Seriously???

Could he BE any more wonderful?? We have made the 2 month/9.5 week mark and I just love Elliott more and more. He is either eating, sleeping, or doing this! He's still not sleeping through the night...but there is always the hope of tonight! :)

Nolan's New BFF

Two weeks ago (I am really behind on blog-world and am going to try to get caught up over the next few days) my sweet friend Kelly came in town and brought Lucy. Lucy is 11 months older than Nolan but they were thick as thieves! It was so fun to watch them play together and he was super sad when they left (as was I!! :)), but it gave me a glimpse of how great life is going to be in a few years when my boys can play together! I can't wait!!

Somehow Kelly and I were unable to get a picture with both of us and all the kiddos. This will just have to do. Thanks for coming friend!

This was about 45 seconds after they arrived. Let the playing begin. Oh, and the booboo next to Nolan's eye is from when he was running in a dark room, tripped over a stool and landed on the rocker of the rocking chair. It was a rough one for sure!!!

Fireplace-DIY

As you know, I love almost everything about my house. However, I have not loved my fireplace. So thankful to have one...but it is just so big, plain, and dark. When we moved in Jerel promised me that I would have a mantle by Christmas. Our dilemma was whether or not to paint the brick, or cover it with sheetrock, but something had to happen to brighten up the room. And then we had to decide if we wanted a shelf or wrap around mantle. I wanted to whitewash the brick and Jerel finally conceded, even though he really didn't want to! :) We went to a salvage yard and found a old mantle that had been ripped out of another house. It had about 100 layers of OLD paint on it that was really cracked, so we had to strip it down to the raw wood and start over. My sweet husband spent many hours sanding and figuring out how to mount it onto the brick. I am really pleased with the outcome...just in time!!

UGLY

PRETTY!

Decorated...and really crooked. Apparently I need to learn to stand straight

Tree and Stuff

Every year we have been able to get our Christmas tree the saturday after thanksgiving. We found this farm about 20 minutes from here where we can cut the tree down. I wish that I could have gotten an action picture of it being cut, but I was too busy trying to balance Elliott while yelling at Nolan to stay out of the million different fire ant hills. I am sure I was really adding to the other families holiday moment by screaming at my child!! :) Needless to say, I was a little too busy to snap that perfect picture! At least I love our tree!!

Nolan was actually fairly helpful and has done a great job of leaving the tree alone. It is sparsely decorated from about 3 feet down, but still so pretty. I wish that it was socially acceptable to keep a tree up year round!

Elliott is still the sweetest baby. He has the best smile and coos all the time. I have tried to get a picture of him smiling and this is as close as I can get. I literally have been trying to will him to sleep through the night, but to no avail! I know that he is only 7 weeks old but I HATE getting up throughout the night! Oh well.

I know I have said it before, but this is one cute kid!! One Nolan update is that he is finally starting to say a few words. Speech therapy has been huge and it is so fun to hear his little voice.
Nolan loves, loves, loves his globe. It is also a light and he turns it on and off...all day! I was cracking up that he was standing on his bongos to get a closer look. Under the bookshelf is his CD player. I think this is his favorite toy. He has several different CDs and changes them out and listens to his music throughout the day. I am so thankful that he loves music.

Christmas Photo

I have been trying to get a picture of the boys for our card. Doesn't this one just scream MERRY CHRISTMAS?? :)

Mornings

I feel like mornings have been looking a lot differently since we had Elliott. They use to be fairly predictable, and now I never know who is going to wake up when, and it can be a trick to balance two babies at once. Here are a few pictures of our recent mornings.

Today Jerel was sleeping in a little because he took night duty with Elliott. Nolan woke up first, I got his milk ready, took Rocky out and got him fed and then Elliott woke up right when I was getting ready to sit down with Nolan. We still hold him while he drinks his milk because he can't/doesn't tip his head back...long story. Anyway, he wants his milk and Elliott is crying, so I put him in the recliner, tilt him back and tell him to go for it! It worked out pretty well! :)

A few days ago I was giving Elliott his bottle and Nolan kept bringing me books wanting me to read to him. I continually tell him that he has to wait until I was done. So he decided to just climb up onto the chair and climb onto me. I felt like a human jungle gym.

Jerel is the breakfast king in this house. He has made us pancakes every saturday since we got married. This past week he found an assistant and Nolan loved it. We are trying to get him more involved in the meal process hoping that this will help him embrace food. He had no problem embracing these pancakes! :)

Head Hugs & Pictures

Everyone asks how Nolan is doing with his little brother. For the most part he is doing much better than I expected. I can tell that he really loves him. This is a classic picture of the "head hug" which is how he hugs everyone. Anytime Elliott is around Nolan is hugging on him. There are still moments when I am holding or feeding Elliott and Nolan throws a mini-tantrum because I can't hold or read to him, but that is to be expected.

I had pictures taken of Elliott at two weeks and just got to see the proofs today. I am always surprised at how well they turn out. I had really wanted him to be asleep, but no go. Here is the link if you would like to check them out www.susanbrewerphotography.com go to website, click on clients and my password is sarah0327.

As for the rest of us...we are exhausted. Elliott is sweet and for the most part easy, but he is a horrible night sleeper. At the most I will get three and a half hours out of him and one of those time he will refuse to go back to sleep. I know it's the phase of a 4 week old, but four weeks of not sleeping can ware on a person. He weighs 11 lbs. 3 oz., so it's not like he is starving but he sure acts like it. Prayerfully he will start sleeping longer hours soon.

Well, need to get Nolan from school. It was a nice, quite morning!! :)

Now I Understand...

why people have more than one child! :) Nolan was such a difficult baby that the only reason we decided to have another one was because we knew he would be a rotten only child! I just couldn't fathom why in the world people repeatedly had babies. I have now been enlightened in the wonderful world of easy, laid back babies. I prayed daily since Nolan was 6 weeks old that our next child would an easy one. I know that the Lord could have- in His goodness- given us a child even more difficult that Nolan, but I am so thankful that he answered my pleas! This little guy has the sweetest disposition, falls asleep really easily, and sleeps great at night. If he is crying it is because he is hungry and then he can get pretty cranked up if I don't move fast enough. I know that this could all fall apart at any moment, but in the mean time I will just be thankful.

An update on my first day with them alone...we did great. It was an enjoyable day for the most part. Today their schedules have collided a few times and I thought I would loose it during lunch, but I made it without tears (I was the only one, however!). So, now I am off to nap so I can make it through the rest of the day! Yea for naps!!

LOVE him!!

Back to Reality

I was so blessed to have non-stop help since Elliott was born, but as of tomorrow, that is all over. :( Jerel had a week and a half off and then my mom came in for a week and flew back to Florida this morning. The help has been amazing, and I have to admit- I am a bit nervous about Monday when I have to fly solo. I keep reminding myself that people do this all the time and that I will successfully keep both children alive and most likely not loose my mind in the middle of it all. Every time I find myself getting anxious, I really try to claim different verses that promise the Lord's sustaining power, strength, mercy, and presence. This helps. I also know that I just have to take it all one day at a time. I'll keep you posted on the craziness.

My mom and the babies

I look ROUGH (as to be expected after being up every 2 hours all night) but Nolan was being so sweet as we colored.

Lions & Tigers &....

BEARS, OH MY!

Nolan was a bear for Halloween. A friend let me have this costume and I continue to LOVE hand me downs! May I never pay for a costume! :) My mom flew in on Saturday to help me for the week and Nolan and Elliott were able to trick or treat at Jerel's parents and then Jerel took Nolan out to see a couple of the neighbors when it got dark enough. It was fun to live in a neighborhood this year and have trick-or-treaters. It was a bummer that it rained but fun was still had by all.

Nolan was very unsure of the costume at first. If you enlarge this picture you can see big ole' tears rolling down his face. I kept telling him to get over it! :)

He got his first peanut butter cup and got over it!

Off to see the neighbors

Elliott was sleeping beauty! :) Isn't he sweet??

My Favorite Thing!

Today was beautiful in Greenville and I was feeling well enough to get out for a little walk downtown. So we broke out the Phil & Teds and loaded up the car.

When I realized that that I was going to have two babies, I began the research of the best double stroller for our lifestyle. Every time I looked at a side by side like the double Bob, Jerel would begin to hyperventilate because they are just so big. I would stop every stranger on the street who had a Phil & Teds and everyone seemed to love it...so we took the plunge and are so thankful! I wasn't sure how Nolan would do in the back (eventually Elliott will be back there) but he did great today and seemed to really like it.

So, if there is anyone out there considering a P & T, I HIGHLY recommend it!!

Week 1

Tomorrow is the end of week one and I would say we are surviving remarkably well! They let us go home from the hospital 24 hours after I had Elliott which was great! I knew that even if I was only sleeping 3 hours is would be better in my own bed than with people constantly walking in and out of the door. Nolan came home from the grandparents the next day. He isn't really sure what to make of his little brother. He is curious and goes up and gives him hugs. I feel like he is a little more unsure of me. I feel like he keeps looking at me like "what have you done to my life???" I know this is just a phase.

Elliott is doing really well. He still just sleeps all the time and has such a sweet disposition. He will go really long stretches at night if I let him, which is so tempting....but I know that for now I have to get him up to eat.

Ok, Nolan needs a companion, so I am off.

Elliott Forrest

I know, I know, I'm blogging in the hospital. But lets face it- it may not get easier than this for a long time. Elliott is in the post-delivery coma, Nolan is at the grandparents, and people at the hospital feed me! :)

We have had a great day. I checked in at 5:30 and they started everything right away. I got the epidural around 11:00 and barely experienced any pain. At 3:30 we knew he was ready and by 3:57 after I pushed twice, our little (or not so little) guy was here.

Elliott is 8 lbs. 7 oz. 21 in. long. He has already nursed great and is sleeping like a champ the past two hours. I am hopeful that he will be able to nurse. They are taking him to the nursery tonight (YEA, YEA, YEA!!) and I am looking forward to a couple hours of sleep.

Thanks for all your prayers. I know the recovery can be rough, but I embrace the drugs that are offered to me! :) We are looking forward to getting home and introducing him to his brother and dog.

For your birthday...

...we are getting you a little brother!

Today is Nolan's 20 month birthday (which sounds so close to 2 years!!!), and tomorrow we are getting him a little brother! I have to be at the hospital at 5:30 and then let the waiting game begin. Since I was induced with Nolan I feel like I have a little clearer expectations. We are just praying to have him by dinner time and way before shift change. We learned the last time that it is a HUGE pain to deliver at shift change. We are looking forward to meeting Mr. Elliott Forrest. How big will this little guy really be?

Today was a flurry of packing Rocky, Nolan, and ourselves. I'll be glad to have us all back together before the week is over.

I am sure that we will post as soon as we can tomorrow. Feel free to pray for a safe delivery...that they can get the IV in me (no kidding, this is usually a big deal), that I will not stress out over nursing, that Elliott will be healthy. I mean, you could pray that we would get some sleep- but I am trying to be realistic! :) So, until tomorrow...

Therapy

I know that I have been a little blog-happy lately, but lets face it, there is a good chance that I am about to be on a forced hiatus. Might as well take advantage of the "time" I currently have.

Anyway, Nolan is still in occupational therapy for his eating issues. I think that it is helping, and mostly I am just no longer stressed out about it. I figure, until someone tells me that he is malnourished, I am just going to go with the flow. One of the things we have been trying to get him to do is dip one food/texture into another and actually put it in his mouth. I finally had victory with apples and pudding. When we were having "therapy" this week, it was getting a little out of control, but he was having a blast and eating. Lets be honest, I wish I could have some of this therapy! :)

Fall!

This past weekend we did the best we could to enjoy fall before this cold rainy weather rolled in, and before I am banned to my house with a newborn during flu season! We stopped by Starbucks and picked up a couple pumpkin spice lattes (YUMM!!) and picked out our pumpkins. Nolan had so much fun running around trying to pick up all the different pumpkins. Then we went to a park- which I was so thankful to have Jerel with me. It is impossible for me to handle Nolan at a playground by myself at this point. We had a great day and I love having pumpkins at my front door. Hope you all are enjoying this season as well.

Helping dad deliver the goods to the stoop!

Nesting

I don't remember it being this bad with Nolan but I have the nesting bug...bad!! I literally dream about rearranging furniture and hanging pictures. I probably did 10 loads of laundry this week getting all of Nolan's infant clothes ready for Elliott. My poor husband has taken things we are not currently using up to the attic and brought things down like the car seat and bouncy seat. But, I am happy to report that we are ready! Well, I don't actually own any newborn diapers or have any bags packed up, but I can work on that this week. If Elliott does not show up on his own by Wednesday the 21st, they are going to make sure he shows up! :) I think that I feel ok about being induced. He already weighs 7 lbs. 5 oz. and I am 2 cm dilated. Hopefully he will just come on his own. I will start walking some major hills next week! :) So, here are the boys rooms. I am pretty happy with how they have turned out.

Elliott's room...it's a vintage car & truck theme.

It's a little sparse right now, but we will add to it along the way.

I found this fun Route 66 wallpaper and Jerel and I educated ourselves with the wallpaper process last weekend. We were proud of figuring out how to hang it straight and match the pattern. I kept debating if I could make Elliott's monogram out of uniform letters. Ultimately I decided that it was my artwork and I could do whatever I wanted! :)

Cute truck bedding I got off of ebay

Nolan would like to show you his room...

View when you enter the room

I painted this mural about a month ago. The map above his crib is one Jerel brought back from Kenya. It's mostly a world/Africa theme in here.

I got rid of a changing table in his room...we just don't have anything that would work in both rooms. Maybe he will be potty trained soon! HA!!