Two Weeks

Warning: long blog post, if you want to skip to the end that's where I post what Caroline is up to at 2 weeks and pictures; you'll have spared yourself my novel!)

Caroline is 2 weeks old today - time flies when you're having fun! We are still trucking along and learning the ropes as the days go by. Life is certainly much busier with two. We quizzed everyone we knew with more than one child for months before having Caroline - we wanted to know "Is the transition from one to two harder than the transition from zero to one?" As you can imagine we received an array of answers .... in the end it seemed to be split down the middle and as always a matter of perspective for many (remember, I'm really trying to keep this word in the forefront of my mind during this transition).

I think I can safely say for us the transition from one to two has been VERY different and in many ways easier (using loosely!) than the transition from zero to one. Zero to one ROCKED OUR WORLD - believe me, it deserves all caps. If you're reading this blog chances are you're a good friend of ours or family - you know us well. You know that I'm a control freak, strong-willed, very type A and when things don't go according to my plan - well, oftentimes its not pretty. Hello! - enter a newborn - newborns rule the house - they eat, sleep, cry, poop, or do whatever they want whenever they want to. Forget a schedule, forget a plan and forget being in control. What a lesson for me! However, it has been a good lesson and one that I'm continually adjusting to. God needed to teach me this lesson - and if it took blessing me with two precious little girls - for that I am forever grateful.

So, all that to say, this time - we knew what it was going to be like - we knew that we wouldn't be sleeping, we would not be on a schedule or in a routine for quite some time (probably hands down the hardest part for me) and that often I would lose it (it's that letting go that I have such a hard time with!). But, we're survived two weeks and its been a good two weeks in many ways. Catherine Ellis seems to be settling in and while still interested in Caroline, she's calmed down a wee bit. We are still dealing with lots of melt-downs, whining and fits, but as my mother reminded me - a lot of this is just being 2 years old. We are constantly reminding ourselves that her WHOLE world has changed, she's 2 and being able to process that and cope appropriately is not something we can expect her to do. All in all she has been great - the love, compassion and kindness she shows her sister on a daily basis is awesome to witness. She's 2 - but she sure comprehends that she loves this tiny little baby and is SO proud that she is her baby sister. It's those moments that keep us going :) I just had to include this picture from one morning this week - Catherine Ellis's look sums up how she felt about leaving Mommy and Caroline behind - we felt the same way.

Caroline is a DELIGHTFUL baby. Period. She's so good that it's scary at times. Now, don't get me wrong, she's a normal newborn that is fussy at times and has nights where she doesn't even sleep for an hour or more at a time before she's hungry again, but all that is part of it. She seems to have a very laid back temperament (time will truly tell!) and is up for just about anything. It's so fun to watch her grow and start to become her own tiny little person. She is so precious and has added so much joy to our family!

Before I get into what Caroline has been up to the past week and the milestones she's reaching at two weeks of age, I want to take a minute to thank my AMAZING husband. Wow! I have to take a step back at times and just watch him in action and tell myself that I am one LUCKY woman. I have a husband that has slept on the couch for the past 14 days - he did get a 3 night break when Meme came - but other than that the couch has been this man's home - by choice - this is something he likes to do and gives him and Caroline some great bonding time. He gets up with Caroline all through the night if she cries and he comforts her, he changes her diaper and gets her awake for me to come in and feed, and then he goes back to the couch and does it all over again. I get to sleep in our comfy bed and have uninterrupted sleep for an hour or two and sometimes three! I can not tell you what a difference that makes. He helps get Catherine Ellis ready in the mornings, takes her to school and picks her up and still does all the normal duties around the house that keep us going. He NEVER complains about being tired or sleepy or his nerves being frayed. He is one in a million and I'm so glad God blessed me with him. Thank you bay for all you do for me and our little family.

Now that I've bored you to tears (remember this is my journal and baby book for my children so I want to document it all) here is what sweet Caroline is up to at two weeks:

• This week has been a hard week for all of us - your tummy is learning to digest and sometimes it's just not fun. But, after 4 days of screaming and aching you seem to be much, much better. Thank you Lord.
  
• You are awake a bit more - maybe 20 minutes more than last week - when you are awake you seem to be more alert
• You have the cutest gas smiles - we like to think you're smiling at us, but we know better:)
• Your fingernails grow about 1/4 of an inch a day - I'm constantly cutting them
• You are still sleeping well at night - you typically pull at least one 3 hour sleeping gig for Mommy a night and that is super nice - means I get about 2-3 hours of sleep at one time
• You still like to be held a lot - you sleep best snuggled up to my tummy - makes sense, you lived there for a long time!
• You are a trooper and up for a challenge - you attended your Meme's retirement party at 13 days of age and were the best behaved baby there - yes, you out-behaved your sister in a good way:)
  
• You travel well - you did great in the car and slept all the way down and back - we know these days are short-lived as you start to become more alert
• You are not ready for the swing yet -but thank you Meme for trying:)
• You are a great eater - much like every other member of your family you like to eat - apple didn't fall too far from the tree
  

Caroline has her 2 week old check up tomorrow - I hope to be back and post her stats - I can't wait to see how much weight she's gained! I'll close with some pictures from the week - two weeks has flown by!

Wide eyed and alert - for just a few minutes!

Cute gassy smile :)

Big sister loves to "hold the baby" or "hold baby Caroline"

Big Sister is also a wonderful helper (with supervision of course!)

Sweet sister love - this might be my favorite picture of these two to date - Caroline is looking at her big sister and letting her 'hold' her hand and Catherine Ellis is delighted!

We are blessed indeed - hope everyone had a great long weekend - I'll be back with pictures from Meme's retirement party and Caroline meeting her Pop Pop for the first time later this week!