Life Lately

A lot of people have asked how Ez is adjusting to Declan, and for the moment his views on big brotherhood are a mix of emotions. He's curious, affectionate, and every now and then he can be persuaded to share his cars (aka, he lays them gently on Declan's chest for half a minute before he hurriedly takes them back). He has a fascination with touching Declan's face, which isn't Declan's favorite thing in the world, but it could be worse. He's also extremely jealous of all the time Declan spends on mommy's lap, but that was expected. So for a two year old, I think he's handling all these changes like a champ.

Joe has been working from home, so most of our days include lots of couch-time snuggles while we avoid the midday heat. My favorite part of the day. 

We're settling into a nice routine of morning and evening play dates so Ez can run off some energy while Declan naps in the stroller. 

Some of our favorite ways to cool off this summer include splashing in the water table or the hose, pretending to wash mommy's car, froyo dates, the splash pad, and evening walks.

And that pretty much sums up our summer so far. Since I feel somewhat comfortable in our routine, that means it will change again soon. Like tomorrow. Parenthood has a way of always keeping you on your toes ;)

Our First Week as a Family of Four

The above pictures pretty much sum up our lives lately: messy, chaotic, but filled with love. Also in the mix? Plenty of family snuggles on the couch, some chain reaction meltdowns (Ez isn't a fan of Declan crying), way more dirty diapers than I care to count, and enough Cars marathons that Joe and I have the whole thing memorized. 

Somehow Ez made out like a bandit on Declan's birthday and managed to triple his car collection. At some point can we just trade in all his toy cars for a real one? They have been keeping him occupied though, so if he's happy, I'm happy, even if I have to dodge car landmines every time I walk through the living room.

Since we were eager to get back to our new "normal" we only spent one night in the hospital. Declan slept for two days straight, and now he's slowly starting to stay awake for longer stretches and get to know his surroundings. Remember how he used to kick every time Ez would snuggle on my belly? Well it turns out he's not a fan of that outside of the womb either. Ez likes to snuggle Declan's head every now and then, and half the time Declan turns bright red and starts fussing. But he does turn around and look for big bro's voice whenever he's near. Sounds like a normal brotherly bond to me.

I've already had my first full day alone with my boys. And not just a normal day, but a looong 12 hour day. My hands were full, and at times it was pure survival mode, where the loudest kid got immediate attention while the other one fussed or cried, but for the most part things flowed relatively smoothly. Somehow one of us even managed to bathe, I got some individual snuggles with each of my boys, AND a few dishes got washed. That well exceeded my expectations, so of course I celebrated with a beer.

The number one reason our first week with two boys went so smoothly is because my parents came down for 5 days and entertained Ez. He had a great time and it was the perfect distraction from all the newborn crying and mommy tiredness. A huge thank you to Papa and Gija!

My Sweet Little Baby

Apparently my sweet little baby actually is little. Like below average on the growth charts little. The doctor confirmed his smallness today. She also confirmed his sweetness, cause he was turning up the charm for her, cooing and showing off his dimples. But we already know he's a sweetheart, so back to the smallness. At 13.6 pounds and 23.25 inches he's a tiny almost-5-month old. According to the doctor's growth chart that puts him in the tenth percentile for height and the 25th percentile for weight. His head, on the other hand, is above average size for his age. The doctor joked that all his calories are going to his head. He is still growing though, slowly but surely. According to his 3 month stats, he was 22 inches at his two month appointment, and at three months he was 12.5 lbs, so maybe this is just a lull and he'll go through a growth spurt soon?

In other eventful doctor appointment news, he took his four shots like a champ. He screamed for about half a minute, but he was smiling again by the time they gave him his oral vaccine. He slurped that thing up like they just gave him his first taste of ice cream or something. The nurse was surprised he loved it so much because she said it actually tastes awful. I guess he was just excited for something besides breast milk for once.

After that semi-traumatic appointment, we went home and had some comfort food (egg biscuit for mommy, breast milk for Ez) and then we had a nice long cuddle and nap.

The Ezzy Tour - First Stop: Modesto

Sunday night, right after we returned from Santa Barbara, I packed a bag and we headed to the Burbank airport for Ezzy's first flight. We (minus Joe) were headed to Modesto to hang out with family and introduce Ezzy to lots and lots of friends and relatives. The pic below is Ezzy right before boarding. He flew like a champ. I had read that it's best to nurse during take off and landing to avoid any pain from the cabin pressure, and since it's such a short flight to Oakland, he spent the entire flight nestled under a blanket, quietly eating. Once we landed several passengers commented that they didn't even know there was a baby on the plane, which I think was a compliment.

Our 4-day visit in Modesto was jam-packed with Ezzy appearances. Monday was all about my childhood friends. They came over with their kids and we spent the day by the pool, eating pizza and homemade coconut cake (thanks, Zshnette!). I even took Ezzy for his first dip in the pool, and he didn't seem to mind it. 

Tuesday Ezzy got to meet his Aunt Anna for the first time. He was in a particularly hungry mood that day. Maybe all the excitement from traveling worked up an appetite? It was really great to catch up with my sis though, and Ezzy stopped eating long enough to show off his charming dimples. He was also really entranced by those black and white pillows in the pic below. 

After Auntie Anna's house, it was off to Chevy's so Ezzy could meet his great-grandpa Delbert & great-grandma Nancy. Ezzy spent the first half of the meal sucking on his hands and the second half asleep in Grandma Nancy's arms, which means mommy got to eat her enchiladas with two hands!

After such a busy day, it was nice to spend some time relaxing at home with the fam. For some reason Ezzy thinks his uncles are hilarious. As soon as he sees them he breaks out into huge grins (as you can see in the pic below of him and Brett, sizing each other up). The uncles seem equally fascinated by Ezzy. In fact, the whole family spent an hour watching Ezzy lie on the floor and watch baseball while kicking his legs in the air and shadow boxing. Ezzy was completely oblivious to our presence, and when he finally turned his head and noticed all of us staring at him he seemed startled - but it was good entertainment for the rest of us. 

Wednesday we headed over to my Aunt's house in Stockton and Ezzy met several great-aunts and cousins. He's a lil social butterfly, so he was loving all the attention. He also made out like a bandit with a whole sack of adorable clothes. He's such a loved/spoiled baby. Thank you, Kelli!

After spending the day in Stockton we headed straight over to Great-Grandma Kathi's house. By then Ezzy's social skills were fading a little, but he seemed content to gnaw on his fist while in grandpa's arms.

Thursday evening we were flying back home, so we spent the day relaxing and I got to catch up with my bros a little. And I actually went swimming for the first time this summer. It was soooo nice.

Isn't that sad??? Grandpa's cuddling with Ezzy's shirt after we left.

We had such a great time visiting with everyone and it's so heartwarming that Ezzy has such a huge family that want to spend time with him and love on him. He's such a lucky lil guy. We can't wait for our next visit, hopefully with Joe too. I was playing Ezzy videos of him and Joe while we were there and he would perk up at the sound of daddy's voice. So cute!