My Second

Last month as we were playing with our little girls, Melanie asked me if I felt like things were different now that I had a girl. I had to think about her question for a minute before I answered.

My eventual answer was yes, it's different. But I would argue that it's not because she's a girl, but because she's my second.

With Jayce, everything that he did was new and wonderful and fun. I was so excited about each new stage just to see what it would bring. I was sad sometimes, and I still am, but overall just kind of rolled with it in each new stage.

But with Hannah I seem to really appreciate whichever stage that she's in currently. Now that we've been through this before, I have a greater awareness of how short each of these little stages are and I want to revel in them. Instead of being sad about how soon it's going to end I spend my energy enjoying it now.

I read an article the other day where the writer was at the end of her pregnancy, and commenting about the impending exhaustion, busyness and boredom that come with having a newborn. I could relate to that a little bit. When Jayce was born it was the first time that I wasn't working in 13 years. The first few months I was so tired, and spent my days recording how long he would nurse, logging wet and dirty diapers, nap lengths, ounces gained, washing laundry, folding laundry, washing bottles, etc. I loved being home with him, yet I was still a little bit bored. I spent more time on Facebook in that first month than I ever had before, wondering what was going on in the lives of other people when my whole world revolved around these tasks.

But that is not the case with Hannah. I could play with her all day and not get bored. She has the most pleasant demeanor and is just the sweetest thing. Her huge grin is intoxicating. I could lay in bed talking to her, coaxing her into holding her head up, watching her roll over, and kissing those sweet hands and cheeks all day long.

Perhaps this has something to do with the reality that I can't do this all day long. I still have my biggest baby who needs me, and I love that Hannah naps well enough that I can give him my undivided attention for a few hours a day as well.

I've been using my time more inefficiently these days. Hannah falls asleep in my arms and I think, "Okay, now that she's asleep I can..." but I don't, and I'm fine with that. I'm creating less, cooking less, sleeping less.

But I'm snuggling more. I'm rocking more, reading more, lounging more, taking pictures more. I'm letting Jayce play with things that will make a mess. We spent one evening last week camped out on the floor reading, and it took over an hour to read 3 small books! (That wasn't easy. I wanted to rush him, but I let him enjoy the dawdling way that he likes to go through some of his books.)

So I imagine it is a little different with my second.

It's better perspective. It's better boundaries. It's less cute outfits and more comfy clothes. It's more takeout food.

And as for her being a girl? There are definitely more hair bows. And shoes. Already.

I know I said something earlier in the week about being concise, but I looooove these pictures and couldn't just post a few!

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School

Jayce has been in school for a bit over a month now, so you might be wondering how it's going.

The answer: Pretty good, I guess.

By that I mean, I have no idea. Trying to get a 3 year old boy to tell me anything about his day is as easy as I imagine it will be to get a teenage boy to tell me anything.

When I pick him up he is starving and tired, so with those two strikes against me for potential cooperation I have to be creative. Yes, I sometimes bribe, or withhold dessert, until he tells me something. That is how I find out the names of his friends or what someone took for show and tell that day.

(PS-They have show and tell every week, isn't that cute? I really want to just sit in one day! I won the bad mom award his first week because I got his days mixed up. Which means that when he had the opportunity to show something, he had nothing with him. But when I sent him with something on the wrong day, he didn't get to show it. Sorry buddy!)

The teacher sends home a sheet of paper every day with a little blip about what they did that day, who he played with, what book they read, etc. The behavior is displayed by a little stoplight that has been colored in: green-good behavior, yellow-minor trouble, red-trouble. He has only received green lights thus far, but sometimes when he's in trouble at home or doesn't want us to do something, he'll say "red light!" I wondered if the teacher used "red light" as a phrase to get them to stop whatever they are doing, so I asked.

Jayce, does your teacher ever tell your class "red light?" If you are being too loud or anything?

No Mom, she tells me and Eli "red light." (Eli is one of his best little buddies.)

Oh, were you talking during story time?

(This is a complete shot in the dark, I can just imagine the only time the teacher is trying to get a group of 3 year olds to be quiet is when she's reading.)

No Mom, we're not talking, we're laughing during animal story time. It was so funny. He giggled as he told me this last line.

For some reason I'm a little bit pleased that he's being a little ornery. This kind of "trouble" I can deal with. I'm glad that he's with his friends and enjoying his time in school. Chris and I both got in trouble for talking in school so we can't be too hard on the kid.

Yesterday when I picked him up from the school the aid told me that it was fire safety day. Apparently, when the firemen came into the classroom Jayce ran and hid under the table. He didn't cry or anything and they tried to reassure him, but apparently he remained under the table the whole time they were there.

When I asked him about it he told me that he wasn't scared of the fireman but that he didn't like them, so he hid under the table. When Chris came home he told him that he was a little bit scared of the firemen.

This is ironic because Jayce's favorite show right now is Fireman Sam, which he wants to watch every day. He watched it that morning before school and wanted to again when he got home, despite this little incident. Apparently claymation firemen are the only ones that he likes.

I am doing just fine with school now, for the most part. It is strange that he is learning things that I didn't teach him, observing things I'm unaware of, playing with kids that I don't know. But I'm focusing on the good. He is learning to respect new boundaries and rules, which I think is one of the reasons that "quiet time" has worked so well. He is being mentally and physically engaged in a way that I can't replicate at home. I am getting uninterrupted time with Hannah. I don't need to rush through feeding/changing/playing with her, and can do whatever she (and I) need.

That said, school is going good.

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Halloween PJs on 2 Kiddos

I love Halloween pjs.

They appear in the store a little too early, usually sometime in early August, but that is about the time when I'm getting sick of summer's humidity and yearning for the crisp fall air.  They remind me that fall, my favorite season, is getting close.  I love the traditions of fall: changing leaves, autumn festivals, pumpkin carving, hot apple cider, scary movies and trick or treating.  I don't typically get Jayce seasonal pjs, but I ALWAYS get him Halloween ones, and I had saved them for any additional siblings.

I was so excited to put Hannah in Jayce's old pjs this year!!

I have to say that I'm a little surprised about how different they look in these pictures!  Hannah has more prominent round cheeks with more and darker hair on her head.  Jayce's eyes are more teardrop shaped and he has those boy ears. :)

I'm looking forward to continuing to see the ways that they look similar, and the ways that they each look like their own person.

Ps-Hannah's pic was taken with Chris' phone.  I still have no camera. :(

 

 

 

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Both and Snippets

One of my favorite bloggers (and my friend) posts every single weekday.  She actually writes and schedules all of her posts on the weekend.  Crazy, huh?

I would love to have the time to write every day.  I certainly have enough to say, and despite my attempts to catch up with my "lost posts" I still have a dozen more that are unfinished.  I've wondered if I could post every day if I could discipline myself to be extremely concise, both in words and pictures.  I don't know if I can do it, but I'll give it a week and see how it goes.

Now that Hannah is older and more active, and the weather is cooler, my original way to keep both children entertained doesn't work as well.  But now I make good use of one of my other favorite ways to keep them both entertained, the inclusion of the play gym.  The play gym is perfect- entertains and engages Hannah so that I can give Jayce undivided attention or provides toys and games when I'm playing with her.

Most days I am sitting in the middle of these two, in a scenario like this.  I'm playing lincoln logs, building castles, and making paper airplanes with one hand, and rattling toys, tickling toes and coaxing belly rolls with the other.  Or, occasionally, I just sit back to watch and enjoy.

 

 

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Brimming with Pride

There have been lots of changes in our home these past few months, starting with a month of bed rest, then the arrival of sweet Hannah and figuring out a new rhythm as a family of four. Understandably, the blog has been dominated by those things, but we have had some other fun news these past few weeks that needs to be shared as well.

A few weeks ago, Chris discovered that he has been awarded a research grant from the project, Memoria Romana at the University of Texas!! You can read more about it here.

As a result of the grant, his picture and project description have been added to the list of grant recipients, which you can see in full here. What does this mean for him? Funding for a trip to Germany in addition to his trip to Cairo this spring. He is so excited and I'm so happy for him! And not at all jealous.

Furthermore, there is the matter of the SBL.

The SBL has one large annual conference each year, in addition to several regional conferences. Each regional conference has a contest where scholars present a paper, and a board selects a winner. This person is the Regional Scholar. Then, out of those various Regional Scholars a few National Regional Scholars are chosen and recognized at the large annual SBL Conference.

Chris presented a paper in March at a regional conference in St Louis, and discovered while he was still there that they had chosen him as the Regional Scholar. Two weeks ago we discovered that he was also chosen as a National Regional Scholar!

I'm so proud of my husband! There is a part of me that debated about sharing this news, knowing how some people feel threatened in other people's successes. I don't want to make anyone feel bad so I considered not saying anything at all.

But I think that would really shortchange him and the huge amount of time and effort that he has put in, so instead I'm going to celebrate.

I have always known Chris to be smart, hard working, and aggressively driven. He was at the top of his class and a leader in his communities as a student. We used to joke about how he would like to just be a professional student, and never have to get a real job.

Though it was sometimes challenging for him to set himself apart as a student, it's a whole new ball game to set himself apart professionally. His peers come from different backgrounds, different universities, and many have been under the guidance of elite scholars. But he still continues to rise to the top. Despite his undergraduate and graduate training from a small Christian University, he continues to win awards over colleagues who were educated in prestigious universities. Watching him flourish in his career has been a joy.

Since he won't brag for himself, I'll brag for him. That what wives are for, right? He has won 5 research awards in just over 3 years of teaching. I'm so amazed at this because he's not a researcher, he's a professor. So the time and work that goes into his research is in addition to lectures, grading, advising and mentoring. Yet he still comes home at a normal time at the end of the workday and only works on the weekends while the kids are napping.

All of that to say, Chris I'm so proud of you. It is a joy to be your wife and partner and I can't wait to see how far you go. I love you. XO

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Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

Last weekend we headed out to the pumpkin patch, which means, in my book, that it is officially fall.

We had a really sweet summer. It was different than usual, but still nice. I normally am a huge fan of summertime but I wasn't sad to see it go this year.

Summer normally means that we'll take a trip to Ohio to spend with my family. It means a trip to the beach. It means trips to Kentucky to see Chris' family and time spent at the farm.

Last summer it was trips to the pool 2-3 times per week, courtesy of a great pool that is close, cheap and has hours that are perfect for securing a good afternoon nap.

But this summer was different. No road trips and only 2 pool trips the whole season. (For Jayce that is, none for me.) Instead of driving around and visiting family we holed up in our home to enjoy our newest family member and revel in our new family dynamic. This year, we got our water and sun fix in the backyard.

Hannah got to experience a bit of summer as well. She did a little sunbathing by the window her first few days home.

(I'm sure those little foot pricks can give you an indication of why.)

She was the only girl to get a new swimsuit this season and sported the best sandals in the house.

I always love summer and am sad to see it go, but this year I'm so pleased that it is fall.

For Chris and I, moving into the fall helps us feel like we are moving on in our life. We would often talk about getting through the summer when we were particularly stressed these past few months, and it's nice to have arrived safely (and sanely) on the other side.

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Kiddos and Skype

After Hannah started rolling last week, Mom demanded to see for herself via Skype.

I set up the computer on the floor so that she could show off her moves. Jayce joined in and brought his computer too.

Hannah rolled and then watched Grandma and Chelsea on the screen. Jayce watched until he realized that he could see himself in the bottom corner, and started sticking out his tongue and moving in on the screen.

A minute later Hannah spit up all over the blanket and that was about the end of it.

A good time was had by all, and these pictures crack me up.

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