This week in pictures

Took the Caleb to swim with his cousins

Thinking of doing drastic highlights next week... Like these

This guy is getting bigger by the minute

Got some semi-peaceful shopping in during Caleb's toddler class

Spent forever sanding off the paint of my dining table

Then spent eternity sanding off the stain below the paint

Refinished my DI coffee table in between sanding table top. First time with chalk paint. I like it for small areas but don't think I would want large pieces of furniture in the antique look chalk paint creates. 

Easter weekend 2014

 We decided to make a whole weekend of fun for our family Easter weekend this year!

It began on Good Friday, Justin had the day off of work for the holiday and we had purchased tickets for an Easter train ride on the Heber Valley Railroad that departed from its Heber station at 4pm that day. We packed up the kiddos and drove to Heber and made it just in time. There were a couple Easter bunnies at the station and even baby animals to pet. We found great seats on the train and looked around and realized the ratio on our car was 90% small kids and 10% adults... go ahead and read that as there was way too many little kids that were making way too much noise from their excitement... but that's ok, right, this was a trip for Caleb! He was thrilled beyond words to be on a train. And even though he was on a train he was even more excited to see the other trains at the station through his window haha. The train ride was a painfully slow 15 minutes out, pause for 10 minutes for the engine to move to the other end of the train, then another 15 minutes back into the station. While it wasn't the beautifully scenic and romantic ride you see in the movies, it was just the right amount of time for a little kid. There were Easter bunnies that danced through the car, then stuffed easter eggs and sugar cookies were given to everyone, that was really cute and made the train ride a bit more special.  After the train ride we went to Dairy Keen for dinner, which boasts itself to be the "Home of the train". They have model trains that ride on a track throughout the ceiling of the restaurant and a kiddy sized train out front with tables where kids can eat. Caleb was fascinated by the overhead train and, we should have known, barely touched any food. (I remember being the same way when I was little, we had a breakfast with the Disney characters when we vacationed to Disneyworld, I LOVED fruit but was so excited to see the characters I didn't touch any of the fruit on my plate). Anyway it was a fun evening out with the trains, right up Caleb's alley!

Saturday... Justin worked in the yard and I worked in the kitchen! I had to make a few yummy things to take to Easter dinner the next day and Justin is totally in his element in the yard. I am thankful for a husband who values a nice looking/well maintained yard!  I think Justin and I went on a date that night and saw Captain America, we love getting our dates in each month! We have a date night swap with Heather going on right now and it is so nice since we both have little babes that aren't quite ready for teenage babysitters.

Sunday we had a hurried morning before church but squeezed in Easter baskets and a mini-indoor Easter egg hunt for Caleb. After church we went to Amanda's for a yummy Easter dinner. It is so wonderful to have siblings and their families close by to visit, although we don't get together with Amanda's family nearly as much as we would like. It still feels like a piece of home though when we get together.

Potty training

I have a potty trained Caleb! Caleb had a break from his Thursday toddler class a couple weeks ago so it seemed like a great time to try our hand at potty training. We began on April 14th (Monday) and used a simple 3 day potty training guide my friend, Kayla, emailed me. While I wasn't great at following it to the T it was a wonderful guide and I think that combined with every mother I've ever talked to telling me how potty training is worst than child birth made me prepared mentally and physically for the arduous task ahead.

Caleb had probably 5 accidents total the first day, with three of them being within five minutes of each other once I put on his first pair of underwear. The guide I was following required that I watch Caleb like a hawk to see for signs when he needed to go potty. He didn't really give much warning at first but he quickly understood to pee in the toilet and not in his underwear so he would just hold his bladder forever! I had to keep reminding him to let me know if he needed potty but it turned into me just encouraging/making him to use the potty every 1-2 hours. Going #2 took a little more (& disgustingly messy) practice. But through it all I was able to keep positive because honestly I was really impressed by how quickly Caleb was picking up on the transition to going potty in the toilet. The guide said to never ever use any negative comments or remarks when the child regresses or has an accident. So I tried to make the experience over the top positive and fun with stickers and potty toys and treats. Caleb never got frustrated but when he was left in unfamiliar settings with another adult (toddler class, nursery) he would become more uptight and scared. I can understand that, his means of communicating he needs to go to the bathroom now involves him holding the spot that needs to go (front or back or pants) and more or less whining... often he will say "momma peepee" but to another adult it probably doesn't sound like real words. So it is probably a little scary to Caleb not knowing where he can go potty or if an adult will be able to read his cues to take him right away. We are working on that and the longer he has been potty trained his confidence is increasing and his ability to communicate he needs to go is as well.

I have to say, since every mother has said potty training is the absolute worst, it totally prepared me for...well the absolute worst weeks of my life. But because of that mentally I found that I was so pleasantly surprised by Caleb and how well he did each day. There was no scrubbing poop off the carpet or sopping pee off the wood floors like I figured there would be! And Caleb really is a champion, by the second week he was staying dry all through his naps and nighttime! And that is coming from a kid who woke up with a super wet diaper every morning before potty training began.

I just can't sing enough praises for Caleb. He has been such an easy kid his whole life. He barely cried as a baby, he sleep trained himself in one night, took a bottle like a pro, transitioned to solid foods beautifully, when the time came he gave up his pacifier without hardly any fussing, took one night to get used to his big boy bed and now has conquered potty training. He does so great with these huge transitions that I fear to go through as a mother. He has set the bar high for little Henry!

Mother of two

It has been two months (almost) since Henry was born, hard to believe but at the same time it seems like so much has happened during those two months. We had so many wonderful visits with family and several glorious short work weeks for Justin. In fact this week is the first full 5 day work week for Justin...and for me being home with the boys on my own.

I always wondered how it would be adjusting to two children, especially when looking back on the rough beginning months with Caleb (i.e. no shower, no chance to change out of pajamas, staying indoors all day long). Thankfully it hasn't been nearly as rough, I do manage to shower, get dressed and put on make-up every day! And get both boys dressed and fed, all in all we are completely ready for the day by 9:30am usually. To do this requires careful coordination and unfortunately lots of iPad watching for Caleb. Our days are going something like this:

6:30am-Henry wakes to nurse, Caleb wakes for day. Henry falls back asleep. Caleb and I watch cartoons until 7:30am.
7:30am-Eat breakfast, clean kitchen.
8:30am-Nurse Henry, he has wake time. Dress Caleb and Henry. Make beds, tidy up bedrooms. I shower and get ready while Caleb watches PBS kids and Henry hangs out on my bed.
9:30am-Henry takes morning nap. Caleb and I have been going outside during this time and enjoying the warm-ish weather and sun. Otherwise I try to get Caleb away from the screens with play-doh, coloring, or helping me around the house.
11:30am-Nurse Henry. Begin quiet time so Caleb can be calm enough to go down for his nap. He takes forever to unwind it seems.
12:00-Lunch for me and Caleb, Henry usually goes back down for a nap right after lunch. Then I begin the cumbersome naptime routine (at least it works) for Caleb. It involves M&Ms, a lavender lotion massage, read three books, lay down in bed and hum songs-takes about 25 minutes to get him to sleep. But its much better than the alternative-him never napping.
1-2:30pm-GLORIOUS quiet time for me! Sometimes I nap or just take a moment to lay down, this is (other than eating times) really the only time I get to sit down uninterrupted it seems like.
2:30-Nurse Henry,  Caleb wakes up usually around this time as well.
3-5pm- This is our errand running time. The only time that seems to work when we aren't napping or needing to nurse right away. The only time we are really getting out of the house.
5-8pm- Prepare dinner and simultaneously nurse Henry. Eat dinner, clean up, play time with Justin, baths, get ready for bed, get Caleb to bed. Collapse on couch with exhaustion from the marathon of the last three hours.
8-8:30- the only time I am awake on the couch while watching TV. I fall asleep somewhere between 8:45-9 while Justin is holding Henry and watching his shows.
10pm- lights out in the Blackham household.
(oh and I can't forget the nightly duties..)
12am-Nurse
3:30am-Nurse
6:30am-Nurse, and the madness starts again.

All in all the days haven't been that bad. I am even coping with sleep deprivation better than I did with Caleb. And it is a relief that we are finally falling into some sort of routine. I think I crave routines just as much as my kids. It will be nice when the time between nursing sessions lengthens to 4-5 hours. I have to have an appointment or something realllllly important set in the morning to get us out of the house, otherwise it just doesn't seem worth the hassle. The window of time between Henry's nursing, morning nap and beginning Caleb's quiet time is about 20 minutes. I know it is so far away but I am excited for the days when Henry and Caleb can entertain each other and be buds. Seriously the only time Caleb isn't begging for my attention is when he is watching a show, otherwise it seems I am his only source of entertainment. Even though we have a pretty awesome toy room, he won't even go in it it seems unless I am in there too. So I have to make a conscious effort each day to have Caleb color, paint or cut paper with his scissors, those are activities he enjoys but he won't initiate them or ask for them. And Henry... it will be great when he can be awake without crying. Well he does have his peaceful wake moments but they tend to last about ten minutes or less. I guess I just feel drained by the end of the day, physically and emotionally. It also takes a mental toll, not like learning a new language or anything, but always having to be in the present moment (I need to do something to get Caleb happily busy, does Henry need a diaper change?) and also thinking two, three steps ahead of the schedule to make sure things are on track. Not to mention the toll it takes being the sole person in charge of not one other person, but two other completely dependent people. Eating, diapering, changing clothes, all the daily routine items will never get accomplished if I slack off. But that is what motherhood at this stage of the game is about. It won't always be like this and I am sure I will look back and long for their little chubby fingers to want to hold my finger.

Our newest addition to the Blackham household

Meet Henry William Blackham! Born 12/27, weighing 8 lb, 8 oz and 20 inches long. Henry decided to make his grand debut on his own timing, three days before his due date. Justin, Caleb and I were doing a little post-Christmas shopping at the mall and while we were on the opposite side of the mall from our car Henry decided he was ready to appear, my water broke! Justin scooped Caleb up in a dizzy and ran through the mall and what felt like forever later he picked me up and we were off... Well we weren't quite in agreement where we were headed. We weren't completely packed for the hospital and I hadn't gotten ready for the day yet so I wanted to go home and shower. Justin insisted we head straight to the hospital. Well my water continued to leak, or gush furiously, and one really strong contraction made it so Justin won out and we went straight to the hospital. We were in our room by 4:30 pm, epidural was given about an hour later, a small amount of pitocin around 6:30 and after pushing about 10 times, Henry was born at 9:29pm. He was immediately put on my chest and I thought he was so teeny. I was shocked when he ended up being bigger than Caleb was when born. We stayed in the hospital 1 1/2 days, we were rather anxious to be in our comfortable home and get Caleb acquainted with Henry.

So far I haven't had to spend a full 5 day week alone with my boys, how spoiled am I?! The first week Justin had paternity time, then my mom came out for a week, then Justin's mom for another week, Justin had a paid holiday the next week then my parents were out this last week to help Heather with her sweet boy that arrived almost a month after Henry. There are still two more weeks where Justin will only be in the office 4 days of the week so the adjustment period has been so easy this time around. I have received so much help with Henry and Caleb, it has been such a huge blessing.

Caleb is really starting to care for his little brother. When Henry cries he offers him his pacifier, when he is in his bouncer or swing Caleb is constantly monitoring him and trying to push the swing or bounce the bouncer so Henry will be happy. Speaking of being happy, I am sure it is because I am not holding Henry near as much as Caleb but Henry seems much less content so far. Things are getting better slowly though.

Henry loves to eat, he has reached the 12 lb mark and is in the 90th % for weight, so this is uncharted territory for us, Caleb was always on the small side.  He is in 3 month size clothes and quickly filling those up, almost makes me a little sad that he is growing so fast! But I am definitely excited for the time when he can sit up and interact with Caleb then eventually play with him!

This last Sunday Justin gave Henry a beautiful baby blessing. We named Henry after Justin's great great grandfathers (through the Allred side) and also my great-great grandfather (on the Froneberger side), and William is after my father's middle name and my dad's dad. We love the heritage behind these names and look forward to telling Henry about the special men he was named after. We love our little guy and seeing his personality already show through.

The windy city

We just got home for a wonderful week long stay with Justin's parents in Chicago. It was, as usual, so nice being with family! And to top it off Justin didn't have to work and we were able to see/do some pretty fun things. 

I took far too few photos unfortunately but we did lots of things- eat yummy food, boat architecture tour of Chicago, lots of shopping, spent quality time with family and we were even able to attend Justin's nephews baptism. Till next time Chicago! 

Caleb's first time flying in his own seat, what a beautiful thing!

Caleb and dad trying on new shoes at Nike

First hat Caleb has kept on his head for longer than .5 seconds

I am slightly embarrassed by this photo but oh well. Justin and I were able to have a fun afternoon downtown Chicago (thanks to his Mom!). We did lot of shopping and eating and Justin royally spoiled me with shoes and chocolate- isn't he the best?!

Yogurt and a photo shoot

Justin and I had a date with Caleb in tow to Menchies yogurt earlier this week. Caleb loves going there and I am glad when he comes with us because I like to think he eats half of my yogurt.... Saving me the calories. (Although I am pretty sure he gets 1/4 if it, if that) Anywho, I love summer evenings, especially when we get to go out as a family and enjoy the warm but not stifling hot weather. Lately Caleb and I have been staying inside much more than earlier this summer, something about high 90's temps and becoming more and more pregnant has pushed me indoors. 

Back to Menchies...While Justin went back into the yogurt shop to get some water I pulled out my phone to take some pics of my cute little man. Caleb quickly picked up on how to take photos and took easily over 100 selfies, and I didn't have the heart to stop him because he was cracking up. I am a sucker for his laugh. 

Chocolate remnants

Learning he can do it on his own

Showing off, pressing the button without even looking

And my favorite, this guy has become so affectionate lately, love his spontaneous kisses and hugs!