Monday, May 30, 2016

Memorial Day 2016

We have had a super low key Memorial Day. I had high hopes of doing a lot of fun activities but it's rained here all day long. We've just stayed inside and done our best to keep ourselves entertained.
Scott has been getting up with Campbell every morning (around 7:15ish) since Bennett was born and I've been able to get an extra hour to an hour and a half of sleep every morning. It's been a life saver and how I'm able to function every day. This morning Bennett woke up around 6:45 and I felt pretty good since he slept good last night. I decided to go on ahead and get up with Campbell so Scott could catch up on some sleep. I haven't really needed Scott's help in the middle of the night and Bennett is quiet so Scott is able to sleep pretty good all night. But let's face it, we have a toddler and a newborn in our house so life is exhausting even if you do manage to get a full nights rest. I was glad that I was able to do that for Scott and it was nice getting up with my peanut and doing our regular morning routine for the first time in three weeks.
We were craving burgers for lunch (because isn't that what you're supposed to eat on Memorial Day?) so we had those then once we put the boys down for our nap Scott and I, plus the girls, took a long nap ourselves.
We woke up and I was itching to get out of the house so Campbell and I took a small walk around our neighborhood while the rain held off for just a bit. We had dinner, gave the boys a bath, put them to bed, and now I'm about to hop in bed myself. Pretty uneventful and not like I had hoped our day would go but oh well. At least I got to spend it with all of my favorite people. And I still dressed my boys in their red, white and blue!
Of course I couldn't be more grateful for the true meaning of Memorial Day. I have the utmost respect for the men and women who serve our country in order to keep us safe.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. -John 15:13

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Farmers Market & Crawfish

We had a very fun and very busy Saturday! We decided to kick off our Memorial Weekend at the Bentonville Farmers Market.
The weather was so perfect for the farmers market. It wasn't very hot or sunny which was perfect for not only the boys but us as well! We did a quick loop around the market then decided to go to one of our favorite food trucks for some pizza.
Campbell was acting extra tired so we cut the outing short and decided to head home for naps. We needed to get rested up for an annual neighborhood crawfish boil at our friends house that we look forward to every year! A few months ago we weren't sure if we would be able to make it because of Bennett. But seeing as how he's pretty easy going on us, we were able to go and hang out with friends for quite a few hours! We never would have been able to do that with Campbell as a newborn. What a huge life difference in a fussy newborn vs. a content newborn. Scott and I are still blown away by it.
Bennett napped in the bassinet of our stroller (obsessed with my new UPPAbaby Vista by the way!!) for most of the time and Campbell had a blast running around. He was a hot, sweaty, red faced mess by the time we headed home. I couldn't wait to get him in the tub to clean him up!!!
We all got cleaned up and crashed shortly after. It was a busy day but a fun day! It was nice to hang out with friends and get out and do something. Our Saturday definitely got our Memorial Weekend off to a good start!

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Bennett's Due Date

Today is our sweet little Bennett's due date.
We've been able to enjoy our precious little guy for nearly three weeks now! It's been the most wonderful couple of weeks. I take caution in saying this out loud because I don't want to jinx us but Bennett has been the most perfect little baby. I can't even believe it. Scott and I will just hold him and look at one another and smile. He's just as sweet as can be and has eased into our family beautifully. No one could be more thankful for his precious disposition than we are. It's honestly made us so sad because we now feel like we were robbed of this joyful experience when Campbell was a newborn. We never realized how wonderful it could be! We always looked at newborns as hard and no fun. We are looking into it with a much different perspective now and I fully understand it now when people say they love the newborn stage! Before I just thought people were crazy. Ha!!
I have been soooooo hesitant to even share that things are going well. Not just on here but with friends and family also. I just say "it's going really good!" and leave it at that because anything can change in an instant and I'm worried if I start saying how good it's going that it will suddenly start going really terribly. Even if it does, I'll have these (almost) three weeks to look back on with such fond memories. I am so incredibly grateful for this precious little boy who has so sweetly entered our family. We love him so very much and are so thankful that he's ours.

Thursday, May 26, 2016

31.

I turned 31 yesterday.
I had a pretty nice day! My husband let me sleep in until about 9:15 which was so nice. I felt pretty rested the whole day and that alone is such a great gift these days! For lunch Scott picked up McAlisters for me to eat (one of my favs!) and I just hung out at home for the rest of the day. I did manage to break away for about an hour. I took Bennett with me and we went to Target and then to the mall for a quick second. We had some visitors come by to meet Bennett and bring us a yummy dinner and Scott picked up some of my favorite cakes from Fresh Market for my special birthday treat! Campbell wanted to blow out candles so he assisted me in doing that. :)
After dinner we took Campbell to our neighborhood park to play. I came home, got the boys ready for bed, took a little bath myself, then went to bed. Overall, a pretty typical day. No complaints on my part. Doing exciting and special things on your birthday is always fun but I'm just as content to be home with my family doing nothing. I feel like I'll always remember this birthday. It felt very mom-ish (if that even makes sense?) but that's exactly how I wanted it to feel this year.
Overall a great day with my little family. Wouldn't trade it for anything! Here's to 31!! May it be as good to me as 30 was!

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Crazy Mornings

My day started out crazy but thankfully it didn't end that way! We got it all out of the way this morning I guess. Campbell accidently spilled berry flavored (aka purple) applesauce all over my cream duvet. Thankfully you can just throw it in the washer but having something spilled on my bed is my least favorite thing. Because then you have to wash it, therefore the bed is unmade all day which makes my house feel messy. This happens more times than I'd like for it to but you know.....that's life these days.
Scott peaced out then I attempted to get dressed. While I putting my makeup on, I looked over to see Campbell lifting Bennett out of the Rock N Play. Yeah. I'm pretty sure that knocked 10 years off my life. I love that Campbell loves Bennett and wants to hold him but good gracious. This is why Mom's just can't get dressed.
We played outside, ate lunch, and then I managed to get both boys down for a nap at the same time. While they napped, I did too! For two hours!! It was beautiful.
After our naps, we went to the neighborhood park to play. Campbell loves it and today was so nice outside. We came home, ate dinner, then we all went to the mall just so I could have an opportunity to get out of the house for a little bit.
Hopefully we don't have anymore crazy mornings like that for a long, long time.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Full and Fun Weekend

Hey all! How was your weekend? Mine was good-ish. I found myself back in the hospital on Friday night for about 4 hours. It was annoying. My recovery this time around has been a little different than it was the first time. In ways it's easier and in other ways it's not. I don't know if it's a second pregnancy/delivery thing or if it's me doing too much (carrying a toddler, being too active, aka being a mom to a toddler!!) or if it's just random. Who knows. I'm feeling okay now though and doing my best to take it easy.....which is easier said than done with an infant and a toddler in my house!
We had a fun day on Saturday. Our friend, Emmy, had her 3rd birthday party and we were there to help celebrate her! Campbell had such a good time doing the hokey pokey and eating his cupcake! We were excited to get him out of the house to have some fun and for us to have some adult interaction!!
Yesterday morning we had Bennett's newborn photos taken! I can't wait to see how they turn out. I know the photos of just Bennett will be beautiful but I'm really hoping we got a good family photo out of the session. Campbell was acting like a toddler which was just a touch irritating. I was hoping for just one sweet photo of the boys and a photo of the four of us since we don't have one of those yet but who knows if we got it. Campbell is impossible to get to sit still for a photo so my expectations are low but you never know!! Scott and Campbell were there for the beginning of the session so we got all of the family photos out of the way and they left to go home. I stayed for the remainder of the time and it was kind of nice having a little quiet time to myself. I kept peeking in on Bennett to see how it was going and Bobbie, who also took Campbell's photos, said he acted just like Campbell did for his newborn pictures. Sweet, sleepy, and super still! She said some shots looked just like Campbell. I can't wait to see them!!
Since it was such a nice day outside yesterday, I thought it would be fun to get our little mini pool out and let Campbell splash around in our backyard. I'm doing my best to keep him entertained but it can be hard. He keeps grabbing my hand and pulling me to his toys and patting on the ground for me to sit down and play with him. He's never done that before. It made me cry last night. Campbell has done so great with Bennett and he gives him kisses and loves on him all the time. But he's obviously feeling like he's not getting the attention he used to and it breaks my heart. I'm crying right now just typing this! Finding the balance of giving both of my boys the attention they need and deserve is my current biggest hurdle right now.
Campbell had a blast getting his swimsuit on and playing outside yesterday so we'll have to make sure we do that a lot this summer! I love this photo because when we're throwing balls and tell Campbell to hold his arms out to catch it, this is what he does. Along with that cute little grin on his face. I love it!
Bennett got his first real bath last night and he thought it was pretty wonderful! I started him on a schedule today. I'm doing Mom's On Call currently instead of Babywise like I did with Campbell. Mostly because with Babywise you have to start your day at a specific time every day (7:00 typically) and Bennett is waking up more around 6:00 so MOC just seemed easier to follow for now. I'm curious to see how this goes. Bennett wakes up twice a night right now which really isn't bad but I am looking forward to him just waking up once and hopefully in just a few short weeks we'll get there. Fingers crossed!

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Last Day of MDO

Campbell had his last day of MDO today. He's going back in three weeks for the summer session and he'll be in the same class with the same teachers so no need for tears just yet! But today officially marks the last day for the fall session.
I feel like we have been beyond blessed with Campbell's teachers and the sweet little kiddos in his classroom. We absolutely adore Campbell's teachers. They have been so wonderful to our little boy and Campbell loves them so, so much. We will be SO sad at the end of the summer when it's officially his last day in his classroom but thankfully we still have a few more months before that happens.
Scott and I dropped Campbell off at MDO together and we brought the camera to snap a couple of photos super quick as he was walking into school. The grounds are really beautiful in the summer time and full of a lot of colorful flowers. Perfect backdrop for photos!
Now I need to figure out how I'm going to entertain Campbell for the next three weeks until summer school starts up. He gets a little stir crazy when he has time off from school. It just goes to show how much he loves it! Hopefully the next three weeks go by fast. Campbell will be so ready to see his teachers and his friends again.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Life One Week Later

Hey all! We're one week and one day in and so far we've survived! I honestly couldn't ask for things to be going more smoothly. Bennett has been so wonderful. Considering that I know what it's like to have a super, super hard baby, I am so incredibly grateful for this. Like, so grateful. I feel like I haven't taken a deep breath just yet though because both Scott and I are just waiting on it to turn bad. Hopefully it won't!! We're crossing our fingers and enjoying how nice things are....for now. We always say "for now."
Scott has been getting up with Campbell in the morning so I can sleep a little longer. Bennett is averaging waking up about 2 times a night. He nurses so quickly and he's such a quiet little thing. I'm up for about 30 minutes each time and then I'm able to go back to sleep. Overall, no complaints here! I'm planning on getting Bennett started on a schedule on Sunday but I can already see how it will be a little challenging to get him on a schedule because of having to take care of Campbell too. Hopefully I can manage. I'm interested to see how it goes at such a young age. I didn't get Campbell on a schedule until 10 weeks so I'm looking forward to seeing how it works out starting at 2 weeks. Scott and I both just like schedules and feel like we do so much better when we have one to follow.
I made my first solo outing with both boys today!! I was in the mood to get out of the house and Campbell had a gift card to Dilly Dally's, a local toy store, so I thought that would be a good and easy place for us to go. Campbell picked out this fun toy and he's been playing with it all day long. The trip ended up being a success other than Bennett crying the entire way home. He's not a fan of the car seat thus far. Such a bummer. Campbell loved being in the car. That was how I got him to nap a lot of the time!
The girls are adjusting well! I try to give them a lot of love while both boys are napping. Sometimes I wonder what they think about all of this.
Campbell and Bennett wore their matching pj's the other night and it was pretty darn cute! The first of many matching outfits. I actually bought these pajamas hours after Bennett was born. We were still in the delivery room and after I knew how tiny Bennett was, I wanted to get him some more preemie Kickee Pants to wear. I was literally still laid up in bed, on the ipad, ordering pajamas. Everyone was laughing at me. Ha!
Campbell insisted on having some books in his bed the other night so I obliged. I love this sweet boy. He's adjusted so well to our new addition. An answered prayer for sure.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Photo Sharing

I have a lot of photos on my phone from the week that I wanted to have here on my blog so bare with me because there's quite a few!
Monday morning dropping Campbell off at MDO. I had no idea that less than an hour after I took this photo I was going to learn I would be having a baby that day!!
Packing my bags while my girls looked on with a little bit of concern. They definitely knew something was going on.
An emotional mess right before we left. I couldn't stop crying or snuggling my baby.
Last photo as a family of three. We took this and Scott finally managed to pull me away!!
At the hospital! Waiting, waiting, waiting......
Bennett getting his first bath! I was in the midst of the most horrific post labor pains while all of this was going on. Worse than actual labor, let me tell ya.
All cleaned up and in our room! Looking so sweet and peaceful.
My mom got this angle of Campbell holding Bennett. I adore it. His little legs and that big smile. Ahhh, melt me!
Leaving the hospital with both of our boys!
Home Sweet Home!!