2 month update, a birth announcement & other happenings

Our baby has aged another month & has grown by leaps and bounds. His 2 month checkup was yesterday and he now weighs 12lbs 6oz and is 23 1/2 inches long! He is so good at nursing (although its a little tiring during the day how frequently he eats) and I'd have to say that I'm having an easier time this time producing than with Adrian, which I've heard that that is normal with 2nd babies. This month, Victor has started to coo and smile in response to being talked to. He gave a couple huge smiles for my neighbor's mom last night. It was so cute. He also rolled over for the first time as well, so that's exciting! He tries really hard to get his knees underneath him when he's doing tummy time, so we'll see if he starts crawling before Adrian did :) He certainly seems eager to want to get moving and go places already. When he's awake, he's very alert and curious...and he loves staring at things on the ceiling haha. He's still a pretty happy and calm baby, except in his carseat (Megan can vouch for that lol) and he sleeps very well at night. Now, I just have to work on me and I need to start laying him in the crib more because I'm already beginning to feel like our bed is shrinking.

  

Adrian is growing into quite the big boy and he has been binki free for 2 weeks now. It hasn't been easy, and I gave up for about 5 mins last week and gave it back to him. It had seemed that when I took it away, he lost his ability to cope with anything, so I had had enough screaming and crying that I gave it back to see if it'd calm him down. It didn't and he continued to yell & cry with it in his mouth. So I took it back & I know I need to deal with his tantrums another way. He rarely asks for it anymore, but it may be a couple more weeks until he completely stops asking. Potty training will be next, but I'm not in a rush since Victor still requires so much attention right now. Other than that, besides the meltdows, Adrian is doing really well and has an amazing vocabulary and comprehension. I think that because he has to understand 2 languages, it's really an advantage to him. I often wonder if Victor will be the same or if he will be slower to talk...only time will tell :) He is a very good brother to Victor and loves to hug him and give him kisses. I look forward to when Victor really starts interacting with him :)

 

 I have to say that I absolutely love my boys and I can't imagine my life without them, but life is definitely much more complicated with 2 kids as opposed to 1. There are days when I get everything accomplished that I planned on doing, and then there are days that no matter how hard I try, the boys go back and forth in needing me for something. I'm not a perfect mom, and I don't think anyone ever could be, but I'm pretty hard on myself at times because I feel like I should be doing more. I feel that it's important to spend quality time with both boys and housework can usually wait. The problem is is that Victor needs me so much right now that I don't get to spend as much quality time with Adrian as I'd like and that he'd like. I know it'll get better, but when your 2 1/2 year old tells you that he misses you (and he had just woken up from sleeping next to me), it breaks your heart and makes you feel like a horrible mom. This parenthood thing is certainly not easy with 2 kids. I'm not sure how people do it with more than 2, but they must have something extra special from the Lord to be able to handle all of them. One day at a time & little victories is how I get by these days.

 

Anyway, it's definitely much sweeter these days when I can get a break from the chaos, and when my sister asked me to go get pedicures on Wednesday, I gladly took her up on her offer. Well, little did I know that she surprised me with my cousin Megan who came all the way from Modesto! We had such a great time together and it was nice having someone that has so much experience with children (she's a teacher) because it could have been extra stressful if she hadn't. Adrian's meltdowns didn't phase her and she was actually a great help with him. I do not usually like surprises too much (because I'm a little bit of a control freak), but her being here was exactly what I needed. It was a really busy 4 days for us...we did the pedicures, went to the strip, went to the Springs Preserve, and even went wedding dress shopping for me. I found the perfect dress & even bought it. It was a lot of fun and a great break from being home so much. Victor had just about had it by Saturday though from being in his carseat and getting in and out of the car. Adrian was quite the trooper and for getting up early and going to bed late with maybe a 20-30 min nap some days, he did really well and he had a good time with "gayben" ...that's what he called Megan haha.

 

 Another exciting event that occurred on Friday, April 5th, was my cousin Barbara and her husband welcomed their beautiful daughter, Rhylyn Laurel, into the world. She weighed 6lbs 13oz and is 19inches long. She is perfect and they look like such a happy family of 4 now. I pray for health and happiness for the 4 of you & I'm excited to watch Cole & Rhylyn grow up together. We love you all! Congrats again on your newest bundle of joy!!

 

The fun continues this week because my dad and Annitta will be getting here on Friday and we'll be going to see Thomas the train on Saturday! I bet that we'll all have a lot of fun and I'm really looking forward to them being here...its been awhile since they've visited us in NV :) My friend Stephanie is also in town with her new baby & husband as well. They flew in on Saturday night from Italy, and I got to meet little miss Veronica this morning! :)  She is so adorable and really liked Adrian.  She tried talking to him and was giving him huge smiles :)  I'm so glad they could stop by and visit a bit :)

 

 Here are a couple pictures from Easter as well :) Victor's 1st!!

This was my attempt at getting a picture of the boys together...some times things aren't perfect, but that's what makes the world not boring.  Adrian was trying to calm Victor down which I thought was so sweet and just shows what a good and caring brother he is :)

 

 

Well that's it for now...we need to get to the store :)  Thanks for reading! I know it was a lot, but blogging is a luxury these days (along with showers and a clean house) haha

35 Weeks & a birth announcement!!

I am having to re-type this all over since the website was messing up yesterday and when I selected everything to copy it, it unfortunately only copied just one picture and no text grr...so anyway, here we go again!!


How far along?  35 Weeks TODAY!!  According to the countdown app on my phone, that is 34 days from my due date!!  Getting super close!!

Weight gain:  According to the scale the other day, I am up 31.2lbs. I think at this point with Adrian, I was only 2 lbs lighter.  Not too bad considering that I started 5-6lbs heavier this pregnancy than with him :)

Maternity clothes?  YES!  But I am even avoiding those these days because PJs are just so much more comfortable.  Getting dressed up is just such a chore these days since its much harder to reach my feet, so if I can get away with staying in PJs all day, I do!  LOL  I am looking forward to being able to wear my normal clothes again :)

Stretch marks?  Yeah, I think I've seen new ones above my belly button...hopefully the damage isn't too much worse than when I started this pregnancy since I thought Adrian gave me enough :P

Sleep: I am having bouts of insomnia each night which I guess is good preparation for the sleeplessness I will experience in the fast approaching months ahead of me.  It would be nice to be able to sleep through the night though without waking for 2 hours at ramdom times.

Best moment this week: Christmas was just wonderful and I am so thankful for the family that we have here to celebrate it with!  I am also thankful for technology (even though its the reason I'm typing this for a second time haha) because we were able to Skype with my dad and stepmom on Christmas morning and open our presents with them!  Its great that Adrian can interact with them and see their faces instead of just trying to get a busy toddler to talk on the phone :)

Also, my wonderful friend Stephanie and her husband Tallas welcomed their beautiful baby girl, Veronica Giovanna into the world on the 29th!  Stephanie was exactly a month ahead of me in her pregnancy (due Jan 4th) and it was so fun being able to experience things along with her.  I have no doubts that they are and are going to be wonderful parents and that God has big plans for their precious blessing!  I only wish that I could meet her in person (they currently live in Italy).  Happy BirthDay Veronica!  Lots of love to you and your family!!!

Movement?  Everyday!  He seems to be busiest early morning, and when we go to bed at night...he's currently moving a bit as I type :)

Cravings?  Just sweets, but in order to avoid swelling, I've been keeping my intake to a minimum.  With the holidays, it certainly been harder to resist in eating sweets, but I think I've been doing well and have had little to no problems with swelling :)  I am definitely looking forward to indulging in sweets once he's here though for sure! (I've always had a sweet tooth)  I found a cookie recipe on Pintrest that supposedly helps you maintain your milk supply, so I will definitely be making those for snacking :)

Labor Signs:  Just braxton hicks...they usually happen around the times that he starts getting more active (early morning and before bed)...I have a couple throughout the day as well.  Nothing consistent and very sporadic, but at least 4 times throughout the day.

Belly Button in or out?  I suppose that you could call it out, but it's not that impressive haha...I am thankful it doesn't stick out more than it does, and I'm pretty sure where it's at is the extent of "out" it's going to get.

Rings on or off?  On!  I have a feeling that I will continue the rest of the time with them on as well. :)

What I miss:  I am not missing too much these days because I seem to have gotten my energy back which was weighing me down heavily for at least the last 6 months!  I feel like I am able to do things without getting exhausted or dizzy within 20 mins of doing something.  Nesting is setting in I think, so I feel like I am getting more accomplished these days!   But with a toddler and all the new Christmas stuff, my house still seems to remain a mess LOL

What I am looking forward to:  Meeting our newest son of course!!  Only 5 weeks to go!   I finally hung up things on the walls of his room, so now it's not so bare in there...I still am working on completing his quilt, a wall hanging and a couple other things.  I am quickly running out of time!!  Plus our birth kit came in the other day, so we are all set in that department, minus a few minor things I need to pick up at the store.
Also, at Christmas I was informed that a baby shower will be thrown for our little one on Jan 12th, so I am looking forward to that!  Other than the date, everything else has been kept a secret from me, so am anxious to see the fun they have planned :)

Weekly Wisdom:  I am amazed how quickly the time passed and it truly seems like I should have like 3 more months of being pregnant, not a couple weeks!  I'm not sure if it is the fact that most of my day is preoccupied with Adrian that I don't have much time to think about things, but I feel much less anxiety about bringing our second baby boy into the world.  I know that with Adrian, everything was new and uncharted territory for us, so of course it can be a little scary.  And I suppose that we are going into uncharted territory again with balancing life with two children, but I have learned that there is no use in stressing about things before they happen. 
I feel like since we're only 2 years past Adrian's birth that things are still pretty fresh in my mind and that gives me encouragement that I know what I'm doing.  I know that each child has a personality of their own and I can't expect him to be like Adrian, but I just have a feeling that he'll be a little easier than Adrian was.  And even if he is just as fussy as Adrian was, I think that I have handled my fair share of screaming baby at this point, that it won't be as traumatic to me when he may cry for bouts at a time haha 
In addition, I feel like we have kind of gone with the flow and followed the cues of our child and really listened to what he needed from us as he's grown as opposed to setting expectations for him because of things that others have done or because he has reached a certain age, etc.  I think that going into having a second child without expectation has really helped keep stress out of my mind becuause honestly, you just never know how things are going to be and worrying about "what if" will only cause you grief.

Milestone: 35 weeks!!  Just 2 more weeks and I'll feel most comfortable about delivering at home (if he decides to come early) without him being too premature!  I have a feeling that he will be born much closer to his due date though, and have not worried about passing this next "milestone."

Here I am at 34 weeks...I need to take a picture today still:

Here are a couple fun pictures from our snow fun yesterday

 

 

 

I am very much looking forward to spending times like these in the future as a family of four!!

 

Love you all!  Thanks for reading!!