A Helping Hand

Stricking a pose!

Little Miss Dimples, is also quite the "Little Helper". She isn't one to want to hold Austin or spend too much time hanging out with him. But when it comes to helping me with Austin, or doing things around the house she jumps up to be of assistance. She is such a little mama in the making. It is super sweet and fun to watch.

Waving to the School Bus as it drops off the Neighbors.

The bus driver even knows her by name and yells out the window, "Hi Ashlyn"

Sitting on my lap helping me Pat and Burp Austin

Pulls up her stool, turns on the mobile and hands me diapers when Austin needs changed

Hold his hand or gets him a paci when he starts to cry and mommy can't pick him up

Hits the music buttons on the bouncy seat to "keep Austin sleeping"

**PROJECT PUMPKIN**

On a warm and windy Sunday, a perfect little pumpkin was created. Not sure who was more excited to carve a pumpkin, Ashlyn or Daddy?!?! We picked out pumpkins with Mimi and Papa a couple weeks ago, and it was finally time to carve the pumpkin. Daddy made the face as Ashlyn requested, with trapezoid eyes, and even gave it eyelashes. She watched and waited patiently as daddy made pumpkin perfection. She is SO proud of her pumpkin, yelling out "there's my pumpkin" every time we pull in the driveway....and goes out to light it with daddy every single night. Who knew something so simple could make someone SO happy. We had a lot of fun cooking the pumpkin seeds also, although mommy burned them. Hopefully pumpkin #2 will be just as fun, and the pumpkin seeds will be way better.

Letter to Patience

Dear Patience:

-I understand that 1)I am a mother of a Toddler and Newborn, 2)I am the offspring of one of the most patient people I'd ever met, my mother, so i'm hard on myself and 3)I am a little tired, BUT, can you seriously cut me a break.

-I was told that my daughter would show some regression in potty training, and probably act out once Austin arrived. Little did I know that it would rear it's head 5 weeks after he was born. I'm trying to explain nicely why we don't throw our toys and Austin's stuff, am taking deep breaths while she laughs at me during "time out", trying to understand that she is peeing her pants intentionally to get my attention, and doing my best to ignore the massive amount of tantrums that have begun. All the time feeling a bit defeated and wondering where my sweet little Ashlyn went. Can you bring her back?!?!?!

-I know Austin is the easiest baby ever, and I could be much more sleep deprived having a 5 week old. BUT, how do I deal with the guilt of not having any time to talk to him about the animals and colors on his playmat, and do tummy time. I used to drop what I was doing the second my newborn cried, now I yell across the room....just a minute Austin, I'm almost done Austin.

-It's only been 5 weeks, of course my regular clothes shouldn't fit. BUT, they did at this point after Ashlyn. I was at pre pregnancy weight by my 6 week post partum visit, this time I have 8 pounds to lose. I know I look great, I'm 30 now, and it's my second child, but help me deal with the pressure I put on myself to get back to MY old body.

-So patience if you could please help me keep my cool and try to teach Ashlyn right and wrong in a calm and loving manner, make sure my second child feels as loved and important as the rest of my family, and that I am perfect just the way I am, that would be great!

-Lindsey

Austin had his 1 month appointment last week. It feels like he has been a part of our family for so much longer now, but I can't beleive he's already a month old. My little boy... is not so little. He is weighing in at 11 lbs 2 oz. and his height is 21 3/4 inches long. Making him 80th percentile for weight and 60th for height. He got a Staph Infection on his skin two weeks ago, but everything is cleared up and he checked out perfectly. Still sleeping very well and we even had our first smile today. He melts my heart!

My Chunky Monkey

Ashlyn enjoyed HallZOOween with Aunt Sarah last weekend, and loved dressing up and saying Trick or Treat for candy. Halloween should be fun this year. The girls hair is finally starting to grow grow grow......to cut the bangs or not, that is the question!

What am I coloring Mama: I can't see it!

FALLing more in love each day

Cincinnati and Dayton have a lot of really fun family oriented things to do in the Fall. My mom always talked about wanting to take the grandkids on the LM&M train ride in Lebanon, so when I saw that they did a Pumpkin train trip I knew we had to go. Ashlyn was SO excited to get to ride on a real train and get to pick a pumpkin. Although the train only went 10 mph, is not air conditioned (it was 86 degree on this particular October day), and drops you off at a random farm in Mason...it was a really fun trip. Ashlyn loved seeing all the animals (chickens, cows, donkeys, horses, sheep, goats), walking through the corn maze, picking a pumpkin, and waving to all the cars we passed while on the train. She is still talking about it, and I know it is a fun fall memory we will never forget! Next project is to decorate pumpkins....hmmm!

I held a Sip and See Open House at my parents house for anyone who wanted to come and meet Austin. We had cookies, champagne punch, and a lot of people got some much needed baby holding time. As expected, Austin slept through the whole thing. It was great to catch up with Mom and Sharon's friends, and I was excited to share Austin with everyone. He's easy to Show Off!

Being a Mom of 2

I do not know what could be sweeter than while holding my newborn baby, my precious baby girl lays her head on my shoulder and says "Love you Austin, Love you Mama".

Have to say that I went into having 2 children with the overall impression that going from 1 child to 2 is pretty tough. Not that it's harder than having one, but that it is exhausting and takes a lot of transitioning. So while adding a new bundle of joy into the house isn't a walk in the park, I can honestly say it has been a super easy life change.

When i had Ashlyn I remember feeling overwhelmed, emotional, physically and mentally drained, like i was supposed to feel a certain way and I didn't know what that was, ect. Where as bringing Austin home was just natural. Life went back to normal within days, I felt normal, and I it all felt right. I'm sure a lot of that is the knowledge that goes with being a 2nd time parent, but it's a really good feeling. I'm not exhausted, i'm not overwhelmed, i'm not crazy emotional, i'm just beyond blessed at my beautiful babies and how awesome it is to hold them both in my arms and smoother them with kisses.

The past few weeks have been crazy, it seems like months ago that I had Austin. We've had visitors, been out and about a ton, and just trying to keep life as normal as possible for Ashlyn. Ashlyn is quickly adjusting to having her brother in the house. We've had less tantrums, and needing attention from mommy/daddy. We still go out to wave at the bus as it goes by in the morning, go to the playground, have gymnastics class, and watch lots of Mickey mouse. She started calling me "mama" out of nowhere last weekend. I love it!! Here she is:

Painting

Reading Books with Her Uncles

And Playing in the Rain

Thank goodness this little one sleeps ALL the time. We are usually up just once each night to nurse, and awake maybe two hours out of the day. I'm not complaining, but he is one sleepy sleepy boy. Waiting for the day he just Wakes Up, eek! Makes it fun for all the visitors to just hold, snuggle, and love on the little guy.

My Little Tiger Snoozing

Snuggling with Aunt Liz (who came for a weekend visit)

Cuddling in Nicole's lap

Bonding (or sleeping) with Aunt Ashes and Uncle Nick

Letting Loose with Uncle Justen

Having his First Bottle

Loving on My Beautiful Babies!