Noah's Ark 2nd Birthday Party

For Logan's 2nd birthday we decided to do a Noah's Ark theme. He was turning 2, we were going to be a family of 2 kids, and we were hoping the new would be a boy and he would be named Noah (it's a meet the baby party as well).

The Friday before, both our moms and Kev's sister came to help with the 2 boys and making decorations and setting up.

In the dining room we hung clouds cut out of poster board with rain drops falling, an ark with animals traced on butcher paper, burlap banners for both boys (that are now in their room) and photos from his second year of life spelling out T-W-O. They are on foam board covered in burlap so we can use them again and they weren't too heavy to hang on the wall.

We had the food and drink tables in the dining room.

Rain water (blue gaterade)

"Sea foam" aka whipped jello, "Be fruitful and multiple" fruit salad

Animal feed aka veggies and dip

"Son of Ham salad"

"Ark bark" aka peanut brittle and zebra preztels

Animal cookies in an ark

Rainbow cupcakes "God's promise cake"

Rainbow candies

The rain clouds and rainbow in the living room.

"rain clouds" in all the corners of the living room

And of course cake time

The birthday boy sneaking treats

Add caption

No hesitation this year

Do I have something on my face mom?

I wish I had more photos from the party, but that was the night we took Noah to the ER for the first time (before our 16 day stay at CHOP) so I was a bit preoccupied.

One of Those Days

*Please note that I'm not complaining. Just freezing time for me to look back and say while I miss the time the boys were young, I don't miss the crazy. Or compare to the teen years and wish these times back :-) *

Today is one if those days where it's raining all day. One would think it would be perfect for sleeping in but with a toddler and 3 month old that doesn't happen. 

After a 330am feed and a 5am binky call Noah was up and ready to eat and play by 630. Before he finished eating I hear Logan calling for momma. 

Once downstairs its the normal juggle of getting breakfast, changing the boys, feeding the kitties... Logan has figured out how to turn on both the TV and Wii and switch the input so he can watch Choo-Choo, Mickey, cars, or bob. I fight with him that he isn't watching TV before breakfast. Then while I'm sitting on the floor with Noah, he keeps shoving different books literally in my face. While I'm trying to read it to him I'm distracted with trying to calm the baby. He hits me. Time out #1. 

I feed the baby Logan hits again and gets another timeout. Noah falls asleep and before I stand up from the floor Logan jumps on my legs crushing my bad ankle into the floor. I tell him "no", and 2 seconds later he's jumping on my shin. Another timeout. 

With the baby sleeping I do what any parent who wants to keep their sanity does and turned on Mickey for him so I could get some cleaning done. 

I get the floors all swept and mopped before the baby is awake and hungry again. (3 month growth spurt anyone?) of course Logan doesn't like that and hits the baby so I take him upstairs and stick him in the crib so I only have to hear him cry but don't have to worry about him. 

Well oops, I forgot to put his side back up from when I changed his sheets and he figures out how to climb out. 

Oh I forgot to mention that somewhere in this I thought I'd be fun mom and build him a tent in the living room. After explains a few time we play under not on it, he throws something on it and dives after it, falling to the floor, bringing the tent down with him. He decides the clothes pins are more fun and proceeds to break all 8 of them. 

Both boys need a change, and Noah needs a new outfit. After what seems like forever I finally get my normally happy baby to calm down. Logan takes that ad his cue to jump down and kick the baby in the head. 

I don't have to say anything, just stand up and Logan is running up the stairs and climbing into his crib. I put the side back up and he loses it. Now I have one crying upstairs and downstairs. I get Noah back to being my happy, smiley baby and I go talk with Logan. 

He's super cute and when I ask him why I put him in his crib he said "kick. I kick baby". At least he knows what he did. 

It's been such a long morning already and I forget when it was that he kept unplugging my phone from the charge, it was when I was feeding baby at some point. And then he took my iTouch and when I caught him proceeded to throw it across the room. 

Oy. 

And now it's lunch and there is only one piece of bread left and its crust, hopefully he won't notice. Oh, he just took the tongs out if the drawer and did something to Noah with them. Time to calm a baby and stick a toddler in a time out....again. 

PS did I mention the glass of water he found and it a spoon and his arm in and spilt on the couch and then all over the kitchen floor? Or the cup that the fat cat knocked over? My floors all got a double scrubbing today :-)

But moments like this 30 second snuggle makes it all worth it 

Failed tent... And the tongs

Cell... At least he plugged it back in

I didn't pee my pants...a little someone did it for me :-)

Noah 3 Months

Killer eyes

And a killer grin

My baby's 3 months already! And for the first time we get to do the at home monthly photo shoot. Both 1 and 2 months were done quick on the iPhone in the hospital.

I know I have lots of catching up to do, like his birth story, and hospital saga and Logan's 2nd birthday! (How is he 2 already!?!??!)

Noah,

You are such a bright-eyed, happy baby! You rarely fuss, and when you do it's a 90% chance it was something your brother did. The other 10% is because I didn't feed you soon enough :-)

You are still eating about every 2 hours but at least once a day stretch in a 3 hour. At night you are finally up to a 6-7 hour stretch, which is so nice!

You've been going to sleep between 830-930 and if it's on the earlier side of the 8 o'clock hour I'll wake you to feed around 10 when I go to bed. Then you wake up around 4am, eat and go right back to sleep till 5ish when you start to stir with Dada, and I give you your binky and you are back out until 6 when you eat again and then are up for the morning. Logan is normally up around 6-630 as well, so we have an early start to our day around here. You are still in your bassinet in the pack and play in our room. Brother refuses to move out of the crib into the big boy bed. I'm thinking you are ready for your own room soon though, as soon as you drop your 4 am feed.

When you were born I thought you were going to be an awesome sleeper because that's all you wanted to do, now, not so much. You go down for your 1st nap around 930 and depending what we are doing it might only be 1/2 hour long. You love your little cat naps and will take many throughout the day. Long naps are typically only when we are out and about. Most of your naps are spent in your bouncy seat so you can be outside since that's were brother wants to be 24/7 now. If we are inside it'll be in the swing, or occassionally on your play mat.

You have been awesome at tummy time. Even though you didn't get much of it your first 6 weeks of life, you are rocking it like no other. You have yet to roll, yet I will find you in a completely new position then how I laid you. You look like your trying to crawl, and your feet can push, but you haven't figured out the arm thing yet. You have a few more months to figure that out :-)

You can also sit and stand like whoa if momma or someone helps stabilize you. We just broke out the Bumbo seat today and I think you like the freedom. Just like your brother, you like to be facing out and seeing what's going on. Very nosy.

You aren't a fan of bath time, although now that you lay in your little tub it's a bit better that a sponge bath, but as soon as I start to wash you start to scream. Logan loves to help, and Kobe loves to watch.

You babble all the time and laugh too. I really think you understand us sometimes. You have an awesome sense of humor and your facial expressions kill us. You are very animated. One time I told you "no yogurt" because your brother was pitching a fit for yogurt and you immediately went from a happy baby to crying, just like he was. Then the other day we were laying in the yard on the blanket and L was playing with a ballball on you and lost it and blamed you. We didn't see it until later when I went to move you and asked if hid it from him and the smirk on your face told it all.

You love being in your Moby wrap, nice and close to momma and it puts you to sleep everytime. That's how we go shopping just the 3 of us. Logan gets the cart and you get the wrap.

You are just about out of 0-3 and 3 month clothes and have been wearing 3-6 and 6 month no problem. I'm sad to put the away yet since you didn't get to wear them much. You have been in cloth diapers about a month now and still wear size 1 in disposables, but really should be in a 2, but we have a bunch that need to get used up before that happens.

No clue how big you really are, we'll find out in a week when we go back to CHOP for hopefully your last check. I'm guessing around 13 pounds and close to 23 inchs.


And if you want to compare, here's Logan at 3 months.
(Which reminds me that you are a crazy drooler as well, and love YOUR fist!)

And photos :-)

The road were on

It has been 6 weeks that our simple, 'easy', blessed life took a complete 180. Not to say that we haven't been blessed in the past 6 weeks, because we have! So much so! God has taught us and grown us so, so much and has used his people in doing so. It is amazing to see the body of Christ rise up and see His people answer His call to serve.

6 weeks later and countless nights in the hospital and so many more sleepless nights, I am beyond tired. Not just physically tired but emotionally and mentally as well. It's draining watching your baby fight for his life and then continue to struggle and go through test after test and have risky procedures and there is nothing you can do. No time to really stop and think, just relying on the doctors. It helps to know that we are in the best hands with the best doctors and nurses in the best children's hospital in the nation. But it doesn't make it any easier.
I just want (need!) some rest.

Yes, it would be nice to get a solid 8 hours of sleep, but I know with a newborn that doesn't happen and I was prepared for that. I want rest from everything else. I want to go. Somewhere. Anywhere. Away from here, away from worries, away from everyday life. I just want a break a chance to breath and relax.
If it wasn't for Gods strength to carry me through and the prayers of others I would have broken down a long, long time ago. Every time I feel that I can't go on, can't do it any more, I get an extra boost. It might be from a text or phone call, or news from a doctor or just something from deep in me from the Holy Spirit.

Guys, prayer is real! Not that I didn't know that before, or believe it, but its different when you actually physically FEEL it. I can't explain it, I just hope that all of you get to experience it some day. I don't wish anything bad on you, but its awesome to be able to feel the love of others and God.

I want to thank y'all for helping to carry us through this time and for your continued prayers as its not over yet. I look forward to the day it is though! And an super thankful that we will hit a time when this is in our past. So many families we meet don't get to be that lucky.

This post went completely a different way than I had originally thought. I wanted to talk about missed milestones, and not having a 1 or 2 month photo shoot from being in the hospital. At least I have a good excuse for not having as many baby photos for Noah. :-)

Speaking of photos...

It Sucks

There's no way around it, it just plan sucks. No parent should have to go through it, yet as I look around so, so many are. It's just not fair. Babies are meant to be cuddled and loved on, not strapped to 20 thousand machines and getting poked and prodded every hour.

Having another kid at home makes it that much harder. How can a parent chose between 2 kids? You have a newborn fighting to breath and who should be solely reliant on you, and you can't do a thing for them. And then you have a toddler who is aware that you aren't around and is misplaced from his home and routine. How do you choose?

You have doctors who freak you out by throwing everything at you and then don't tell you things that do matter.

And then you think about the future and get yourself into a whole other
mental mess.

There are so many verses out there about worrying and how God doesn't give you more than you can handle, which are nice truths to know and hold on to but that doesn't change how you feel as a parent

Very fitting that this happen over the Easter holiday when God had to watch his son suffer. How Jesus took on all our crap because of how much He loves us because there is nothing more I would love to do right now than take this away from Noah.

Thanks for listening to me vent and for all your prayers. They truly are being felt.

Noah this morning on his new CPAP machine getting a sonogram of his heart.

How's it Going?

That's the question I get all the time now. Adjusting to life with a newborn can be challenging. Adjusting to life with a newborn AND a toddler? It's a different kind of challenging. It's more about prioritizing and learning how to juggle the needs of 2 kids than the initial figuring out what to do.

To me it's been an easier change than when when we just had Logan. Now I didn't say it was easy, but a different kind of challenging. Noah's easy. He eats and sleeps (well up till a day or 2 ago) it's the testing 2 year old that I have my battles with.

Not getting my required 8-9 hours of sleep doesn't help my patience with him either. I really can't complain. I've had it easy. People were shocked that I had both boys out on my own by day 8. For me it's easier to get out than stay in.

It isn't a cakewalk though. We have our problems. Take today for example. I think Noah is going through a growth spurt. In the 12 hours from last night to this morning he ate 8 times! And every time I laid him down he was awake within 5 minutes wanting to cuddle. Needless to say this momma didn't get much sleep.
As he started to stir this morning Logan started yelling for me to get him out of his crib. So I freed L and decided I would quickly go to the bathroom and put my contacts in before I fed the baby again. Noah didn't like that and was full out screaming by the time i picked him up to changed his diaper. In the mean time Logan let both cats in the room and they were wreaking havoc wanting their breakfast. Of course something was bugging my contact so bad I could barely open my left eye that I had to put a starving, screaming baby back in his bed while I tried to clean off my contact with 2 cats on the bathroom counter begging ie. rubbing all over me for food.
Then out of nowhere Logan starts crying and grabbing his diaper yelling ouch!!!

I shove the contact back in my eye, scoop up a screaming baby and follow the toddler across the hall to his room for a change. As I'm changing him I notice something isn't right. We decide its best to have some naked time. I feed the baby and put him in his swing still awake and then feed L and myself. As I finish baby wants to eat, again.
Toddler wants to sit on potty and I'm a happy momma. 5 minutes later he wants down without doing anything. Next thing I know there is pee running down his leg and all over the floor. Time to clean up.

Everything seems chill for a moment and I decide to cut up the pineapple that has been on our counter all week. 2 minutes later I hear a crash and hear Logan crying. I run out to see blood on the couch, on his face and the floor! Thank goodness it wasn't serious and he was asking for the pineapple before I had him all cleaned up.

Did I mention that was all before 10am? Oh and that the cats spilt not one but two cups of water?

So when you ask how we're doing and I say "good", I'm not lying and it doesn't mean we have it all together. It just means that in comparison to how it could be going its good. That and I haven't shed any tears yet that day. :-)

These 2 make everything worth it :-)

What did your kids (human or fur) do today?

Noah Thomas

Early Wednesday morning on March 6th we welcomed Noah Thomas into our family! He's a big boy just like his brother weighing in at 8pounds 10ounces and 21 inches. He was considered 4 days early but going by his size I think his ultrasound due date was more accurate making him 1 day late.
It was a very quick delivery but you'll have to stay posted for the birth story.

We are completely in love!!!