3 months.

We have got to be coming out of this grumpy phase right?  How did I get so lucky to have two kids that scream and scream and scream?!  oy.

I am stressed.  Some people make two kids look so easy.  Me?  Well, most days I feel like I am barely getting by.  I might look like I have it all together but trust me, I don't.

I haven't slept.  Haven't done my hair.  My uniform is usually yoga pants and a nursing top (usually accompanied by vomit).  I have to remember to eat and drink.  My house is definitely not as clean as it normally is.  I'm probably a bit snippy.  

This is my life with two.  Worth it?  Yep.  But some moments I find myself questioning that.

It doesn't help that M hasn't had the easiest start to life with all of her poop and belly problems and hospitalization.  That's stressful enough.  Add in a toddler who hit the terrible two's at the exact same time and it's almost enough to put me in the looney bin.  

Marlo is three months old now.  Growing like a weed.  She is a lot more smiley than P was.  More active and interested in people.  That is when she isn't screaming bloody murder.  Which she does...a lot.  I have never seen a child fight sleep like she does.  I thought P was bad, but no.  This girl just doesn't give up.

She rolled over for the first time yesterday.  Front to back.  Now she won't stay on her tummy.  Little turd.  P didn't roll really until she was crawling.  She did it maybe 4 times before that.

We recently took a trip to Michigan.  It was not a fun trip.  In fact I spent most of the trip trying not to cry.  My grandpa is not good.  They've given him six months to live and after spending almost a week with him I found myself wondering if he would make it that far.  I hate to see him suffering.  Hate it.  He's always been so full of life and love (well, towards me...he can be a pain to others ha ha).  He's pushing 90 and I dread the day he leaves us.  But I don't want to see him suffering.  It sucks.  Bad.  Our visits with him were nice though.  The girls sure brightened his days.  He sang to them and told them stories, it was sweet.  We took pics of him meeting Marlo, much like the ones of him meeting P.  He adores these girls.  He was one of the first people I told I was pregnant both times because I knew how excited he would be.  Every time I talk to him he asks silly questions.  When I was pregnant I think he asked every time we talked (which is at least twice a week or so) "when is that baby coming" even though I'm sure he's well aware it takes at least 9 months to cook one.  He always asked if P was talking yet.  That started at oh I don't know, probably 3 months old. ha ha.  He said he couldn't wait to have conversations with her.  He always wants to know what they are doing and saying that is new. 

My heart.

Meme enjoyed meeting M too!  

And Uncle Chris finally met her.

M & P also got to hang with their fav cousin!

He's SO big. This year has went by way too fast.  I can't even believe he will be one in a couple weeks.  Seriously...where did this year go?

Oh and I went through old pics while I was home.

P is my clone.  M looks like me too.

A little creepy eh?

We recently got a swing set and P looooves it.  That's all we do on nice days.   We love being outside.

As you can tell, P is still P.  Stylish, sweet, and fun!  

Still in gymnastics.  Starting dance again soon.  Just started swimming.

Of course with her bff ^

Did I mention how much she adores M?!

^Mar's face hahahaha!!

She loves the zoo, and children's museum and pretty much anywhere we go together.  My little sidekick!

My pics were not uploading today if you're wondering why some are watermarked and others aren't.  I gave up and just stole pics from my facebook page.

Slapstache!

Hi all!  I have been so busy but I wanted to do a quick little post about a new kids item I was recently able to review, Slapstache.

I'm not sure if I should really call them a children's item because I find them pretty hilarious.

Remember snap bracelets from when you were little?  Well, they're making a comeback in the shape of a 'stache.

  For P's second birthday we had western themed snap bracelets in the goody bags, these would make amazing party favors for a mustache or gentlemen themed party! You can also have them customized with your company logo!

They are available in a variety of colors starting today on Fab.com and will run through May 1st.

Be sure to like Slapstache on Facebook.

If P wasn't such a wild animal I would have included pics of her rockin a 'stache but since she has been possessed by demons lately it's been hard to get a good picture.

Chipped!

I noticed last weekend that P's front tooth was chipped.  We have NO idea when it happened.  We think possibly when P came to visit M in the hospital.  She fell face first off a chair in her room (of course while the doctor was in the room).  It had to have happened sometime recently because we would have noticed.

ANYWAY, I called the dentist and they made us an appointment to come in and get it fixed.  I was nervous after her first dentist appointment didn't go so wonderful...but to my surprise, she walked in, sat in the big girl chair, and didn't make a peep. The nurse asked her to hold her hands and P did and she just laid there....and let the doc file her broken tooth down.  Apparently she's just all grown up now.

Diva.

Winter blues

Well we have had quite a week.  On Friday M started getting a few sniffles.  I knew it was coming.  P had been sick, Dustin was getting sick, and I had started feeling bad too.  Friday night was bad.  M was miserable and refused to eat.  I tried and tried.  Saturday morning she finally ate a bit but was really congested.  By Saturday evening she had taken a turn for the worse.  She sounded so hoarse and was coughing a lot.  She didn't want to wake up and seemed to be having some breathing issues. I called the nurse who asked to listen to her cough and breath (she kept making weird noises).  After the nurse heard her she told us to take her in the Pediatric ER at the Children's Hospital.  We headed right in and luckily there wasn't a wait.  The doctor came in and checked her over with a worried look and told us pretty much right away that she would probably be admitted.

It was a long and stressful night and by the time we got in to the hospital she was really struggling to breathe and was dehydrated because she wouldn't eat.  They hooked her up to an iv (which was awful) and took all sorts of blood to run labs.  They decided we weren't going home.  We met with the doctors from the floor she would be on and then upstairs we went.  We got situated in our room around 11pm and I didn't take my eyes off her the entire night.  In fact, I didnt leave the room Saturday-Tuesday for more than a couple minutes to get water or drop my pumped bottles off at the nurses station.  We had an amazing nurse, Amy (among others but Amy was there when she was really not good) and great doctors and respiratory therapists.  I can't say enough about the staff at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital.  Everyone was super amazing.  M was diagnosed with bronchiolitis and spent the first night having some trouble breathing.  Sunday she was still having some issues breathing and still wouldn't eat.  I was attached to a pump making sure to keep up my supply.  Side note, the hospital had a pump and parts waiting in our room for me and they offer free meals all day, every day to breastfeeding moms.  SO NICE.  Monday she was doing a bit better but still wouldn't eat.  They shut off her IV for a bit to see if she would get hungry and thirsty and they had Dustin give her a bottle of the milk I had been pumping.  She drank the whole thing!  Apparently it is easier to suck out of a bottle than nurse the doctors said.   She had been very lethargic Saturday-Monday/ FINALLY on Tuesday afternoon she had started nursing good again and was more awake and alert.  Her breathing was back to normal and the breathing treatments were helping her congestion so we were discharged.

Our first night :(  

Tuesday morning before we were able to go home!

We are so blessed that that was the extent of her illness and that we were able to take her home healthy and happy.  Being in those hospitals is sure a wake up call with so many kids with serious issues.  Breaks my heart.


Today M turned 2 months old.  She had her two month appointment yesterday and she weighed 11.4lbs and was 22 1/4" tall.  The doc said those are both the 25th percentile but according to charts online 11.4lbs is actually the 47th% which makes more sense to me because P was 12lbs at 2 months and that was the 73rd %.  Either way she is healthy and growing perfectly.  P held her hand while she got her shots.  Cutest thing ever.

HI!  She is smiling and 'talking' more and more each day.  Sleeping pretty well.  Lately in 4 hour stretches or so!

Getting her shots!

We went today to see the Easter bunny.  P was not into it as usual....but we bribed her with a train ride and she stood next to the bunny.  The first pic she was pouting so bad, it was adorable but we didn't buy that one.  We bought this one..

OH and I finished Mar's room...

Oh and my big girl is doing great.  Talking SO much lately.  Still loving gymnastics and dance.  She's going to take a break from dance soon and start swim lessons next month!!  Tomorrow we are taking her to see Sesame Street Live with her BFF H.

She has the prettiest eyes.  My little mini me.

Remember me as a kid?

I apparently cloned myself :)

Hope everyone is well, I suck at updating!

Random Update

What a busy week!  Monday we went back to the doctor after a really horrible weekend.  The reflux meds were obviously not helping.  Dr. M sent Mar to the hospital for an x ray of her belly.  Later that night I got a call that they saw something and wanted us to go see a GI specialist at Riley's Children's Hospital.  They called me Tuesday morning and asked if I could go in that day.  I was a freaking mess.

And can I just say Riley's is HUGE?!  I got lost like 4 times.  It is also probably one of the saddest places I have ever been.  Sick little kids all over.  It broke my heart.  I am so blessed to have healthy babies.

So off to the doctor we went.  I won't get into the details of the appointment because it would probably bore everyone but I was upset that the doctor examining her hadn't even seen the x ray herself.  Better yet she said it was because the hospital we had the x ray at uses a different software program so they can't open the x rays that are sent to them.  Uhhh....soooo M was checked and the doctor thinks that the issue the radiologist saw was not big enough to be a concern.  She was examined and they sent us on our way.  Our pedi called to follow up the next day and suggested that we try another reflux medicine and see which end of her tummy is bugging her...either reflux or poop.  She hasn't pooped since last Saturday and everyone keeps telling me that is normal for breastfed babies.  I guess I have to believe them.

In other news, P is doing well.  Besides waking up again at night.  I'm going to lose my mind.  She was up 5 times the other night.  5.  Five....yea.  Between being up with a newborn 3-4 times a night and then having P wake up 5 different times I am getting no sleep.  Last night P only woke up once though.  I don't know what is bugging her and I don't know what to do.  I hope she just outgrows it.

We are still struggling with tantrums.  She had a massive one before her nap today.  Thank goodness Dustin came home just in time to help me since I was trying to nurse M.  Two kids is no joke.

She loves her baby sister so much which is a relief.  She always wants to hug her which is nice.  I just have to make sure she doesn't squash her.  Mar loves to watch P and she has started to smile a bit.  It's precious.  P always tries to give her toys and play with her.  I think she will really enjoy her once Mar is more active and playful.

P made her return to ballet.  I don't know if I wrote about that but she is loving it again!  We are signing her up for a different ballet studio after this session is up, her friend H is will be in her class again too!  We are also starting music next week and swimming here in a month or so!

 ^I stole this pic from her dance studios facebook page again

P & H at ballet!

I'm trying to add a pic of her smiling but it isn't allowing me...Oh well.

I ran across these two pics the other day and I asked P who they were and she told me they were her. ha ha

(they're pics of me, by the way)

Happy One Month Mar!

I am not sure how it has already been an entire month but it has!

What a month it has been.  Definitely a learning experience to say the least.

Marlo is almost exactly like P except I think she screams more.  Poor girl.  She had her one month appointment and I talked to the doctor forever.  The dr. put her on reflux medicine to see if they help.  The dr told us it would take a few days to work.  We are on day 4 and today was a really good day.  I don't know if it is the medicine actually helping or if it was just something crazy.  We even went in the car today without her screaming bloody murder (which is what she always does).  I'm hoping that reflux was her problem and the meds are solving it.  That would make life so much easier but I am not going to hold my breath.  If this doesn't work they will do x rays on her belly to look for something to do with gas?  I have no idea what she was talking about, if it comes to that I will definitely be getting more information ha ha.

Anyway, baby girl is a good eater and a decent sleeper.  She is up about every 2-3 hours at night.  She isn't awake much at all still.  She eats and sleeps.  I can't really remember P sleeping THIS much.  She has two "awake" periods pretty much.  When we all get up in the morning and then right before bed.  I try to keep her up during the day but man she gets grumpy.

She weighed in at 9lbs 13oz at her appointment.  I can't remember her length but I'm pretty sure they don't measure her right there.  Dustin assures me that they measured her properly at the hospital since he saw them do it and the dr always says she's shorter.  Whatever.

Anyway, life is getting easier with two day by day.  :)

Happy Valentine's Day (late!)

We had a great day with lots of treats for everyone.  We don't usually give each other Valentines but we do spoil the girls.  Growing up I always got Valentine's Day goodies from my parents and grandparents so I will keep that tradition for my girls :)

Things are going ok here.  Mar is a bit of a grump.  She has a really hard time falling asleep when she is tired.  She fights it hardcore but once she is out she usually will sleep well.  It's hard to try to get her to sleep while dealing with P as well.  It seems that whenever Mar needs extra attention that P throws tantrums.  I understand why and try not to get too frustrated but man, parenting two is hard work.

I feel like I have no time to blog (or shower, or do my hair, or sit down) so I'm sorry I have been absent.  Hopefully it continues to get easier as time goes on.  Fingers crossed Mar isn't as grumpy as P was as an infant!