Big Smiles!

We were so excited this past week to see Cody's true smile for the first time! Nothing makes those sleepless nights and fussy times more worth it than seeing your little one smile back at you. My heart has melted over and over again this week, and I'm addicted to getting him to smile as much as possible. Over the last couple weeks I've been exasperated (to tears) with nursing Cody, and so I'm very grateful for the reward of his smile.

Last night we hosted the Horban clan for our annual peach pie indulgence. My mom brought over two large pies, and we polished one off entirely, and ate half of the second. Monte being the peach pie lover accounted for at least one third of the eaten pie! It was so great to finally be able to host our entire family in our home and Nate was ecstatic (an understatement) to have Avri, Danae and Marea over to play in his playroom.

The Big 3-0!

Monte had his 30th birthday this past Sunday, and we had several occasions to celebrate this major event! We first got together with the Baerg family while Sylvia, Andy and the girls were out visiting. We enjoyed a waffle feast and then sat around in a sugar coma while the kids bounced off the walls! Then we had a dinner of nachos and other appetizers at the Horban house, with make-your-own sundaes for dessert (this is the perk of your birthday - my mom makes whatever the birthday person requests for the meal). And then on Saturday we had a few friends over for a bbq. Of course I either forgot to bring my camera to these dinners, or I had it with me but forgot to take pictures, so here are the very few I did manage to take... Nate sampling the chocolate whip cream off the beaters for the cake, and Jarris holding Cody - somehow Monte was not included in his own birthday pictures!

Thoroughly Exhausted!

The first couple weeks home with Cody were fairly easy. Monte stayed home from work for over a week, and Cody mainly slept and ate... And did well with both of those activities. But I was warned by a friend that usually by the third week the euphoria of having a newborn baby wears off. I’m amazed at how much I’ve forgotten from when Nate was this little; I wish I had documented more of the details of what I went through with Nate, through each phase since they change so much so fast. What my friend had said was true... by middle of week three, we were all exhausted and were very aware of just how little sleep we were getting, how little time we all had for each other, and how much we wanted a little time and space to ourselves. Cody went from sleeping 4 or 5 hours straight at night, to regularly feeding every 2 to 3 hours no matter what the hour. He’s also established a fussy time, around 8pm – just when Nate’s gone to sleep and I’m looking forward to having a little down time for myself!

What I struggle with most in learning how to be a mom of two kids is how to balance my time for both boys. I don’t have much one-on-one time with Nate anymore, and what time I do have for him is often spent disciplining him. So today I made a point of putting Cody to sleep in his room instead of in the bouncy chair that is moved to whatever room we’re in at the time, and take 15 minutes to read books with Nathan, giving my undivided attention. I was amazed at how just a little “mommy time” brought out the affectionate, sweet little boy I had known before Cody was born. We had been very diligent to ensure Nate got one-on-one attention with having a baby around, but it was usually with Monte. While that’s still so important, I realize Nate misses having alone time with me as well and I missed it too. It didn’t take much, but I could tell it meant the world to Nate and so I’m going to be more deliberate in taking time out to spend just with Nathan.