Where did Spring go?

Our life has been a whirlwind since lil man Ethan arrived on the scene so seriously, where did spring go? April doesn't even exist in my memory and the only things of may that I remember are Tulip Time and Memorial Day.
Ethan is almost 11 weeks old already and Shaylen is, as of today, 2 years and 7 months. These kiddos keep us busy and very entertained.
    Ethan, as of his 8 week check up, weighs in at 13 lb's and 23 inches long. He grew 2 inches and gained 4 lb's in 6 weeks. Apparently he is getting enough to eat, as any nursing mother would worry about. He has been smiling since 6 weeks, and as of yesterday is grabbing at a toy and looks like he is trying to bring to his mouth. The amount of growth in almost 3 months just amazes me!
    Here is some pics to enjoy of the kiddos

                                                               leaving the hospital :)

 Shaylen loves her "baby brother"

 Tulip Time

These two at roughly the same age. Huh I think they are brother and sister :)

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Ethan James is here!!

Hello Everyone, Yes our little guy was born almost 2 1/2 wks ago already and its been a whirlwind since he arrived, tiring but fun. We are now "man to man" as they say and so far I am okay with that, its the 2 to 1 during the day that I am trying to master :)

Ethan was born on March 18th, at 11:27 pm 8lb's 7oz and 20" long. He is a healthy baby boy who now is 9lbs 2oz at his two week check up this past Monday.
He is nursing well and growing like a weed!!

Shaylen just adores him, and has to hold him at least once a day. She is also enjoying the little extra tv time she has been getting lately.

So Ethan's arrival day was interesting as I thought my water had broken early in the morning. We called our friends that were planning on being on call for us and they came over at about 5:30-6am to be with Shaylen when she woke up. However, it was NOT my water and I was not contracting as much or as hard as they wanted, and they sent me home. Shaylen, Shawn and I proceeded to walk around the block that morning and hang out with our neighbors outside to hopefully get things moving. Between 3pm and 6pm the contractions went from 10 minutes to 2-3 minutes. We headed to the hospital where I was 5 cm dilated. I got an epidural within 20 minutes of being there and slowly but surely let things progress. By 11:10 or so I could feel that he was ready to come. Everything was prepped and ready and the pushing started. Within 7 minutes of pushing this little man entered the world! He beat Shaylen by 10 minutes!

He is a wonderful addition to the family! We are a little partial but we think he is absolutely adorable!

It has been a long time.

This belly pic is from Jan 29th. I was 32 weeks along.

Hello everyone that reads this. I am not sure who keeps tabs on us through this, only positive about a few of you. Sorry this has been lagging so badly but life has really caught up to us. When priorities are laid out, this is one thing that gets pushed to the back burner.

The last few months have been full of Shaylen growing into a well aware toddler with a wonderful and yet challenging at times, personality. It is so fun to watch her and see her change. I have been getting more and more tired in these last few weeks before baby boy joins our family.

I will be 38 weeks on Friday and that just seems so crazy. The 2nd pregnancy is a little different than the first being that you know what to expect but yet you don't really remember all the specifics. Also having a toddler to distract can be a good thing and a very tiring thing. I feel like it has taken me forever to get here, but at the same time, we really only have maybe 2 weeks left with little miss Shaylen before we are busy again with a newborn. As I grow more tired I am trying to savor each day with my little girl as I know I will be more distracted in the coming months.

This is such an exciting time though as there are 5 woman pregnant on our block. I start in March, there is another in April, one in May and two in August. Then also some dear friends that both live within three blocks are due in May as well. Something in the water!

Shaylen has been very attentive to my stomach the last couple weeks, even putting one of her cloth play bandages on my ever expanding belly button thinking its an owie. She will caress, kiss and talk to my stomach which is so precious. She talks of sharing her toys with baby brother and playing catch with him. I truly hope that these two becomes best buds.