Ronan is 2 months old!

   I can't believe my little boy is getting so big! He's not sleeping as much as he used to and when he's awake, he's very smiley (most of the time). As with Olivia, my milk supply hasn't been keeping up with the demands of a growing baby, so I've been supplementing with formula. It isn't something that I would choose to do, but if I must I must. So for the last couple of weeks we have been trying to find a formula that doesn't make Ronan gassy and/or constipated. Unfortunately Nutramigen seems to be working the best, which means we'll be paying more than we thought we would for formula. I'm hoping that as he gets older he won't need the milk proteins broken down so much and we can switch to Gentlease (which is what we used for Olivia and is a lot cheaper).
   As sad as it is, we haven't had a "photo shoot" for Ronan. There are lots of pictures of him, but we don't have any of the cute newborn ones that you normally take. Melanie said she would take our pictures, but we have yet to find a day that works well for all of us. So today I decided I would take my camera and make a feeble attempt to get a few cute pictures.

 At 7 weeks and 2 days:
weight: 9 lbs, 13 oz. - 25%
height: 22.5 in. - 50%
head circumference: 38.5 cm - 25%

Tattle - tale

"Mama, Wonan grab it!"
I looked down at Olivia. She was holding a flat rubber basketball and her face had a very cute, perplexed expression on it.
"Ronan tried to grab your ball?"
"Yeah!"
Hmmm. She's already tattling on him.

I've written this post a million times in my head. Each time it's a little bit different. And each time it never actually gets written. For some reason when I'm the busiest, it easier for me to compose stuff in my head. Then when I have time to write, it's the last thing I want to do. ;)
We are settling into life pretty well as a family of 4. It's hectic at moments, but then there are moments, like right now, when everything is calm and peaceful and both kids are sleeping. I'm appreciating these quiet times a lot more now.

Today, right before I started writing this post.

I'm so glad Mom and Dad were able to be here for a little bit. Mom came out 2 days after Ronan was born. I was fully expecting my recovery this time to be like it was with Olivia (which wasn't horrible, but I could tell I'd just had a baby). It wasn't. It has been way better and I keep having to remind myself that, yes, I did deliver Ronan. I have the memory of it, but other than being tired, I feel great. So as a result of feeling so great, we were able to do a lot while Mom was here. Tons of fun! Among the things that we did: grocery shopping (a few times), Morro Bay, San Luis, coffee with Laura. And after Dad got here: Cayucos (to see the fireworks),

Yes, we were sitting right by the ocean. ;)

Morro Bay, Cambria. And of course through out that time we had several visitors drop in,

Apparently Wyatt was very happy to see Olivia.

Eating goldfish.

went out to eat a few times, and just chilled at home. Well, at least I chilled. :) Mom was kept busy with the laundry, dishes, cleaning the house, and Ryan was helping, too, when he wasn't at work. And Dad, once he got here, was put to work, too, mowing the lawn, cleaning the showers. And everyone entertained (or was entertained by) Olivia and enjoyed snuggling with Ronan. ;) He loves to cuddle - just like his big sis.

Having Mom and Dad here was truly an answer to many prayers. I'm so thankful for the time we got to spend with them.

Family

First picture of our family of 4.

Ronan Isaac Whaley

Born: 8:04 pm

June 19, 2013

8.0 lbs, 20.5 in

Olivia

There's nothing like talking to someone who's talking about what funny and cute things their child has been doing, and all the while thinking, "oh, she thinks that's cute - wait til I tell her what my child's been doing recently". And then you realize it isn't a contest to see whose child is cuter or more advanced, it's more about sharing in their joys as a parent. I find myself continually telling myself to just listen to the story without thinking of one I can tell about my child. This can be the same for the stories about the bad things they do too. And I almost feel like I tell more bad stories about Olivia than cute. Maybe that stems from the fact that everyone thinks I have the perfect child - she's "Princess", "Gorgeous", "Precious", and "Little Sunbeam" (which I have to admit is one of my favorites, because she truly does light up the world with her presence). Sometimes it seems like people don't really grasp the fact that all she has is an old nature and so, for all her smiles and hugs, she can throw a good tantrum. Luckily the people with kids around the same age as Olivia have seen her old nature enough to know that she is a normal child. So anyway, all that to say, this is a brag post. A post about all the funny and wonderful things my child does and how she is always doing stuff that makes me smile. So if you don't want to read it, that's ok. I understand. But it will be fun for me to look back on and to let her read when she's older. ;)
I am very blessed to have a very beautiful little girl. She has a very sunny disposition and loves to give out smiles and hugs. Sometimes the girls that are a little older than her take advantage of those hugs and keep asking for another one until Olivia's finally had enough. After all, aren't we together to play? :) She is very organized - even when she makes a mess. I walked in her room the other day to find this:

I had to laugh. Even the flip-flops have a pair of socks to go with them. I can't imagine where she gets this kind of organization from.
- She has a great imagination. She makes "pancakes" on her merry-go-round (and sometimes on the swings) and one time when there was water in the pool she made mud pie/pancakes using her tricycle as the oven.

- Elmo is very real to her. She talks to him and he talks back to her (when you press his foot) and she tries to feed him some of her toy food. She also likes to read him books.

- She loves to sing. Action songs are her favorite. She always wants to sing "Building up the Temple" before she goes to sleep. She helps her bear do "dwelling together". The other day, though, she was doing the "dwelling together" bit with me and she turned to her bear and said "I'm sorry, Bear. With Mama". I hope Bear's feelings weren't hurt too badly. ;)
- She really likes Clifford. One day we went to the store and as we were getting out of the car, she heard a dog barking. "Dog. Clifford." she said. "Clifford?", I asked, grinning. "He's too big to come to the store. Don't you think?" "Yeeaw (yeah)."
- She's very compassionate. I went into the health department a few weeks ago to get a booster pertussis shot and she sat next to me very quietly as I explained to her what was happening. Then when the nurse put a band aid on my arm, Olivia said, "All better?"
"Yes, Mama's all better. Was Mama so brave?"
"Yeah, Twinkle, twinkle little star..."
"Aw, are you singing to make Mama feel better?"
"Yes."
I have no idea if the nurse had any clue what was happening, because her back was turned, but I thought it was adorable. ;)
- Annie and Cali McWilliams came at the end of May and brought coffee, donuts, and stuff to give me a foot massage. It was a wonderful morning. ;) Olivia didn't quite know what to think of the foot massage. She kept watching trying to figure it out. I started out soaking my feet and then Annie massaged one while the other continued soaking. It wasn't til I pulled the second foot out of the water that Olivia came over and said "All better?"
"Oh my goodness, yes," I said. "You have no idea how much better!"
After Annie was done "washing my feet" she rubbed some lotion into Olivia's. Olivia loved it. ;)

 

Doing yoga with Dada.

Looking at books. Very reminiscent of Uncle Drew at the library.

Taking a picture with her dolphin flashlight.

She loves to take pictures "together, ok, together."

 Posing for a picture she begged to have taken.

Another lovely pose. She always begs to have her picture taken when she looks like this.

And when she looks like this she's begging NOT to have it taken.

"No, Mama, no!"

And one of my most recent favorites - laying out. Mind you, I have not laid out at all this year. I don't have a lounge chair and laying out on concrete is uncomfortable enough without being pregnant.

So many more stories. I'll have to keep up with them, so I can remember them in a few years.

A Rude Awakening

Not the worst thing to wake up to, but definitely not what I would choose to wake up to. I was sleeping peacefully. Ryan had gotten up and was exercising in the living room. Olivia was up, too, because she likes to think that she's exercising when in fact she's just running around eating cereal out of a sandwich bag most of the time. It's nice for me, because I get the bed to myself and an extra half hour of rest. This morning I was awaken by Olivia coming in to our room whimpering. "Ryan will get her", I thought as I opened my eyes groggily. "Oh, wait, no he won't. He's already in the shower. Wow, I must have really fallen back asleep!" I stumble out of bed, grab my glasses, and put on a robe. Then I look at Olivia. Her hands look wet. She must have been putting her hands in her cup of water and now she needs help because it spilled. "What happened, Olivia?", I ask as I make my way into the living room. I don't see any cup of water in the living room or kitchen. Then I smell it. Argan oil. What in the world? And then I see it. On top of the box fan that happens to be between the couch and the computer cabinet (which is open) and right next to the rug. "Olivia, what were you doing? You know you're not supposed to play with the oil!" She's still whimpering. The oil has spilled - down the side and inside of the fan and onto the floor. Luckily missing the rug. And the computer. It reminds me so much of when this happened:

This happens to be June of last year. Hope this won't be a yearly thing. She managed to not get anything on the rug that time either, which was good, because the rug that time was her lambskin. This time I didn't take any pictures for so many reasons. 1. She was walking around with oil on her hands. 2. It's hard to take a picture of clear oil and know exactly what it is you're taking picture of. 3. The camera didn't have batteries in it because they were being charged. Plus a few other reasons. I went and washed Olivia's hands and then put her in a chair telling her not to get up til I told her. Then I proceeded to clean the mess. Since this type of thing had happened before, I kind of knew what would clean it the best. Shampoo. I started out using dish soap, but that really doesn't work as well as shampoo. The fan needed to be cleaned anyway, and since the oil had dripped down inside, I ended up taking it completely apart, putting the front and back pieces in the tub for easier cleaning. During this time, Ryan had gotten out of the shower and found me cleaning the mess. Olivia only got out of the chair a few times. When I went to change the water once, I came back and she said, "No, no more, no more!" She also kept saying, "Oh, toodles! Mickey Mouse! Oh, toodles!" I think she's watched that a few too many times. So then Ryan and I explained to her that as nice as it would be to have Toodles' help, it wasn't real, and Mama was the one that had to do the work. I had to re-wash Olivia's hands with shampoo, because I had just used regular hand soap the first time and her hands were still oily. Then I set out cleaning the leather chair she had been sitting in. Then while I was at it, I cleaned the couch, too. I have to say they look a little bit better. ;) So I should probably explain what Argan oil is. It's for your hair and is a really good detangler. I mainly just use it for Olivia's hair, because it makes her hair lay nicer, too. I literally just looked at the bottle on Tuesday wondering if I was running out (it's only a 2 once bottle) and realized it was only a 1/4 of the way gone. I was very glad for this because I didn't want to have to buy anymore. Still don't. Probably won't. There is a little bit left in the bottle - maybe enough for two or three more uses. Guess I'll just have to use conditioner in her hair if it gets too tangled.