Since Chris and I both come from families of very short people, we’ve been surprised to see Justin sprout up so much. It’s not like he’s a giant among two-year-olds, but he’s certainly not short, and that’s the shock. Tall and thin…where did that come from?

And now his little brother is surprising us too. Brayden had his three-month checkup last week and it turns out he’s in the 90th percentile for height. He’s on track to be bigger than Justin, and I just don’t get it. I wouldn’t think these guys would have the genes to be big boys, but I guess anything’s possible.

Now that the sleeping issues seem to have worked themselves out, everyone’s finally getting enough rest, and that makes it so much easier to enjoy the summer. It’s very, very warm around here these days, way too hot for Chris to go for a walk with Justin in the evenings, so we’ve been spending a lot of time in our own backyard. Between the fort, the sprinkler and the little pool we bought, Justin is having a blast, and Brayden seems to enjoy just watching his big brother run around. As busy as we are with two kids, at least one of them is still immobile — I don’t know if I’ll ever get a chance to sit down once Brayden is crawling/walking. But I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it…

The good news is that Brayden is consistently sleeping through the night. The bad news is that Justin isn’t, which leaves me and Chris in an ugly mood. I know it’ll take a few days for Justin to settle down now that we’re home again, but I suspect the bigger problem is that he’s cutting his last set of molars — he seems to be having terrible teething pain. Every bedtime is a battle, and he’s been waking up at odd hours crying inconsolably. But this too shall pass…right?

Overall, it’s good to be home. I enjoyed the Saskatoon trip a lot more than I thought I would, but it’s always nice to get back to your own bed and your own routines. And if Justin ever gets over this round of teething, we may even get back to normal around here.

Rob had a beautiful wedding ceremony, the food was delicious and the guests danced until well into the morning. Or so I’m told. I missed almost the entire thing cause I was off looking after my kids. Justin was too caught up in everything to take his afternoon nap, so I knew we were in for a long day. The ceremony was outdoors and it was quite hot, so shortly after the bride arrived I had to take Justin into Dad’s air-conditioned RV to cool off — and we ended up missing the whole ceremony. I did get to chat with some people in between the ceremony and reception, but just as they were getting settled for dinner, Justin fell asleep and Brayden decided he wanted his mom. So Justin napped in the RV, Brayden watched me from his car seat on the ground outside the van and I sat there with a crossword puzzle waiting for Chris to bring me a plate of food. We were so exhausted that we left even before the dance started (how were we supposed to dance if we had to watch an infant and a toddler?) We made it home by 9:30 p.m. but couldn’t get Justin to sleep until 11:30, and then Brayden wanted to eat at 2:30, and then both kids were up at 6…yuck.

However, things are looking up. We’re on day five of this Saskatoon trip and Justin has finally settled back into his regular sleeping schedule, which is good for everybody. The wedding craziness is also over so everyone is a lot more relaxed. Hopefully we can just enjoy ourselves for the rest of the trip. Cross your fingers for us!

I thought we were in for some serious grief after we took Justin to the dentist today and she told us he would have to give up his pacifier since it was starting to affect the shape of his mouth. For the past year he’s only ever had the soother when he sleeps, and although logically I knew we’d have to wean him off it completely at some point, I was kind of hoping he’d give it up on his own. But that didn’t happen, so today we bit the bullet and hid it away. He kind of wanted it at nap time, but we distracted him with a stuffed animal, and he went to sleep with it instead (his nap was only about half as long as normal, but we thought that was pretty good considering). Then tonight Chris put him to bed with the animal again, and Justin didn’t even ask for the soother. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess. I really expected him to put up more of a fuss, but he seems to be more adaptable than I thought. Awesome!

I never thought I’d be the type of person to say this, but there’s something strangely fulfilling about raising kids. I’ve never been one to enjoy domesticity (cooking leaves me cold, for instance) but I do get a bit of a glow when I feed my family and see them thrive. And it’s pretty cool to see all the new things the kids learn to do (Justin just figured out how to moo like a cow, which doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it’s so darn cute). My life just seems so much more meaningful since I became a mother.

I’ve got the warm fuzzies right now because Brayden slept nine straight hours last night (and after Chris fed him, he went back to sleep for another two and a half). Let’s hope this continues…

Officially, I’m recovered from my c-section, but I still have a sizeable paunch and that’s kind of depressing. I could live with not being a size four again, but I have no desire to look three or four months pregnant anymore. A couple weeks ago I swallowed my pride and bought some maternity shorts to get me through the summer — they’re a little big, but they’re super comfy and little else fits. Sigh. I only have five pounds to go to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight (of course, it’s seven pounds to get back to what I weighed before Justin, and a whopping 15 pounds to get back to where I was when I got married, but let’s go with the five for now) but it seems all of those pounds are concentrated right out front. Don’t be surprised if you don’t see any new pictures of me for a while.

On a very positive note, Brayden is moving ever closer to sleeping through the night. Justin started sleeping through the night at eight weeks old, and we’re crossing our fingers that Brayden will do the same (he’s six and a half weeks right now). Last night he slept 12 hours and only woke up once, so that’s promising. Thank God both of my boys like to sleep!

I spent most of Mother’s Day in a bit of a funk about all the things it seems I should’ve already taught Justin but haven’t: how to use a fork, how to drink from a real cup, how to eat a sandwich that isn’t cut into bite-size pieces…sigh. Not coincidentally, all those things relate to feeding. Justin is such a picky eater that I’m usually afraid to try new things at the table in case it leads to a battle. Plus of course I’m such a neat freak that it’s hard for me to let Justin make a mess in the name of learning. In my head I know it’s never too late to start teaching these things, and there’s no point in beating myself up over it, but I sometimes can’t help feeling like a substandard mother. Oh, well…

For a long time leading up to Brayden’s birth, I wondered if a second baby would rock our world the way the first one did. The answer to that is clearly no. True, we got off easy cause Brayden is such a good baby; it hasn’t been too hard keeping him happy. But I think the reality is that you just don’t sweat the small stuff the second time around.

I’m starting to make a list of the items we’ll have to bring with us when we fly to Saskatoon for my brother’s wedding next month. It might be easier to list the things we’re NOT taking. Travelling with Justin always meant bringing an extra bag or two, but we never flew with him when he was a newborn; I’d forgotten how much stuff a baby requires. In the carry-on luggage alone we need diapers for both kids, bottles, snacks, books, toys, extra clothes…the list goes on (sigh). But I guess it beats packing up the car and spending two straight days on the road.