Big Brother and Other Random Thoughts

Miles is seriously the best big brother. We knew he would be good despite so many people telling us that he didn't know what he was in for. His little heart is perfect for his new role. He is so helpful when I need to get stuff done. Darrin is working long days which leaves Miles & I to tag team everything at home. At bedtime the other night, I asked if I could leave Carson with him while I went to take care of a few things. He said, "Yes, he's fine here with me." They were both very content next to each other.

Yesterday, Carson insisted on being held all day. He wasn't interested in his crib or the bouncy seat. He was even fussy for a lot of the day while I was holding him. I have a little deal with Miles. While he holds Carson for me, he gets to watch TV. TV is not unlimited in our house, so he's happy when he gets to watch. Not long after I gave Carson to him, Carson got fussy and started crying/screaming. I looked at Miles from the kitchen and he told me that he was fine and proceeded to pat Carson and re-position him to his chest. It's amazing to see a 7 year old that doesn't get rattled by a baby crying. He sincerely enjoys taking care of him and comforting him. He even calls him honey and baby b/c he hears me talking to him like that. I hope as Carson grows up he is as tender and loving towards Miles.

In no particular order, some other random happenings around here. Carson is getting some cheeks! He goes for a weight check on Monday. I would guess he's around 7.5lbs. 7lbs 12 oz would be double his birth weight. He might even be there. I have never seen a baby put on weight as quickly as he has. I credit a lot of that to our tight schedule of eat and sleep, but also a lot must be from the high calorie formula that he's on, Neosure.

Miles and I are enjoying some Sonic happy hours after school. It's fun b/c I never get to do this stuff when I'm working. I must admit that the first couple weeks that Carson was home from the hospital Miles was a challenge. It seemed like the days would go by so quickly and then it was time to get Miles from school, which meant our quiet home turned to noisy and chaotic. He was probably a little overwhelmed with the changes and adjusting to not being an only child anymore, not to mention the start of another school year. He wasn't bad, but he was hyper and needy. He wanted me to watch everything and play with him. It was always, "Mom watch this"..."Mom look at me"..."Mom what do you want me to play" I'm sure it was his way of crying out for attention. I tried to be sensitive to him, but it was hard to enjoy Carson and pay attention to Miles, especially when nothing seemed to be enough for Miles. I think he's settled in now. The days are much more enjoyable.

Carson graduated from the bathroom sink to the kitchen sink, but he's already filling it out. Next up is his baby tub.

This little snuggler loves to be held. Miles wasn't like that as much. It's fun, but hard when I have things to do.

Every day when I pick Miles up in car line, he waves so big when he sees me and says "Hi momma!" from across the line. He also tells every teacher that walks him to the car that his little brother is in the backseat and points to Carson and says "There he is". Sometimes the teacher will be walking with another kid too and Miles is sure to tell him or her about Carson too.

Miles does no less than 50 cartwheels a day. He's always loved doing them, but the obsession started around the Olympics. I finally had to restrict cartwheels to the living room, sun room, and his room. No cartwheels are allowed in the kitchen, Carson's room, or my bathroom. Last night while he was cleaning his room he would pick something up on one side of the room and then do a cartwheel to get to the other side b/c he said it was faster. Mind you, his room is not that big. It's slightly annoying but he does them without even thinking about it now. I think he would love gymnastics, but Darrin isn't on board with that....yet.

Lots of holding happened yesterday. Darrin finally got home from work around 11pm. I was exhausted. He fed Carson and I warned that he would not go to sleep in his crib. Of course Darrin had no trouble and Carson went right to sleep the first try. A relief, but slightly frustrating since I had wrangled him all day long.

This is the face of a baby with a full belly and after a good burp. 

Our whole house overslept today, so our morning was a little rushed and Carson's schedule is off. I'm not going to stress b/c we will get back on track soon. He's still eating every 3 hours, but he's up to almost 4 oz which would probably allow him to push feedings to every 4 hours. It's kind of tricky right now since he's not quite up to 4 oz, and yet he's eating so much that it seems a little heavy for his stomach every 3 hours. The schedule might be a little hit or miss until he can get up to 4 oz, which will probably be next week. I'm going to try to go with the flow, which isn't comfortable for me, until we get to 4 oz.

Our weekend consists of baseball practice, a volleyball scrimmage, and a team building event for Darrin's team, which Miles is going to attend. Should be fun for him and a little one on one time for Carson and me. We are also taking Carson to church for the first time. We are going to leave him in his seat and keep him with us. It's time to get back to a routine. Our small is group is coming back on Sunday night too. We are so excited. We have missed them so much. They have spoiled us rotten and we can't wait to hug them and tell them thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Less Words Wednesday

Carson has had some visitors lately. I think he stole theirs hearts. We were so glad to finally show him off.

Happy Birthday Miles!

Today is Miles 7th birthday. We have been celebrating all weekend, which is exactly what I like to do for birthdays. Friday night was his birthday party with friends. Before we left for the party, he opened a few gifts from family. He was very happy with two Nerf guns, some money, and a few other gifts.

I was impressed that he took the time to read a birthday card. Of course, the card had money it in, so I'm sure that had something to do with it.

Granny and Marmee offered to stay home with Carson during the party. We wanted them to see him open their gifts and Miles was very anxious to tear into a few, so he quickly obliged. 

Then, it was time to head to the party. The original plan was to have a Nerf gun war outside at our house. Unfortunately, it rained pretty much nonstop all week. So, the party was moved to one of the gym's at Darrin's school.  Because the party was moved about 25 minutes away, I offered to take any kids that wanted to ride with us. I had two takers. These boys should be in an advertisement for hair products.

The gym was a rough backdrop, but I did the best I could to make it festive.

All the boys got a gun and goggles. Miles put a lot of thought into which gun to buy for everyone. He wanted to make sure he didn't buy bullets that hurt. Sadly, the best laid plans don't always work out like you hoped.

Turns out, the kind of bullet doesn't really matter. It's all about the force of the gun and these guns were pretty powerful. 

All I have to say is thank goodness I took the advice on Pinterest and bought goggles. I got hit in the face once and it did not feel good.

They seemed to have a good time (in spite of the pain) and they didn't get bored with the guns like I thought they might. We only had a few tears and no injuries.

This was Miles' first party with friends from Medina. It was cute to see the friendships he's made. He has some really nice friends and we really like their parents too. 

Cupcakes and presents were a nice break from the Nerf war.

I think Miles' love language is quality time, but 'gifts' has to be a close second. 

This is the look you give when your Aunt Crystal buys the DS game you've been wanting. Happiness.

One of his presents was a football, so that was a perfect thing to play while the party was wrapping up and we were waiting on parents to arrive. On the way home, I asked if he had fun. He said, "Kind of, but I don't want to do that again b/c the bullets hurt." Don't worry, son, I don't want to do that again either. Even though there were only 8 boys there, it was the wildest party. I didn't really think this one through. I guess you kind of ask for it when you buy 8 boys Nerf guns and tell them to shoot each other. I think it might have been a little different if we were able to have it at our house. Nonetheless, another party is in the books.

This morning, Miles opened two presents from us.

A St. Louis Cardinals hat that he's been wanting...

And a new baseball glove just in time for fall baseball season which begins on Tuesday. I'm all about practical gifts that have to be purchased anyway :) I know he would have much preferred a video game or some sort of gun or weapon, but he seemed to like what we got him.

This is what Carson thought of the presents...

Miles has been asking when we could go out to eat and take Carson. I think it's a big deal to him to go out somewhere as a family with his little brother. So, we went to Walmart this morning for him to spend some birthday money that's been burning a hole in his wallet and then went to breakfast. He was so proud to have Carson in the booth next to him.

In keeping with tradition, a little birthday quiz.

Favorite movie: Star Wars
Favorite song: Sugar by Robin Schulz
Favorite color: Red
Favorite sport: Baseball
Best friend: Tyler
Favorite thing to do with Dad: Cut the yard
Favorite thing to do with Mom: Cook
Favorite thing to do with Carson: Hang out
What do you want to be when you grow up: A contractor
Favorite thing about school: Nothing
Do you have a girlfriend: Yes, Adelyn

The Start of Preseason & My Recovery

Preseason started today. We are very excited to see what is in store for this group of girls. Recruiting takes so much time and effort. It's always rewarding and exciting for Darrin to begin another season.

I love volleyball season too, but preseason this year is causing me some angst. It's stressful to know that my biggest helper will be somewhat unavailable for the next several weeks. He does his best to be home when he can. After nine seasons of being a head coach and a head coach's wife, we've learned the routine and know what each part of the year entails. Preseason is my least favorite, but at least I know what to expect and Darrin knows how to help ease the pain when he can. With all that said, we are ready to see these girls in action!

I mentioned here that Darrin does the 5:30am feeding b/c it would be torture for me. Well, he had to leave the house at 5am this morning, so this is what torture looks like. Miles decided it would be fun to wake up extra early and take pictures of me.

At least one kid can make breakfast for himself.

I had a follow up appointment with my OB today to check on my blood pressure and some other lingering issues. Since Darrin was tied up all day, a sweet friend from my small group, Misty, was nice enough to come watch Carson. Another friend brought Miles home from school. Considering we've only lived here a year, it's amazing to me how helpful our new friends and community have been to us since Carson was born.   

My blood pressure is still up a little. It's not in the scary range, but I've been having some headaches and loss of appetite, so he upped my blood pressure meds again to see if that helps. I will be six weeks postpartum next week, which is typically when you get released. He's going to keep me off work a little longer. I go back in two weeks to check on the blood pressure again and evaluate the fibroid tumor to see if we need to do anything with it right now. There's a chance it could shrink of its own, so that's going to be my prayer. I'm feeling much less emotional now that Carson is home. I tried three different antidepressants, but they all made me feel terrible, so I'm just dealing without it. I did end up getting two more progesterone shots after my doctor convinced me that it shouldn't have hurt as bad as I said. He thinks the nurse hit my sciatica nerve the first time. A different nurse gave me the next two and they were much better. My Lyme issues have subsided considerably. Overall, I'm feeling much better.

I am loving my days (and nights) with Carson. Regardless of when the doctor releases me, I'm going to stay home 12 weeks. That puts me going back to work the first week of October. I'm soaking up every moment I have with him.