Daddy's Little Helper

Leah thinks that she is quite the big girl these days. Mitch is busy working on all sorts of projects around the house and it's a wonder he can get any thing done with his little side kick hanging around. But really, it's pretty adorable. When we bought our house it was a "fixer-upper" in every sense of the word. He started by gutting the kitchen completely, followed by the bathroom, he's added a partial fence in the backyard and then there is all the little things...new light fictures, paint and etc, etc, etc. This Spring he has been busy working on landscaping. He had to pull out all of our beautiful cedar trees in the back. The snowstorms demolished them...this is necessitating that we put in more fencing but we haven't gotten to it yet. He has done some work in the front but our enormous yard seems to be a never-ending project. This weekend he started tiling our front screened-in porch. It had horrible indoor/outdoor carpet that smelled mildewy whenever it rained. It HAD to go, not to mention the red paint he spilled on it when he painted the back deck ;)

So this weekend he was out there working hard and Leah HAD to join him. I'm not sure if she was much help, but she was happy as can be working along side her daddy. Now if we could only convince her to work alongside mommy...the laundry and dusting are always calling my name :)

Parentwise?

Last week I asked my friends for a little advice on how to get Kiersten to sleep better and I had several friends tell me to read the book "Babywise". Now let me make it clear that Kiersten was sleeping for some really good stretches, we just couldn't get her to go down at night...once she went down she was pretty much down for the count. But I digress, I bought the book and started reading. Better late than never I guess. But I am a pretty good reader and got almost through the book this weekend. Only to find that I was already using the "Babywise" techniques, I just didn't know it. I pointed this out to my husband and he says to me "Well, we are pretty intelligent people." Apparently a PhD in Chemistry makes you wise in the ways of an infant, ha ha ;)

Kiersten eats every 2.5-3 hours followed by awake time and then a nap/sleep. Most nights we are getting anywhere from a 5-6 hour stretch of sleep before she wakes to eat. I am hoping that these stretches will start to get longer in the coming weeks, after all she is just 6 weeks old. I have enjoyed the book. The first chapter is great. It talks about how parents/spouses need to have a good relationship and communication to establish a sense of stability for their children...how true! I think that is something that a lot of books forget about and they focus solely on child rearing. This book would be PERFECT if it added a spirituality element, at least in my opinion. Anyway, I look forward to keeping up with the babywise methods and seeing where it will lead us. In the meantime I am happy to have such good little sleepers. Notice any resemblances in the pictures below? My darling girls, just like angels...when they are sleeping at least.

All in a day...

This mom of two stuff is hardwork most days. I was telling my mom just the other day that I'm sure it was quite a sight at our house earlier this week. Leah has been sick with bronchitis so she is back on the nebulizer...AGAIN. She can only have a treatment every 4 hours and we try to time it so that she has one right before bed. The clock was not my friend. I sat on the couch with Kiersten in one arm trying to feed her and was rocking Leah in the glider with the other arm while she gave herself her own treatment...Okay, so maybe I'm not supermom but we are getting there.

Most days I would say that things are going much better than I anticipated. I was very worried about how Leah was going to respond to a new baby, and how she was going to handle having my attention divided. But she has done great. She does such a good job occupying herself, playing with her toys, looking at books and watching Sesame Street that she really doesn't concern herself too much with Kiersten. Thank goodness, or breastfeeding would be almost impossible.

Of course I can't seem to find enough hours in the day. Most days I can't get a shower in until Mitch gets home. The laundry just keeps piling up and the living room floor is covered with toys, but I wouldn't change a thing. My girls will only be little girls for such a short time. I'm going to enjoy every minute.

1 Month Old

I can't believe it, but our baby girl Kiersten is one month old today...where has the time gone??? How can she be one month old already? She had her one month physical on Tuesday and the pediatrician says she is doing very well. She was already up to 8 lbs and 9.5 oz and her length was 21.25 inches. Occassionally we are hearing the little coo's and sighs and they are just precious to me. She still seems so tiny to us, but she is sadly outgrowing her newborn clothes already. But that's okay, there is plenty more in the closet :)

This little girl amazes me. She is so calm, peaceful and just all around even tempered. What a little blessing. And to my surprise the past month has been much easier than I was anticipating...not that it's been easy. It's just been easier than I imagined in my head. For the most part Leah has adjusted extremely well to our newest addition. She really doesn't pay too much attention and doesn't seem to be jealous at all, which is good. I spend A LOT of time holding Kiersten with the breastfeeding and Leah just seems to roll with the punches. Every once in a while she looks at Kiersten, gives Kiersten kisses or hugs and one of her favorite thing to say is "baby Kiersten, Waaa Waaa" which makes me smile and melts my heart every time. Anyway, just wanted to update on Kiersten and let everyone know that things are going great. I love being able to be home with my 2 girls. It's exhausting but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Happy 1 month, Kiersten! Don't be in such a hurry to grow up.

Easter Treats!

Easter weekend here in Jersey was just gorgeous! We had temps in the High 70's-low 80's all weekend and even in to this week. PERFECT! What made it even more perfect was the fact that Mitch's family was here visiting so we really got to enjoy some outside time. Well, at least they all did...I was stuck going in and out with Kiersten. Between breastfeeding and not wanting her out in the sun too much I find myself wishing I could have been out there much more. But anyway, what a treat to have Grandma and Grandpa Schultz here. Leah loved all the attention.

On Saturday she played outside all day long. Grandma and Grandpa helped us get some much needed yardwork done. If you go back through the blog you will see pictures of the snowstorms and our beautiful cedar trees in the backyard, well these pictures show how barren our yard is now. Unfortunately they all had to be cut out, the snow just demolished them. On Saturday afternoon G'ma and G'pa took Leah on a walk to the park...she came home with handfulls of pine cones and flower petals....what a little explorer. On Saturday night she got to dye some Easter Eggs. Fortunately I planned ahead and went to Wal-Mart and picked up a few cheap T-shirts just for the occassion...it sure was messy, but with a toddler I wouldn't have it any other way. On Sunday there was more housework. Mitch and his dad did lots of re-wiring and his mom painted our front porch...a few more things knocked off the to-do list. Once Leah woke up from her nap she got to go on an Easter Egg hunt. The looks on her face were just priceless "One Egg" she kept saying as she went around the yard collecting them. It was adorable and she is still playing with empty eggs today. Later on Sunday Grandpa busted out the bubbles which Leah just LOVES. I swear with the next rain we are going to have a sudsy mess in our backyard...she spilled more bubble solution than imaginable but that's all a part of the fun. On Monday G'ma and G'pa took Leah to Wal-Mart...Can you say SPOILED...she got candy, a bat and ball, more bubbles a fishing pole, life jacket and a few outfits. Of course most of it was early birthday gifts...but this girl has got it good. Daddy can't wait to take her fishing and someday she will love ice fishing up in Minnesota with her G'pa just like the rest of her Schultz cousins. On Monday night Grandpa got a campfire started in the backyard...this was a special treat. Grandpa busted out the Marshmallows and Leah had her handsfull, you can never have enough marshmallows apparently. Grandparents sure are good at spoiling and our girls definitely got their fill. Thanks for a wonderful weekend Dave and Tootie and we can't wait until next time. I've attached just a few pictures of the weekend, most are of Leah but there is one of Kiersten and Daddy enjoying some outside time.

Grandparents Squared

Mitch's parents flew out from Minnesota to spend Easter Weekend with us and to meet Kiersten. It was wonderful to have them here. I was fortunate enough to have my mom here to help out after Kiersten was born and my dad came out not much longer after to meet our newest addition. We live too far away from all of our family, but it sure makes us appreciate the time that we do get to spend with them. SO happy that Kiersten has met all her grandparents now, and we can't wait for May when she will finally meet her aunts, uncles and cousins.