school.

First & foremost, I am soooo freaking over this whole 4 month* sleep regression + 4 month* growth spurt + possible teething ALL at the same time. So over it. I have not been able to get a SINGLE thing done around my house except a couple loads of laundry. Josh wasn't feeling well tonight, so I had to put the kids to bed alone, and of course Mr. Sleep Regression won't go down easy like he used to. So finally, at 11:07PM, I can do some reading for school but I'm too tired to do anything now! But I will. Because I have two days to read a chapter and write a 2 page paper. Sure, it sounds easy, but with the stuff that's gone on with Kieran in the past few days I may have my work cut out for me. Man, what I wouldn't do to go back & tell my pre-kid self to just hurry up and finish school before having children! Ah well.


*4 month adjusted, I mean :D

tired!

So, I realized yesterday, when packing up to leave for a road trip to Wisconsin, that the Kid's Clothes Week Challenge starts tomorrow - oops. I have nothing prepared for it, and no time to gather any of my various to-dos up, so I'm going to have to pass on the challenge this time around, but that's probably a good thing. Despite my wanting very badly to get back into sewing, I have yet to set up a sewing area in our new place, I have multiple readings and assignments to work on and, like I mentioned, never made it to the craft store. Ah well, maybe I'll have my own challenge next month. But I would like to get to the craft store. I want to get the tulle for Maia's Halloween tutu! And some felt for Kieran's gnome hat. So, maybe that can happen this week.

I really want to post pictures from our weekend trip to the land o' Dairy, but that will have to wait. We just got home a few hours ago from Wisconsin, where we went to a wedding Saturday and hung out on a friend's family farm today, so we're all completely tuckered out. It's amazing what a mini road-trip & chasing after a toddler while juggling the baby all weekend can do to a couple people! The house is a mess but you know what? Sleep is more important. And the house will probably still be messy tomorrow when I take the kids to my grandma's house and then we head out to the apple orchard, but you know what? Fun and family time is more important. I guess the mess (and the homework assignments) will still be here for me tomorrow night. Until then...

sibling love

Just a couple cute pictures before we head out to a wedding in WI. Maia asks at least daily to hold Kieran and then quickly shouts "take a pick-cha, mom!" I usually get an assortment of various silly faces from each of them, but they did great this time around! I think I got at least one smile in each shot. Maia loves her baby brother SO much, and it's so fun to see him staring at her, following her, smiling at her and laughing when she laughs - I love it! Recently Kieran has started to cry when he hears Maia crying! Having 2 two years apart is proving to be really fun so far.

PS. Happy half birthday to Maia! (hey, Kieran got his own entry so I had to at least send a shout-out to her, right?)

happy half-birthday, baby boy!

My baby is 6 months old today! (and not even 4 months adjusted yet - he's 3.5 months adjusted, wow!) 6 months ago I was told that my pre-eclampsia had turned to HELLP syndrome and I would have to deliver my son 10.5 weeks early for the sake of my own health. His early birth started a medical rollercoaster (for him, at least temporarily) and an emotional rollercoaster for our family, but look at how far he has come! Isn't he amazing!?

From 2 lbs, 10 ounces & 15 inches long...


....to 17 lbs & 26 inches long. Look at my happy, beautiful half-birthday boy!




Oh man, the cheeks!


A little half-naked baby comparison shot might be fun, too...so...

This was taken the day after we brought Kieran home from the hospital (so he weighed about 5 lbs)


And this was last night - super chub!

I don't know if it's genetics or breastmilk to thank for making my formerly tiny little guy chub up SUPER quickly (averaging 3/4 pounds a week, just like Maia!) but I am SO thankful he did! Actually, I'm going to go with the breastfeeding for most of it. I have the fattiest looking milk I have ever seen - more like cream! I love his double chin, huge tummy, chubby thighs...all of it is so wonderful to behold because I remember exactly what it was like to kangaroo care that tiny less-than-3-pounds baby boy on the day he was born. I will never forget how he had literally no fat on his little body - and now it's everywhere! And wow, soon we'll be starting solids. Okay, well, not THAT soon, not until he's 6 months adjusted (which just so happens to be Thanksgiving.) But still...it's coming up quickly!

So, here's to another exciting, fun-filled 6 months - hopefully these next few go by slower, but I doubt they will!

fall baking starts....now!

Just a quick entry tonight. I had another rough day alone with the kiddos, so I'm only blogging for the sake of the September Blog-a-Thon. (And yes, another rough day, ugh! Kieran's most likely teething and/or going through his "4 month" sleep regression - he's 3.5 months adjusted, so that would make sense, right? And Maia's apparently going through some super-defiant 2.5 year old stage thing, where it appears she has lost ALL listening skills she once had and we're butting heads like crazy. Blah, whatever.)

Anyways, I want to share with y'all an amazing recipe. I looove to bake (my red Kitchenaid mixer that I got as a wedding present last year? I can't live without it!) And my favorite baking season is not Christmas-time, it's fall - mmm, pumpkin cookies with glaze frosting, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread pudding...those are just a few of my favorite pumpkin recipes. I really could eat pumpkin anything all year round. And don't even get me started on my favorite apple goodies, or all the new ones I want to try to make this year (like pumpkin scones!) But back to the recipe: I had these at my bridal shower last year and they are phenomenal: light, fluffy and the perfect amount of pumpkin, plus the cream cheese frosting is SO delish. The cinnamon really takes the standard cream cheese frosting a step further.

Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Cupcake recipe + Cinnamon Cream Cheese frosting

The cupcakes, from Martha:

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

Directions (yields 18 cupcakes)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

The frosting, from food.com:

Ingredients (yields frosting for 20-24 cupcakes)

• 1 (8 ounce) packages reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar and cinnamon.
2. Frost cake or cupcakes and let frosting "set" for 20 minutes on counter or in the fridge.

Hope you enjoy them! These will be just one of many fall goodies I'll be preparing in the upcoming fall months. I also plan on busting out my bread machine (it's been awhile!) and I'll share some of my favorite bread recipes, too.

missed opportunities

Do you know what today is? It's National Neonatal Nurses Day! And....I just learned that fact this morning, via my Twitter feed (thanks to the March of Dimes for the heads up!) I learned it a bit too late to do anything special or fun for the nurses who took care of Kieran. I couldn't even do an impromptu visit, since today was the first day I worked for my dad. But today's not the only missed opportunity I'm bummed about - I am embarassed and disappointed in myself, because I have not contacted the NICU once since Kieran came home! The sweet staff spent 7 weeks taking care of my son and I haven't even given them a SINGLE update - I feel horrible! They deserve to hear how healthy he is, to hear about our successes with breastfeeding (and to see the amazing results!) They were an integral part of the beginning of his life, and I'm so bummed that I have yet to update them.

Of course, the first few weeks at home were a whirlwind of breastfeeding and catching up on sleep and adjusting to two children. And then when the fog lifted and I felt I had the whole mom-to-two thing down, we started looking for a place to rent, then packed & moved - all it took was a simple phone call or a quick letter (heck, I could have printed out an old blog post and told them to follow along!) but I haven't done a single thing. I feel silly for the missed opportunities.

But, there's no time like the present, right? I will give them a call tomorrow, because it's Kieran's 6 month birthday on Friday! What a great time to call and update them on my little dude. (On a side note, six months already!? OMG!) Hopefully we can set up a time to come in to bring Kieran to visit next week, and hopefully we get to see at least a few of our favorite nurses.

rough day.

I'd do anything to avoid schoolwork tonight. I know that I should do homework, but today was a rough day so all I want to do is veg out on the couch! Maybe I can muster up the energy to do a little reading...

Anyways, today was a little rough because Kieran got two shots this morning, which set the tone for the rest of the day. I can always depend on him to be just slightly cranky, have a hard time sleeping, and want to nurse CONSTANTLY on the day of the shots. Then the next day he's usually back to normal. So I knew what to expect, but it was still exhausting to sit on the couch all day. You really wouldn't think it would be tiring sitting on your butt, but it is! I get so sore, so I had to switch to side-lying nursing and of course, Kieran and I both I fell asleep! Well, I had to get right back up to get Maia from daycare (she goes 1x/week) so the nap was just pointless, it just made me crabby because it took forever to wake up from a 30 minute nap. Then we got Maia home from daycare and she was sort of crabby - so when Josh got home I went out for a quick walk to the bakery around the corner for a little pick-me-up. Just five minutes of me time and I felt so refreshed! The gorgeous weather outside certainly helped. I don't really know why I decided to take the kids to Target knowing both of their moods, but it ended up going alright, I was just pooped.

Speaking of Kieran getting shots - I got him weighed and he's 17 lbs! Geez, the kid just doesn't stop growing! Maia, who was full-term, was 18 lbs at 4 months. Kieran is 3.5 months adjusted, so that's very impressive - he might even pass her up by 4 months adjusted! I also spoke with his pediatrician and she shared with me the results of Kieran's ultrasound and labs done on the 1st. Kieran had an enlarged kidney in utero (hydronephrosis) and as a result of that and/or his prematurity, he had elevated levels of protein in his urine. His last ultrasound in May showed the kidneys were still slightly enlarged, and the protein levels improving. The ultrasound on the 1st showed that his kidneys are both still slightly enlarged, but they are growing (so no growth restriction) and he has 100% normal levels of protein in his urine - yay! We will have another follow-up in 6 more months.

Look at how big he is next to Maia! For reference, she's 27 lbs & 36 inches. He's 17 lb s & about 26 inches.

I'm going to give myself a pat on the back now - I managed to print out my homework assignments while posting this blog - progress! It's hard to get back into school in general, but when you go every other weekend + have an online class, you have to be super diligent about getting your work done on your own time.

Alright, I'll end with a cute picture I stole from my mother-in-law -it's my two handsome boys!