2 months!

Two months already (a few days late)? Nick's first year is just flying by!

I was very nervous about bringing another baby home, largely because of Natalie's infancy. It didn't dawn on me that they could very well have two vastly different personalities. I thought all babies screamed bloody murder for four straight months! Nick is incredibly laid back, he hardly fusses and when he does it's more of a whimper really. He's starting to get more and more head control, smiles and laughs all the time. His sleeping habits leave much to be desired, though. I think he's still got his days and nights mixed up. Occasionally he'll give me a 5-6 hour stretch, but that's happened MAYBE three times, last night being one of them. He slept from 10-4! He's still waking up every 3 hours 'round the clock and usually has a very awake and alert period some time between 3 and 5 in the morning. He eats more and sleeps less than Natalie did (she was consistently sleeping through the night at two months). Nick goes to the doctor on February 2, so I have no idea of his stats, but I can tell you he's enormous. He's almost as long as his changing pad, and is already wearing 6 months clothes. He's got chunky thighs, fat cheeks (both kinds, ha!) and a barrel belly... I love it!

Some sweet pictures...

Sweet Natalie

Chase came home from work on Thursday night and surprised me by telling me he didn't have to go into work Friday. Friday morning when Natalie woke up and found her Daddy at home she said "It's just like Christmas!" She is so full of sweetness my heart is in a constant state of mush, which is helpful when she decides to let her less than sweet 2-year-old alter ego shine through. She loves her brother, not necessarily the attention he gets, but we're taking baby steps. She shows so much concern for him it's overwhelming; if he cries she rushes to his side, if I'm holding him during a crying jag she frantically rushes around the house searching for pacis, bottles, breast pumps, diapers, toys or anything she's seen us use to calm him. I usually end up with a small collection of aforementioned items on my lap. I love this picture because it illustrates how tender her little heart really is. How can someone so small and so young (both physically and emotionally) be so capable of such great compassion and love? Especially for another individual that has upset your entire world? I took this picture at the tale end of a walk when Nick was about one month old... I typically hate crying baby pictures, but I noticed Natalie was silently holding his hand while he cried. I think it's her way of letting him know she might not be able to fix it, or might not be able to make it better, but she will always be there.

Marbles Kids Museum

Natalie has been doing a really good job adjusting to Nick; with the obvious exception of typical two-year-old behavior I think she's aces. Since there's been so much going on over the last 5 1/2 weeks we haven't really been able to do much for Natalie, so today we decided to take her to the Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh.

This. Place. Is. Awesome.

As a native North Carolinian I'm ashamed to say I've never been to this museum, we certainly made up for it today, though! We'll be going back as often as possible now that we know Natalie had so much fun. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Photo bomb in 3, 2, 1...

Oh, and Nick was there too: