Our Busy Week

Last week we went out and did a few different fun things-probably the most in one week than what we've done in awhile! Just wanted to post some pictures :)


Nate at his Great Play camp



Goofy Garden Fun class-we made dirt dessert!


Toy Town-checking both ways before going into traffic :)



Train table all to himself!



Welcome to my pizza kitchen!



Where are my customers?




Preparing your order...here it is!



Birthday party at Sunsplash the weekend before-he loved it there!


Favorite slide




I had some fun this past weekend with my best friend-went to an art class and got to drink some wine while I was at it! Very enjoyable for something different!








Pic 1 : enjoying the wine and snack table! Pic 2 : getting ready to paint Pic 3: artist hard at work Pic 4: tada!

Josh and I had a great one day excursion to Sedona just walking around, wining and dining. This coming weekend is our trip to the woodsy town of Heber. Looking forward to it!

Mr. Two Month Old!

Time just keeps getting away from us! Just took Aaron for his two month well visit today. The great news is he's been completely thriving since he went totally to formula almost a month ago-the pediatrician is very happy with his stats. He weighs about 11.5pds, 22.5 inches long and he's starting to hold his head up some. He's still eating generally every two-three hours, even at night. I think there has been one night possibly where he might have gone four hours, but I reckon I'd remember if there was a night that I had some serious sleep! :) Aaron is a big noise maker when he sleeps (lots of moans,groans) so sometimes we're not sure if he's awake and hungry or if he's just maybe reacting to a dream,getting comfortable...perhaps we'll need to just try letting him make some noise for a while first before rushing to his aid. I've been nervous of Aaron waking Nate up at night so I'm quick to react when I think Aaron is hungry or upset.Usually now though, if Nate is fast asleep, he usually stays that way unless a tornado is coming through (like our storm the other night!)



The changing table is absolutely his favorite place to be! He smiles tons and coos the whole time.



Stretch...




Big boy

Aaron has also grown to enjoy the swing and bouncer. I think now that he sees better and doesn't have that newborn glaze as much, he likes to play/look at the animals on both that hang down. In the swing in particular, he likes to look at the animals as he falls asleep. He takes his naps for the most part in the swing unless we're out and about. He likes to be propped up some versus straight down on his back I think.




Lastly, Aaron enjoys being in Nate's room too, laying on his bed. He turns his head all around looking...and likes to watch his big brother play with his toys in there. It won't be too long before little brother trys to act like big brother I'm sure! :) Nate enjoys showing him everything too.

Fun Summer

I've spent the last few posts writing the majority about Aaron, I thought it was time to update on the rest of us :)

Ok, so I have written a good portion about Nate too but I haven't talked much about what he's done this last month. At the beginning of the month, we had him in Vacation Bible School through our church. It was an awesome, Monday-Friday for three hours deal called "PandaMania".



They began and ended each day singing songs--such cute decorations to go with the theme!

Luckily the first day my mom happened to be off of work so she watched Aaron in the morning while I took Nate the first day in case I would need to stay for a while (which I was hoping I wouldn't have to do). Sure enough, when I went to leave Nate started to get upset. I stayed long enough until it looked like class was going to start and tried to get out the door then. I had to get help from one of the adults there (who I'm very thankful I knew so I was comfortable leaving my poor crying son in her hands). Picking him up later, I was happy to learn that he had only been upset for a few minutes. The rest of the week went smoothly-I didn't have trouble dropping him off any other morning (well, except one morning for a minute when my adult friend was running a little late! I was happy she showed, otherwise I may have had to take him home :) ) The best part was seeing that Nate enjoyed himself and told me what they did that day or what they had to eat (he must learn that from me).

Nate is quite bashful in a group setting, he tends to be the observer, so I think getting him exposed to a social environment was a good thing. Later in July I have him signed up for a few more days of a play class where I drop him off/pick him up a little later-didn't think it would hurt to practice being away from mommy and daddy some more before he starts preschool in almost another month (!) I'm super excited for him to be around kids his age and just be in that social setting. I don't expect him to learn a whole lot, but we wanted to start getting him used to just being on his own, interacting with other kids, learning to follow directions from other adults,etc. Pretty much just a total social reason in preparation for all the years ahead!

This past weekend we took Nate out on a date for pizza and to the circus.



Nate loved the parts with the animals in particular-here there are three rings with horses and zebras in them (sorry for the bad lighting!)



We also made a visit to my grandma for her to visit with the kids.



This past week was also suppose to be when we made a trip to one of our favorite Arizona cities (to cool off and stay in a cabin in the beautiful pines!) up in Greer. For those who don't know, we had a massive wildfire that unfortunately went through some of that town. We are very relieved,however, that despite exaggerated media coverage the town was largely saved with exception of some cabin homes on a hill. The vast majority of the town was saved,hooray! I called the lodge where our cabin was and we were able to reschedule for August.

In a few weeks, we will be going with my family up to the town of Heber (also a stay in a cabin in the trees/little bit cooler city up north). I was pretty bummed that our Greer trip got scratched for this month so I jumped on the chance to go out of town when we got invited. It won't be much more than ten degrees cooler than what it is here, but it will be a nice weather break in the mornings and evenings at least. I'm also just excited for the boys to spend some extra time with their Nana and Pap-Pap. Josh will be staying with us for one night and then the boys and I will stay for the remaining two other nights that my parents have the cabin.

Also this month, Josh and I are planning a day trip with just the two of us to Sedona-probably a go up in the morning and come home after dinner type thing. I'm super stoked for that. I haven't been out of town anywhere since we went to Sedona in December! (for me,that's WAY too long...) The even better part is that my parents are going to take BOTH kids for the night that day so we can come home to a quiet house and well, have a quiet house! :) I'm so very appreciative that we have them around to help. Can't wait.

So...I think that's the latest and greatest from our end. I was dreading the summer months before,thinking how slow the days would go...but actually, the days have gone rather fast despite us staying home more. The boys and I mostly hibernate at home in the afternoons, I have no energy to take them out and about. Aaron especially shouldn't really be out in the heat all that much. We're usually active in the morning and then by lunchtime-ish we rush back to the cool cave :) I've been trying to arrange for Nate to go to Josh's parent's house 1-2 afternoons a week for a few hours just to see some different toys and get to swim when it's most hot out. He really enjoys being in the pool, seeing his other grandparents and getting to play with his cousin if she's there. I enjoy getting to have just one child! :)

It's been a busy summer for us so far-excited to see how the next month unfolds!

Brothers

Neither one too interested in picture taking


Big brother Nate helping feed little brother



Chilling out on the couch again

I love that I can go back to when I started my blog-when Nate was around the same age that Aaron is now (almost two months!) It's neat to remember what Nate's favorite/not so favorite things were and what he was up to. It's also neat now to compare the two. Already, like many of my friends have said, the two are different :) At two months old :

--Aaron prefers to sleep being held/cuddled with. Today in fact, after holding Aaron a few different times for him to go to sleep, he woke up within five minutes each time of me putting him down.
-Nate could sleep anywhere, including the swing and bouncer. Aaron doesn't care for the two yet.

--Both boys love their changing tables with views out their bedroom windows. When Nate was fussy I'd take him outside on the swing. Obviously, now that we're hitting 110 degrees here we aren't outside much but I'm sure he'd like it if we did :) It's fun watching Aaron stare out his window, get excited and start kicking and swinging his arms, cooing.

--Aaron is on/off with his pacifier. Doesn't always need it.

--Aaron is exclusively formula fed. I discontinued nursing after not being able to produce enough. It was at the point that we were supplementing more formula and Aaron needed to play catch up with weight-sure way for him to gain was being formula fed.
-Nursed Nate for six months, but supplemented formula at the same time. Probably could have done the same with Aaron if I didn't have Nate to worry about :)My time is a bit more limited.

--Nate was sensitive to loud noises. Aaron is learning to be the opposite :)

--Both around ten pounds (Aaron has gained almost three pounds in the last three weeks!), wearing three month clothes (goodbye, newborn :( )

--I want to say that Aaron is sleeping better at night than Nate because of the formula, but we still feed him about three times between 9pm and 6am. At least now we don't have to forcefully wake him up every three hours to eat, just as needed.

For now those are some tidbits I can think of. Nate continues to be a very kind big brother. This last week he took up helping feed Aaron his "milk". Having Aaron has been handy in ways of getting Nate to peacefully do things he may not want to do otherwise-such as taking a bath, cutting his fingernails, even changing his diaper. As long as I do the same to Aaron, Nate doesn't mind doing them. Gee if only I could potty train Aaron :) Yep, we're still working on that step.

So our smallest member is doing well. I just can't believe how old and big he's getting already :(

Aaron's Baptism

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Adjusting...

Sort of even surprising to myself-even though Aaron is barely three weeks old he's been on some field trips since daddy returned to work. Yes, I've ventured out with both kids! One day I was out for a total of five-six hours, on my own! Some of the activities we've been up to:


"My Gym" play classes




New toy from Aaron


Getting to open the Disney store!

I'm starting to kinda get the hang of being on my own with two kiddos.Meaning-I brush my teeth with one hand, bopping Aaron in my other arm, and trying to reach a Pop-Tart for Nate with my foot. Any free limbs are being used! In all seriousness though, I'm trying to settle into a morning routine of doing this first,that second...frankly trying to be somewhat organized so it's not a madhouse. Josh, for instance, usually gets Nate started with breakfast in the morning while I feed Aaron and get ready. Then I always get Aaron ready next so that Nate is ready and willing to copy "what baby brother does". Still lucky for me, Nate has been great with Aaron. It probably helps that Nate has discovered playing games on my iPad so that keeps him occupied while I feed Aaron :)

While the kids are doing great, Josh and I...well it's just like being new parents again :) We eat dinner with toothpicks keeping our eyes open and pretty much go to bed with the little ones. Aaron still gets up four times or so to eat and Nate enjoys his daddy sleeping with him so he still gets up each night at least once. Sleep will come back, one of these days.









First bath


Still curious Nate

Some recent pictures of Aaron. Typical newborn-eats and sleeps. I'm so glad he's past his birth weight-I'm so relieved not to have to deal with the stress of him losing weight as I did with Nate. I hope it stays that way! It's fun taking him places to get the ooh's and aaah's :)

Monday is our wedding anniversary-tomorrow Josh and I are going out to a nice dinner and maybe a movie or something else earlier. Our first date since Aaron was born! I'm super excited. Now we'll really get the chance to talk to each about things before we get interrupted or fall asleep! The weekend after Aaron is getting baptized-the Kucenski's have a very busy June!

Well, while daddy is playing with Nate and Aaron is napping...I'm back to catching up on some reading!

Aaron Michael

Well it's been a bit since my last post :) Aaron Michael has since made his grand arrival-May 12 @ 6:30pm, 19 inches and 7 pounds. I ended up being induced the day after my due date. I had a gel inserted into my cervix to help me dilate faster-a process that could be repeated up to three times before they would send me home if I didn't progress. Thankfully, after one shot of the gel, I dilated an extra cm/cm and a half-enough progress to let me stay. Next I received Pitocin to help things along even further and soon after an epidural. I was very clear with the nurses that I didn't want to dilate too fast, that I wanted to be sure I had time to have the drugs :) From start to finish, Aaron was born within six hours. Delivery was smooth and we're both doing well. I stayed in the hospital for two nights before coming home.








Nate was unsure about Aaron at first, he didn't want to get too close let alone hold him or touch him. Now that we've been home for a week, he likes to stroke Aaron's head, hold his hand and he's been a great helper. He'll pick out Aaron's outfits, give me diapers and put his dirty clothes in the hamper. He hasn't been jealous of Aaron at all, even when I'm feeding him.

Josh has been home since the day I was induced and will go back to work this coming Thursday. It has been such a great help to have him home and of course start to bond as a bigger family. It's nice that I'll have only two days by myself before it's time for a three day weekend. I'm hoping we settle into a routine fairly quick.

We have also been blessed to have the help of our close family and friends with watching Nate and having meals provided for us. What a difference that all makes. I'm so thankful.




So the next few weeks at least we'll be trying to figure out the balancing act-just wanted to post a quick update for now. Aaron is such a sweet little boy, Nate an awesome big brother, and Josh such a helpful and supportive husband with me and all our boys-trying to help us all out. I wish he was a permanent stay at home daddy with me! :)

Easter

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We had another fun (though busy and tiring!) Easter holiday. We went to church in the morning, spent time at my parents and then hopped over to Josh's parents. I'm actually surprised that Nate didn't fall asleep on the way home from our last stop-I thought for sure he'd zonk out from the fun day. It was a beautiful breezy afternoon for an egg hunt that my parents usually do for Nate (eggs full of either candy or dollar bills, woohoo!) The Easter bunny had visited each house to leave a basket for Nate. He got stickers, a variety of different Thomas toys, stuffed animals, games...we were happy he didn't get much candy.

It was a fun day but I'm glad it has passed. I'm ready for some early Mother's Day pampering! :)

Mr. Bossypants

Funny how you go through each age and people tell you, "Oh just wait until he/she turns...". Funny how with each age Nate turns, I automatically think it's the worst one yet. What I will say : each age has its own pros and cons. There isn't always going to be all pros, and there isn't always going to be all cons! (in my experience,anyway). I'm happy that at age three that Nate can communicate to tell me what he wants or doesn't want, what he's feeling, occasionally if he needs to go potty...however, he's also turned into-what my title says-Mr. Bossypants! He'll tell us to "sit down", "stay here", "wait a minute first", "no thank you", "pick it up"...a bunch of not so fun, demanding phrases. He'll also copy a lot of what he hears us tell him, like "Tell you what.How about we...." Nate just gets smarter and soaks up information like a sponge week by week. Just this past week he counted to ten on his own! Thanks to our pals, Mickey's Clubhouse, he'll probably learn his ABC's pretty soon (he loves the learning audio books we've gotten him-each of them Mickey!) In most ways, it's awesome to see his vocabulary grow all the time.

I wish his vocabulary and understanding was at a point to explain why potty training isn't so popular lately, though ;) We have good, "things are looking up" days and then others where all our patience and time at home has gone down the drain. Patience isn't one of my best traits but it's something (especially since having a child) that I work on all the time. I had thought that once Nate started potty training that it would be a fast and "done and over with" process within a week. For us it's been a continuous on and off switch! It's hard. On the one hand I feel pressure to get Nate trained before Aaron arrives (and the start of summer when I'd like to enroll him in classes,camps and other activities to help keep him busy that require a potty trained kiddo) but on the other, I'm trying hard not to put pressure on him so that he doesn't resist or back off even more. Each day is different-he'll go once one day, five times the next, then back to none...I find the whole process completely confusing :)

Can't believe April is just about over. I would post updated pictures of Aaron's basically done bedroom, but we still may work on it some more over the next two weeks. We're hoping to get blinds/shades in now that it's already hitting the 90 degree mark and the sun is coming up earlier. I just need to get the diaper bag and hospital bag ready to go, and then that's pretty much it! Nate is already having a blast pushing the baby swing ("for baby brother"), checking out the vibrating glider, unloading all Aaron's clean clothes from his drawers....it's cool to see that he's getting an idea that a baby will be in the household within a few weeks. We bought Nate a few gifts, "from Aaron" once he is born. I also bought him a Thomas on the go train track/Thomas car that he can fold up and bring with him to/home from the hospital while I'm in there. I wasn't planning on giving it to him until it's time.

Looking forward to a three day weekend with the hubby home for the Easter holiday. We'll be busy jumping from house to house on the actual day. Speaking of holidays-we've decided to celebrate Mother's Day the Sunday before, not knowing how the actual day will play out. Sounded like a good idea to me-if I haven't had Aaron yet by that point, I may be at the point of just wanting to sit my bum on the couch all day :) I'm hoping to have him by that point, however. It would be nice since Nate was late.

Well, speaking of sitting on my bum-I'm ready to put my feet up for the night. Probably some Easter pictures next week!

House Remodel

This past weekend we got our carpet in! We're so happy with how it turned out. It looks great with our tile and much to my happiness, it's darker than what our ivory carpet was so it'll hide dirt and such much better! A few pictures:







We also started to put new blinds/shades in. We still have our bedrooms to go, but our kitchen is a lot nicer. Interesting how a little change can make a difference!




Now that we have the carpet in, we can finally start working on getting Aaron's room together. I'm hoping to get some time during this week to compile a list of everything we need for him yet and go shopping next weekend. Then it'll just be a matter of piecing everything together, doing laundry, etc. Can't believe we're just about a month away!