#twoundertwo - one month in

My writing abilities aren't my finest currently. Here's a list of random things on my mind.

• I finally got Dalton to sit still long enough to try a Snapchat filter. I've been trying for so long. He wasn't impressed, but I loved it.

Amazing.

• I forgot the utter hell that is a newborn crying while in the car. Horrific. Obviously driving is no picnic with a crying child of any age, but at least with a toddler, you have options. Snacks, songs, toys, the possibility that they will just get over whatever is wrong and stop, etc. In my experience, newborns only want to be fed, to be picked up, or may calm down if you give them the pacifier they spit out for the 457th time in 20 seconds. None of the above is an option while driving, unless you have really long arms (for the final choice), which I do not. Poor little Royce gets himself so worked up that he will be soaked in sweat by the time I'm able to stop and get him (and not because he's hot, it only happens when he's mad and the van has second row air vents anyway). 

• I am weirdly dying to work out again, and I can't wait until my doctor's appointment to get cleared (except I can, because time is flying by way too fast and Royce is getting big more quickly than I would like). Of course, when I think of exercise, I'm picturing my former, in shape self, and the reality will most likely be quite different than that. Still, I look longingly at my treadmill whenever I'm in the basement. 

He's already a month old. Time, SLOW DOWN.

• Speaking of time slowing down, Game of Thrones only has 3 more episodes in this season. WHY. Can we talk about how completely amazing this season has been? 
• Nitro coffee. It's the new big thing in iced coffee and now I'm obsessed with trying it. I'm meeting my friend next week for our birthdays at a BBQ place that has it? So random. 
• Some big important firsts around here (side note: typing that made my inner monologue go "and his big important wheels got stuck"...name that book). 
• I managed dinner and bedtime solo, and everyone  (even me!) got to sleep in a timely fashion with no major catastrophes.
• I took the boys on not one, but two solo outings. On Friday to the playground (it counts?) and on Sunday, to the big ass farmer's market (for my Rochester friends, our version of the public market).



Again, survival all around!



Don't let his face fool you. He loved it (especially since there were food samples and I bought him a smoothie).


I know most moms do all those things well before the four week mark and don't make a big deal over it, but I still think it's exciting and worth noting. It sounds like I'm getting major wife points, taking both kids on a Friday night and Sunday morning, but it was just so Eric could supervise a school dance and then mow the lawn.
• We went to Sesame Place! It's a Sesame Street themed amusement park outside of Philly. We got groupons for admission months ago, since we could take advantage of going before school was out. Dalton doesn't watch Sesame Street, or any TV, all due to our superior parenting #noscreentimebefore2. Ha, kidding, we've totally tried but he's such a busy kid he has NO interest in TV whatsoever, but in real life I'm still going to chalk it up to my amazing mom skills. Even without knowing any of the characters, he still had a great time. They have a whole toddler water park, toddler rides, and a huge character parade. It was awesome. Dalton not only didn't nap all day (we knew he wouldn't, this kid does NOT nap on the go, much like his mom), he stayed awake on the two hour drive home after a hot, napless day at the amusement park, happily chattering away to me in the car. What toddler does that?

You would think this would tire him out?

• That awkward moment when a friend asks what you are headed to Target for and the answer is "I heard they have these great bath paints in the dollar section and this dish soap that actually removes breast milk film from bottles" and then you hear yourself and are like...what is my life. They actually had neither of these items, and I still spent $75. FYI, though, Amazon had the soap and it does work! Someday I'll learn to affiliate link things and make bank, but today is not that day.
• We started Royce on bottles. I was weirdly emotional about this and didn't want to do it. It meant I had to start pumping and head down that annoying road of watching my freezer stash and counting oz and cleaning parts. I hate it. It turns something I love (breastfeeding) into something confusing and stressful. But I have to return to work later this summer, so it had to be done. Luckily, so far he's taken them with no problems, and I'm so relieved and thankful for that. 

Big brother, always helping.

• Between the bottles and a decrease in the cluster feeding, I've had some really solid one on one time with Dalton the past few days. 

Go ahead and ignore the bags under my eyes.

                                   

Usually it's at home, reading a book/playing in a room/taking a walk just the two of us. Yesterday, we even went out to Trader Joes. It was really nice to be able to focus all my attention just on him, but at the same time, it felt odd not to have Royce with me.                                                            

He even joins me when I blog. 

Much like when Dalton was a baby, I really miss Royce whenever I'm away from him (and I've only actually left the house without him twice for brief trips) and just feel unsettled, like something is off.

I want this, all the time.

 It's crazy how when a child joins your family, you truly can't believe there was ever a time without them. 

How did I even live without these faces?

• I miss my pregnant belly. I never really felt that way last time, but this time, I find myself staring at pregnant women and missing the feeling of little legs kicking inside me. It's strange because having the baby on the outside is so, so much better, and there's so much I do not miss about being pregnant. Every time I pick up something off the floor I get excited about how it doesn't feel horrible. And I can EAT and not feel like I'm going to vomit after two bites. It's glorious. And also sad. #hormones #allthefeelings
• Father's Day falls on my birthday this year...so who gets to play the "it's my day" card? Let's vote. Although I did spend Mother's Day in the hospital after getting my abdomen sliced open...just saying. 
• This time with my boys is absolutely heaven on earth. I know I've said it before but I can't even get over it. This morning, like most mornings, I woke up when I heard Royce fussing. I grabbed him, kissed him and cuddled him for a minute, then unswaddled him and went downstairs. Poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down to nurse him while Dalton fed me cheerios and gave both of us kisses and entertained me with his silliness. When he was done, Dalton helped me make banana bread in our pajamas while Royce snoozed in his bouncer. Does life even get better than that?! Plus, we went to Olive Garden for endless soup, salad, and breadsticks for lunch in the middle of the workday on Monday #winning.



These two are actually the best. Fact.

What's your perfect morning? Mine used to involve running, but now it's toddlers and babies, hands down (but only my own).