The Update
...I cried the other night after I added too many noodles to the chicken soup I was reheating for dinner, and they absorbed all of the liquid. Then I blamed everything on the (very nice) meat salesman who came to our door and asked for "two minutes of my time" while I had dinner on the stove, and Luke was crying in his swing, and Colt was upstairs with a stomach bug and a fever.
...I have very little patience with my sweet toddler. I find myself snapping at him much more often than I'd like. I need to remember that this is an adjustment for him, too. Even though he's not the one who has to take care of the baby, it's still a big change and his life looks pretty different right now. And he's still only two years old.
...When my newborn is fussing and I've done everything I can think of, I start talking to him like he's 15 years old and defying me on purpose. "Nope, there's no reason to be sad right now, Luke." "It's time to go to sleep, no more tears my friend." "You're fed, you're changed, you're just fine." So much for my grand plans to label my children's emotions and help the boys find healthy ways to process and handle those feelings, rather than telling them to suck it up.
...I blame all of the above on lack of sleep, and possibly post-partum hormones. But still.
...Jace and Colt caught another stomach bug last week, complete with fever and vomiting. We're going to have someone look in our crawl-space to make sure we don't have a mold issue. It's not normal to be sick this often, right?
...Despite challenging moments, mornings, or days, there is so much GOOD! Like Luke's perpetually furrowed eyebrows, which make him look simultaneously thoughtful, worried, and skeptical. My little philosopher. And Jace is such a big helper, fetching diapers and burp cloths when I forget to grab one before sitting down to nurse his brother. Sometimes I ask him for a specific item and he's not sure what I'm requesting, so he'll pause, then go pick up something random, like one of Luke's blankets, and bring it to me with the proudest expression on his cute little face. These guys, man. They keep me laughing.
Luke Snapshot:
...Luke is a spitter like his brother. We're putting the laundry machine through it's paces! The dishwasher, too. Paper plates and towels are not something I've ever really felt the need to keep around the house, but they are my new best friends these days.
...He is squirmy and strong! He throws his body around like a 10 lb salmon, especially his head. I think he wants to see everything that's going on.
...Luke has always been a little stubborn about falling asleep, and it can take him awhile to get there. I'm trying to just let him fall asleep when he's ready because it gets stressful spending at least half an hour trying to get him to fall asleep, but yesterday he ended up getting overtired early on in the day because he took way too short of a morning nap, and ended up catnapping the rest of the day. Catnapping, my arch-nemesis...we meet again. Luke's naps yesterday lasted no longer than 20-30 minutes, and he was pretty fussy in-between. By the end of the day, we had a sad, tired, overstimulated baby on our hands. Hopefully he gets back on track, because I miss my sweet and observant little fellow. Angry Luke isn't terrible, but he's not especially pleasant ;)
...Luke has become much more fond of the swing, but is still not especially keen on his bouncer or carseat.
...Luke clearly prefers showers with Daddy to solo bath-time excursions.
...He is losing some of the hair on top of his head, but the sides remain long and luscious. He would look like Friar Tuck, but his hair is light enough that it's not really noticeable (unlike Jace, who decided to sport the "old baby-man" look a la Benjamin Button for many weeks).
...Luke loves to watch his big brother and generally doesn't mind his "snuggles"...but his facial expressions indicate that he also finds Jace slightly intimidating.
...He holds his head up for a few seconds at a time during tummy time or when we hold him upright. He's also in his 3 month clothes. I kept looking at those 3 month outfits last week, thinking how cute they were and how excited I was for Luke to grow into them. I decided to put one on just for fun...and it fit perfectly. I almost missed the window! He's growing so fast.
Jace Snapshot:
...Jace is simultaneously the most adorable thing on two feet, and the most exasperating. Emotions run fast and furious with this one.
...He LOVED Easter. We were supposed to do a little Easter Egg hunt while Grammy was here visiting. She brought tons of little Easter Eggs and surprises to find while she was here. Unfortunately, JJ got sick the day we were supposed to have the hunt. So she left the treats here, and we hunted for eggs in our yard the Saturday before Easter. He had so much fun gathering his eggs and looking to see what was inside. Then, he found a large bucket filled with rainwater and promptly dumped all of his Easter Eggs in it.
...Jace loves helping in the kitchen. If he sees me in there, he drags his little stool over saying "I help, I help?"
...He is still all about cars, trucks, trains, planes, and "sheens" (machines).
...Jace helped Colton put together a small shelf a couple of weeks ago, and since then has been super interested in tools, especially hammers.
...Jace is such a good big brother. He says "Morning Yoot!" when he comes downstairs and sees the baby. He loves to touch Luke's head and give him little snugs. It's really sweet, although I need to get better at reigning in my mild anxiety every time he clambers up next to the Luke's head, or his gentle touch suddenly shifts into a vice-like grip.
...Jace still loves "shanny walks." Hopefully as the weather continues to warm up and we get into more of a rhythm, we can go for more together.
...He has developed a little bit of a shy streak around strangers and when there are lots of other kids around. He clings to Colton or myself and won't venture off to play without one of us holding his hand.
...When Jace is very excited about something he gets to do, he will repeat what we say and add "Otay!" For example: I might say, "When we get to Costco, we can get a piece of pizza for dinner!" And JJ will answer "Pizza, cheese, otay!" Makes me laugh everytime.
...Jace has decided to forgo sleeping in favor of laying in his bed and crying for over an hour at nap time. Is it terrible that I have zero problems letting him cry that long? I know he needs a rest, because when he skips his nap he gets cranky in the afternoons or falls asleep at an odd hour for 15-20 minutes and wakes up angry at everyone. So I don't mind "giving him the opportunity" for an hour or so, if that's how he wants to play.
...Jace has been sick a lot this winter. He gets some sort of stomach virus every couple of weeks. We've put him on a multi-vitamin and are trying to be better about making sure he washes his hands. He's been such a trooper. Hopefully the spring and summer sunshine will bring good health, too!
