Keeping the Kids Busy

This past Wednesday a friend of mine invited me to a place in Folsom called BusyKidz. It was literally down the street from my house and has been open for about a year, and I can't believe I had never stumbled across this place prior to this past week. Not only is this place adorable, but such a great idea. Like one of those "why didn't I think of that?" ideas. It's basically a little town of different rooms for kids to play in. It has a restaurant with karaoke (which did get a bit annoying when some kids would scream into the mic), a grocery store, a bike shop, a house, a street corner with a telephone booth and bench, a classroom, a dress up closet, and a post office. Mallory loved it and had no problem getting herself acquainted with all of the goodies each room had to offer. There's also a space with really pretty wallpaper and comfy chairs for the moms to sit while the kids run around and play. Everybody wins! The only thing they need now is a coffee shop attached to it. The $10 per child is a bit pricy in my opinion, but it does include in-and-out privileges for that entire day. Their monthly memberships are a good deal though - $40 per child for unlimited play; that's only four normal visits so well worth it. Maybe I'll think about it more seriously when the weather changes to cold and rainy and we need a place to go get our energy out. Definitely a great find for an option on things to do around town; we'll be regulars I'm sure.

Cream Cheese Mustaches & A Balding Baby Head

We went over to the Albrecht's house for a play date this morning where we also indulged in some yummy bagels with cream cheese. And what makes eating them even more fun? The fact that you get cream cheese all over your face - well, you do if you're three years old at least. Mallory even had it up her nose; not sure how comfortable that could be.

Baby Nolan has slowly been losing the beautiful hair that he was born with, which is pretty typical I know. However the way that he's losing it makes his 'old man' persona even more validated. So now he not only acts like an oldie but looks like one too. I think we've stumbled across an easy costume for Halloween for this little man.

Road Trip Fail

I attempted my first road trip with both kids on Monday up to my mom's house, but I didn't succeed. As soon as I left Folsom Nolan started crying. And even with my multiple tries of reaching over to the backseat to put his pacifier back in his mouth, I couldn't get him to stop. So I kept driving and hoped that he would eventually stop on his own. But after 30 straight minutes of it I decided I couldn't keep going. Not only for the sanity of Mallory and I having to listen to the screaming, but also for little man too. I can't imagine crying for that long is good for his vocal cords, plus all the extra gas crying can create. It was just not going to happen the way that I had envisioned it. Too early still for Mr. Nolan. Maybe when he actually doesn't mind being in the car it will work better.

So since we were all the way up Highway 65 we called auntie Sasha and told her we were coming over. Mallory was pretty bummed that we weren't going to Mamaw's house anymore so I knew going to Sasha's would be a nice distraction to get her mind off of being disappointed. And of course as soon as we got out of the car and into the house, Nolan fell asleep - little booger. Though I can't blame him because he was super comfortable all set up on a plush Giraffe chair; I'd fall asleep on that thing too.

Showing Love, Sort Of

As I mentioned in my last post, Mallory likes to hold her brother and asks me pretty regularly if she can do so. However, I know that when she asks to hold him she only means that she'll hold him if he's not crying and/or isn't squirming around, and then it also means that she only wants to hold him for less than a minute. I put him in her lap last night after she requested I do so, and within 20 seconds she started complaining to get him off. "He's too wiggly right now!" (He wasn't, he was pretty much passed out) "He's going to cry pretty soon, let's get him off." (Still not true) I finally asked why she didn't want him on her lap anymore and her response was, "because I just want my lap to be alone right now." Silly monster!

Nolan: One Month

I can't believe it's already been one month since our little man was born. It's been so nice having him part of our family. And while the adjustment hasn't been easy the whole time, it has been so much more manageable than our first month with Mallory. I am definitely more calm and confident and patient as a second time mother than I was as a first time mom. I feel like I've been able to really soak up this newborn phase with more appreciation this time around. Though I will say that Nolan makes it easy to love and adore him; he's not an angel 100 percent of the time but really, who wants a kid that's literally a bump on a log - I'd be scared something was wrong with my child if he didn't challenge me a little bit.

I think we may have another serious baby on our hands; he wears a frown quite often and looks at you with such a contemplative expression - almost as if though he's wise beyond his years and will offer you a piece of advice at any moment. And his eyes, they're so big and dark brown. I tell him he's "pretty" because "handsome" just doesn't seem to be enough. He's starting to smile, coo, and babble and it's so cute; I definitely prefer his baby talk over his cries. He's been habitually more fussy in the evenings which I know is very common. Taking him outside so he can stare up into the sky has proven to help calm him down. He enjoys being outside and going places: walks, shopping, to the park. Doesn't appreciate the car yet but he's still young, give him time. I think it's more the car seat he doesn't like anyway.

He's consistent with his feeding times and has no problem reminding you when it's time to eat. Two hours in between day time meals, three and a half (sometimes four!) hours for night time snacks. It's still not enough sleep for my liking but I know it'll only get better as we go. But boy do I miss uninterrupted sleep, so much. Thankfully I have gotten used to his old man grunts and snores at night while he sleeps so I can pretty much sleep through them. He still hasn't quite grasped the concept of the binky and how to keep it in his mouth. When you give it to him, he'll sometimes fight it away even though you can tell that once it's in his mouth he loves it. There have been moments where he's sucked on his thumbs or fingers when he loses the binky or doesn't have it, but I still don't think he'll be a thumb sucker.

Baby brother is getting treated very well by his big sis. She is proud to tell others about him and loves to cuddle with him. When she reads or tells stories to him, he'll just watch her with awe. It's really cute and I know he recognizes her voice. She loves to help push him in the stroller and asks to hold him a lot, even though when I do so she wants him off her lap pretty quickly. He does already annoy his sister though, with his loud crying and when she has to wait to for things until after he's been fed. Overall they're both adjusting to each other nicely and I'm proud of my big monster for embracing the change with optimism.

Outdoor Duo

It's a good thing this little monster likes to be outside...

...because so does this monster...

...and together they are making quite the team as we enjoy these last moments of the summer weather.

Rough Week

This week has been a little bit of a rough one for me. Started out good and progressively became harder with each day. Today I finally shed some tears. Sometimes I can forget that it feels good to cry; to let it out and not just keep it in. I find it's too easy to view crying during the difficult moments a small sign of failure. So we - or at least I - tend to keep the tears held in. But this afternoon while the kids were sleeping was my moment to let it out. And then proceed to vent to Jody about it when he got home from work. It felt good afterwards. I even had moments of laughter as I explained my frustrations. These harder moments of parenthood come in phases and don't last forever; that is a piece of advice that I have received from other parents and have learned from experience with Mallory. But that still doesn't mean we won't endure a test to our emotions. Makes us stronger in the end. If there's something that I've noticed since becoming a mom of two: silence - like true silence - is so much more golden now!

Here are a few pictures I took of baby Nolan to use for his announcement. They were my attempt at newborn-style photos. I wish I had a bigger blanket that was a better color, but I still like the way these turned out.

Testing Things Out

Three weeks postpartum yesterday and I've been feeling pretty good. With the exception of the tape that is starting to fall off my incision, sometimes I forget that I had a c-section just a few short weeks ago. Though every now and then Mallory will accidentally push on my tummy and it quickly reminds me that the area is still sore. On my daily walk with the monsters yesterday I decided to try out running to see how I felt. Result: not bad. The hardest part was pushing the double stroller with both kids in tow; that thing is a workout even without the running part. I took it slow and even stopped a couple of times to walk, especially up the steeper hills. Afterwards we headed for the park so Mallory could test out her new soccer ball that she got the other day. She picked it out so of course it's bright pink. I signed her up for a soccer class that starts next month and she is super excited - even though she probably has no idea what it even means to play soccer. But as we were out on the grass playing around she definitely had her game face on; now she just needs to learn that picking up the ball and throwing it in the goal isn't the proper way to play.

Promontory Community Park

We finally decided to try out the water park in El Dorado Hills today with some friends, and boy do I wish we would have done so sooner. It was so awesome, even I got in on the fun. Mallory loved it and was being braver than I thought she would with some of the water features considering she's not usually one for things that spray water in her face. The only one she stayed away from were the buckets that would pour down, but I don't blame her considering it's quite a bit of water crashing on top of your head. We were all running around having a great time in the sun soaking up the last bit of summer that is left. Though with the temperature over 100 today it doesn't feel like summer is ending anytime soon. Thank goodness for water parks like this to keep you cool while being outside!

Sleeping Beauty

Sharing Sky Zone

We introduced some friends who just moved to Folsom from the Bay area to the awesomeness that is Sky Zone. I dislike that it's such a far drive from our house but it is so worth it. Six bucks for an hour of jumping around like crazy getting a toddler worn out, you just can't beat it. Mallory and Brynn had so much fun and even befriended the guy who worked there, following him around and flirting like it was no big deal. Not even three years old yet and already boy-crazy, geesh. Baby Nolan must not have gotten the memo on how cool this place is because he pretty much slept the entire time we were there. He'll understand one day because I know that we'll continue to frequent Sky Zone.