Birthday Boy!

My sweet little boy is 3 today! I can't believe how fast time has gone. He continues to amaze me each day as I soak up every moment before it's gone. I'm so excited to see what his future holds, but for now I'm glad he's still my little boy.

Here are a few pictures from his party:

Buzz Lightyear!

Birthday Boy

Family

Grateful for my Blessing

I have a friend with a baby at Shands now fighting for her life. This has made me stop and think how much worse things could have been with Braden. I believe that everything (blood pressure, hospital stay, induction) happened for a reason. If we had waited and allowed him to come later we could have lost him. Braden had a knot in his cord and if we had known this we would have gone with a c-section vs. the delivery. I thank God daily for allowing him to be safe through the process even though Braden spent a week in NICU it could have been MUCH worse. I thought a week was hard, I can't imagine longer and being in a different place to add to it. I will never forget the wonderful nurses and doctors that helped my little boy.

Memories

I found this today.

http://www.slide.com/r/FNBVYq3Oyj8XYXC3N1mt2M4M3zF2Dd2Q?previous_view=lt_embedded_url

Same or Different?

I know that each child is different, but coming from the same parents should bring some similarities. Even from pregnancy however, I knew my 2 boys would be different. Some times when looking at B2 I think he looks so much like his older brother and other times not at all. In some ways they are the same, but in more ways I see differences. Even with B2 being so young still I can see it.



Things that are the same:


1. Looks- you definitely know who their parents are. B1 looks more like daddy and B2 looks more like me, but daddy can't deny either of them.


2. Demeanor- They are both happy kids. B2 loves to smile and laugh just like B1 did. He makes you work for it a bit more, but once you get him going there's a fun time to be had!


That's about it.


Things that are different:


1. Sleep- B2 is sleeping 10+ hours each night. B1 was 9 months old before he EVER did. B1 was up every 2 hours until he was 4.5 months old and B2 has been sleeping through since 3 months. I believe that it's Gods gift to me:) B2 however, has not figured out the nap thing for Grandma (she keeps both boys while I'm at work) but I believe that will come with time because he does nap on the weekend, even if it's just in the afternoon.


2. Eating- B2 already takes 4oz+ at a feeding, needing a larger than 4 oz bottle. B1 NEVER took more than 4oz at one time. This makes me have to readdress my pumping routine. We started B2 on cereal only a week or 2 sooner than B1, but for different reasons. I just can't keep up with B2. He's hungry ALL the time and never left my chest on the weekends. Since starting cereal he seems to be happier and is sleeping better for Grandma during the day:)


3. Size- anyone who knows B1 knows he is probably the smallest kid they've ever met. He'll be 3 in April and is still wearing 18M pants. From birth he has never been on the chart for height. He's grown fine on his curve, but it's at the bottom, less than 3% range. And as far as weight goes he is on the chart, barely. Not sure he's my child in that regard. B2 weighted in at 13.5 lbs at 3 months. He's still short at just about 24 inches and still wearing 3 month pants and sleepers, but B1 was almost 5 months before he was the same size. This is probably due to the differences discussed in #1 & 2 above.


I can already tell there will no longer be a dull moment around my house! These 2 boys keep me on my toes for sure. I'm excited to watch them grow and see what the future holds.

Brothers

In 2008 I gave birth to this cutie:

and never though I would find anything quite as cute or could possibly loves as much. Then 2 1/2 years later his brother was born:

and I'm pretty sure he's going to give his older brother a run for his money! I'm not really sure how I did it, but I (with daddy and God's help) created these two cuties who I love dearly!

Sleep, finally!

I expect to loose some sleep, sure, B2 is only 3 months old. However, he's not the problem. He's been sleeping 8-10 hours most nights for the past few weeks. As soon as I got B2 sleeping and thought I was home free B1 started getting up at 3am every night. Why? I have yet to figure this out. He's told me he's been cold, his teeth hurt, B2 woke him up (still happens OCASSIONALLY) and there were monsters in his room (his newest) on differect occassions. I can feel a molar coming in so maybe that's it. Last night he finally slept! Daddy and I went out to dinner so his grandparents came to watch him and put him in bed, maybe he needed someone else to do it. I don't know, but I FINALLY got to sleep ALL night. It was great.

Newbie

Well I've finally done it. I've been thinking about it since my first was born, but finally have done it. What have I done? This right here that you are reading now. I've started my very own blog.