The Kiddos Update

Pictures of the two of them may be a recurring feature on this blog. Someday I hope to get both of their faces and possibly even simultaneous smiles.

Madison

I was warned. Dire predictions of jealousy and regression were smugly thrown in my direction by parents with 2+ kids. I was disbelieving. My beautiful, mature Madison would handle the arrival of her baby brother with aplomb and grace. Now, a month after the arrival of The Dude, I can go back to those people and say "Boo-Yah!" Madison is awesome. Not a whimper of discontent. She has adjusted to her new life quickly, easily, seamlessly. She patiently waits while we take care of Carter even if we were in the middle of playing with her (or feeding her). Not once has thrown a fit when our attention has shifted to her little brother. And my biggest fear - that she would wake in the middle of the night because of hungry-crying baby noises - has not been realized.

Not only is she adjusting to sharing the spotlight, she is also the best big sister ever, helping out wherever she can and trying to help even in areas that aren't quite suited to her just-turned-three-years-old self. She helps calm him down while he is crying, distracts him while his diaper is being changed, and quite adorably, stands in front of Carter when we are burping him and says "Look at your big sister and burp buddy". She even gives him props when he does burp, telling him "good job".

As for Madison-not-in-relation-to-Carter, she is the oldest three-year-old I've ever met, physically, emotionally, and intellectually. She's gigantic - 40 lbs, 41 inches tall, wearing a size 5. For the emotional stuff, see above paragraphs. Her vocabulary is ridiculous, she tells these adorable, detailed stories, and she knows all of her numbers and letters by sight. She's counting to 20 no problem, singing two different versions of the ABCs, and identifying colors that I didn't even know the names for. Okay, that sounds like bragging, but honestly, I'm not taking credit for any of this; I'm continuously shocked.

Her favorite game is playing school. I love this about her as playing school was also my favorite activity as a child. Let's be honest; it's my favorite as an adult too. Her favorite teacher is her great-grandma Linda and the two of them play for hours. We have even started adding real instruction to playtime with flashcards and the such not. Yay for learning!


Carter

He sleeps. Holy Mary does he sleep. From the get-go, he was making it 5+ hours at night, and from time to time now, he will even make it 7 hours. I, of course, am loving this so much after the horror that was/is Madison sleep. He also sleeps all day long which is kind of crazy. Seriously, The Dude is only awake for a few hours a day. It's crazy. The only complaint I have is that while he is sleeping on his back (so all night long) he is making these horrific, terrifying, disgusting sounds. He gets all gurgly and phlegmy and squeaky. It's hard to tell if he is choking or puking or what.

Apparently this strangeness is called snurgling - which is a cute name for a disturbing event. I thought he had a cold as it seems like nasal congestion combined with gagging on phlegm in the throat, but the lack of fever or cough suggests that it is actually this Snurgling thing. Supposedly this will go away in time. Since it keeps me up all night, I'm hoping sooner rather than later. What are the odds that I would get a sleeper but an extremely noisy one?

He's a big bobblehead, not quite ready for tummy time or you know, neck control.  He's spending time in the baby gym but not interacting with it too much yet. This past week he started making actual eye contact and smiling directly at you - which by the way is one of the most awesome events in the world. He has the gorgeous, big-mouthed smile, and his eyes actually sparkle. Of course, if his mouth opens, puke may be coming so you have to watch out.

I forgot how much laundry you have to do with a newborn. And how many bottles you have to wash. And how much disgusting ends up on your beautiful furniture and carpet. The joys.

Seriously though, he is a joy, and so is Madison.

Mommy and Daddy are a-ok. We are thinking about taking a night off and heading to a casino; although I'm hem-hawing a bit about leaving Carter overnight. I like to make sure my babies have the whole life thing downpat before I go too far away. The casino is like an hour away, so...yeah, not that far....We'll see.

And now, for fun, here's a pic of the awesome big sister washing her brother's feet. Yup, that happened.