How Can Life Get Any Sweeter Than This?

I'm in a sweet season with my boys. Aiden is independent and fun and says the most hilarious things. Alder is the happiest and most content baby ever and now these two little boys of mine are interacting. The very first thing Aiden says when he wakes up is "Where's Alder?" His favorite thing to do is touch Alder's head and talk "baby talk" to him. When they see each other, they smile really big smiles. Alder is so fascinated with everything Aiden does and he is beginning to laugh at the things that his big brother is doing.

Lately when I watch these two together, I find myself thinking "how can life get any sweeter than this?"

I want to freeze time. I want these two to stay little and innocent to all that's out there in the world. I want it to be the 4 of us laughing and cuddling on the couch together forever. I don't want this season of me being their favorite to end. Of playing cars on the "vrooming chair" and reading our favorite stories on repeat. Of me being the one to kiss their boo boos and rock them to sleep.

Again I wonder "how can life get any sweeter than this?"

But then I realize I've had these thoughts before. On my wedding day when I was surrounded by my favorite people in a beautiful dress on a sunny day standing next to my sweetheart making promises of forever.

"How can life get any sweeter than this?"

The moment Aiden was born and he was laid on my chest. When I stared in to his big brown eyes and felt his heart beat.

"How can life get any sweeter than this?"

Our first family vacation together, when I watched Aiden touch the sand and play in the water. When we were care free and sun kissed.

"How can life get any sweeter than this?"

And then again when I met Alder. He flipped my world upsidedown. The way he grabbed my finger almost immediately after he was put on my chest. The way his daddy looked at him. The moment Aiden met Alder and "us 3" became "us 4."

"How can life get any sweeter than this?"

So I guess the answer to my question is, it can and it does. 

I'm glad I have so many more sweet moments to come, but I am treasuring the sweet moments of today.

Our Family Summer Bucketlist

We are almost in July already (how is that possible?!) but I still wanted to post our family Summer bucket list. Some of these things are already crossed off the list, but we still want to knock out a bunch more before summer ends! This year our Summer Bucketlist is all about having fun on a budget. We aren't going on an actual vacation beachside this year, but we plan to have just as much fun enjoying things our city and surrounding cities have to offer. 

Indianapolis Zoo

Indianapolis Children's Museum

Columbus Zoo

Visit as many splash pads as possible

Findlay Market

Washington Park picnic

Let Aiden experience his first Rootbeer Float at the Rootbeer Stand

Aiden's first Red's Game

Go see Cars 3

Touch a Truck

Dinner date at a new restaurant

Celebrate our 8th Anniversary just the 2 of us

Take Alder swimming

Let Aiden stay up late to catch lightning bugs

Hike a new trail

What's on your Summer Bucketlist?

On the eve of my 32nd birthday...

On the eve of my 32nd birthday...

I did not wear any make up.

I took Aiden to the park and walked through the creek looking for buffalo. (Toddlers are hilarious)

I wore a t-shirt that said "Mama All Day Everyday" and didn't change out of it after being spit up on.

I made my silliest faces to get my baby to giggle.

I played on the floor with both my boys and thought to myself how blessed I am to watch them grow.

I did 3 loads of laundry (and folded none of it).

I danced around the kitchen to Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling." wearing Alder in my ring sling as I cooked dinner (*note to 32 year old self: I am way better at multitasking now than ever before)

I watched my toddler laugh hysterically at Winnie the Pooh as he watched it for the first time.

I read books to both boys, prayed over them, sang Jesus loves Me and kissed each of them goodnight.

I rewatched an old episode of Parenthood and cried.

I talked to my Mom on the phone.

I kissed my husband goodnight and he told me how happy he was to be by my side as I get old, to take care of me and watch me as a Mama. (Bless that man)

I smiled really big laying in bed thinking of all my blessings in my (almost) 32 years of life and how I wouldn't trade this life of mine for anything.

Alder Jacob {4 Months}

This little fella makes me so incredibly happy. I just can't believe he has been a part of our family for 4 months (and counting). He continues to be such a sweet and chill baby. He is constantly smiling and giggling and I'm so proud to be his Mama. 

This month was a big one in the sleep department. We overcame the 4 month sleep regression (so terrible) and we moved Alder out of his Rock N Play. He started busting out of swaddles so we also transitioned him out of his swaddle and into the Baby Merlin magic sleep suit, which truly has been magical for both my boys. I also had to do a little sleep training and help Alder learn to self soothe so that he could fall back to sleep on his own and not require me to feed or rock him. That took some work, but has been totally worth it. Now we lay him down for a nap or put him down to bed so easily. He is also sleeping with this puppy because he loves to snuggle up with it. I mean is there anything cuter than a baby hugging a stuffed animal as they fall asleep?  

The biggest difference in Alder this month is his strength. We call him Hulk baby because of the way he was busting out of swaddles. He is constantly moving and wriggling around and he is now rolling over as well. He is always on the move and I feel like he will be an early crawler and walker because he just doesn't want to stay still anymore. He wants to be up playing with Aiden. This month we also added another zoo to Alder's list of zoos he's been to. 3 zoos in his 4 months of life and more to come.

Alder is his Daddy's mini me. My only claim to him is his blue eyes. The comments I most often hear about Alder are 1.) He's so smiley 2.) He has such long toes and 3.) He looks just like his Daddy. I'm a lucky lady. ;)

A few stats about Alder at four months: 

Weight: 15 pounds 15 ounces (Lets just call him 16 pounds shall we?) (61st percentile)

Height: 26.25 inches (83rd percentile)

Size clothes: 3-6 month clothes, but I am in the process of putting most of those away. 6 month clothes here we come. Another thing I have to mention about clothes...this kid goes through so many more outfits in a day than Aiden did. Somehow he manages to poop through at least one outfit per day.

Sleeping: After waking up every 2 hours for a stint I decided things weren't getting any worse so we just went for it and transitioned out of the swaddle and the Rock n Play. He is sleeping 6-7 hours now (usually from 7:30ish to 2:30ish) then he wakes up to eat and goes back to sleep for another few hours.

Random stuff only parents want to know:

Nicknames: Big hunny, Big baby, Hulk, Sweetie.

Likes: Laughing at his big brother, splashing in the bathtub, attempting to escape any position he is being held in (where does he think he is going?), sleeping in the Ergo360, being tickled, pooping through outfits (still), rolling over, smiling and grabbing his toes.

Dislikes: Not being able to roll over from back to front yet (he is trying so hard!), the siren on Aiden's toy ambulance (he instantly puckers up his lip and cries), waiting to be fed.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Alder from this month...

We love you Alder J.

Watch Alder Grow...

            One Month Update                        Two Month Update                       Three Month Update

See Aiden at FOUR months here!

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Aiden's Playlist

Aiden absolutely loves music and loves to dance. If he is sitting in his chair at meal time and a song he likes comes on, he says "get out and dance" and we literally have to unbuckle him and let him shimmy and shake until the song is over. If Aiden at age 2.5 created a playlist for himself, this is what it would be....

Track 1: "Happy" by Pharell
I wish you could see the look on Aiden's face when he hears this song. He immediately smiles and then starts to dance around the house.

Track 2: "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley
I have always been a worrier, but I don't want my kids to be. I sing this for myself and in the hope that they won't worry as much as I did growing up.

Track 3: "She'll Be Comin Round the Mountain"
He loves trains, so this became a quick favorite.

Track 4:"Linus and Lucy" Peanuts Characters Theme Song
My child has never seen an episode of Paw Patrol or whatever other show is popular with toddlers. He does however love watching Charlie Brown, especially when the Peanut gang dances.

Track 5: Humpty Dumpty
He is currently obsessed with reciting Nursery Rhymes. He quotes them all the time and this one is his favorite.

Track 6: "The Scary Song" original lyrics by me
One day out of nowhere as Aiden and I were singing together, he requested a scary song. I said I don't know any scary songs, but I can make one up. So I did. And it was an instant hit. 

Track 7: "Substitutiary Locomotion" Bedknobs and Broomsticks Soundtrack
What 2 year old loves this movie? Haha. Mine does. We introduced this movie to him after he watched and loved Mary Poppins. This song is one he acts out. We usually have to get out a pair of Drew's dress shoes for him to move around along with this song.

Track 8: "I love to laugh" Mary Poppins Soundtrack
I hope this song is one that always makes him smile. I sang this to him when he was little and now he sings it to me and we laugh obnoxiously together.

Track 9: Polar Express Theme Song
I think this last week was the first week since before Christmas that Aiden has not requested to watch Polar Express and drink hot chocolate.

Track 10: "Life is a Highway" Cars Soundtrack
He is obsessed with all the Cars movies (and all things cars in general) so he always taps his foot when this song comes on. 

Track 11: "Step in Time" Mary Poppins Soundtrack
This one is my all time favorite to watch him dance to. He jumps on chairs aka the chimney, rolls around, jumps up and down and kicks his legs along with the chimney sweeps. It is hilarious.

Track 12: "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"
A frequent bedtime song request and one of the first songs he ever learned to sing.

Track 13: "Jesus Loves Me"
He requests this song be sung to him before naps and before bedtime. It melts my heart.

What songs would be on your child's playlist?

I've Got This...Oh wait.

Something you typically don't hear Moms say when it comes to raising their children is "I've got this!" That's because as soon as you think you have the parenting thing down and you are feeling confident, your child enters a new stage and you have to figure everything out all over again. Here are a few examples...

The Newborn phase where every thing is a mystery including the color of their poop. Even if you've already been through the newborn phase, when you do it again it's still just as crazy. As soon as you have swaddling mastered, breastfeeding is going well and you are getting a few consecutive hours of sleep...BOOM, enter the infant phase.

The Infant phase where nothing is safe. Everything gets grabbed and put in their mouths. You have just figured out your child's "schedule" and then BAM a growth spurt or BOOM teething and everything gets thrown out and you are back to square one. Then there's the dreaded 4 month regression, introducing solids, moving them into a crib...all game changers once again to your parenting game, but just wait...

The Toddler phase where your child is now a walking talking human with strong opinions and ideas. AKA you are riding an emotional roller coaster every single day and tantrums pop up without warning. You think you have your sweet infant under control and it's so nice to be able to strap them in to a carrier or stroller and go, but now that you have a toddler, you have to start thinking about discipline and how to respond when your child does something to publicly humiliate you like throwing a tantrum in the middle of Target or running away from you in a parking lot. Then there's potty training and the transition out of the crib where every night is a new surprise. Will they stay in bed? Will they wet the bed? Will they get up and magically open the door and escape? Will I sleep tonight? Help!

And these are just the phases I've experienced so far and I haven't even mentioned how you feel when you add another child to the equation. So yeah, you will never hear me say "I've got this" when it comes to parenting and if I do say it, I'm sure it will be short lived.

Parenting is humbling and always an adventure. The best adventure if you ask me.