Love It, Love It, Love It

I LOVE being on maternity leave, I LOVE being a mom, I LOVE the warmer weather we have been having lately, I LOVE my two boys, I LOVE my hubby, and I LOVE all of the activities we have been doing lately! Love it, love it, love it!

Being on maternity leave has been WONDERFUL!!!! I have been taking Aiden (and Gavin) to the library for the Wee Wigglers class (story time, songs, and craft). He really likes it and afterwards we pick out new books to take home to read. We also went to Play 'N Learn which is sponsored by the ISD. It is for kids ages 2-5 and they have story time, songs, lots of play activities, and all kinds of crafts. The kids get to choose which activities they want to do - they can stay at the same one the entire time or move to different ones. They also give each child a book to keep. We will be going to another one in May.

Bryan's friend, Jim, has a farm with goats, horses, cows, donkeys, and sheep. Aiden had fun "playing" with all of the animals. The problem is that Aiden isn't afraid of animals and thinks he can play with them like he plays with Sparky. He got upset and didn't understand when Bryan had to hold him to pet the horses so that he didn't get stepped on or kicked. He just wants to get down and run around all of them - typical Aiden :)

The warm days we have been having are AWESOME!!!! I'm so glad that I don't have to work so that I can enjoy the entire day with my boys! I took Aiden and Gavin to the park to play the other day (well, okay, so Aiden played while Gavin hung out in the stroller). Aiden has been asking to go to the park since about February so he was thrilled when it was finally warm enough to go!

Warmer weather also means being able to play on the deck and with sidewalk chalk...

You've probably heard of the term "drama queen". Well, let me introduce you to a drama king...

Aiden's potty training is still hit-and-miss. He has been doing really great going poop on the toilet - although, as you can tell by the picture, he stinks up the entire room and needs a gas mask to do his "job".

Peeing on the toilet is another story. Most of the time he could care less if he pees in his pull-ups. We recently bought him some underware. Since the weather has been warmer I put them on him while he is outside. That way if he has an accident I don't have to worry about scrubbing it out of the carpet, couch, etc.

Gavin has recently started to smile - although it is hard to catch on camera. That gummy smile just melts my heart. Here are the best shots I have gotten so far...

This isn't much of a smile but it is all I have so far on video. Smiling is hard work - it made Gavin yawn :)

I ordered a "baby snuggler" for our Burley so Gavin can ride too! It is supposed to be for babies that are between 3 and 12 months of age but I adjusted it and put a head support in it to accomodate Gavin. It works really well and he didn't mind it a bit. He was in it for about 2 hours the other day and slept almost the entire time.

1 Month!

I cannot believe that Gavin is one month old today. Where has the time gone? My little baby is growing up so fast. It has been a wonderful month and has been such a blessing to have two wonderful boys.

We were a bit worried about how Aiden would react/interact with the new baby. Usually Aiden is a very high strung, rough, tough little boy who is constantly on the go. However, he is SO gentle, loving, and nurturing with Gavin and extremely protective. It's neat to see this other side of him come out. I hope this brotherly love continues for the rest of their lives. Here's a video clip of him trying to calm Gavin...

We borrowed a baby swing from my cousin and am so glad we did because Gavin LOVES it! There have actually been a couple of nights where he has been rather fussy and won't go back to sleep after I've nursed him so I put him in the swing and let him sleep there - what a lifesaver!

Baby Manual

If Gavin could write a Baby Manual for other babies I think I know what he would write...

1) If you know you are going to take a bath wait to go poop until you are in the tub. You will love seeing your parents frantically trying to scoop it out!

2) After getting your diaper changed kick your legs and move them about as much as possible so that your parents have to work even harder at getting your outfit back on.

3) Sleep all day and party all night!

4) Go 3-4 hours between feedings during the day but only 2-3 hours at night.

5) Save your nastiest, worst, total diaper blowouts for when you are away from home. It's a great test to see if your parents have remembered to repack the diaper bag with multiple wipes, diapers, extra clothes, etc. It's also fun to see your parents try to clean you up as quickly as possible in a public restroom!

6) Wait until your mommy sits down to eat her breakfast, lunch, and dinner and then start wailing your hungry cry so that she has to feed you first and let her food go cold.

7) Don't spit up when your parents have a burp cloth within reach - only do it when there is nothing around. Also, spit up on your parents clothes when you are out and about - your parents have packed extra clothes for you so you will be fine - they don't pack extra clothes for themselves so you will enjoy watching them try to scrub your puke out of their clothes!

8) Always nurse when you know your older sibling wants to eat/ go to the bathroom/ needs his nose wiped/ etc. It's a great test to see just how good your mommy is at balancing you with one arm still nursing and attending to your older sibling with the other hand at the same time. You will find it quite amusing!

9) Since you mommy is on maternity leave anyway put her to work! See how many outfits you can go through in one day so that she is constantly doing the laundry. Then, as she is trying to work on it, scream your head off.

10) After you mommy has nursed you, changed your diaper, swaddled you back up, and laid back down in bed herself THEN fill your diaper back up again. You'll get some extra time with her that way!

11) Don't take a nap when your older sibling takes one. You need to keep your mommy going - don't give her a break.

12) If you are out in public, wait to fill your diaper until there are a lot of people around AND it is really quiet. That way your explosion and passing of gas will be heard by everyone around and you will get a chance to see your parents faces go red (okay, so your dad will probably be laughing and proud of you but your mom's face will be red!)

I bet he would get the #1 spot on the best-sellers list! Gavin's "rules" crack me up and keep me on my toes! Soon, he will be learning my "rules" but until then I will enjoy the test of my patience and flexibility. Although having a newborn along with a 2 year can be a lot of work I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE BEING A MOM!!!! It is the best "job" in the world!!!!

I'll leave you with some cute pics of our two cutie-pies!

Aiden's Easter Egg hunt...

Ants in My Pants

Turn up your volume and enjoy our two wiggle worms!

Oooohhhh how I LOVE the smell of my boys after they have been lathered in baby lotion after their baths. I will continue using baby lotion on them as long as I can (well, at least until they start going to school - they would probably be teased then). Here's some after bath pics...

Poor Gavin, I love messing with his hair after it has been washed. It's really curly when it is wet...

3 Weeks

Gavin is 3 weeks old today - wow how time has flown by! He had his weight check today and did great! He is supposed to be gaining an ounce a day and did exactly that - gained 7 ounces in 7 days! Wooo hooo! Now he doesn't need to go back until his 2 month check-up!

Gavin's umbilical cord stump finally fell off so we were able to give him a "real" bath (as opposed to a sponge bath) the other day! He loved it - never even cried!

As you can tell, he does really well at holding his head up by himself for only being 2 1/2 weeks old at the time! He has a really strong neck!

When Bryan and I go to town together it's often easier for one of us to just quick go in a store by ourselves while the other person stays in the car with Aiden (and now Gavin). We will "warn" Aiden by saying "Mommy/Daddy is going to quickly run into the store and will be right back". Usually if we let Aiden know this ahead of time he won't throw a fit about not being able to go into the store too. The other day, as we were coming back home we were about to go by Uncle Jeff's house. Aiden asked if we could go see Uncle Jeff. I told him that we didn't have time because Gavin would need to be fed again. Aiden's respose was "I'll just quick run in Uncle Jeff's house all by myself. I'll be right back." Funny!

Big Brother / Little Brother

Yesterday Aiden, Gavin, Grandma Linda, and I ventured out to run some errands (thanks Grandma for all of the help). It was SO different than any of the outings we ever took Aiden on when he was an infant. Gavin slept the entire time and never made a peep. Aiden was such a colicky (sp?) baby that we were lucky if we made it through just one store without him screaming. I'm still not used to such a laid back baby. Bryan and I keep thinking there must be something wrong with him since he is so quiet and hardly cries - we are SO not used to that!

Bryan and I got brand new bicycles for each other for Christmas. Ever since then I've been wanting to upgrade the bike trailer we have to a Burley bike trailer. However, I did NOT want to spend over $500 to buy a brand new one. Bryan found one on Craig's List for less than 1/2 the price of a brand new one so we went up to Grand Haven last night to check it out. It was in terrific shape and had the stroller conversion AND bike attachment with it! We bought it!!!! I am so excited!! Now I just need to get the baby snuggler for Gavin and heal up a bit more and we can go on family bike rides! I can't wait!

Before Gavin was born I found "Big Brother" and "Little Brother" shirts on sale (wooo hooo!) at the Carter's Outlet store. Today I dressed my boys up and took some pics. Aiden isn't smiling the best in the first pic but I happened to get Gavin with a smile on his face! I know I'm biased but I think I have the most handsomest boys in the world!