Our Littlest Man at (Almost) Three Months

Here are a couple photos I took on 10.18.09, two days before Raleigh was 3 months old. He's just so stinkin' precious. Enjoy!

This one is my favorite

His cheeks look so chubby in this photo. :-)

Oooo, I just wanna eat him up!

Sprinkles!!!

One of Tennyson's favorite things to do this summer was to play "sprinkles." Which basically consisted of him running around the yard squealing and having a grand ole' time. These are a few photos we took to commemorate it:

His "game face."

Now that's the face of a happy boy!

Tennyson was practically blue here, he was so cold.

He's already looking forward to doing it again next summer, I'm sure, since he was asking well in to September to go play outside in the sprinkler.

Baby Rah-ree

**I just noticed on my posts that I had this one already done (just without all the photos added). It was originally to be publised 10.6.09, and I wanted to post it for memories' sake.**

"Baby Rah-ree" is what Raleigh is affectionately called by his big brother, so Tom and I find ourselves referring to Raleigh as "Rah-ree" as well. Haha! I can't believe I haven't done an update on our littlest guy! It's probably because I am constantly buried in more housework than I can keep up with, on top of not getting enough sleep, keeping kids, and tackling all the bookkeeping for my parents' bookstore. I am tired just typing all that!

Anyway, Raleigh is now 11 weeks old (as of yesterday), and he continues to thrive. I mean honestly, you would NEVER know he was almost 6 weeks early! He weighed 9 lbs. 14 oz. at his 2-month check-up and grew 4 inches since birth to 22 inches. I know every mom says this, but I really can't believe how quickly my baby is changing and growing. Also he slept the longest he ever has about 3 nights ago - 5 hours straight! I know plenty of you magically get your babies to sleep through the night at 6 weeks, but I'm not big on scheduling or timing his feedings. You'd think I would be, being the organizing, planning type of person but I'm not that uptight about it.

That's probably because I am home with him full-time. But the real reason is this, I secretly love the time just Raleigh and I share when he's nursing. I do! I really do! Yes, I am tired. But someday I know that I'll wish I could do just one more mid-night feeding. Or stay up to watch "The Tonight Show" with Conan. Or have a quiet house, while Tom and Tennyson are asleep upstairs, and all I hear is the sound of my baby boy breathing. It really is a special time for us and I just know someday I'll wish myself back to these days of having babies and raising kids.

I have to admit that I have surprised myself this second time around. I am not as tired as I was when Tennyson was little, but of course, he was up at lot more at night at this age. (I think Tom is way more tired now though! Haha!) However, Raleigh decided a few days ago that 1AM is now his new bedtime. For a week or so there, I thought we were getting in to a 10:00 bedtime, but now he has an I-want-to-be-wide-awake-stage between 10 and 1. So hopefully this will pass quickly.

And I am really enjoying breastfeeding this time, whereas with Tennyson I felt like it was a chore. But God answered my prayers in that department and it's been going great! I also love having Raleigh sleep by me in bed. I know! I know! You're not supposed to that, SIDS and blah blah blah. But I don't pay much heed to statistics and it just feels so natural to sleep that way. (Raleigh does still sleep in his bassinet or playpen or swing during the day, which is where he is now.)

But all in all we have settled in quite nicely, and smoothly, into a family of four. Raleigh is smiling now and cooing, which takes my breath away every time. I can't believe I love him just as much as Tennyson. I didn't understand how it was possible, to love your husband and children with ALL your heart. It's just amazing!

21 Days old

4 weeks old



Six weeks

I love that his hair gets curly when it's wet.

Eight weeks

He look so excited to be getting a bath. Haha!

Like I have Time....

My husband asked me last night if I ever blog anymore. I gave him that "Are you kidding me?" look. Sure sometime in between changing diapers on two kids, frequently breastfeeding, doing laundry, vaccuming, cleaning bathrooms, dusting, mopping, doing bookkeeping, managing the finances, babysitting Monday through Thursday, trying to maintain friendships, not lose my mind, take a shower once in a while, building my jewelry business, planning meals, grocery shopping, and on and on and on I'll find time to write memorable and sometimes poignant blog entries.

Yeah right! When I do get 2 minutes to myself blogging is not the first thing that comes to mind. I can't even go to the bathroom without being interrupted. Blogging is the least of my worries......

Our Little Angel

What I Didn't Know About Becoming a Mother

I was reflecting the other day on how much my life has changed in 2 short years. Instead of office work my days are now filled with nursing, diaper changes, housework, playing trains, reading Curious George, and the list is endless. The journey of motherhood has been challenging at times, and I was thinking about all the things I didn't know before I became a mommy.....and what I know now:

I didn't know giving birth would not go as I had planned.

I didn't know breastfeeding was going to be so difficult.

I didn't know how tired you can be and still function.

I didn't know how many loads of laundry a baby can accumulate.

I didn't know how dirty my house could get after one day "off."

I didn't know hearing my baby cry could make me cry as well.

I didn't know how competitive some mothers can be.

I didn't know I'd have to put my screaming baby down and walk away until I could tend to him with love.

I didn't know how much a baby could affect your love life.

I didn't know how expensive children are.

I didn't know you could read the same story 7 times a day but still look forward to it if it meant snuggling with my child.

I didn't know how my boys came into the world was so very unimportant, but rather that they were healthy and fearfully and wonderfully made.

I didn't know hearing "I love you, Mommy" could overwhelm me.

I didn't know the smell of my newborn was something I'd always remember.

I didn't know looking into my little boys' eyes would be so amazing.

I didn't know having their little fingers wrapped around mine would make everything all right.

I didn't know his hug could make me feel like there is nowhere else I'd rather be.

I didn't know seeing them smile would make my world stand still.

I didn't know the first time I saw my sons I would fall so in love.

I didn't know having another baby could mean loving them both with all my heart.

I didn't know creating something with my husband could be so beautiful.

I didn't know the meaning of unconditional love until I held them in my arms.

I didn't know when my boy got a boo-boo I would feel his pain.

I didn't know how much I could pray.

I didn't know having children would bring my husband and I closer together.

I didn't know how amazing my God was until He wove such perfection within me.

I didn't know how much God really loves us until I tried to fathom the sacrifice of His only son.

Update on Mr. Hyperpants (aka Tennyson)

People keep asking us how Tennyson has done with the new addition to our family, and truthfully......the transition has been pretty smooth overall. However, his patience level is low. Very low. Poor little man was used to having Mommy and Daddy all to himself and now we have to be shared. I know it's good for him so he doesn't grow up thinking the world revolves around him, but it makes for some rough days around here. Maybe it's the "terrible twos" I've heard so much about, or the fact that I was my mother's only strong-willed child out of the bunch and it's since been passed along to my firstborn son, but temper tantrums are in full swing. But we're taking one day at a time, praying alot (for our own outpouring of patience), and making a conscience effort to spend more time just playing with Tennyson.

The good news is he has never, not once, shown any animosity towards Raleigh. In fact, he's ridiculously gentle with him. Tennyson likes to rub Raleigh's head and whisper, "Soft," and he giggles every time Raleigh grabs his finger. Melt my heart! He gets very concerned when Raleigh cries. I keep thinking how much fun it will be when they are 1 and 3 and they can chase each other around. Fun times ahead!

Also, we took Tennyson for his 2-year check-up a few weeks ago and he continues to be way ahead of most kids his age. The doctor was especially thrilled, since he's a boy with no older siblings, that he knows all his colors, shapes, letters, and numbers. Tennyson has also started to guess what Tom and I spell to each other. And when we do spell something we don't want him to repeat he loudly says, "Yetters!" Haha! The other day Tom spelled s-a-u-s-a-g-e (because he didn't want Tennyson to beg him for some) and Tennyson guessed what he spelled!!! Oh boy, are we in trouble if he's got it figured out this early!

Tennyson is still hooked on Curious George and was recently introduced to Veggie Tales, which he affectionately calls "Bobby" (a combination of "Bob" and "Larry"). He loves climbing on Daddy's back for "piggy rides," really he loves to do anything with his Daddy. It's precious to see them together. And towards the end of the summer we finally bought a sprinkler, so guess what Tennyson wants to every evening now? He asks for "sprinkles."

Well, I think that pretty much catches us up to date on our little man. I have several more posts to do however, and once I find the time to download almost 500 more photos on the Mac I'll get right on that!