Happy One Month, Mady! And not to forget my first born, Happy 2 years and 5 months, Aiden!
Life with two kids is definitely different than life with just one! Now that Vic is back at work and I have the both of them all to myself, I am finding it a daily challenge to give each the attention they deserve. By the days end, I always feel like I have at least slightly neglected one of them, if not both a little bit! But I'm slowly figuring out how to survive the day (or at least until Daddy comes home) by myself and have learned that timing is key! The most difficult parts of the day are the morning- getting both kids up, but only when Aiden wakes up when I am feeding Mady, and mealtime. But I am definitely loving every single second with them and continue to be amazed at how much they change each day.
Mady is definitely starting to grow out of her newborn face and we're starting to get a glimpse of what she'll look like as she gets older. She is a cutie for sure! Vic and I can't really figure out who she looks like, she seems to look more like my mom and Auntie Elizabeth more than anyone else!
Mady is a great eater! She was back to birth weight within a week of her birth and at her one month checkup weighed in at 8lbs, 6oz. Holy cow! Mommy must make good milk!
Here are a few pics that Vic and I took of our little girl. This was our attempt at one month pictures. We had professional ones done with Aiden (and no, this is not second child syndrome since Mady didn't get one-just mommy and daddy wising up), but I didn't really think they were worth it. He was so little and so unpredictable, it was hard to get really good shots of him. So we decided to try ourselves this time.
I am itching to get a really good picture of the two of them. We still have yet to get one. While Aiden is starting to warm up to her (he likes to give her high-fives and fist-pounds and also enjoys rolling his trucks on her head), sitting next to her and smiling is a bit too much to ask for. We try to bribe him with Bubble Guppies and stickers, but he's getting too smart to fall for it now. Vic and I are always on the look out for random candid shots, so we'll see!
It is nice to see that Aiden is a bit more tender with her and pays a bit more attention to the fact that she's actually there. Although this kiss came with the promise of watching Team Umizoomi on TV after.
Tee hee, chubby cheeks!
Loving my babies!
We took Aiden and Mady to Black Hills Regional Park for some playground time.
I see you!
Aiden loved going down the slide with Daddy and Auntie Elizabeth!
Playing with Mommy and Auntie Elizabeth on the see saw! I think this was Aiden's favorite!
My little man is definitely a gentle soul. Sometimes it surprises me that he's not really like your typically toddler boy; rambunctious and bouncing off the walls. Aiden is energetic, in his own playful way, tentative, and is more of an observer. He plays with things after he investigates them fully and figures out what he's suppose to do with it. I'm hoping that this curiosity of how things work will serve him well in the future!
I started tummy time with Mady when she was a couple of weeks old and we've graduated from laying on Mommy's chest to laying on the play mat. This is the same play mat that we used with Aiden when he was young, and I think he knows it!
Mady wasn't too impressed with the jungle theme of the mat. She was far more interested in looking out the window to see what was going on outside... nosy girl. =)
Some play time on the floor. =)
I think this is Mady's first legit smile. =) I say this because I was cooing and talking to her and this was her response... and it was 15 minutes before she was suppose to eat again so she couldn't possibly have had gas, right?
First bath in the baby bathtub! (I must admit though, at the advice of my Mother in law, it is far easier to just give her a bath in the sink... so this was the first and pretty much last bath in the tub for now).
The one thing I was really anxious about was how in the world do I go out by myself with 2 kids? Answer? JUST DO IT!
Our first outing was to get Aiden a haircut and then a quick trip to the mall. As you can see from the picture above, I had a great little helper! First trip was a success!
Next trip? The grocery store! Huge thank you to Giant Foods for having these types of carts available! Aiden sat in the car the entire time and had a blast. With Mady stuck to my chest in the Baby Bjorn, shopping was a breeze (ish)!
Just some cute pics of my little guy.
Crazy bathtime hair!
I still find it so crazy how much of a sponge Aiden is and how smart he is! He is a talker like his Mommy and says the funniest things! He makes me smile and laugh out loud.
So.. our next big Aiden endeavor is POTTY TRAINING! I read tons of articles on the best way to potty train and I picked a week to dedicate to the cause. I figured the best time to try is while I was home on leave... crazy, no?
Vic and I took Aiden to Target to pick out a potty. We lined a few in a row and let him pick.. of course he picked the Cars 2 one! We also picked out a couple of packs of underwear, Cars 2 and Mickey Mouse!
I decided that I should introduce Aiden to the potty and let him familiarize himself with it a bit before we actually started trying to use it.
I promise I did not pose him like that! Hilarious that he grabbed the instruction book for the potty and sat right down on it! Hahah! He looks like his Daddy!
BUT.. of course...
Aiden was MUCH more interested in the box.
We had planned starting to train on Memorial Day weekend, but then....
WE ALL GOT SICK!!
I'm not sure where it started, but Aiden got it first. It started with a fever then progressed to a pretty significant cold. We were a bit worried since this is really the first time he's been REALLY sick. We were also concerned because we didn't want Mady to get it. The pediatrician recommended that we try to keep the two of them away from each other as much as possible. So Vic took Aiden, I took Mady and we didn't co-mingle for over a week!
Then... Daddy got sick. It was bound to happen since he was the one primarily taking care of Aiden. Daddy got a very mild form (one night of nyquil did the trick) and was very careful to wash his hands, change his clothes, and even shower before touching Mady.
But then... Mady got sick. NOOOO!!! It started out with some congestion and sneezing, so the pediatrician gave us some tips on how to deal, but then one day when I went to pick her up to change her, she just felt really hot. Thermometer up the butt and, no... 100.8 degrees!? YIKES! Pediatrician told me to bring her right in and when we got there her temp was down to 100.3. Apparently anything over 100.4 earns a trip to the ER for any baby under 2 months, and since she was 100.8 when I called, to the ER we went. (Huge shout out to Auntie Elizabeth for dropping everything and coming over to watch a napping Aiden so I could take Mady to the doctor!)
When we got to the ER, the doctor felt pretty confident that Mady had just caught Aiden's cold. Tylenol brought her fever down, but the doctor wanted to run some tests just in case. Luckily, everything came back normal and we were able to go home that evening.
My poor sick babies. =(
And now... of course... Mommy is sick. Being sick with kids is like not being sick at all because you don't have time to be sick. It was pretty miserable over here in the Nguyen Household for awhile, but luckily Aiden and Daddy are all better, Mady is almost all better, and Mommy is getting there.
Hopefully we'll start the hardcore potty training this weekend, but in the meantime, Grandpa is the baby whisperer and got Aiden to poop in the potty chair they have at their house! Amazing! He sent me this adorable video of Aiden pooping, which I will not post for fear of a grownup Aiden reading this and being mortified. Maybe this means he's ready? The goal is to hopefully get him potty trained before our annual trip to Myrtle Beach at the end of the month. Fingers crossed!
This past month has been beyond hectic and exhausting, but I wouldn't take a second of it back. Being a Mommy is by far the greatest role I play, and being a Mommy to these two critters is a blessing beyond belief.
How can you not fall in love with them over and over again? =)
