Emery Jane

Emery Jane is here! She was born December 2nd at 6:35pm. I am very late at posting this birth announcement (since she's three months old now) because "two kids."

She is the most perfect baby. So sweet and cuddly, hardly cries, and has just started smiling and laughing a lot. Someday I'll share her birth story here, but it is the least dramatic story ever. Really it could not have been easier, or faster.

Nora loves her. We are so lucky that she has bonded with her so quickly. She has been so great about sharing our time with the new baby.

Speaking of Nora, she is going to be THREE next month! Where has the time gone? I have tons of photos to post from the last few months that I have taken off from blogging. For now, enjoy these few tiny newborn photos.

 

 

Pregnancy Update: I'm Exhausted But Enjoying This

I am currently 32 weeks pregnant with Baby #2. Since we passed the halfway point, I thought it might be nice to record an update of how things are going. This pregnancy is much different than my first. Nora was a surprise but this baby was mostly planned. I say mostly because we knew we wanted our kids close in age, but I don't think Madison or I were expecting to get pregnant so quickly. 

Overall, I feel a lot better than I did last time. Of course, there is still the general aches and pains, but they aren't as bad as I remember them being last time. I have more energy and can come home from work and be awake the whole evening without falling asleep on the couch. Now that might be partly due to the fact that I still need to take care of Nora, so who's to say I wouldn't be napping more if she wasn't constantly asking for milk or crayons. 

When I got pregnant with Nora, I was fresh out of college and living on my own with my boyfriend for the first time without roommates, so I was still pretty immature at that point. There's no denying that I took full advantage of pregnancy and ate horribly. That contributed to my weight gain and hypertension, which eventually lead to me being induced early to make sure Nora was healthy. This time I'm trying to prevent that by eating healthier, or trying to at least. I did buy myself a jar of cookie butter at Trader Joe's this weekend so I'm not going too crazy. At this point I have gained less weight than when I was 32 weeks pregnant with Nora which has alleviated a lot of stress. 

Speaking of stress, I feel a lot less of it. I've done this before so I know what we're getting ourselves into. We still have a lot of Nora's baby things, so we aren't starting from scratch. Nora is already sleeping in her big girl bed so there is a crib ready and waiting to be filled with a sleepy newborn. 

At my last visit my doctor asked how this pregnancy was compared to my last one. I told him it was going better than the last and he was surprised by that. Apparently a lot of women feel that their second pregnancy is more difficult, especially because they are taking care of another child at that point. I suppose I should consider myself lucky. That's not to say that it has been a piece of cake. My back is killing me and I have heartburn almost every night, but I feel like I can enjoy this pregnancy more and just can't wait to have a new little baby to snuggle. 

All in all, I feel really good. I know things are going to be difficult once the baby comes and we readjust to life as a family of four, but I cannot wait for that day to come. I know we're up to the challenge. 

Nora's Big Girl Bed

Madison and I recently transitioned Nora out of her crib into a big girl bed. I posted about trying this before, but that didn't work out so well. This time, it was a necessity because a few weeks ago Nora figured out how to climb out of her crib. That was terrifying for all of us, and while we weren't sure if she'd try it again, we didn't want to take any chances. 

We took a trip to Ikea that weekend and picked up a twin size bed for Nora and put it together that day. She loves it. I mean really loves it. In her eyes, this is probably the best thing we've ever given her. She has always likes to play in our bed and sprawl out and roll around, so having her own space to do that has made her the happiest baby ever.

I was still a little nervous that the transition wouldn't be easy, but with baby #2 on the way, we didn't really have a choice. The new baby will be getting Nora's crib, so she needed to move into a new bed before December anyway. Much to my surprise, Nora has been doing great. The first night, she didn't get up at all. She slept until 6:30 (which is when she normally gets up) and only cried because she tripped over a footrest on her way out of bed. We moved that into her closet so that wouldn't happen again.

Nap time has been easy. Bed time has been easy. I'm honestly shocked because she has been giving us attitude and not listening lately (terrible twos) so the fact that she will go down and stay in bed until it's time to get up is amazing.

This is what her bed looks like right now. We added a blue polka dot duvet cover and got some really cute hot air balloon sheets from Target. She has been relishing the fact that she can have more "friends" in bed with her, so that collection has been growing. We still need to add some artwork or something over her bed, but it really is a cute little nook. There's also a blanket squished on the side because the first night she did roll into the crevice between the bed and the wall and couldn't figure out how to get out. Daddy to the rescue on that one.

My favorite part of this transition has been that now when Nora wakes up, she requests that we read book in her bed. She gets as many books as she wants, and I get some cuddle time. Win win. 

Have you transitioned your toddler into a big kid bed? Was your transition easy, or did you have to try it a few times like we did?

10 Ways to Decide to Have Another Baby as Young Parents

Vicki Francis Photography

Madison and I have been talking about having babies since we got engaged. We never planned on having children so young, at least I know I didn't. Nora's arrival into our lives came as a shock. I had just graduated college and started my first "grown up job" and all of a sudden here was this exciting and terrifying new adventure right in front of us. 

Although we weren't necessarily ready for Nora when we first found out that I was pregnant, we did everything we could to make sure we were fully prepared for her entrance into the world. Madison and I essentially sprung into action, making sure we had good jobs, a new place to live, and all the baby essentials. I suppose having a baby at 23 isn't so young, but it is definitely younger than I ever planned to have kids. Regardless, it has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. And now, we're doing it all over again! Here we go...

10 Ways to Decide to Have Another Baby as Young Parents:

1.) Do you like your current child? - Yes! She is great. We may be entering the terrible twos, but when she is not slapping me in the face or putting yogurt in her hair, she's fabulous.

2.) Are you ready for the lack of sleep? - Sleep training, what's that? Nora sleeps through the night about half the time so we are prepared to just stop sleeping all together.

3.) Do you have the space? - No! But we can totally be roommates with the new baby if we can't find an affordable 3 bedroom apartment in the Boston Metro West area (seemingly impossible). It actually might make those night time feedings a little easier.

4.) Do you have the money? - This goes under the "we'll make it work" category. Maybe I should start eating the lunches I bring to work, instead of making Madison buy me sides of mac and cheese and filling up on that. 

5.) Do you have the time? - We will make the time! I am fully committed to pushing my bedtime back to 10:30 if I need to. 

6.) Are you ready for 2+ more years of diapering? - ......fine. If we have to. Let's get this first one potty trained so we aren't on double diaper duty. 

7.) Does your current child like to snuggle? - Only her dad! Mommy needs snuggle time too. Bring on the newborn cuddles. 

8.) Does your current child like babies? - Absolutely. She also likes to pretend to be the mommy and puts me to sleep and rubs my back (my favorite game), so I know she will be loving and tender with a new baby. 

9.) Are you prepared for a long life of being parents? - Yes. This is that fact about being young parents that I love the most. We will be able to spend so many goods years with our children. It will be nice to be in the middle of our life when our kids graduate college rather than planning for retirement, or what type of tree we want our ashes to grow into. 

10.) Do you want another baby? - Of course! This is kind of the most important one. I have always wanted a big family, but right now a family of four sounds pretty good. 


What do you think? How old were you when you had your children? Do you think this handy checklist could be useful when planning for your next child? Let me know your thoughts on young parenthood in the comments below.

Baby #2!

There's going to be a baby! Madison and I recently got the wonderful news that we are going to become a family of 4 this Fall. We are beyond thrilled to be growing our family, and Nora is so excited to be a big sister! 

Madison and I want our children to be fairly close in age, so this timing feels perfect. Nora will be just under 3 years old when the baby arrives, which we think is a good age difference. She is currently in the "little mommy stage" where she likes to take care of her baby dolls by feeding and rocking them to sleep, so it will be very exciting to see how she acts with a real baby in the house. We both think she is going to be a wonderful big sister. 

Almost as soon as we found out, I asked Madison if I could make an "irrational purchase" and ordered these adorable matching sister bear and baby bear shirts from maisonwares on Etsy. These shirts have been saved in my Etsy favorites for months, ever since we started talking about having another baby. They are so cute and such great quality. I can't wait for Nora and the baby be able to wear them at the same time! That willl be about a year from now, so I suppose I can be patient. 

I'm am now even more excited to have this space, because I started this blog after Nora was born. It will be so fun to blog during this pregnancy so I can share the process of preparing the nursery, packing the hospital bag, and getting Nora ready to be a big sister. I hope you're as excited as we are to start this brand new journey of becoming a family of four!

On Growing Up

No denying it, Nora is growing up. She is going to be two years old next month, which blows my mind. I can still remember her being a tiny 6 pound baby that just liked to sleep on me. Now she runs all over our house, tries to dress (and undress herself), and talks in full sentences. It has been amazing watching her grow and develop. She is so smart and very independent, but still very much our baby girl. 

The other night, Madison decided to take the front off of Nora's crib to turn it into her first "big girl bed." We had been talking about doing this for a while, because Nora loves to crawl into our bed and cuddle with the pillows and blankets. Look at that happy face! She was so excited. 

The first night went ok. She didn't even want to read a book before bed because she was so excited to sleep in her big girl bed. She slept from 7pm until about 1:30, when she woke up with teething pain. We let her sleep in our bed the rest of the night because she was very upset. All in all, it was a good first attempt because she didn't try to get up and play with her toys at all. 

The second night was very different. We have been trying to keep her bedtime routine the same, so that she knows when it is time for bed. She went down fine, but within 15 minutes, she was up playing with her books. I went in, laid her back down and told her that she needed to go to sleep. 15 minutes later, up again and trying to open her door. We decided to put her crib back together and told her that it was a privileged she would need to earn again. Honestly, she seemed relieved to me. She loves her bed, and we have a really good bedtime routine. 

This whole situation made me think about how different every child is. I know some kids who have been able to sleep in a big bed as soon as 18 months. Nora is clearly not one of those kids. She sat up and learned to crawl later than babies her age. She didn't walk at by her first birthday, and first words followed after that. It never bothered us, because we know all babies grow and develop at different speeds. 

We know now that Nora isn't ready for the responsibility of a big girl bed, and that is fine with us. She also has no interest in potty training at this age. We bought her a little potty to use, but she gets very upset whenever we ask her to try it. I had thought that she might be potty trained by 2, but since that clearly won't happen, we'll aim to work on it this coming year. I never want to be the mom that forces these things on her kids, I know she will come around it in her own time. 

I love watching Nora grow up and learn new things, but a part of me also loves that she is taking her time doing it. 

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Baby Chuck Taylors. That is all. 

Nora Lately

Nora has been so fun lately. I keep saying it, but 13 months is the best. Really she just keeps getting better and better. Here's a little of what she's been up to:

- Talking non-stop! She has been mimicking us a lot more recently and has been saying "hi" "more" "all done" "no" (not thrilled about that one haha) "baby" "wawa" (water) "cracker" "dog-dog" "mommy" and "dada" 

- Making this noise, which I can't get enough of

- Eating everything in sight. She's been getting a little bit more picky and wanted nothing but crackers for a little while, but we're opening her up to new foods now. She's been especially loving blueberries and whole wheat crackers with hummus on top. I figured if she's going to be obsessed with them we might as well go for a healthier option

- Going for walks almost every day with me as I try to get in shape. She loves being outside. If she's starting to get fussy I just take her outside and she's instantly better

- Figuring out how to get around more. She can now climb down off the couch on her own and she's been taking steps! Just a couple at a time and only rarely but it's so fun to see her try. We caught a few of them on camera 

- Laughing all the time. She's such a goofball, it's the best.

- Meeting friends at the park! She is obsessed with babies, and I keep telling her she's still a baby but I don't think she believes me 

- She's been way more snugly lately and will give kisses and hugs

- She is super friendly; whenever we go somewhere she must say hi to everyone

- And finally, wearing back packs. If that's not cute I don't know what is. The pack is c/o Swankaroo and it's pretty amazing.

She is showing her personality more and I love it. Madison and I have a pretty cool kid on our hands. 

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Look at the baby curls! All the heart eyes. 

Nora's Birthday Dress... Again

Again?! Will this lady ever stop talking about this dress?? NO. Just kidding, this is the last time...Or maybe just one more time after this. I wanted to take a few more pictures of her in the birthday dress I made because during her birthday party it was too cold for her to wear it without a sweater. I also forgot to get a picture of her in the dress with the glitter crown I crafted. While I was in party mode, I made a matching bow headband, so she wore that in a couple pictures as well. I'll have a DIY post coming up soon for that. Spoiler alert: it's super easy and you're going to want to make a ton. Anywho- enjoy our quick little birthday-ish photo shoot! 

Nora's Birthday Party

We held Nora's birthday party the day after her birthday. There is an awesome park near us that has a beach, a carousel, a playground, and plenty of grills for picnicking. I know what you're thinking, you had a outdoor party in April at a beach?? Yes, yes we did. And to answer your next question, yes, it was cold. But we made it work! It was not the worst weather we could have had, but we already decided we will have her party indoors next year.

Here's some snapshots of our day. Despite the weather and a slightly traumatic carousel ride, we had a really fun time with family and friends. Also worth noting: the cake was from BJs and it was DELICIOUS.

 

This little girl is so loved. I hope she always knows that. Here's to another great year.