Mother of Two

I read this online the other day and it really resonated with me. Since I know that there are other readers of this blog who either...a. Recently added a second addition to their family...b. Are about to have another child...or c. Are pondering the idea of baby#2, I decided that I would share it here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did...

LOVING TWO

I walk along holding your two-year-old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship.

Suddenly I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited.

And I wonder, how could I love another child as I love you?

Then he is born, and I watch you.

I watch as the pain you feel at having to share me as you have never shared me before.

I hear you telling me in your own way, "Please love only me" and I hear myself telling you in mine "I can't".

Knowing in fact that I never can again.

You cry, I cry with you.

I almost see our baby as an intruder on the precious relationship we once shared.

A relationship we can never have again.

But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being, and feeling almost guilty.

I'm afraid to let you see me enjoying him -- as though I am betraying you.

But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity, then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.

More days pass, and we are settling into a new routine.

The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast.

But something is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just us two.

There are new times -- only now we are three.

I watch the love between you grow, the way you look at each other, touch each other.

I watch how he adores you, as I have for so long.

I see how excited you are by each of his new accomplishments.

I begin to realize that I haven't taken something from you, I've given something to you.

I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you.

I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong.

And my question is finally answered to my amazement.

Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you, only differently.

And although I realize that you may have to share my time, I know you'll never share my love.

There's enough of that for both of you -- you each have your own supply.

I love you both and I thank you both for blessing my life.

-Author Unknown

Pumpkin Patch 2008

We had a great time visiting Summers Farm in Frederick on Saturday. We met Tasha, Jeff and Coldon there and enjoyed a chilly but sunny few hours on the farm. Abby really loved seeing all of the animals, sliding down the huge slides and getting lost in the corn maze. Her favorite part however, had to be the giant pit filled with corn kennels. It took us about 20 minutes just to get her out of there!! Landon and Coldon were quiet observers of the festivities this year, but I'm sure they will love running around along with Abby next October!

Getting up close and personal with the animals...

Enjoying the makeshift slides...

Almost 3 feet tall!!

Getting lost in the burlap maze!

Enjoying the "Oh, so fun" corn pit...

She loved husking the corn so much in the corn maze that we thought we just might hire her out!

A Family Photo (notice Abby can't be bothered from husking for a silly picture!!)

Landon's Four!!

Four months that is!! I can't believe my little man is growing up so fast. He is just so darn cute and I can't seem to kiss those adorable cheeks enough! He loves to roll around the room now and has tried scooting with his strong little legs (I'm very discouraging of this however, I still enjoy his limited mobility!!) He can tripod sit for a little while and loves to put things in his mouth so that he can slobber all over them. He is even sleeping in his own room now. Ahhhhhh, where did my little newborn go?? And he definitely isn't so little anymore...at his 4-month checkup he weighed in at 16 lbs and measured 27 inches. He is long and plump, just the way we like our babies!!

And for your enjoyment, I will throw in a funny "Abby Story." (This actually happened a couple of months ago, but I don't think I ever blogged about it.) Abby loves going outside and bringing me all kinds of fun treasures that she finds out there (rocks, sticks, dirt...you get the idea.) Well one morning she was having a grand old time playing in the dirt under our deck when I heard her calling me. I go outside and she is standing there with her little hands outstetched showing me her newest find and declares, "Look Mom, a kitty!" Ummmm, it wasn't a kitty...it was a tiny dead rabbit she was clutching in her hands (We have a lot of wild rabbits that roam the fields behind our house. How this one died, I am not sure, nor do I care to find out!) I'm sure you can imagine the chaos that ensued as I quickly made her drop the rabbit and did my best at killing all the possible germs I could imagine were crawling all over her hands. This whole incident grossed me out beyond imagine and I still get the "heebie-jeebies" whenever Abby talks about her "kitty" from outside!!

Twin Cousins

I cannot believe that it is already October. I do enjoy the fall so much though, so I'm looking forward to all that this month has to offer (pumpkin patches, family reunion in Williamsburg, and of course, Halloween!!)


Last week I watched my sister Tasha's little boy Coldon for the day. She only works one day a week and usually her husband Jeff is able to watch him during that one day, but when he has to travel for work, I get to try my hand at experiencing what twins would be like (Coldon is just 7 weeks older than Landon!!) I was a little nervouse about how everything would go but it actually went a whole lot better than I thought (although there were a few hairy-scary moments when both were crying to be fed and I wasn't quite sure what to do!) Coldon is such a cutie-pie and I was able to get a few cute pictures of the cousins together. I do have to admit though that I have a newfound respect and admiration for those people who do have twins. I don't know how you do it everyday, especially with newborns...my hat goes off to you!!





I thought this was a pretty funny picture sequence. During our little photo session, Coldon became quite fascinated with Landon's ear...

• Coldon: "Hey, I think I got somethin' here!"
• Landon: "Ha-ha, that's funny!"
  

• Coldon: "This is truly quite fascinating..."
• Landon: "Uhhh, what's this kid doing?"

• Coldon: "I gotta get me a better look at this thing!"
• Landon: "Hey kid, do you see this little fist?"
  
  

Funny Story

We've had a pretty low-key couple of weeks since Jason's parents left. We are enjoying some slightly cooler weather by taking lots of walks and playing outside. I do have a funny Abby story to share though...

Abby's friend Georgie came to visit with his mom, Kim this week. Georgie is in the process of being potty-trained and he was very excited to use the potty at "Abby's house" when he came over to play. After using the bathroom, Kim gave Georgie a little piece of candy and gave one to Abby too, just to be nice (Abby has shown no interest in the potty herself, except she does love to sit on it, unroll the toilet paper, wipe and flush the toilet. She still hasn't actually DONE anything in the toilet though, and I'm in no hurry to train her either.)

A little while later, Abby asked Kim if she could have another piece of candy and Kim explained to her that it was special candy and she could only have another piece if Georgie went to the bathroom on the potty again. At that moment, Georgie walked into the room. Abby immediately went over to him, grabbed his face between her two little hands and said, "Georgie, look at me." Then very seriously she told him, "You NEED to go poop." We all cracked up at how Abby had figured out a way to get an easy piece of candy...let others do the dirty work for you! Oh, my too-smart-for-her-own-good little girl. She's a hoot!!


Landon is growing way too fast and we are really enjoying him. He is rolling all over the place now and grabbing at anything within reach of his two little hands. We love watching him discover the world around him.
So that's it for now. Nothing too exciting, but we are enjoying life with our two little munchkins!

Grandma & Grandpa Come to Visit

Jason's parents came into town last Thursday and we had a great time with them. We spent most of the day on Friday at the National Aquarium in downtown Baltimore. Abby loved seeing all the fish and we all really enjoyed our time there. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the aquarium...

Abby getting up close and personal with the sea creatures.

Grandpa helping Abby learn the difference between frogs and toads.Having fun at the dolphin show.
A cool picture of a sea turtle. Landon and I looking pretty stylish before the 4-D movie.

Abby giving us her "cheesy grin" in front of one huge fish.

We spent Saturday touring the Antietam National Battlefield and then Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids so Jason and I could go on our first date in a looooong time. (Thanks again! We really enjoyed the time alone!) We spent Labor Day at Pen-Mar Park. Grandma played with Abby on the swings while Grandpa, Jason, Landon and I hiked a few miles of the Appalachian Trail. We came home, had a BBQ out on our back deck and spent the evening shopping the Labor Day sales at the Outlet Mall.

But the main reason for their visit came on Sunday, Landon's blessing day. He looked so adorable in his little white outfit and was a perfect angel during the blessing. I had to quickly take him out afterwards though because he had a pretty big explosion in his diaper that I was able to change before it became too big of a mess. Tasha, Jeff and their son Coldon were also able to join us for this very special day.

The whole group together after the blessing.

Grandma and Grandpa with their first "Call" grandson.Our cute little family.And here is some evidence to show just how adorable Landon was in his little blessing outfit...

And since today is Septmeber 4th, I just wanted to publicly wish my little man a happy "3-Month Birthday!" I cannot believe how fast time is flying by. There are times I wish I could freeze him this small because he is just so adorable and fun, but I also look forward to the many changes and discoveries that he will be making during the next year and beyond. We're excited to see what kind of a person our little guy becomes. We love you lil' Landon!!

Abb's First Haircut

Okay, so technically Abby has had a haircut before since I regularly trim her bangs, but she had never gone someplace to take any length off the back of her hair before. We had been growing it out for a while, and by this summer, it had grown to about the middle of her back.

Last Sunday, Abby decided that she had had enough of her long hair. I was talking on the phone with my parents and Jason wasn't home. Abby disappeared for a few minutes, but she often will go and play by herself for long periods of time so I didn't think anything of it. A few minutes later I was walking around the house and I kept finding these big globs of hair. At first I thought they might be from our dog Maya, but as I ventured up the stairs and kept finding more and more little tufts of hair, my heart began to sink. When I walked into the bathroom, this is what I found on the floor...

Then I heard a little voice behind me say, "Mom, I cut my hair!" and I turned around to see a huge chunk of hair missing from the left side of Abby's head and several more really short pieces all over. I sank down onto the floor and started to cry! Yes, I cried over Abby's once-beautiful head of hair that had just been hacked off. Abby patted me on the shoulder and said "Mommy, it's okay."

The next day I took Abby to a hairdresser in town and they were able to make her hair look pretty cute despite the chunks that you can still see missing from her head. She actually looks adorable in her new short haircut and seems so much more grown-up now.

What a little stinker!!