2 Weeks

TWO WEEKS! I can't believe how fast the past 14 days have flown. Having Chris home the past two weeks has been such a treat. He really is such a wonderful, hands-on dad and amazing husband. I feel so incredibly lucky to be able to share my life, and our children, with such an incredible person.

Needless to say, I am totally bummed that he's back to work tomorrow. It will certainly be an adjustment for all of us! Luckily this time around we have family that lives super close, so my mom will be able to come help out if and when I need her to.

So far Callen is still a laid back baby. He definitely has his fussy periods, as all newborns do, but something as simple as his being able to sleep in his carseat is such a huge relief for us. I don't think we took Audia on a shopping trip for the first 6 months of her life because she would scream the entire time she was in her carseat. We only went someplace that required driving when we absolutely had to. If we needed to go shopping, only one of us would go. At the time, it was life as we knew it. This time around, it's not really an option to not take Callen anywhere, so his being "carseat friendly" (for lack of a better term) is beyond exciting. We've been able to get out to do things practically every day without any issue and he has slept through every single trip we've taken him on. I still brace myself for screaming every time we put him in the carseat, but hopefully that reflex will diminish with time. ;-)

We were lucky enough to be able to book a quick family portrait session with my friend, Megan, of Megan Norman Photography. As you can see, she is incredibly talented. I highly recommend her to anyone in MN looking for a portrait or event photographer!

Callen's been spending more and more time alert every day. I had forgotten how much newborns sleep!! It is so fun to see him trying to figure out the world around him. He loves to look at his sister, and watches her with the type of wonderment that can only be attributed to babies.

Audia still seems to be handling the whole thing pretty well. She definitely has had some struggles with adjusting to not having 100% of our attention on her 100% of the time, but thankfully she directs her frustrations at us (mainly by taking on the attitude of a disgruntled 13 year old) and not at her brother. She still is so sweet with Callen, giving him kisses and hugs and snuggles, and singing to him whenever he's fussing. She absolutely adores her brother. Check out the candid shots Chris got of her and him yesterday.

Overall, I would definitely say the vividity of the discomfort I was feeling the past 3 months of my pregnancy is already fading. It's certainly true that the mind...well, at least my mind....has a way of painting over the ugly parts of experiences and focusing on the good. I already am thinking I'd be willing to go through it all again. How could you not, when you get to snuggle and love on these two precious kiddos every single day??