But It's a GOOD Exhausted...

No shower until 4 PM.
No makeup.
Nothing done to my hair.
Nothing done (YET) about the excess baby weight.
No more than 12 hours sleep (total) the past three days.
The two cutest boys in the world in my lap.

I wouldn't change a thing. :)

An Afternoon with Aiden

Mimi offered to take Nolan for the afternoon yesterday so that Mike & I could spend some time with Aiden. I had a hard time coming up with something to do, but Mike spit out the great idea of going bowling. We had an awesome time! He didn't quite understand what was going on when we first arrived at the alley, but once I took my first turn & rolled the ball down the (bumpered) lane, his eyes lit up. Mike helped him out a lot, and we only had one instance of him trying to run down the lane after the ball (luckily Mike caught him before he got too far). He even carried the 6-pound ball by himself a few times! We only ended up bowling one game because Aiden started requesting McDonald's for lunch. But before we left, we crowded into the photo booth to get the pictures at the left. Possibly my favorite part of the whole day. :)

This and That

We've had an interesting week. It all started with our kitchen sink backing up on Sunday evening. Despite a herculean effort by Mike (and his extra-special helper Aiden), by Tuesday we were desperate not to wash dishes in the bathroom sink and finally called a plumber. The guy that came told me it usually only takes him 15 minutes--but ours took 3 hours, and he told me that he might not be able to fix it unless his last effort worked. I started having visions of a backhoe digging up my basement floor to find the faulty pipe, and all the dollar signs that went along with it. Luckily, he was successful, and it wasn't as expensive as I thought. I never thought I'd be so happy to load the dishwasher.

Other than that, we're just trying to settle into our new routine with Nolan. He's nearing the three-week threshold, and honestly, the kid is a joy. He's not much of a crier, he only gets up twice at night to eat, and then goes immediately back to sleep. I don't know if it's because we have more experience this time, or Nolan is just more laid back that Aiden was, or a mixture of both, but so far this has been A LOT easier than I expected it to be. I probably just jinxed myself saying so, but oh well.

Tonight, Mike & I are going out on our first post-partum date, and then tomorrow we have another date of sorts; we're going to take Aiden bowling for the first time, just the three of us. I am beyond impressed with how he's been handling his new normal, and he is honestly just smitten with Nolan; he's always asking to kiss his cheek or hold him. Now if I could just get the two of them to sit still for a photo...

Trick or Treat 2010

I wasn't going to buy Aiden a new costume this year; he'd gotten a pretty cute cowboy outfit that was in great shape from a friend. But when I was returning Similac to Babies R Us a few weeks back (during the recall), I spotted a rack full of costumes at 30% off, and decided that the pirate outfit was just too darned cute. After seeing Aiden wear it for his second trick-or-treat last night, I'm so glad I ended up buying it! The hat alone--and what it does for his ears--is well worth the money!

As you can see from Aiden's layered look (including winter gloves), it was a bit chilly last night for trick-or-treat. No worries, though; there was no way that kid was going to miss getting his fill of candy! I'm still a bit sore to be doing that much walking, so Mike braved the elements to take him door-to-door. I love that the two of them got to spend some one-on-one time together, however short it was. Aiden is all smiles in these photos, but we had one grumpy boy by the time we got home last night (too much candy?), and then he got up twice last night--totally out of character for my good sleeper. I'm hoping he wasn't too much trouble at daycare today.

As for Nolan, his extremely small stature at this stage in his life made finding a properly-fitting costume for him pretty much impossible, so we opted instead for the generic festive look. That silly pumpkin hat only cost me a $1, so I was able to splurge a bit more on the onesie. I'm also making him wear it again on Sunday just to say I got a bit more use out of it, then I'll be putting it in his special keepsakes box in remembrance of his first holiday. I find myself feeling like this is going too fast already...

Week One: Complete

I can't believe it's been a week already since this whole thing went down! After a rough few days in the hospital (I'll spare you the specifics--just know it wasn't much fun for me), we got to bring little Nolan home last Friday. Honestly, due to the pain pills I've been on, a lot of that first day is kind of a fog for me, and I'm pretty sure Nolan doesn't remember anything either--he literally slept The. Whole. Day. I do, however, remember how well he did his first night home; maybe it's just that we have experience now & know what to expect, but Mike & I seemed to handle whatever he threw at us pretty well. That's not to say we're getting GREAT sleep at night, but we're dealing. :) It's so nice that Mike has this whole week off as well.

Aiden is doing as well as can be expected with this whole adjustment. He really loves Nolan--he's especially helpful with trying to calm the little guy down when I have to change a diaper--but he is also noticing all the attention that's being paid to That Guy Who Stares and Wiggles His Hands (as Mike likes to call him). With how tired we are, it's hard not to be short-tempered when Aiden starts acting up, but we're trying to remember the situation for what it is--a HUGE adjustment for everyone. Mike is taking Aiden to Toys R Us this afternoon for some one-on-one time just so he knows he's important, too.

In all, I'd say things are going better than I had expected. One thing I told Mike was that I'm not afraid of my kid this time; last time, I was worried to be alone with Aiden, and now that I'm an old pro at this mom stuff, I'm not concerned at all. Peace of mind is great. :) Stay tuned for a story about Nolan's newborn photo session...