Jeremiah @ 18 Months

I can't believe my little JJ is already a year and a half.  This is the last "month" milestone he will reach...ever.  From now on, we'll just count the years.  Makes my eyes tear up a little.  My sweet little baby is growing into a sweet little boy and I have to say...he is sweet as ever.  He has such a gentle and kind spirit.  He loves his family and has started taking a huge interest in Keegan.  He loves to give his little brother kisses.  I break my neck trying to grab my camera every time because it's just so sweet.  Keegan loves watching his big brother, which is great for me.  With each new day, I watch as they entertain each other more and more.  They will be the best of friends in a few short months!

These days Jeremiah likes to play with his toys, read books, eat, watch movies, play outside, and sleep.  He usually sleeps around 4 hours a day (broken up into 2 naps) and about 11ish hours at night.  Occasionally he wakes up crying, but he settles back down and goes back to sleep.  I hardly ever have to get up with him anymore.  I have to admit, when I'm feeling all "mommy" sometimes I will go get him and rock him in the rocker like I did when he was a little baby.  I miss those days but I love each new stage he enters.  His favorite toys right now are his trains, his music table, and daddy's tools.  He absolutely LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine.  He has a couple of Thomas books that he loves to have read to him and one Thomas movie in particular that he loves, "Tale of the Brave".  We have several Thomas movies/shows, but "Tale of the Brave" trumps all of them.  In the end, one of the engines leaves and Jeremiah waves bye-bye to him every time.  Then the credits come on and he waves his arms around in the air and dances to the music.  Sometimes I let him watch the movie just so I can see him dance.  Other books he loves are some Sandra Boynton books:  "Moo, Baa, La, La, La!" and "The Going to Bed Book".  He is into the Little Pookie series and giggles every time we read about the little pig.

He is in an exploratory stage right now.  Some days I feel like all I do is say "No, Jeremiah, get out of that!" and "Jeremiah, put that down!".  He is one curious little boy.  I let him explore as much as I can but he seems to always find things that he doesn't need to play with and tries to play with them.  It's a long process teaching him what he can and can't do and he's still trying to figure it out.


Jeremiah is Brad's little shadow.  He sticks to Brad like white on rice.  If Brad is there, Jeremiah is also there.  If Brad is eating, Jeremiah wants to eat.  If Brad is brushing his teeth, Jeremiah wants to brush his teeth.  If Brad is working out, Jeremiah wants to work out.  You get the picture, right?  He loves his dad.  And I love how much he loves his dad (and how much his dad loves him).  Brad has started doing some hard-core working out and Jeremiah loves to follow him around with his little 2.5 lb weight, lifting it over his head and blowing air out of his mouth.  It is the cutest thing.  I've tried time and time again to get a video but I never manage to get it just right.  He is daddy's little guy and I wouldn't have it any other way.

J also loves to brush his teeth.  Every time we go into their bathroom, he says "brush teeth?"  I ask him, "what do you say?" and he says "PUH PUH" (his way of saying please).  He brushes his teeth at least 4 times a day.  We brush them for him every night but I guess he just likes feeling clean all day.  A mama can't complain about that, especially since his favorite thing to eat is M&M's.  We don't give him many, but man, does he love them.  He runs over to the cabinet and reaches up to where they are and says "PUH PUH PUH".  They make an awful mess and I find little colored fingerprints all over my walls if I let him go before realizing it's all over his hands.  Luckily, it comes off with a wet paper towel.

He is talking more frequently these days, although not much of it is English.  He still mostly baby jabbers.  He can say a few things that we understand like "candy", "boobie" (means movie), "brush teeth", "outside", "Daddy", "Mama", "Kee" (Keegan), "milk", and animal sounds (moo, baa, etc).  We're working on teaching him words but he isn't too interested so we're not pushing it.  I am good with letting him be a baby for as long as he likes.

He still loves his paci and his blue doggie.  My Aunt Anzie gave him a blue doggie blanket with his initials monogrammed on it and it is officially his comfort thing.  If he is hurt or upset, we can plug his mouth with the paci and give him his blue doggie and he quiets down immediately.  I love how he loves them.  They are so comforting to him.  The poor doggie is getting pretty thread-bare but he loves it all the same.  Those two things are never far from him while he plays.  Case in point:

He also enjoys bath time (still).  He makes a wet mess in my bathroom but has such a blast.  It's worth getting soaked just to listen to him cackle and watch him splash around.  I love how he smells fresh out of the tub with his wet hair and in a fresh clean set of jammies.  There's nothing like that sweet smell.

He is still sleeping in his crib in his room by himself.  Little Keegan hasn't figured out how to sleep through the night yet, so we keep him in a crib in our closet at night so he doesn't wake Jeremiah up.  I'm sure it will be a hard transition putting both boys in the same room and I'm not quite ready to tackle that yet.


Jeremiah loves to eat...always has, seems like he always will.  He eats anything and everything that we eat.  Some of his favorites are steak, cucumber, grapes, strawberries, pasta salad, teddy grahams, baby goldfish, eggs, green beans, and cheese.  He prefers fruits and vegetables over meats and pastas.  He can put away a plate of food like you wouldn't believe.  I'm thankful he is such a good eater.  I know many parents struggle with getting their kids to eat.  We have always told him that he needs to eat what we eat, when we eat, and he has thus far complied.  It helps that he has such a naturally good disposition.  We love that little boy!

So much change in just one year:

J @ 6 months, 18 months

This boy is such a blessing to my life.  He is everything I dreamed my little boy would be and more.  I am so thankful to be his Mama!!!  Happy 18-month birthday, Jeremiah!

With love,

Hannah Elise

A Day with 2 Under 2

Many people have asked me what it is like to have two children under the age of two, so I figured I'd just write out an example of a normal day in my life.  Normal is a stretch because nothing is really normal anymore, but I'm referring to just a plain old day with nowhere we have to be and nothing that we have to do.  Brad's work and school schedule allows for him to be at home a good bit of the time with me and the kids, which is a HUGE help.  On any random day though, I have the kids by myself for at least half the day.  So, for your enjoyment, here goes my day:


(Starting the day at 12am)

3:30AM - Change Keegan's diaper and give him a bottle

3:45AM - Try to go back to sleep

6:30AM - Turn the monitor down because I can hear Jeremiah is wide awake and I'm not ready to get up yet

7:00AM - Keegan is crying

7:30AM - I've had enough of listening to Keegan cry, so I get out of bed and get him

7:45AM - Change Keegan's diaper, put him in his first outfit of the day, get Jeremiah up

8:00AM - Change Jeremiah's diaper, put him in a new outfit (possibly give him a bath if he woke up wet)

8:05AM - Give Keegan a bottle

8:20AM - Cook breakfast while J plays and K watches me from his bouncer

8:30AM - Put K in his Bumbo at the table, put J in his booster seat, set the table and bring out the food.  Feed Jeremiah while making sure K doesn't push himself off the chair.  Sometimes feed K because he refused his first bottle but decided he was starving to death when we sat down to eat.  Feed myself if possible.

9:00AM - Wipe Jeremiah down and get him out of his chair, change Keegan's diaper because he pooped.

9:15AM - Clean up from breakfast, wash dishes

9:30AM - Go pick up Keegan and snuggle because he's crying, tell Jeremiah he can't watch Thomas again and he needs to play with his toys

10:00AM - Give Keegan another bottle, lay him down for his morning nap

10:30AM - Give Jeremiah his bottle of milk, lay him down for his morning nap

11:00AM - Sit down with a nice cup of coffee....wait, scratch that.  Keegan's crying again.  Go try to figure out what's wrong with him.

11:15AM - Decide nothing is wrong with him and he needs to sleep so put him back in his crib.  Sit back down with said coffee and try to relax...scratch that, the house needs to be cleaned, laundry needs to be folded, etc

11:40AM - Think "wait...did I brush my teeth?"  Go brush my teeth.  Shower ....ehh...showering can wait.  Get myself a snack because I had hardly anything for breakfast.  Try to talk to Abby on Facebook.  She's busy with her kids.

12:00 PM - Pick up toys and straighten living room. Sit back down, finish coffee, and cruise Facebook

12:15 PM - Keegan's awake again.  Get him up and give him some milk.  Snuggle and play

12:30 PM - J is awake.  Go get him and give him some water.  Make lunch

12:40 PM - Change J's diaper

12:45 PM - Put K in his Bumbo at the table and J in his booster seat.  Feed J lunch.

12:55 PM - Go lay Keegan down because he's crying again and I've decided he just needs to sleep

1:00 PM - Finish feeding J.  Feed myself

1:10 PM - Pick up the food off the floor.  Scold J for throwing his food.  Wipe his mouth and hands and hair.  Decide he's clean enough and send him off

1:15 PM - Wash dishes from lunch

1:25 PM - Change J's diaper again because he pooped

1:30 PM - Read J books, identify body parts on his face and mine

2:00 PM - Go get Keegan, he's crying again.  Decide he's had a pretty good nap

2:15 PM - Give Keegan a bottle, change his diaper because he will poop while he drinks.  Change his outfit because he pooped on it

2:30 PM - Put in the Thomas movie because J is asking nicely (so cute when he says "please")

2:45 PM - Realize I haven't peed all day.  Rush to the potty before I pop

2:50 PM - Figure out what we're having for supper, start preparing for that if necessary

3:00 PM - Lay Keegan back down because he won't sit quietly while I'm in the kitchen

3:30 PM - Go get Keegan, feel bad because I lay him down so much.  Play with him for awhile

3:45 PM - Movie is over, cut it off and tell J to play with his toys

4:00 PM - Give J snack, have some of whatever I give him

4:10 PM - Put J in his crib.  He can go to sleep or stay awake...doesn't matter to me

4:30 PM - Give Keegan some more milk and lay him down.  He finally goes to sleep.

5:00 PM - Cook supper

5:30 PM - Get J up, give him some water, change his diaper, tell him to stop fussing because we're about to eat

5:40 PM - Set table, pour drinks

5:45 PM - Sit down to eat.  Have a nice dinner in peace...wait...is that Keegan crying?  He'll just have to cry.

5:55 PM - Decide to go get Keegan and voila, he's pooped again!  Change his diaper, hold him in my lap while I try to eat (while feeding Jeremiah if Brad's not home)

6:15 PM - Realize I put a load of laundry in the wash and it never got put in the dryer.  Go restart the wash and make a mental note to put the load in the dryer this time

6:20 PM - Clean up from supper, wash some dishes

6:30 PM - Bathe Keegan, get soaked from his splashing, put him in his sleeper with a fresh diaper.  Give him a bottle, lay him down for bed

6:45 PM - Bathe Jeremiah, get soaked from his splashing, put him in his sleeper with a fresh diaper.  Turn on Wheel of Fortune

7:00 PM - Put load in the dryer (YES!), finish washing dishes/cleaning up kitchen

7:30 PM - Give Jeremiah some milk, brush his teeth, lay him down for bed

7:45 PM - FREEDOM!!!  What should I do?  Well, I could workout but I'm so tired and don't feel like getting all sweaty.  Then I would need a shower and that's just too much trouble.  Brad and I could watch a movie...yep, that sounds better.

11:30 PM - Just after I've slept for about 30 minutes, Keegan is awake crying.  Get up and feed him and change his diaper.  Put him back to bed and try to go to sleep...lay awake and think about ISIS and ebola and the world my boys will grow up in.  Try to think about something else.  Wonder what I ever did with my life before I had kids.  Decide to pray.  Fall asleep praying


Wake up at 3:30AM and start all over  :)




Life is easier now that Keegan is a little older and not quite as demanding as a newborn, but he is still pretty demanding.  The first 3 months of his life are a blur to me.  I just did what I had to do and tried to enjoy every minute of it.  It went by very quickly.

Next month Jeremiah will be 18 months old and Keegan will be 6 months old.  I can't believe how time flies.  This season in my life is the best one yet and I am trying to soak up every single second of baby love.  I know they will only be this small for a little while and I don't want to miss any of it or take it for granted.



Children are a heritage from the Lord, 
offspring a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior 
are children born in one's youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.

Psalm 127:3-5


Thank you Lord, for this precious gift of motherhood.  Thank you for my healthy growing boys and any other children you decide to send my way.  I love them with all of my heart.

Jeremiah's birthday, 6/6/13

Keegan's birthday, 6/19/14

With love,

Hannah Elise

Just the Two of Us

I woke up this morning thinking, "did that really just happen?"


After rubbing my eyes and yawning, I realized that yes, that did really just happen.  And by "that" I mean the dream of a day I had yesterday.  My wonderful mother-in-love offered to keep the boys for the whole day (yes, I said WHOLE day) to let Brad and me have a date.  We took her up on that offer and dropped them off around 9am.  We didn't return to get them til 9pm.  It was wonderful.  I was sad to leave them at first but Brad and I haven't had a whole day just to ourselves since I was pregnant with Keegan.  We decided to go to Charleston.  Charleston is just our "our" place.  We love it.  It's so great to go and visit where we spent the first year of our marriage.  Lots of memories made there.  We didn't make a plan, we just hopped in the car with snacks packed and drove off!  We rode in the sunshine with the music blaring and the windows rolled down.  Backroad driving is wonderful on a day like that.

Here we are ready to go!

We drove to the Tanger Outlets to do the one thing we wanted to do:  eat at Jim 'N Nick's!  (You were thinking shopping, right?)  We did some shopping, too.  Brad got a new pair of tennis shoes and I got a few shirts and a vest for winter.

The grub 

 The kicks

When we left Tanger Outlets, we continued to stop and shop at various places, including the store I most wanted to visit called "Once Upon A Child".  I got Jeremiah several toys there last year for Christmas for a great price.  We got him just a couple of things for this year but what I am most excited about is my new double stroller!  They had a side-by-side umbrella-style reclining double stroller with 2 little baskets beneath in great shape for an even greater price.  I could hardly believe it.  I pushed it around the store, we looked it over several times, and decided we couldn't turn it down.  It is the perfect size...not too wide, but wide enough for both boys to sit and relax.  It also has 2 retractable sun-shields and it folds down to a really small size.  In case you can't tell, I love this stroller.  I can't wait to pack up the boys and take them to the park (on my own!)

After shopping, we decided to go visit the beach.  You can't go all the way to Charleston and not visit the beach, right?  Right.  We wanted to visit Folly (our old stomping ground) but took the wrong road and instead of turning around, we just drove on to the Isle of Palms.  It was a beautiful drive and we talked and sang and took pictures.  It's fun being a couple.  These days my time and attention is filled with taking care of our babies, so it was so nice to just relax and be together as man and wife again.  Just me and Brad.  I love that man.  Our kids aren't that old at all but it is hard to remember life without them.  This trip reminded me of life before them and it was good, but I still wouldn't trade it for the life we have now.  

Anyway, here are some driving and beach pictures for your enjoyment:

What a nice, refreshing day.

With love,

Hannah Elise

Two Hungry Boys

It has been a beautiful, relaxing fall day and tonight while Brad works out I'm just reflecting on my day.  I don't take for granted one second of our simple little life.  I feel incredibly blessed.

Brad let me sleep in with Keegan.  He got up and fed Jeremiah breakfast and when I woke and went into the living room, they greeted me with big smiles.  This is a common occurrence in my house (Brad gets up with Jeremiah and lets me sleep in).  He also takes one shift with Keegan during the night.  I reciprocate by letting him take naps when he has time.  It's a good system we have going here, although I will be very glad when we can both sleep all night.  That day seems like it will never get here and when it finally does, there will probably be another baby in the picture.

On with my day:  breakfast, fed Keegan, laid him down for a morning nap, took Jeremiah outside and let him play while I paid some bills, came in and fixed lunch, etc.  Pretty much just a regular old day but it was just so good.  One reason being how beautiful the weather was and the other reason being the fact that both boys took a 3-hour nap AT THE SAME TIME *insert angels singing The Hallelujah Chorus*  I had time to wash the dishes and bottles, pick up the living room (the toys, not the actual room), and take a 1.5 hour nap.  Yep, I did it.  I laid my head right on that pillow and conked out.  I looked at my clock around 2 and didn't see it again til 3:30.  It was amazing.  This is such a rare occurrence I thought something was wrong when I woke up but sure enough everything was fine.  I was just given the beautiful gift of a nap.  Naps work wonders for tired moms.  All you tired moms out there know what I'm talking about!  The rest of my day consisted of taking our bi-weekly family trip to the grocery store and cooking supper.  I bathed Keegan during supper (he had a pee-related disaster that turned poopey) and Jeremiah after supper.  I had a half-bath while bathing Jeremiah because of all of his happy splashing.  After giving both of them some milk, they are fast asleep tucked away in bed.  This has gotten to be one of my favorite times of the day.  I love my boys, don't get me wrong, but it's exhausting taking care of two babies all day long.  On long days I find myself longing for the 7:00 hour when I know bedtime is soon and I can relax...or get everything else done that I need to get done...yeah, let's go with that...what is relaxing again?

Both boys absolutely love bath time.  I kicked the baby bath tub out a couple of months ago because Keegan kept trying to commit suicide in it.  Seriously, I was afraid for his life.  I would put him in it and he would plant his feet, arch his back, and slide right down into the water.  After a couple of almost-dips, I decided to just bathe him in a shallow pool of water in the big tub.  He now happily kicks and waves his arms, splashing me almost as bad as Jeremiah does.

Today Keegan had his first experience with "real food".  It was interesting, as it always is when babies try food for the first time.  He didn't quite know what to do with it but had a few good bites that he managed to swallow.  I am making it my goal to get him to eat food as quickly as I can since I couldn't nurse him.  He needs good nutrition so the sooner he can eat fruits and veggies, the better.  He will turn 4 months old in 2 days.  Time is, as always, flying by.  I have to admit I am sad when I think about how I no longer have a newborn but I don't stay sad for long when I look into his beautiful blue eyes (YES, they're still blue!) and think about watching him grow.  With each new stage Jeremiah enters, I am convinced I like it better than the last.  I am going through the same thing with Keegan.  I do love the newborn stage but I also love to sleep, and Keegan is becoming the best sleeper.  His sleeping habits have been really good since he was just a few weeks old.

His nightly sleep schedule right now looks like this:

-Sleep from 7pm to about 2:30am, wake up and eat
-Sleep til around 6:30am, wake up and eat
-Sleep til around 8, usually 8:30

That's 13 hours right there.

Did I mention he's a good night sleeper?

I have to brag about that because he struggles during the day to do...everything...

His "nap schedule" is nonexistent right now.  Now that he can sit up in the Bumbo he is happier but there for awhile he was a crabby little man.  He certainly does NOT enjoy shopping (much to my demise) like Jeremiah did and still does.  He enjoys being in the stroller until you stop, say, to swing your other kid or sip your coffee or something.  He gets really hot in the carseat so these hot summer/fall days have been rough on him.  I feel so bad for him when I pick him up and he is soaked from his own sweat.  Even when we blast him with air, it doesn't help.  Those carseats just don't breathe.  I guess that one isn't his fault.  About his daily crabbiness:  I guess he just has gas issues maybe?  We can't figure out why he is unhappy often but like I said, it is getting better.  He just has to learn how to be happy.  I'm sure he'll figure it out.

The past four months with my two little men have been busy, exhausting, and incredible.  I feel like I have found my true calling in life:  motherhood.

Here are some pictures of Keegan's first rice cereal experience and Jeremiah eating all by himself:

"Here, Mom, put it right in here!"

The good stuff

Yum!

Using a big boy fork 

This boy loves to eat!

-Hannah Elise

Sweet 3-Month Keegan Bradley

Please, somebody pinch me.  Is my second little baby already 3 whole months old?

Seriously.  I can't wrap my mind around it.

He looks so big.  Already.  He is already sitting in his Bumbo for several minutes at a time.  Next month he'll start eating rice cereal.

*cue adoring Mom sigh*

This little turkey has been a great baby.  He was cranky for several weeks but he's really learned how to be a happy camper, so long as he's full and dry.  He is so snuggly and squishy.  He smiles and coos and wide-mouth giggles.  He raises his eyebrows and makes my heart go pitter-patter.  His blue eyes just see right through me...one look and I want to just give him the world.  I admit it, I'm wrapped around his cute little finger.  Yes, it might just be that I'm trying to hold on to his baby-ness for as long as possible.  I don't care.  I know how fast he will grow and am trying to grasp every single moment of his little baby life.  

Life is busy these days and I have to admit to sometimes wishing that I could have time alone with one child at a time.  Some days they grant me my wish and coordinate their naps so that when one wakes up, the other goes to sleep.  I like these days.  It means I don't really get a break but time with each boy is so precious I just like when it happens this way.  During my time with Keegan, we snuggle, I give him his milk, I put him in his bouncer and get in his face and smile at him (to which he responds happily)...we have good Mommy-son time. 

Keegan loves to watch Thomas the Train with his big brother.  He really loves watching Jeremiah play.  Jeremiah takes a good bit of interest in him, too, especially if I'm holding Keegan.  He comes up and gives Keegan lots of sloppy wet kisses and tries to play with him.  Just a few months, my dear...

Here is one of Keegan's newborn pictures:

Keegan Bradley at 3 months:

Until next time,

Hannah Elise

My First Attempt at Stromboli

First of all, I would like to say that I am SO glad fall is almost here.  I love all things fall but my two faves are the cool weather and pumpkin...everything.  Brad brought me some beautiful fall-ish flowers the other day and I bought a new candle that is my absolute favorite scent:  Autumn Wreath by Yankee Candle (which they have on sale at TJ Maxx right now if you're in need of a new candle).  I can't wait to decorate for fall...if that happens...two babies + breakable stuff = not worth the effort?

Anywho, here's my first little taste of fall:

Now on to the good stuff!  I haven't done a recipe blog in quite some time and I'm trying a new recipe so I figured there's never been a better time than the present to blog about it!

This stromboli recipe is a Temple family favorite.  My sister-in-law makes it for her family very often.  I got the bread dough recipe from her.

Pour 1 cup warm (NOT HOT) water in bowl.  Stir in 1 TBSP sugar and about 3 tsp yeast (she said 1 pkg, I only buy jar so I did almost 3 tsp).  Mix in 1 tsp salt, 2 TBSP oil, and 2 cups flour.  Add in about 1 more cup of flour while kneading.  Knead about 10 minute until the dough forms a ball.  Let rise in a warm place for a little while.  I put it in my van per her recommendation and it rose in about 30 minutes.  Punch the dough and divide into 2 pieces.  Roll out onto pan, load it up with goodies, pinch it, shape it, and let it rise some more until you bake it.  Bake for 25 minutes at about 375 degrees.

As far as the "goodies" go, you can use pretty much anything you want.  Our family has it often with italian sausage, pepperoni, and cheese.  They serve alfredo sauce and marinara sauce with it to dip it in.  I didn't have italian sausage on hand so one of my stromboli....strombolis...? was pepperoni and cheese.  I had a bunch of leftover taco-seasoned ground beef from our dinner the other night (tacos, how exciting!) so I chose to try a new one:  taco-seasoned ground beef and cheddar cheese.  I will serve it with salsa and sour cream.

I realized I forgot to add salt to my dough so I sprinkled some kosher salt on top before putting them in the oven.  We'll see how bright of an idea that was...

Below are the required food pictures.  Sorry in advance for my oven...it hasn't been cleaned in awhile.

The smell of dough rising is spectacular

Ready for goodies!

Goodies applied

Stromboli!!

Take a break to feed your son a snack

Letting it rise some more underneath a pretty towel.  Makes it taste better.

Give said son some water to wash down his Fig Newtons

Going in the oven!

We killed the pepperoni stromboli before I could get a pretty picture.  Brad was on his break from work so we had to eat fast.  We are planning to have the taco one tomorrow for lunch.  Can't wait to taste it!

Until next time,

Hannah Elise

Keegan Bradley Temple (The Longest Birth Story Ever)

It's hard to believe the last time I blogged I was so huge pregnant.  I was past the miserable point in pregnancy and chugged on past my due date a week after that.  Keegan was due June 13 (Friday the 13th...should've been a sign!) and didn't make his appearance til June 19.  Needless to say I was VERY ready to meet my son.  He is so sweet and precious (I'll share more about that later) but for now I'll share how he came into this world.  Might wanna grab some popcorn for this one.

Here goes the Keegan story:

My water broke 6 days early with Jeremiah so I was ready several weeks in advance for Keegan to arrive.  At about 33 weeks pregnant, I had all of his clothes and bedding washed and put away, I reorganized the boy's closet, I purchased a new set of bottles, and got all of the baby paraphernalia down from the attic (bassinet, swing, bouncer, baby bath tub, etc) and cleaned it.  I was absolutely convinced this kid was coming early.  I had myself so psyched-up that as the weeks passed, I grew more and more frustrated.  At 37 weeks, I had a really good feeling he was coming early and it was going to be "any day now".  I started having my mother, mother-in-love, and sister-in-love rotate staying overnight with me when Brad was working nights, JUST IN CASE I went into labor.  Each new week brought a new visit to my doctor.  I started dilating early again, not quite as rapidly before Jeremiah was born but I knew when it happened, it would happen fast.  That was the consensus of everyone I talked to.  My mother-in-love was scared to death that my water would break and I'd be giving birth on the side of the bypass on the way to ARMC.  

I hate to admit it but the end of my pregnancy with Keegan was just pretty miserable.  Around the 39-week mark, I decided I didn't want him to come.  I said I didn't even care if he stayed in there til he was 18, I just didn't care anymore.  (Obviously the crazy started kicking in)  At my 39-week doctor's visit, my doc told me that she was surprised to see me (again) and I could go into labor at any time (again) and that everything was ready "down there" (AGAIN).  I was sick of hearing this.  It was getting very hard to take care of Jeremiah with this HUGE belly in the way.  I wasn't getting any sleep even though Jeremiah was sleeping through the night so I was cranky.  I kept having contractions and every now and then would time them and let myself get excited thinking it was actually happening.  Not just contractions, but PAINFUL contractions.  I was so glad I knew what the real contractions felt like though because even though these were painful, I was sure they weren't true labor pains.   I also couldn't stop thinking about the time I was missing with Jeremiah.  Even though I was here with him every day, I felt like I was just on the outside looking in.  It was all I could do to feed him 3 meals a day and change diapers.  I could barely lift him (it didn't help that he was 25+ lbs) and put him in his crib.  Getting him out of his crib was easy because thankfully he could pull up to a standing position.  Are you getting the impression I was ready to have Keegan?  Because I was.  SO ready.

At some point I decided I had to stop feeling sorry for myself and suck it up and just be thankful I had a healthy pregnancy and baby.  So I got a fresh outlook...don't know exactly what changed my attitude but at some point I started thinking, "I can really DO this.  I can carry him until he's ready to come."  I referenced to Alicia Keys's song "Superwoman" almost every day.  My favorite line is "even when I'm a mess, I still put on a vest with an 'S' on my chest, oh, yes, I'm a super woman."  So cheesy but it's what got me through those last several days.

At my 40-week appointment, I had reached my "due date" and the doctor asked if I wanted to be induced.  I was and still am against induction.  I've heard horror stories and seen what it has done to my friends.  I didn't want to risk something dumb happening and having to have a C-section just because I was impatient.   Knowing how my labor went with Jeremiah, however, I knew that if my water just broke I would go into heavy-duty labor and he would be here in no time.  My doctor had that same feeling.  I asked her if she could just break my water and she said that she would love to.  We scheduled a water-breaking date and time and I was on my merry little way.

All the way up until she actually broke my water, I hoped and prayed for my water to break on it's own.  That's really how I wanted it to happen but life doesn't always give you what you want.  I have to admit it was really nice knowing when he was coming.  The night before I prepared fruit and snacks for Jeremiah for the next day (my dad was keeping him for the whole shebang).  I cherished those last few days of it being "just Jeremiah".  It makes me tear up to think about it.  Not that I regret having Keegan at all but the year I had with my firstborn was so special.  You moms know what I'm talking about.  So we got up that morning, got ready to go (I actually showered, fixed my hair, did my makeup, etc...a lot better than showing up at 4am soaked from the rain looking like a wet rat).  We got there right at 7:30 and they checked me in, put me in a room, and started an IV for antibiotics.  At about 9:15 Dr. Hoover broke my water.  I started having contractions almost immediately.  At about 10:30 I got an epidural.  Have I mentioned I love epidurals???  They are the best invention ever.  I only felt one "real" contraction before it kicked in and let me tell you....pain-free childbirth is the way to go!  It lets you enjoy the experience and pay attention to everything that's going on.  So I progressed quickly and the nurse left me laying there for an HOUR before she came back in to check on me.  When she finally came in around 11:45, she panicked because I told her I could feel the baby coming down and I was 10 cm dilated, totally ready to go.  She called my doc (who wanted me to wait til lunch to have him) but he wasn't waiting.  She showed up and I started to push.  I started pushing at 12:12 and Keegan was born at 12:16.  He literally just oozed out.  Sorry if that's too graphic but it is what it is.  It was such an awesome experience.  I did some skin-to-skin time, nursed him, and then passed him around to everyone (after they wiped him off, of course).  What made this delivery so special was that my sister-in-love got to be in the room and watch her nephew be born.  It was so wonderful to have her there.  I was thankful the nurse let me have 4 people in the room with me (Brad, my mom, and my mother-in-love being the other three).  The birth of a child is an event like nothing else and I am not ashamed to share it with the (female) ones I love.  I looked up at Lacy's face at one point and she had tears running down her cheeks.  And now I'm tearing up thinking about it.  I love having babies.  It's a hard road getting there but it's TOTALLY and completely worth it.

So to make a short story long, Keegan Bradley Temple came into this world at 12:16pm on Thursday, June 19, 2014, weighing in at 7lbs, 3oz, 20 3/4" long and my life has been even more full of love ever since.  Life with 2 under 2 is tricky sometimes but honestly I wouldn't have it any other way.  Jeremiah loves Keegan and Keegan likes to watch Jeremiah.  J comes over all the time wanting to kiss him and point at his belly button.  He is very curious about Keegan's little baby body.  It's a great anatomy lesson for Jeremiah.  The hardest part about having 2 under 2 is that they are both so needy.  We still have to feed Jeremiah his meals and he still takes 3 bottles of milk a day (before both naps and at bedtime).  It's also 2x the diaper duty...no pun intended ;)  Despite all the diapers, I love my 3 boys and our happy little life.

In regards to breastfeeding, let's just say it didn't happen.  Again.  But it's ok, I wasn't really expecting to.  I don't have the same sob story as I did last time because I prepared myself so I wasn't disappointed.  I nursed K in the hospital and he got colostrum but the first night home he was really "waking up" and starving and wouldn't stop screaming or settle down.  I nursed and nursed and it was obvious nothing was coming out.  Idk why my boobs are so non-functional but everything happens for a reason.  All I can do is be thankful that I live in a time where I can go to the store and buy formula and I don't have to just watch my baby starve to death.  I can also be thankful that I can now focus on losing 2 years' worth of a baby weight without affecting my milk-flow.  That's another blog for another time...stay tuned.

I am sorry that it took me so long to write about Keegan but I've been busy, as you can imagine.  I wanted to have plenty of time to sit and write it all at one time.  Keegan is now two months old and ...let's just say it's good that he's cute.  He hasn't been the happiest baby.  This is all new to me since Jeremiah was happy happy happy close to all of the time.  Keegan has...gas problems?...body temperature problems?...who knows what his problems are.  The past few days he has started being happier but the first 8 weeks of his life he pretty much cried every waking moment.  He sleeps good though.  I can deal with crying all day as long as he sleeps at night.  He has spent a lot of time in his crib because of this.  I hate that it has to be that way, but I'm not holding him for hours while he screams in my ear.  I love him and he will get through this and before we know it, we won't remember all of that crying.  As Brad said the other day, "this too shall pass".

My little Keegan is beautiful and has started smiling, cooing, and laughing.  He can also follow my hand or a toy with his eyes and he loves to watch Jeremiah.  I have a feeling that right now is the beginning of him learning how to be happy while he's awake.  At least that's what I'm hoping.  I have managed to get a few good pictures of him smiling.

And now for the main event, Keegan pictures galore:

Keegan Bradley Temple

Keegan's birthday, June 19 with Mama

Keegan's birthday, June 19 with Daddy

 1 day old

2 days old

 5 days old on our way to the doctor for a check-up

 1 week old

9 days old

 2 weeks old, his first 4th of July

 3 weeks old

 4 weeks old

 5 weeks old

6 weeks old (I love that outfit)

7 weeks old

8 weeks old

9 weeks old

Now off to go feed my crying baby...I love that little boy.  Thanks for hanging on and reading the whole blog! (If you just skipped to the pictures, I wouldn't know the difference)  I will try to write more often now that we have the hang of life with two.

With love,

Hannah Elise