It's already come and gone...

And I forgot...didn't even notice it because I was at Micah's 4 month appt., gleefully taking his photo as he safely rolled around the exam table, nursing him while they gave him his first shots, then I was out faint on the floor with my head in his pediatrician's lap (I fainted when Kyle received his shots at his 2 week appt.). And I didn't once think about the two babies we lost between Kyle and Micah. Yesterday was Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. I always remember around the time I lost them and on their birthdays. It still makes me cry on a good day. So to all of you who have lost your little ones, my heart goes out to you.

Kevin commented that Micah seemed to be growing up faster than Kyle did, after I told him I'd scheduled Micah's 4 month appointment. It's true. I didn't think we would survive Kyle's first year (you were one tough infant buddy)! Micah's first year seems like it is slipping away. I really wanted to savor his infancy and I have as much as possible, but I've really been in survival mode since before he was born and it's frustrating.

Thankfully, it looks like some stability may be coming our way, as we get to move in to our new house on Monday! We won't close until later in the week, but our lease is up on Tuesday and our storage bill comes due on Monday, so the owners graciously are allowing us to take occupancy on Monday. Can I tell you what a relief that is? There is no way to describe how hard these past 3 months have been. Kevin will sometimes comment that it seems to have gotten easier, but for me it's just that it feels normal now. It's still one of the hardest experiences I've ever gone through and I am still treading water.

Micah is 4 months old, 16 lbs, and 27 inches long. He is happy, still so happy! This week he started rolling and now he rolls all over the house; it's crazy that one day all he can do is lay on his back and the next he can move! Our pediatrician said he can start solids whenever we want, but I think I'll hold off till he's 6 months. However, with the new development of rolling has come a regression in sleeping. Ugh. Kevin has been so faithful to help me with the nights. Micah is up a lot and it's been a really tough almost 2 weeks now of sleeplessness. Thankfully, he is once again napping during the day (yes, he wasn't napping and we were both miserable for a couple days there). So, my assumption is that night time sleep should be coming around again soon. He loves to grab at things and is continually enamored with Kyle.

Kyle is doing better and better. We've been working on listening with him for the past several weeks and both of us have noticed a real change in him this week with listening and responding to us the first time we ask/inform him of something. It's wonderful! Also, it seems Kyle has been making friends at preschool, despite our initial misgivings (Taryn is my friend, I tell other kids I don't want to be their friends. What he forgets is that Taryn is moving back to Texas in May, lol.). Kyle has started sounding out words, like overnight. On our trip to AZ, we were in the Nashville airport and he looks up as we walk through security and says "Mom, why does that say "Exit"?". Instead of answering him, I ask "How do you know it says "Exit"?" and he sounds out the word to me Ehhh-x-ihhh-tt. I'll hear him in his car seat in the back saying and sounding out letters on signs as we are stopped at traffic lights. IT's fantastic; I remember doing those things as a kid when I was learning how to read! Lately, he'll hear Kevin and me talking about something "adult" and ask us what we're talking about. Then we'll explain it to him and he is truly interested about what's going on outside of him and his world. This is a totally new development for Kyle!

Our trip to AZ was fantastic. AZ still feels like home to me, but as we were getting ready to leave, I realized that wherever Kevin and the boys are, that is home for me right now in my life. It was so good to get back to Kevin; I still have my "I hate Nashville" days, but they aren't everyday, as they were in the beginning. I know we didn't get to see everyone we wanted to while we were in AZ, but we are coming back at Christmas for a longer period of time, and Kevin will be with us! We will be spending a couple days in Tucson, hopefully over a weekend so we can see some of you at church.

Lastly, we have found a church. It's a non denominational church, about the size of our church in Tucson. I don't know that we LOVE it the way we love Vineyard, but it's good. I think it's good for all of us to have a place we are going consistently and to be building community there. It is right down the street from our new place! And, I love Wed. night church service; it's like a breather during the week to reconnect and get some prayer and encouragement. Also, no dinner duty, yea!

As October winds down, Kyle will be finishing up his soccer season, we have a few Fall festivals to attend where the boys will be dressing up and collecting candy (Kyle is going as a soccer player, and Micah is going as a horse. If I had been really on top of things, I would have convinced Kyle to be a cowboy this year, that would have been cute!), and we are looking forward to a visit from Grammy!

If you don't have plans for Thanksgiving, won't you join us here in Nashville? Our house is open and we would love to see you :o)! That's all the news I have for tonight.

About once a week,

both boys end up in bed early and about the same time! Kevin and I break out the ice cream and a netflix movie to watch on his laptop. Tonight is that night, although, Kevin is still laying down with Kyle. We actually had both boys in bed and started the movie when Kyle peeked his head around the wall and said: "What's that chocolate?!?" in reference to Kevin's ice cream, lol! We gave him a few bites and shuffled him off to bed, which is where Kev is right now.

The boys are doing well. Micah is always happy unless he is hungry or tired. I went to Bible study on Tuesday morning and Micah slept in the nursery the whole time! I couldn't believe it. It was wonderful! I had him all swaddled and laying in the crib with his binky when I left him. The baby sitter said all she did was rock him for a minute and he was out. Oh the joys of being a parent the second time around and having an easy baby!

Kyle started drawing today! He was tracing his name with a crayon, I had drawn it out for him in pen and he started coloring the page. I asked him to draw our family and he up and started drawing stick figures with faces! It was awesome, so cute. I still have no idea what handed he is. He was using his right hand earlier today with me, but was drawing with his left hand this evening after dinner when we showed Kevin what he had been doing. Kyle has never ever been interested in writing, coloring, etc... I've never pushed it, so that is why this was so cool to see!

We had our home inspection today! There are a few issues that we'll address with the owners, but no deal breakers it seems. We'll have the full report tomorrow.

Micah is:
Doing better in the car; he doesn't scream every time!
Sucking his thumb when he isn't swaddled.
Going for nightly walks with me in the stroller around our apt. complex.
ticklish! His giggles and laughs are like music to my ears!
Always happy, he wakes up happy and smiles at anyone who will talk with him/give him attention

Kyle is:
Getting smarter everyday as he tinkers with/takes apart various things around the house (like our digital camera)
A rhyming machine (I love you pove you, Micah picah, mommy pommy, daddy paddy, etc...)
Sleeping in his own room again, in the new twin bunkable beds we found for him (and eventually Micah) on craigslist
More imaginative than ever before, playing pretend not only with his cars, but with his stuffed animals and his hands (his fingers are a make believe spider that crawls around our house)
More loving and protective of Micah than I ever imagined he would be, in fact, he asked for us to have "lots more kids in our family"

That's all I have time for tonight! Movie is over and I'm off to bed.

Celebrate with me!

God has provided at the last minute and we are buying a house! I say last minute, because our lease is up here at the apt. on October 20th. It seems you need a good 30-45 days to close on a house, so this was going to be our last weekend looking and then we were going to "break up" with our agent (poor guy has shown us upwards of 50 houses, with two small children in tow) and start looking at rentals.

We couldn't be more thrilled with the location and neighborhood. It's a listing I found, because our agent was only showing us 3 bed/2 bath homes, but these were not in desirable neighborhoods for our price range. I started looking at 2 bed/2 bath homes and asked him to show us this listing last week! We saw the house on Thursday, put in an offer on Friday, they counter offered this evening, and we accepted.

It's a 2 bed/2 1/2 bath townhome on a cul de sac. We can walk everywhere: groceries, mcdonalds, library, park, even the boys' pediatrician that I picked out not knowing where we would be living! The only two places I have to drive are preschool and gymnastics, which are both closer than where we live now. Poor Kev does get a longer commute though, at 11 miles away from work.

So where is this perfect place? Here.

And a bonus! I saw two little boys bikes outside the front door of the house next to us; the one we will share a wall with!

That's my good news tonight!

Birthday boy

Birthday cookie cake in Nashville!

Kyle starts preschool tomorrow! He is so excited.

Kyle had his fourth birthday last week. We had a party in Tucson with his friends before we left and a small family party here on his actual birthday. We went to the ice cream plant that morning, McDonalds for lunch, and then he chose to watch movies all afternoon, lol! We had pizza for dinner and a cookie cake with candles for dessert. He has continued to receive little packages in the mail from family and friends back home and loves it! He wants to know what is in the mail for him everyday when we go check the box.

Now that he is four years old, he has started doing things that he told his he couldn't do when he was three because he wasn't a "big boy"! He started standing up to pee on his birthday eve, gets dressed and eats by himself, clicks himself in to his own car seat, and is "brave" when faced with potentially scary experiences.

I feel like I missed out on his whole 3 year old year with us moving right before his 3rd birthday, the adoption classes, and then Micah's pregnancy. Kyle was required to grow up more this year than any 3 year old should have to! Despite all that Kevin and I have been dealing with the past 12 months, poor Kyle has been stressed out too. The other day he asked me when we were going back to AZ and I told him sometime in October, and he goes "To stay?!?" and I had to tell him no, that we would come back to Nashville. Then he has days when he tells me he loves it here and doesn't want to live anywhere else, lol!

We are starting to have a couple of good days every week, but the bad days are still really, really bad. I continue to feel defeated in our housing search and if something doesn't work out this weekend, we will start looking for a rental.

The boys continue to grow grow grow! We met our new pediatrician and she's wonderful, although the office isn't great, so I'm not sure we'll stick with her. Kyle is hovering around the 50-75th percentile for height and weight while Micah is up in the 90-95th percentile for height and weight. We kept thinking he was quite a big boy! I'm excited Kyle's growth spurts have slowed down, as this means we can keep using his 5 pt harness in his car seat for a little longer. Kevin has graciously allowed me to purchase some new baby carriers, as Micah can get very heavy, very fast, and of course, he loves to be carried as opposed to sitting in the car seat or stroller!

Nashville, TN

Well, I think I can finally update, but I need to apologize that it will probably be a little here and there. The last couple weeks have been rough, to say the least. I get lost daily, with the boys in the car. We have a large apartment, but just a couple air mattresses, lamps, and bed/bath linens in it. It has stairs, which is a big deal when you are lugging the infant car set, diaper bag, and groceries up from the parking lot. Today I locked the boys in the apartment, telling Kyle not to answer the door for anyone, while I unloaded our Costco run. I tested him by knocking on the door two separate times, and he didn't answer! I did open the door and tell him it had been mommy knocking to see if he would answer, then we did high fives that he was such a good listener. I figure if emergency personnel need to get in and he doesn't answer the door, they can break it down. Additionally, we only had washer/dryer hook ups, thinking we would use the laundromats here at the complex...well, that was a mistake. We are now renting a washer/dryer and that has been a huge blessing.

The highlights of my week are going out to eat because we get to sit in chairs and eat at a table and going to church because I get to nurse in a rocking chair (as opposed to the floor).

Kyle misses his friends and his toys/books/furniture. I broke down and enrolled him in preschool this week at a Baptist Church about 20 minutes away. All the church preschools near us have hefty price tags and meet every day of the week. The preschool where Kyle will be attending meets twice a week from 9-2 and is reasonably priced. I'm excited and sad about this. I know he'll enjoy it and I'll enjoy some one on one time with Micah. I'm so amazed he's old enough to go to preschool. Our big back to school purchase will be a lunchbox; hopefully something eco friendly/sustainable.

We have our first playdate tomorrow morning and I am so excited, lol. The mom we are meeting has two kids also, an almost 4 year old girl and a 2 year old boy. We met her and her husband at the church we visited this past weekend. They just moved here from Texas 7 weeks ago for her husband to start a job in radiology at Vanderbilt. It was nice to meet someone else going through some of the same things as us recently!

We found a fantastic storytime at the main library, but Kyle is nervous about the puppets they use, so we go to our little library storytime that's around the corner. It's not up to par with our Tucson storytimes, but the children's librarian is very friendly, helpful, and knows us by name when we visit.

The zoo here is wonderful and I immediately purchased a membership...it's also only 2 miles down the road from us. I'm excited to try out the science center next week!

We live in a very diverse area. This evening I met three women from Jordan and their kids at the playground in our complex. They have lived in nashville for almost 10 years! One of them was pregnant with baby #4 and very interested in the ringsling I was wearing Micah in. We live right on the fringe of Nashville's Hispanic area, which is funny to me to see all these businesses with billboards in Spanish as we drive here and there.

We overflowed our dishwasher, which had something to do with going to the laundromat. We own two cars now. We are trying to buy a house, which is tricky with two kids in tow. We were unable to access our money because the credit union we belong to is the only one in Arizona not in the nationwide credit union co op.

I really appreciate all the prayers, calls, texts, and emails. I'm sorry I haven't replied. It's been so overwhelming that I cry just thinking about connecting with all the people we love and miss. This week I have started to return phone calls, so don't give up on me yet! If you want little daily updates here and there, add me as a friend on Facebook. I try to upload at least one picture a day of the boys.

Time for bed. I forgot how noisy young babies are when they sleep. Micah sleeps quite well, but is incredibly noisy trying to burp and toot all night long, lol. I'm a light sleeper, so I often lay awake and watch him. He is getting big and I'm excited for the boys to both have checkups at the end of August.

Babywearing

Well, Micah tried out all three of our baby slings/wraps today and fell asleep just moments after being placed in them! This morning I took him out to the park with Kyle in a front cross carry in our homemade wrap; he slept the whole time. This afternoon we stopped by our neighbors house with Micah in our well loved ring sling and he was out as soon as I sat down on the couch. And tonight, I popped him in the pouch sling to head outside with Kevin and Kyle for a few minutes as the sun went down; once again, he fell right to sleep!

In baby poop news (you wouldn't believe how much you talk about what's in your child's diaper when you have a little one), we are still struggling with a diaper rash. Last night, Kevin went out again to get Desitin (we've tried all the good for you, organic creams with no success), some baby washcloths to use as cloth wipes (which I love using so far), and a pack of newborn soothies (pacifiers). Micah did allow Kevin to give him a pacifier for a little comfort, but let it be known that he will not be falling asleep with a paci in his mouth. I don't know how much we'll actually end up using them.

Also, I got a gDiaper starter kit today, after reading lots of great things about the pants which seem to be more breathable and help with diaper rash. We have tried all sorts of cloth and disposable diaper combinations since Micah was born to get rid of this rash. I don't know if it's sensitive skin, the major humidity we've been having with the monsoons starting, or what. I'll keep you posted.

Lastly, our crib was recalled two days ago; the crib we used with Kyle, lol, and were now using with Micah. So, today we dismantled the crib and returned it to Target, where they gave us a gift card for the full purchase price plus tax. Micah will be sleeping in his play pen for now. I don't know if we'll get him a new crib when we move to Nashville or not. We put Kyle on a mattress on the floor a little after he turned 1 year old, so it seems silly to invest in a crib that will be used for such a short time. I'm guessing we could probably pick up a used crib pretty cheap, although all the experts advise against that. Ah well.

We are headed out for fireworks shortly! Happy 4th of July!

Kyle on walkie talkies

"He takes his talkie talkie with him just like you take your phone with you so he can call people" in regards to the Lego fireman set he received this morning from a good friend. He also insists that the fireman's hat "looks funny" when it is on correctly and insists he saw a fireman with his hat on backwards "on the big screen".

We are all doing well, hanging in there. The boys and I leave the house about once a day, which means less is getting done that needs to. I should still hit the bank and grocery store today, but who knows if that will happen. Kyle is playing fireman and Micah is sleeping out here in the front room in his playpen.

Early on, Micah could care less whether or not he was swaddled, but Monday night he just couldn't settle himself, so we broke out the miracle blanket again and he slept! I've been using it for naps and most nighttime sleep, although sometimes he still sleeps w/o being swaddled at the beginning of the night. It makes nighttime feedings easier to keep him swaddled, but isn't so much fun for diaper changes. This little guy was dirtying every diaper we put on him at first! Thankfully, this week, he is no longer dirtying every diaper, more like every other diaper. I've been using cloth at home, disposables while we are out. One of Kevin's colleagues sent over their newborn cloth diaper stash for us to borrow until we leave, and it has been great using fitteds and AIOs. Kyle used to wait a week to dirty a diaper, but then it would be a poop explosion. Kevin and I marvel at the completely different bodily processes our two boys have. I'm curious to see how different they are in other ways!

At his two week appointment, Micah was 8lbs 11oz and 22 inches long. Tall and skinny, just like brother: top of the percentile for height, bottom of the percentile for weight. I think Kyle just hit 50th percentile for weight this past year, at his 3 year old check up, lol. Micah has been more awake this week, or had more wakeful periods I guess you could say, and is focusing a lot more. He's also startling more, hence, the swaddling. He still does pretty well in the car, usually only crying if he needs to burp, eat, or is sweaty. I am off dairy, because it seemed to be causing him intestinal issues. This has greatly decreased what I can eat, and I'm still trying to remember what I ate when I had to do this with Kyle. Everything seems to have dairy in it! Lastly, he is enjoying time in his slings/wraps more and even slept our entire trip to the library today in Kyle's old ring sling. It was great!

Lofty had been abandoned briefly upon Micah's arrival, but is once again an integral part of our daily routine. He basically does everything that Micah does: nurse, burp, ride in the sling, get diaper and clothing changes, nap, etc...Although, Lofty has yet to leave the house w/us to go anywhere.

Speaking of going places, can I tell you that the pricey stroller we bought is worth every penny! It is so nice to have the ability to push both boys wherever we are at, and often, people don't even realize there is an infant in the lay flat seat. I can steer it with one hand and it has no problems going over "terrain" (read park grass, gravel, dirt). So, where have we been since Micah's arrival? Well, a few parks and rec classes, Costco, grocery store, hardware store, bank, playdates, library, gas station, restaurants, and the park. Occasionally, I'll only have one child with me when I go out and that is like a piece of cake now!

Well, Micah is stirring, so off I go!