It gets better...

When Gil was about 5 or 6 weeks old (and at the height of his colic/fussiness), I decided to make a white hot cocoa recipe from pinterest.  I picked Jack up from school, put a sleeping Gil in his swing, and Jack and I made the hot cocoa on the stovetop.  I poured the coca in cups for us and warned Jack to wait for it to cool.  I had about 15 seconds where I felt like a supermom.  Pinterest recipe, check.  Happy 3 year old, check.  Sleeping baby, check.

And then Gil woke up and started screaming.  I ran in the living room to comfort him, and, with me gone, Jack picked up his burning hot drink and sipped it.  Then he immediately spit out the cocoa, dropped the whole cup on the floor (thank goodness it was plastic!), and started crying too.  Just like that, supermom visions were dashed.

That experience is a good picture of what my fall was like.  It was just really hard.  There was a lot going on.  I was tired and stressed.  Bech was sick for part of the fall, and he had a lot of school work to do.  I was at home by myself a lot, doing bedtime by myself.  Gil cried and I couldn't comfort him.  I had to learn to let go of doing everything and just accept grace and help.

The infamous powdered sugar spill was from about this same time.

This past Saturday, Bech was at the school for a good portion of the day.  I needed to run some errands, so I loaded the boys up and headed to the store.  I made four different stops and took both boys inside all four places.  And you know what, it wasn't awful.  In fact, it was good.  Gil was sweet and smiley.  Jack obeyed. 

If you had told me last November that I would voluntarily take both boys shopping on a Saturday by myself, I wouldn't have believed you.  That feat just seemed impossible in that period of time.

I have a friend who just had her second baby.  Her two girls are 15 months apart in age.  I think she is doing an amazing job thus far, but she is obviously tired and stressed.  And the thought of taking her two girls anywhere alone is probably so daunting to her right now.  I've been reminding her that it gets better.

I wish I could say that to every mom who is struggling with a certain age, especially to myself!  Your child will grow out of this, whatever this is.  He will eventually sleep through the night.  She will eventually be potty trained.  He will stop saying potty words.  She will outgrow her biting or pushing phase.  Your kids will get along someday.  All of these things will happen and it will get better.

I think we are just scared to admit that to other moms, scared to admit that whatever parenting stage we are in is hard and is kicking our butt.  After Jack was born, I cried a lot.  It didn't take much to make me cry.  I wasn't depressed; I was just hormonal and emotional.  And I was bewildered.  I had read so many blog posts about cloth diapers, swaddle blankets, pacifiers--where were the posts about this?  Where were the posts about how hard two kids are or how hard toddlers can be?

So here you go.  Here is the truth about being a mom.  Some days it is really hard.

But I promise you.  

It gets better.

And even the rough days have their own blessings and lessons.

  

5 on Friday

Whew!  The past couple of months have been insane.  But I feel like life is calming down, and I am getting a little more sleep at night (thank goodness!).  So I am finally back to my favorite post, 5 on Friday!

O     N     E

Bech had his thesis show!  It was two weeks ago, and it was great.  I am so proud of him.  He has one more week of classes, then (I think) a final critique for ceramics.  Then he will be done!

Bech showed with his fellow 2nd year ceramics MFA, Eric.  We absolutely adore Eric, so it was really fun for Bech to do this event with him.  And I thought their work showed really well together.

Bech and I at his thesis show reception.

T     W     O

I finally took the Easter pictures off of our camera.  I am realizing that it may be a while before we get a cute family picture again.  I think my boys are cute, but they do not work well with the camera.  It is a struggle just to get Jack to sit still for a minute.

See what I'm talking about?

T     H     R     E     E

In case you didn't know, Jonathan Crombie (aka Gilbert Blythe), died last week.

I'm wondering if there will be a surge of Baby Gilberts?

Eh, probably not...

F     O     U     R

I haven't done a Weight Watchers update in a while.  I have been doing WW since early to mid January (I can't remember?) and have lost 22 pounds.  It would be more, but I had about 3 weeks in there when I didn't really track very faithfully.  And I might have eaten some Easter candy and a snowcone or two...

I love WW and I especially love it while breastfeeding.  I get lots of extra points, so it makes dieting easier.  I have about 16 more pounds that I want to lose.  My goal is to lose them by the end of the summer.  Totally doable!

F     I     V     E

My little sister got me into Hart of Dixie last year, and I have been slowly catching up.  They are only on season 4, so it wasn't hard.  I was totally surprised this past week when I watched the finale.  I didn't know it was over!

But, just like this show, the finale was sweet and more than a little silly.  Personally, that's my favorite kind of show.  I don't have to rush to watch the next episode and I'm not stressed out when the episode ends. 

Here's the last bit of the finale.  I'm a little obsessed with this song now!  Did anyone else watch this show?

Gil at 7 Months

Only a week late this time!  Not too shabby.  Take that, second kid stereotypes!

Baby Gil is 7 months old!  

I'm not sure on his weight.  We go to the doctor next week for the second round of the flu shot, so I will find out then.  If I had to guess, maybe 16 1/2 lbs?  He is completely in his 6 to 9 month clothes.  He is almost out of size 2 disposable diapers (maybe another month or so) and I just moved up to the size two Thirsties Duowrap covers.

Sleep is slowly getting better.  This month, he had a couple of nights where he started to stretch his sleep out more and more.  I just keep reminding myself that he will eventually sleep through the night.  It will happen.  He is an amazing napper, though.  He goes to sleep really quickly and usually sleeps until his next feeding time.  I am thankful for that because I am usually able to get one quick cat nap a day!

His two little teeth are the cutest, if I do say so myself.  I think it won't be too long before the top two come in.  He chews on EVERYthing and is constantly drooling.

He is still not a fan of solids.  I have been a bit more consistent in offering them to him.  He just doesn't quite get the hang of swallowing something that isn't milk.  He is so different than Jackie boy, who gobbled down anything in front of him!

He is getting to be quite the pro at sitting up (doesn't he look proud of himself here?).  He can get across the room quickly by just rolling around.  I don't think we are too far away from crawling, but he isn't really interested in standing up at all.  Which is good--I am not excited about having two boys to chase!

I was just saying to a friend that this is one of my favorite stages.  Gil can sit up, laugh, babble, and play.  He is an absolute delight right now.  I love seeing every day what knew silly thing he has learned.  And we are starting to see little bits of his personality come through.

Likes:  Jack, toys, being tickled

Dislikes: when you take a toy away from him!

Happy 7 months, Baby Gil!  You are our "favorite favorite!"

Spring Break

So this spring break, I flew home by myself with two boys.  Bech's thesis show was only a couple of weeks after spring break, so it gave him lots of time at the studio and the boys and I got to see family.  Win-win, right?

Flying with both boys by myself?  Eh, not so fun.  But we managed.  And both boys were actually really, really good.  The only flight that was rough was the last one on the way back.  Jack was getting a little restless.  But even then, the flight attendant told me after that flight that Jack was great.  So not too bad, but very stressful for me!

Gilbo, being a sweetheart and sleeping.  He was quite the flirt on all four flights!

My little goofy boy, Jack.

(excuse the next two pictures, they are screen shots so not the best quality)

Jack spent the first three days of spring break in New Orleans with Nina and Farfar (Bech's parents).  He had a great time, and I think he loved getting to be an only child for a bit.

Here he is dressed up like a "cooker man," just like his Uncle Hunter.

My sweet Gilly boy.  He is just getting to be so fun.  He loved getting cuddled and hugged.  He is a little snuggle bunny, so this was a great trip for him,

My grandparents drove back from Florida early.  Jack got to make doughnuts with Nana one morning.

I only had one great grandmother growing up (and I know that I am lucky to even have had one!).  Jack and Gil have three!  How amazing is that?  Jack just adores his Nana and Papa...and, of course, Nana's doughnuts!

We joined in on a St. Paddy's day parade in Brookhaven.

Even Gil took part.  

Although he looks less than impressed.

Jack went to the Children's Museum and the Aquarium in New Orleans and the Natural Science Museum in Jackson.  This is part of the dinosaur exhibit in Jackson.  He liked this part the best.  He was not impressed by the two headed snake (seriously, doesn't that sound cool?  I thought so...).

You didn't know ladybugs could ride dinosaurs?

Gil got some Papa snuggles too.

It was so warm while we were home.  We spent a lot of time rocking on the front porch in the warm weather, one of my favorite things to do in Brookhaven.

It was a pretty relaxing trip.  We shopped some and ate yummy food.  I helped my mom clean out her kitchen.  We went to a couple of movies.

And, let's be real.  I ate a couple of these.

Y'all know I love me some snow cones.

And we may have made a couple of Sonic stops too...

The Lulls and Moving

Remember when I used to post?

I read this post last month and was really struck by this line:

“Oh, sister. Pay attention to the lulls.”

I feel like this past fall and spring have been all about the lulls.  Some have been absolutely normal, we just had a second baby and life is crazy lulls.  Some have been more intense lulls, when life has been just extra hard.  Some have been lulls because my husband is in graduate school, in a two year program for a terminal degree.  And some have been lulls because I would honestly rather take a nap most days than blog.

But Bech's thesis show was last week.  And Gil is older and easier.  And it's spring and Aslan is on the move.  So, hopefully the lulls are over for a bit, because I do like to look back on this blog and see what we were up to.

I need to post on our trip to Mississippi for spring break and about Bech's thesis show.  I also need to put up Gil's latest post (7 months yesterday!).  And I want to post about some books, shows, and movies I've read.  Plus, Jack needs a post, don't you think?

But that will wait for a couple of days.  We are in early spring, which by now is synonymous with, "What the heck are we doing next year?"  Except for when we were in Vermont and lived in one apartment for two years, we have moved every summer since we got married.  In fact, in Malawi, we moved onto campus halfway through the year, so it's evened out to one move a year.  

Y'all, that is exhausting, not to mention expensive!  But, we are hoping that once we move again this summer, it will be a semi-permanent move (I don't know how long, I just know we won't move in a year or two!).

I am really excited about that prospect.  I love the idea of unpacking boxes and knowing that I won't pack them up again next year.  And I love the thought of making friends and knowing we won't be leaving soon.  I have definitely checked out emotionally in some sense the past month or two.  And Bech checked out a while ago, too.  It is hard on the heart to move so much!

So where are we moving to?

We don't actually know that...yet.  We have on possibility, and maybe in the next week or so I will get to share that!  But it may not happen, and I am trying to really rest in God's sovereignty right now.  If it doesn't work out, on to the next plan!

Gil at 6 Months

For the first time thus far, I am about two weeks late with the pictures!  Between traveling and Bech being gone at a conference, I just wasn't able to get these pictures on time.  I am consoling myself with the thought that he honestly doesn't look that different than he did two weeks ago.

Baby Gil is 6 months old!

Gil weighs 15 lbs and 14.5 oz (15%).  He is 27 inches long (58%).  His head is 42.8 cm around (27%). It looks like he is just going to be a little guy.

He is mostly into 6 to 9 month cloths, but he has a few 6 month outfits that still fit him.  He is in size 2 diapers, but I got a deal on an Honest Company bundle (for traveling this summer) and went ahead and ordered a size 3.   I think we are close to moving up a size.

This month has been rough as far as sleep goes.  He is doing amazing going to sleep by himself.  But he got bronchiolitis while we were down south.  Between that and teething, it's been a rough month for sleep!  But he seems to be getting back on track which makes a happy momma!

Speaking of teething, he has his two little bottom teeth!  They are pretty darn cute.  He has started rolling over consistently from back to belly (before it was just from belly to back).  He is pretty good at the tripod and I think he will be sitting up by himself in a couple more weeks.

We have tried some solids, but he doesn't really like them.  I think I am going to do more of a baby led weaning approach with Gil, because he likes his food a little chunkier.  Also, I am lazy.

Gil has had a pretty big month.  I flew down south by myself with both boys.  Gil was amazing (Jack was mostly amazing).  He was smiley and sweet and kept flirting with everyone around us!  And both sets of grandparents (and some aunts and uncles) loved getting to see him.  I think he enjoyed being out in the fresh air without a snow suit on!

This age for babies is my favorite.  Gil is just so fun right now!  He loves to laugh and be tickled.  He makes the sweetest little noises.  He is a little cuddle bunny.  I wish I could bottle up this little age!

Likes:  Jack (Jack is his FAVORITE), tickles, teething toys

Dislikes: eating for too long

Happy 6 Months, Baby Gil!