Merry Christmas!

Today we celebrate the birth of our Savior! We have had a nice morning, which began blessedly late (for us). The kids woke up at 7:00 and Ashlyn was pleasantly surprised to see Grandma Wenny who flew in last night (Greg flies in today). We all came downstairs and Grandma played with the kids while Mark and I whipped up some waffles and bacon for breakfast. Real bacon, too. Hey, it's Christmas!

So then it was time for presents...I suppose in the future I will have to make muffins or something the night before because I know the kids may not have patience for making breakfast...hmmm. Ashlyn was not very excited about opening up gifts and got rather bored. She went into the kitchen and sat at the table saying, "I want to do crafts." Then we busted out her easel. When she saw the picture on the box, she immediately wanted to paint and was very eager to put it together (see picture). She had a very good time painting and drawing with chalk on the other side. I am going to wish we had bought the drop cloth, eventhough it will be used only in the kitchen under supervision!

Matthew likes his rattle socks (from Auntie Meredith) and had a nice morning nap. Mark is already halfway through his first James Bond movie...I bought him a box set of the old ones for Christmas. Mark tutored me on how to use my new Ipod; he also tutored Grandma Wenny on how to use her new digital camera...he's the tech guy around here! Anyway, we are grateful we could do our share in bolstering the economy :-) I keep reminding myself of why we exchange gifts: to remember the greatest gift we could ever receive. Salvation through the blood of Jesus! We hope to spend the rest of the day relaxing and making room in our heads to meditate on what was done for us when God sent his son Jesus to earth. Merry Christmas, everyone!

"'Fraid That Thing!"

Ashlyn cracks me up all the time. Lately, it is the two-year-old fears that have me in stitches...although I try not to laugh at her because she is serious. It's hard! I think it began with the carbon monoxide detector. She became afraid of it when she leaned up against it one day and it sounded off. It was in the hallway, but after this incident, she would not walk past it without being held. She would whimper, "That thing beeps! Fraid that thing! Nuggle..." with arms outstretched. So now it is in the guest bedroom (a room she doesn't visit frequently).

Now she is afraid of her changing table and will only submit to a diaper change on the floor. So while I was changing her into her jammies this evening, she observed the smoke detector on the ceiling and said, "That thing beeps! Nuggle, nuggle." I really hope she doesn't notice all the things on the ceiling in this house...there are a lot. There are the regular smoke detectors and then the ones for the security system. And there are the glass break detectors for the security system. She would never go in the hallways!

She has even pointed at her little brother and said, "Fraid Matthew." I know that it is common for 2-year-olds to develop fears, but I never thought it would be so funny to me. I will try not to laugh the next time she points at her toy barn and says, "Fraid that thing!"

Bunny's Bum

I was nursing Matthew in his room this afternoon and Ashlyn was playing with her bunny in there with us. She began to lay bunny down very carefully and she was patting him and stroking him. I asked her what she was doing. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: What are you doing, Ashlyn?
Ashlyn: Changin' bunny's diaper.
Me: Oh, did bunny make poo-poo?
Ashlyn: Yeah, I need a wipe.
Me: Well, go ahead and get one.

Ashlyn left the room and re-entered wiping her hands with a pretend wipe. "I got one," she said. She proceeded to clean bunny up, saying, "I wiping bunny's bum."

All day long she proceeded to change her stuffed animals' diapers.

Gearing Up

We are getting ready for Christmas and all I can say is: Thank God for online shopping!! We have gotten some great deals and haven't paid shipping yet. With two little ones, it is such a time-saver, too. Ashlyn is getting an easel to further develop her artistic talents :-)

Matthew might get one toy but he really isn't into playing with stuff right now and has a ton of hand-me-downs anyway. We're too practical. We are not going overboard buying things for Ashlyn, either...she has enough already! Here are some pictures from around the house...some ducks came right up to the porch the other day and we fed them bread. Ashlyn had fun with them until they started pecking the storm door and then she was afraid of them. They left us some nice presents on the porch. :-)

We put up our tree last weekend...Ashlyn enjoyed helping. She piled all the ornaments on one branch. It was a pretty branch until we redistributed the ornaments. We had to, though. There weren't enough!

As you can see, she enjoys piling stuff on her brother, too.

Miss Know-It-All

Sorry there have been no posts lately...I've been trying to get some sleep! I will share a quick story about Ashlyn though. We were on our way to Annapolis for Thanksgiving and she was reading a book. She pointed to a parrot in her book and asked what it was. Here is how the conversation went:

ASHLYN: What is that, Daddy?
DADDY: It's a parrot, sweetie.
ASHLYN: Actually, it's a chicken.

Well, la-dee-da-da! The video below is a demo of some of her repertoire. She's a funny girl.

Daylight Savings Time SUCKS!!

Whoever is responsible for Daylight Savings Time totally stinks. He's dead, but if he weren't, I would write a letter. Ashlyn hasn't figured it out yet that she can sleep an hour later! We put her to bed an hour later, but she's still waking up at the same time--UGH!! It's not like I'm getting tons of sleep these days, either. OK, enough whining. Seriously, though, right now I wish I lived in Arizona!!

My Little Puddle Jumper!

Well, it was rainy last week, and Ashlyn learned that she loves to jump in puddles. On Day Two of Puddle Jumping Extravaganza, the puddles were muddy. Thank God for Oxiclean! While we were at Babies R Us yesterday, I just happened upon some cute boots for our little puddle jumper. They're lined, too, so I think they'll just be good for the winter. Ashlyn was all bummed when we got home from the store and there weren't any puddles to jump in. :-)

Mark says Day 1 of his big inspection went well and just two more days to go and he can have a little time to relax (finally!).

Matthew slept from 6:00 PM last night until 12:30. I went to bed early to take advantage as much as possible of when he likes to do his long stretch. :-) After that, he did not sleep well...I could hear him coughing and gagging a lot. I moved the swing up in his room...I think it will help with the refulx for him to sleep on more of an incline. We'll see.

Ashlyn's Second Birthday!

I can't believe I have a 2-year-old! Ashlyn turned two on October 31st and we had a party for her the next day. It was supposed to be a costume party for the kids, but most of the kids took off their costumes after the first five minutes (Ashlyn never would wear her bunny ears)...so I was the only one in costume. :-) It was a fun party, though. The attendees were: Ashlyn's best buddies from church and playgroup, Grandma and Grandpa Harris, our neighbor Susan and her daughter, Haley (Ashlyn's babysitter), Haley's boyfriend Zach, some friends from the ship and mommy, daddy and Matthew, of course. Zach and Grandpa were the live entertainment, and the balloons were a big hit, too. I saw Zach getting pounded with balloons by enthusiastic four-year-olds almost incessantly.

I made the bunny cake, and even though Ashlyn opted for ice cream instead, she still mentions the bunny cake on occasion. She liked it. I think her favorite gift was a little purse that her Great Grandma Ruth sent...she was carrying it around for days afterwards saying, "I'm going shopping!" And when we asked her what she would buy, she said, "Pancakes and ice cream and brownies." Whoever said to keep your kids away from sugar as long as possible was sooo right!

Learning to Trust Him

Having children is tough for a type-A gal like me. They are unpredictable and they don't always go along with my plans. I am pretty convinced that God has given me "hard to read" babies so that I will have to trust in Him. With Ashlyn, I tried to follow the guidelines described in the book "Babywise," but it never worked out. I had trouble getting her down for naps after every feeding and she would just cry and cry and cry. And because I am such a type-A person, I felt like I must be doing something wrong...to me, Babywise was a roadmap to parenting my new baby. I was a new parent and I needed some guidance. Babywise was it, and I was failing.

When Matthew was born, I had it in my mind that I was going to enjoy my baby and not get caught up in a bunch of rules. Quickly, though, I began doubting myself and went in search of other strategies. Then the Lord gave me a verse during one of my quiet times: "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." (Psalm 118:8)

It has been difficult to trust Him when Matthew is taking a super-long afternoon nap and the Babywise rule-follower in me says: "I must keep on schedule!" "I must wake him to feed him!" But I am learning. I just have to pray for wisdom and trust that I have received it.

James 1:2-8
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

I can't tell you how many times I have been a double-minded mother! I read a little of so-and-so's book and I do that for a few weeks...then it doesn't work so I try another book. Insanity!

I resolve to trust in the Lord! He is the one who knit Matthew together. He knows what is good for my little boy and He has PROMISED to give me that wisdom. It's going to be difficult to not be swayed by all of the professional opinions and all of the advice that is available, but I just pray that God will give me grace to trust Him so that I can honor Him with the way I mother my children.

Mama's Little Helper

Ashlyn is always very concerned with her brother (and keeping him quiet). In the car, when he fusses, she says "Mama give Matthew paci." (And when I can't and he continues to fuss, she puts her fingers in her ears and says, "WAHHH!"). This morning, Matthew was having trouble staying asleep, so I brought him downstairs and put him in his swing. Ashlyn started pushing the swing and then decided that Matthew needed doggie and bunny...so she gave him her two bunnies and her doggie. She is normally very possessive of them, so this is a big deal. Anyway, then I gave him his pacifier and of course he spit it out. So then she stood next to the swing and gave him his pacifier each time he spit it out. Very cute! She made him gag a few times, but other than that, she was a big help! I've caught her chewing on the paci a few times. She is so very interested in pacifiers for a girl who never took one as a baby.
Mark is home for a few days so we are enjoying some time together. Next underway period is his big inspection and then we will have a whole month with him home for the holidays. We are REALLY looking forward to it.

Brotherly Love

Well, it seems that Ashlyn is really starting to enjoy being a big sister! Today while I was getting dressed, I had Matthew in the bouncy seat by the bathroom door and Ashlyn was sort of playing in the general area. She said, "Bunny kiss Matthew," and proceeded to make her lovey (Bunny) give Matthew a kiss right on the nose. He smiled and it was so cute! Later on when I was burping Matthew, she wanted to help. She got a bit vigorous with her patting on his back, but didn't produce a burp. Anyway, it's nice that she likes to help.

Often, when he is crying, Ashlyn will venture a guess as to what is wrong. She will say he's hungry or he has gas or he is tired. She is a great big sister. She in general is a great helper. Yesterday, she helped me water plants (and the floor :-). She had the craziest hair ever since she went down for a nap with a wet head. I think she looks a bit like Annie.

Getting into the Swing of Things!

Well, here we are, five weeks later...finally beginning to figure things out. Matthew is doing amazing...he's already over ten pounds and he's grown over three inches since his birth. That makes sense with all the eating he's been doing! We are starting to figure him out a bit and have learned that he naps very well if he's put down early enough (so much like his big sister!). He is still nursing every 2-3 hours during the day and every 2-4 hours at night. Last night was our best night EVER! He gave me three long stretches of 3 1/2 to 4 hours each. I got eight hours of sleep (in three stretches). I feel so much more human (but not quite altogether normal).

Mark is at sea for two weeks and my dad is flying in to the DC area from Bermuda for a few days, so I have taken the opportunity to come up to visit. I'm staying in Annapolis with my in-laws and my dad will stay here tomorrow night, too, so we can have a nice visit. I'm really looking forward to it especially since I haven't seen my dad in over a year!

Ashlyn is doing great as a big sister. She is bag to her normal self and is more independent (thank the Lord!). She helps give Matthew a bath and tells me when he's crying (and sometimes she'll tell me what's wrong with him: either he's hungry or he has gas). Funny girl.

The video is of Ashlyn (and her bunny and doggie) playing the piano at my in-laws house. She made such a racket she woke up her napping brother. Oh well!

One of those days...

What a day! It began around three, I think, when Matthew had a hard time getting back to sleep after a feeding...at 4:20, I decided to prop him up on pillows and hold him...we did that until about 5:30, when he woke up. I finally got him back to sleep at 6:30 and slept long enough to have a dream about Ashlyn climbing out of her crib to come and get me. I woke up to "Mooooommmy! Moooooomy!" at 6:45.

After breakfast, Ashlyn and I went outside to mark the sprinkler heads for the re-seeding that was supposed to happen today (it didn't). And I ran into a spider web. Gross, but no big deal...until I ran my fingers through my hair and they got stuck in a web and something else. I flipped my hair over my head to look and saw the spider's next meal (a bug wrapped up in web) in my hair. GROSS! I had showered last night, but the first thing I did when we got in the house was shower again. YUCK!!!

So then Mr. Matthew wakes up and proceeds to be overtired and cranky all day long. He would not sleep unless I was holding him...and as soon as I would put him down (unless I'd held him for over 30 minutes), he would wake up. So he had a mid-day nap when I was able to hold him for a long time since Ashlyn was napping, but other than that, he only got to catnap. Finally when I had to put Ashlyn in the bath, I decided to just put him in his bed (because by this time I was so frustrated with him it was just a good idea for all involved). He screamed for about 10 minutes and has been asleep since (about an hour and a half). So he is about 2 1/2 weeks old and has had his first "cry-it-out."

This was the day I was dreading when I realized I'd have a newborn and a toddler with my husband out to sea for awhile. I guess I'm glad it happened because now I know we can survive it!

Man oh Man

So today was my first full day with the two kiddos solo. My mom left yesterday around noon (it feels like a week ago!). Is today really only Monday??? Anyway, it was a little hectic, but nothing unmanageable (by God's grace). Yesterday afternoon, Matthew was so fussy and I couldn't get him to sleep. At some point during the fussing, I had him on the couch and Ashlyn was next to us with a large book. She was watching a video and flipped the book rather suddenly. It whapped Matthew right on the top of the head. After crying about if for about ten seconds, he suddenly opened his eyes and was quiet. It was like--oh, I guess I don't really have anything to fuss about.

We did manage to get out and run to Target this afternoon for a few essentials. It was surprisingly unstressful. Maybe because Matthew slept the whole time. Ashlyn on the other hand...

Matthew has arrived!

Well, we now have TWO kids! It's kind of crazy thinking of it like that. Not that we weren't a family before, but now we REALLY are. Matthew was born on September 12th at 12:08 PM after a fairly quick and intense labor. We managed to do it without drugs, which was great. And this time, I was so much more relaxed and I really was in awe the whole time just experiencing it. I really felt like the Lord was with me. He weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. He has been nursing very well (he's quick!) and sleeping well also. Today we had a check-up for the little guy and he's already regained his birth weight and then some. He weighed in at 7 lbs 8 ounces. What a champ!

Ashlyn is having a bit of difficulty adjusting to her little brother...or maybe it's just adjusting to less of Mommy's attention. It's tough. She's teething two molars, daddy is at sea, and now this! What is a girl to do? (Unfortunately, the answer is: To Whine. A Lot.) I'm doing my best to spend one on one time with her and reassure her, but I honestly think most of the trouble is those darn molars. When they do finally come in, we're totally having a huge party. She has had such trouble teething.

Matthew is very snuggly (he's currently snuggling his Grandma Wendy downstairs). He sleeps well at night, waking every 3 1/2 to 4 hours to eat. We're getting some sleep. Hopefully we will get into a good groove before Grandma has to leave. I'm a little bit apprehensive about her leaving and being on my own for a few weeks before Mark gets back, but I know that God will give me grace for that, too.

Ashlyn the Ham

Not that we don't all know this already, but here are a few stories from this past week...

A few days ago, we were blowing bubbles in the front yard, and she spilled some in the garage. I got the hose and washed out the bubbles, but it was still slippery. I told her not to go over there or she'd fall on her butt. Well, sure enough, she went over there and fell on her butt (thankfully just on her butt). While we stayed outside and continued to play bubbles, she would periodically go over to the spot and say, "Fall butt. Fall butt."

She is reallly into the book, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" right now since there are caterpillars everywhere outside...in the story the caterpillar hatches and goes around eating everything in sight then spins a cocoon and emerges as a beautiful butterfly. When we get to the part with the cocoon, there is a picture of the cocoon, which is just a brown thing the shape of the caterpillar. Everytime we get to this point in the book, Ashlyn says "poo poo." Which is logical, since cocoon kind of sounds like it and the caterpillar has just eaten a LOT of food. "No, Ashlyn, it's a COCOON." And she says, "poo poo" again and smiles.

Today on the way to church, Ashlyn was asking for her daddy, and I told her that daddy was at work on a big boat. So she says, "Dada, big boat. Dada work." And then she says, "Dada swimming?" No, Ashlyn he is working, not swimming..."Dada, beach?" No, Ashlyn he is at work on a big boat. :-)

Oh, and she is currently in her crib reminiscing about the time last week when she stepped in doggie poo and mommy washed off her shoes (she is saying, "Ashyn doggie poo. Wash.") She is a nut.

It's fun having a baby who can kind of talk.