I should be getting to church in about 15 minutes, but I thought that I would take advantage of some relative quiet to blog real quick. Johnny was gone all day yesterday - there was a woman from the church who passed away and he went to be with the family in her last hours. He had been working in the church that morning too, so since he didn't get back until 11:30, he was gone all day. It's part of the job and I'm glad that he was able to be a comfort to the family, but it sure made for a long day in our house. The boys were both actually pretty good - Caden has seemed to settle down some in the last few days, which I am incredibly thankful for.

Caden already has the most expressive eyes, and his tiny little mouth give him an angelic look that I am sure will be used against me in the years to come! Corban is looking like such a little boy that I can hardly remember just a few months ago when he was still my "baby." I can't wait for Sherry, Kerry, and Carter to get here tomorrow. It's going to be wild with three little boys in the house, but I absolutely can not wait. It's going to be so much fun watching Carter and Corban interact - I just hope that my kid doesn't beat up on Sherry's kid. I think I'm already going to be the parent of the stinky kid, I don't want to be the parent of the bully too.

Oh, I'm going to post a picture soon of Corban walking around in my high heel wedge shoes. He honestly walks in them. That boy loves shoes and hair brushes - you can guess what I tell Johnny he's going to be when he grows up! :)

The last two nights we've asked Corban if it's time to go night night and he's grabbed Johnny's hand and headed to the stairs. Last night it was 8 o'clock, which is an hour ahead of his usual bedtime and he still slept until 7 - I could really get used to that!

We've not been doing much around here, just trying to figure out how things are going to work with both boys. The great thing is that usually Corban takes like a 2 1/2 to 3 hour nap right in the middle of the afternoon, so if I can get Caden to be calm, I've got a good chunk of time where I can either get stuff done or take a shower. Today I actually got to clean my kitchen and do a little laundry (dang, I've got to go switch stuff or it will have to be re-washed). We had our small group tonight. I enjoy it a lot, but it's harder now that I've got Caden to take care of. It's fun though because Kim is in our group, so we get to see Caden and Brody together every week! I think that the other groups are jealous because we've got both babies and they have none.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get to run to Sam's (by myself) and do a little more laundry - we'll see how that goes though!

When people ask how I'm doing after the baby, I always say, "Fine." If I was honest, the answer would always be "exhausted." Seems like if one of them doesn't have a bad night, the other does. Caden threw up for the first time last night. He did it in the bassinet, but somehow there was puke on our bed and on me too. I had just thought yesterday afternoon that Caden hadn't thrown up or spit up at all and how awesome that was. Oh well, we changed the sheets and went back to sleep. It's things like that that make me glad he's in our room, I don't know how long it would have been before I knew about that.

Today I think my big adventure is going to be the grocery store. We're all scraping the bottom of the barrel for meals. I think Johnny and both kids are coming, so this might be a learning experience for us. Other than a quick trip to JC Penny one evening and our small group (during which Caden fussed the whole time) I haven't been anywhere all week. I'm actually excited about Wal-Mart and I HATE our Wal-Mart.

Just a little over a week before Sherry and Kerry and Carter are here! I can't wait to see you guys!

I think that we might be able to settle into something of a routine without too much trouble. This morning I took Corban out in the front yard and left Caden in his pack-n-play. I heard him fussing after a while, but left him alone and he actually cried himself to sleep - never would have let Corban do that at two and a half weeks, but there are so many things that are different with the second. After I fed Corban and put him down for a nap, I thought I was going to get one too, but he woke up after 40 minutes. He's not feeling well at all today - runny nose and a little bit of a fever. Caden is awake more and more now. I'm looking forward to getting to know this little guy. I still have to keep telling myself that he's not Corban and he's not going to do and be just like Corban. I hope that he has the same sweetness though, I don't think I'm cut out for a mean little booger.

Johnny has been working from the church more, which is really good for all of us. He's getting more done and I don't feel myself relying on him to do so much around the house. So this cuts down on the guilt for both of us, his guilt about getting his work done and my guilt for taking him away from his work. Well, both boys are asleep for now so we're going to try to get our episode of Stargate Atlantis watched - we started it before we went out to our small group.

Today was our first day alone in the house. I don't know how accurate a picture of daily life it will be since Johnny was able to stick around for a good part of the morning. After Corban's nap though we did get outside for a while, just me and the boys. I put Caden in the bouncy seat on the front porch and let Corban play in the front yard. That should work well, especially if Caden will settle down - he's been a bit fussy lately. Yesterday was very interesting - it was our first car trip. We were taking Katie to a halfway point to meet up with her parents. Corban hadn't had a nap, so fell asleep in the car. He woke up screaming about 25 minutes from where we were going and would not settle down. Nothing I did would calm him - I think he had a headache. Caden slept through the whole thing though, and slept through dinner which was nice. He woke up right at the end and I fed him in the parking lot of Target while Johnny took Corban in for a few things. I forget how everything takes so much longer with a newborn. Well, one is getting a spanking, one is crying, and I need to help Johnny with dinner.

Busy, busy, busy! We've actually had a pretty good week. Katie has been here all week helping with the boys, so that has been nice. And I got to pick Corban up yesterday! Not that I haven't a little bit over the last two weeks, but I didn't feel bad about it yesterday. Both boys have slept pretty well the last two nights - I haven't even been taking naps this week. Marilou just got in this afternoon and will be in and out for the rest of the weekend taking her class. She brought gifts for Caden and a tub of Blake's clothes for Corban.

Yesterday was a learning experience for me though. Katie and I took the boys to the mall so that Corban could play in the play area - it was raining outside. I carried Caden in the sling and she pushed Corban in the stroller. When we were leaving it was raining, so I left her at the entrance with the boys while I got the car. She put Corban in, I put Caden and the stroller in. By the time we had gotten both boys strapped in and the stroller in we were both soaking wet. If I had been alone I can't imagine what it would have been like - so I'm not even going to try to imagine and I'm not going anywhere with both boys by myself until they can both walk.

Johnny is at a wedding rehearsal right now and we're going over to eat later. Tomorrow is the wedding and our church picnic and Marilou is going to be home earlier so maybe we can hang out a bit. Sunday we're driving Katie halfway to meet her dad. What a busy few days!

I've been up since about 2 am. Caden kept me up and Corban kept Johnny up. I think Corban is getting about 5 teeth at one time and he's in a stink of a mood - doesn't help that things are so out of sorts around here. I'm exhausted, Johnny's exhausted, and we've got his parents and cousin here. Tomorrow is baby dedication at church! It will be Caden's first Sunday in church - that's kind of neat :) Well, I think both of my boys need diaper changes - that's life at the Shirey house now!

What a week! My Mom and Dad left this morning to go back to KY. I feel bad for them because they've worked so hard around here and taken care of two boys and they are headed back home where they've got Grace's birthday party on Saturday and Monday Mom starts keeping kids again and Dad has to go back to work too. It was so wonderful to have them here though, I definitely couldn't have done this week by myself.

Today Johnny's parents are coming in to spend the weekend. We're actually having a baby dedication this Sunday, so they were looking forward to being here for that. They're bringing Johnny's cousin who is a senior in high school this year. She's going to stay until Sunday to help out with the boys. I'm feeling much better and would probably be OK except that I'm still not supposed to pick Corban up - and I can tell that I shouldn't - it hurts. Plus it doesn't help that next weekend Johnny has a wedding and I've got the church picnic to attend oh, and Marilou emailed and asked if she could stay with us that weekend for a class she's got to take in Pittsburgh. I don't think that we'll get to see much of her though, but I am looking forward to a visit. After next Sunday though, all of the help is gone until S & K show up.

Right now Corban is standing at the front door watching his Daddy mow the yard and Caden is in the pack-n-play. I've snuck away to do a little internet catch-up. Caden has been a real dream. He's very content and has been doing pretty well at night. For the most part he's getting up every 3 hours to eat through the night and is very happy to lay in the pack-n-play and either look around or sleep. He's already starting to be awake more during the day. Well, Corban's done watching Daddy and Caden is making some noise. Talk to ya'll later!

Hey all! I don't know what I'll have time to write, I'll do my best. Labor and delivery went very well. This time it was like we thought it was going to be with Corban. I started the Pitocin at 9:30, started having strong contractions right away and got the epidural at 11:30. My water broke at around 1 or 2 I think - this happened naturally, so at least one thing in this whole process did! An hour later the nurse came in to see if I thought I could push yet, I didn't think I could, but when we tried she said this baby was ready to be born! She went and got the doctor and in two more pushes he was here! I am so thankful that it was such an easy delivery - I was able to enjoy everything so much more this time! He was 8 lbs 19 1/2 inches when he was born. I guess he went down to 7 lbs 8 oz in the hospital, but yesterday he was already back up to 7 lbs 13 oz. We go back to weigh him again on Tuesday. He took to breastfeeding right away and that hasn't changed, which has been a huge blessing because I think it's helped him sleep better. So far being at home, he slept well then had a bad night, then did really well again. Hopefully that's not a pattern.

Corban thinks that Caden is absolutely hilarious. It doesn't matter if he's crying or just laying there or what, Corban walks up to him and just starts giggling. He's a little rough with Caden, but he does love to hug and kiss him and play with his toes. The hardest thing right now is that I can't pick Corban up and he just doesn't understand that. He's just completely out of his element right now, but I think once I can play with him a little more like normal and pick him up, he'll start to settle down and get into the swing of things.

My Mom and Dad have been here since Thursday, which has been a huge blessing. They've been taking care of Corban and the house and meals so that pretty much all I've had to concentrate on is my boys. They're leaving Thursday or Friday and then John and Paulette are coming for the weekend. After that we're on our own until Sherry and Kerry come to visit - I guess we'll call that a test run! Well, I think that breakfast is ready for us, so I'm going to go. I'll get some pictures up later.