Wednesday.

We're halfway through our first week of regular life, and things are going mostly okay. I am coping with the sleep deprivation, Tim is coping with the random, sometimes irrational text messages I send him during the day. Adam is a decent enough sleeper at night, though he rarely goes more than two hours before waking himself up with a giant poop or a cacophony of farts. I have been able to transition him from sleeping in his bassinet next to me in bed to sleeping in his bassinet in his crib. I'm enjoying being able to spread out and relax a little - slept on my back for the first time since the second trimester the other night! During the day he's hit or miss. Sometimes he's comatose for hours, sometimes he wails a half hour after I put him down, sleeping soundly. The best bet for all snoozes is to let him lay on my chest for five minutes before trying to move him. He's my snuggle bug.

Ellie continues to be mostly sweet as a big sister, though she's obviously a little stressed by the lack of my constant attention. I am doing my best to be patient with her, but we could both do better. Thank goodness for lots of doting grandparents. Yesterday she had a lovely Tuesdays with Mimi outing - I had a less fun Tuesday when I cleaned out my closet and found that Lulu had peed in a bag of brand new, never worn shirts. THANKS JERK. Today I put Ellie down for a nap at Gigi's house and left Grizz in charge so that I could take Adam down to meet the knitters. I figured I'd be home before she woke up, so of course she popped out of bed a half hour later and informed Grizz that she'd pooped. I had, of course, not left a diaper or any wipes, but there was one random diaper floating around and Grizz made the best of it, despite his protestations that he does not do diaper changes.

I took both kids to the grocery store today, which felt like quite the accomplishment. Ellie rode in the seat part of the cart and Adam fell asleep in the ergo carrier like the small hippie he is. I love that dang thing. Ellie was mostly resigned to the fact that she was not going to get to "ride momma." The nice thing about the Ergo is that she does still fit in it, even if post c-section I would not dare to try it with her (the last time I carried her in it was less than two months ago though! From an eight pound infant to a thirty five pound toddler!)

So mostly, we are just keeping on, getting our sea legs under us. I'm looking forward to Adam sleeping in longer chunks so that I can get out of the nursery and get back in my own bed (I don't see the need for Tim to wake up every two hours at this point.) And for him to start smiling and cooing and interacting with me. The snuggling is sweet and all, but I'm ready for a little less blobbiness out of him. It is nice that he exhibits a little less back talk than Missy Moo, but you can't win them all.

Little snuggler

Little gardener

Physical Fitness.

Finally feeling back on track, thanks to our double stroller. We took Goldilocks and her three bear friends out for a little stroll yesterday. Ellie was delighted to see all of her dog friends, Adam whined for about a quarter mile and then fell asleep as I hoped he would. I was a little sore afterwards, and Tim grew weary of me continually nagging him to slow down.

Today is Tim's first day back at work, much to all of our dismay. Things have gone pretty well, but it's only 2pm (both kids are napping!) Ellie cried at preschool drop off but then was in good spirits when I showed up. Adam stayed asleep in his car seat long enough for me to have a snack with Ellie, read her a bunch of books several times and get her down for her nap, so for that I am eternally grateful. My biggest challenge over the past two weeks has been giving her enough of my attention. I know it'll even out in the near future, especially once Adam isn't spending an hour at a time eating, and she's gotten a lot of good quality time with her daddy and her grandparents, but it's still hard.

The upside is that at least I'm not the guy who got her brand new pink ball stuck at the top of a very tall palm tree. That guy would be Grizz (thankfully, the ball was rescued not long after.)

Kid Vids.

A few of Adam:

Yesterday I ventured out with both kids by myself to visit Mommy Matters, even though Theresa (the nurse who runs it) forbid me from coming until Adam was three weeks old. I couldn't help myself! The cabin fever is hitting hard, and all of our friends from class had already come over during the week to meet Adam, so if he was going to be exposed to toddler germs, it had already happened. I'm happy to report that I managed pretty okay, and my girlfriends definitely looked out for me (as they've been doing this whole pregnancy.) My biggest worry with two kids is that Ellie will bolt in a parking lot and my hands will be tied in terms of running after her. The good news is she generally does a great job waiting for me to take her hand, and before we got to class, I impressed upon her the importance of being a good big sister and a good listener. She did great. She and her little girlfriends were enchantingly cute at class too, and there has been a remarkable uptick in taking turns and sharing in the past few weeks.

I love their sweet little Muppet voices, and none of us can believe how big the girls have gotten, and how quickly.

For reference, here are the same three ladies at Halloween 2011.

Blue Steel.

He's my little male model.

Also, I cannot believe how big he's getting, and how quickly it's happening. Yet he's still too small to fill out his newborn sized clothing (Ellie wore one newborn outfit a total of once before she was on to 0-3's.)

Tummy Time.

Well, the sunbathing worked - Adam got a clean bill of health at his follow up appointment today. He's much less yellow, and he's gained four more ounces in forty eight hours.

Yesterday after his sunbathing he was so hot and sweaty that we gave him a bath. His favorite part is the hair washing. The rest of it, he does not so much enjoy.

We've also started doing some tummy time here and there. It's mostly funny to me because Ellie is very invested in Adam doing tummy time, and meanwhile, she was the queen of pathetic, face down weeping when I put her on her belly. But she definitely wants Adam to get to work!

She's mostly mean, but sometimes sweet.

Chicken Legs.

We brought Adam in for his first doctor's appointment yesterday. It was mostly a weight check to make sure that he's gaining okay. Usually it takes babies up to two weeks to regain their birth weights. Adam is already two ounces over his birth weight, and gained nearly two ounces a day between being discharged from the hospital and yesterday morning. I gave myself more than a few pats on the back for that one.

The only thing they're concerned about is his coloring - he's still fairly jaundiced, which is common, but less common in babies who are gaining weight and pooping and peeing as well as he is. So we go back tomorrow for another small check. In the meanwhile, I have been ordered to let him nap in indirect sunlight.

He's part cat!

We also started doing tummy time this morning. Ellie was very enthused about it, which is funny because she was the most pathetic little whiner about tummy time, and as we all know, was too lazy to roll over until well into her sixth month.

Easter Photos.

From Saturday: three melonheads, and two with regular sized skulls.

Baby Nurse Lulabelle does some minding.

Opening our baskets. Please note the beautiful blue flowered tutu skirt that Ellie HATES.

Bunny crooner

Feeding a jelly bean to Daddy

My two best bunnies

Big Sister playing ball with her big girl cousins at Mimi's

Easter egg hunt at Gigi's house! (They are filled with caterpillars.)

Ellie and her bestie Granny Janny

Astronaut Ellie Double Bunny Attacks!