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| Brothers |
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| Sleepy guy- Nate 4 weeks |
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| Ethan enjoys an ice pop and his bean table |
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| Caught in the food pantry! Ethan has found creative ways to entertain himself while I am tending to Nate! |
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| Ethan is excited to check out our new minivan! |
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| Nate loves his tubby time! |
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| Very focused on using his new scissors |
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| We went to a Touch-A-Truck event- Ethan didn't want to "touch" any trucks- he just wanted to look, but was thrilled that they had lollipops! (Nate is in the pic, but hidden under my jacket as it was a coooold day!) |
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| Drumming to the Chili Peppers |
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| Snuggles in the morning |
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| Ethan shows Nate how to use his old toy |
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| Clearly Ethan adores his little Nate |
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| So big! |
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| Yawn! |
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| and sleep |
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| Papa and Grandma visit and play with trucks, trucks, and more trucks! |
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| G Ma and Grandpa George visit and play with trucks, trucks, and more trucks! |
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| Splash! | | |
Wow, does time fly! Looking back at this most recent set of pics makes me realize that life with two kids goes by way, way fast! I feel like I am busy every second of the day, which makes the hours go quite quickly- hard to believe that today Nate is seven weeks already!!
Life with these two is never dull! Ethan continues to adore his baby brother, and showers him with affection! I'm so happy to see that he is still as happy as he used to be. I think every mom has mixed emotions when adding a new member to the family. I was so worried that Ethan would be unhappy, or feel somehow less loved, or just be saddened that he was missing some of the one on one attention that he was used to. I should have known that my little star would come through though- he is amazing! As with everything, he happily rolls along with life's changes and is the happiest, most excited kiddo!
As much as Ethan has amazed me with his pure love for his brother and willingness to accept that life is a bit different now, he has still managed to make his own "fun" when I have my hands tied up with caring for Nate. We have a learning tower in our kitchen- it's basically a wood structure that allows him to safely stand up at the counters to help me cook, wash dishes, etc. The other day, I was upstairs showering, and suddenly Ethan burst through the door with a mouth full of candy! He quickly admitted that he had pushed the tower over to the counter, and climbed up to help himself to some Easter candy in the "candy cabinet." As sneaky as he is, at least he is willing to give himself up pretty easily. The other place that he likes to find trouble is in the food pantry. He'll close himself in the little closet and peruse the snacks- inevitably, when I hear the crinkling of wrappers behind the door, I know that he's sneakily snacking!
A huge reason that Ethan has adjusted so well, is because we've had a lot of great help! I think that I mentioned that Pete is working in CT during the week. I've been lucky enough to have the great help of my parents, Pete's parents, and my sister. Without having these guys around to help and support me and the kids, I think I would be telling a very different story about our "smooth" adjustment. Ethan adores the adults in his life, and so is thrilled whenever a new playmate walks through the door!
Nate is seven weeks today and has been a great baby! He sleeps well. He is still up to eat about every 3 hours at night, but once his belly is full, I can lay he right down and he goes to sleep until he's hungry again. During the day, he is content to be held, but is also okay with hanging out under his mobile, or swinging in his swing. He is beginning to smile more and more, which is about the cutest thing. And over the past few days, he has begun cooing more and more.
It's very interesting having a baby the second time around. I think that with Ethan, I was just content with the baby that he was. Sure, I would wonder every now and again what he would be like, but I didn't give it too much thought. With Nate, I find that when I look at him and interact with him, I think, "who are you?" and "what are you going to be like?" I guess that comes from observing the personality development of Ethan. I just adore who Ethan has become. He is my little buddy and makes me smile all the time with his antics. I'm not rushing Nate out of babyhood by any means, but I can't wait to get to know the little person that he will be!
So all in all, 7 weeks in, and I have kept my sanity. There certainly have been moments where I thought I might lose my mind due to sleep deprivation, and a VERY active 2 year old, but with the help of my family, we're coming through just fine. I'm so lucky to have these two amazingly special little boys in my life, and so, when things get a little rocky, I just breathe and remember how fortunate I am!
