9 Random Thoughts

I haven't had a lot of time to write any long posts lately so I am going to share a few random thoughts I have had lately.

1. I hate my long work days. I love being off 3 days but the 12 hour days are pretty killer. Poor Matt has the kids 3 nights a week alone. It is the hardest part of the day and I hate that I can not be there with everyone. Sometimes being a working mom sucks!

2. Do what works for your family. I have always done what is best for our family and I will continue to do so. I don't care what other people think (ok I do a little) but I will still do what is best for my family. Quite judging and be supportive people!

3. I am ready for fall weather and to take Kinley and Zander to all the fall festivals. I will be even more excited when Zander can understand what is going on. This year should be fun though with Kinley excited about so many things.

4. Being a mom of 2 is hard. The days I work I don't get home until 7pm and it is difficult. Kinley is ready for bed and Zander has been in bed and usually wakes up. I have 1800 things to do and want to eat dinner. Thankfully it is only 3 days a week but it is a real struggle. Besides that struggle taking care of 2 kiddos is just hard. You moms with more than 2 are amazing!

5. I need to get back to working out. Again work days makes it really difficult to get work outs in. I need to get back to at least getting them in on days off and then hopefully when we start sleeping again I can get up early to workout.

6. Flying with an almost 3 year old and a 7 month is going to be interesting. We flew when Zander was a few months and it wasn't too difficult, though now that he is more active it is going to be a little more challenging I think. Plus the flight is about double. Send tips!

7. I want a date night with my husband. I miss him. We never see each other and it is tough. We have one day off together and it is so crazy I barely see him then either. Our anniversary is coming up so I am hoping a date is in our future!

8. I really need to start planning Kinley's birthday. How in the world is she going to be 3! We are going to have an ice cream social party and I am so excited to see how it comes together. Zander might get his first taste of ice cream a little early :). Oh the things you do with your second child.

9. I booked our Christmas pictures and I am super excited! The kids will have pictures with Santa too! Let's hope they actually sit on his lap. A few pictures from a few years ago because I love them so much!

Zander - 5 Months

I am a little late on this update. Time is a thief and it just flies. Though I will say I am very happy to be out of the 4th leap and maybe, just maybe done with the 4 month sleep regression.

Zander has had a lot of changes this past month and continues to change and learn new things daily. This age is truly amazing to watch them absorb everything around them.

Stats: When we went for his 4 month appointment he weighed in at 13lbs 1oz and was almost 26" long. We go back again at 6 months. I did weigh him on our scale the other day and he was 15lbs! Holy moly! I love looking at Kinley's growth compared to his. It is so interesting to me. She was such a little pip squeak. He is wearing almost all 6 month clothes with the random 3 month onesie thrown in. I can't get myself to pack those up yet. I did have a 9 month onesie on him the other day and it wasn't too big. Tears! He is still in size 2 diapers and I think we will stay there for a few more months.

Sleep: I don't even know where to start with this. Like last month it has been all over the place. I do think we are getting back to where we were but that has only been the past week or so. He is still having 2 wake ups and the times are not consistent at all. Usually around 11 and then again at 3. If he doesn't have to go to daycare he usually sleeps until 8ish. If he has to go to daycare I have to wake him up to leave the house by 6:50am. I hate waking that sweet boy. He really loves his sleep. We are still using the dockatot but he has really started sleeping on his side and on a few occasions has rolled to his tummy. Soooo with that being said we are trying to transition out of the swaddle. It has been a little bit of a struggle. He likes to sleep on his tummy but I think is still trying to figure it all out. So many changes. Plus he is either teething or getting a cold so that is making things more challenging. He is napping in his room in his crib still and starts in his room at night. After his first wake up I move him to our room. If I start to see a little more consistency with his wake ups I will keep him in his room for the night, but with it being all over the place it makes it easier to have him next to the bed.

Eat: Zander is still exclusively breastfed. I am pumping 3 times during the day at work. Maybe in a few months I will go down to 2 times but right now I am going to stick with 3 even though I hate pumping. This month we increased his bottles to 4oz. He doesn't always finish them but my hopes is if he eats more during the day maybe we can get rid of one of the wake ups. Depending on when he ate last he gets 3-4 bottles while I am working. We don't do any bottles when I am off. He eats every 3-4 hours. We haven't started any solids yet and won't until he is at least 6 months and sitting unassisted as well as showing all signs of readiness.

Play: He LOVES his jumperoo. He gets in that thing and bounces away. He is still enjoying his play mat and continues to grab at the toys hanging. He really tries to pull himself up. He doesn't stay on his tummy long, he rolls right to his back. He has not rolled from his back to his tummy yet but gets his legs swinging and rocking and gets to his side. I am sure he will be going that way in no time. He is getting closer to sitting on his own but still needs help and we are in no rush for him to start moving anywhere yet. Totally fine with me. Kinley started crawling at 7 months. He has found his toes and doesn't stop reaching for them. It makes for LONG nursing sessions. He is so busy and so curious about what is going on around him. He has started laughing more consistently and I can't get enough. I am always trying to make him laugh. He gets the biggest grin on his face when Kinley talks or plays with him.

I think we are teething or something really close to that. The drool is out of control and everything goes in his mouth. His favorite is his fist, and he shoves the entire fist in his mouth. We used an amber necklace with Kinley and we are going to give it a go this time too. If nothing else I do think it helps with the drool.

This age has been lots of fun, besides all the wake ups at night. We will get there eventually right. I will keep telling myself that. I love watching him learn new things and accomplish different milestones. I really can not believe this little boy has been with us for over 5 months now! I think it is safe to say he is pretty happy about that! We love him to the moon and back and so blessed!

Other Monthly Updates:

• 1 Month
• 2 Months
• 3 Months
• 4 Months 
• Birth Story Part 1
• Birth Story Part 2

Kinley's First Day of Preschool

I can't believe I am writing about preschool already. Technically it is pre preschool since her birthday is so late but hey that is ok. Kinley has been in an in home for a year and a half now and loved it but we decided it was time for her to move on to something more structured. She loves to learn and catches on pretty fast.

My mom was here for her first day so it was even more special. Kinley was so excited about starting school and was even more excited to share her special day with nana. I had to go to work after we dropped her off on her first day and was sad I didn't get to pick her up. Though when I got home she was so excited to tell me about her day. She was racing through the house jumping up and down telling me what she did.

She loves going to Ms. E's house so we knew she would love school as well. It has been an adjustment and she is still timid when she goes into the classroom, but really it is only day 2 so I know she will be less timid as the days go on. She is currently going Tuesday and Thursday for now and maybe next year we will look at adding more days, but for now this is good.

Just as happy the second day. 

I am so excited to see what the year brings and watch her grow even more. It is truly bittersweet.