Some Thoughts on Having Two

I've had several people tell me going from one kid to two kids is the hardest transition. I can't verify that yet, but I can verify that two kids is harder. Period. Here are some conclusions I've drawn since Brady was born:

1. I am nursing, and changing diapers, and nursing nursing nursing, and changing diapers. This is how I am spending my days now. Now throw in getting the toddler fed, trying desperately to manage her newfound tantrums and attitude, and nursing some more...there is very little time for anything else.  Getting everyone bathed, and dressed (this includes myself), and out of the house even for a walk around the block is a much bigger accomplishment than I thought it ever could be.

2. Keeping up with the housework is next to impossible - but an untidy house stresses me out. So I make time! I am tired.

3. I miss having time to myself. At this point, it is hard to believe I will ever have time to read a book (I'm talking a book with no illustrations and more than five words on each page), work on any projects, or exercise ever again. I got one of those coloring books for adults that everyone is raving about these days. I got it right at the end of my pregnancy and I loved it! Now I'm afraid the pages will remain colorless forever.

4. Carly is TERRIBLY two. There is a saying that a toddler is like a blender with the lid off. Now add some extreme sass and a dash of dictator and you've a got a two year old Carly. She is very obviously feeling what it's like to share her parents with another kid and she isn't crazy about it. Fortunately she LOVES "baby budder" and only shows her darkside to Mom and Dad.

5. A handful of you know while I was pregnant with Brady, a few sad, stressful, and downright scary things appeared in my life quite suddenly. I truly feel that Heavenly Father sent me this beautiful boy to lift my spirits when no one else can. He is a blessing through and through. I love and treasure him more than I can say. He is calm and sweet and everything I need right now.

6. Despite the stress and tears having two kids brings, there are countless and fleeting moments that make it all worth it. The three of us took a walk the other day. Brady fell asleep on my chest, and Carly was holding my hand while softly singing one of her made up songs. I could only smile. In moments like that, I have never felt such a sense of fulfillment and purpose.

I've got this!!

Toddler Bed Transition

Since the news came of a second kiddo joining our family, I've been thinking about all the changes we need to make. In my mind the scariest change of all was going to be transitioning Carly into a toddler bed!  Carly has been sleeping through the night (I'm talking a 12 hour night here) since she was three months old. She RARELY cried or fought us at all when we put her down for a nap or bedtime in her crib. I didn't want to ruin a good thing!! But baby brother needs a crib, and I didn't want to postpone the bed transition until after he is born. She will be overwhelmed with enough change when that happens.

SO. I googled toddler beds. They are expensive!! Or they are cheap plastic with an obnoxious cartoon character on them - not my thing. Then I remembered the toddler bed that all my siblings and I used was built by my Great Grandpa Strasser - I loved that bed! How hard could it be to build a bed? Not to mention it would save us quite a bit of moola. And Matt was always talking about how he would like an opportunity to build something - so build a toddler bed we would!

We went to Home Depot, got all the supplies, and Matt worked his magic. The hardest part was cutting all the wood to the right size because we only had a hand saw. That took forever. Once the wood was cut, Matt assembled it all rather quickly.

Ta-duh!! I'm so proud of him. It's crazy sturdy and will hopefully be something that can be passed down in our family.  Matt finished it right before school started, so I took it upon myself to paint it. I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. You have no idea how many surfaces this thing has!! Besides that - my hips like to stop functioning when I'm pregnant whether I'm staying active or not. Crouching down to paint that bed all day was painful to say the least. But look how pretty it turned out!! Needless to say, I will leave all future paintings of this toddler bed to my posterity.

As for the Carly transition, she has spoiled us once again with her love of sleep. She practiced napping in her "big girl bed" for two days, and by the third day she was sleeping through the night!  She loves the new freedom. Now we'll just have to see what she thinks about having a roommate!

Carly Update

I'm back! It's a new year and it's time to start up this blog again. After Christmas break, I was so overwhelmed with all the pictures and stories I wanted to share on here. So I just didn't share anything :) Now that I've decided just to skip over Christmas break, I have the courage to post again. (Sorry, Mom. You are welcome to look at the Christmas break pictures when you come visit!)

Carly is growing up! We thought she was fun before, but she just keeps getting more awesome! She loves a good laugh and is a dancin' fool! She only says two words: "Dada" and "Hi", but she speaks CONFIDENT gibberish ALL THE TIME. She is no rush to learn this silly English language.  She also knows she is super cool. She wears her sunglasses whenever we leave the house, She waves hello and goodbye, and she high fives.

 She is brave! More brave than Mom is comfortable with... She isn't afraid of strangers, of bugs, or going down the slide all by herself! (Which resulted in a goose egg on her forehead last week)

Her hair is growing out so nicely! We love styling it in new ways and playing with it in the tub :) She's good at sitting still while I style it, but she has a hard time not reaching up and pulling it out directly afterwards ;)

"Would you guys quit it?!" She loves us...

Daddy is hands-down her favorite parent. But I'm ok with that because he just happens to be my favorite person too :)