My heart melted.

I am finding that my favorite day of the week is Wednesday -- it's the day of the week I'm alone with both boys. (Sorry, Nate - I'm selfish when it comes to boy-time!) Yesterday, Carson brought me Max's House and proceeded to climb on to my lap while saying, "Read to you, Mommy." (Brady was laying on his Boppy pillow next to me.) As I began to read the book to both boys, Carson reached over and grabbed Brady's hand.

Carson held Brady's hand throughout the entire story.

Happiest Baby on the Block (Well, sort of.)

Brady is a smiling fool these days. Over the weekend we hosted the 3rd annual Kabobfest at our house, so he had plenty of time to strut his stuff. (And speaking of strutting, Carson is an attention-monger. God help his future classmates!)

After a busy weekend, I thought that Brady seemed a bit "off" on Monday afternoon. I ended up taking him to Urgent Care. After three attempts to draw enough blood for the necessary tests, a catheter for a urine sample and lots of poking and prodding, he was diagnosed with thrush and a serious case of diarrhea. Brady and I returned home at 2 AM on Tuesday morning after having spent 6 hours at the hospital.

Despite all the "yuck" associated with a trip to St. Anthony's, Brady managed to smile at every nurse, doctor and lab tech in the joint.

Brady is my BFF.

We hold hands numerous times throughout the day. :)

11-Man

The 11-Man was what we called the gi-normous "shit-box-of-a-house" we (me and 10 of my closest sorority sisters) lived in my senior year at the University of Illinois. In true 11-Man fashion, we all decided to get together for a (many!) cold beer in honor of our 10-year reunion. I left the boys at home and flew to Chicago on Saturday for an afternoon Cubs game and a night out with the girls. We spent most of the game laughing, drinking and eating. (I know the Cubs played the Braves, though I only know that the Chubs won compliments of a text from Nate!)

After the game we hit a few bars; before hitting the third bar, my friend Kathy and I decided to call it quits. We were both sure it was at least midnight, but looked at our watches and realized it was only 9:30 PM. (We're both new moms. That should count for something, right?!)

I missed my boys but am glad I made the trip to the windy city. It was great to see you all, Ladies!!!

Brady 2-Month Stats

Brady has really come in to his own! He's started to smile (with his entire face!) and now coos to try to get our attention. I wondered how I was going to be able to love a second child as much as I love Carson, and now I know how. It's effortless...there is more than enough room in my heart for you, Brady. I love you more than you know, sweet boy!

Weight: 12 lbs 9.5 oz (75%)
Height: 24" (90%)
HC: 39.3 cm (50%)


(Brady's eye-balling his Paw-Paw, who is just over my left shoulder!)

ABC, it's easy as 123.

I'm working on getting Baa-Baa Black Sheep, Mom. This will have to do for now.

"I puke."

We went over to our friends today for play time, and while Carson is 3 years younger than Sophie, he tried his hardest to keep up with her. They played in Sophie's room, in the play room, outside, on the swing set, in the side yard. You get the picture. We ended up taking off around noon because Carson was suddenly lethargic. (Over-heated from being outside? Worn out from 3 straight hours of playing?)

On our way home, I turned around to see Carson dozing off in his car seat. His eyes sort of rolled in to the back of his head...and...wait for it...he puked...three or four times actually. The puke was all over the place - it completely saturated his clothes, his car seat, was inside my bag, in the basket I keep between the seats (that houses Wet Ones, Goldfish, an extra diaper for each boy, an empty sippy, an annoying toy that makes sounds, etc.), in his shoes, in his hair - EVERYWHERE.

We pulled over and yanked him out of his car seat. The poor kid said with a whimper, "Mommy, I puke." I replied, "I know, Buddy. Let's go home."

:(

Green-eyed Monster

Signs of jealousy, no?

Goodnight GorillGa

He's close.

(almost) Two going on 20!

Carson has quite the social calendar....on Saturday morning, we all ventured to a local Farmer's Market. While munching on a sample of beef jerky, Carson said, "Yummy, durky. Oh, so yummy!" The guy selling the jerky asked us how old he was. When I told him Carson was not yet two, the guy said, "Wow, he seems so old and is full of personality." Yep.

Carson later proceeded to make friends with some lady walking her dog through the market. This is what followed:

Carson - "Doggy! Touch doggy? Carson touch doggy?"
Lady - "Sure, Honey. You can touch her. She's friendly."
Carson - "Whoo-hoo. Doggy kickle (tickle). Doggy kickle (tickle) Carson's hand."
Lady - "You sure are a big boy, Kid."
Carson - "Tank (thank) you. Have good day!"

At yesterday's annual Green Jacobson pool party, one of Nate's co-workers said, "That little boy is two going on 20!" This statement was appropriate due to Mr. Personality's need to talk to everyone in attendance, though it missed the mark when Carson melted down after two hours of showing off.

And what did Brady do this weekend? He chilled in his car seat while we were out and about and cried out maybe once!

Guilty Pleasures

Mommy is addicted to Bravo. (Isn't Bethenny's Jason the nicest guy?! And I also like internet connectivity. My internet has been jacked up for the last 11 days!)

Carson enjoys a McDonald's chocolate shake now and then, particularly on the way home from school.


Brady likes to eat.


And Nate loves Mike and Ikes, Hershey bars and Icees. (And since Carson loves whatever his dad loves, Carson loves the above, too. :)

Hallelujah!

Brady's turned the corner, and by that, I mean he doesn't scream 90% of his waking hours. Whoo-hoo...life with two kids isn't that bad after all. ;)

Brady - 1 Month Stats

22 1/2 inches - 90%
10 lbs 8 oz - 75%
37.6 inch head circumference - 50%

Let's compare composite photos (I haven't use the words "composite photo" since I was in college getting sorority pictures!):

CARSON (one month and a day after gracing us with his presence)


BRADY (one month and a day after gracing us with his presence)

Tyrant

Brady is one.


He doesn't like any of the following:
bouncy seat
pacifier
swing
tummy time
play mat
diaper changes
riding in the car
napping during the day
hanging out

There are no options other than what I've listed above, Kid.

(This is how Carson deals with Brady in the car.)

"Bwady's cwyin', Momma."

Either I have the smartest toddler on the planet, or my infant cries so much during the day that if his big brother utters the words, "Brady's crying, Momma.", there is a strong possibility BRADY IS CRYING and Carson has accurately described the situation at hand.

WTF?! I thought it was supposed to be easier the second time around? And what's going on below?

Identity Crisis

Carson has a ton of toys in his playroom, though he chose to play with these:

Appropriate???

While feeding Brady, I looked over my shoulder to check on Carson...this is what I saw:



Who needs Mega Bloks when you can build a tower out of a table and a chair?!

poop and a(PEE)ase

I had both boys at home with me today, so when Nate called to ask me how it was going, I replied, "Eat, poop, play and appease -- that's all there is to it."

Give me a break.

We had two weddings to go to last Saturday: an afternoon wedding in Fulton and an evening ceremony in St. Louis. (My parents were gracious enough to watch the boys.) As we rolled out of Fulton on our way to the evening wedding in St. Louis, a quick stop at Break Time for caffeine was a necessity. (There is something about a fountain pop that immediately makes me feel better. It cured my college hang-overs and lifted my spirits on Saturday. For you Westminster-ites reading this, you know the gas station I'm referring to! :)

After two Blue Moons, dinner and dessert at wedding #2, we were ready to go home. I enjoyed the break but missed my boys' chaos.

COLIC

Damn it. Brady has colic. In all honesty, he sleeps from 10p to 2a and wakes for a bottle. He then goes back to sleep and wakes again at 5:30a for a bottle, so I shouldn't complain, right? Wrong. The colic is in full effect from 6a to 9:30p. The only thing that seems to remotely soothe Brady is being in my arms. This would be somewhat endearing if I didn't have a very active and needy toddler at home with me as well. (When does a momma find time to pee?! Seriously.)

Doctor's Orders

Well, after 2 weeks of Tommee Tippee bottles and a ravines kid every 1.5 hours, it occurred to us that Brady wasn't getting enough food. We decided to switch back to the pain-in-the-ass-because-each-bottle-has-five-pieces Dr. Brown's bottles since they worked so well with Carson. I tried to take the simpler route this time around (The Tommee Tippee bottle only had three pieces!), but am now back to what the doctor ordered.

Breaking the Law

I know it's illegal to drink and drive, but do you think they would make an exception for a woman traveling with a screaming toddler and a manic infant?

I loaded Brady in the car yesterday so that we could pick Carson up from school. (This was my first attempt out with both of them.) Brady is...let's say...less than impressed with his car seat and drive-time. Needless to say, he screamed the entire drive to day care. Midway there, I looked in the review mirror and saw Brady projectile vomit. Lovely. On the return trip home, Brady really freaked out and started screaming like I was ripping his arms off. Carson's initial reaction was, "No no cry, Brady." Cute! Carson then started to cry (which he NEVER does) as he tried to pull himself out of his car seat. WTF?!

Nate called me as I rolled in to the garage and asked me what was up. I erupted in laughter and said, "This is nuts!"

Who's who?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! My friend Cassie said it best, "You've cloned Carson!"

Brady....leaving the hospital.


Carson...leaving the hospital.

Milk. It does a body good.

Umm, not this body! If I were breast-feeding, I'd be ecstatic that my milk was in, but since I'm not, I'm less than thrilled. Ouchy!!!

Not the best lead-in to Father's Day pics, but oh, well.

Brady Michael Ross

He's here! Brady joined us on June 17, 2010 at 11:13 AM. He weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces and is 21 inches long. Besides being a spitter, he's a peach. (It's so much easier the second time around!)

Reality sets in.

We're having a baby...holy shit, I have to physically give birth, pop out a human-being, bring a child in to this world, PUSH, squeeze a watermelon through the equivalent of something the size of a golf ball. We're headed in to the hospital tonight instead of tomorrow morning. Carson's little brother or sister will be here soon!

Sprinkler-action

With a little coercing, Carson eventually loved running through the sprinkler, and so did his daddy!

4, 3, 2, 1......

My last Sunday sunset as a mommy of 1...

...4 days to go!

Tweet, Tweet

Nesting, no?

The deal has been inked!

Baby Ross is being evicted June 17th! With zero natural progression and a gracious doctor, I have been scheduled for induction next Thursday. Whoo-hoo, which means Nate will be ringing in his second Father's Day with the arrival of his second rug rat. Yikes!


(Our final date night before Newbie arrives.)

(My not-so-little man has no clue what he's in for!)