amelie bouncing

Amelie loves to bounce! She usually just squeals and smiles, but the camera was throwing her off. She wasn't so sure what to think about it.

A Day Trip

Chris and I really wanted to get away this weekend. We first thought Santa Fe, NM. We have never been and always talk about going, but never do. Once again we were all talk. The six hour car drive with both babies did not sound fun to us and we didn't want to spend the money. Then we thought about heading to a further away mountain town for the night, but talked ourselves out of that too. Alas, it was a day trip to the Frisco area. No problem, right?!

Nothing is ever easy anymore. Of course it takes two hours to get out the door. There are kids to feed, bags to pack and a car to load. Minor chaos really! It's basically me nursing and telling Chris don't forget this, don't forget that. Finally, it's out the door. Everyone is loaded, maybe not happy, but in the car. After several minutes the children stop crying and it's peaceful most of the way. About 10 minutes to our destination Amelie starts crying and is hungry...now! Too bad, she has to wait till we get there so we endure the crying. We get out to feed her (which takes forever). Half way through I realize she has pooped and it's everywhere! So, we change her, in the car - of course, which is not that easy, but we managed. Now she is full again and we can start our hike.

It's a beautiful day! Both kids are strapped on. I would like to mention here that I carried the heavy one up the hill and then switched on the way down. Walt gets a little sick of the backpack after awhile. He did run a good portion. He tends to slow us down, not only with his short little legs, but he also needs to pick up sticks and rocks and play in the dirt.

Getting back into the car is always a challenge. Walt has been free and wants to remain carseat free and Amelie wants to be held, which means once again there are crying babies in the backseat. When both kids are crying you just want to get home. I've been giving Chris a hard time lately because he always has to go to the bathroom when we're out, leaving me with both kiddos. Today was no exception. Due to all the fiber one bars Chris has been eating, a stop in Georgetown was necessary. As both kids are crying Chris runs to the bathroom, I end up taking Amelie and the carseat out to calm her down in the parking lot, people looking at me with pity.

We took a lot of pictures today and they turned out great! Check out facebook, I'm sure they will be up soon. The pictures look like we had the perfect little hike and we did. It really was fun, but it's not as fun and easy as it all looks, which is just the way it is right now, hence the video of a crying Walt who didn't want to "ride," but wanted to run! I will say though, that several times today I thought I love my life and I love where I live. So, even with all our minor obstacles it's still worth a day away.

Life with two....

While I was pregnant I was asking everyone who had two children close in age, "How is life with two?" Not to any one's surprise there was an overwhelming response of, "busy." Well, now I know. Life with two is very busy! I have a little boy who is very busy and likes to climb and get into what he can, and I have a newborn who likes to eat all the time! As they may be normal things for them to do at this stage, it makes their mama very busy. Most of the time it's pretty manageable, but there have been some instances, where I have thought this is too crazy, what am I doing!

Amelie is very opinionated and when she wants to eat it's not a little whimper, it's a full out scream. I won't lie to you, this stresses me out a bit. I don't like when she is screaming and I want to "fix it" as soon as possible. I don't think Walt particularly cares for this either. His response is pointing at her and grunting, with a look on face that says, "Why aren't you making her stop." Little does he know that this requires me to stop tending to him. The other day I found myself nursing while making a grilled cheese sandwich and feeding Walt at the same time. This was not easy to do and I don't recommend this. This makes me plan out meal times a little more carefully. Another time I was feeding Amelie (yes, once again) and I heard crying upstairs from Walt who had stuck his little fingers in the fan. I rushed upstairs, set Amelie down, and was comforting Walt while Amelie was screaming next to us. I thought, well, this is life with two!

Those are the stressful times, but I'm loving being home with both right now. Walt is also a very sweet boy who likes to bring me books while I'm nursing. Right, now every animal is a "dog" and when I try to tell him, "No, Walt that's a cat" He looks at me like I don't know what I'm talking about. He also loves balls and carries and throws balls around all day. By far I hear the words "dog" and "ball" about fifty times in one day. I also love that Walt loves to hold my hand while walking. I just love his little hand in mine!

Amelie is not too bad either! I'm definitely not used to a typical newborn, but we are adjusting and getting to know each other. Amelie is doing things too, her gifts currently lie in the areas of eating and she is really good at stretching! Oh, and she is very cute and I enjoy dressing her up.

Well, you may be asking how I have time to write this. My children are currently sleeping, but I hear Amelie. My time is up, not time to proof read. I'm sure Walt will be waking up just as soon as I start feeding her, it's just how it works!

Finally!! Not quite by the time his little sister was born, but close enough!

Walt thinking about walking

My child is almost 15 months and is still thinking about walking. He is not so sure it is a good idea. I think he is just really attached to crawling and has gotten quite speedy at it, so why walk, I guess. This little video is from when he first started using the walker. He loves this thing. He won't use my hands to help him walk, but he will go anywhere with the walker or anything that he can push. I'm pretty sure he could walk on his own, but apparently that is too risky to him. However, it isn't too risky for him to crawl up on the kitchen chair and climb up on the table. Climbing is not a problem, walking is! Doesn't Walt understand his mama wants him to walk before she has two babies to carry? He has until June 15, we'll see what happens!

Walt can't get enough cake!

It turns out that Walt really loves cake. He had the cutest little cake all to himself and after the first bite he was in heaven. He just kept digging in and eating cake. I eventually took the cake away because I worried if he kept eating the cake he would get sick. When I took the cake away he kept eating the peices that were left on his tray. At one time I saw him licking frosting and cake off his tray. It just looked like he was the happiest little boy who thought, Life doesn't get any better than this. My little boy loves sugar, and who can blame him! I can't believe my baby is a little boy. It's amazing how fast they grow up and how they change in a year. I couldn't feel more blessed with such a healthy little guy!

Puppy love

Lately, Walt has been reminding me very much of a puppy. I'm not particularly a dog lover, nor do I think pets are like children, but Walt has had a lot of similarities.
One, is that he follows me around the house. He just crawls right over to whatever room I'm in. I turn around and there he is. It's quite cute and he seems rather pleased to have found me most of the time. Half the time he is whining (or whimpering) to have me pick him up, which I try very hard not to do because that child just does not need to be carried everywhere.
Another comparison is that he gets really excited about treats. A cracker is like a doggy bone. He sits up and kind of bounces on his knees. If he was a puppy I assume his little tail would just be going a mile a minute. He is also getting to the point if I'm eating something he needs a bite and will stand by my legs, begging, until I feed him. Walt also chews on everything. If he can put it in his mouth that is where you will find it. If he can't fit in his mouth he will bend over so that he at least he can suck on whatever it is. His slobber is everywhere! Surprisingly, it doesn't really gross me out. If he were a dog he would probably have to go.
The sweetest thing is that he still curls up on me and if he is really tired he will fall asleep on me. It melts my hearts. I try to hold him like that often and "pet" his back or his legs. I love it - he is the sweetest little puppy! I've always said that I didn't want a puppy because they eventually get big. I don't think I'm going to have this problem with Walt, I'll keep him even when he does get big and big he is getting!