Outing

Today, after 9 weeks of having 2 children, I took my first solo outing with both children (besides a trip to church when Josh had drill). I am physically feeling better than I have felt in months and with Adelyn sleeping through the night more I thought I was rested up for the challenge.

Hunter & I used to take all kinds of outings during the week when it was just the two of us. I have really missed that freedom and flexibility lately and I am not the only one. In fact, Hunter asked me if we could go to Target this week. Love that kid! So this morning I decided it would be fun to go to the mall and hit up the train table at Barnes & Noble. I fed Adelyn, changed her and packed the diaper bag. And off we went. Adelyn tends to hate being put in her car seat so the first five minutes of the drive she was screaming. But then she fell asleep. And she slept for about an hour!

During that hour, Hunter and I read several books, played with trains and he spent a lot of time on my lap. Just like old times! When she woke up, I told Hunter to play with the trains so I could feed her. For the most part, he stayed right in the area. As I was feeding Adelyn, she had a blow out. It wasn't until I got home that I realized some of it got on my shirt... true sign of motherhood: walking through the mall with poo on your shirt. I got her cleaned up, then finished feeding her and by then it was time to go home to eat lunch. I told Hunter it was time to go, turned to put Adelyn in her car seat and heard Hunter screaming, "NO!!!!" He took off running as fast as he could away from me. I had a moment of sheer panic... do I dare try to maneuver a giant double stroller quickly through the store as I chase after my 2-year-old? Or do I leave Adelyn and all my stuff here and chase after him? Thankfully, he unknowingly turned and ran back toward me down a different aisle. I was able to corner him while not going too far from Adelyn.

Then, I desperately had to go to the bathroom. Our stroller is a "sit and stand" so if you use an infant carrier, the other child must stand. Hunter is usually pretty good at standing on the stroller and he likes it. But this does not strap him down. So, without going into too much detail, in the middle of me using the restoom, Hunter runs around the stall and unlocks the door. With the door wide open and my 2 year old exploring the entire bathroom, I quickly pull my pants up and chase after him once again.

Finally, we make our way to the van. I have gotten in the habit of opening the door on Adleyn's side, letting Hunter crawl through, putting Adelyn in her seat and then walking around and strapping in Hunter. I did that, shut the door so I knew both kids were in the van, and then attempted to put the stroller in the back of the van. I wrestled that thing for a good 2.5 minutes and could not get it to fold down. So I tried to put it in the back of our van with it standing up. But the door wouldn't close, so I put it back on the ground and tried again to fold it. All the while, Adelyn is screaming and Hunter is terrorizing my van, since I haven't strapped him into his seat yet. Finally the stroller collapsed, just in time for me to save Adelyn from getting her eye poked for the 12th time this morning.

Adelyn screamed the whole way home.

I am glad I went and I know Hunter had a great time until I told him it was time to go home. And I find hope in knowing that this will get easier!

2 kids

Today was our first full day home with two children. That's right, little Adelyn was born! It has been so fun to welcome her into our family. Hunter has been phenomenal with her today. He loves her so much. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Hunter said, "Baby sister eating mommy's belly." That must be what breastfeeding looks like to a two year old.
2. I said, "Hunter, baby sister is too small to pillow fight you." This is after he put a pillow on top of her. (We also had to discuss not smashing baby.)
3. Anytime Hunter cannot see baby sister he gets a nervous look and asks lovingly, "baby seester?" He must know where she is at all times.
4. A friend brought us dinner tonight and she and I talked for a bit. I asked if she would like to hold Adelyn and of course she did! As I was handing Adelyn to her, Hunter panicked. He said "Baby sister hold mommy! My baby sister, MINE!" He is already showing signs of being a protective older brother!
5. Hunter came up to me and said, "Baby sister play with trains in her crib." He then walked Josh and I to Adelyn's room and showed us how he put all of his favorite trains in her bed so that she could play with them when she want to sleep. So sweet! But this led to another conversation about little babies and their safety.
6. This evening I wanted to get pictures of Hunter and Adelyn together, so I placed Adelyn on the floor on a blanket. Hunter came over and gave her a few kisses and then said, "Baby sister needs to be covered!" He then ran to his room and got his two special blankies. When he got back, he covered her up very gently and sweetly, making sure to not get it on her face. My heart absolutely melted.
7. I just asked Josh what his favorite memory of the day was. He said that it was when he was changing Adelyn's diaper this evening. Apparently as soon as he got it off she pooped again. And then he got a new diaper on her and immediately she did it again. Then as he was putting a new one on her she "shooted poo" in a direct line, like a "stinky goo gun." He thought it was sooo funny.
8. Josh also said that he loved watching Hunter continue to bring toys out for Adelyn, like a ball or a train, and then proceed to ask her to play. He always wanted to make sure she had something to do.
9. In the rare moments little Adelyn was awake today, I loved watching her soak in her surroundings. There is such wonder in those little eyes, as they try to focus on the things around them. She loves to look at the Christmas tree... I'm sure the lights keep her attention.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all easy. But overall, we are so impressed with Hunter's love and acceptance of his new sister. I hope his fascination with her lasts a long time. He is a precious little boy and this little girl is such a blessing to us.

We continually praise the Lord for the blessing of parenthood. I feel so unbelievably blessed.