In case you thought I was exaggerating...

...about how big William is, take a look at this picture! This was taken on his 3 month birthday. When seeing him next to Hannah you really get an idea of his enormity :)

And I think I need to work on Hannah's "holding" skills...although it's got to be hard to hold something that is more than half your weight!

Backseat Driver!!

Guess who the backseat driver is in our house? HANNAH

The other day I picked the kids up from daycare and on the way home I went through a yellow light. Hannah said, "Mommy, don't do that again!" in a very concerned voice. "That light is not green. DON'T GO!" She then proceeded to explain to me that I can only "go" when the light is green. I had no idea that she actually understood traffic signals. She is such a little rule-follower...I have no idea where she gets that from :)

I'm a lion, hear me ROAR!

Are you ready for this...check out our cat Della with her new "lion cut!" Okay, so she doesn't really look like a lion (because she's a short-haired cat), but I think that she thinks she looks pretty fierce!

I feel bad that I have been calling her fat for all these years. She's really not as big as I thought she was under all the fur. I actually think she looks kinda cute! It took Mark a few hours to trim her and surprisingly, she loved it! I guess it felt like a kitty massage. She seems to be quite comfortable with her new 'do.

The best part about this:

LESS HAIR AROUND THE HOUSE = LESS CLEANING FOR ME!!!

(and that's exactly what this working mom needs these days!)

Back to the real world

Today marks the end of my 12 week maternity leave. What an incredible 12 weeks it has been. I never would have dreamed that I could love another baby as much as I love Hannah. But it's true...your heart does grow when you bring another child into the world. And William has me wrapped around his finger! I'm so thankful that I have had this time to bond with my little boy. I will never forget the time we spent together...often times just looking at each other and "talking", or taking naps together, or playing on the floor together and my silly attempts to make him smile. So many wonderful memories! It just tears my heart apart that I won't be able to do those things with him all day, every day. I'll be living for the weekends. I just don't want to miss anything. I remember feeling the exact same way with Hannah when I went back to work. Those first couple months were very hard for me. Being a working mom is tough and I often find myself questioning whether I've made the right decision. I pray that my children won't hold that against me when they are older.

I have so much more I want to say but I just can't type anymore...the tears are flowing again. I can't wait until 4pm tomorrow when I can get in my car and drive home to my beautiful children.

Best Zucchini Bread Recipe EVER!!

Thanks to my mother-in-law for sharing her recipe for zucchini bread. Hopefully it's not a secret recipe! I could eat this stuff for every meal of the day! I mean, look at these ingredients...how could you go wrong :)

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 T baking soda

2 cups grated zucchini

3 eggs beaten

1 cup oil

1/2 T salt

1 T cinnamon

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Makes two loaves. {Hint: use an electric mixer. I learned this the hard way, but got a great arm workout trying to "stir" the dough! Eventually, I gave up and just mashed it all together with my (clean) hands}

Anyone up for a challenge?

About 3 weeks ago I learned about the 100 push up challenge (see the website here: 100 Push Up Challenge). I'm the first to admit that I don't have a whole lot of upper body strength. This program will (supposedly) prepare you to complete 100 consecutive push ups in just 6 weeks. I'm now in the middle of week 3 and honestly don't think I'll be able to do it in just 3.5 more weeks. I can tell though that I am stronger. Picking up my 30 lb daughter and hefty 16 lb son isn't nearly so bad. Although, carrying William in his carseat is still a strenuous feat for me! Last night I completed 57 pushups; however, not consecutively.

I really want to get back to working out/running but am afraid to do too much while I'm nursing William. Too much exercise can reduce my milk supply and I really want to breastfeed him until 12 months, like I did with Hannah. I'm a big advocate for the benefits of breastfeeding, and while it is a challenge for me at times, I honestly think it is one of the best things I can do for him. It will be especially challenging when I return to work next week. So, all of that to say, I need to do some type of exercise over the next 9 months, which is why I'm doing the push up challenge. I've also started the 200 Sit Up Challenge. I don't think that will be near as hard to complete as the pushups...but then again, it may be harder than I think following my c-section.

Kids say the darndest things...

Hannah has really been cracking me up lately with all the funny things she says. Yesterday she came in our bedroom and we had the following conversation:

Hannah: You took all the covers off your bed!

Me: Yes, I'm washing the sheets.

Hannah: Mommy, did you tee-tee in bed?

Me: No honey, I did not tee-tee in bed.

Hannah: Did Daddy tee-tee in bed?

I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. It's so neat to be able to have a glimpse into the mind of a child. I guess she thinks sheets only need to be washed when they are peed in. Then I explained to her that Mommy and Daddy don't tee-tee in bed and that sometimes we just want clean sheets to sleep on. I came to the conclusion that I must not wash the sheets enough...

Today at lunch, I asked Hannah what "centers" she was enjoying at school. Usually she tells me that she likes the Science Center, but today she said she liked the "Fine Motor Center." Really? Did my 3 year old just say "Fine Motor?" Does she even know what that means? I love that girl :)

TWO months old!

Just a brief update on William...he's now 2 months old and continues to grow like a weed!

Here are his stats:

length - 24 inches (90th percentile)

weight - 16 lbs (above the 95th percentile)

head circumference - 50th percentile

William has grown a tremendous amount in the past month! Eventually he'll have to slow down. He has already more than doubled his birth weight! He grew 3 inches in length and 5.5 pounds since his one month checkup (no wonder I had to buy him a new wardrobe!). He is smiling more and more and is cooing every now and then. He continues to sleep like a champ at night, often sleeping 11 hours straight before I have (need!) to wake him to nurse. He likes to fight naps during the day, but I think that is pretty normal. He is still a very happy and laid-back baby. I'm just trying to soak up as much one-on-one time with him as possible since I'll be returning to work in a couple weeks :(

Here are a few pictures I took on his official birthday: