We visited the pumpkin patch!

This is how Micah spent most of the afternoon. I love this wrap! I can carry him around and still have use of both of my hands. Plus I can carry him for hours and my back does not hurt!

Elias loved the pumpkins!

Micah was SO not impressed with the pumpkins.

This is not from the pumpkin patch, but it is too cute! He has the best cheeks. They just attract kisses!

Sweet smile!

Sleeping Arrangements

It is funny how the first thing people ask you when you have a newborn baby is "Does he sleep good" or "Are you getting any sleep?". I usually answer these types of questions with "He sleeps like a baby. He is up every 2-4 hours to eat." The truth is that Gus and I go into "survival mode" during the first few weeks of our boys' lives. That means that we do whatever it takes for us all to get as much sleep as possible. Thankfully I have an AMAZING husband that is willing to help me with this. Right now our sleeping arrangements start the night with Micah and Gus sleeping in the guest bed and me in our bed. (By the way, some think it really "bad" or "strange" that we allow the baby to sleep with us, but did you realize that ALL other mammals sleep with their newborn young?) Gus brings the baby to me when he needs to be fed, which usually falls anywhere between 1am-3am. I nurse, change, and get him back to sleep and take him back to Gus. Micah will wake up to eat again about 2-3 hours later. After this feeding, I will sometimes take him back to Gus or just keep him with me. Also somewhere in the 2am-3am range Elias will wake up and come to my room. I then have to take him and lay in his bed with him for about 10 minutes. Overall I get at least 5-6 broken hours of sleep a night, but I honestly feel pretty good most mornings. These arrangements may seem strange, but it is the way that allows us all to get the best sleep possible with a newborn and 3 year old that STILL does not sleep through the night. In a week or two we hopefully will start transitioning Micah to sleep in the bassinet beside our bed. I hope it works and Gus and I can start sleeping in the same bed again!

On another funny note. Elias told me the other day "You are such a nerd!" He told me that he learned that from watching Spiderman with Uncle Javi. According to Elias, Mary Jane says it to Peter Parker. I probably should not have laughed as hard as I did!

Funny Stuff

I forgot to share a funny story from the weekend. Gus went out on a canoe on the Stone's River with his brother Javi and Elias on Saturday. He said everything was going great until they began to hear a little rumble that sounded like a small rapid was up ahead. Sure enough there was one and they were headed towards it. As they got closer it made Elias and Javi really nervous and Elias screamed out "We are going to die!!" Needless to say, they made it safely down the river, and Elias is ready to go out on the boat again.

3 Years Old!

Elias turned 3 years old today! The last few months he has really turned into a "big kid" as compared to a toddler. I love how funny, smart, and observant he is. That kid never ceases to say the funniest things! He has done so well in adjusting to having a new brother. God has blessed our lives with our sweet Elias.

Week One

Micah is 1 week old today. Things have been going very well. So far he is a very relaxed baby. As long as he is full, he is happy. Elias has done well, too. There have been a few times where he has had a few major meltdown tantrums, but we pretty much expected that he would react in some way.
It is amazing how much EASIER it is to be the mom of a newborn the second time around. The whole time I was pregnant with Micah I would always think of how I felt a little sorry for him that he would not get as much attention as Elias did. There is just no way that we (or anyone else) will be able to give Micah as much one on one attention as we gave Elias. That thought always made me a little sad. However, now after week one I actually feel a little sorry for Elias. As a newborn he got the crazy paranoid, stressed, over-reactive, clueless, thought she was going to kill him or scar him for life over every little decision mom. Micah, on the other hand, gets the relaxed, calmer, more self assured (though not an expert) mom. My calmer mood has made such a difference this time around. Being the mommy of a newborn is actually pretty easy. Being the mommy of a 3 year old is what is hard!

Family of Four

Micah Thomas is here! He was born at 4:02 PM on Tuesday, September 22 weighing (a surprisingly big) 8.3 pounds and 20 inches long. He is our chunky little cutie pie.
Labor went incredibly smooth, thanks to an epidural that worked. I cannot believe the difference a working epidural made. With Elias the epi failed completely and I felt everything the entire 9 hours of labor. With Micah I was able to sleep (I was shocked that I could SLEEP during labor!) and relax. Labor was about 7 hours, but I pushed him out in only 4 or 5 contractions.
Elias is IN LOVE with his baby brother and constantly wants to shower him with hugs and kisses. Actually we all love to shower him with lots of hugs and kisses. He is such a cuddly baby. We are incredibly thankful and blessed for our two healthy boys!

Proud daddy!

Mommy and her boys. I look really tired here!

The night Elias met his baby brother. He was very upset that Micah had to stay in the hospital.

He came out ready to eat! I am waiting to download my better pictures.

Pictures

Since I am seriously slacking in the blogging world, I will post a few pics to help make up for it. These are from our trip to Texas

Elias with my niece, Alexus, and nephew, Isaiah.

Elias reading with Nana.

He did A LOT of swinging in Nana's yard.

Elias with his cousins Darion, Isaiah, and Alexus(my niece and nephews). Unfortunately we are missing Zackary in this picture. He was busy kicking butt at a baseball tournament.

Here is Elias and Gus when they were reunited after 3 weeks apart. I honestly think that is the biggest smile I have ever seen on Elias!