Well crap…

I blinked. I swore I wouldn’t but I did anyways and now…

my baby is heading to preschool. Oh hell no!

How did this happen?! I talk all the time about how my babies are growing up too fast and how the days are flying by faster than I could have imagined….but this is different. Preschool…freaking preschool! This is a whole new level of parenthood that I should still have years to prepare for. My BABY cannot be old enough for freaking preschool.   ::sigh::   I can rant and rave all I want but the truth is still staring me in the face. My baby is gone…my toddler is disappearing …I am the proud mommy of a (soon-to-be) preschooler. Excuse me while I rock in the corner sobbing for a few minutes.

The other day Dan and I headed out in search of a Mother’s Day Out program to put Harper into a few days a week. We had no plans of looking for a preschool because we had decided not to enroll her in an official program until 4. I have all the materials & curriculum needed to “homeschool” preschool and so far Harper is thriving and ahead of the game academically so our plan was to continue what we are doing for another year. However now that Jake is here I could see the benefit of putting her into a MDO program. She is learning social norms and loves to be around kiddos. We are part of 2 playgroups so we do get out and socialize a lot but it can get hard with 2 kiddos. Plus I honestly need the time to catch up on household stuff that seems impossible to do with both kids at home! It used to be that I could send Harper away to do some independent play while I cleaned up or folded laundry…but now I am always nursing Jake or trying to get him to sleep and when/if he does fall asleep I want to give Harper some much needed one/one attention. Kiddos are happy but my house is slowly being swallowed by piles of clothes and dishes! I also want a few hours a week to just have one/one time with Jake. Time I can relish having a baby nap on my chest or curled up in my arms without anyone needing me.

We didn’t see the need in preschool to achieve what we wanted but MDO sounded perfect. After driving all over town we quickly realized this was not going to be that easy. Most MDO programs in our area end at the age of 3 (they want you to switch to the preschool program)…..the few that do have MDO up until age 4 were either too far to drive every week or we were just not happy with once we toured. Our last stop of the morning was actually just down the road from where we live. I had heard raves about their program but also heard it books quick and usually has long waiting lists. I couldn’t find the MDO coordinator but I did find the preschool area and main office. Turns out that starting in Sept the MDO program would only go to the age of 3…hmph! I was informed though that preschool registration has started just a few hours before I got there (good timing!) and that several of the classes were already full. I walked around the preschool area and loved what I saw. I ran back to the car to talk to Dan (he was sitting with two sleeping babies) and we decided to fill out an application for Harper just to be safe since they would most likely be filled by the next day.

Two days later we heard that Harper was accepted into the Tues/Thurs afternoon class. With that we found ourselves parents of a preschooler. (about an hour after we got the email it hit us that our baby was starting school….Dan was the first to break and I quickly followed. Tears and wine were the theme of the night).

Don’t get me wrong, I am excited about this next step. Harper will thrive in preschool and probably love every single minute of it. I can’t wait to have a few hours a week to enjoy my little man and catch up on things. It is just such a HUGE milestone to reach and it caught me a little off guard that we could be at this point already. If I blink again is she going to be walking across a stage in a cap & gown?! It feels like a whole new world of parenting we are entering. It is scary and exciting….just like all new stages of parenting are. Starting Sept my little bird will take her first itty-bitty steps towards leaving the nest. I have to learn to let her start exploring the world without me. I cannot wait to watch her head into class with excitement and pride….but I will be blinking hard and doing my best to swallow the egg in my throat. Bittersweet can’t even begin to describe it.

Wasn’t this just yesterday?! :*(

2 months!

If I thought it was hard to find time to blog with just one kiddo it is 100X harder with two!!!

Mr. Jake is 2 months old! I can’t get over how quickly time is flying this time. I say it every.single.time I blog about my kids…but honestly no one understands but another parent!

At 2 months old Jacob is a happy little boy who:

– is obsessed with his hands. He loves to clasp his hands together and then works very hard to get them to his mouth where he will suck away like crazy!

– thinks his big sister is fascinating! He will just watch her like a hawk when she is dancing or playing around him. Every morning she comes in and gushes over him for about 5 minutes (“good morning brother sister”, “awwww so cute baby!”, “sweet dreams Jacob?”…..sigh….the girl kills me!) and he is nothing but grins when he hears/sees her.

– has a diet that apparently consists of Miracle Grow! My “little” man weighed in at 13lbs 6oz and 23 3/4in long!! Wowsers! 95th% for both! For comparison that is almost the size Harper was at 5 months!!! He is making the seams of his 3mo sleepers scream but it is breaking my heart to pull out 6 month clothes! This momma makes some serious milkshakes! 😉

– is full of smiles and those adorable baby breathy laughs & coos. Anytime you get down close to him and he knows he has your undivided attention he rewards you with smiles, coos & kicks! I can’t get over how happy he is!

– has taken a page in his sisters book about hating naps. I guess I just don’t birth babies that like to sleep during daylight hours. The only sure nap I can get is in the morning about an hour after he wakes….but even then it has to be in my arms or no dice! Thank goodness he loves the wraps!

– is showing signs of maybe…possibly…being a better night sleeper than his big sister!! Jake’s witching hour seems to be around 7:30 to 8 but once that is over he goes down much quicker and easier than Harper ever did! Most nights he is still up 2-3X (so about every 3hrs) BUT once in awhile he will give me a good 5hr stretch. Amazing! 🙂 He is currently sleeping in the rock-n-play next to my side of the bed due to his reflux issues. Hopefully we get it all sorted out soon so I can attempt to transition him flat in the cosided crib next to me!

– we have finally figured out that any type of milk protein is a no-go with Jake…and we are thinking that eggs might be another issue 😦  If I consume ANYTHING with MP he breaks out in a full body rash, spits up non-stop, screams with reflux, and has some nasty diapers. It has been incredibly frustrating trying to figure out what the culprit was (and I’m still not sure we have figured it all out…). Watching him cry and arch in pain knowing that it is because of something I ate is horrible. I am a strong believer in breastfeeding but I will say that it brought me to tears several times and I honestly felt like a failure as a mom (aren’t hormones fun?!). Figuring out how to go on an MPEI diet is challenging. We do not eat a lot of meat normally so this has pretty much forced us to go vegan for a lot of things. MP is in e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g! Luckily I like to cook and enjoy a challenge so eating at home has been fairly easy (though I do miss some of our regular staples). Eating out however feels almost impossible. Chipotle is the one place I know I can eat easily so that has been my go-to. I guess the upside is I am dropping the baby weight much faster now! 🙂  The pedi says she thinks he will outgrow it before 12mo (if not then we will do testing to see if it is a true allergy). I guess I am just going to do a trial every few months to see what/if he can take anything.

– has started the every fun drooling stage! He loves to suck and lick my shoulder while I am carrying him and always leaves a huge drool mark. I can honestly say he is the first baby that has just wanted to lick me. Little weirdo 😉

– has amazing head control….but HATES tummy time! I’ve found that pretty much no baby likes tummy time but even Harper would put up with a little bit if I propped her up on the boppy. Jake however still deems this unnecessary torture. Thankfully he gets good muscle practice in my wrap! I did laugh however at his pedi appt because just like with Harper I was dreading the part where she flipped him over to see how he did on his tummy……and just like Harper he popped his head up and looked all around like it was no big deal. Showoffs..both of them!

– has absolutely no interest in rolling. Since he is rarely on his tummy he doesnt’ really practice tummy to back and when he is on his back he has no interest in going to his tummy! He is so big and strong that I think he could do it soon if he wanted….but first the motivation has to hit him!

Baby smiles!!!

In only 2 months this little boy has stolen my heart. He is so like his sister….and so different at the same time. I love watching it! Now more than ever I feel so incredibly blessed to be the mommy of two adorable kiddos!! 🙂