It's Friday morning. Jackson is at daycare. Samuel is sitting next to me sleeping. My house is being cleaned (thanks, Groupon). I still have an hour and 10 minutes before I need to leave for work. I am soaking in this peacefulness. Because most of the time, life is CRAZY!
Jackson is quite the active little toddler. He no longer walks...he runs. I can't believe how quickly he is growing up! I ask him what he wants to eat and he tells me! He says "thank you" when appropriate! He follows instructions and makes his toys have conversations!
He can sing the ABCs (minus a few letters at the end)!
**there is no picture to this video...only sound...I had to trick Jackson as he wouldn't sing it on camera (is he really my son??)
My dad bought Jackson a Thomas and Friends electric train set. When Jackson woke up yesterday, he found the unopened box. I told him he could open it after he ate breakfast. You should have seen how quickly he ate (for a normally extremely slow eater)! We put the train set together and he played with it all day.
Jackson LOVES Thomas. He can sing the theme song. I am pretty sure we will have a Thomas themed second birthday party.
Jackson also LOVES his juice. And just this past week he has graduated to a (semi) big boy cup! He rebelled for the straw cup...until he got thirsty. And then he relented and learned to drink from the new cup. Now when he drinks from it, he says "big boy". Yes, sweet pea, you're a big boy!
This week, Jackson had to come to rehearsal with me (and Samuel). I packed his Diego backpack with a coloring book, crayons, a book, some trains and cars and a snack, and off we went. He was so well behaved! He played by himself when everyone was busy. But when the high-schoolers weren't needed on stage they would come and play with him. He had a great time with them, and I have several new babysitters :)
We are still working on potty training. There is no big rush so we are taking it as it comes. Jackson can identify what he's done after he's done it, but doesn't recognize the urge to go enough to voice it. And he knows what the potty is, where it is, and for what it is used. When I have to go, he typically comes with me. We go through the process of explaining what is happening and he always says "bye bye" when we flush (HAHA).
I am also very happy with how he is doing at daycare. He loves to go, loves his friends, and loves Miss Brandy. And he learns SO much! He has a best buddy there called Dillon and a girlfriend called Natalie. Apparently, the girls really like Jackson - I was told he just sits there and they bring him toys and kiss his cheeks and make sure he eats lunch and pretty much treat him like a king! Love it! He's a cheeky one!
I keep telling my mother that this is my favorite age. And she says "so far". Subtle words of wisdom from my mother.
I have officially packed away all of the newborn clothes. It was kind of sad! Did it really go by that quickly? I guess anything would seem quicker than Jackson's transition out of newborn clothes (at 6 months!!)... I am thankful we had friends who passed on their baby boy clothes...all of Jackson's 0-3 month clothes were for the summer...nothing suitable for this cold weather!
Samuel continues to be a great baby. He hasn't slept through the night since I last reported, but he does sleep consistently in 4-5 hour stretches. I can't complain. And I enjoy the quiet at night with him. He is becoming more aware with every passing day. I love his expressions!
Such a happy baby!
Samuel is getting more used to Jackson, too. And Jackson is becoming a little less rough with his brother. I love seeing them interact. Samuel just watches Jackson, and of course, Jackson wants to kiss and hug his brother at every opportunity. (Which isn't always a good thing...like when Jackson brings a cold home from daycare...and now Samuel has a cold...hmmmm).
As for me, I am doing great. I am working and doing everything I did in the fall. It gets easier as the routine becomes more established. I treasure Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings when I get to stay at home with my boys and play. I feel great. Most of the time I feel rested (there are those occasional nights when one or both boys are off). And I am happy. Genuinely happy.
As for my weight loss, over the past 2 weeks I have lost another 2.2 lbs. That brings my total since Jan 1 to 9.8 lbs gone. I have 10.2 lb left of Samuel weight and 10 lb left of Jackson weight. I feel optimistic about it. I am eating way healthier than I have in a long time. I am more aware of what I am putting in my mouth. One challenge for our group was to eat 5 serves of vegetables and fruit a day. I was able to complete it, and am still eating 4-5 serves a day now. The current challenge is drinking 64 oz of water a day (that's 8 8 oz glasses). So far I'm good. I have my 32 oz mug that I got while in hospital with Samuel and I fill that up twice a day. Most days I am done by 2:00pm. And I am still thirsty! I must be very dehydrated. Drinking that much water also curbs my appetite so I am not wanting to snack as much. The first day I drank 64 oz of water, myfitnesspal (the iPhone app I am using to track my caloric intake and exercise) told me that I had not consumed enough calories to maintain a healthy level of nutrition (which isn't good because I need an extra 500 calories a day above what I normally would need just to make breastmilk). I was surprised! So now I am consciously trying to add a couple of healthy snacks in the afternoon so I don't screw up this great thing Samuel and I have going on. I've also thrown in a bit of exercise as well...mainly elliptical machine work and abdominal crunches.
So here I am, 6 weeks post partum and 32 lbs lighter (since giving birth).
Other interesting happenings with my post partum body...
I have started leaking. I didn't have that with Jackson so I wasn't expecting it at all. Well, one morning at church as I was up in front of the congregation leading the music doing my job I feel wet on my right side...all over...my side, my arm... yeh... good thing I was wearing black or it would have REALLY been noticeable.
Also now getting the post partum hair loss, but even more disconcerting is the chemical change in my scalp. My hair was SO greasy. But it was only greasy in the center near the roots. It was disgusting. I changed shampoos three times and nothing cleared it up. I washed it and it still looked dirty. Gross. I finally went to my lovely hair dresser and she mixed baking soda in with the shampoo. Took it right out! So now I mix baking soda in with my shampoo every morning. Clever Katie! Katie also said (for anyone else out there who might be experiencing this...lots of my friends are having babies) that if you didn't have baking soda to use Dawn dish soap first, then use your regular shampoo. No conditioner.
I just feel really lucky. Really grateful. Really thankful. I have to pinch myself sometimes...I am a mother. A MOTHER! My husband and I put our genes together and made two little boys who are amazing! I am responsible for the well being mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually of two tiny human beings. Yes, at times it is overwhelming and I wish I could have some more "me" time. But that will come later. I wouldn't trade this time for anything in the world. To watch a newborn discover a whole new world and a toddler develop a new skill every day... Could there be anything better in the world than being a mother?
