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Parades, Fireworks, Candy - Oh My!

I've been working on a post for a while now, and have decided to scrap it in favor of a simple update on a great weekend. I mean - I'm hormonal, emotional and hanging onto my sanity by a thread...doesn't make for a very upbeat post!

Anyway - we spent the 4th weekend up in Breckenridge with our friends, the Watkins, and got some more visiting in with our friends who are here from Austin. It was a great time, the kids had a blast at the huge parade and were in awe of the fireworks. We stayed in an awesome place, and only had about 1/4 m. walk to probably the best place in town to view the show! It was so nice to get away for a few days, and get some good chill time in with friends.

Hazel is doing great, she is really an easy baby - much easier than Evan was, in hindsight! I can't decide if that's a 2nd born thing, or just the difference b/w girls and boys, but I'm loving her predictability and really appreciating this time around how EASY newborns are. She's had terrible baby acne & cradle cap, hence the lack of pictures this past week, but she's been smiling a lot more and is starting to make really cute cooing noises!

Evan continues his toddler antics. I'm struggling a bit trying to embrace his "boy" ways (aka: animalistic tendencies). He has his good moments and not so good moments, but when my patience is thin and I'm exhausted (pretty much 100% of every day), it's extremely hard to deal with the not so good ones! At heart, he has such a sweet soul and is really loving - so I try to remember that when he's jumping off the couch, screaming as loud as he can and shooting things. Oh, our morning started the other day with him pouring dark plum colored nail polish all over our beige-carpeted stairs. Sweeet...

Here's a cute picture of Pete & Hazel, and our friend Chris with Ava, on Pete's birthday - the girls are only 7 weeks apart! It's been really great for Heather and I to hang out often, letting the older kids run out their energy while we cuddle the new ones and share the joys and trials of our days.

Life With 2

It's one of those things, like pretty much all of parenthood, that you just can't understand until you've experienced it. I think that all in all, things are going amazingly well for us as a newly expanded family. Now, that isn't to say that we're not having our struggles, or that I haven't been frequently reduced to tears or yelling. One of the things that I've really come to value in my friendships is HONESTY. And it seems to be something that is fairly rare especially among mothers - there is so much competition and judgement out there! I love to be able to share the good things and lament about the struggles, and to find that no matter what it is, there is a friend that's been there - or more likely in our group, one that is currently going through it! So, being perfectly honest - life with 2 is really wonderful, and really hard. Not exactly profound, is it? I am being honest when someone asks how it's going, and I say "Great!". But they're usually not asking during that fussy hour, or in the middle of yet another meltdown from Evan... And for those that have experienced it and know better, or know me well enough to delve a little deeper - well, you're just risking that you'll catch me at a moment where I need to vent. Or cry. Or maybe sing with joy about our 2 beautiful, healthy children.

And speaking of healthy, isn't it amazing that kids (especially toddlers), STAY relatively healthy, despite the things they get into? For instance, while playing at the park and finding that chasing balls with his friends just wasn't cutting it for fun, Evan decided to collect dried up worms. Lots of them.

Hazel - 3 weeks old!

The First 10 Days

We had Hazel's check up with the midwives & with her pediatrician this week, and she's doing perfectly. I'd like to take credit for having amazingly yummy milk, but I think that it's more likely we've lucked out with 2 really good eaters - Hazel gained an entire pound in just 1 week! I wish we could go to the birth center for everything, I'm really going to miss going there, it's just so much more peaceful and enjoyable than Going To The Doctor. Hazel is changing daily, as newborns do, and we think getting cuter by the minute! She's really sweet & mellow, sleeps great, and even has had her waking hours only when the sun is up...so far. Evan's been an awesome big brother, he always wants to hold her and loves when she grips his finger. Of course, the change in the house has been a lot for him to adjust to, and that's manifesting itself how it usually does with Evan - with sleep issues. We're now armed with some varied advice from friends who have been there (thank you!), but we're thinking that maybe this is just something we need to accept until it passes. I'm just trying to remember how thankful I am for his age and relative maturity, this would have been much more difficult a few months ago. Also, Pete's been an enormous help - it's man on man around here. What in the world do people with tons of kids DO??

Here are some photos from the past week:

Happy family of 4!
Brother & sister - awwww....
A doe gave birth to 2 fawns right on the other side of our fence the other day! I think she chose our house because she knew what a wonderful entry to the world Hazel just had :)
Hazel's first of many poolside happy hours - she's just 4 days old!

Welcome, Baby Hazel!

We are so thrilled to welcome Hazel Mae to our family! She is just the most precious little thing, and looks so much like Evan did as a baby. She was born at the Mountain Midwifery Birth Center on Monday, June 1st and we were home just 4 hours later! It was a wonderful experience being there, exactly what we had hoped for - peaceful, calm and loving, without all of the unnecessary chaos that goes with a hospital birth. Hazel was born "in caul", and into water in the birthing tub, it was really amazing. The midwives were all really excited since being born in caul is so rare, and just added to the excitement of her birth. It's really nice to have this time to bond as a new family at home, and we're grateful to have both sets of parents here to help out. Evan's been really great so far - but I think all older siblings are, until they realize the baby isn't leaving! But he's really the perfect age to be welcoming her, accepting and curious, and easily distracted by playtime with the grandparents. He loves to touch her and talk about her, we just keep reminding him of all of the fun things he gets to do because he's the Big Brother. We had our home visit today and Hazel is doing perfectly, she's 6 lbs. 15 oz. and exactly as she should be. I feel great, so much better than I did the first time around - just excited to introduce her to everyone!

Evan:

Hazel:

Getting Closer...

We have less than a week until my due date, and we're still crossing our fingers that this little girl makes a slightly early appearance. Everything is going well, I've made some progress, and my midwife confirmed that she had dropped a couple of stations in the past week. Of course - "progress" in labor terms could mean anything, maybe she'll come tonight, and maybe I'll still be pregnant well into June! Except for extreme exhaustion and the usual aches & pains of being 39+ weeks pregnant, I'm feeling ok. Why is the anticipation and anxiety of The End so unbearable? Not that I'm a particularly patient person to begin with, but you'd think with all of my training in childbirth & labor, I'd be able to surrender to the unknown of this a bit better. Afterall, I'm the one who's been reminding my friends that "babies come when they're ready!" - I'm just really hoping every minute that OUR baby is ready now! We've been trying to keep busy with activities, as much as my energy level allows, and also get some little projects done around the house.
We had another awesome shower thrown by Pete's coworkers this past weekend - it was completely girly'd out, and I just loved it. Everyone was so generous, and we have a ton of new, adorable outfits to deck this little one out in! I never thought I'd be the kind of mom who dressed her daughter in frills & pink...but after having a boy first and struggling with how NOT cute most of the stuff is, I'm all in - bring on the ruffles!
This week I officially gave up working out, I hung in there as long as I could without being completely miserable, and I'm feeling pretty good about my fitness level throughout this pregnancy - which isn't actually that hard since I was pretty much INactive while pregnant with Evan! We have her room set up, although she'll be sleeping with us for a while - the wall decals are my favorite, easy to stick & removable when we're sick of them!
So - send us some good labor vibes, we're ready anytime now!

Happy Mom's Day!

Happy day to all of the wonderful, hard working moms out there!

Mommy & her monster - I mean...adorable, brilliant, idyllic son:

It says a lot about my current state of mind and energy level when my perfect day is as simple as lots of good food, sleep & having help running some errands. I'm actually grateful for the cloudy, cool day today...like many people that live in this perpetually sunny state, it's sometimes nice to have an excuse NOT to go out and be active!

We're down to the final couple of weeks, and OH MY GOODNESS (a favorite Evan saying), am I ready to have this baby! She is extremely low - this according to my midwives who can feel the base of her skull in my pelvis rather than the top of her head, and backed up by the she's-about-to-fall-out feeling I have down there. This gives me hope that a) she'll be early, and b) I'll have a miraculously short labor. I figure after my first birth experience, I pretty much earned that. Here's to hoping!

A pic of the beautiful henna painting on my ready to burst belly:

"Playgroup"

At this point, this word has come to have many meanings for us. Before we had Evan and I heard the word "playgroup", I envisioned (I know this is terrible) a group of dowdy moms sitting around scrapbooking about their babies and eating Doritos. Maybe I'm not the only one, and this is why so many women are waiting longer to become a mother? In any case, what we've searched for/found/created is a wonderful departure from what I used to envision! Our playgroups provide us with grounding, support, exercise & play buddies, friends, a sense of community - and on and on.

Here's what I mean:

Girls Playgroup - outdoor fun & hanging out. Doesn't it appear that our group breeds like rabbits? Neighborhood Playgroup - at "The Cave"

What a pleasant surprise from what I had feared of suburbia living. I never dreamt of hanging out in a setting like this, with a neighbor providing live entertainment, kegs, a chocolate fountain (the hosts must be catering to pregnant ladies), and a fire pit - all in the name of "playtime" for the kids! Pretty much doesn't get cooler than this.

Epitome of Childhood

Celebrating Baby

We were incredibly spoiled this week with baby celebrations! I know that I gush about what great friends we have a lot, but truly, we have the kindest, most generous, loving group of friends anyone could ever hope for.

(35.5 Weeks!)

The weekend kicked off with a gift that Pete gave me, a photo session at Body Photage, and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. It's no secret that I haven't felt the greatest this pregnancy - physically or mentally, and a couple of hours with Darrell was all it took to make me feel like the most beautiful pregnant woman alive! Who knew that it could be so much FUN to be nude for 2 hours in front of essentially a stranger? We viewed the proofs just a couple of days later, and we're really excited to have some of his gorgeous work to forever reflect our celebration of this new baby.

Saturday we had a couples shower thrown by Casey & Jevan, Natalie & Christa, and it was so much fun. Casey went all out making a huge spread of yummy Southern food, and we lingered for hours just enjoying the company of friends that we don't get to see very often. It meant so much to us that everyone made it a priority to celebrate this occasion with us, we are so thankful for everyone's time & generosity!

Sunday I had a girls shower with my amazing "mom friends". We spent the morning in Boulder at a yoga class and having brunch at one of my favorite spots, the Boulder Tea House. They put together the most thoughtful "blessingway" gift, which included a henna belly painting, a sitting for newborn photos with the photographer who did Evan's 1 yr. pix, and all kinds of things to use for labor & postpartum - such a cool idea, and so very me! Their support and friendship continues to be the rock of my existence as a mother.

It's hard to believe we're down to only 4 weeks (give or take) - it's gone really fast this time around, although I'm sure the next few weeks will drag in anticipation. I'm feeling pretty good, considering. Just anxious to not be pregnant, and to meet our little girl! She's rolling & pushing all the time like she's trying to escape the confines, and I just can't imagine that there's anywhere else for her to go but OUT - I feel huge, and like I have to put in some serious effort to keep from doing the pregnant waddle. I don't remember feeling like this with Evan until the last week or so, even though I was much bigger with him.

Happy Easter!

I didn't really remember how fun this holiday can be! I mean, most of the Easter's we've spent in Denver have been with friends & lots of cocktails, which is undeniably fun - but leave it to a toddler to remind you of being a kid and how days like this can be magical. We started the festivites bravely with Toddler Egg Dying 101 - and even survived without any major catastrophe, despite lots of kids with short attention spans and many cups of dye. Then Evan got to make and eat cookies with Nana - a huge hit, especially sneaking bits of the sugar sprinkles. This morning was like Christmas with all of the basket gifts (and candy), followed by brunch with the Easter bunny and an egg hunt. Evan was pretty frightened of the grown man in a bunny suit for about 10 minutes, then he warmed right up and was yelling, "Hi, Easter Bunny!" the rest of the time. He even willingly followed him outside for the egg hunt (and more candy)! We visited with good friends at a mid-day party where Evan was a little testy (I'm sure it had nothing to do with all of the excitement...and candy), then spent the afternoon napping and getting Evan's "big boy" bed all set up in his room for the inaugural night - hopefully the sugar crash will knock him right out and it will go smoothly!

They're being so careful!

Practicing his babysitting skills

Making cookies at Nana's

Hiding from the scary bunny, he'll never get me in here.

Oh wait, - he's not so bad!
(After we reminded him that the bunny brought him candy)

Egg Hunting!

2 Going on 20

You know it's NCAA tournament time when your 2 year old (after a few days of no games) asks: "Mommy, is anybody playing basketball tonight?". !?!

Followed by dinner time, in which he touches none of the rice, macaroni salad, or teriyaki that would usually interest a toddler - but instead asks for, "More sushi, please!!". These are going to be expensive tastes to keep up with...

One of his favorite foods lately is tofu, what a true Colorado boy :)

We had some friends over to watch the games and enjoyed 2 amazing MSU wins last weekend - wow! We also celebrated Gm. Lundgren's 65th bday - hard to tell if Evan liked saying "Happy Birthday, Grandma" or eating his mini cupcake more. He still wishes me a happy bday almost daily, and mine was 2 months ago!

He's been telling anyone who'll listen that he "has a baby sister in mommy's tummy", which is pretty adorable. And the other night while we were out to dinner we caught the beginning of this funny conversation between him and the older man next to him:

Evan: "Hi, I'm Evan!"

Man: "Well, hello Evan. How are you?"

Evan: "I'm doing good. I'm cute! You cute, too?"

Ah - the honesty of a toddler. Obviously, he's been told that a few times before! He's really into trying to figure out all of his friends mom's names lately - and getting straight all of the new babies in the group. He's doing pretty well, it's a lot for a little one to remember. I just love that he's growing up with such a great group of moms who watch out for and love him, and that he's so comfortable with!

I had my 32 week appointment with the midwives today and everything is going great. I'm still measuring small, but nothing concerning. I've definitely felt a huge energy drain in the past couple of weeks, and we're getting anxious to meet this little one! She's been doing some borderline painful gymnastics in there lately, but it's fun to pick out the body parts as they move around - such a cool & bizarre sensation. It's been so wonderful this time to have other pregnant friends to share the experience with, and I feel really confident about the support system we have to look forward to - for Evan and for us! I remember feeling pretty alone while pregnant & isolated from our friends the first time around, this is much better for the hormonal psyche :)

We attended a really fun class at the zoo, where the kids got to go on a "safari" finding different animals, make a photo book about their journey, and touch cool stuff like a rhino horn, a jaguar fur & a 7' boa constrictor:

Little Frog

Here's a clip of Evan reciting his favorite song from music class - about a little frog that gets put in the bathtub. We had a great time in class with our friends, but we've decided to move the kids onto other fun stuff. Music was just not active enough for our nearly 2.5 yr. olds - so, back to gym class! It was fun when he was younger, but he's getting so much more out of it now - and mom is really enjoying about the only activity that truly wears him out!

It IS March Madness!

Toddler hiking that includes playing with sticks and looking for tadpoles - and trying not to fall off of bridges into the water in the process:

Sharing ice cream with mom after lunch on the patio:

I'm 31 weeks along now - AH! And Evan's got a new ride for those long hikes, since mom's carrying the "other one". This week, Evan thinks we should either name her "Agua", or "Evan-again" - taking a poll, feel free to vote!:

And of course, it's tourney time, one of the best times of the year! While Nat & mom watched the nail-biting MSU game, Evan played in the hose with dad. So much for thinking we'd be snowshoeing a lot this winter!

March?

As much as we love this awesome weather, we desperately need some snow around here! Evan's been having a great time exploring outside during hikes and walks in the park. I'm so thankful that we had all of last summer to really take advantage of hiking together when he was a little older and while we still could, he's too big for me to carry any distance comfortably now and there won't be any hiking with just me & 2 kids - it's a summer we'll never forget! I'm going to start leading Toddler Hikes for our group, and then back to leading some Baby Hikes once Evan starts preschool in the fall and I have a couple of free hours with just the baby.

He's gone from being slightly physically timid to having hardly any fear, he'll jump off of anything and is obsessed with skateboarding. Yesterday after our hike he spent some time "riding" with the help of dad, sooo cute. He's also fully into the "I can do it!" stage, which is great to watch, and just means we need to allow some extra time to get moving. That seminar we went to was really a great help to us - he's been SO much better this week, and our days are much more enjoyable without the frustrations we were both experiencing before! I'm pretty amazed at what a difference there's been with just a little more consistency and immediacy on our part.

He's started telling us that he "has a baby" in his belly, too, which is hilarious. It must be such a crazy concept for a 2 yr. old to grasp - he keeps asking to see his baby sister, and comes up with some really funny names for her. He's been feeling her kick when he has enough patience to stay still for more than 5 seconds, but he's much better at just talking to her. I can't believe how fast it's approaching!

Bye Bye Grandma!

After we dropped Grandma off today, Evan fake cried in the car and said, "I never get to see Grandma!". Awww...

We had a great week together, got out for some hiking & a fun dinner out, and doing our usual stuff with friends. I think it was fun for mom to see Evan interacting with the other kids now that they're all so much more into playing WITH each other, rather than the parallel play. We were both sad to see her go today.

Pete and I went to a seminar with a bunch of other couples on this parenting style we've been trying to use...trying being the key word here. I would say we haven't been extremely consistent, and it was really helpful to learn from the source (the father & son that developed it). We're excited for all of the "opportunities" to implement our new skills! It was also fun just to get out for a whole day of adult time.

I'm now in my final trimester, and still feeling pretty good and energetic. I've been getting lots of exercise with my wonderfully athletic and motivated friends - these girls are so inspiring, and keep me healthier than I would be on my own (thanks!!). It's pretty fun to come up with new ways every week to get in a workout AND let the kids get their playing in. We're looking forward to a great week playing in the sunshine & even more warm weather!