As yet unnamed!

Happy Halloween!

We are going to try again tomorrow for some better photos but here's what I managed today. Noemie HATES having anything on her head so I got about 5 minutes where she didn't really register that she had something on her head so I snapped away. I think the mirror shot is one of my faves though it's a shame the mirror isn't a tad cleaner. Charlie also didn't cooperate too well as I woke him from his nap, dressed him in the glow worm costume and he woke up hungry and started crying. Tomorrow when Kirk and his Mom are both around to help, we will try again and see if we can even get them both to sit on the couch (Charlie won't be sitting really, just propped up against something) and see if we can get one of them together. It might just be wishful thinking on my part. I'll also try them again with their halloween shirts at some point this weekend as well. In any case I love their costumes and think they both look pretty cute. Shame we couldn't take them trick or treating tonight. It's kinda cold anyway.

I'm so excited as the new Ali Edward's stamps landed at a shop in the UK (Craft Obsessions). I usually try not to get too caught up in the hype of things but I really was looking forward to these stamps so I bought all 3 sets. Kirk took pity on me as I've been spending quite a lot lately, especially on baby stuff before Charlie arrived so I used his credit card rather than my own. I can't wait until they arrive sometime next week I assume as Craft Obsessions are really quick with delivery. I suppose this will be my purchase in the place of the QK Christmas release this year which I don't like. Unusual as I usually love their Christmas alphabet sets. 

My goal this weekend is to spend less time faffing about and more time getting organized. I want to get all my scrap stuff sorted out and put away so that in the future when I have enough spare time in one lump, I'll be able to get some layouts done. It's all a tad chaotic at the moment as it's hard to get Charlie into a routine (he *is* less than 4 weeks old so it's fair enough!) so he is inevitably screaming for his bottle at the most inopportune moments. Evening is the hardest as he cluster feeds for 3 hours and it's at the time that Noemie has her dinner then needs her bath. Dinner time is okay, it's bathtime that's a bit of a problem. At the moment it's fine as I have my MIL here helping me and Kirk's been getting home pretty early (for him). I'm not sure how I will handle the situation when I am on my own as Charlie doesn't cry well for long despite me trying to leave him to it for a while. Within a few minutes he is sobbing and just about hyperventilating. The only time he cries is when he's hungry though so he's a good boy. I suppose in a few weeks it will all work itself out when he goes longer in between his bottles. He is a really good sleeper though other than when he is having a growth spurt. Last night he slept from 9pm until 4:30am this morning. I got up to feed him and do a diaper change and I was back in bed in 38 minutes. Yes, I timed it as it was taking an hour in the past and that's a tad long in the middle of the night. We need to start making up 7oz bottles (210mls) from tonight though as he drains the 6oz ones and then just wants that tiny bit more to knock him out. I am not sure what happens when he can drink more than 8oz as that's all a bottle can hold. It appears he has a serious drinking problem! 

Ok, time to go do a few things before I go to bed. Kirk is feeling better so it's my turn to get a full night's rest. I am so lucky he is willing to get up at night or else I'd die if I had to do night duty every night!

Some more Halloween...

Today we dressed Noemie in some cute Halloween tights with a tee shirt that says "Trick or Treat" though you can't see the shirt too clearly I don't think. It's hard taking good photos in the conservatory at night as the flash sort of bounces off of everything. A friend of MIL's gave Noemie the pumpkin bag which we filled with some candy today and Noemie had a fun time emptying it all out and filling it back up. Charlie was actually wearing a cute little Halloween top as well and I had hoped to put him and Noemie on the sofa for a photo op but he had a bit of an accident on his (how do boys leak out of diapers so easily? Noemie never did...) and then Noemie got some cookie dough smushed on hers. So, I will wash them in the morning and then try again tomorrow some time along with getting them both dressed in their costumes. Lots of photos will be taken tomorrow as I'd assume it will be hard to get them to both cooperate. 

Noemie continues to be so sweet with Charlie. She is really gentle with him despite how rough she is otherwise. It's like she just knows that he is only little and that she has to be kind and careful. The funniest thing happened today though with the dummy. Anytime he drops it out of his mouth, Noemie rushes over to put it back in for him. Of course half the time she is smushing it every which way and it doesn't actually go back into his mouth until I help. Today she got it back in his mouth so we praised her and she was so proud of herself so she spent the next several minutes pulling the dummy back out of Charlie's mouth and then trying to put it back in. Not sure Charlie found it all that amusing but I found it hilarious and took a few photos in the hopes of doing a scrapbook layout about it. It's really cool watching Noemie with Charlie and I'll bet it only gets better as he gets a bit older and can respond other than just by crying or flailing his arms. 

My parents came by today on their way into Central London and dropped off some cute clothes they got for Noemie and Charlie at Benetton. I had no idea they did children's clothing but it's really cute stuff. Noemie also got some new toys so she was a happy bunny today. With all the cute toys and clothes they get, it's like Christmas all the time. 

I better go to sleep as I'm sure I'll be up at some point in a few hours. Charlie was up twice last night which is unusual for him and as Kirk has a cold, I did both wake ups and offered to do tonight as well. Fingers crossed I don't get sick and the kids are okay too. 

Halloween baking

Hoping to get a better photo today of them both wearing their Halloween shirts (costumes are being saved until tomorrow of course) and baking some more cookies. Charlie has the important role of supervising from his bouncy chair. Though his arm looks like it's being supported by the table leg, he actually just stuck it up in the air while I was taking a photo. I'm sure he was trying to tell Noemie what to do. Excuse the pile of junk in the background, didn't want to leave the garden chair cushions out in the rain and the previous owner of the house thought it would be a great idea to put the boiler in the conservatory for some reason. We'll have that moved when we get a new kitchen one of these days. 

I started putting stuff away in my scrap cupboard and soon realized I need to do a bit more decluttering, bit less shopping (like stop completely for a while until some of this stuff gets used up) and a lot more scrapping. My goal is to get all my stuff organized before my MIL leaves as I'll have even less time when I have to look after both kids. Until I hire someone of course... just need to get my act together and make a few calls to get the ball rolling. 

Have to dash, little Miss N is awake and no doubt hungry as it's 2pm! 

Halloween Preparations

Today Noemie decorated the conservatory windows in preparation for Halloween on Friday. Her grandma brought removable decals with her from the States so we spent some time this morning being creative. I took SO many photos but will just share a few and will hope to scrap as many as possible. It's exciting as I have been buying Halloween stash but wasn't sure just how many photos I would get as I only had 2 last year. We're going to bake Halloween cookies on Friday so that will be fun and both kids have costumes to wear also courtesy of grandma. I know what Charlie is going to be wearing but can't remember what Noemie will have. I guess it will be a surprise on Friday. I've got plans to make something to give to both kids on Friday as well so need to get my act together in the next few nights to get it done. Too many things I want to do, not enough time.

Noemie decided that Charlie also needed to be decorated so she stuck a bat to his head but promptly removed it. This of course gave me the idea to add a few other bits to Charlie and take a few photos. I figure if he could actively participate, it's the sort of thing he would do to himself (taking a bit of creative liberty with that assumption of course but I'm the Mommy so just go with it). I think the skull one looks pretty cool. Not surprisingly, he didn't wake up at all. The only thing this kid wakes up for is milk. 

Here he is waking up, losing his dummy and realizing he is hungry so he started crying. Noemie rushed over to him and tried very hard to put the dummy back in his mouth but she got a bit confused and kept putting it in the wrong way. It was so sweet though as she did it again later in the day when he was crying. She also gave him several pats on the head. 

We went to the park this afternoon for a little while to run around. It was SO cold out so we didn't stay too long. Noemie had fun on the swings and the slides and was trying very hard to make friends with other kids. I had two people ask me how old she is and they were surprised when I said 18 months as they thought she was older as she's tall and apparently quite confident for her age. No idea where that came from, she's just always been a friendly little girl. Must be the American and Japanese in her. 

I managed to assemble my scrap cupboard today during nap time and this evening. It's in it's home in the dining room now and tomorrow I will start putting stuff away. I'd do it now but some stuff I need is in Charlie's room and as he's asleep I don't dare go in there and wake him up or else he'll think he's hungry and the madness will start all over again. He cluster feeds like a lunatic in the evenings, tonight was 5pm until 8pm then he fussed for an hour and Kirk finally got him to sleep. We need to sort something out as there is no way I can spend 3 hours with him each night when I have to get Noemie fed and then bathed and into bed. Charlie will have to learn to wait a bit (as will N) but I can't expect either of them to wait 3 hours. I'm looking forward to Charlie settling down and into a routine. I'll give him a break though as he's only 3 weeks old. Time for me to go to bed as I'm sure he'll be up twice tonight and though it's Kirk's "turn" to get up tonight,  twice is just not fair. 

Hungry kids, strange toddler and colored pencils

The community midwife came to visit us again today and Charlie's jaundice is gone and he's gained some more weight in the past week. He went from 4.65kg/10lbs 4oz to 4.8kg/10lbs 9oz so he's definitely doing well. He loves his new formula and rarely spits up but as he eats so much we've had a few explosions in the southern regions which luckily, Kirk or my MIL have handled! Not my thing to clean up poop. Hopefully he'll grow out of it in the next 2 weeks, lol! At 3 weeks old, Charlie is the size Noemie was at nearly 15wks old. Wow! He drinks like a bottomless pit taking up to 6oz/180mls per feed. Insane amount for such a young baby. Noemie is also a hungry little girl. Yesterday was the day of candy corn which she seems to like. Here is a photo of her eating one out of a bag. Charlie wasn't interested as it wasn't white and in a bottle. I'm still not convinced about candy corn personally but Kirk is in love with the stuff. 

Here is my silly little girl who seems to have a strong idea of how she wants to use her toys other than the purpose for which they are intended. In this case, an easel doubles nicely as a chair or tent of sorts. I hope the easel doesn't buckle under her weight! 

I made a decision about colored pencils and surprised myself by ending up with prismacolor. I did a stamped image which required a decent amount of coloring in so I had to use each brand for about 30 minutes so got a good feel for how they felt, etc. The polychromos which I initially loved are a fraction larger in diameter than an average pencil so it felt a bit uncomfortable in my hand. Also the lead is really soft so I didn't feel like I had much control with coloring unless I kept sharpening the pencil to maintain the pointed tip. The Caran d'ache had a similar problem in that it's a hexagonal barrel which isn't comfortable to use for long periods of time. The colors were also very flat once you blended them with Sansodor. I also wasn't too impressed with the colors in the full set. The primsa pencils have a round shape, are normal size so felt comfortable in my hand, blended well and had a slightly more satin finish to it. Though the polychromos had the best color range, the primsa pencils were overall the best for me. I ordered them today so hope to have them in a few days. I better go to sleep as I'm on night duty if (when) Charlie wakes up. Fingers crossed there are no poopsplosions tonight!

Wet Sunday

Yes, it's yet another park photo. I think by now I've got at least one good one that I can scrap whenever I get organized and focused on scrapping! We went to the park yesterday afternoon though it was a bit gloomy and raining off and on. Noemie didn't seem to mind at all and Charlie, well, he just goes along with whatever the rest of us are doing. Doesn't have all that much choice really. I did take him out of his cozy cocoon in the stroller where he was sleeping to see if he'd pose for some photos and this is what he had to say:  

Honestly, he wasn't too thrilled with me. And no, he's not crying, he's yawning. At least he was stylishly dressed with the hat/mitts/cardi outfit that Bren knitted for him :) Hopefully in a few weeks he'll grow to pose for the camera like his sister. She's always loved the camera though perhaps not when she was 3 weeks old. I can't remember. 

After we got back and the kids went to bed, I played around with some of my new rubber stamps and tried out some of the 4 samples of color pencils I had bought during the week. I want to invest in a nice set of them but there is a lot of choice and as they cost over £100 for a full set, I wanted to make sure I was getting what *I* like and not just following the hype that seems to surround Prismacolor Pencils. I've tried Derwent Color Soft, Caran d'Ache Pablo, Faber Castell Polychromos and Prismacolor Premier pencils (I think that's what they are all called). So far, I definitely don't like the Derwent pencils. Don't like how they color and they don't blend as nicely as the others. The rest all seem pretty equal though the Polychromos are in the lead at the moment especially as I like their selection of colors. The Caran d'Ache blend really nicely but didn't feel as smooth when I was coloring in the stamped image. The prismacolor ones are okay but maybe they are a bit overhyped as I expected them to be so amazing but they were not much different to the others. It's like when a movie gets overhyped and when you finally see it, you're almost disappointed as you expected it to be so much more. Today I figure I'll stamp some Christmas card images and try the 3 sets again and see how I feel. I've sourced the Polychromos and the Prismacolor sets in the UK for decent prices. The Caran d'Ache I know I can find easily but their color selection also isn't totally appealing to me. I'm hoping to make a decision by tonight and get stuff ordered so I can be done with it all.

It's Kirk's last day before he goes back to work tomorrow. I'm sad he's not going to be home with us every day as he's so good with the kids and they both adore him. At least it's not TOO long until Christmas when he'll have some time off again. Besides, I need to be careful what I wish for with him being home all the time considering the current job situation in the City!!!

Catching up...

The photo of Charlie in the swing is from a week or so ago, when he was 12 days old. In comparison, look at how tiny Noemie was in the swing when she was 8 weeks old!!! It's just still so weird to me that our 2-1/2 week old is already the same size that Noemie was at 3 months old. I wonder just how big he is going to be one day? Things have been going well though a bit hectic. Now that Charlie is coming out of the newborn sleep 23 hours a day stage, we're trying to work out a bit of a routine that works for us. As N is still so young, she needs our help and attention but we also don't want to leave Charlie howling if what N needs is not urgent. We had a nice little routine going but Charlie's having his second growth spurt now so that routine sort of goes out the window for a few days. He usually goes 4 hours between feeds and does around 5-6 hours at night but last night was every 3 hours and today was that, if not shorter periods between milk guzzling. Last time it lasted 2 days so maybe tomorrow will be a repeat and then it will be okay again. From last time I remember the growth spurts are frequent to begin with then slow down quite dramatically and a little routine is a lot easier to manage. Noemie was on a routine of sorts by around 8 weeks I think? Maybe a bit later? Her routine is a bit shot at the moment as we've been sleeping in later than normal which then throws off her morning nap and then the rest of the day. In some ways, Kirk going back to work on Monday will force us back into a bit more of our usual routine which might make life a bit easier. I will really miss having him home though but luckily my MIL comes in tomorrow for a little over 2 weeks to help so I get a bit more time with help. I also need to look into part time help soon too. In any case, Charlie being the second born means he'll have to adapt to Noemie's schedule I suppose. We'll figure it out.  

Moving along to scrap talk... the last few weeks I've gone NUTS buying new stash. It's almost like I'm making up for the past year where I bought very little. I did this after I had Noemie as well. I'm going to have to reinstate my "scrap to spend" challenge that I tried a few years ago (and probably failed miserably knowing my spending habits). The problem is I no longer have my own room (or much spare time) so it's been a bit hard to find an easy way to work on stuff. I was going to take over a bookshelf in the living room but having thought about it more, it would make the room cluttered so I've decided to buy the pictured computer hideaway piece to go in a corner in the dining room where I can put my most used items and then use the dining room table as my work table. I like that the cupboard doors close and I can get some childproofing locks or something to stop little fingers from messing around with my stuff. I ordered it today so it will arrive sometime on Monday and I'll put it together and get set up so that whenever I do have a bit of spare time, I can just get to work. I won't need to use up any space for a computer as I'm on a laptop. Hopefully this works out and suits my needs. 

In the past few days I've spent some more time on Facebook and a long lost friend from LA found me and in turn I have found some other friends from my LA days. It's been nice to be back in touch with people from that time in my life and makes me "homesick" for LA and a big part of me wishes I still lived out there. I miss the weather, the lifestyle and the people. It was so much friendlier than London. Considering I've been here for nearly 10 years now, own our house, got married here and technically have a life here, I still don't feel like this is home. I doubt it ever will. I shouldn't complain too much though, as who knows what my life might be like if I had never moved here, met Kirk and had Noemie and Charlie. I do love my life, just not where I'm living it but I suppose that's far better than loving where you live yet hating your life?

Gorgeous day again!

I wish I had taken Charlie's bib off before I started taking photos. We have to leave one on him quite often (other than when we go to bed at night) as he spits up a lot and it's easier to wash a bib than change his clothes umpteen times a day! He's wearing the cute star cardigan I knitted for him along with a hat that Bren made (he has a matching cardigan as well!). The star cardi is nearly too small for him in length already though it's to fit 0-3 month size babies. My knitting tension is usually so off that stuff runs a lot larger so he must really be a big guy! I tried a photo without his dummy but he snarled at me. He doesn't always have it in his mouth but sometimes he seems to just like to chill out with it and if you take it away he gets a bit angry. In this photo he was chilling in the park in Noemie's upper seat in the stroller, getting a bit of sun until I blocked it to take a photo. 

The health visitor came to see us this morning and was pleased with Charlie's progress. She is also Noemie's health visitor though we have never met her before as she took over from our original (useless) health visitor but we stopped going to the health center as Noemie was getting so much care from the pediatric team at the hospital already. So the health visitor met Noemie for the first time as well and was impressed by how healthy she is especially as many heart babies are often sickly, especially in the winter time. It was great to be able to say she's had one cold in her entire life so far! We will take Charlie to the health clinic to get him weighed in about 2 weeks time to make sure he is gaining properly and will also try and get Noemie weighed and see how tall she is as it's been about 6 months since we had that done. Today we decided to change Charlie's formula as he spits up quite often but at times he pukes up his entire feed. Like last night, I went to bed early, Kirk fed him, burped him, and then when he laid him down, Charlie got sick and so Kirk had to change him and actually wipe him off with a wet flannel and then had to feed him again. It happened a few more times this morning to a lesser degree so we're trying something else. So far he's kept his entire feed down so that's a nice start. It's just no fun for us having him spit up all the time and can't be much fun for him either so fingers crossed the change in formula helps us all!

Last but not least, a photo of my little princess who is always in motion it seems. Daddy had just run around kicking up some leaves so off she went trying to mimic him. Her little hooded jacket is a gift from Kirk, one of the many things he bought for her as a big sister gift; just wait a few months until her pink converse sneakers fit! When we were in the playground some weird little boy who was probably about 2 years older than Noemie started chasing her around. He was with his grandma or something and he was a bit frantic in his chase. He kept grabbing the hood to Noemie's sweatshirt and she would just try to run away. Kirk was watching us from the bench where he was sitting with Charlie and just laughing. I was trying hard not to smack the kid's hand to stop him grabbing at Noemie as I didn't want him to pull too hard and have her fall over backwards. The grandma was frantically trying to stop him as well. I was very restrained though I wanted to shout "freaky kid, get your paws off my little girl". Finally the grandma got him under control but then moments later he was doing the same thing to some other little girl. Of course if he had been a cute little boy it would've been okay but there was no way he stood a chance with Noemie. She's usually very friendly with other kids but for once she was actually running away so she must've found him rather icky as well. 

Tomorrow is meant to be another sunny day so I'm sure we'll be back outdoors again! Enjoying Kirk's last week before he goes back to work but my MIL will be here starting on Saturday for a few weeks to help us out so hopefully the weather holds up and maybe we can take Noemie to toddler group one afternoon as well! 

By the way, responding to Heather's comment about my weight loss. I didn't gain that much this pregnancy and with how huge Charlie was I get the feeling most of the weight gain was baby, placenta and that sort of thing, along with all my swelling. So once he was out and the pregnancy stuff went away I think that was the bulk of the weight. I am sure these last 5lbs will take forever to lose though I hope not! 

Whoosh

Time just seems to be zooming by lately! It was a bit overcast yesterday and rainy today so we haven't done a whole lot. We still managed a play in the park this afternoon but ended up coming home when it really started raining. The midwife came today and we had Charlie weighed. He's now up to 4.65kg which is 10lbs 4oz. So he's heading in the right direction with a 5oz weight gain since his birth weight. He's 2 weeks old today already. My ankles have now gone back to their normal size and Kirk and I were actually like "wow, were the ankles this thin before?" I wish I had taken a photo as my ankles and feet easily swelled to more than double their usual size. I've also weighed myself and I'm 5-1/2lbs away from my pre-Charlie pregnancy weight. Once I lose that I need to lose the 12lbs left over from my Noemie pregnancy weight. Then I'd like to lose another 15lbs after that and we'll see how I feel. I just really don't want to carry around extra weight as it slows me down and I also don't want to use having had two kids as an "excuse" not to lose weight. I'd love to wear my wedding band and engagement rings again which is a major motivating factor! All in all, things are going alright here and we're slowly trying to adjust to our new family member and find a routine that works. I'm considering having some part time help, just need to figure it out. I probably could manage without but I figure if we can afford it, then why not have the help? No sense in struggling when you don't have to. We'll see.

Although I have very little spare time lately, I've been buying all sorts of craft stuff in the hopes I'll have time one day to play with some of it. I was surfing the Buttonberry site the other day and found a pattern for some Christmas cushions that looked cool and then I saw some cute fabrics that I had to have. I was restrained though and bought fat quarters of things rather than half meters or full meters like I might've done in the past. I think it's a new range from Moda for Christmas this year. Have I mentioned my addiction to Christmas related stash? I am planning on going through my scrapbook stash to put all my Christmas stuff together to remind myself NOT to buy anymore. It's just so pretty and festive and makes me happy. 

Must dash, our sushi dinner has just arrived. Yum! After 10 months of being good about what I eat I am loving being able to have all my favorite foods, guilt free!

Slightly sleepy Saturday...

Managed a photo of Little Buddha. One nice thing about a big baby is the round squishy cheeks. We had a bit of a late start today and I can't believe it's already 2:00 in the afternoon! Charlie seems to be confusing day time and night time a little bit now which was to be expected as Noemie had the same thing (think most babies do). He was up until 2am the night before and did the same thing again last night. I finally got him to sleep at 2:15am, put him in his moses basket and then found myself wide awake and unable to sleep as Charlie makes SO much noise. I finally got to sleep and then the planes into Heathrow started up. We live on the flight path but depending on the wind direction, they usually don't fly over our house, maybe one day every few weeks. Just happened to be today I guess. I then had a headache so took some meds and then put my earplugs in and finally went to sleep. Apparently Charlie woke up around 7am so he still slept 5 hours which is technically "sleeping through the night" for babies though I can't think of too many adults who would agree with that definition. Kirk came back to bed and Noemie finally woke him at 9 and then she came and woke me at 9:30. I'm still really tired today. I don't think I've allowed myself proper healing time from my c-section this time as it's taking me a lot longer to feel normal this time. I guess discharging myself from the hospital at 48 hours was my mistake but it just sucked in the hospital. Anyway, enough whining. 

Got a cute photo of Kirk, Noemie and Charlie on the sofa this morning while N was having her milk before nap time. We're trying to keep Charlie awake a bit more during the day so he sleeps more at night. He's pretty curious so does look around a lot and seems to be taking it all in. He's passed out in the swing at the moment though he should wake up again soon for some more milk. He is a baby who definitely likes his milk. He's up to around 850mls/28oz a day. I think Noemie was having that at around 3 months old. 

I'm hoping to get my act together today and start setting up my craft space in the living room. I'll do some photos as I get stuff done. The sooner it's organized, the sooner I can get back to stuff during any spare time I might have. At the moment both kids nap at the same time so I might get an hour or two to myself during the day and then again at night. Of course it will be forever changing as kids seem to know how to change things on your JUST as you get comfortable.