Newborn & Family photo session

We were thrilled to have Kelly Garvey Photography come to our home and take some wonderful shots of our family. We loved them all, and here are a few of them.

Check out her website kellygarveyphotography.com

5 weeks

So we are about 5 weeks in of having two kids under two and we are surviving!! Going out things take a little longer, there is a little more crying, but tons of love to shower the kids with. We stay around the house mostly and have play dates with our neighbor and her son. When I have double the crying, my go-to tactics are pacifiers and tv, so sue me!! Not that they happen all that often, but at least once a day. There are even great days when they both nap for 2 hours at the same time, now that is a GREAT day!

Lately, we've been staying in because I don't want to expose the kids to too many germs with Maddie's age. Not to mention the unbearable heat!! If we do anything we try to go out before noon so it isn't so bad. Going out with both kids takes a little more planning but we've done fine. It's nice to get Max out of the house to play with some of his little buddies and show off our new princess. We're sad we didn't make it to Tia Rosalinda's graduation and party, but we are trying to stay close to home until she is a little bigger.

Playing dress up

Sweet angel sleeping

Proud big brother

At a playdate, playing with the moon sand...messy!

In her carseat

Mi chiquita

Had to post a few of my thoughts on Miss Maddie. Let me tell you, this girl can scream. When she is mad, hungry, getting changed or bathed she screams so loud. It seems she almost stops breathing, but she does. Once you pick her up, feed her, etc., she is the sweetest thing.

She LOVES to eat. I could probably let her eat all day and she'd love it. She is starting to fill out already! She's been colicky, which is hard, but we're dealing with it. So at night, she mostly sleeps with me. I just hope by 2 months or so, she'll be feeling better and we can put her in her crib.

She literally gets cuter everyday and I love her more and more with every second!

At any given moment

I've been on my own with my two little ones for 3 days now and at any given moment you never know what is going to happen. Mostly its quiet with Maddie nursing or sleeping in her swing. When my hands are full Max is entertained by his favorite shows and his paci....terrible, I know, but it is just for now....I hope!

Then there are times when Max has a meltdown at the same time Maddie needs a diaper change or she's hungry. At first, both of them crying was overwhelming. Then, I just told myself, "they'll be fine, just deal with one at a time". I think Max is mostly bored because he is used to going places and having play dates at least once a week. Plus, its just too dang hot! Next week, I might venture out with my two little ones. Wish me luck!!

I'm sad I don't have a picture to post, because I either don't have it handy or I'm just too plain busy! I hope to get better at this soon.

What Max is up to

We have a runner! One of his favorite things lately is saying "go" and running back and forth. It is so cute. My mom taught him how to go in circles too, the he gets dizzy and falls. Pretty funny at first, then I just feel bad for him. Max loves music and also loves to dance. He also is a great helper. He gets diapers when I ask him. Throws away trash (among other things!!). Picks up his toys when asked. He naps pretty well on his own, usually 1-2 hours and is sleeping wells at night. I'm amazed because of all the changes that have been going on. He is proud of his little sister. He likes to run to her when people visit and calls her "baby". He doesn't always eat, but when he does, he eats big! He didn't want the high chair anymore, so we switched to the booster, then he got tired of that. So lately I just let him sit in a chair if he will eat. When he is in a good mood, he'll sit in his booster though. Max has a potty now. No, he's not using it and I don't think he's ready! But, he does tell me when he's gone potty in his diaper and he likes to take his diaper off from time to time. We might try to start training closer to 2 years.

He used to love to share his snacks with Tyson. That is over! When Tyson tries to steal his food or get into something he shouldn't, Max says "Nooo" and even lifts his hand as if to hit him. Guess he learned that from watching me! His vocabulary is soaring. He loves repeating new words that hears. A few I can think of:

"heeka" - helicopter

"teeka"- truck or train

"zeuz" - juice

"tete" - leche

"wawa" - water or agua

"tika, tika" - tickle, tickle

"guh" - girl

Guilty Mommy

The past 2 weeks of a mother of 2 under 2 have been a whirlwind. Some days are better than others. That depends on how much sleep I get and how well my toddler naps. Everyday at some point I am overwhelmed with guilt. Am I paying enough attention to Max? Should I be holding Maddie more? Did I even kiss my husband today? I know it will get better. I am trying to take in every moment of this precious time of my life.

I am so blessed to have such a supportive family that have come to help me during these first 3 weeks. It is wonderful to have them here to play with Max while I am trying to rest or nursing Maddie. The doctor told me to take advantage of the help, because I'll miss it. :o) Here is a picture of what a "guilty mommy" looks like. Lovin' my Moby wrap because it allows me to comfort my newborn, and be hands-free to play with Max.

Mommy and her babies

Everyone says you don't do as much with your second. While that might be true, I am trying to do things with her that I never got around to doing with our first born. One of those is newborn pictures. We had a wonderful photographer come to our home and take pictures of Maddie. Max kind of stole the spotlight with his adorable smile. I wish he would have posed for a picture with his little sister more.Maddie did a great job being a super model for the day. Here are some photos from the photo shoot. I can't wait to see them and I'll post some pictures soon.

Kelly dealing with my 2 little ones

Taken with my camera, hers are going to be so much better!!

Madeline Kristine's Birth story

I am a planner, and although I wasn't thrilled with the idea of a repeat c-section I liked the idea that we would know exactly what to expect. I had all the details worked out. Who would be with Max, would be with me, who would take care of me when we got home, etc....literally I had a schedule on my calendar.

Well life doesn't always go the way you plan it, and Madeline's birth day was a surprise.

At my Thursday(7/8) appointment the doctor said I hadn't made any progress and we planned on the surgery on Tuesday(7/13). I told her I had felt some small contractions and she said they were probably just Braxton Hicks since the baby was high and no real dilation. She went over all the details for the day. "See ya Tuesday!", is what I said as we left. Boy what a difference a day can make. I began having periodic contractions on Friday during a play date with our neighbors Jennifer and Jaxen. It was uncomfortable, but not a big deal. By Friday evening, I was having contractions about every 10 minutes for about an hour. I decided to go to bed. I hardly slept because I was so uncomfortable and I was having contractions about every hour. I remember asking Shawn to go sleep in the guest room so he could get some sleep since I was tossing, turning, complaining, etc. By 6 am the next morning the contradictions were every 7 minutes, it lasted about 2 hours, plus I was having a few other signs of labor. Around 8 I called the doctor, just to get an answering service and the promise of a call back in an hour. At this point the contractions slowed down, so I decided to rest. I asked Shawn to take Max downstairs and I napped. About 2 hours later I got a call from Dr. White, the on call doctor. He said if I went into labor he would be delivering the baby. His instructions were if my water broke or if the contractions were 5 minutes apart for 1-2 hours to go to L&D.

I didn't want a doctor I didn't know to deliver my baby. So I thought I will just take it easy and this will pass. That Saturday, we got a visit from Rosie, Joey, Aimee and Penny. Rosie and I talked about babies, labor, c-sections, etc. They went shopping and we made plans for dinner at Chuy's(I've been craving Mexican food this pregnancy)! After she left I decided to relax and take shower, then I thought, "a bath would be better". I felt pretty good afterwards. We decided to go run an errand. Max fell asleep in the truck, so Shawn ran in while we stayed in the truck. I started having contractions, 5 minutes apart. I called my mom, told her, waited on Shawn, Max woke up, we got out, contractions continued, etc.

It was about dinner time. I text Rosie to let her know I wasn't up for dinner. I was still hungry so we decided to pick up Chuy's to go. Yummy! We started home, but I was still in pain. We decided better safe than sorry, so off to the hospital we went. I made the call to Suzy and Mom to be prepared, but I didn't want them to come in case it was a false alarm. I asked Shawn to drop me off in the front and for him and Max to eat in the lobby while I checked in. I figured I'd eat my Chuychanga later. So I checked in and the nurses checked me out. Turns out I was in labor!!! I was told that Dr. White would be there in 20 minutes and they began to prep me. Panic hit me, the tears began, etc. Who would watch Max? Would I have surgery alone?

We started to make the calls. Our parents started to head our way, but who would watch Max. We were so blessed to have Chuck, our neighbor to come and watch Max until Suzy got there. Whew!, that was my biggest concern. During all this I was getting prepped for surgery. Shawn made it in the room right as the surgery began. I had a great anesthesiologist and Dr. White did a fantastic job.

At 8:10 p.m. our beautiful baby girl was brought into this world. Thanks be to God!! Not quite as we expected it, but it was perfect nonetheless.