Roman...a little about our little man

Roman is the sweetest, laziest, most laid back baby. If he isn't hungry or tired, he usually isn't making a peep.
Josh and I have had a blast trying to figure out his personality, and even who he looks like. Some people say Josh, some say me, I don't think either of us are really sure who he looks like.
He loves to sit up and smile.
He is a huge flirt with the ladies. The smirk he gives melts my heart every time.
He is finally able to hold his head up really well, like I said he's lazy!
He hates tummy time, so did Mia, so no rolling over for the little man.
He sleeps in his crib and prefers to be laying flat over being in his swing (such the opposite of Mia).
He nurses quick and then loves to snuggle after.
He is starting to giggle and loves when daddy talks to him..
There is something very special about having a boy. I am so glad we have one of each and truly feel like our family is complete. He is so different from Mia and I love that about him. I am amazed every day at how much I can love these two precious babies. They remind me to enjoy the small things in life.
I don't always mind the late night feedings, as the house is quiet, and there is something so special about bonding with my baby boy in the midst of the quietness. We are blessed and I hope we continue to remember that as the days, months and years go by.

Roman sporting his cloth diapers

All Smiles

Sporting the BEARS outfit
He fell asleep on the floor with Nicole (something Mia NEVER would have done)
Sitting in his bumbo like a big boy!

All about Mia

This is so much to say about our little girl, the new "big sister". Mia is such an amazing little girl who never ceases to amaze us, and always keeps us on our toes. It was such a blessing to have all summer off to spend with her and Roman. We did so much and kept ourselves very busy. We had LOTS of playdates with our good friends, Emily and Jackson, who moved away at the end of the summer. We miss them already. We enjoyed playdates with E&J and Abbie and Campbell at Miss Effie's Flower Garden and we spent lots of time at the park, pool, family museum and Monkey Joes. Life is good.
Here is Jackson and Mia on the tire swing

Here she is at Miss Effies

Here is our little fashionista
She has decided she also loves to "feed" her baby. She feeds her baby "Mia food" while Mommy nurses Roman.

She also likes to wear her baby sometimes.

At the end of August, Mia started school, yes school. Okay, it's actually a Parent's Day Out program that meets twice a week, but she is LOVING it. I think it is really good for her. She is learning some things, but most of all she is having to wait in line, take turns, be a leader and so on. I think these are great skills for her to work on.

Here she is on her first day of school.

Here are Mommy and Mia at the park

And daddy and Mia at the park

Mia continues to be VERY strong-willed and we have more than our fair share of timeouts, but overall she is such a funny, smart, adorable, loving little girl.

Here are current fun facts about Mia as of today:
1. She is 40 pounds (and wears 4T-5T clothing)

2. She prays before every meal and every night before bed. Her prayers are simple and sweet, and as a mom I love hearing my little girl pray.

3. She knows her ABC's
4. Her numbers up 13 and with help up to 20.

5. She can identify shapes

6. All her animals and the sounds they make

7. She speaks in sentences and uses her manners MOST of the time.

8. She says the funniest things (ex. The other morning she comes downstairs wearing her pajamas and I tell her she is beautiful, she looks at me dead in the eye and says "Not a day, mommy, I wearing my jammies." I couldn't help but giggle.

9. She is very inquisitive. She wants to know everyones name, their mommy's name, their daddy's name, what they are doing (okay, maybe she is nosey)

10. She loves church and I love that she loves it.

11. She sleeps in a toddler bed and goes to bed every night with no problem.

12. She loves to imagine and pretend

13. She still LOVES books

14. She loves to sing and dance, her favorite song is "head, shoulders, knees and toes"

15. She makes me smile every day and reminds me how blessed I am!!!

Going from 3 to 4

This will be long so hopefully you will make it to the end.
I can't believe it's been 4 months already. We have survived so much and things have been SO different this time. To make this easier I will break it into sections:
1) Recovery: The recovery has been so much easier this time. It was so wonderful to be able to get out of bed soon after delivery, pick up my daughter, eat, walk around, tend to my son all with out the pain of surgery. I was and am still exhilarated by my birth story. The fact that I pushed this 7lb 11oz baby out with no medication reminds me of what an awesome God I serve and how many people were praying for me during my journey.

2) Nursing: I really want to make nursing work this time. I nursed Mia for 6 weeks exclusively and then was completely done by 12 weeks. She had some stomach issues and we ended up having to put her on Nutramigen. I told myself I was going to try everything to make it work this time. And I did. We noticed early on that Roman was very gassy, having some trouble latching and his stools were a little mucousy. After much research, doctor visits, 2 La Leche League meetings, we decided that I would go dairy free. So for 4 months I have been dairy free, yes that means no cheese, milk, yogurt, ice cream, chocolate, etc. This was my commitment to my son and to making this nursing thing work. Well, it's worked. Roman is over 4 months old and we are still exclusively nursing. It is a wonderful bonding experience and I am enjoying every minute of it.

3) Sleeping: Roman is also a much better sleeper than Mia. He started off just like Mia sleeping on my chest in the recliner, we then transitioned to the swing and at 5 weeks we started transitioning to the crib and since then he has consistently gone to bed every night at 8:30pm and then usually wakes once to nurse, goes right back down to sleep and then wakes up again between 5:30 and 6:30, the great thing is for many this would start the morning, but Roman nurses and goes back to sleep AGAIN!! YAY!! Usually until around 7:30 or 8:00. What a good little baby.

4) Getting out and about: Well, we were a pretty active family before Roman and we have kept up that lifestyle and he has just adjusted to it. It's been great. Yes, taking 2 out requires a little more planning and a few more things in the bag, but we get it done. I even take them out quite a bit by myself. We go to Target, the park, Stroller Strides, play dates, the zoo, you name and we have been there. That is another difference with a second baby...with Mia we didn't go ANYWHERE...we sat at home and stared at her. Roman gets to go everywhere with the family. Of course, he sleeps most of those places!

5) Diapers: So after talking with quite a few friends and doing some research, we decided to cloth diaper Roman. Okay, I actually decided and Josh grudgingly went along with the idea.
So since he was about 6 weeks old we have been cloth diapering using the BumGenius 3.0 and I love it! It's easy, it's quick and best of all it was cheap. There was a sale so my entire stash cost me $200, just think that is only about 5 boxes of diapers...do you know how fast you go through a box of diapers?

6) Mia: Mia adores him!!!! She was a little unsure at first, but the moment we brought him home she loved him. She is always asking where her "bubba" is, wants to check on him every morning when she wakes, likes to hold him on her lap, give him multiple kisses a day, and always makes sure he has his "momo" (pacifier). She is so sweet with him!!
With us on the other hand is a different story. She decided it was a good idea to be a little naughty after bring Roman home. She would always wait until I was nursing, since she knew I couldn't do anything. Oh Mia! Good thing we love you so much.

Well, there is tons more, but I will cut it off here as to not bore you, although I may have already done that! :)

First days

We decided it was time to go back and start updating the blog so that Roman's life is documented as well! So I will start off with some pictures and then try to get semi caught up and then be more diligent about writing. I don't even know if any one even reads this, but it will be fun for us to go back every now and then and see how much life has changed.
Here are some great pictures.

Here is Mia meeting Roman for the first time, so sweet

Mia and Mommy and RomanOur first family picture

Daddy and his babies

Sweet baby Roman
Mommy and Roman (1 day old)

Back to the bump and grind...

So today after looking back through old post, I realized how much I loved reading the old stuff I had blogged about. It's been 4 months since I have written and we (Josh and I) decided it was time to start keeping track of all that's going on in life again so we don't forget. It's so easy to forget what happened just a short time ago.
So if you are reading this, there should be lots of new posts to come!