Noah's First Ice Cream Cone (& a mom's plea for advice)

While my mom was here, (boo hoo, come back!) she took Noah out on a date for ice cream.  If you can believe it, we have never given the kid ice cream so this was a first for him! (I don't really like ice cream, so that is why it is never around- I know you were wondering.)  Anyways, we got some great pictures!
But before I show you them, I am wondering if anyone can give me some advice about how to make the older child feel special when they have a threatening new baby in the house and they aren't coping with it very well.  Noah does not want anything to do with Suzy still.  He's also acting out agressively--I guess in an attempt to get extra attention.  He also fights against every rule we have or everything we ask him to do (go to bed, get a diaper change, etc).
I did take him on a date to McDonalds yesterday for some Mommy/Noah time.  I honestly spend more time with him than I ever did before, but it seems like it is never enough.  He's happy for the moment, but when Suzy cries or I feed her or do something that isn't entertaining Noah, he gets mad.  And I get sad.  So, please help me!
Sorry, I didn't mean for the post to be about that, but I guess it is on my mind.  Here's the cute ice cream pics! :)

Recovery and Thoughts

Some of you have been asking me how my recovery from the C-section has been going.  I thought it would be easy to give a quick update here.

The best way I've thought to describe it is two steps forward, one step back.  I've tried to go out a few times (anniversary date, Hobby Lobby, Mexican food, storytime).  I've loved getting out, but find myself in bed for 12 hours after each outing.  It's been hard for me to let everyone else do things for me (by everyone else, I guess I mostly mean my mom, who has been a complete lifesaver for me).  It's also hard for me to take so much medicine all the time- I do not like taking pills at all, but I seriously HAVE to or I can't really function.  I thought I would hate being in the house so much, but I'm actually kind of having fun.  My mom and I watch a movie everyday (we've visited Redbox, Blockbuster, my movie collection, AND the library!) and have had a lot of good chats.  I wish she lived here.  She flies back to Utah on Monday.  Not looking forward to that day.

Other Random Thoughts:

• I am enjoying Suzy so much.  When Noah was born, I had little interest in being a new mom and had a really hard transition.  This time around, I know more what I am doing and am much more positive.
• Noah is struggling big time with the change of having a new sister.  At the hospital, he wanted nothing to do with her.  He clung to a little wooden doll named Joey that my mom gave him (I'll post a picture of him with it).  Since we've been home, he's started whining a lot and imitating Suzy's cry to get attention.  He has also become uber attached to me.  He ALWAYS wants to be with me, which is flattering, but not normal.  He does not like me feeding Suzy at all.  At the same time, he goes overboard giving her kisses on the head and acting like he really likes her and fake laughing when she is around.  It makes me cry a lot to see him struggle so bad.  And to be honest, I miss just having Noah and our old routine a lot too.  I know it will get better in time, so for now, I'm just trying to give him as much attention as possible so he doesn't feel like he needs to act out for it.
• I don't know how people can have babies (esp C-section babies) without having a ton of help.  I've also been thinking a lot about moms who give their babies up for adoption and have to deal with the pain of healing, but not have anything to show for it.
• I don't know how I will manage/function without my mom here next week.  She has made every meal, cleaned my house, done laundry, helped with Suzy (including in the middle of the night- helping change diapers so I could feed her without having to get up), given Suzy and Noah baths, played with Noah, driven me around, gotten us way more groceries than we have ever even seen in our house at one time, etc.  I'm so thankful for her.
• Nursing is going great this time around.  It was awful, to be honest, with Noah.  I never had my heart in it and always pumped so it never stopped hurting when I tried nursing him and I ran out of milk after 3 months.  It's only been a week and a half this time and it already stopped hurting!  And I have more than enough milk.  I have a much better attitude about it.
• I am always starving.  Must be the breastfeeding.  But it's kind of nice to always be hungry when your mom is in town making delicious stuff all the time.
• I think I'm starting to ramble.  Do I have any readers left?  Enjoy the pictures. :)

Noah with his Joey doll, at the hospital



Me on my anniversary excited to eat homemade enchiladas



The star of the show:  Suzy Kaye!  This pic was taken this morning.



The other star:  cute Noah!



Mom, Jared & Suzy, and Noah hanging out before dinner

Family of Four

It's been half a week since Suzy joined our little family.  I'm so happy- it's hard to express in words.  Everything is so much different from when Noah was born.  I am enjoying it so much more- it helps knowing what to expect more or less.  Although, I did think Suzy would be the same as Noah and I am finding that she is very different.  For instance, she LOVES being swaddled, taking her binky, and nursing- all of which Noah hated.  Noah is adjusting to having her around.  It was hard the first couple days- he didn't want anything to do with her...or really with me either- he was scared of my hospital bed and IV.  But yesterday, we caught him talking to her on the couch and showing her his toys.  He also randomly comes up to her and kisses her head.  I know they will eventually be best friends.

As for me, I am recovering better than I did last time.  It still takes me a while to move around and I have to take pain meds all the time, but each day is a little bit better.  Suzy is worth it.

Run, Jared, Run!

Jared has been running a lot lately. As if he's not busy enough doing work and school full time, he also wakes up early to run and just finished two 5Ks. Not only did he finish them, he won 3rd place for his age group, both times! Yay Jared! You're awesome. Look at him in his running glory! lol!




Can you spot him?

Here he is with his little mini-self pre-race.

Here is Noah, thinking HE won the race.

Ooh, look at that medal!

Daddy and Noah with a little pre-race fuel (Cheerios!) Notice Jared's shoes. Vibram Five Fingers. You heard of them? They are one of the closest (certainly the most popular) shoes to running barefoot that are out right now. Jared was the only person in the race wearing them.

He loves them.

If you are wondering why you would want to run barefoot, read "Born to Run" by Christopher Mcdougall. Or google it. It's controversial.

Go Jared! You're awesome!

Last Pregnancy Update

Ok, I am way behind on blogging. Maybe I'll try to catch up a little bit before baby gets here---in a week!!! HOORAY!!! Next Wednesday, she's making her appearance (scheduled C-section). I can't wait to meet her and esp for her to be real to Noah. We are always talking about Baby Suzy and I know he has no clue what we are really talking about. I also can't WAIT to not be pregnant. I mean look at me in these pictures. How in the world could I be comfortable with that tummy?
I'm 37.5 weeks along in these next 2 pics. Today I am 38 weeks.

This last picture was from a few weeks ago, but I like that Noah jumped into it. So, I would be almost 35 weeks along here.

To end with my pregnancy updates, I keep thinking of the quote "All's well that ends well." This was a crazy pregnancy with lots of ups and downs (placenta previa, too much amniotic fluid, migraines, IUGR scare, bad insomnia, heart problems, etc) but in the end, every single thing has resolved itself completely. Baby looks healthy, I am healthy, and now we are just waiting for the next week to go by quickly so we can be with our little princess.

PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM AND CARSON!!!!!

Baby Shower

Today, I think I will blog about Suzy's baby shower. Two of my good friends, Vicky and Jen gave me the best shower ever a few weeks ago. I loved it b/c it involved lots of friends, good food, too many presents, and no cheesy shower games! I do not want you staring at my tummy while you figure out how big it is in yarn! Thank you!
I hope my friends who were at the shower will have fun finding themselves in the pictures below.
Only 3 more (long) weeks left until Suzy makes her appearance. I had a Dr's visit today and she is doing great. One more ultrasound next week to measure growth...she is measuring pretty small. I'll give you an update on that next week- the Dr. thought she might have IUGR (same as what Noah had) but she's responding well on her non-stress tests and Doctor P. thinks my kids just might be really small. That's OK by me!

Summer Reading

Flashback 20 years and let me describe myself.

Tall for my age, super skinny, purple circle glasses, and poofy bangs. I didn't have tons of friends, but I didn't realize it. I loved to write, play school, the piano, and read. I LOVED to read. That's all I ever did.

Now, flash forward. I'm now average height and weight (well, if I weren't pregnant), the glasses were replaced with contacts, my bangs are grown out. I try to compensate for years of having no friends by always wanting to be around people. I still like to write, but not as much, as school kind of stifled the creative factor out of writing for me. I still love school and also teach piano (very passionate about both). And as for my love of books as a little girl, it's never gone away. I am still always reading.

I thought it would be fun to list some of the books I read this summer, along with recommendations. I would also like to put a huge plug in for my favorite site, GOODREADS.COM. If you are not on goodreads and like to read, you need to join. It's a site that helps you find new books to read, allows you to record and review books that you do read, and see what your friends are reading and recommending. I use it all the time, especially on the days I go to the library. If you ARE on goodreads- let me encourage you to use it! I love to see the books that my friends are recommending.

Anyways, here is my list:

The Short 2nd Life of Bree Tanner (Stephanie Meyer)
The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Committment to Your Mate (Gary Chapman)
The Uglies (Scott Westerfield)
My Sister's Keeper (Jodi Picoult)
The Giver (Lois Lowry)
The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins)
The Pilots Wife (Anita Shreve)
The Christmas Train (David Baldacci)
The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)

almost finished with: Born to Run (Christopher McDougall)
Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Jacobs)
Emma (Jane Austen)

If you want to read any of my reviews on that list, join goodreads! :) I recommend almost the whole list with the exception of: The Christmas Train (too slow) and The Pilots Wife (also slow, and anti-climatic). Uglies was also hard for me to get through, but not because the story wasn't good. The author just focused on things I wasn't interested in half the time.

Anyways, if you have any recommendations for me of MUST reads, please tell me! I am going to have LOTS of reading time coming up when little Suzy is born and I want some good books.