Eden vs. Judah

I know, I know. You aren't supposed to compare your kids. It's just so interesting how different they are even with only 2 1/2 months to compare.

Eden likes routines. I wish we had been better about a nap routine with her early on, but she has an awesome internal clock. By 8 weeks she was getting up at 4:30 every night, on the dot. Never more, never less. She still does best when her naptime and bedtime are the same every day, and before we had to wake her up to take her to day care, she would sleep until 7:30 every morning. She remembers her bedtime routine and just can't sleep if you mess it up! I made the accident of reading some extra books before bed one night. And I love that she loves books, but we now have to read 5 every night. Ok, we hid one that we both don't like so now its only 4.

Judah doesn't seem to be big on routines or schedules. I know he's only 2 1/2 months old so this can change. He gets up anywhere between 1 and 4 to eat at night and then he sleeps for 2-5 more hours before eating again. He does seem to be an early riser. Any time after 5:30 he is ready to play!

Judah is so very social. Today he was cooing and smiling at a stuffed octopus. Cutie. Its so easy to make him laugh and he loves to smile and coo and even seems to be imitating sounds. We had to work to get Eden to smile at this age. She didn't laugh out loud until she was much older, and she still doesn't really perform for people, especially when she is in her own world. I think Judah is already giggling and will smile and engage with us whenever we talk to him. Its so fun!

I can't wait to see how they both change and develop as they get older. We are so thankful for their sweet personalities and how much they add to our family.

Life these days...

So my last post was the week after I went back to work, which is telling. It has taken a while to get used to working and taking care of these two. We are figuring it out, although the house isn't as clean and our trips out of the house are changing from story hour, playing at the toy store, and stopping at the coffee shop, to the less exciting walking around the mall for a few hours. The less I have to transfer 2 between car seat and stroller, the better. And its just so cold! We are figuring out some "mama during the winter in minnesota" tricks like the malls that have play areas, free day at the childrens museum, the indoor parts of como zoo, the library that has underground parking and a play area, and even the mall of America. I know, who wants to go to the mall of America. But when its 2 degrees outside and your child is still entertained by watching other children go on rides, the mall is AWESOME. Not to mention lego land has a free play area and the rainforest cafe has a crocodile! Hours of free entertainment!

Luke has been a huge help with getting up during the night with Judah. Both babies were sick for a week or so with stuffy noses and coughs which of course effected sleep, but things are getting back to normal now. Its amazing how big of a deal sleep is. Im so thankful that Eden was (and still is) such a good sleeper. She sleeps long and hard. Judah is, um, working on it. A random lady at the mall yesterday mentioned how she missed the tiny baby age. I told her I missed sleeping. She answered that all of her babies slept through the night as soon as they were born. A. that didn't make me feel any better B. Im choosing to believe that she exaggerates. Since she was a complete stranger, that totally works.

We are having so much fun and between Eden, Judah, Sprocket, Gatsby and Gretch (the new kitten), the house is FULL of life and activity! Eden is loving her new kitten and is (slowly) learning how to play with him. We are excited for Christmas and then we head down to Nebraska with Luke when he goes down for grad school. We will get to see some family down there and we will get to experience our new reality of taking a trip with two babies. Theres a reason that a portable dvd player is on Edens Christmas list....