Three Blessings

Tomorrow marks 5 weeks since Price and Maddox were born.  As predicted, it has gone by very quickly…though admittedly not too quickly.  The first two weeks were surprisingly easy and smooth.  Matt and I were getting along famously, the boys were on a synchronized schedule and eating and sleeping well.  Then week 3 hit us.  Honestly, not much changed in the boys' habits, but Matt and I just hit a wall.  He was becoming very stir-crazy, ready to resume outside "normal" activities, I began having some trouble with my exclusively pumping plan while also craving some interaction with the outside world, and overall both of us feeling like life was never going to be normal again.  It was hard.  Matt and I couldn't have a conversation about anything without someone getting an attitude.  I felt very trapped and had become a slave to my breast pump.  I had two clogged ducts and mastitis all in the matter of a few days (none of which I had experienced with Sienna, so I was completely blindsided by the agony of it all).  Matt felt helpless to do anything right.  It was not a pretty week.  And then it got better.  I think a big part of it was just a perspective shift on my part.  I realized that I had to give myself some freedom.  If I missed a pumping session to go out on a date with my husband, then so be it.  I couldn't keep going the way I was and feel sane.  The last two weeks have been so much better.  Don't get me wrong, I still wish getting out of the house to run an errand was easier.  And I dream of the evening when I go to bed and know with absolute certainty I will be getting a full night's sleep.  I knew these first few months were going to be hard, and they have been.  But by the grace of God, Matt, Sienna, Price, Maddox, and I are doing much better than I expected we would be at this point.  Like I said, only by the grace of God.

Sienna is just a gem.  "Delightful" is the word that comes to me most often when I think about her.  Two years old is by all means challenging, but it is also so much fun.  She is talking more and more, putting words together, and she mimics everything.  There are times when she is communicating and I can just see her little brain working trying to figure out what words to put together to say what she wants to say.  She continues to be very independent often telling us to "go away" or "stay" (where we are), so she can go off and do whatever it is she needs to do BY HERSELF.  She adores her baby brothers and often takes time from her busy schedule to give them kisses and hugs.  We also started her in pre-school two days a week.  There is a part of me that feels guilty for this.  I never thought I would start her so early.  But the truth is, it gives me and Matt a few days to get things done around the house and outside the house.  And I also think she needs the change of scenery too.  So far, she seems to enjoy it, but I also know she is excited to come home when we pick her up.  Seeing Sienna "all grown up", it's crazy to think that in just a few months, my boys' personalities will also be developing and they also will become these precious little people that walk and talk!  At least for me, when you are in this newborn phase, it's very hard to imagine.  I love my boys, but as my dad says, "Sienna set the bar pretty high!"  :)

Price and Maddox

Price and Maddox

Price and Maddox

Sienna feeding Maddox!

Maddox

Sienna's first day of school!

Price and Maddox

Maddox and Price

Price and Maddox

Maddox and Price