Bounce!

We went to this bounce house three months earlier and it was amazing how differently Alex played this time! He has grown up so much and he is such a daredevil! He wanted to go down all of the slides over and over. I couldn't believe how much fun he was having. He is completely full of energy and, as tiring as it can be, I wouldn't want him to be any other way.

Finally warm!

Ithaca has not had very many nice days this spring, but the first nice day was a beautiful thing! We spent the whole day outside. 

Canon and Kristen came to play at the park with us. After playing for a while, it started to look stormy so we decided to go home. As soon as we got in our cars, it started to pour! So Canon and Alex continued their play date inside. These boys are so cute together!

Master Sam

From the first day to the last day. Congratulations, Sam! You did it! We are so proud of you!

Easter

Easter activities spanned a few days this year. For playgroup, we had an Easter egg hunt. Alex did not get it at all. He just wanted to open his one egg and eat the candy. He didn't realize he was supposed to be collecting more.

I got all the colors set out for dyeing eggs and let Alex put one egg in the blue dye. He wanted to see the egg in the cup so he tipped it and dumped the dye all over his lap. I couldn't believe how fast it had happened. He had been at the table for about 10 seconds. He was promptly put on sticker duty while we dyed the rest. His legs and bum were stained blue for a week!

On Easter Sunday, Alex woke up and found his Easter basket. He was so happy about all the cars and trucks in it. He got all of the cars arranged like a parking lot. It was cracking me up. He loves cars so much.

He dropped a plastic egg and it burst open. Sam had filled the eggs the night before. I asked him to put one or two pieces of candy in each. He stuffed both sides of the egg! Anyway, so when the egg burst open, Alex stuffed five jelly beans in his mouth so fast. I think he was scared I was going to take them away, which I probably would have if I hadn't been so tired from him waking up an hour earlier than usual.

We had blueberry muffins for breakfast and then went to church where we tried to contain Alex. He was absolutely crazy during sacrament meeting.

After church, I spent a few hours getting dinner together while the boys napped. Sam claims I only make nice dinners when we are having people over. In your face, Sam!

For some reason, Alex woke up from his nap crying. When we finally sat down to the meal, Edison decided he needed to nurse. Immediately. Then Alex spilled his drink. Alex did not eat a single bite of the meal. Not even jello. It was a nightmare. It is humorous how many things went wrong. Sam did the dishes though, and there were a lot of them so that was really nice.

We put Alex to bed and then I read the scriptures to remind myself why that day was special. The day ended with us remembering that it was my half-birthday. A very exciting half-birthday indeed.

Edison's Edition (2 Months)

Weight: 13 pounds, 7 ounces (90th percentile)
Length: 24.5 inches (90th percentile)

Edison is growing so fast! He is huge! I am never worried about his weight because he seems to be doing just fine. He gained over two pounds in his first month and over two pounds in his second month! Whoa, boy! He is so cuddly and loves taking his naps with me, which I don't mind during the day, but at night I make him sleep in his own bed in his own room! He has the crookedest little smile and it makes me so happy to see him smile. I love how he looks at me out of the corner of his eyes. He probably just wants to make sure I'm not about to do something crazy. Or maybe he's making sure Alex isn't headed his way to squash him. He is such a beautiful boy. Every time we go out, some stranger says, "She is so beautiful." I fall more in love with him each day.

Hanging out with Daddy.

Being forced to cuddle with Alex.

Looking teensy in his carseat.

Fighting Mommy (scary hair!) at the grocery store.

He loves sleeping with something touching his face.

He hates the Bumbo. So much.

"What's that stuff? Carpet?"

Getting stronger!

Cutest pre-cry face!

Funky-looking hands.

Bouncing on the exercise ball!

Peeking during his nap, as usual.

When Alex smashes Edison I tell him to just wait because one day Edison is going to sit on him and then Alex will be sorry!

He already loves his big brother.

Boys in their rompers.

It is all worth it.

Tight baby burrito!

Watching sports with Daddy.

I'm tipping...

Why is Mommy making funny noises?

This is one happy kid! He only cries when he is tired/hungry/wet now!

This is the background on my phone and it makes me smile every time I see it.

Not Alex's best picture, but Edison sure is cute!

Yummy shoulder.

Flailing arms.

Good looking kids!

Why is Alex always naked?!

Edison smiling... and frowning.

Edison cooing and playing with Daddy.

Here are a few more things Edison does for which I do not have a matching picture:

He...

...loves having his hands held/holding our hands.

...makes the cutest face when he realizes he is about to be nursed.

...put his thumb in his mouth once and I yanked it right out. But he loves sucking on his fist.

...drools a lot!
...had his first blowout. Yucky.
...is so strong and can hold his head up really well!

...can't walk! Although sometimes I think he can. After I finish nursing him, I try setting him down in a position so he can just run away and go play.

...sleeps for about a seven hour stretch at night.

...gets called "Nuh-Nuh" by Sam and Alex now. But sometimes Alex still says, "Ed-Duh."

Polo

Cornell has given us a lot of experiences that we have not had the chance to get elsewhere. It seems there is something interesting going on each weekend. We wanted to go to a polo match before we moved away. We ended up getting to go to two! Cornell made it to the National Championship (and got destroyed). Oxley Equestrian Center was packed! Alex loved all the horses, which he pronounces, "Horshiss." Yeah, say that out loud.

MILR vs. Faculty

Sam played in this year's MILR vs. Faculty basketball game and we went to cheer him on. They got to play in Newman Arena which is the real Cornell basketball court. Sam felt very special.

At one point before the game, Alex started wandering out to go see Sam. Right as he stepped onto the court, the buzzer went off. He jumped and ran into my arms. It was so cute and everyone was cracking up. He stuck by my side for the rest of the night.

I couldn't believe it, but the students lost to the faculty! Embarrassing! But Sam played really well and had fun.

Solo Mommy

Sam went on a school field trip for five days. This was when Edison was two weeks old. This means that Sam was gone for eight of Edison's first 20 days. I was so nervous about him being gone because I knew that meant it would be all me during the day and at night. What I didn't expect was the ridiculous amount of support from women in the ward. By the end of the week, there was not a doubt in my mind that people care about me.

Day One:

The boys woke up simultaneously. I put Alex in his high chair and gave him yogurt then I started nursing Edison. Alex was playing with his yogurt but I told him he'd have to sit there until I finished feeding Edison and then I would get him something else. Ten minutes later, I set Edison down and got Alex cereal. While doing that, Edison spit up. While I was cleaning up the spit up, Alex dumped out his entire bowl of cereal/milk. This was within 30 minutes of waking up.

A short time later, Edison was in his swing, Alex was playing, and I was writing a letter. Alex tried sitting on the front of the swing and Edison flipped out and landed right on the top of his head. He was kind of folded over. I was so angry with Alex.

I had an OBGYN appointment so Kristen watched Alex for an hour. That afternoon, I babysat Canon so Kristen could go to her ultrasound (they're having a girl)! Nathan was also gone on the trip so Kristen and I spent a lot of time together. 

Day Two:

I needed to get out. Staying around the house and constantly trying to block Alex from "loving" Edison was wearing me out. I loaded them up and we went to the fabric store, Target, and the grocery store. I had to sit in the car and nurse Edison before we went into the grocery store but I gave Alex a Dum Dum and he sat quietly for 10 minutes.

It was beautiful weather so we played outside for two-and-a-half hours. Alex fell out of a toy car and got his leg pinched. I was holding Edison but I sat down on the ground to comfort Alex and ripped my stitches a little. It was so painful and I was uncomfortable for a few days.

That night, a friend (thanks, Roo!) from the ward brought me a delicious dinner. Dinner was the hardest part. I had to find a way to make dinner and then feed Alex and Edison without too much of a break down on my part. Meanwhile, Sam was going out to eat every night. It was annoying.

I bathed Alex while Edison screamed but I couldn't leave Alex in the tub to go get Edison. Due to the warm weather, there were bugs everywhere! I killed a few spiders and ants and it was driving me crazy.

Day Three:

It was a rainy day. A friend (thanks, Kendra!) from the ward offered to have Alex come over to play. I took him there at 9:30am. I was debating taking a nap or trying to get something done. I decided to be productive and went to get our oil changed. On the way there, I was sitting at a red light. It was close to another intersection. When the light in the next intersection changed to green, I started going. Luckily I realized what was happening before I got too far out. There was a three hour wait to get the oil changed so instead I went to a different place to get our air conditioner fixed. Their machine was currently broken. I went and picked up Alex at 11:30am having done nothing and not taken a nap. I cried.

Day Four:

Alex made a huge mess of his breakfast again.

I took the boys to playgroup where I had a breakdown about how hard nursing has been and how I feel like I can't do anything right. Everyone was so supportive. We played outside for two hours that day. A friend (thanks, Becky!) from the ward brought me dinner with a separate dinner that Alex would be more likely to eat. It was incredible.

That night, I went to a baby shower. I took Alex there and put him to bed. Then when the shower was over, I carried him out to the car and went home. So when I got home to a dark apartment, I had to carry in two sleeping kids. Alex woke up but still wanted to be carried. He started cracking up when I put him in his crib. He is such a good kid.

Day Five:

My visiting teacher came over. She had been at playgroup during my breakdown. After we finished visiting, she cleaned out entire kitchen and living room. She even mopped the kitchen floor, which is huge considering how much food Alex throws (thanks, Jody R!). I took Alex over to another friend's apartment in our complex so Alex could play with her girls for a couple hours. I went to pick him up for lunch and she said she had been planning to feed him and that I should go home and she would bring him over in an hour. I don't even want to know what her carpet looked like after Alex finished eating over there (thanks, Erin!). While I was sitting around in my laziness of only having one kid to take care of, another friend brought over amazing banana muffins. I think I ate three right then (thanks, Jody S!).

Sam would send us pictures of his delicious-looking food and other cool things he saw. Alex really liked the "Choo-choo."

We played outside for three hours that afternoon. Sam got home at 6:30pm. I was happy the week alone was over. It was so nice to have someone else to be able to hand Edison to at night to have him burped. I was overwhelmed with love from the women in the ward. I can't believe I am so lucky. I don't think these women realized how much their service meant to me. I hope I will be more willing to serve in the future because of their examples.

Mommy's Adjustment

Before Edison was born, I wondered what the adjustment would be to having two kids. I had heard that it was even harder than the adjustment to one. And I agree with that. There are now three people I have to dress, three people to feed, and two little people to carry around and load into carseats.

The physical adjustment:

My body recovered remarkably well this time (according to me, not my doctors). Within a few days I felt back to normal. I had a hard time going from sitting to walking or walking to sitting but if I sat/stood still, nothing felt strange. My body temperature went back to normal quickly and I was complaining about being cold again after just a few days (I always felt burning hot during the end of the pregnancy). The strangest physical adjustment was that I had to learn to eat again. I had no appetite. I would go until the afternoon when I finally remembered to eat breakfast. That took a drastic swing in the opposite direction though. Edison is like a little alarm clock. Just as I sit down to eat, the timer goes off. That means that any time I can, I stuff myself because I am not sure when the alarm is going to go off. I am having a hard time losing weight because of this.

The mental adjustment:

It was so hard for me to ask for help. I wanted to be a natural at being a mother of two. But it didn't come naturally to me. I couldn't handle both of them and if something went wrong then I would sit around crying. Our apartment was a disaster and I couldn't get myself together enough to clean, shower, and cook in the same week, let alone day. I have some amazing friends who helped without me having to ask, or even after I told them not to help. It ended up being exactly what I needed and was very humbling.
My brain is a little mixed up. I get the boys' names wrong multiple times a day. Sam, Daddy, Alex, Edison; sometimes they all become one. I also have noticed that I cannot remember things I used to know. I sit around in a stupor trying to remember something. It is frustrating.

The parenting adjustment:

I started treating Alex like he was older than he is. I would get angry when he did something wrong. I was so impatient with him; he had one chance to do something right and otherwise I started yelling. If he threw food at a meal, I pulled him out of his high chair and put him to bed. It was really sad. It took a few weeks to relearn how to parent Alex with love. Alex has started helping a lot more. But sometimes he looks at me like he is afraid of me, and that look makes me cry.

The hardest adjustment:
It was hard for me to open my heart and love someone new. Alex was my best buddy. He was my dude, my near-constant companion. It took me a long time to love Edison. I am ashamed to admit it. I would look at him and say things like, "You came to a family who doesn't even want you. I don't even love you." It didn't help that nursing was so killer and I felt like that was all he wanted from me. I remember the day I fell in love with him. I was sitting in the park on April 26th, I looked at him, and realized I would do anything for him. He is so precious to me. Then I became angry that I didn't love him all along. How could I not have loved something so perfect?! We have a great relationship now. I admire every facial expression and every coo or cry.

I feel like I have learned a lot over the last two months. I am not perfect, or even close. But each day is manageable. I can find happiness through the screaming. I laugh it off when Alex wakes up Edison nap after nap. Somehow we all manage to get fed and dressed. The apartment is a little messier but it is still safe and Alex has room to play. Despite what I thought the first few weeks, I can do this. We are adjusting to being a family of four and it is cute. I like it.

Nora's Baptism

When Edison was almost two weeks old, Sam took Alex to Columbus for our niece's baptism. I wished I could have gone but Edison and I weren't very good at nursing yet and he was still waking up during the night. All things that would make it difficult to sleep in a small room with Alex. Although I did miss Sam and Alex, it ended up being a great weekend for Edison and I to bond.

Alex had a great time with his cousins and Sam had a fun time with his sisters and parents. We really have enjoyed living so close to family. We are so proud of Nora and her decision to be baptized. Sam is very glad he was able to go and support her.