Unexpected

My favorite of them together to date!

LOVE that you can see both of their special sibling shirts in this shot! These tees were purchased so long ago!

My best girl took this pic. and the next one......she asked me to include 'em and I'm obliged to do so! :) Note the "Mama garb" and easy hair!!

Those cheeks are just so darn kissable!

All tuckered out at the end of another day.....except look at how perky Lexi dog is! LOL

My elegant girls.....she's so proud to have clear nail polish on and absolutely is showing them off! Lexi is always nearby.......guardian pup!

Phew...it has been a week of both some expected and unexpected things as we have continued to settle into being a new family of 4 ( five with Lexi dog!). Tyler continues to amaze us with his easy & loving spirit! He is bonding beautifully with each of us and we are seeing small improvements with his sleeping patterns each night. I continue to sleep in the nursery for now, but usually am able to soothe him back to sleep with soft words and my presence as opposed to needing to rock & lull him back to sleep upon each rest disruption. I have not minded this at all and it only took that first night of seeing his fearful tiny face (peeking through the crib) soften into reassurance upon realizing I was there, to know this was where I needed to be. He is sleeping for longer periods at night without waking and we are hopeful things will continue to improve as his feelings of security and attachment strengthen.

What has been unexpected with this normally gentle little one has been his fiery temper! LOL It doesn't surface often, but whoa.......watch out when it does! He is simply one of the happiest little babies I have ever seen, but beneath it all, lurks a spicy little man! Those little fists ball up.....the face turns red.....the back arches and the lungs go into overdrive! Ironically it usually only stirs when the bottle is not prompt enough or I fail to gallop to the crib quick enough following his naps! On the plus side, leaping stairs 2 at a time for several flights is great for the thighs & hips! ;)

Miss Lauren also continues, as anticipated & hoped, to be a tremendous source of joy & fun for Tyler and really for us all. Unexpectedly she caught a nasty bug last week which kept her home from school and created a bit of trouble too! Its hard to be the Big Sis when you are sick and really really just want your Mama all to yourself! There have been a few flickers of annoyance from her regarding Tyler, but mostly they are directed at me.( Which is better, really....) I know she misses our long sessions of morning play and all the special time we shared before. I am trying to carve out plenty of quality time for just the two of us, but of course its not the very same. She is delighted to have Tyler home and her love for him humbles & thrills me.......but of course she's only human and needs time to adjust too! ( Sadly Tyler and I caught the bug too!! Ugh! Jet lag and sickness....not a pretty combination!)

Also expected was the amount of work it takes to make the leap from one child to two! Now I want ya all to know that I was well prepared by family members and friends and fully anticipated the extra elbow grease needed to maintain a larger family...... additional loads of laundry.....multi-tasking......late nights with no or little sleep....... diminished or no personal time.....and so on! What was unexpected was the guilt I feel when I am caring for or attending to one while the other waits nearby! There are moments I am gushing over the baby and catch Lauren's watchful ( maybe slightly pained ) expression out of the corner of my eye and the guilt seizes me like a bad pro wrestler! There have been days I have almost sneaked my cuddles and cooing in while she is occupied or away for the afternoon. I don't want her to feel slighted in any way! AND it goes both ways too........oh how that guilt cloaks me when I plop Tyler in his saucer for some play, while Lauren and I giggle over a new game or solve a puzzle together. Shouldn't I be more adept at balancing the two together more of the time? Honestly, this sense of guilt was not expected and I'm hoping it will pass in time? Maybe once I feel a bit better and can breathe through my nose again......lol......see, at least I have not lost my sense of the absurd! :) Or is that the guilt making me lighten the moment & mood?? I'm hopeless!!

And finally( and thanks to everyone who is still with me!!), it was completely unexpected that when I dashed into the Post Office today for the first time with Tyler, that I would end up crying happy tears before my errand was done! Imagine my surprise and delight when several staff members remembered me from my many care packages sent overseas to Tyler and were sooooooo thrilled to meet this miracle in person! I was beyond touched and tickled and of course Tyler rose to the occasion and produced his most winning gummy grin and very loudest raspberry sound! To realize again that just mere weeks ago he was not yet with us.........to come full circle with him even doing such a mundane task as buying stamps and mailing the bills......... absolutely unexpected moments of bliss to cherish!!!