Reflections

When I first found out I was pregnant with Harrison, people informed me how different it was to have two children. I found myself just nodding and smiling politelywhile thinking the entire time, "what do you think I'm an idiot? I think I can handle one more baby." I mean, really, how different can having two children be than having just one?

Well, it turns out...a lot.

And let me tell you, it is quite the experience when your first child is still toddling around himself, sucking on a sippy cup, babbling away in his foregin language. It's hard to decipher between day and night for awhile in the newborn stage (which isn't much different than with your first baby) but there is a whole other person to think about than just this pink, wrinkly little bundle who constantly wants to eat, poop, sleep and cry. The focus of life suddenly revolves around diapers, bottles, dry cereal, sippy cups, bedtime stories, and telling your older child that "No, he shouldn't poke his baby brother in the eye!" How is it even possible for a person to juggle between a newborns constant demands and the needs of a one and a half year old? Well, let me tell you, very carefully.

As the days go by, it becomes easier and some of the chaoticness eases but there is always something present in which to shake life up a bit.

When Harrison turned 4 months, I dealt with him getting to sleep on his own and comforting himself. It was hard when he started turning over in his sleep and then deciding he couldn't sleep that way and demanding to be turned. At the same time, I was trying to get him onto a nap routine, listening to him cry insistently through an hour of his nap time. There were days where I ended up in tears, wondering how much longer I could persevere through the crying and the whining of my children. How much longer could I be at home, cleaning, changing diapers, nursing my baby and being cut off from the outside world completely? For awhile it seemed like it would never end and I would never be able to get through it.

But I did.

And now the early days seem just like a bad blur, a very faint bad dream.

Now, am I saying that I didn't love both my children when Harrison was first born? Absolutely not. But I am saying that it was damn hard and I am glad to be over with that phase.

Now that my two boys are 14 months and just about 3, our world has seemed to turn into a completely different place. I am enjoying their newfound independence and I have discovered that Harrison has a vitality, a love for life that is very had to resist. His smile brightens up my day and his laughter makes me laugh right with him. And Will has blossomed into such a loving and caring older brother (of course, he does his fair share of teasing Harrison-but what older brother could withstand such temptation?) and I am so very glad that they are so close in age so that they can share in each others company.

Harrison started toddling around at about 11 months, tentatively taking his first steps between one piece of furniture to the next. And at the end of 12 months, he was walking about 60 per. of the time and crawling the rest. At 5 days shy of 14 months, he is making his first attempts as running as he tries to keep up with his older brother.

So, in short, if I could do it all over again, knowing how rough it can be to have two children so very close in age, would I? YES. I would never change a thing about my life. It isn't perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it is my life and it is full of love, laughter, and 3 of the best guys are girl could ever ask for. :D

April 2010

It's April and we have been enjoying some people, albeit windy, weather. I completely forgot what warm weather felt like and when it hit 77 degrees one day I thought I was going to melt. Josh and I looked at each other and said, "How did we ever survive those Fresno summers?" It is strange how a person's body becomes accustomed to one thing, whether it be warm or cold. But it has cooled down just a little to a perfect even 70 degrees and it is quite enjoyable to have the windows open and feel a slightly cool breeze wafting through the house.

I am excited to say that I am enrolled for a summer class starting May. Finally returning to school! I am enrolled at Dakota State University in their Health Information Technology program. It is basically dealing with coding for health insurances, you deal with doctors and patients medical records to make sure everything is correct. The wonderful thing about this program is that it is offered online! I am registered for 12 credits starting in Fall so I am pretty pumped about it. Hoping to complete an Associates, get a job with it and then work my way towards a bachelor's. The bachelors is also offered online, so that is nice. Josh is still hoping for Nursing, didn't get accepted for this upcoming semester but he has talked to a lot of pre-nursing students and no one he has heard of has been accepted their first time applying. They like to students to have at least all of the science pre reqs out of the way. It is a very competitive program and their were about 190 students applying for 50 slots for Fall, so hopefully he can get in. He has been trying to get in at the hospital to work, which would help his chances, but so far he hasn't had any luck. The ecomony is still kind of in a rut, so that hasn't been helping. Hopefully things will start to turn around in a year or two.

I enjoyed my mom's visit but she seemed to leave way too soon. Looking forward to her coming back in July when she can stay longer.

One month and Harrison will be ONE. I can't believe it has already almost been one year since he was born. So much has changed since then. Will is 2 and a half and he is definitely exhibiting some signs of the terrible twos, but he is usually pretty good. Harrison has taken some unassisted steps and has started mimicking sounds. Will has been talking in sentences and is becoming quite easy to understand. I can't believe how fast they seem to grow, each and every day.

Life with two small kids :)

Wow. I can't believe it is March already! The snow has finally melted (there had been 24 inches on the ground since December...in total we got around 56 inches this year!) and the air has definiteley warmed up. I am enjoying taking the kids out with just hoodies. It is such a task having to put them in the winter coats and hats and gloves that it almost makes a person stop and think before deciding to go outside. The kids become so stiff in their coats that they can't move and it really irritated Harrison. Harrison still hates the car with a passion and cries in his car seat, I think it is because he hasn't had enough car time. He doesn't get out very much.

We bought a "new" car with a tax return. Technically it's not new but it is new to us. I love it! I have already taken the kids out by myself a couple of times, but that is really an undertaking so I pick and choose the best times. I am just enjoying the car b/c I couldn't even drive the Malibu, the power seats broke so my feet couldn't reach the peddle and the power steering isn't working right, so it is nearly impossible for me to steer. Poor Malibu. Now when Josh is home I can run some errands by my house and just have a little me time. It is essential for the health for a stay-at-home mom.

It has been really lonely around here lately. Josh has been very busy with school (dang anatomy!) and work (he works 40 hours in 4 days Friday-Monday...weekends kinda stink.) I don't really see Josh's family much, they are busy with their own things and my grandparents have been busy the last few months. So, it has just been me and the kids and it was getting pretty depressing with all the snow and no sunshine. But, mom is coming in 8 days so I am super excited to have some company for a week!!

Will has been talking more and more, he repeats pretty much everything I say. He has a word for everything and talks in sentences. Harrison is cruising the furniture like a pro and stands by himself for small amounts of time. He is eating real food and enjoying it very much. He is such a mamma's boy, he follows me around the house like a puppy. He pulls himself up by my pants and then demands that I pick him up a lot. lol. He is very good at going off and playing by himself though and Will and Harry like to chase each other around the house. It is fascinating to watch the two of them play. It is nice that they are so close in age so they can enjoy each other's company (at least most of the time.) They talk to each other in the mornings before I go in to take them out of their cribs and sometimes they can be heard giggling with each other, like they shared some secret joke. Also love having two boys because they can share their clothes, Harrison has already worn some of Will's cast offs. When I buy something for Will I think, "Hey, Harry could probably wear this when Will is done with it," and it helps to know that I can get my money's worth out of it.

Can't hardly believe Harry is 10 months and Will is 29 months, just about two and a half! Each day get easier as they grow. I'm just trying to let myself enjoy them while they are still little, although I admit it can be rough sometimes because I hardly ever get a break.

Being a stay-at-home mom = busy

I just realized that I haven't posted anything on here in a really long time. I wouldn't be surprised if no one even checked here anymore lol.

I decided to post something since I can't sleep because of the pressure my sinuses have been placing on my ears anyway. I went to the Dr. yesterday because I was very dizzy and couldn't catch my balance, I literally fell off the couch trying to get up and ran into a couple of walls/doors. It was so bad that the spinning made my stomach queasy and the only way to alleviate the symptoms was to lie down, which then made my ears hurt. But didn't get much answers from the Dr. really, told me to take sinus meds, which I was, and gave me prescription for dizziness. Haven't gotten it filled yet cuz the dizziness got better and he said it would make me groggy and I didn't want to be groggy while around the kids.

Josh is taking Chemistry and Anatomy/Physiology I this semester to fullfill his nursing requirements. Lets just say Anatomy is super tough, lol...I already knew it was hard but I was looking over the stuff with him and I was like...Huh? Is this seriously in English? It doesn't really help that sciences aren't my strong areas. But Josh's days are full of school and work which leaves me at home with the kids by myself, a lot. I don't get out much either, especially with this weather. There have been weeks where I haven't seen the sun.

New updates on kids:
Harry is cruising around the furniture. Also doesn't like Oscar from Seasame Street, he makes him cry lol. Harry has 8 teeth and is eating solid foods like a champ. He loves his 3rd food and table scraps. He also loves his puffs. He enjoys following around Will but also doing his own thing. Mommy is still his favorite person I am happy to say, lol.
Will is talking a lot. He is saying things like "You okay?" when someone hurts themselves and "here you go baby," when he gives harrison a toy. Also says "puppy cute" and "mommy's...(fill in blank) or daddy's (fill in blank) or my ....or harwee's..." Refers to things are "mine" and talks about the potty and poop and pee but doesn't get the concept yet. He loves puppies, Elmo, Pooh, Trucks,Bob the Builder and most all, his daddy. He is a good listener and takes instructions well. he will throw away things for me, get me diaper, wipes and will take empty bottles to the kitchen for me if I ask. He can take off his clothes but not put them on, although he tried with a shirt but it didn't turn out so well.

Anyway, I'm going to go relax for awhile before going to bed. It has been a long day. Although, the days used to be longer when Harry was littler. Thank God they don't get any younger!

An update...finally :D

So I have finally sat down to post some updates.

Harrison is almost 8 months already! Woohoo. Love it. The kids are sleeping in the same room, taking naps at the same time. they love being roommates. You can hear them in the mornings talking to each other and giggling.

Will can jump up with both feet and is talking in sentences. We tried potty training and he wasn't quite ready yet so we will try in a few months. He loves elmo, winnie the pooh, and mickey. He also likes to listen to taylor swift and dance. Daddy is still is favorite person of all time and when daddy is work he talks about how he took the car and went to work. One of his favorite foods is pretzels.

Harrison is crawling on hands and knees and can go from crawling to sitting up by himself. He can pull himself up on the furniture and even tried to take a few steps between furniture today (but he couldn't quite get his feet to move the way he wanted.) He likes to chase balls around the house and play with the trucks that he can wrangle from will. he also loves elmo but is scared of cookie monster. Harrison has started eating puffs and can't get enough of them. he takes a large handful and shoves them in his mouth. when we pick him up from the highchair, they are stuck to his butt, shirt, and the seat. After he gets down, he leaves a trail of puffs behind him.

Josh is applying to nursing school. he is going to the university center in sioux falls, which consists of all of the state universities. He is technically attending the university of south dakota. He will be taking chemistry and anatomy/phys this upcoming semester. He is also applying to be a sub and he would like to do that mon wed fri and work at the flying J on saturdays.

And I am just happy to finally be getting sleep and a little time to myself! Life isn't so bad right now. The kids are good and hopefully Josh will be accepted to nursing school soon.

Well, that's what I have for updates now.