It’s like as soon as I posted my last entry, the new normal began to set in.  Reassuring rhythms, familiar routines.  Just a little something different thrown in the mix.

I’m thankful for our neighborhood playground and a backyard. It allows us to feel like we are going somewhere without the effort of packing up 2 kids for an adventure when I’m still new at this.

I worry about Jude getting enough exercise and stimulation but I’m also aware that it’s not so easy to just throw an extra diaper in the car and take off anymore. Little trips here or there or a smoothie on the back porch seem to be satisfying him lately. It doesn’t take much to soothe a 2 year old boy’s urge for exploration. A little outside time in the mornings or afternoons, and we are good. That and puttering around the house with his toys.

I’m grateful he is pretty good at entertaining himself.

Norah is growing and eating a lot. Every two or three hours around the clock actually. And as much as I’d love a simple five-hour block, I’m also growing a little attached to nighttime as our time together. Both boys still snoring away and she and I rocking or feeding. It’s pretty much the only time we have alone together it seems.

Such a stark contrast to that first baby when you have miles of time together alone and maybe start to go a little crazy because of it. So many things are different the second time around.

As you can tell, my cell phone is functioning as my camera these days. I need to fix that problem, but I’ve only got so many hands and brain cells to remember to grab a real camera every now and then. I’m so thankful for the ways modern technology helps me to journal and share all of this – my phone camera, Facebook and Twitter, this blog. It’s not making time slow down at all, but at least I can look back and remember things.

Life is crazy these days and sometimes chaotic. But I already couldn’t imagine it any other way.