Anders is 3 weeks old!

It has only been a few weeks since Anders came into this world and I already feel like he has been here forever.  He has become such an important part of my life in such a short amount of time, the same way Alden did.  I have so much fun everyday getting to hold him and watch him change and grow, even if I am rather sleep deprived.  =)

Adjusting to two kids at home, especially without having Drew here, has not always been easy but I find that whenever I get frustrated or worn down I simply have to look at my boys and I am reminded how lucky I am.  Alden is always willing to give me a hug if I need it and Anders loves to snuggle and cuddle which always improves my mood.  I love being a mom and facing the challenges that come with it.  I am lucky that neither of my boys are very difficult so far, but there are moments of meltdown, just like with any kid, and sometimes I feel myself feeling overwhelmed and like nothing I do is right.  In those moments I have to remember to take a deep breath and remind myself that I am doing my best and that as long as I keep Heavenly Father as a central part of my life, he will help to guide me and support me as I raise our children.  I love my boys so much and can't wait for them to have their Daddy home soon!  Here is a video that I think shows a piece of how sweet my boys are.

Anders seems to love baths, which makes me super happy!  Alden still does not like baths and he is almost 3 so I am hoping that Anders continues to always enjoy bath time!  Here is a short video of how calm Anders was for his first bath.

I just had to take a bunch of pictures of Anders because I think he is so adorable and he is already changing and growing so quickly and I want to document this time.

He loves to stretch out his arms when he is awake.

Anders loves being on his tummy and he really enjoys sucking on his hands.  Here is a video of Anders on his tummy, trying to get his hand in his mouth even though it is covered.

Such cute faces!

It has been a fun and exciting two weeks.  I am so excited to continue watching how Anders grows and changes.  He is so sweet and brings so much joy and happiness to our family!

On Our Own

After my mom left I got to adjust to having two kids at home without 24 hour extra help.  Both Anders and Alden have been really good and neither of them are particularly difficult kids but it is hard trying to balance keeping Anders away from other people so he doesn't get sick and not having Alden go stir crazy in the house.  Luckily, Alden totally loves his baby brother and so that helps keeps Alden appeased when we have to stay home.  We also had some days of really nice weather when Alden could go out in the yard and play or ride his bike and that also helped keep him happy.

Anders has been a fairly good sleeper so far.  He goes about 3 hours between all his feedings and has a couple hours of awake time first thing in the morning and in the evening.  I am very grateful he has not tried to have awake time at night yet.  I also love the fact that Anders sleeps really well in his car seat because that means when the weather has been nice I have been able to take Alden out on walks at the park and Anders will just sleep in his car seat the whole time.  Anders is super sweet and I just love taking pictures of him (as you will see) and I love cuddling with him!

Anders having his awake time in the morning.

He just likes to lay there kick his legs, stretch his arms and look around at everything.

Anders really likes to be all swaddled up when he sleeps.

Anders having more awake time.  This is one of Alden's favorite times of day.  He loves seeing Anders awake and looking around.  This is a video of Alden giving Anders some kisses.

As I said...I just love to take pictures of my new baby! =)

Alden likes to try to give Anders toys.

Alden had so much fun just playing in the front yard.  This day he decided he wanted to pull weeds and then break sticks in half.

I just sat and watched with Anders in the carrier and occasionally directed Alden on which weeds to pull.  He was so excited to help me.

He had so much fun doing yard work and then breaking all the sticks he had collected.

These are things that Alden loves to play with inside.  He loves his pirate sword and Jake headband.   I think he is just so cute.

I love how cute Anders' face is when he yawns.

Anders stretching out one evening before bed.  Here is a video of his stretching and you can hear all the cute little noises that he makes.

So precious!

I love just cuddling with Anders and I take boatloads of pictures (partially so I have good ones to send to Drew).

Alden was so excited when we went to the park.  He would ride his bike on the trail while I pushed Anders in the stroller and Alden was so excited when he got to ride on the swing and have me push him because it was free one day.  (There is only 1 swing at the park close to us and it is often being used)

We are loving our time together!

Alden loves to be close to Anders as much as possible.  It is nice to see Alden so happy about his little brother.

Anders stretching out one morning after we all got up.

Alden loves watching Anders right now but he is going to be so excited when Anders is actually big enough to play with toys.

Alden got to pick out this toy for Anders and he loved giving it to him, even though Anders can't really do much with it yet.  Alden was just excited for Anders to have his own toy and to be able to show it to him.