Life Lately

Wow, time is flying by. Adeline is more than four months old now, and Reid's third birthday is fast approaching. Last week, A dealt with her first daycare sickness (RSV, bronchiolitis, and ear infection) and handled it beautifully. Perk for mama - I was able to stay home with her a couple days. Reid is doing really well as a "fantastic frog" and only occasionally tells us he is sick and has a fever in his attempts to stay home from "schoolie."  Andy and I are both working full-time and working on figuring out a routine - I think we will have it figured out around the time the kids leave for college. Finn is taking everything in stride- Reid is hugging on him one minute and kicking him or hitting him with a random object the next minute. Life is busy and beautiful.

Updates on Reid:

Talking up a storm

Looking forward to having two monster truck cakes at his upcoming birthday

Can tell you when his birthday is (October 16)

Talks about what he did at school and who he played with (seems to favor Annabelle and Maya)

Loves playing with cars and procuring new cars from Ellison and Dylan's house every.single.time.he.visits

Loves singing "Let Me Call you Sunshine" with mommy

Loves pretending he is a lion (Simba, Mufasa, or Scar) or a bear and chasing Daddy around the house ("I will get you")

Still calls bandaids, "airbanes"

Enjoys eating fruit, icecream, popsicles, gummies ("squeeze bunnies')

Relished his first "kid coffee" this morning via a Starbucks drive-through ("kid-coffee" = milk steamer)

Tells us he has "two names: Reid Layden"

Loves to ask his mom and dad to play cars with him: "Do you want to play with me?"

Loves watching shows involving cars or strucks like Blippy, Stinky & Dirty, etc.

Has mastered his colors and shapes and can count pretty well and point out the letter "R"

Three adjectives to describe Reid: loving, playful, funny

Updates on Adeline:

Also talking/babbling up a storm

Goes to sleep around 8 but still waking up at least once per night to eat (usually between 3:30-4:30)

Loves kicking around during bath time

Gives the best smiles - her eyes light up each time

Enjoys watching Reid run around

Smiles at Finn

Seems to enjoy book time and will grab for the pages

Loves putting her fingers in her mouth rock-star style

Doesn't mind the carseat, thankfully

Goes with the flow for the most part- a must in our home

Three adjectives to describe Adeline: chill, happy, loving

Posing before A's first day of school as a "Hatchling"

R pointing out his new classroom - the "Fantastic Frogs"

A smiling and talking to Grandpa while rocking her Gator outfit that Grandpa bought her from Cracker Barrel!

Reid plotting how he will torment or love on Finn next

Welcome to the world, Adeline Charlene Layden

Talk about a long overdue post. I'm not entirely sure why, but it was so difficult to sit down and write a blog post during my maternity leave. Now that I've been back to work for two weeks (boo) and am sitting in front of a computer for most of my waking hours, I am hoping to update more frequently.  Now, on to the good stuff.

Adeline ("Addie") joined our little family at 9:11 p.m. on April 18th. Her delivery was much less dramatic than Reid's (minus the seven minute long contraction that resulted in an oxygen mask and a shot to the thigh), and my postpartum recovery felt easier in many ways. I believe knowing what to expect helped in that respect. Plus, I am so busy with two children that there is very little time to reflect on physical, mental, or emotional discomforts. I had a really nice and mostly relaxing maternity leave with my little girl, and it was (and is) so hard to return to work. Thankfully, I have been able to go to her school during lunch to feed her, which has helped ease my separation anxiety a bit. I never thought I would look forward to waking up and feeding her in the middle of the night (still happening - usually between 4-430am), but I really do. You were right, Jenn.

Adeline is such a sweet baby. With the exception of digestive issues (the gas! the reflux!) that resulted in lengthy periods of crying in her first month or so of life, she is mostly content and very easy going in the midst of the (mostly toddler-centered) chaos that surrounds her.  She is often content to sit in her rocker or lay on the floor with toys, she loves taking a bath, and she tolerates the car seat very well. She will even let me carry her around in the ergo, something her brother was not as open to when he was a baby. Like Reid, Adeline can get riled up when she is hungry, but she rarely cries otherwise. If she does cry when not hungry, it usually means that she is over-tired, and she stops crying and starts sleeping in a short amount of time. Also, she has the best smiles- her eyes and whole face light up when she smiles. In her efforts to procure a spot as "daddy's girl," she likes to save her biggest and brightest smiles for Andy, and she lights up at the sound of his voice.  She also loves tracking Finn and Reid when they are nearby, and she will contentedly look at pictures in books when we read them to her.  Developmentally, she seems right on track, whatever that means. She has demonstrated great head and neck control since we brought her home from the hospital, started rolling from back to tummy (still working on the other way) a few weeks ago, and babbles and shrieks with delight. I have also been fortunate enough to hear her giggle a few times - oh, how I love that sound. We are so fortunate.