuesday Kelly popped by with Reese's BFF, Samantha & we headed over to finally meet Cheryl's baby girl Sophie who is exactly 3 weeks younger than Reese & 3 weeks & one day younger than Sam!



On Wednesday Grammy flew in to meet her first granddaughter. I'm so glad that she's here... Cam's loving it since they're super close after all the visits she's paid us! In fact, right now they're on their typical Walmart date. Whenever we pass Walmart, Cam says, "Grammy takes me there!"



And this picture cracks me up every time I look at it for very obvious reasons. Lil Reese looks like a deer in headlights! Yesterday I had my 6-week OB check-up even though it's been 7 weeks & Reese & my MIL came along for the ride. I should've guessed the appointment would take forever since my doctor's office way overbooks. I ended up being there for an hour & a half! I can't complain too much though since one of my co-workers who also happened to be there ended up waiting two & a half hours! Complete BS. But Reese was a good girl & Grammy took her for a walk for part of the wait.



And then we headed to my work to show Reese off to my co-workers. It was weird going back to work after being off for nearly eight weeks. Everything seemed & looked different to me! I'm seriously getting nervous about going back & wondering how I'll manage everything after a long day. It feels like there are NEVER enough hours in the day when I'm working & I felt that way when I had only Cam. Throw another baby into the mix along with pumping at work since I'm still breastfeeding & it all seems overwhelming. I really need to just shut my brain off since worrying & wondering will get me nowhere. But I probably will need to clock out each time I pump which equates to nearly a half hour taken off each day. Does that mean I need to work an extra half hour each day?! I guess I'll have to work things out but the last thing I need is to make my long day even longer.



Reese is still waking up once a night, usually around 3am. After I fed her last night it took me a long time to fall asleep since I can never shut my mind off. As I finally dozed, the stinker kept grunting & losing her pacifier so I must have gotten out of bed about ten times to give it back to her. So, I've basically been up since 3am! Surprisingly I've had a ton of energy today & have been on a cleaning spree. I haven't vacuumed all week which is a long time when you have four furry animals walking around. I usually empty my Dyson before I vacuum just so I can see how much nastiness I'm actually living in. It's both satisfying & horrifying at the same time!

The weekend is going to be just as busy since my brother-in-law flies in tomorrow night to meet Reese. So much going on these days! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Random Thoughts

I've had a lot on my mind lately with the holidays coming to an end, the new year now here & the fact that I'll be ending my maternity leave & heading back to work in less than two weeks. I've enjoyed my one-on-one time with Reese more than I could have ever imagined. Since I had such a rough postpartum road after Cam was born, I wasn't sure what to expect this time around. I'll never forget this time I've had with her. It's sad I'll never have it again since I work full-time. Sometimes I wonder whose job is harder, a working mom or a stay-at-home mom. Either job has it's ups & downs & can be argued either way; both jobs are hard & have their own challenges. In a perfect world I would work two to three days a week. That would be an ideal balance for me. Hopefully that could be possible in the future but right now it just isn't for many reasons. In the meantime, I'm trying to soak up my baby girl as much as I can before it's time to begin the rat race again. I'm telling myself that worrying about work now is useless & will only take my mind away from the present & enjoying the last of my time off with Reese. Obviously we'll have a million more wonderful moments to come, but it just won't be the same.



Luckily my mother-in-law flies in from Chicago today & finally gets to meet her first granddaughter! She'll be staying for a whole month which is great because I'll be able to ease back into work without needing to take Reese to daycare. She'll be going to the same daycare as Cam, the one he's been in since he was four months old. The first week of daycare is always the hardest since I'll need to get used to the routine & accept the fact that a lot of things will be out of my hands. Sometimes being a control freak can be hard! Just as we've gotten into a great routine, I have to leave to go back to work! Ugh. Such is life.



Leaving this precious angel with someone else isn't an easy thing!

New Years Rockin Eve

New Years Eve has taken on a new meaning since most of my friends have little ones. No more care-free, wild outings like we used to have many years ago.. But, we stayed in at Matt & Kelly's house & ended up having an absolute blast!



While we were getting appetizers together, Reese had a little photo op as she watched us cook. We made our usual NYE dip which we call "Good Luck Dip." Since black-eyed peas are good luck at the new year, it's an absolute must in my book. And it helps that it's utterly delish as well & healthy to boot! Click here for the recipe.



We also made Pioneer Woman's bacon-wrapped crackers which are yummy as all get out! They take two hours to bake but they're worth it in my book. Can't go wrong with bacon! Click here for the recipe.



After the kids were asleep we just hung around the kitchen, listened to music & had so much fun just dancing & being silly. We were with such a fun group that it was impossible to not have a great time.



And I think I'm the one who suggested that we take pictures imitating our high school yearbook photos. It was so hilarious. Yes, we're thirty-somethings that need to act goofy every once in a while!



I have such a feeling that 2012 is going to be a great year!