Halloween

...and suddenly two months have passed!

Here are some photos from our Halloween celebration yesterday!  When/if life slows down a bit, I fully intend to write about our new home in Mason and the insanity of trying to pack and unpack with two very young children.  For now, we are taking it day by day and making sure to take time to enjoy special occasions like visits to the pumpkin patch and Halloween with the cousins!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Part II: Selling a House

Selling a house is a truly personal thing, as it turns out. 

We were ready to move, don't get me wrong.  We were actively searching for houses that were two-stories and had more space than our current home offered.  Friends of ours kept moving out of the neighborhood, and that made us sad and antsy.  Our home looked like Buy Buy Baby had exploded all over it.  We had simply outgrown our adorable ranch.

Still...it's been an emotional struggle to put the house on the market this week.  We've taken down our personal photos, dismantled two nurseries (as much as possible), hidden away the kids' toys, and Magic Erased our way out of having to repaint anything.  Our home looks beautiful and clean -- ready to be shown and sold.

The house was put on the market on Monday afternoon, and by Tuesday afternoon we had our first showing.  Stephen, Gavin, Baylor, and I hunkered down at BW-3's for dinner, wondering what the people who were looking through our home thought of the Very Hungry Caterpillar-themed bathroom we put together when I was seven months pregnant with Gavin.  (It's Gavin's favorite place to be.)  We hoped they liked the colors we chose for the master bedroom, and that they didn't mind Baylor's baby swing pushed to the side of the living room.  (We should really just move it entirely -- she never sits there.)  I worried, as potential buyers walked through our home, that we were being judged.  Not that our home was being judged -- but that we as people were being judged.  It was unnerving.  The feedback from our first showing indicated that the house showed beautifully and impressed the buyers (who ultimately wanted a home closer to Lebanon, as it turns out) -- so tonight, at our second showing, I'll rest a little easier knowing that we've done everything we can to make our home "marketable" and "fresh" for the people who are taking the time to consider making our first home their next home.  I'm aware that our home won't be perfect for everyone, and I can't expect there to be fifteen people banging down the door with offers -- but I know I will struggle to not be offended by the people who walk through our house and then choose to pass on it.  Isn't our house good enough for them?  Aren't WE good enough for them?!  (I know...it's crazy.  Maybe I'm still dealing with some postpartum hormonal shifts?  Sigh.) 

So here's hoping that this part of the process goes quickly.  Here's hoping we find the perfect new owners for the little house we brought our children home to and created so many memories in.  Here's hoping that someone loves it the way we've loved it.

Part I: Buying a House

As I mentioned in my last post, Stephen and I recently bought our dream home.  It is a beautiful two-story brick home in Mason, located in a quiet, sidewalked neighborhood right behind our favorite park.  There are paths leading all the way into the heart of Deerfield, meaning that when our children are older, they will be able to ride their bikes safely to a variety of shops and restaurants, as well as to the movie theatre and gym/pool.  Until then, we have a nice, flat backyard in which to run around.  The nearby park offers two large playsets, one specifically for toddlers, a big open field, a walking path, a picnic shelter, a basketball court, and a duck pond.  There is so much to do outside, but when it rains or is too cold, we are thrilled that our new home is spacious enough to create playrooms throughout the house while still having space to entertain visitors who don't want to sit on the floor and/or dig through a pile of discarded blocks and balls to find their things.  We have a finished basement and the previous owners are leaving behind a gorgeous pool table, so Stephen officially gets his "man cave" and will undoubtedly love hosting football get-togethers throughout the season.  As for me -- I love the formal living and dining room.  I love that I'll have an area to put things that are special -- like my mom's dreidel collection, which I've gratefully inherited -- without having to worry about little toddler hands breaking them.  I also love the huge great room...and the master bathroom...and the spacious kitchen...  Heck, I really love the whole place.  I can't wait to get our hands on it and make it our own.

We close on the house at the end of September and will spend a few weeks getting a painter, handyman, electrician, landscaper, and carpet cleaner in before moving in ourselves.  As of now, October 9 is the day we will officially change our address and become true Mason residents.  We feel very blessed by this next phase in our lives and are so looking forward to creating memories in our "forever home" as a family of four.  What an exciting summer it has been!

Mason, here we come!

Our Little Princess is TWO MONTHS OLD

I've been terrible about blogging lately.  Granted, I've had some pretty good excuses:

- I have two kids under two.
- A summer cold has swept through our house, and then swept through our house again.
- I started back at work this week.
- Oh...and we bought the home of our dreams.  :)  (This point deserves some elaboration, and I will definitely do that once I've managed to check some tasks off of my ever-increasing to-do list.  For now, let me just say how blessed we feel to have found such a beautiful place to raise our family.  We can't wait to plant some roots and move forward with this next phase of our lives.)

This post is about our gorgeous girl, though.  She's two months old today, which is altogether unbelievable to me.  We've had a big month in terms of her development!  More often than not, she only wakes up once a night, usually after 6 or 7 hours, and then goes back down for another 2 or 3.  She's a bit of an early riser, starting to stir around 6:30 am, so that's something we'll have to work on -- but all in all, she's a much better sleeper at two months old than Gavin was at ten months old.  (And we finally got her sleeping in her own room!)  She's still wearing 0-3 month clothes, but she seems to be filling out a bit and looking more like a "baby" than a "newborn".  She smiles all the time, giggles in her sleep, and loves to be swaddled and held tightly.  Everyone loves her so much, including her big brother.  As for me -- well, I'm borderline obsessed.  Here are some photos I took to commemorate this exciting month:

And some of the budding friendship between brother and sister:

Gavin is a fantastic big brother and is always wanting to help me with Baylor's day-to-day care.  He loves bringing me her diaper caddy and gets upset when she doesn't want to play on her playmat or sit in her swing.  I can't wait to see their relationship bloom as his language skills continue to grow and she gets more animated and mobile!  Having two kids is definitely A LOT more work, but seeing them together makes the extra struggle absolutely worthwhile.

Happy two month birthday, beautiful girl!

The Importance of Naps

Today has been...difficult.

Taking care of two kids under the age of two -- one of them a newborn -- is no easy feat.  I was never naive enough to think it would be, but still.  The only thing more difficult?  Taking care of two kids under the age of two who are sick.

Gavin came down with a summer cold about a week ago.  We thought it was teething (PS he's also teething...awesome) so we treated him with Ibuprofen before bed and called it a day.  His crankiness turned into a runny nose...his runny nose turned into a chest cough...and his chest cough progressively got worse until finally we took him to the pediatrician.  As with most illnesses Gavin has managed to catch these past twenty months, the cure for this is simply to "wait it out."  I hate that.

Meanwhile, Baylor started getting cranky and stuffy a few days after Gavin did...just in time for her one-month wellness check with the pediatrician.  Nothing to do but continue to "wait it out."  The doctor still felt it appropriate to give her the Hep B shot, so the poor girl had to deal with the discomfort from that as well.  (Somewhere in there, I also caught whatever the kids had.  Perfect.)

So today...well, it started off like normal.  I got the kids up (or rather, they got ME up)...fed them...changed and dressed them...let Gavin destroy the house a little.  Then it was errand time (aka Starbucks time), so I loaded them both in the car and prayed that yet another round of "Mickey Mouse's Sing-Along" would keep Gavin happy enough to knock out a few errands (aka get coffee, lots and lots of coffee) before returning home for lunch.  I made a big dinner last night, so I knew that once we got home, I had everything all set for the afternoon.

Wrong.

Stephen decided to take all of the leftovers from dinner to have for his lunch today.  We're talking over a pound of pork, sauerkraut, at least three servings of mashed potatoes -- I mean, a ridiculous amount of food for one person.  It was meant to be his lunch, my lunch, AND Gavin's lunch!  Heck, I had probably made enough food to cover lunches for tomorrow as well!  He had just assumed I had portioned everything out (like I normally do, in all fairness), and I had just assumed he would know that five pounds of food was intended for more than one person...and we ALL know what happens when you assume.  In short, I was out of luck with nothing to feed Gavin nor myself.  I ended up giving Gavin some questionable strawberries and Chef Boyardee ravioli (no joke)...and I shoved yet another protein bar in my face between trying to shush Baylor and picking up Gavin's discarded ravioli from the floor.

I somehow managed to get Baylor asleep in my arms, and by the time I also got Gavin's non-lunch cleaned up, it was his nap time.  AHHHHH NAP TIME!  Time to rest!  And by "rest" I mean wash the bottles, attempt some laundry, organize things for the evening, and generally clean the house.  (Sometimes I'll have a "What Not to Wear" marathon playing in the background, so I guess that counts as some relaxation.)

One problem -- Gavin chose TODAY of all days to boycott his nap.  He screamed from the moment I put him down, jumping up and down and tossing things from his crib.  I wasn't about to cave -- I watched the monitor to keep an eye on him, but I needed the time to get things done around the house!  I figured he'd calm himself the way he always does.  Nope...not today.  Today he had an explosive diaper "incident" the moment I put him down for nap.  (Poor sick baby.)  So, that was fun to clean up.  I put him back down.  He screamed and screamed some more.  He had finally started to calm down when I heard him say "Mo!  Mo!  MO!!!"  Mo means "more" and it's is his new favorite word.  I'm very proud of him for learning it, so I reward him by giving him what he asks for.  (In this case, it was food...since obviously his lunch had been terrible.)  I stuck some puffs in a container and put it in the crib with him.  NO WAY was I getting him out of that room without a nap!  So he ate his puffs in peace, and I thought I was in the clear...but NOPE.  I took a peek at the screen again only to find my son tugging at the cord of the video monitor.  Awesome.  So I obviously had to go in there AGAIN, scoot his crib out of the monitor's reach, and listen to him scream and scream for approximately fifteen minutes.

It is now 1:50.  I put him down at 12:45.  He is finally...blissfully...ASLEEP.

I have both children snoozing away.  (I've been writing this entry in hopes that typing would somehow prevent me from biting my nails off, pulling my hair out, or suffering an all-out panic attack throughout Gavin's hysterics.  My nails took a beating, but at least my sanity is still relatively intact.)  This silence will be short-lived (since Baylor is now at the tail-end of her nap), so I'm going to use it to my full advantage...by washing bottles, attempting laundry, and half-heartedly watching a DVR'd episode of "What Not to Wear."

I've said it before and I'll say it again --

IT'S A GOOD THING THESE BABIES ARE SO DARN CUTE!

(AND IT'S A GOOD THING STARBUCKS HAS A DRIVE-THRU...)

Baylor Kate's First Book

Here's a peek at Baylor's first Shutterfly book!  I love creating these books for my kids and hope they will enjoy them as much as I do when they get older.

Click here to view this photo book larger

You'll love Shutterflys award-winning photo books. Try it today.

Little Miss is ONE MONTH OLD

Baylor Kate turned one month old on August 5th!  I can't believe she's already been with us for a month -- it seems like so much longer and so much shorter both at the same time -- but we truly can't imagine our lives without her.  I've started about ten blog entries since her birth, and all have gone unfinished.  I guess that's what happens when you have two kids under two, huh?  Our babies have also been sick this week with summer colds, so we've been busily trying to nurse them back to health, but both have been checked out by the pediatrician and should be on the mend soon.  In the meantime, here are some of the portraits I took to commemorate Baylor's first month.  I had forgotten how difficult it is to take photos of babies who can't sit up!

Baylor's stats at one month:

10 pounds 0 ounces (75th percentile) 

22" long (95th percentile)

Sleeping 3-4 hour stretches most nights

0-3 month clothes

Baylor Kate's arrival

Our perfect Little Miss arrived on July 5 at 4:04 pm, measuring a healthy 8 lb 8 oz and 20.25" long.  Though I was induced with her (as I was with Gavin), my labor and delivery experience was WORLDS different -- as opposed to pushing for three hours and ultimately requiring a forceps delivery, Baylor was a one-push wonder.  As a result, my physical recovery has been much easier and I've been able to spend a considerable amount of time bonding with our daughter, helping our son cope with the enormous changes in our household, and figuring out how to do this whole two-kids-under-two thing.

I'll tell you, it's a struggle.  There are definite perks to having a summer baby versus a winter baby, but it's been HOT and RAINY out lately, so we haven't had much of a chance to take Gavin outside to play.  As a result, he's been a bit stir crazy.  (Haven't we all?)  On the days we manage to get outside, things tend to go MUCH more smoothly in the Dowd household.  Taking Gavin to BabyBees has certainly helped -- and because it's not flu season yet, we've felt comfortable taking Baylor with us to Kids First, restaurants, etc...  We feel good about our decision to have a July baby.  :)  Today, it's in the mid-70's and sunny, so we put together our double stroller and plan to take both babies to the park after naps.  

Gavin is pretty obsessed with his little sister, which is both a blessing and a curse.  He doesn't fully understand what it is to be gentle, though he definitely tries, so it's a challenge to make sure he is never in contact with her without Stephen or I standing guard.  He is especially fascinated with Baylor's eyes and ears.  Still, it warms my heart when he reaches for her bottle to help feed her or actually tries to put one of her purple binkies in HER mouth versus HIS.  He's such a good boy...I'm looking forward to the fall, when we've all settled into our roles a bit more and I can really give him the attention he needs again.  Plus, pumpkin spice lattes will give me the caffeine jolt I need to get through this newborn phase... 

Baylor is actually sleeping alright, all things considered.  She's going three hours between feedings -- the challenge lies in that sometimes she doesn't go down easily after a diaper change and bottle.  If she's up at 1:00 am for a bottle, is finished at 1:30, and doesn't go back down until nearly 3:00 (which has definitely happened before)...there's only an hour before she's up and hungry again.  Having learned our lesson from Gavin's newborn shenanigans, Stephen and I take turns sleeping on a mattress on the floor of Baylor's nursery while the other tends to Baylor in our room.  That way, we're promised at least 4-5 hours of consecutive sleep, which is enough to function (though not well).  It's not a long-term solution of course -- we plan to move her to her own room in a week or two -- but for now, it's keeping us FAR more pleasant and productive than we were with Gavin.  (My parents have been super helpful as well, coming over in the evenings so that I can take a shower while Stephen puts Gavin down for bed, or taking Gavin in the afternoons so Stephen and I can take naps or get work done while Baylor sleeps.  Thank goodness for them!)

Anyway, we're surviving.  Baylor is gorgeous, and everyone swears she looks just like Gavin.  Her temperament is far more mellow than Gavin's ever was, but that's probably typical of a second baby.  Stephen and I feel very blessed to have safely brought two beautiful children into the world, and it's been fun to show Baylor off and introduce her to so many friends and family members in these past few weeks.  I could sit here and write all day about the joys, frustrations, and lessons learned since Little Miss joined our family -- but there are bottles to be cleaned, laundry to be put away, toys to be organized........

The Wall.

Okay, I've finally reached it.

I swore it wouldn't happen this time...but I've officially reached the point in my pregnancy where I am OVER IT.

I've hit the wall.

I am 38 weeks pregnant.  I am terribly uncomfortable and tired of waddling.  I wonder if my wedding rings will ever fit again.  Heck, I wonder if my SHOES will ever fit again.  (Don't even get me started on my pre-pregnancy clothes...)  My poor toddler wants to go outside to play, but all I want to do is prop my feet up (not that they even look like feet anymore) and pray that another episode of "Henry Hugglemonster" will somehow make up for the fact that I simply do not have the energy to pick up 48 different colors of sidewalk chalk from around my front yard (again).  I'm still working four days a week, though I move slowly and forget EVERYTHING.  (I never had pregnancy brain with Gavin -- but this little chickadee has sucked the intelligence right out of me.)  In short, I'm a mess.

It doesn't help that we put off a lot of baby prep until the last minute, and with an active little boy, two working parents, and Stephen taking a handful of difficult classes to boot -- last minute is a virtually impossible thing to pull off.  Take, for instance, scheduling a carpet cleaner.  Our carpets were disgusting -- it's incredible what nineteen months worth of milk stains can do.  So we decided that before Baylor made her arrival, we had to get these carpets in order.  Easy enough, right?  WRONG.  Our house is 95% carpeted, so we had to find a time where one of us could take Gavin out of the house not only while the carpets were being cleaned, but for a few hours afterwards (to let them dry enough to avoid instant re-staining).  To complicate things further, carpet cleaners give a THREE HOUR arrival window.  Three hours!  So our first appointment was with Stanley Steemer last Saturday morning.  The arrival time was between 9 am and noon.  We woke Gavin up early, fed him a quick breakfast, and Stephen took him to the mall.  At noon, three hours later, they still had not arrived.  We were quickly approaching Gavin's nap time, so I called Stanley Steemer, only to be told that they wouldn't be able to get to our house until nearly 1:30 because of a broken down truck.  (Uh, thanks for the phone call, guys...  Nice.)  With no other choice, I cancelled with them and had Stephen bring Gavin home for nap.  A grand total of four hours...wasted.  Carpets?  Still dirty.  Unfortunately, that meant we had to do the whole routine again.  This time, we went with Widmers, who not only showed up on time, but was super pleasant and efficient.  Stephen still had to take Gavin out for the evening and it still took quite a bit of orchestration to work around naps, meals, and other commitments...but it got finished, our carpets look wonderful, and one more thing is thankfully off our to-do list.  Also accomplished this week?  Fan installation in Baylor's nursery, another ultrasound/OB appointment, kitchen cabinet reorganization, and packing the hospital bags.  Somewhere in there, my parents also bought a new car and traded in my Mazda.  (I'll now be driving my mom's 2007 Honda Civic, which is not only in much better condition, but is slightly larger for carseats.  It has as many miles on it as the Mazda, but feels a whole lot safer.)  Oh, and the rock n' play and bassinet are officially set up in our bedroom, ready for Baylor's arrival.  Peyton and Eli are keeping them warm until then.

So it's time to break out the pineapple and yoga ball.  It's time for the spicy foods and acupressure.  It's time for all those things I know (from experience) do NOT work to induce labor...but at least make me feel as though I am being somewhat proactive towards accomplishing my goal to get this girl OUT.  We can't wait to meet her, of course...but I also can't wait to be able to put on my own shoes (and preferably, those shoes will actually fit.)  Little Miss has two weeks until I officially serve her an eviction notice -- but goodness knows, I wouldn't mind holding her in my arms (and not my belly) sooner rather than later!

Father's Day

Father's Day was this past weekend, and we are blessed in this family with some great fathers to celebrate!  Though there was a teeeeeeensy tiny part of me that thought Baylor might choose to make her appearance in time for Stephen to celebrate with both kiddos, I was thrilled that we were able to sleep in, make a leisurely breakfast, play together as a family, and see both of our dads on Sunday.

 

Gavin's friend Dru came over to play for a bit!  Gavin wasn't big on sharing his sidewalk chalk, but Dru didn't mind...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the great dads out there, but ESPECIALLY to my father, my father-in-law, and the father of my children!