Caroline: Three Months

Three Months

Miss Rosie-Ro, you are just the sweetest thing. You love laying on the floor and talking to us with your sweet "oooh's" and "iiiiii's" and occasional giggles. The moment we make eye contact, your face lights up and you start talking. I'm hoping you stay that way forever, telling Mama your secrets! You're growing so fast, yet remain a petite little lady. My favorite new thing you do is play with your hair. You keep one arm up and twirl your hair in your fingers. It's the sweetest. We love you, sweet girl, and thank God every day for the chance to know you and watch you grow into the beautiful woman God has called you to be. He loves you even more than we do, and we pray that one day, you'll know His love personally and chose to follow Him! We love you, Caroline!

Life with Two

I've had every intention of keeping up with this blog better than I have lately, mainly because I want to write details about life now that I'll likely forget later. However, duty calls and it turns out this motherhood gig gives you joy out the wazoo, but takes away every last ounce of free time. :) So here's a quick recap of the last three months!

Bringing Caroline (or Ro as she's so lovingly referred to around here) home has been such an amazing experience. For starters, she's just a really good baby. I know a lot of people say that about their babies, but Ro's exceptionally good. In the last three months, I'd venture to say she's cried MAYBE a total of 2 hours. Maybe. She's happy and content and smiley and just a bundle of love. Her laid back, easy going personality has made the transition from one kid to two such a breeze. Not that I haven't had my share of exhaustion and feeling like I could very well lose my mind, but those moments have been very few and far between.

On top of all of that, my sweet Levi has really stepped up and grown into an incredible big brother. You guys, I was really worried about this. And not in the way that every parent worries about how a new sibling will effect their current children. I'm talking, this kid, who once clenched his fists and screamed at even just the sight of a baby, is now sweet and, dare I say, GENTLE with sweet Ro. He calls her Ro Ro and has been so great about all my time holding her and loving on her. If he wants my attention during those times, he just joins in on the fun and snuggles with the both of us. For the most part, he just ignores her, which is better than having him smother her with love, in my opinion. But when he pays attention to her, he's content with sitting beside her and showing her his cars. We spent a lot of time this summer talking to him about how we'll be bringing our baby home and what to expect, but you just never know how much a two year old (who wasn't talking much at the time) is going to understand. His transition to now having a sibling has been seamless, I almost feel guilty about it.

By far the hardest part of having two kids is trying to go somewhere. It never fails, I'll get them both dressed and ready to walk out the door when somebody suddenly poops. Once bottoms are wiped and shoes are back on, I can get them loaded up pretty quickly, but then I have to make sure the diaper bag is well stocked, including diapers and wipes, extra clothes for Ro, bib, burp rag, blanket, paci, nursing cover, toys for Levi (depending on where we're going), extra snack, possible cup of milk, the list goes on. And I've always prided myself on being a light packer. But with kids, especially two that are in different stages of life, there's just. so. much. stuff.

Without a doubt, by the time the kids are loaded, their diaper bag is packed and loaded, and I grab my purse, cell phone, and sunglasses, I sit in the car and praise Jesus for deodorant and windows to crack for fresh air because I'm usually sweating like none other. After I praise Him for those things, I look in the backseat and praise Him for the precious boy who's usually talking about his "Choo Choo's" and love of "kuks" (trucks, for those of you who don't speak Levi), and there's a beautiful little girl batting at her toys and I just feel so fortunate that I get to be their mama. All the sweat and chaos is so, so worth it.

I seem to be rambling. That's another thing I do these days. My brain sometimes feels broken so my thoughts come in no particular order. Bare with me.

Football. That's what life has been since Ro's come into this world. I've had the best help between my parents and wonderful friends I've gotten to know through Brett's job, and because of them I've been able to take the kids to every single game of Brett's this year, other than the very first scrimmage when Caroline was one week old. It was chaotic and hilarious and exhausting all the while, but I LOVE showing the kids how important it is to be a part of each other's lives and how we support each other and cheer each other on. They have an AWESOME dad who was born to coach. As they get older I want them to understand what it is to be a family and be there for one another, so I figured we should start at a mere two weeks old! It's so fun being a football wife and a football family, and my kids were rock stars throughout the season. The games and team dinners went MUCH smoother than I expected with two kids, for sure.

God really answered all of my prayers concerning the first couple of months with two kids, and I owe it all to Him. He's been my strength and my rest throughout it all. And He's blessed me with Levi, my low maintenance, entertains himself, outgoing boy who is full of life and energy, as well as now our beautiful baby girl who is just happy to be along for the ride and has a smile so radiant with joy. She's just been an awesome addition to our family, and I'm excited to watch her personality to continue to unfold, as well as watch her and Levi become friends over time. I'm so, so glad for them both and excited to see God work in their lives in the years to come!