What a weekend! (Or at least it was when I started writing this 2 weeks ago) We were paid a special visit from Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Eric. Well, that is what they were called before this weekend anyway. G has now affectionately renamed them Pepaw, Memaw and Unc, Uncle, or Uncle E. I find it really sweet and special that he has come up with his own names for them but I have also found that when it is coming from the sweet lips of G, most people will answer to anything.
The weekend was spent just playing around the house and boy did G play. He has loved having all of the visitors since Nolan was born and he definitely soaked in the family this weekend.
G is still recovering their visit with an almost 3 hour morning nap. Morning Nap, what? Exactly, what I thought when he asked for a nap at 10 am. He is usually an afternoon napper. But between the weekend activities, late bed time and gloomy weather I guess he figured a nap was in order.
We had so much fun and can't wait to see Memaw, Pepaw and Unc again!
It seems like it took forever but last week the Smush finally lost that oogey little umbilical cord stump. And you know what that means! He got to enjoy a real bath! The kind where a good portion of your body is fully submerged in warm soothing water. No more one body part at a time, freezing and uncomfortable sponge baths for this guy. Those are a thing of the past.
One of the only new things Smush has is his sweet little fishy wash cloth. It keeps him perfectly warm and looking incredibly cute. Or at least his completely unbiased mother thinks so!
The bath and several since then have been a hit! It's amazing how much more enjoyable it is when you can actually get in the water.
Last week was also my birthday. My 30th Birthday. I thought 30 might make more of an impact, but instead it felt mostly like a normal day. It felt normal because the boys still pooped. I was hoping for a poop free day, but alas there were still diapers to be changed. It was not normal in the fact that friends called and text all day long, a few even brought flowers, and Matt spoiled me all day long. I guess I thought I would spend the day reflecting and get really introspective about time and what not, but it just didn't happen. I woke up with the same stray gray hairs and wrinkles I had when I was 29 and no deep, meaningful thoughts about turning 30.
Maybe that will happen at the 40th birthday?
What I did do was love on my babies, make myself Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake (which you should go do now), enjoyed a sushi dinner date with my husband and went to bed feeling full. Full of love and of an everyday not so glamorous but exactly what I have always wanted and couldn't ask for one thing more life. Mostly due to the love and belonging I feel with these three boys!
Okay, I did it. I got a little mushy. It happens! Speaking of mushy, G actually told me "Night, Night mommy. Love you" as I laid him in bed that night. He has said all of these things before but saying them all in conjunction, right when I was laying him down, my heart melt! Such a sweet gift!
Nolan on the other hand was quite shocked when he heard I was 30! Sweet boy told me I didn't look a day over 25.
Love these boys! Side Note: Start wiping G's face better. He has food on his cheeks and chin in every shot!
Recently I have caught G being G with ALL that personality! I have been working on using my stealth like camera operating capabilities, so that he doesn't immediately stop the funny thing that he was doing.
Without further ado here are two of my favorite snippets of G just being silly G.
Where is Thumbkin?
No idea where he got this from, but it was and still is hilarious to him when he rubs his ear.
That's our Nolan. He is a total smush-a-lump. Yes, I know I made up that term, but it fits him perfectly. He is just a precious lump of sweet baby smushy cuteness. Makes total sense to me.
So he is already affectionately called Smush-a-lump, Smushie, the Smush and Smushers. Daddy also calls him The Express. This one makes sense if you know anything about Nolan Ryan. And possibly his delivery, at least in comparison to G's. After spending two weeks with you Smush, here are a few things we know about you...
You are a total Jackpot baby (so far)! Meaning you sleep all the time, day and night, nurse well and are easy to please.
You were born healthy and just keep growing! You were back to your birth weight in just 5 days and have already gained another pound and grown another inch since then.
You don't particularly like a pacifier, but when you find your thumb you sure do like it.
You hiccup. You hiccuped daily during your last trimester, if not multiple times a day and you continue to hiccup almost daily now.
Your brother adores you! He asks dozens of times a day to hold you and most of the time I have to tell him that you are sleeping. He loves to kiss your head, rock your cradle, give you raspberries on your belly, and pat your back. If you cry he runs to see if you are ok and will even try to calm you with a sweet shhhhh or "ok Nolan". He even wakes up asking about you in the morning.
After G goes to bed, you don't leave my side. Since I am juggling the two of you during the day, evenings are our time to cuddle. I usually feel like I should be cleaning, but right now nothing could pry you from me from 8 pm to whenever I go to bed. You are even sleeping on my chest as I type.
It's amazing how you have changed everything in an instant, yet feel like you were here all along. We love you sweet boy and are so excited to watch you grow! Just do it slowly and stay smushy for a while, please!
Thursday, April 28th we welcomed our son, Nolan James, into the world! He was a day late according to his estimated due date but his arrival was a sweet testimony to the Lord's perfect timing. Leading up to his birth I had become a ball of anxiety. This pregnancy was so different from G's and I was having a hard time putting all of the signs of labor into place with the fact that I wasn't actually going into labor. After having G a week and a half early, watching my due date come and go was something I didn't think I would see happen. But it did. And the anxiety grew. We had a doctor's appointment scheduled for Thursday morning and would have to decide if and when the right time to induce might be. For me this just meant more anxiety. Early Thursday morning I was lying in bed, holding on to my sleeping hubby and praying. It was all I knew to do. I felt incapable of making a decision, the anxiety was rising and my discomfort was growing, so I prayed. And prayed. And in the middle of all that praying my body was growing increasing more uncomfortable in the position I was in. When I went to roll over my water broke. What sweet, sweet timing, right?! It was about 4:50 am, so I woke Matt, made the phone calls to get G taken care of and to the hospital we went. That afternoon we welcomed another sweet baby boy to our family.
Nolan James April 28th 8 pounds, 8 ounces 21 inches
Nolan, With your arrival we have fallen head over heels again. You have already taught us that our capacity to love is greater that we could have imagined. When I hold you and your brother I know the meaning of my cup runneth over. We are so happy that you are here. Momma
The Easter festivities continued on to Easter Sunday at Lola's house. We started the morning with a big breakfast and soaking in the hot tub. Mommy's 40 week pregnant body needed the relief. And since I had done water aerobics the day I went into labor with G I figured a little exercise in the hot tub couldn't hurt, right? Well we ended up doing lots more playing with the water toys from G's Easter basket than water aerobics and it turns out playing with water toys doesn't induce labor like water aerobics might have?
My favorite part of the morning was watching G discover the bugs. These beetley June bugs were everywhere and G was loving them. Such a boy!
The rest of the afternoon was spent with extended family and the most delicious hamburgers (thanks babe!). G hunt, rehunt, rehunt and rehunt his Easter eggs crying out an enthusiastic "Alright!" each time he found one. His personality is a constant thrill for this smitten momma!
