Snacks

Leave it to Lilly to be a creative one. We were playing with her stuffed animals the other day and I asked Lilly what her little brown dogs name was and she told me his name was "Snacks". (I double checked with her just to confirm that's really what she wanted to name him and she really wants his name to be snacks) It made me laugh, now it is confirmed that's what is on her mind all the time.

Keeping busy

With Kyle here and summer upon us, we have ventured back out into the world for some summer fun. We have been staying busy going to the park, visiting the farm, walking in the garden, going for strolls, playing at the pool, splashing in our porch pool, and digging in the sand. It has been a pretty fun couple of weeks so far and I think Lilly is having a pretty good time.

P P

I can't believe I forgot to blog about Lilly's big break through. About 2 weeks ago Lilly went pee pee on her potty. HUGE deal since she has only ever sat on her potty and jumped off every time she was about to actually go. On this night no one had prompted her it was all on her own free will. She was in the tub and suddenly she crossed her legs and put her hands over her legs and I asked her if she needed to go potty and she quickly said yes and I asked her if she wanted to get out and she pointed to her potty and told me she wanted to sit on it. Shocked I sat her on it and after a minute or 2 I heard the tinkle. I was so proud! I think it was a big step in the right direction. What makes me even happier is that our method of letting her be the guide of when she is ready seems to be working. We haven't put any more pressure on her since then but have tried to remind her more that the potty is available if she wants to sit on it. She is very aware of when she is going potty. When we were at the pool the other day she went pee pee and the swim diaper didn't catch it and standing there she was very discreetly trying to tell me she was going potty and that it was going down her leg. She has also started changing her own diaper so I am thinking she is more than ready and we are on the brink of potty training!!!!

Summertime!

It's officially begun! Although summer started 3 weeks ago, we have been somewhat slow to get out there and enjoy it. The city decided in an effort to save money they would not turn on the water features at our parks, so I wasn't as excited to get out there and play with Lilly, it's just to hot sometimes...but the great news is that New Belgium Brewery (which is local here) and the Hockey team donated funds to have the water turned on!!! So in celebration we went out today and celebrated by playing at the Oak Street Plaza. It was a little chilly because it was all shaded but so much fun! We will definitely be having more summer days filled with more water play.

Lilly's 1st haircut

Today was a big day in the Reed house. Lilly finally got her first haircut. With her second birthday quickly approaching and her hair wild and crazy as ever I decided to just bite the bullet and cut her hair. It was a family affair and we all got to be there for her as she had this exciting experience. We went to this cool cuts for kids place I heard about through my good friend Kathleen. It was a little pricey, but for how much they cater to kids I suppose it was worth it. Lilly did excellent! The only time she whined was when the hair dryer came out...but it was quickly put away. She looks fantastic and she even got a special "reverse" ponytail put in.

After the haircut...looking good, but not looking to happy

They were so nice and put her hair in a little baggy with a certificate of her first cut

Adjusting

Kyle is now 2 weeks and 3 days old. It's hard to believe that he was born that long ago. It seems like just the other night I was waking up because he wouldn't stop dancing in my belly. There has been a lot of adjusting happening most of it being on my part. I must admit it has been a challenge. Lilly is in love with her brother and is constantly helping. She is quite a good little helper, but we have to remind her about a million times a day to be gentle and to give Kyle some space. She wakes up asking about him and has to know where he is at all times.

For me it has been challenging to find the balance between the 2 kids and keeping up with the house work. Getting out of the house requires a lot of organization and planning, but has been successful several time now. The other challenge I have faced is with Lilly. Our sweet little princess, who has now seemed to turn on me. Although she is always wanting me to carry her and hold her, she has become quite aggressive towards me. She bites and hits and pinches, all of which she uses her super human strength to do. Our 3rd day home she bit my finger so hard it made me cry and almost broke skin and honestly I am still not sure why she bit me.

And if I thought I got no privacy before I really get no privacy now. She has to be in the bathroom with me while I am going potty, forget closing the door she'll just open it and what's worse is she is right in my face while I go. If I leave the room she is very quick to jump up and follow me to wherever I may be headed. It is sweet in a way, but sometimes one just needs a little space. It is all slowly getting better, but I find that we are still working on the kinks.

Kyle however is a pretty laid back dude. He sleeps pretty good. He has 2 good nights and then 2 not so great nights, but during the daytime he sleeps like a champ. He is however much fussier than Lilly. If his diaper is dirty...he lets you know right away and he eats on a consistent, predictable schedule. Which is actually not to bad. He is very alert when he is awake, much like Lilly was and he has a very strong neck. I am excited to see what comes next. This chapter of our life is going to be pretty fun I think!!!

Hospital stay

Because Kyle was born so quickly he was very out of sorts. He was not a very happy camper and did not want to nurse for the first 2 or 3 hours. The nurse assured me that it was just because he was a little bruised and it might be a little painful for him. Right after he was born I felt immediate relief. Like my normal self again. I consider myself very very lucky because I had absolutely no pain. I didn't tear and I didn't even bruise. (I remember with Lilly being so bruised and what not that I could barely sit the first week or so) I had some discomfort, but it was nothing more than what one might experience during their menstrual cycle.

Even though I was feeling so incredible Kyle and I had to stay all day Saturday and all day Sunday. I had tested positive very early on for Group B strep and because the labor went so quickly they were not able to administer the antibiotics through my IV to protect the baby, which meant keeping him for observation for 48 hours. It was very hard for me to be at the hospital and be away from Lilly. I have never spent more than 2 or 3 hours away from her and to spend 2 days and 2 nights was killer. I thought about her constantly.
Ziff stayed Friday night/Saturday with me and Kyle. He was able to get a little sleep but I was so amped up that I wasn't. I spent that whole night/day watching Kyle and watching tv. (they had cable at the hospital and it was really nice to actually have a selection of things to watch. Saturday morning I got to talk to Lilly and she seemed to be having a great time at her friends house. When I talked to her she was playing outside "driving". It brought me comfort knowing that she wasn't distraught from being separated from us for such a long period. Saturday and Sunday were spent relaxing and just spending time with Kyle . It was nice to not have to cook and for 2 days just pick up the phone and order whatever I pleased and have it delivered right to me. I think for that reason, I would stay at the hospital forever. Both nights I had a delicious salmon with fruit glaze, steamed broccoli and baked potato with a salad on the side and yummy chocolate cake for dessert. I figured I should indulge on it while there because once i got home I would not be getting to eat such things with my picky family.
I wanted to get out of there to get home and be with Lilly, but Kyle had a small fever Saturday night and so they denied us. He recovered from his fever quickly and seemed to be doing really well. He was nursing great, although he nursed what seemed like every hour sometimes and he was having great poops and pees. Lilly was able to come ad visit us both Saturday evening and Sunday. She did really great, but got bored very quickly so was only able to stay for an hour each time. It was great for her to get to meet her brother and she seemed to like him from the get go. She was a little confused at first that mommy's belly was gone and now there was this wiggly thing that everyone kept calling her brother.
It was a nice stay and the nurses wer great. They kept me company while Ziff was gone and took great care of me. I am very sad that the rest of our kids won't be born at PVH, since it was such a wonderful experience.