SLEEP

I don't know where to begin today. I haven't had much time to blog lately, but there are so many post ideas going on in my head...seems like all of life is like that lately. I can't remember anything because there are always a million things I need to do at once. I will go to fill up Jude's milk and realize I need to change the garbage and then start a load of laundry and remember I need to wash his sheets and then change Cora's diaper and completely forget about the milk (until he reminds me in his not-so-quiet manner). Seriously, today I finally got both kids down for naps and then realized I really had to go to the bathroom. Hadn't even thought of that! Another thing I don't seem to have time to think about is meals. It will get to be 6 pm and I will be wondering what's for dinner! But meal planning, mothering, and dogs are all for other posts...this one is about SLEEP!

When Jude was a new baby I took LOTS of pictures. Not as many as most moms maybe (I'm conservative like that!) but a lot for me. With Cora I'm never thinking of it (as mentioned above) until everyone is sleeping (plus you just can't beat sleeping babies). So most of my pictures of her are when she is asleep. Here are some of her different poses:

This is the "on-my-back-arms-up"
This is the "on-my-side on-the-pillows"

And finally, her favorite, the "on-my-tummy on-the-floor" (this is where she is currently by the way)

I seem to be always putting her in different positions for nap time. She will be in her bassinet, then on the floor, then in the swing or on the couch. I don't know why I have this obsession to always mess with her like that. Probably because I'm searching for what works. I know they always say something like "back is best" but honestly I think "tummy is tops." I don't let her sleep on her tummy at night because of the hoopla, but I'm beginning to consider it. She just takes such great naps that way. And let me tell you, nighttime is not always sweet dreams for her. I know several women who had babies right around the time Cora was born. And I keep hearing about how "my baby slept eight hours at night at three weeks of age and hasn't stopped since." (okay, maybe that is an exaggeration, but that is how I feel!). My baby does NOT sleep eight hours at night. She is not going on nine weeks old and I am lucky if I get four at time and even luckier if she agrees to go back to sleep within ten minutes of her feeding and even luckier if she agrees to go to sleep when I want to go to sleep. This is how it has been lately: I or Gil get her to sleep, or sometimes she falls asleep on her own, she is laid in her bassinet and immediately wakes up. I get her back to sleep with the binky or holding or swaddling and get back in bed. Five or even fifteen minutes later she spit out the binky, is wide awake, and letting out little whimpers. I put her back to sleep. She wakes up again. The first few times I am able to get her to sleep are very rewarding. By the fifth or sixth time I feel a little abused. This is wearing on me. Especially since the start of school is beginning to come into view. I have a hard time functioning right now if I have to get up before 8:30...I cannot imagine 6:00 every day!!!

Jude on the other hand is a rock star sleeper. Now that is. I can't really remember when he started sleeping better as a baby. It wasn't early though. Am I doing something wrong? Ugh! Anyway, I know at one point he was a 7pm to 7amer. Those were the days. Now he requires a little more attention at bedtime (i.e. stories, prayers, and songs...which I gladly give!) but still sleeps great. He rarely gets me up before Cora does, so I have that to be thankful for. And he naps great too, although the binky and blanky are still in the picture. Potty training and binky breaking were supposed to be his summer agenda...not sure that is going to happen...

This is a picture of my laundry. It was just the story of my life that day. Lots of diapers and lots of pink:)

**Here are some pictures to show what a beautiful baby I have, and even if I don't get as much sleep as I would like sometimes, she is completely worth it!!! (plus my sleepy brain may have caused me to exaggerate just a tad:)**

Aren't her smiles the best:):):)

Hit the deck!

Here are some pictures of our finished product!!! We are loving it--especially with all the nice weather we have been getting! A few nights ago we had a fire on the deck, we have spent a lot of time playing and "fixing" on the deck (Jude loves to pretend fix and build), and this morning we had breakfast on the deck. Way to go Gil! He has really been working on his building skills lately.

Next up, doggy kennel! Here are a few pics of the latest addition to the Ridenour Ranch as well...Baylor the beagle. We were supposed to get a female, but ended up with this rowdy guy. He barks all night or anytime he is in the kennel or tied up, and is always biting our heels. Jude has had to learn to defend himself! But isn't he just adorable?!? It's a good thing puppies and kids are so cute...



Jude and Baylor got into it over the kitchen rug!



Underside
The worker bees (thanks mom, dad, and Alissa!)
The supplies...
The corner
The man and his deck! We also got a new table since last summer we had two blow over and break. This one is made of metal and since we got a horrible storm the very night everything was finished it withstood the test and survived!
Last night we went fishing at my parent's dam. Jude (or rather Gil) caught a bass and a blue gill.

Ok: Here is a poll. I think Jude could use another haircut (I'm actually of the buzz cut school of thought), and Gil says it looks "sweet." What do you think (note: I do not actually put ponytails in his hair, this is just an illustration to prove my point. But he has still been mistaken for a girl on several occasions!). What do you think??? Oh, and he loved the ponytail by the way!
Here are also some videos for your viewing pleasure!

Survival Mode

Going from newly weds to new parents a little over nine months after we got married was pretty intense, I admit. But everything seemed to come in stride and it really wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be or as everyone warned it would be. I had heard horror stories of not having time to shower and giving up everything that was normal in life for poop and puke. But I didn't really feel that way at all. In fact it seemed I had more time than I had had in my life of teaching and coaching and sponsoring and my million other commitments. Plus there was always nap time!

Then one became two and all of that changed! Since Cora was born many people have asked how it is going with two kids. I haven't really known how to answer until a couple days ago when it finally hit me: I am on SURVIVAL MODE! I learned how to add in kindergarten. Two is more than one, but not much more. Two is still a small number....tell that to a mom of two kids...two is immensely more than one!!! Suddenly all of those warnings about kids have come true. I don't have time to take a shower and it seems that changings, dressings, feedings, bathings, and sleepings are WAY too much to accomplish in one day. I like to keep a list of To-Do's on the fridge. That has all but gone by the wayside as the daily essentials sometimes don't even get done! (ex. blogging has been on the list for about a week and even now I am completing this in shifts). Luckily I have Gil here most of the time to help out. I have also come to completely understand why one might send a toddler to daycare while on maternity leave!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining or even having a breakdown (as it may seem!). I'm just finally processing how my next year is going to be with a two-year-old (high maintenance and strong-willed two-year-old at that!) and a baby. It's going to be a long year...that will fly by I am sure! And someday I will look back and say, "Those were the days!" But today I just want a shower and a nap...

To keep things in perspective I have been making a mental list of what I love (and sometime what I hate) about two-year-olds and babies. These are some of my thoughts:

Two-Year-Olds:

*Give hugs and kisses

*Can talk and say adorable things

*Can entertain and somewhat help with the baby

*Can entertain parents when we need a laugh

*Take long naps in the afternoons!!!

*Can feed themselves to a certain degree

*Can play by themselves for longer periods of time

*Sleep through the night

Babies:

*Sleep much of the time

*Stay where you put them

*Don't talk back or deliberately disobey

*Diapers are significantly less disgusting than the two-year-olds

*Are tiny and much lighter to carry around

*Can also entertain siblings and parents

Ok, onto some pictures!

Here is one of the big storm that rolled in on Monday night. I didn't capture it, but there was some pretty amazing lighting out there too...which caused our electricity to be down from 8pm to 2am that night!

Our friends donated a deck they were tearing off their house to us, so now Gil's project is putting it on ours!!! Jude likes to help hammer. Fitting (his middle name, Maccabeus, means "The Hammer").

Here is our friend's baby boy and Cora. He is just two weeks older than she.

Our new bunnies we got at the Allen Swap Meet!
Jude's new sandbox around his swing set (another project of Gil and dad's)
Jude's sandy bottom! He loves scooping and building castles. I just wish it would dry up out there (and warm up too!).
Cora sucking her binky in the stroller and watching her big brother in the sandbox.

Home & Garden

Here are a few pics of what has been going on at the Ranch lately. Gil and I are enjoying both having time off of work again to enjoy our kids and work around the house (so maybe we are not off of work?!?). It has been interesting adjusting to life with two kids. Thank goodness there are two of us! Jude is on the brink of potty training, but we haven't really taken the plunge yet. The other morning we tried putting him in underwear to see what would happen. He had an accident on the kitchen floor by 9:30 am. Gil was outside and while I was cleaning up the baby started crying. That was the end of that for the day! Cora is really a pretty good baby. She likes to have a binky in (just like her brother) and has manageable nights usually. Jude absolutely adores her, but still gets a little cranky when others are around to see her.

We had the most gorgeous day here on Wednesday. We spent the entire morning outside and then had Sr. Janet over for supper in the evening. Here is Jude playing on the front porch.

Peek! His "peek" sounds a little more like "puke!"
Daddy and the kiddos
Jude taking a run for it.
This is how I roll with Cora outside! She gets a bumpy stroller ride so I can follow her brother around.

Gil is tilling the garden. This is tough manual labor since we do not own a working tiller. It was my job last summer, but Gil has graciously taken over (so far...).

Tomato plants.
The new batch of broilers we got a few days after Cora was born. We got 40 this time!!! Yikes!!! Anyone want to come help us butcher???
Jude likes to gather the eggs. See the hen? That is where they lay and there is always one of them sitting on it. So he gets a big stick and yells, "Go away chicken!" That usually does the trick!
Mitch and Minette came from San Antonio last Friday. They came up for a visit along with Gil's parents and grandpa Buhman. Jude didn't want to take a picture too bad at this moment...
...or this moment!
M&M with CC

The men playing cards and drinking tea.

Jude giving baby sis a big kiss.

Introducing Cora Clare

We welcomed Cora Clare into the world at 6:48 am on Sunday morning, May 22, 2011. She weighed 7 lb 11 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. Cora means "maiden" and is a name Gil and I both liked (there aren't many due to Gil's dislike of all names I think!), plus it is his great-grandma's name and the name of one of his aunts (although she went by Charlotte). Clare means "illuminate" or "light", and is for St. Clare, a Fransiscan, so has a Briar Cliff relation. My due date was the 23rd and my choice date was the 21st, so the 22nd ended up being perfect! (in fact Jude was also born the day before his due date, so I guess I know just what to expect for next time!). The labor/delivery went very well (despite the fact that the epidural barely had an effect) and very fast! We got to the hospital at 4:20 am and she arrived a little over 2 hours later. It was nice that it happened quickly, but not so nice that labor was all during the night and then visitors came all during the day. Well, I said that wrong, visitors were very nice, but it was also a very exhausting day! Thank goodness for the first two nights of having the nursery so that we could get a little shut eye in between feedings and blood pressure takings and all the other interruptions you get with a hospital stay. We ended up delivering at St. Luke's and overall had a very good experience. The other bad part about delivering in the morning though is that you need to stay two whole days and part of another. We were SO ready to come home!

Now that we are at home we have been able to get a little more rested. She has done quite well at night. Actually, she is a very content and pleasant baby so far. Eats great, poops great, sleeps great (despite waking every two hours), what more could you ask for?! Jude LOVES his "sisser." He often looks at her and says, "So cute!" He loves to point out her body parts, give her her binker, and play the music on her swing. He has even been willing to share toys (not that she is the least bit interested!). But he has also shown a few signs of jealousy and being uncomfortable not getting all the attention he demands. It was great the day of her birth though. He was on cloud 9 with the baby, both grandparents there, and especially the presence of cousin "Ashy."

It is amazing that even though Jude is only 2, I have already forgotten so many things about newborns. Like the startling reflex, falling asleep while eating, all the guesses of feedings and diapers, and how EASY they are compared to a two-year-old (except at 2 am). It is also amazing how it has all come back to me. Definitely easier for me the second time having a little experience to draw on.

Cora had her first well baby check yesterday. She has NO jaundice (something we were very concerned about since Jude had such a rough start with it. so that means no supplementing or bilirubin lights!). Plus she is at 7 lb 8 oz already. We are just so thankful and feel so blessed! We have been given a very healthy baby girl and have a very healthy and energetic big brother for her:)

Here she is moments after birth.

Sleeping in the hospital on the quilt Grandma Carolyn made for her.

Feeding and pee/poop tracking at the hospital.

At home:) This is a hat my grandma Mary Lou crocheted for her.

Jude holding his baby sister.

Sporting the headband from Aunt Alissa and laying on the quilt I made.

Funny Face:)

Sleepy girl

To Pay or Not to Pay?

Here are some pics I took of Jude the other day after school. I really like taking pictures and wish I remembered to do it more often. Right now I am contemplating getting professional pictures taken of the new baby and for Jude's second birthday. They are just sooooooo much money when I really only want a couple to hang on the wall. I mean having an excess of pictures is fun for a while, but really just excessive! Maybe I should just buy a good camera and take a class. I love to do things myself, that is another part of the issue. Hence the quilt that I made myself! Despite the various flaws, I made it!!!

On another note, I am 39 weeks along tomorrow...not sure if I'll make it through the week or not as I was at 3 cm last Wednesday. But I didn't know if I'd make it through last week and here I am! Who knows, maybe I'll even make it to the due date. The ideal time period for me is May 19-22. The last day of school for kids is the 18th and the last teacher day is the 20th. Then Gil's sister, Brittany, leaves for Spain for 6 weeks on the 24th, even though that is the ideal day for my doctor (she is not on call the weekend of May 20-22 due to her daughter's high school graduation). I guess we'll WAIT and see:)

Oh, yes, and the curtains I also made myself!!!

More Jesus!

Here are some videos of last weekend that I couldn't get to upload earlier (and I'm not so sure they worked now either...). Also, I completely forgot to mention another big event that took place. Last Friday Jude got his first real haircut (Besides the buzz cut he got last July, we have never cut his hair. That was Gil's decision by the way!). It was actually done, by chance, by a woman who is the mother of a boy he goes to daycare with. Landon is just about Jude's age, so she was really good with him. And he did amazing (much better than I expected for being tired, grumpy, and having a general dislike of sitting still!). The thing that kept him the most occupied was having the spray bottle of water and shooting himself in the eye! I, of course, forgot my camera, but did get some good shots on my phone. I just have no idea how to get them from my phone to here! Anyway, I think it turned out nicely. It is still long (as you can see in the previous photos), but at least it is not in his eyes or looking like it should be in a ponytail!

Another Jude story I want to share has to do with bedtime. I am the put-to-bedder of the family generally. And we have gone through various stages with the whole bedtime routine. It used to be that when he was tired I laid him down and he went to sleep. Not much to that routine. Quick and easy! (mind you this was after a long time of sleepless nights, I did get my share!). Then he started to be sad when I left so we started reading books before I laid him down to get ready for it. From books we went to songs, then books and songs, then songs and books and milk, and lately we have even used the ipad for "stories" before bed. Jude is absolutely in love with the ipad and has his own folder of activities from which to choose. He is really good at it. The only problem is he NEVER wants to put it away once it is out. He also thinks it is his turn to use it whenever he sees it and "stories" automatically has come to mean the ipad. Anyway, no matter the routine it is never enough. If I say goodnight I can bet I'm going to hear one of these: "More Milk!" or "More Songs!" or "More Stories!" But the latest is, "More Jesus!" Now, I'm not quite sure where he got that. We do occasionally pray, but I have to admit I'm not as good about doing that as I wish I was. But how can I forget when my two-year-old is insisting on more Jesus! So we pray and thank God for all of our family and our pets and our food and friends. We go through a whole list and I'm pretty sure he thinks it is a game because whatever I say (like, "Thank you for this day"), he will say, "No day," and wave his hand in the air. He does this for everything I pray for, but giggles and seems to think it is funny. We also sing some Jesus songs now and he likes those too. Hmmmmmm, I'm still not sure what is going on in his little mind about Jesus, but I love that something is! And let me tell you, it is tough to leave the room at night when he is screaming, "More Jesus!"