Little Squirt

I'm not sure what he's doing with his hands...

I like the bear outfit - someday he'll appreciate it :)


Her big sister outfit!

So, it has been a chaotic couple of weeks - I have been so busy with catching up in school and trying to figure out how in the world one can function with two small children (?). It's getting a little easier, though, after two weeks of this. Michael is only waking up once in the middle of the night (it took a few days for him to figure out that nighttime is when we sleep, and that daytime is the time to play and be cute - not between 3 and 4am). He is a much happier baby now that we figured out that he likes the room temperature to be at least 90 degrees - especially at night - I know it's an obvious concept, but one that I hadn't even thought of (but I have to say, Rexburg became a whole lot colder as soon as I wasn't pregnant anymore - I can't believe I thought keeping our home at 64 degrees was too hot!). He loves to be swaddled (but has to have his right hand free?) in at least two blankets and sweats like crazy (which I never thought possible for small children), but is the happiest baby when these needs are met. Elise is adjusting well...after the first week. When Rand and I came back home from the hospital, she was so mad at me! I've never left her alone before, and she just wanted nothing to do with me. However, after I was able to get up and my back was doing better (I had to be on bed rest for awhile because of the 'wet tap'), she has been phenomenal. She loves her little brother and calls him her "little belly" (belly and buddy are one in the same to her...don't ask me why), and will eagerly knock on his door first thing in the morning, and say, "Gikel" and "brudder," while we are rushing up the stairs trying to prevent her from waking him up (those hiccups cause him to take the longest time to fall asleep). But, other than attempting to (cutely) poke his eyes, nose, ears, mouth, chin and every other body part which is the least bit exposed or which Elise is able to identify, Elise adores her little brother and is very good with him. However, because I nurse Michael, Elise will take her little baby dolls and shove them at my chest, telling me that they want to "eat." She's pretty cute :) Elise asks to give him hugs all of the time, and will be the first to run over to him when he starts crying, so she can pull him out, saying "baby sad." Michael is a durable little guy, though, and seems to really like his sister (he's smiled twice at her).

Alright, so I decided to bring him to church last week (I figured I'd throw a blanket over him, and he survived Wal-Mart, so I felt like it would be okay). Halfway through the first hour, I pulled him out to feed him. Not thinking that the child's digestive system treats breastmilk like laxatives, I was shocked when I heard a little rumbling coming from inside the diaper. Rushing out of the mother's lounge to grab his diaper bag, I scrambled around trying to figure out how in the world to change him (because being the oh so prepared person that I am, I had forgotten almost everything at home - it's been practically a full two years since I've been around a newborn). So, I put together a makeshift diaper changing pad, and took off the diaper. Instantly, Michael, aka Little Squirt, shoots off an arc that drenched not only me, but his diaper bag, the jacket in the corner of the room, his onesie and blanket, and the countertop. Earlier that morning, throughout his bath, he continually soaked his daddy. We're thinking of investing in a pee tee pee...

As for Elise - Thursday, I decided I would take a nap. I've been so tired, and I always feel guilty about napping, but I needed to sleep. So, I wake up and hear this little cry from upstairs. Elise hates taking naps and I figured she was just trying to get out of it - and there was no way that I was going to let her get up anytime before her allotted "quiet time" was up (and there was about 30min left). I keep hearing this little cry, and decided to just go and check it out. I open up Elise's door and can't find her. However, her entire drawers of her armoir have been pulled out, and all of the clothes have been dumped on the floor. I call her name, thinking she's playing peek-a-boo with me, and again, I hear this faint cry. I push back the top drawer, and there she is - lying in the bottom drawer, her baby in her arms, looking right up at me - it was so funny! I'm sure at 30, she'll have a fear of armoirs or tight spaces, but I cannot figure out how in the world she managed to get in there and pull the top drawer over her? So, in addition to a pee tee pee, if anyone knows where we can find a safety-proof dresser, or a child-friendly electric fence/collar, please feel free to e-mail me and let me know :)