Photo shoot Day

Oh what a day. I had high hopes of a great day taking pictures of my two cuties, showing sweet sibling love and family cuddling. Nope, that was a big high hope that crashed quickly.

Hi Photographer I've never met and have in my home to take cute pictures of my sweet children who are supposed to behave so this hour and a half isn't a complete waste. No, I swear, my children don't always scream and demand chocolate or the boob every moment of the day. Yes, my daughter does know how to smile without being bribed. Well, hopefully one day the two can peacefully be in a picture together.

Sigh. I hope the photographer got at least a few good photos out of that mess and that it wasn't all for nothing. Thank God the session was free though, I can't complain if they're crap.

If they are, I guess I always have these few that I took a few weeks ago to fall back on. Not professional by any means, but I'm glad I finally got around to taking some.

These pictures don't do him justice. I love my little cutie pie so much.

One Month Down

Its so hard to grasp the fact that our little man Jameson is one month old. He truly is my little labor of love. And one day I'll actually get a chance to finish my story of labor with him.

ONE MONTH. For real.

He's growing so fast. Literally. He was born at 7lbs 7oz, lost to 7lbs even by day 3 and a month later weighs in at a full 10lbs 1oz. That's 3 pounds in a month. He's a growing boy and loves his "momma milk."

Just 3 weeks ago, here he is at one week.

He is a snuggler and absolutely loves to be held. He wants to be held all the time, day and night. He lets us know very quickly when he's not getting the snuggling he wants. He's a momma boy so far. There are few moments of the day that he isn't in my arms right now despite my efforts to get him familiar with his swing and bouncers. We're figuring out how to be productive and happy at the same time. Momma's arms (and brain) need a break sometimes. I think he's figuring out though that all he has to do is smile at me and he's good for another 20 minutes or so being held. I'm a sucker.

He is beginning to like not hate baths. There's not so much of the crying anymore like this. Poor boy doesn't like to be chilly.

He is constantly aware of his big sister. He isn't able to constantly follow her with his eyes yet because that girl is ALWAYS on the move, but if he can't find see her, he gets very still with these wide eyes listening trying to find her. It is so cute. I can already tell these two are going to be close as they grow up together. She is not yet protective of him but she is always curious of his whereabouts and lets me know when he's crying.

Ignore the fact that Cheyanne stole his teddy bear here so her Mr. Bear could give him a hug. I swear she loves him and they'll be best friends. I love his stunned face.

Happy one month baby boy! We are so glad you are here.

It's happened!

You know, that moment when you realized your newborn baby doesn't actually hate you and his crying isn't an alert to the authorities to save him from this clueless parent!

My heart has officially melted for this boy. I got my first laugh! He not just smiled at me, but he actually laughed. I think I heard my heart actually explode with love when he made that loud cackle.

He started purposefully smiling at me a few times last weekend. Of course, it was never when I was acting silly trying to make him smile. Moms you know what I'm talking about. We will do just about anything for that smile. It was first when I was holding him close to my face and just smiling at him. Bam! He smiled back!

Finally, yesterday his coos and smiles turned into one big open mouth precious cackle! Its been a big week for the boy. He not only has started laughing, but 3 days ago he started rolling over too! Ah! Tummy time became roll time at 3 1/2 weeks old. Lifting his head at 2 1/2 weeks, holding his head up at 3 weeks, rolling over at 3 1/2, laughing… phew this kid already keeps me on an early watch. I have a feeling he'll be doing this for the rest of his life.

Don't mind the mess

If you come to my house today, or any day for that matter right now, please don't mind the mess. My usually clean house has been taken over by unfolded laundry, toddler entertaining toys and crafts, and Uncle Sam flight bags sitting at our front door.

The (caffeine induced and natural) energy levels have reached an all new level. I'm chugging coffee by the gallon daily to keep up with my little wild one. 

Seeing as I become a mega-germaphobe when new babies arrive, I can't say that we've left the house much in the last three weeks. There's not enough Lysol in the world to make me chance the flu germs entering our house again. Probably, thus the craziness has escalated. Cheyanne and I have gone a little stir crazy. Newborn babies aren't so much fun for a 2 year old, we've learned. There's a lot of "Don't jump around the baby!" and "Be careful not to poke Baby Brother!" and "Slow down please!" being said around here. 

We've gotten pretty creative to find entertainment for Cheyanne during Jameson's feeding times.

Thus the mess. But its better than the tv being on 24/7 as it is some days. I'm not the best at juggling 2 yet, obviously.

"Look Mom, my hand's stuck!"

Mess everywhere or as Cheyanne calls it "messy mess." Her first chore, helping Mommy empty the dishwasher by putting away the silverware is one of her favorite big girl rolls. 

I'll get better at juggling. But as for now, I'm not inviting you over! :) Well that is, unless I know you won't judge me and my lack of mommying and housekeeping skills and/or you don't look around too much. 

Just keep your eyes on these two cuties and we'll be just fine.