Brotherly Love

I remember when I was pregnant, I really wanted to have another boy. Why? Well for one, it was all I knew. Heck, and I have a ton of boys stuff that I could reuse! For two (can you say "for two") I always wanted a sister growing up and I thought it would be cool for Connor to have that bond with a brother.

After Isla came, I was so happy. And I realized, I had nothing to worry about. I have an incredible relationship with my older brother. Sure, we didn't get along so well when I was an un-cool junior higher and he was in high school. But when I was going into high school we moved and we became each others friend. I have lots of good memories from growing up with him...vacations, crazy car stories and helping each other keep things from the parents (sorry mom & dad). And let's face it, brothers are awesome. My brother can make me laugh like no other. I feel comfortable and secure around him. Who wouldn't want an older brother?!?

Its fun watching Connor develop a relationship with Isla. Whenever he gets the opportunity, he tries to shut himself in a room with her...trouble! I caught him "petting" her head and saying "Isla" over and over. Too freaking cute! Of course, later I heard him say "bye, bye Isla" and turned around to find him covering her head with a blanket. But still, he seems to love her a lot and like being around her.

Here is Isla enjoying her older brother torturing her in the bath the other night. He was squirting water on her. Of course, she didn't care cause it's her older brother!

What I Wore {four}

Last night I went to a little get together with some other gals. Being that I didn't know most of them, I thought I would break the mold a little and actually put a little effort into my outfit (i.e. try a little harder than the "arms are for hugging" t-shirt that was covered in spit up that I had worn all day). Anyway, here is what I came up with.

Necklace: PacSun

Shoes: Toms

I realized after putting on the outfit that everything except for my necklace and shoes are from Scotland. Made me miss the shopping there. And those jeans, they are my favorites. I really need to buy another pair of them as they won't be wearable for much longer...they have a nice hole forming on the butt. I need to get back to Scotland for so many reasons, one of them being shopping!

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And a little P.S. Sorry for my absence. I had so many technical problems this past week, it wasn't even funny...probably because it ended with me having to spend money to fix them! But, I'm back up and running again. Thankfully. I was going thru withdrawals. Pathetic, I know.

I've Become...

That Mom!

Well not that mom. I still totally dress my kids every day. And not even that mom. You know, the one that wears velour tracksuits. But I've become

That Mom.

The one that frequents the Starbucks drive thru because it's just easier than going in. I actually drove out of my way today to hit up a Starbucks drive thru. Had I driven the fastest way home, I would have driven past two Starbucks. But neither of them has a drive thru and trying to get in and out with two babes plus a drink...well that's near impossible. So drive thru it is.

And you know what? I'm okay with being that mom. You know, the one that drives out of her way to use a convenient drive thru...even if I know my husband will totally judge me for this!

Pictures {My House}

It's no secret that I like taking pictures. Between both kids, I take more than a thousand pictures a month. Don't worry though...I only consider a couple hundred of them to be good. I know, a little overkill. But I don't want to forget anything.

Given my obsession with documenting life, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I like having pictures up in our house. One of my missions lately has been figuring out how to display all these pictures.

One idea I implemented was a photo collage wall over our fireplace. The fireplace has built in bookshelves on both sides, so it really is just a half wall. Anyway, I decided to make the picture frames non-matching. That way I could just use what I already have. Genius, right? I originally started the picture wall from one of the sides, but ended up re-doing it in the center of the wall. And what better center picture than our wedding picture? I probably shouldn't admit this, but this is the first time in our 8.5 years of marriage that a wedding picture has adorned our walls. Don't judge. Its up now!

Over the couch I have a collage of matching frames. These frames have traveled the world with us and have adorned many a walls.  I originally bought them for my office at work back in the day. Then they were one of the only household things we took to Scotland with us. And they obviously made it back to California safely.

One thing that I wanted to do consistently with each kid is display some of their baby pictures. So, I ended up framing the same pictures of the Connor and Isla together in the hallway - their birth announcements, a picture of them being weighed at the hospital and a favorite picture of them taken soon after they were born (both of these pictures were also in their birth announcements). 

And my last little thing of the day. My mom scored a Pottery Barn shadow box at a thrift store for $3 with the tag still on it!  She was nice enough to give it to me. I took it and put some of Isla's special things from her birth in it and hung it on the wall. I realize that none of these items I kept will ever matter to her (who doesn't want the clip that was on their umbilical cord?!?), but they matter to me and that's all that matters! (Do you think I said "matter" enough in that last sentence?) 

Think that is enough pictures hanging in my house? Hardly. I have tons more in the playroom (and the kids rooms). But I will show the whole playroom on my blog soon, so I don't want to spoil it by showing you the pictures on the walls!

That God...

He's a smart one!

You see, he eases us in to parenthood. When babies are born, all they need is to eat, sleep and poop. Sure, the crying and sleepless nights can stretch us to our limits, but that's nothing compared to when they are teenagers! I think Connor stretching his will is challenging, then I talk to my friend with kids in school. Her 7 year old give an attitude like she is a teenager. Its crazy!

Its not just budding personalities that we are eased in to. Its other things too. Like poop...

This may look bad, but it really isn't. Breastfed poop doesn't smell bad. It smells kind of like buttered popcorn. And its always the same color and consistency. Easy. Its God easing us into this whole parenting thing. Seriously, Connor can emit some smells and poops that practically knock me out. Speaking of Connor and poop, he pooped on the toilet the other night. Now that's something to write about! We aren't potty training yet, but it certainly is a step in the right direction...and one less poopie diaper for me to deal with!

I'm thankful for the learning curve God gives us...allowing us to start at kindergarten rather than high school. I look forward to the challenges of parenting, both with fear and excitement. When I pray for my kids at night, not only do I pray for them, but I pray for me and Ian. We want to do it right.

Chaos

I've always done well with chaos in my life. In fact, the more I have going on, the more organized I become. The less I have, the more I slack off. Makes sense, right?

I was with another mom today and she asked me if I had been napping since Isla came. It was a valid question. I napped almost every day while I was pregnant. And now I am getting less sleep. Yet, I am not napping. In fact, I think I have only napped once or twice since her arrival. Of course, there is coffee to get me thru it all!

That got me thinking. With Isla around, I have actually been getting more done around the house. The house is staying cleaner. I have gone back to meal planning. The laundry is getting done. Heck, I have even been managing to get small projects done around the house. So why have I been so lazy before Isla arrived?

Again, more thinking. Which really made me realize I just need to give myself a break. I was pretty on top of things before we moved back to California. Then, we lived with my parents for a few months. And by the time we bought our house, I was 5+ months pregnant. I was starting to regress. Starting to sit around a lot. I think that is just a part of pregnancy. Call it being hard to bend over, or the fact that you are hot all the time. I just didn't do much.

Then out comes the baby and I seem to have hit the ground running. I like it. I like the more organized Jessica who already has planned what's for dinner. I like the Jessica that finally unpacked all the boxes in her house and is getting things done. I like the Jessica that plays with her kids and is productive during their nap time. All this organization makes me feel good. Makes me feel happy.

Feeling happy about organization? That makes me feel old!


P.S. I also realized maybe my house is staying cleaner because I don't go out as much now that I have two kids! Leaving the house by myself with both kids can sometimes be a challenge.

The Escape Artist

A few months ago Connor started crawling out of his crib. We considered taking the side off his crib as we didn't want him to hurt himself. I watched him do it one time and realized he was actually doing it rather safely. And, as quickly as he started doing it, he stopped. He only did it like three or four times.

Then all the sudden, he started it up again the other day. It was nap time and I heard Connor's door handle rattling...its a round handle and he hasn't quite mastered turning it enough to open the door. Ever since then (it's been like four days) he has only taken one nap. The other times, he has let himself out of his crib and played in his room...quietly.

Today I actually thought he was napping. Then I walked past his room and noticed he had pushed something under his door. But I still didn't hear anything, so I thought maybe he fell asleep on his floor or something. Then I opened the door and caught him playing.


Yes, I did bust in with the camera in my hand. I am cool like that!

Now there is a dilemma...do we take the side of Connor's crib off? I am still thinking no. When I go check on him before I go to bed, I find him every which way in bed. And so far he is staying in bed at night. Because of this, I am thinking the crib does provide some comfort for him and am not yet ready to make him give that up. Plus, I have heard of kids going from sleeping great to being bad sleepers when transitioning out of a crib. I'm already dealing with one not great sleeper. I don't know if I am ready to take on another one.