Well, folks. It comes as no surprise that having two kids is no walk in the park. The simplicity of life with one baby (which my present self has to laugh at my former self for ever thinking for a second that one baby was hard... HA) which allowed for some minimal down time to write monthly blogs featuring my cute little one has completely and utterly disappeared. Soooo in perfect "mom of two" fashion I present my current blog...the epitome of second child syndrome aka: Happy Two Months Oliver, Happy Third Birthday Avery and Happy Three Months Oliver! (almost four months)...😅
My maternity leave flew by, as you'd imagine. I was able to enjoy both of my kids and foster the beginning of their bond. At first it was a little rocky. Avery pretended that he pretty much didn't exist. She did not like when I held him and was in desperate need of attention. She only approached him if it was her idea, not anyone else's. Now she enjoys playing with him, helping us with him and holding him. Avery is also the official spit up announcer. So have no fear, if he ever has any sort of spit up or drool on his face, she will alert you.
During my leave Avery turned 3. She had an airplane themed birthday (shocker). I can't believe how fast she has grown. I feel as though since Oliver was born time has passed twice as fast as it used to. I used to feel like time flew when it was just Avery. Now I find myself seriously stopping in my tracks shocked by how old both kids are. I have already said to myself "Oh Oliver is ___ weeks old. We already were doing ______ with Avery by now." or "How old was Avery when we started doing ______ with her?" Juggling the two kids and trying to meet both their needs is a work in progress. Although he is definitely trying to compete with his sister on how fast he meets his milestones. He is already rolling from back to belly and belly to back. He's trying to sit on his own and really wants to stand. When he is on his belly he is scooting himself backward on the floor. Just trying to keep up with his big sister. Oliver is totally smitten by Avery too. He is constantly watching her; following her across the room and gives her the biggest smiles and giggles. Oliver has been such a joy. He is a very chill and happy baby, thank goodness! He just radiates love and sunshine. He loves to snuggle and smile and I am just soaking it all in.
Avery continues to be really into airplanes and outer space. Since our trip to Europe and Memphis, TN last fall, she's been begging to go on another flight. Totally not understanding the concept of money, time, or just the idea that we don't get on a plane just to get on a plane. Lucky for her, she was able to go on a trip with my parents to Washington DC where she saw lots of aviation and space artifacts at the National Air and Space Museum. They also went to the Washington DC Zoo. She really loved flying on the airplane but surprisingly enough her favorite thing was sitting outside on the balcony at the hotel and enjoying the outdoors and watching the cars and people go by. I love her love for the little things in life and I really hope that doesn't change. She has been dealing with the newest addition to the family like a pro and we are very proud of her. Chris and I are really trying to enjoy any kind of one on one time with both kids; to make them both feel loved and appreciated and to decrease the level of inevitable mom and dad guilt. 😬
Avery has been really into music lately too. Trying to play the guitar, drums and violin. Her current influence has been Guster. We are taking her to her first concert this up coming weekend and we could not be more excited to take her. She knows a bunch of their songs (her favorite is Satellite). She will watch their music videos and dance/sing along. She names their songs based on their music videos. For example, Guster has a music video for a song called Endlessly where they sing on the shore with whales jumping in the water in the background. So she will ask to listen to "the whale song" on Alexa. She also has a Decemberist song called Dear Avery (where her name was inspired) memorized, thanks to me singing it to her almost every night before bed. She is definitely at a fun age. At times she is the definition of a "threenager" with an extra dosage of stubbornness but majority of the time she melts my heart with how sweet and loving she is.
My maternity leave ended with my sister and brother-in-law visiting from Texas. We celebrated their soon-to-be baby girl with a beautiful shower. It was awesome spending time at my parents house on the lake with them, my gram and the rest of our family. It was the first time Sammie, Shane and my grandmother met Oliver. It was so nice having them up to be with the kids. My gram spent some extra time and got to join my mom on her days where she watches the kids for us which was a lot of fun. Avery especially enjoys her GG time. FaceTime has made keeping in touch with Sammie and Shane possible so every time they visit Avery is totally comfortable with them which I love. I know Oliver will be the same way and I am hoping my little Texan niece will feel the same way every time we get to be together too! My parents got a new boat this summer which has been really fun to be out on. Avery and Oliver love the boat too! Avery has been enjoying the lake and our pool at home as well. She is turning into quite the little swimmer and it is fun to watch her confidence grow every time she is in the water.
Back to work so the kids are being watched and loved by their two grandmothers. Again, as always, we feel extremely blessed that we have two mothers who give their time and love every week day to watch our children. As much as I would rather be at home with them, I at least know they are well taken cared of while we are working. Avery loves spending time with her grandmothers and cousins. Our nieces enjoy their time playing with Avery too and they are totally obsessed with their newest little boy cousin. It is always so fun to watch them all together growing up. I can't wait to see Oliver get bigger and give the girls a run for their money!
So theoretically, I should be writing an updated blog when Oliver turns 4 months old (in 10 days...whoops!) but we all know that's not gonna happen. So until next time...I'll just continue to pout at how quickly my babies are growing and looking into how to slow time down just a smidge.
