dating my husband

Somehow after having Desmond Ben + I have managed to have an even better social life than ever before. I never thought I would say that it's "easier" to leave my baby the second time around, but it truly is. It has nothing to do with being less attached, it's about being more comfortable. I've been around the block with Kai and learned that leaving the baby with grandparents to get a night out with my husband or some work done is a very good thing for everyone.

This past Friday night Ben + I went to a special event called The Gallery of Cupcakes, put on by our friend who runs The Sassy Cupcake (on the side of about a million other awesome things that she does). We dressed up, mingled with adults, and ate cupcakes for dinner.

{my new faves}

{the manly way to eat a fancy little cupcake}

Afterward we decided to stop and get some real food (although I could totally live off of those PBJ cupcakes, so good!) and sit down to chat about something other than work and kids, like an actual date. It was so good to have that time, just for a few short hours to recharge and feel like a couple again.

Special thanks to our wonderful parents and siblings for babysitting so we can do things like this on occasion!

jumpin' jumpin'

This boy is getting too big, too fast.

He now loves, LOVES jumping in his activity jumper. He's also been "talking" a ton and screeching like crazy. He's so happy and active.

Kai loves having Des standing up in the jumper. He's closer to his eye level and he comes over and talks to him and shows him toys. Earlier today he said "noses!" and then tried rubbing noses with Desmond. If you've seen Toy Story 3, you'll get why this is truly hilarious. 

bath boys

Last night the boys took their first bath together, twice. Within the first 10 seconds Desmond decided to pee in the water. So we drained it and started all over. Malakai loved the entire thing and wanted to help wash his brother.

Desmond seemed to enjoy it too.

as usual

Just like always we have been busy little bees around here. Still in full potty-training mode with Kai and he's decided to add furniture-climber to his resume. We did a little furniture switch-a-roo last night which helped keep him off of the low dresser/changer at nap time, but he's still tempted by it in the playroom/Desmond's nursery.

Yes, the playroom is basically Des' nursery now. The crib has been in there since we put Kai's twin mattress in his room back in December, but the changer was still in his bedroom. Now that the crib and changer are back together, it's looking like a nursery...with a LOT of toys everywhere. I think it'll work well as both for now, but I'm sure it's not the last time we transition the two rooms. I don't think we'll be able to put them to bed in the same room for a very long time, so even though our home is small, I'm so thankful that we have 3 separate bedrooms!

Desmond's teething has calmed down a bit, which means better sleep...but not necessarily less drool yet. Kai was never a drooler, so this is new territory for us. I'm not sure if I should just carry around a burp cloth or put a bib on him. Maybe both.

I just updated my Project 365 blog. I always get backed up over the weekend.

Now I need to get back to tidying things up around here in preparation for tomorrow's small group meeting. Always busy, but super blessed.

Malakai + Desmond: growing boys

It's been a while since I've done a comparison of my boys, and since I have to share Desmond's well-check stats from his 4 month in contrast to his 2 month appointment, I might as well see how he compares to Malakai at this age.

First, one small thing that I love about our pediatrician's office is that they take a photo at every well check. I take my own photos all the time, but for some reason it's just so great to have their photos to compare. Here are Desmond's photos so far...

Talk about a quick change! In 2 months his head grew an inch, he grew 3 inches in length, and gained 4lbs! Here are his 4 month stats: height 26 1/4 (85%), weight- 18lbs 15.5oz ( above 95%), head- 17 1/4 in. (85%). 

And Malakai's at this age: height- 24 3/4 inches (43%), weight- 17lbs 8oz (88%), head- 18 in. (99%).  

Kai was seeing a different doctor, so we don't have the well-check photos for him. When Kai was 4 months his pediatrician had us all worried about his growth and development. I'm glad to have switched doctors and to know that both my boys are healthy and well without jumping to conclusions and being given the worst case scenario at every visit. 

Ben + I were just realizing last night that it has been 9 months since Kai's surgery. It seems like a lifetime ago, and we are so glad to have that behind us!

Anyway here is Kai at 4 months in November of 2009 and Des at 4 months now.

We get a lot of comments about how Des looks "just like his brother!" but I really don't agree. They have some of the same features, but each has a look of their own. Well, except for the fact that Malakai is an exact replica of Ben.

This week Desmond has been teething like crazy and Malakai is learning to use the potty. It's been challenging and I surely wouldn't have planned to start potty-training with Kai while sleep deprived because of Desmond's teething and my having a cold...but he was ready so I went with it. The kid totally gets it, but doesn't really care to go unless I remind him that he gets a sticker, then he's all about it, but would rather put a diaper back on than a pull-up or underwear...I have a feeling it's going to take a while!