Giving In

I have almost three-months-worth of posts to catch up on, but I don't want to tackle the mass of pictures and memories that need sorting at the moment. Life is particularly wonderful right now. The sun is shining, Alice has been sleeping through the night for the past two weeks, and Colby keeps cracking me up (when he's not throwing a tantrum...I've decided that the terrible twos aren't terrible all the time, it's more a season of extreme bi-polarity where he's happy one minute and not so happy the next, so I just have to embrace the sweet and endure the bitter).
:: Spring is here in Tucson (we've experienced Fall and Spring in a two month span) and the weather is gorgeous bordering on hot.

:: Our neighbors gave us a cutting from their grape vine and Robb moved a chunk of our drip system over to water it. Unfortunately, I realized a week later the piece of line wasn't dripping, so we might not end up being the proud owners of a vineyard.

:: We try to grill outside at least once a week. Right now our favorite thing to munch on is grilled pizza. So good.

:: Robb and I went on our first real date, post-Alice, to Bog Spring

The Spring is actually a concrete tub of water at this time of year

But there were trees, the kind you'd see in the Lord of the Rings

And they made my heart happy

So did this guy.

:: The Rodeo came to town (apparently it's a big deal around these parts...school even lets out for two days), and to celebrate, our own little community held a kid version with a mini mechanical bull, horse rides, a petting zoo, and train rides. Colby wasn't interested in the first two events and preferred to admire the animals from a distance, but he LOVED the train.

 :: Both boys need a haircut and I bought ice cream in anticipation (we're not above bribery in this family), Colby is watching Frozen, and I'm looking forward to a mellow evening of snuggling (at least once his hair is cut). 

Highlights of January and February

:: In some ways being the mother of two is easier than I expected. I thought Colby would resent the time and attention a new baby requires. He doesn't, but there is still the expectation that certain things will get done when he asks (like if he wants a snack, it shouldn't matter that I'm feeding Alice). It means I have to be more organized and he has to wait a little and be patient.
I love these two little ones. 

:: Alice on her first day of church

:: Did I mention Colby loves his sister? The headbutt is his version of a kiss.

Other things:
:: My prized hours of audiobook listening are now replaced by Pandora's Disney station
:: Our second bathroom sink is a soak tub for stained onesies
:: Colby put corn up his nose and I had to sit on him while carefully extracting it with tweezers
:: Colby is the perfect height right now for me to rest my chin on his head when he snuggles up onto my lap

Alice Danae: 1 Month

:: Weight at her two week appointment: 7 lbs, 10 ounces

:: Just as she's drifting off to sleep she gives the best smiles and sometimes a tiny chuckle
:: Changing her diapers requires courage. People say boys are the tricky ones to change because the second the diaper comes off, they need to pee. They are wrong. In Colby's two years of life I think he's sprayed me five times...Alice has easily doubled that in her first month (and she likes to projectile poop as well). Good thing she's cute.
:: During tummy time she pushes up with her legs and can move herself forward a couple of inches. I think she'll be an early crawler.

:: She prefers to sit upright and can hold her head up a few minutes before starting to wobble
:: I'm not sure what the female equivalent of male pattern baldness is, but the poor girl has it
:: She doesn't like the cold and tries to pull the blanket over her head and burrow down while she sleeps.

:: Her eye are still a mix of brown and blue, but they're starting to get lighter

:: She goes to bed around 10:00pm, wakes up around 2:00am, and then sleeps until 6:00am (which is when Colby wakes up anyway). 

:: Colby adores her and so do we

Reader's Digest: December

:: After some disappointed searching, we found an amazing Christmas tree lot filled with Oregon-grown evergreens. It smelled like heaven and the tree was perfect. We're definitely going back next year.

:: We took Colby to see Frozen, his first in-theater movie. He kept saying, "wow," over and over again, with big eyes. He's now obsessed with the soundtrack and busts a move whenever he hears a song from it.

:: Robb decked our house out in Christmas lights despite great risk to life and limb

And it sure looked pretty (I wish I took a picture when everything was up, but this was all I managed)

 :: The boys treated me to a pedicure since I couldn't reach my feet and then Colby decided my fingernails needed a little work too.

 :: Colby helped me unload the silverware the morning my contractions started

 and by 6:41 that evening Alice joined our family

:: We sent out our first Christmas card, which means we're officially adults now (just in case finishing college, the two kids, and buying a house didn't do it)

:: My mom came on the 13th to help out and by the next weekend my whole family was here for Christmas.

 We played games and finished a puzzle

Ate wonderful food

 Reenacted the Nativity

 Admired the Christmas lights 

(some of us were more alert than others)

And snuggled...oh, how we snuggled

Christmas Eve we opened our traditional Christmas jammies

The next morning I saw Colby's face light up when he spied the tree.

Christmas is such a magical time of year for a two year old

...and a 27 year old

And then they were gone, Robb went back to work, and I got to experience what being the mother of two is really like.

So far I'm loving it.