Grammy and Big Papa

There could be multiple  names for this post.  "Why I love Grammy and Big Papa," "Grammy and Big Papa Camp," "Suggestions for dealing with Grammy & Big Papa Withdrawal?"...

Big Papa

Grammy

We have been having a great visit in South Carolina.  Jacob (though starting to get a little lonely now) has had some rest/quiet/freedom /time to do projects. 
I've had MAJOR help and the gift of time. Time to exercise, read, get things done, play on the computer, and see friends.  

And time to snuggle this one...

Cora has probably had the roughest week since she caught Jack's cold and hasn't been able to nap as well because of all the excitement and adventures Florence, SC has to offer.  She has had extra snuggles and got lots of new outfits (thanks Grammy and friend Kate/daughter Ava).  I probably care more about that than she does though.

Jack has been living large.  He now has a new best friend in his Big Papa (name courtesy of Jack).

He continues to adore his Grammy and Aunt Kristen.  He has been able to play involved games of fireman/fire station (complete with fire dogs, a "life net," helmet, boots, a hose, and pretend fire truck).  His Big Papa arranged a tour of the fire station down the street where Jack got to climb in the engine and see where the firemen sleep. 

He's played golf, read books, gone to the beach, eaten contraband foods, and stayed up late. 

He's met his furry cousin Donaghy and seen Aunt Kristen sing onstage at play practice.

Tomorrow we fly home - all 5 of us.  The only downside to this week is that we miss Jacob.  He has been working on some surprises around the house, so I'm excited to see the changes.  Up next: Cora's baptism on Sunday and a cook out afterward.  Jack starts school on Monday, so hopefully he'll transition well from constant adult playmates to playing well with new friends!

An adventurous week!

Lots going on this past week!

Sweaty nap in car better than in hot house

!

Our AC went out last Friday.  By Sunday it was up to 90 degrees (inside that is) and we spent a creative Sunday out and about around town to escape the heat.  On Monday, Jacob went out of town and the temperature went up to 92 degrees.  I didn't think I had the sanity stores to make it through the night alone in the heat, so we Pricelined a hotel and spent a quiet night at the Courtyard by Marriott.  I thought I was game to come home the next day but after a day spent in every free air-conditioned place I could think of, the 94 degree inside heat had us back at the hotel.  As you can imagine, we are NOT happy with our installer but have our hands tied while we wait for the system (a complicated geothermal system) to be fixed.  The installer finally put a window unit in our bedroom on Wednesday, so with Jacob back in town, we all camped out there Wednesday night.  As of today, we are still waiting for it to be fixed!

On Thursday, I flew with Jack and Cora to South Carolina.  They did great on the flight (a direct flight to Charlotte) and we were happy to be reunited with Grammy.  In the past few days we have visited both great grandparents, gone to the beach with Aunt Kristen and Uncle William, gone to church, and had a "meet Cora/happy birthday Big Papa" lunch with extended family.

A pumper engine made out of sand

Pretty girl all dressed up for church

2 Month Update

Miss Cora is 2 months!  What's Cora like these days?  Well...

• Her nickname is Cora-bell.
• She weighed 14 lbs, 2 oz and was 23 1/4 inches at her 2 month apptmt.  That's a big girl!
• She has an AWESOME smile - it is a sweet, full-on, quiet smile and she pulls it out when she sees either her Mommy or her Daddy. 
• She has started making some "talking" noises - they are so quiet and sweet - little tiny coos and goos.
• She is gradually going longer between feedings - she went 8 days only waking once between 3/4 a.m.  The last two nights, not so much, but hopefully that was just a fluke.
• She is the easiest nurser!  She eats on one side only, takes about 5 minutes, and then is set for another 2-3 hours.  
• She spends most of the morning trying to sleep, but seems to always get woken up (hello Jack).  She then eventually conks out for a 2-4 hour nap late morning or early afternoon when I can get her in a quiet spot.
• She is very loved by the rest of us and we are all really enjoying having a baby in the house.

Jack

• I love potty-trained children!
• His hair grows crazy fast!  We are cutting it every 6 weeks, but he starts looking like he needs a cut after three.
• He is unpredictable these days!  95% of his interactions with Cora are sweet (rocking her chair when she cries, putting her paci back in, and hundreds of kisses), but I never know when the 5% is going to come out!  Little stressful!
• He is enamored, in love, passionate and all other similar words about fire trucks!  A visit to the fire station makes him positively giddy.  He spends hours building fire stations and making fire trucks out of LEGOS.  He plays fireman a lot and can do a mean fire engine siren.

Me

• I started cooking again last week and cooked 5 interesting meals in 8 days + a birthday cake + cookies.  Part of this was because we were on vacation, but I'm pretty proud of myself.  My favorites: NY Times chocolate chip cookie recipe, pork chop meal, and quinoa salad.

Jacob

• After many hours of studying, Jacob successfully passed both his finance and accounting courses.  Next up, "Finance 2" and Managing Change.
• We now have sweet olive trees, fig and lemon trees, blueberry and blackberry bushes, and some grape vines planted.

 Oh and are these not adorable???

Jack at 10 weeks

Cora at 8 weeks

Vacation, Vacation!

I'm a big fan of vacations :)  We so needed one too!  The last 8 weeks have been a whirlwind and it was time to get away, just us, and relax.  Fortunately, we were able to do this for a few days this past week.  We knew we wanted a beach, so we decided to try Gulf Shores.  We got a condo through Vrbo.com and packed (everything we owned into) our car and headed out late Wednesday.

We spent 3 nights at the Crystal Towers and it was perfect for us.  We had a nice ocean view, easy access to the beach, a great pool set-up, and a kitchen. 

So what is a vacation like for the Landrys these days?  Up at 6:15 each morning (Jack and Cora were aligned on this one), breakfast, out to the beach by 7:30, 3 full hours of sand castles, water play, and pool time before bringing the fair-skinned ones back inside.  Then LEGO play (we chose not to leave home without them), lunch, naptime (hallelujah!), and then more beach.  Naps meant Jacob and I also got to nap and finish books on this trip!  On Saturday, we were out of the condo by 10:30 but by that point had already spent several hours at the beach/pool.  You can be surprisingly efficient with your mornings with small children!

Vacation seemed like a good time to get back to cooking, but in a fun way.  We picked out some interesting recipes (lentil galettes and lemon/eggplant risotto) and brought all the ingredients with us. 

Lemon-Eggplant risotto - delicious, we will repeat this!

Watching a small child experience new things is such a precious and happy thing.   Jack had a blast on this trip and it was so much fun to watch.  It makes me tear up to see how much he loves to spend time with us (the feeling is mutual by the way) and it was so nice to have nothing else to distract us from just enjoying him.  Cora graciously took a backseat on this trip and let us focus on Jack.  This baby is a great sleeper and she either slept or was content to be held.  (I definitely appreciated the two parents: two children ratio - very convenient.)

Here are some pictures from our trip:

Cora asleep in the stroller

Jack's beach fashions

The LEGO fire trucks make a beach appearance

 

Classic Cora expression

Pretty girl gives great smiles these days!

Is this not the sweetest chunk of love?

A good vacation tires you out

Need a Stitch Fix?

In reading my friend Jessica's blog, I learned about Stitch Fix. The name is great.  Basically, when you feel the itch for new clothes, the company will mail you a package of 5 items selected based on a style profile you have completed.  You get to say what types of clothes you are looking for, describe your body type, and rate various outfits as to whether you love them, hate them, etc.

I loved the concept because I'm feeling both excited about the return of "my" body post-pregnancy and my usual inadequacy when it comes to style/fashion.  I'd love some help bringing new looks into my wardrobe!

So who is this a good fit for?  Someone who wants to buy new clothes and wants to be a little more adventurous.  You decide when you want a stitch fix and commit $20.  The items are then selected and sent to you.  If you don't like anything, you can choose to return all 5 items in the pre-paid shipping envelope and you'd be out the $20.  If you choose even one item, the $20 is applied toward the total of that item.  So again, if you are looking to purchase new clothes and are open to something new, then to me, this is a great arrangement!  (and all within the comfort of your home) :)

If you are interested in checking it out, use this link and I'll get a referral credit.

So how did it work out for me?  First, I got a lot of laughs filling out the style profile and affirming that yes, I'm not very stylish.  (It didn't say that, but it was easy to determine this myself!!)  I bet the company knows this too based on my "Any final comments?" remark about me being a nursing mother so easy access shirts/dresses being my priority. :) 

I kept this shirt.  I liked some of the other items but they were a little short for my mommy self :)

The shirt in action

A Day in the Life: Jack & Cora, July 2012

1:03 a.m. - Time to eat, Mom!
1:15 a.m. - Cora is in bed with Mommy (Daddy is sleeping in the guest room these days)
4:04 a.m. - Got milk?
4:20 a.m. - Lights are out - major spit up - too tired to turn lights back on
5:02 a.m. - Mommy?  Cora goes to swing - swing does trick and she falls asleep
7:05 a.m. - Cora starts grunting which wakes Mommy - this is her routine - she'll be waking soon and will be hungry
7:10 a.m. - Jack is awake

Since we are all awake, the whole family gets in bed and reads some books and gets some snuggles

7:28 a.m. - Cora gives her first smile to Daddy; Mommy is lucky enough to see it too

Mommy makes breakfast, Daddy gets a shower, Jack plays garbage trucks (perilously close to Cora)

8:00 a.m. - Mommy, Jack and Cora leave for a walk; Daddy goes to work

Somebody is awake and curious the whole ride

8:20 a.m. - Swing by Arabella St. Fire Station to check out fire engines
8:45 a.m. - Arrive at park; Jack swings and slides; Cora "swings" in Jack's lap
9:30 a.m. - Home and feeding Cora

Build lego fire stations with Jack, change Cora's diaper (and color coordinate it with her clothes - so much fun!), pick up the house

10:05 - Shower for Mommy
10:12 - Fussy baby, back to swing
10:20 - Jack: "I did a poopy - want to come and see it?,"  Since he's already in bathroom, he gets his teeth brushed and dressed.
10:35 - Reading books in Cora's room

Mommy ready to go; Cora: screaming; Jack: "NO!  I don't WANT to!"

10:55 - Everyone is in car
11:10 - Cora in Ergo baby carrier; Jack wearing leash backpack; quick farmer's market visit where Jack eats a peach off the table without buying it and Mommy manages to buy a watermelon and get it and J&C back to car
11:30 - home: Mommy does dishes, Jack plays garbage trucks

Cora gets rocked to sleep while fire trucks crash in the other room

11:55 - Jack and Mommy read Fox in Socks

12:15 - Eat lunch - grilled cheese on farmer's market bread; lychees, cherries, and bananas from the Hong Kong Market (thanks to Daddy)

12:20 - Cora wants to eat too

The couch becomes a garbage truck.

12:45 - Nap routine: read The Jungle Book and Pirates Go to School
1:00 - Soothe crying Cora, Mommy soothed by chocolate

34 minutes of quiet: Mommy reads chapter for Sunday School lesson

1:34 - "Mommy...I didn't take a nap but I was quiet."  Mommy sets timer for 25 more minutes and Jack gets back in bed with instructions to read.
1:56 - "Mommy, I need to poopy".  And boy does he.

Jack emerges from quiet time in a super sweet mood.  He has been saying "That will be a good idea?" after most of his thoughts all day.  Gets me every time.

2:07 - Jack watches first part of Cinderella while Mommy finishes her chapter and checks her email
2:35 - Snacktime for Jack and Mommy
2:52 - Jack: "You want to read this book?"  Mommy trys negotiating a different book because, no, Mommy doesn't want to read that Elmo book again.  We end up reading the Elmo book and another book.
3:10 - Mommy talks to Grammy while Jack wanders off; Cora is still sleeping
3:20 - Up to the dollhouse - Jack is making fire stations and gets Mommy to play "band"

Day starts to feel long

4:00 - Cora wakes up and eats; time out #1 of day

Drum stick goes to time out

4:15 - Diaper change and 2 smiles for Mommy

Time out #2; Mommy sends Jack off to play by himself and puts laundry away and "organizes"

Daddy comes home!  Jack goes outside with Daddy and Mommy rocks Cora and has phone call with friend.

Another kind friend brings dinner by - Jack asks said friend and Mommy "do you wanna play?" no less than 20 times.

Cora starts crying.

Jack gets bath from Daddy.

6:35 - Dinner time!
6:45 - Cora seems to get hungry whenever everyone else is eating.
7:00 - Jack gets teeth brushed and chooses Peter Pan to read
7:15 - Prayers are said and lights are out

Cora spends her evening in the bouncy seat, in Mommy's lap, and being held by Daddy.

9:00 - Bath for Cora
9:18 - Cora eats again
9:35 - Cora is asleep - but for how long?

1 Month Update

Landry Family Updates

Papa Landry - Busy, busy.  Lots going on at work, every other weekend MBA courses and accompanying homework, many landscaping projects...  Enough going on that he was given a pass on nighttime Cora duty and is currently sleeping in the guest room.  He is getting up with Jack in the morning giving me an extra hour of precious sleep.


Mama Landry - Sleepy, sleepy.  The fatigue has caught up with me and I'm yawning.  A lot.  I have gotten awesome help in the last few weeks, from my mom and sister especially, which has made an incredible difference, but the whole sleeping in short chunks has to catch up with a person at some point.  The only major gaffe was when I turned into the oncoming traffic turn lane rather than the correct turn lane yesterday.  Luckily there weren't cars coming and luckily Jacob was there to say "WHAT are you doing?"  Jack then piped up from the backseat, "Mommy wasn't paying attention?"  No, Jack, Mommy is just very tired.

Haha - family 4th of July shot - they were all like this

Jack Landry - This boy is so loved, not just by us but by his extended family as well.  His two grandmothers and his aunts just adore him and it's really special to see.

It makes me feel good to know he feels so securely loved that he has been able to freely share that love with Cora.  I wouldn't have guessed that a 2 year old was capable of the instant and immediate love that a parent has for a new baby, but the way his face lights up whenever Cora is around, makes it seem like Jack was hit with the same love we were.  Good thing I'm passing antibodies to her in my milk because she's gotten lots of wet, slobbery kisses from him in the last month.

Jack continues to bounce between the most precious of creatures to a very willful 2 year old, but he is becoming more reasonable and reflective.  Now when he has a defiant episode, we can talk about it and he will bring it up repeatedly and usually apologizes.

Oh and he's potty trained!!  It finally clicked!

Cora Landry - She's so beautiful.

She is awake more now but still is happy to sleep most of the time.  She nurses great and managed to put on 4 lbs in 4 weeks going from the 50th percentile to the 90-100th at one month.  From 7 lbs, 11 oz to 11 lbs, 12 oz!  So obviously all that time she spent sleeping the last month was actually her growing.

She is a grunter (and the reason Jacob can't swing sleeping with us) and a champion burper.  She doesn't like being flat on her back and is happiest snuggled upright on our chests.  She is usually instantly soothed if you pick her up, so to me, that means she's a social gal and doesn't like to be left alone.

She's my little dress up doll and I could not be having more fun with all her little girl clothes.

She likes bathtime and so do I.  I love how our sink is perfect for bathing a baby (no divider).

5 weeks have flown by, but we are slowly adjusting.  We are tired but truly are enjoying being parents to these two special people.

A Happy Anniversary!

5 productive, happy years with this guy :)  I love you Jacob!

Day 1

Day 1,826 - give or take

Pregnancy Comparisons

 While it's fresh in my mind...

Baby	Jack	Cora
Born	Thursday, December 3, 2009 8:38 p.m.	Saturday, June 9, 2012 4:38 a.m.
Due Date	December 11, 2009	June 23-30, 2012
Days Early	8 days	Probably about 16 days
Weight	8 lbs, 10 oz	7 lbs, 11 oz
Length	21 in	20 in
Birthplace	Touro Infirmary in New Orleans	Touro Infirmary in New Orleans
Time at Hospital	7.5 hours	30 minutes
Length of Labor	27 hours	?? (It’s really hard to pinpoint when my labor went from the contractions I’d been having for months to true labor)
Length of Hard Labor	5-6 hours	1.5 hours
Time Pushing	25 minutes	15 minutes
Labor Experience	Very gradual progression, great guidance by Jacob (making me walk, eat, go to sleep, motivating me, etc.), overwhelming because I didn’t believe it would ever end, draining, me flipping out for much of the last several hours	Wasn’t sure I was in labor till hard labor started, great job by Jacob of getting us from home to hospital, scary because it came on so fast and it took time to get to hospital, no time to flip out, much more aware of the birth experience (vs. being wiped and not in my right mind by the end of Jack’s labor)
Labor Team	Jacob, Mom, Dr. Peret, 3 nurses over the day	Jacob, nurse Bill, and midwife Esther (for the last 10 minutes)
Favorite Pregnancy Memory	Taking Bradley classes with Jacob and preparing together for Jack’s arrival	Being so aware of Cora’s position and watching my belly shift when her little butt would pop up
Hard Parts of Pregnancy	This was an easy pregnancy with very mild nausea and only a few days of round ligament pain around 24 weeks.	Rough nausea at the beginning, lots of fatigue, daily contractions from 23 weeks on, bad backache, lots of pelvic pressure
Pregnancy Cravings	Carbonated fruit drinks (Izzies), drank a lot of peanut butter/banana smoothies	Oatmeal daily, drank a LOT of lemonade as well as Izzies

End Results:

Mother of Two

Okay, so my last post might have been a little melodramatic (or "desperate sounding" as Jacob said.)  While I am still in awe of just how HARD it is to be responsible for two little lives, I'm pretty pleased with how my first week home alone with Jack and Cora has gone.

In all honesty, there were moments where the word drudgery was coming to mind.  Another poopy butt to wipe, diapers needing washing/drying/folding, time to pick up another room, the monumental effort required to get going somewhere...  But I got a healthy dose of perspective this week when I remembered that parenting is all about shepherding children from tiny babies to happy, productive adults and that all stages will be brief.  This thought helped me remember that it would be smarter to focus on what I like about each phase rather than being overwhelmed by the harder aspects as I know I will miss each phase once it's past.

And there have been so many wonderful moments this week.  Cora still sleeps a good bit, so I've gotten to spend a lot of quality time with Jack, which has been really special.  We've had several breakthroughs.  First, he's pooping in the potty!!  After months of trying to get him to do this, something clicked last weekend and now he's going on his own initiative.  (And I mean the child is going!  4, 6, 9 times a day - no lie!)  Second, after meltdowns when it was time to go home on our first two outings out, I started talking to him about how important it is for him to be willing to go when Mommy says it is time, how this is part of being kind to Mommy and helping her.  We talked about how the right response is to say "okay, Mommy" and by golly the child did this on Friday when we left the Parenting Center.  It was surreal!  It's been followed by an "okay Daddy" departure and we are hoping to hear it a lot more!

We've fallen into a nice routine this week during the day.  Jacob has been getting up with Jack so that Cora and I can sleep in a little longer.  After I feed Cora, little J and little C and I pile into the double BOB and go on a walk/errand.  Jack brings a breakfast snack and a book and when those are gone, we play I Spy.

A wide load

Once home, Jack then plays while I eat breakfast.  Then we spend an astonishingly long chunk of time working to get all of us ready and Cora fed again.  Every day at this point, we went somewhere (doctor's apptmt., Parenting Center, library) so that Jack could have a change of scenery and some fun.  We come home for lunch for all of us and then I put Jack down for his nap (50% success rate).  I then straighten up from the disaster of the night before (dirty diapers and clothes dropped by the bed).  I got a nap one day, but Cora tends to want me during Jack's nap/quiet time.  After nap/quiet time, Jack and I have been dancing/reading/puzzling/coloring (except for the one day I was pretty much passed out on the couch and he just destroyed the house around me).

During my "nap", I especially like the basket on the side table

Jacob's been trying to get home at a reasonable time and we've gotten to share Cora with friends who have dropped by after work. After dinner and Jack's bedtime routine, I start prepping for the night ahead (diapers and extra clothes by the bed, dirty diapers in the wash, get ready for bed) before Cora wants to eat so that I am ready for bed right when she is.

Evening Routine: that blue ball is a small child having tummy time while Daddy does homework

Night time is another post, but with 3 or 4 nighttime feedings, I am pretty worn down!  I don't really remember this part when I think about Jack as a baby, so I know she'll be able to stretch it out soon, so I'm just hanging in there for now.

On a positive note, all that eating has her plumping right up!

I'm proud of how well Jacob and I have teamed up to support each other this week and I'm so thankful to our wonderful friends who have been bringing us dinner!  That was really helpful in making this week manageable!

Some sweet shots:

Jack digging

Cora awake