He Is Risen!...

Although it is really fun to take vacations over Spring Break we all really enjoyed being able to celebrate Easter with our family!  Parker really enjoyed doing the Resurrection Eggs and the Easter Egg hunt!

Easter "Egg"stravaganza...

Parker got to decorate Easter eggs at Grandma Lambert's house!  Sparkles! Bright colors! Stickers! Decorative Wraps!  Needless to say he had a lot of fun!  The next few days were spent playing with the eggs...there were a few egg casualties!

Picking the colors...

Cooling the eggs...

Putting on the decorative wraps...

Dying the eggs...

Sharing with Peyton...

Best buddies...

Parker and Owen are hard at "work".  They look really thrilled with getting their picture taken too!

Mommy guilt...

Prior to Peyton's arrival Parker was the love of our lives and he still is, but we are sharing the love with Peyton now too!  I think Parker has adapted better than our wildest dreams, but I am having a hard time not giving him as much attention that he is used to.  With it being winter now and the risk of Peyton getting sick we have stuck around the house more than we normally do.  Parker is so used to being on the go with me all day every day so I think he is getting a little stir crazy being at the house so much...I know I am!  I am really thankful that the basement is done though because that feels like we have another place to hang out.  

I am way more tired than normal due to lack of sleep and my nerves are frazzled due to Peyton's colicky behavior...I just don't have the energy to be the energetic mom that I want to be.  To be completely honest there have been several mornings where I have fallen asleep on the couch while Parker is awake!  Luckily he is a saint and doesn't get into trouble.  I would wake up with him standing  right in front of me saying, "Mommy taking a nap".  It would break my heart but I could not get myself to stay awake!  

Normally Peyton doesn't start crying until right after Parker goes to bed but I know he hears her before he falls asleep.  I just hate that is the last thing he hears before he goes to bed.  Also, Joel and I always really enjoyed tucking Parker into bed together every night...we both cherished those moments and now that really doesn't happen much any more because someone has to be tending to Peyton.  I really miss those special times. 

Parker seems pretty unfazed by everything and I know I just need to let these guilty feelings go!  This is the new life we have and soon the changes will seem normal and we will all fall into it just fine!  My hope is that soon Peyton will settle down at nights and those will be less stressful times which will in turn put me in a better place mentally and emotionally and once she sleeps through the night I will be less tired and have the energy I want to have for Parker (and Peyton too!)!  I know this is only a short period of time in our life and in the grand scheme of things we will all come out of it unscathed!

Mac 'n Cheese Face...

Who knew eating Mac 'n Cheese could get so messy yet be so cute!?

Colic nightmare...

Why oh why are we cursed with the colicky babies?  Parker showed colicky behaviors from 4 weeks to 8 weeks and I remember it being challenging but I think Peyton is even worse.  She decided to get an earlier start then Parker too...at 1 week we had our first night of colic behavior.  We quickly were thrown back into it all!  She now is 4 weeks old and we are just at our wits end with it all.  Luckily it isn't every night but the times where it is two nights in a row is almost more than we can handle.  Joel and I both stay up to tag team because it becomes very evident why people shake babies and we don't want to leave each other alone.  One minute you are handling it fine and the next you find yourself transitioning them to different positions in a not so gentle and loving way and you want to throw them across the room!  Literally that thought has crossed my mind and it seemed like a rational thought...not good!

Peyton is a model colic baby.  It happens about three times a week, it always happens at the same time in the evening, it last for about three hours (in our case we are sometimes blessed with it lasting longer!), and they say it should be done by the time they are three months (I am hoping that last one is not true and it ends much sooner than that).  It is probably almost comical to watch Joel and I during these times...I am always on the Internet looking up new things to try and Joel is usually the one trying the things I read.  We have tried...

Different positions
Burping her
Burping her in different ways
Bouncing her
Putting her in the swing
Letting her cry it out in another room to give us a break
Feeding her
Swaddling her
Driving her around in the car
Running the vacuum right by her
Swaying her
Shushing in her ear loudly
Rubbing her tummy gently
Bicycling her legs
Giving her Gripe water

So far the vacuum has been the most successful thing.  We struggled with knowing how long was too long to keep the vacuum running in the same spot...so we got creative and recorded the vacuum on the iPad and so we now play the recording right by her ear.  Joel was concerned that this was going to effect her hearing but the Internet says (and it is always correct!) that the womb is twice as loud as a vacuum...that is why they like it.  You are supposed to simulate the womb during these colicky times.

Joel and I are hoping some day we are able to look back on this time and laugh about it...right now that isn't really happening!!  We are just in survival mode and hope that we all make it out unharmed!  We also hope this does not affect our desire to want another child at some point in the future!

1 month...

I am happy to say we have made it to the one month mark!  Wow!  It has been a roller coaster of a month to say the least!  Peyton has had some great successes and some struggles in her first month in this world.  I am happy to report that she is getting the hang of sleeping/wake time during the day quite well.

Parker continues to do awesome and loves Peyton so much!  Every time he wakes up he asks where she is.  He then goes to where ever she is and bends over to be face to face to her and says "Hi Peyton!".  He then gives her a gentle hug or touches her head and is off to play!  He loves to hold her as well.  It usually only lasts about 30 seconds but it is still so cute!  I don't think he truly realizes yet that she is never leaving, but I am sure the next month will be telling as to how he will handle this long term.  Hope it is a positive response!

Although breastfeeding went so well in the beginning I am now solely pumping and giving her bottles. After giving myself a week to heal I tried to start breastfeeding again and it appeared to be confusing for her and she acted really frustrated.  After trying for a day I decided to not stress about it and just keep giving her a bottle.  It seems like she is bothered by some of the things I eat...garlic, pasta sause, tomatoes, peppers, etc...so that makes it challenging to regulate what I am eating but it is worth it for now!

Peyton has had a lot of new experiences this month!

First birthday party (1 week)...we celebrated all of the February birthdays with Joel's family our first weekend home, my birthday with my family the next week and then went to Connor's 1st birthday party the next!  Peyton is a party animal!

First bath at home (1 week)...at first she didn't seem quite sure but then she really seems to like it. She sits quietly looking around while we pour warm water over her with a Solo cup.  Parker loves to sit up at the counter and watch her.

First colicky night (1 week)...we do not need to wonder if Peyton has a good set of lungs...we get to hear them in action at least three nights a week!

First basketball game (2 weeks)...we have been able to attend several of Joel's basketball games these past few weeks and Peyton slept through them all.  I think I need to record the games so we can play them at night to help her sleep through the fussy times!

First Bible study (2 weeks)...Peyton did not like to sleep during Bible study which was kind of a bummer...instead during a quiet moment she decided to let a huge fart and poop go which lead everyone to laughing hysterically...oh boy!

First time sleeping in the crib (3 weeks)...it took us a long time to have Parker sleep in the crib and we knew we wanted to introduce it to Peyton much earlier.  It has been a week since we have been putting her in the crib to sleep at night and she is adjusting fairly well.  We swaddle her up nice and tight and have the sound machine on the rain sound very loudly.  She sleeps stretches of 3-4 (mostly 3) hour stretches.

First visit to daddy's school for lunch (3 weeks)...all of the kids had been asking for Peyton to make an appearance from day one.

Starting to have slight baby acne and losing some hair in the front (4 weeks)...why do our children lose their hair like old men?  Just in the front down the middle!

Stats: weight-8 lbs 1 oz./21 1/2 inches long 

Losing hair in the front...yikes!