the tree

On Sunday afternoon we ventured out in the bitter cold to find our Christmas tree. Although there was no snow, there certainly wasn't a lack of wintery conditions: freezing temps and cutting wind made us feel the pressure to choose quickly!

Getting bundled up at the car

My view of Andrew, nuzzled cozy into my chest

Our tree, our tree!

The walk back to the car

Our tree-cutting experience was shared with the same great friends who joined us in 2007. Since then, we've both added to our families, but couldn't resist getting a picture of Morgan and Thomas on the wagon, just as we did that first year.

(Thomas at 18 months, Morgan at 9 months)

Andrew was great the entire time, sleeping in his warm cocoon. While we waited for Scott to load the tree, I fed Andrew in the front seat, sipped on the hot cocoa I brought along, and snapped a shot of Morgan, enjoying her blueberries.

On the agenda for this week is decorating. Stay tuned for pictures of the finished project.

for He is good

It was around 7:30 this morning, still dark outside as gray clouds overcast the skies. Andrew had been fed. And I walked down the hall with him happy in my arms to join Scott and Morgan who were already goofing around in the king-sized bed of our dimly lit room. All of us piled in. Smiles on each and every face.

I paused. Took them each in. And prayed silently.

Thank you, Lord, for my beautiful family.

loving daddy

just call me stretch

Andrew had his 2-month appointment this morning, and - surprise, surprise - we learned that he's off the charts for length. At 25.5 inches, that's not hard to believe! Our little peanut weighed in at only 10 lbs, 4 ounces, but now I know where all those calories are going... towards all those inches in length!

Sunday evening he was outstretched on our footstool, so I took the opportunity to snap a couple pictures. Here Andrew's sporting a 3-6 month size outfit from Old Navy. The poor kid is already flooding. I'm sure this won't be the first time in his life where his legs outrun his inseam.

Then he decided to roll my way.

I was also sure to take pictures of him on Sunday after church so I could show Sarah and Doug how well the adorable hand-me-down shirt from Luke was fitting. Looks great, doesn't it? Such a little man I have.

A good shot of his wing span. Even his sleeves are too short! I bet he'll play awesome basketball defense someday, blocking shots and everything.

I just love how Andrew looks in his preppy little shirt!

Smile!

costumed kiddies

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween, but boy, I sure do like chocolate! Any excuse to buy a bag of Twix, right? We have plenty of candy left over tonight, with only about 70 trick-or-treaters tallied. And this year, Morgan was able to actually do the Halloween thing herself and understand the concept: ask for candy, receive candy, say thank you, next house.

Andrew? Well, he was supposed to be sleeping, but was awake after just 45 minutes - our new normal with his naps these days. So we thought some fresh air and a stroller ride might do some good. He suited up and off we went.

While Scott's parents handed out candy on behalf of our household, the four of us managed to hit about a dozen homes on our street where folks were liberal with the goods, putting handfuls of sweets into Morgan's plastic pumpkin. She can't wait to wake up tomorrow, knowing the opportunity to eat another piece awaits!

A quick shot of Andrew earlier in the day with cousin Luke's hat

Morgan showing off her butterfly wings



With Mommy



Just before heading out



"Twick or tweating," Morgan said at each door in the tiniest little voice.



Andrew would not give in and fall asleep!



With Daddy



CANDY!

all smiles

The time that Andrew spends awake is starting to lengthen, and he has become much more alert and aware of his surroundings. He's even starting to flash some pretty big grins! I'm sure hoping those dimples stick because that's about all I've got going for me in the way of Andrew's physical resemblance. There's just no mistaking whose son Andrew is!

new life

Today we celebrated Andrew's new life in Christ as he was baptized at our church. What a very special day!

Uncle Joel, Godfather

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Matthew 28:19-20

living my strengths

Our church has been offering a class called Living Your Strengths. It's a seven-week course designed for self-reflection and insight about the talents God has given each of us. Learning about our individual strengths and putting them into practice is the goal (as opposed to dwelling on and trying to change our weaknesses).

One of my mom-friends is facilitating a new class on Monday mornings, so I decided to sign up. We've only met once, but part of the first assignment was to take an online assessment called the Clifton Strengths Finder. You may have heard of it or taken it in another setting.

Out of 34 different "themes", the assessment reveals the results in order from strongest to weakest. According to Gallup Research statistics, only one person in 33 million will have the same top five strengths in the same order! For anyone to have the same top seven strengths? Not enough people born from the beginning of time through the next 100 years! Wow! God has definitely created each of us to be unique.

So I hopped online tonight and took the test. The results were not surprising to me (or to Scott who walked in, looked over my shoulder, chuckled and said, "Oh yeah."), but the explanation fascinated me. My top theme was "Discipline". Does this sound like anyone you know?

Your world needs to be predictable. [uh... yeah!] It needs to be ordered and planned. [that's the understatement of the century!] So you instinctively impose structure on your world. You set up routines. You focus on timelines and deadlines. You break long-term projects into a series of specific short-term plans, and you work through each plan diligently. You are not necessarily neat and clean, but you do need precision. Faced with the inherent messiness of life, you want to feel in control. The routines, the timelines, the structure, all of these help create this feeling of control. [it's a very nice feeling, thank you very much!]

Lacking this theme of Discipline, others may sometimes resent your need for order, but there need not be conflict. You must understand that not everyone feels your urge for predictability; they have other ways of getting things done. Likewise, you can help them understand and even appreciate your need for structure. Your dislike of surprises, your impatience with errors, your routines, and your detail orientation don’t need to be misinterpreted as controlling behaviors that box people in. Rather, these behaviors can be understood as your instinctive method for maintaining your progress and your productivity in the face of life’s many distractions.

And what I like best:
Discipline talents are valuable because they make you efficient and effective. First they motivate you to organize tasks. Then, they keep you motivated to complete those tasks. Some people may label you as compulsive or a control freak because of your ability to discipline yourself and structure your world. But these attributes make you productive - usually more so than your critics. [don't you just love the positive spin?]

Over the course of the next several weeks, each of us in the class will explore more about our assets. Oftentimes seen as a negative attribute, I'm anxious to learn how I can use this "Discipline" in real life. I can't wait until next Monday!

photo update

These days it seems easiest to tell our story in photos. And I'm sure you'd rather see those than read paragraph after paragraph about my personal insights on life. So here are a few of the latest pictures from around the house, and an out-of-town visit to my parents' house.

Scott's second attempt at a shot of the kids. Much better!

Morgan was eager to try out her new heavyweight jacket after dinner one night. It was cold and rainy, but she was having a blast!

Somebody else enjoys the new laptop as much as I do! Here Morgan clicks through recent pictures from Sarah, Doug and Luke.

The remainder of these are from our visit to Grandma and Grandpa's M's house.

Playing "So Big!" with Grandma.

All bundled and cozy.

Tiny Andrew in Grandpa's strong arms!

Puzzle time with Uncle Joel and Grandpa M.

Taking a moment for the camera.

Here's a picture Scott took of us, just this evening.

Andrew is now six weeks old! And we're on the upswing around here. Hopefully that means more time for blogging. Stay tuned!

organized chaos

Would you expect my chaos to be anything other than organized?

The last ten days or so have been hectic. In addition to juggling two children, I've been trying to keep my head above the water with everything else.

MOPS started on Wednesday, and as co-coordinator this year, my responsibilities are significant. The preparations for the year have been underway since summer, but the heat has really been turned up since the end of August. Coincidentally, right around the same time Andrew was born.

In some ways, my leadership with MOPS feels like I'm working again. Special Event Planner Rachel enjoyed the buzz of Wednesday morning, the thrill of the seeing the two-hour agenda come together, complete with child care, registration, audio/visual, composing and presenting a devotion and, the ultimate thrill: observing fifty moms make meaningful connections.

Some of my responsibilities are ongoing with this ministry, but for the most part, the bulk of the planning is behind me. Which makes room for other time-sensitive things I've been itching to complete: writing Andrew's birth story, filling out some of his baby book, taking pictures of the kiddo, and keeping up with the blog (it's only taken three days to complete this post).

Then, of course, there are unplanned emergencies. Like, say, a leaking hot water heater? That issue managed to fill up a few hours Thursday evening and left us without hot water to wash dinner dishes or our faces before bedtime.

Combined with our weekly routine of groceries, storytime, laundry and cleaning, it's a lot to handle. So why not mix it up a bit? I decided to bite the bullet and called the salon I used to frequent when I was employed full-time with money to splurge on $40 haircuts. Turns out, I hadn't been since June of 2008, and my favorite gal was surprised to see me after so long. But I needed it. I'm a new woman, even without highlights.

So something had to give in the last month. Blogging has been neglected. So has any real form of communication with real people. Cleaning house? Take a look at the bottom of Morgan's socks and that will explain everything. Ick.

Sleep has slipped to the very bottom of the priority list, and I'm quickly realizing this should be first and foremost on my to-do's, even if it means going to bed at 8:00 p.m. Especially now that my allergies are in full swing. My body just feels like it's run ragged. And since my newest job promotion has me working non-stop from sun up to sun down, well, there's no room for napping. I still can't believe I'm running every day on five to six hours of interrupted sleep.

The one thing, though, that I keep up front in my brain are Scott's words of encouragement: It won't always be this crazy. True enough. Getting up twice a night will subside in the next few weeks, and my sleep will soon be filled with a little more quality than the small increments of shut eye I currently have now. And that will set the tone for a whole new lease on life. Soon, very soon.

What an eye-opening experience the past month has been. I know I have spectators sitting on the edges of their seats, just waiting for the moment when I realize that having two kids really IS hard and that life WILL be more hectic then I ever thought possible. Fair enough. I've more than recognized the difficulty. But you better believe that I'm not going down without a fair fight for routine, schedule and a plan for this household. Watch out, Doubters. I'm slowly making a comeback.

To help with the daily pre-dinner chaos, I make my first attempt at wearing Andrew with a borrowed Moby Wrap. I still need practice.



Scott's failed attempt at a photo for his desk at work.



A book before bedtime.



Andrew's first real bath. He enjoyed this so much more than the sponge baths he was previously getting.



Even more proof that this is Scott's child.
Definitely not seeing my features here.

stating the obvious

Morgan has a new set of favorite books from the library all about a mouse named Maisy. In one book called Maisy Big, Maisy Small, Morgan learns all about opposites:

Maisy hot, Maisy cold.
Maisy slow, Maisy fast.
Maisy push, Maisy pull.

I hadn't realized how much she absorbed from this book until today. After watching our neighbor across the street come home from work, Morgan announced, "Mr. Ron is THICK!"

Thankfully we were inside our house, windows closed. Unlike the time at Lowe's when we walked past an African-American cashier and Morgan pointed, saying loudly, "Oprah, Mommy! It's Oprah!"

we did it!

Today is Scott's first day back at work and my first day home with two kids by myself. I'm certain there's a whole slew of you out there praying for us because our day is going great!

Crawling out of bed this morning was hard, but Morgan was awake first. The two of us managed to eat breakfast and get ready for the day before we ever heard a peep out of Andrew. I even had time to shower.

At the perfect time Andrew woke up, was ready to eat, and by 8:45 we were on our way to Meijer. Morgan checked on him often as he sat in his carrier down in the shopping cart, observing the strange blue metal grid of the cart that surrounded him. We did have a minor breakdown near the green beans when Andrew was showing signs of sleepiness. But by the time we reached the ethnic food aisle, he was asleep.

Soon the groceries were stacked around Andrew's carrier, and we made our way to the checkout. By this point, I was overheating. Note to self: wear shorts and short sleeves on shopping trips, even though the thermometer says 62 degrees.

Our biggest challenge was the short walk from the checkout to the car. I had managed to get everything aboard the shopping cart, kids included, but once the groceries were packed into my reusable bags, the logistics were skewed and I had nowhere to go with Andrew. So as I pushed the cart, I looped the handle of the carrier on my forearm and awkwardly made my way through the automatic doors and out into the sunshine. So glad I thought to get the keys out!

I'm so thankful our day is going well. It has given me the extra confidence to know I can leave the house and come home in one piece.

Can't wait until I can synchronize naptimes!

wild ride

Our family has been on a rollercoaster since last Thursday when we went to Andrew's weight check and learned of his drastic 1 lb. weight loss. Our pediatrician asked that I put breastfeeding on hold and instead pump and bottle feed Andrew in order to better see what I was producing and what he was eating.

This feeding change caused a drastic upheaval in our household. While I was attached to an electric pump around the clock, Scott fed Andrew and stayed on top of all the extra washing that came along with this change. Morgan, meanwhile, was doing her best to stay entertained in between all this chaos.

During the weekend, we realized several things... that my supply had become dangerously low, that feeding Andrew with a bottle caused projectile spit-up, and that since his birth, he never really did have the concept of breastfeeding down pat.

Out of sheer desperation, I began emailing a local La Leche League woman on Saturday morning. By Monday afternoon, she was making a house call, observing exactly how Andrew nursed. And low and behold, the boy really did know what to do, he just needed Mommy to change up her approach and provide some slight assistance in helping him figure it all out.

On Tuesday afternoon, we were back at the doctor's office to re-evaluate Andrew's weight. And much to our delight, he had put on nine ounces! The pediatrician was thrilled. We now had his blessing to move forward, ditch the bottles for good and establish a daily feeding schedule.

Both my boys are now sleeping much longer stretches. Andrew's got a full belly, and Daddy's no longer the one feeding the liquid gold. Morgan is happy to have more attention, and I'm excited to hammer out a routine.

During all this craziness, a mom friend reminded me of something very important:

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you;
He will never let the righteous fall.
Psalms 55:22

I should have known better!

a week with Andrew

The last seven days have been an interesting blend of chaos and relief.

After being discharged on Thursday afternoon, Scott, Andrew and I came home to reality. With the help of family, Morgan had been cared for and entertained. And they were set to do the same for the three of us as we opened the back door, tired after 36 hours in the hospital.

Meals were set from prep to clean-up, we had fresh laundry, an entertained daughter and a sounding board for all my second-guessing as a second-time mom. Was he eating enough? Latching correctly? How many wet diapers did we have again?



You'd think that having another baby would be like riding a bike. Just pick up where you left off last time. But I had forgotten a few things. Like how I loathe burping. It's essential to a happy baby, one who closes his eyes and sleeps peacefully. And if you don't work hard to get a good, solid belch? Trouble awaits. Gas pains, screams and sleepless nights. Just not fun, and boy, do we know it.



But aside from the learning curve, Scott and I are fascinated to discover all of Andrew's quirks and characteristics. Like how he loves to be curled up on our chests, cozy and warm with his legs tucked up like a little frog. Almost missing that fetal position he mastered for 40 weeks.

In the first few days of life, Andrew squealed like a tea kettle (he's since mastered a nice, full-on scream). And with the exception of his dark hair and the birthmark above his navel, he has all the features that make up Scott and Morgan.



Cuddling into Andrew's softness, I actually realized that Morgan isn't as fragile as I thought. In fact, as I looked in on her one of those first nights home, I found myself amazed at her size, the coarseness of her hair, the way her long legs relaxed across the bed. She's a tough little girl, one who could take a tumble outdoors and recover without too much drama. Almost overnight, she had grown up, right before my eyes.

On Saturday night, Andrew became part of Morgan's bedtime routine when, after prayers, she included him in her round of goodnight kisses. Sunday, she decided it would be okay to hold him.



As much as Morgan is coming around to the idea of a little brother, Scott and I are finding changes in her behavior, things that we anticipated like outbursts for attention. We're still trying to keep a sense of her old routine to keep the peace. Sesame Street remains a daily occurrence with her afternoon snack. On Monday, she and I went to Meijer for groceries, and today, we attended our regular Wednesday MOPS play date for an hour at a local park. Scott makes every effort to play all of their old favorites and make sure that our time as parents is shared between the two.



We're still fumbling our way through this parenting thing as we transition from one to two. And I imagine it will be this way for some time as Scott and I walk around the house like zombies, our eyes half open, nodding off in chairs like old men.

I've had some weepy moments since being home. Feeling overwhelmed with the blessing of a new baby, coupled with the routine of daily life, it's alot to take in. But I've got a great husband who also doubles as a great father. Patience is his specialty. And he's home until September 14th to keep us all grounded.



I'm looking forward to seeing how Andrew changes over the next month. I imagine there will be many comparisons to his sister, yet I'm determined to feature all of his uniqueness, things that we can say are "so Andrew". And so far, he's just that. His own perfect little self.