More Visitors and Super Cute Pictures of Sleepy Aedan

Samantha: 36 Months, Week 2
Aedan: Week 4

The beginning of this week (May 20-26), my Grandma, Don, and Matt were still visiting from the Chicago suburbs.  Everyone just came over and hung out at our apartment for the morning, then we got lunch from Wendy's, put Samantha down for a nap, and were able to play a card game that afternoon.  Samantha had a good time getting extra attention, having books read to her by her Great Grandma Donna, and even wore her brand new pink princess dress that my grandma bought for her.  You can't tell in these pictures, but Samantha's hair is braided because she wanted to look like a princess, and apparently princesses braid their hair. :)

On Wednesday I decided to take both Samantha and Aedan to the library, mainly to get Samantha out of the house, and to try going to the library without Ben's help.  We had the whole place to ourselves which was quite the change from how busy it usually is when we go to Tuesday Tales.  The morning went really well with taking care of Aedan and also playing with Samantha.

Then on Thursday we had our first Mom's REST Stop park play date scheduled.  However, it was a very wet and soggy morning, so the location was changed to the library instead.  I would have much rather taken Samantha to the park instead of the library again, but I wanted to make an effort to get together with other moms.  However, when we got to the library, there was only one other mom there, and they had just been to the library the day before as well, so we decided to take our girls out to a local park.  Aedan did a great job being out again, sleeping in the Ergo and in the stroller for the whole morning.

Thursday was a pretty busy day because we were out all morning and then invited our friends Meagan, Josh, and their boy James over for dinner.  So while Samantha was upstairs not napping, Ben and I worked on making lasagna and cookies for dinner.  However, after awhile I ended up just sitting in a chair holding Aedan and talking to Ben while he did all the work.  I definitely think I had the better end of the deal.  Look at this little face!  Nothing is more precious than a sleeping baby.  I would hold him all day if I could.

Our dinner with the Helds that night was very nice.  It is fun to entertain, even though our apartment is pretty small.  It's been fun getting to know some new people, make new friends, share funny stories, and hang out together.  They also enjoy playing games, so we will definitely have to invite them over for a game night sometime soon.

Both Ben and I were tired on Friday and wanted to be sure we could take a nap before Matt and Christy arrived, so I decided to wrap Aedan up before helping him fall asleep for his afternoon nap.  Doing this greatly increases the chance that he will stay asleep and take a nice, long nap.  Isn't he adorable wrapped up like a little burrito?

Friday afternoon, right around dinner time, Matt and Christy arrived for their weekend visit.  We also received our last meal brought to us by families from church, meaning that next week we will have to be real people again and make our own food.

Samantha really enjoys role playing, especially pretending to be like Mommy.  So on Saturday when she got the Boppy pillow and burp rag and pretended to nurse her baby doll, I just had to take a picture of her.  It's sweet to see how much she is picking up on with how I care for Aedan and the she is mimicking that herself, pretending to be a Mommy and loving on her baby dolls.

We had a good visit with Matt and Christy.  We went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning, talked a lot (especially about babies since Christy is pregnant and due in September), and we even played games during nap time and after bed time on Saturday.  Samantha took a nap on Saturday enabling us to go play at a park since the weather that evening was so beautiful.  Matt and Ben played with Samantha on the playground while Christy sat on the bench and talked with me while I nursed Aedan.  It was a very wonderful evening.  Matt and Christy also graciously offered to make us meals while they were visiting, so on Saturday night we had pad thai with shrimp.  Ben and I aren't big fans of seafood, so Samantha has never had any kind of fish before.  I had no idea what she would think of this meal, and I was convinced that she probably wouldn't touch it and we'd have to get her something else, but she loved it.  She actually really enjoyed the shrimp, eating several of them.  She also liked the bean sprouts that were intended to go on top the noodles, but she was eating them by the handful.  I'm always impressed with how open Samantha is to eat new and different foods.  She will almost always try something once, and most often will like it when she tries it.

Overall, we just did a lot of hanging out that weekend.  Matt and Christy got a lot of time with their niece and nephew, and Christy did a great job holding Aedan, taking care of him, and getting him to fall asleep when he was tired.

In these pictures below, Aedan was laying on the floor gym and Samantha decided he needed a check up, so she listened to his heart with the stethoscope and wrote his diagnosis in her book of boo-boos, just like Doc McStuffins.

As I was sitting there interacting and playing with Aedan, I decided to put a little toy in his hand.  He doesn't willingly grab on to things, but if you put something in between his fingers, his grip is pretty strong and he will hold onto it for quite a while.

Church on Sunday went really well.  I nursed Aedan before we left, but he didn't have time to completely fill his tummy.  So, once we got to church, I went to the baby room, changed his diaper, finished nursing him, and then put him in the Ergo baby carrier.  He quickly fell asleep because he feels all warm and cozy in the Ergo and really likes being close to me like that.  He stayed asleep all through church, enabling both Ben and me to stay and hear the sermon.  It was great, and I'm so glad that it worked out that way.  We will have to try the Ergo again next time so that way one of us doesn't have to leave with Aedan when he starts to get a sleepy and a little fussy.

Before Uncle Matt and Aunt Christy left, we had to get a picture of them together with Samantha and Aedan.  We really enjoyed their visit.  They were very helpful to us, and it's always good to catch up with each other and have a whole weekend to spend together.

Monday, after having a weekend of visitors rounding out our month of visitors to see Aedan, we just took it easy at home.  Samantha played with her trains, our doula, Kate, came over for a follow up visit with us, and Ben had a phone interview with Miami University of Ohio for a visiting assistant professor job for next fall.  In fact, it wasn't as much an interview as it was a phone call discussing what the job entails, and talking about salary and what classes Ben would be teaching.  He essentially was offered the job, so Ben and I then had a lot of thinking, planning, and discussing to do.  There will be more to come on that whole process in my next blog post. 

This past week a little bit of reality was settling in for me with having two children that are both very needy.  For example, when do I have time for a shower?  Do I get up early so I can take a shower before they wake up?  But then I am missing out on precious sleep.  Do I take a shower at night after they go to sleep?  But then I am missing out on time to relax or to hang out with Ben.  It just seems like our mornings are a bit chaotic with getting Samantha and Aedan up, dressed, and fed, taking Roscoe out, and then also trying to get showered, dressed, and fed ourselves.  On multiple occasions I have thought that there is just not enough time in the day to accomplish everything I would like to, and of course, everything takes longer with two kids.   Plus, I have to have some time to relax and some time to myself as well.  I know things will become less crazy as Aedan gets older, but for right now, I am just so grateful that Ben has been able to spend more time at home.  It's been wonderful to have his extra support, especially at the crazy times of day, first thing in the morning and then at lunchtime/ nap time.  Besides for helping me out, it's also been nice having him around more, getting to hang out more together and enjoy each other's company while we care for our two children.

And to end this blog post, here are some pictures of our little boy, totally passed out on Daddy's lap on the Boppy pillow.  He continues to put himself to sleep at night around 8:30-9:00, giving us some precious time to watch him sleep.  I love his little mouth and little lips, how his lower lip is often tucked in under his upper lip, and the little indentation above his chin.  What a sweet blessing this little guy is in our life.