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I had to go back and see when I had posted last because it had been so long.  I realized that I haven’t posted since I went back to work.  Big surprise there with my schedule.  But here I am at 3:00am and can’t sleep.  Haven’t had to deal with that since the 9th month of pregnancy.  So I thought I would try to update.

First ME.  Well, I went back to work.  I was worried about how it would work and how I would feel and handle it.  While it wasn’t easy at first it has gotten better and it is working.  My Mom and Dad are watching the kiddos four mornings a week and it is alot of work so this summer we are going to have our babysitter Lauren come over two of the four days to help free up some of the schedule for Mom and Dad.  Liam really likes Lauren and the last time she came over he walked around for a week saying Lor, Lor, Lor.  Yes Liam she can come back.

Work is turning out to be a nice distraction at times too.  I am getting a little bit of a break from the kids but I still have most of the day with them.  The hardest part is keeping up with the sleep schedule and now that it is staying lighter later it is getting even harder since the kids want to stay up later.  I am up around 4 am and go to bed around 10.  Needless to say I really enjoy my naps when I can get them.

Now on to the reason that you check this blog….The Kiddos!

Liam is in a very good and bad stage right now.  He is trying to say everything, finally.  He now says please with his mouth instead of his sign and I couldn’t even try to count the number of words in his vocab now.  Most of them are still unclear to the untrained ear, but to those who are around him alot, he makes perfect sense.  He has also started to really sing (babble sing, but still sing) in the car.  It is so cute and annoying.  We are getting ramped up to potty train this summer, maybe in another month or two.  He has a potty and is pretty aware when he has gone, not always aware before he goes yet so the potty isn’t getting any use yet.  Also, we are pretty sure that he is getting his final molars.  On that note…

I never thought that I would have two kids teething at once.  Baby J as we like to call her is starting in to the massive drool stage.  Can’t feel any teeth under those gums but they are on their way.  Liam drooled for months before getting a tooth so we’ll see.  Jocelyn was easy to nurse compared to Liam.  I think that the stress we were under at the time just made it hard to relax and therefore my milk suffered and it frustrated Liam.  Jocelyn, not so much.  She was a nursing champ, however when I went back to work it was pretty much impossible to keep my milk supply up so she quickly went to a bottle.  She is completely weened now and it is working out so well.  The mamma in me is sad but the smart parent in me knows that it is so much easier for everyone else.  She is no longer a newborn baby, she is now a roly poly angel baby who has discovered that she can roll over (only twice), chew on her own hand, and man she has found her voice.  She is a talker, well right now she is a screamer.  Not the kind of scream like she is hurting or sad, but the happy scream.  It was so cute for about a minute and now it is well….still cute but a little more annoying too.

The kids and I went to visit my G-Ma for mothers day with Papa Moo and Gramma too.  It went pretty well.  My fabulous Aunt Janet let us stay at their house since they were away and it was great for the kids.  She has grand babies too so there were toys and it was the comfortable spot to come back to after being at G-Ma’s.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to visit G-Ma’s but her house is not set up for little hands.  She has glass figurines and porcelain cats, and big beautiful vases within reach.  It was a challenge not breaking anything while we were there.  G-ma does happen to also have horses about a block from her house and a scooter, and a jack in the box, and this cool picker uper thingy, so to Liam all the “keep your hands to your self and no thank yous” were worth it because he got to ride the scooter or go down the street and feed/pet the horses.  It was a nice trip and I am glad that G-Ma got to meet her granddaughter (Liam had already been once before when he was a baby) and they did so great with her.  Lots of hugs and kisses and “Fives”.

Charlie is getting ready for his fishing trip.  He and my Dad and brother, Matt and Ed Gossien, and Mike are going on a fly fishing trip to Santa Fe.  He is excited.  This will be his first real fly fishing experience.  He has all the gear he wanted to take and I have the bug spray and sunblock ready so he should have a great time.  He leaves this Friday and will return on Thursday.  I know he is looking forward to the trip but I also know he will be glad to have some time off from working the long hours.  He doesn’t seem to be thrilled about that much time away from the fam but it will do him some good to get away and come back fresh.   That is when I will tell him that I am taking a week off to go visit my friend Katie in Washington   Ok, that isn’t really planned but it sure would be fun.  Katie is the best when it comes to spa days, pedicures, shopping, and girl time. 

UPDATE:

I wrote this a couple weeks ago but never posted so there is more…

Charlie went on his trip, had a blast, we missed him and he us, but he says he would do it again.  Caught mostly little fish but learned alot for next time.  He and my brother Matt got to hang out alot which was nice since they haven’t ever really had much of a chance to get to know each other.  Charlie wants to plan a family trip to visit Matt, Corrie and Kaleo in Texas soon.  I think we will wait until the summer heat and humidity in Texas is over with.

When we were up in Oregon for Mothers Day we had planned to have Missy J’s ears pierced.  G-g-ma wanted to pay for it and be a part of it.  Unfortunatly we never did get it done while we were there.  We still wanted to have it done though, so last weekend Charlie and I took her to get them done.  I cried more than she did, she did great, just a quick little scream and then another then it was over, less than a minute of crying.  I can’t believe I am saying it but I am so glad we did this now instead of waiting.  She can’t pull at them, her hair isn’t long enough to get caught in them, and it is easy to keep them clean at this age. 

We are looking forward to Liam turning TWO next month.  Amazing how time flies.

Hope you are all enjoying the nice weather.  Have a great weekend.

The Peaks

The girls did great playing with Liam, occupying him most of the day with games and toys and building things and golf!  Liam loved the having playmates and I loved the extra help keeping him from getting bored.  They also mopped my whole house one day!  I want to borrow them each and every week for deep cleaning day, my floors never looked better.

The girls were like little moms in trainning when it came to Jocelyn.  Wanting to help and learn all the task in taking care of a baby.  They each got to pick her outfit out on different days and held her plenty.  Sammy got to feed her a bottle but Jocelyn wasn’t cooperating when it was Tammy’s turn.  About the only task that no one wanted to volunteer for was diaper changes, although they did want to watch to see how to do it. 

We got to go to a place called Jump Man Jump and the girls loved it.  Liam was a bit unsure about most of it but did ok.  I think it will be like swim lessons, it will get a little easier each time.  He did like the ball pit alot though.  Carola and I got to play too and we did the big slide which believe it or not is pretty scary from the top.

Weather threatened to keep them here but they made it home after a week of snow flurries, hail, rain, and lots of wind.  It was a great visit and we look forward to hopefully having them back again this summer.

We were invited to an Easter Egg Hunt at the Hacketts house by our friends the Planeta’s and it was today.  We had such a nice time.  Liam is old enough this year to sort of understand the idea of the hunt so he was able to collect a few eggs.

Our hosts did such an awesome job putting together the party.  They have an amazing house that is layed out perfectly for entertaining. 

They had the hunt then the Easter Bunny arrived for some pictures.  After that we had a delicious lunch that was semi-potluck so there were lots of yummy things to choose from. 

Best of all was after lunch Liam was able to play outside with all the cool bikes and vehicles. 

They had a bounce house but Liam was more interested in looking at that than participating. 

Maybe next time. 

All in all Liam and I had a great time and Jocelyn slept through it which I was greatful for.

Jocelyn is starting to cough and sneeze less, but the smiles keep coming.  Her smile does look a lot like Liam’s at that age and she does have two dimples, one in each cheek.  Thing is her cheeks are so big you don’t really see them most of the time.

Liam has been in and out of anything and everything he can this week so we were thinking about getting a play tube but they are too expensive.  My search for a reasonable one lead to a pattern to make a tee-pee.  Perfect.  So Liam and I made a tee-pee yesterday for under $10.  It still needs some refining but he will never know and I am just happy he has something new for cheap that will help keep him entertained.

This week has been long and quick all at the same time.  Swim lessons are going just so-so at this point.  Liam struggles with the instructor but he took a few minutes to play with Liam after last weeks class and I think it may help for next lesson. 

With Jocelyn being under the weather these last few days we have been staying close to home and it has made the days feel like an eternity.  Yesterday I hit tilt and I was greatful that Charlie called at just the right time to say he was on his way home.  He quickly understood when he got home why because Jocelyn proceeded to cry for the next three hours which is very unlike her.  She had slept almost none yesterday and didn’t got to bed until almost 10 about two hours later than normal.  I hope today is better.

When Jocelyn was born she had the worst gas I have ever smelt from any person ever.  I debated whether to share this information because she is my precious angel baby girl….butttttt (hahaha) since then she has been dishing her mama the worst blowouts ever.  And even though she is a girl and she will kill me later for sharing this information, I just had to.  One was so bad I took a picture (which for her sake and yours I really won’t share on this blog) and they all end in a bath and full clothing change.  The worst one yet was this week at a friends house.  Charlie and I joke around the night before that she hadn’t pooped all day and that she would probably save it and have a blowout at the playdate because that is convienent.  Carefull what you wish for she must have been thinking because that is exactly what she did.  Cleaning up a blowout on the bathroom floor of a friends house with baby wipes is not the easiest thing ever.  But I did have clean clothes for her and we survived.  The question is when will the next one strike?

Also this week Liam said two words together.  “more banana” isn’t really a sentence but for some reason it was just so cool to hear.  It was just as exciting as when he took his first steps, maybe even more.  This past week he has suddenly developed a number of words very clearly.  It is just the beginning but it is a great beginning and we are excited to hear something other than no no no no!  Charlie is excited because one of the super clear words was PAPA!

(typical dinner at our house right now)

Also Liam and I started swim lessons this week.  It has only been one lesson so far but Liam loves the water and I think he will pick up all the different “floats” and activities very quickly.  Best of all it has given us the opportunity to re-bond since baby sister came along and it is just what I needed.

Charlie’s job has officially gone to six days a week and they are expected to work a full twelve but up to fifteen hour days.  The good news is the overtime.  The bad news is that he will be gone before the kids get up and home after they have gone to bed so that means he will only see them on Sunday.  Not to mention that he will be tired (and so will I for that matter).  We are looking for other solutions right now so if anyone knows of a job send the info our way.

You know how when people give you advice and you just think they are crazy or wrong.  Then you find out they were actually on to something.  I usually appreciate them more, but still find myself sometimes doubting them the next time they give advice or share wisdom.  Why is that?  Silly me. 

We had split responses from friends and family as to whether it would be alot harder with two.  Half said it really isn’t that much more work and the other half were like good luck.  So far I belive them both.  In some ways it is SOOOO much harder with two and in others it is no big deal at all.  And like most things I have discovered about having kids, if you wait long enough it will change.

Week one at home with both kids left me in tears most days wondering what I had done.  Liam’s personality is so loving and affectionate and it shows with his sister.  He adores her and loves to kiss and be part of taking care of her.  He just gave me a run for my money that first week.  I was greatful for all the distractions that came our way.

Week two at home with both has been totally awesome.  Liam’s loving and caring personality was again shown to his mother and father this week.  I think it helped that Charlie got off work at a reasonable hour most nights this week so he got lots of Daddy time which makes such a world of difference.  But also, I think we just got some of our stuff worked out. 

I was terrified to go to the store with two kids.  I have now been to Walmart twice (and to the Pharmacy! which we all know takes forever), Costco, and one other retail store that I cannot share yet because we went for Charlie’s Anniversary gift and he has not yet recieved it, and they were all successfull!  Just like the first baby it just takes a different kind of planning and most importantly flexability and the knowledge that it probably WILL go wrong.  Then when it does it is no big deal.

My feelings about having a girl are so different than when I had Liam.  I was protective of him but in a very different way.  I am not sure if it is because she is a girl or just because I know this is my last one.  I am a nervous protective of her and unashamed to tell strangers to bug off.  I think with Liam I was still so unsure about motherhood that I felt like I was out of place with it at times.

Overall, I am having a blast with the second and with the both.  I can’t say it makes me want more, but I can say that it makes me feel like we are a complete family and that I am glad we have two.  I am just worried that I may become a minivan mom at some point because my little car has never felt more “little”  with all their stuff and mine.  Speaking of growing out of things…Little Miss has already outgrown all of her newborn outfits.  They really do mean up to 8 lbs..  Good thing she got spoiled by all her friends and family and has plenty of other outfits for the coming months.  Sigh.

Charlie’s work gave him a week off so he didn’t have to go back until this Tuesday.  Since he has been back at work I have had such great support from family and friends with offers to help and it has been a help.  Liam spent the day at Gramma and Papa Moo’s house on Tuesday and yesterday Mandy, Kylie, and Cody and we three went to the park to enjoy the 65degree weather.  It has been the perfect gift to have such nice weather so Liam can go outside and play and explore.

Jocelyn is doing great.  She actually lets me sleep quite a bit for a newborn.  I usually get one long stretch at night, maybe 4-5 hours and then 2-3 hour stretches otherwise.  I have no complaints, however I am coming off of a very restful night today, ask me tomorrow and it may be different. 

The mom’s group I go to is also being very helpful as they have set up a food rotation and will bring us a few dinners this week.  It was nice to wake up this morning and not have to think about dinner right off the bat.  It has gotten easier to accept help as I have gotten older and maybe a little wiser too.

Liam and Jocelyn are doing well together.  Liam usually likes to check in on sister to give her a pat and a kiss and then it is off to whatever strikes his fancy at that moment.  I am perfectly happy with that for now.  He gets concerned when she cries and usually tries to bring her things like blankets or burp cloths.  It was a bit scary yesterday when he brought her his toddler tee ball set as she sat in the swing.  She ended up with a bit of a welt on her face but she survived.  We are constantly working on gentle and it helps that we have a Luci cat that he also has to be gentle with so it is not entirely a new concept.

Well, I am excited to get started on the Wii Fit and get rid of some of my extra but I am not sure when to fit it in yet.  Our days seem so long and to fly by at the same time.  Sometimes I lay and wonder how we are a family of four all of a sudden, seems to have happened so fast.  Well, again thank you for all the prayers and support.  We love hearing from you! 

Nickie

There are also many many pictures up on my moms Picasa album.  I am not sure if it will work but I think if you click this link you can view them all….

http://picasaweb.google.com/JustJoanMeyer/JocelynMariePeak208101204pm?feat=email#

Thank you for all the prayers and support and we will continue to update the website with pictures and news about our family. 

The Peaks