Snail mail.

I love getting the mail each day. It's not a long walk for me to the mailbox, considering the postman drops my mail into a slot that drops the mail into my living room, but every day I get antsy when I hear the mail drop, hoping there's something fun in there instead of just bills and credit card offers. Getting the mail is about to get a lot more interesting as we are approaching the holidays ... I love love love getting and receiving Christmas cards!! It's so fun to hear how everyone is doing, getting updates on their lives, and most importantly seeing the cute Christmas card they send.

I have been itching to send out birth announcements for the little guy, but instead I'm going to try and refrain and wait until Christmas when I do a joint birth announcement and Christmas card combined. Considering almost everyone I'd send a birth announcement to is either on Facebook or reads my blog, I think everyone knows about Cohen's birth anyway. :)

But, that doesn't stop me from looking at and dreaming about which Christmas card I'll choose. Here's a few I've been crushing on, compliments of Shutterfly.com ...

Love the "traditional" side of this one (the red and green colors) and wrapped in a chocolate color? Yes ma'am! Love it.

I love this one, because of the non-traditional colors, and the spin on the traditional letter that you get. It's quick and easy to read, instead of being long and way too over-detailed, like some letters you receive.

I love the formality of this one, the fonts, and the overall layout. Love!

I mean, really? What's not to love about this one? It's cute and fun.

Again, love the formality of this one and the simplicity of it. It's classy and pretty.

Now, for the good stuff! If you're a blogger and would like to get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly this year, click here for more information! Be sure to select Clever 1000 as the referral source.

Stay tuned to a mailbox near you to see which card I choose ... and if you need my address to send me a card this year, let me know. ;)

The little guy.

He's here!

Cohen Michael Keith made his grand debut at 7:59am on October 29th.

He was 7 lbs, 1 oz and 19 1/2 inches long.

We are absolutely smitten over him and Jaxon just stares at him and simply says "baby"... today he wanted to hold Cohen every chance he got. He lays his head on him and gives him kisses constantly.

Love love love.

My recovery isn't going as smoothly as my first time around, so I appreciate any thoughts & prayers you can send my way.

Cohen, on the other hand, got a 9.9 on his apgar (out of 10) and is breastfeeding like he's been doing it for years. He's amazing.

Be back soon.

{soon = as soon as a new mommy of 2 under 2 possibly can}

Ramblings.

Today's my last day one-on-one with Jaxon. {he's sleeping right now... hence the reason for this post} Tomorrow my Mom and Grandma will be flying in, which I'm crazy excited about. So today is it ... the last time I woke up because of just him, the last time we had breakfast and lunch alone, the last time we went to Toddler Time at the library alone, the last time we went on a walk alone... and the day is only half over, so there will be many more "lasts" today.

I heard a quote about love the other day... I can't remember whose blog it was on, and if these were the exact words, but it went something like this:

‎"The thing about love – it’s expansive. Finding more people to love does not take love away from those you already love."

It was a good reminder for me. That no matter who else in my life I find to love, including the boy who will make his appearance in 2 days... my love for the people that I already love will never change. My love for Jaxon won't diminish. My love for Tyler won't grow weak. My love for my family and friends won't change. It's just another person that God has blessed me with, and for that I'm so thankful.

It reminds me of something my cousin told me, when I first found out I was pregnant. She said to me "Right now, you love Jaxon with 100% of your heart. In your mind, you think once the baby comes that you'll love Jaxon with 80%, and the new baby with 20%. But you're wrong... God will give you another 100%. You will still love Jaxon with 100% of you, and suddenly you have another 100% to give to the new baby. You'll see..." I have never forgotten that... so thank you, Hollie.

As sad as I am for this chapter of my life to end {one-on-one time with Jaxon}, I am also excited for a new chapter to begin. My life will be flipped upside-down and most days I will probably be in tears by bedtime, but I know it will be filled with love. I know, without a doubt, that I will love every second. Because it's my life, and these are the boys that I've been blessed with.

On a less sappy note... here's some fun pictures from my iPhone this past week. {hence the crappy quality...sorry}

Sitting in a bucket ... hey, whatever is comfortable...

I have no idea where he learned this, but just this past week Jaxon puts things up to his face, like a mustache, and screams "HAHA!" ... it had me in tears one day from laughing so hard.

Doesn't quite understand that this is for the baby, not for him... he uses it as a recliner, when it's not supposed to recline. :)

Sitting and playing in the big box of clothes we got from Gma Nancy... again, wherever's comfortable...

Giving kisses to his Giraffe... all the sudden he is attached to this giraffe and his teddy bear. He has to have both at naps and gives them kisses and hugs before falling asleep {of course I'm watching this from the monitor... haha!}

Two peas in a pod... Daddy and Jax.

I am not sure I'll be back before the baby arrives, but I will definitely blog from the hospital and let you all know he's here. Thanks for the prayers... as the day approaches I am getting more and more nervous about the surgery itself... being in a new hospital with a new doctor and nurses and my HATE for needles gives me some anxiety when I think about it too much. But I am confident everything will be fine and next time you "see" me, I'll be a mom of two!

Finally, be strengthened by the LORD and by His vast strength.

Ephesians 6:10

Confession.

Hi, my name is Megan and I'm a stalker mama.

You see, we bought a video monitor and it arrived a couple days ago.

Ever since then, I can't stop watching my boy sleep. I watched him toss and turn while dozing off into la-la land for over an hour last night.

Then I watched this morning as he thought about waking up... sitting up in his bed, laying back down. Sitting up... laying down.

Now it's nap time and I am not getting anything done, because I'm too busy watching my son sleep.

Creepy? Maybe.

But really, what is more peaceful than watching a child sleep?

I think it's my new favorite TV show.

Progress, take three.

I just got an email from our realtor back in KC. Our buyer just backed out of our contract. Oh wait, you didn't know our house is still for sale in KC? Yes, it is. This buyer backed out for no good reason, and right now I'm super angry about it. For once, it's not even Wells Fargo's fault... just the buyer. Seriously, maybe the third contract we get on the house will actually go through. Third times a charm...? Sigh... so so so frustrating.

Anyway, trying to change the subject so it doesn't ruin my entire day ... I'm here to report on how close I am to being ready for the baby to get here. Here's my updated to-do list:

• Sort through Jaxon's old newborn/0-3 month clothes, cry because half of them are fleece and it will be 70+ degrees when this baby comes, and put them away.
• Buy a dresser, to put the above mentioned clothes away.
• Buy short sleeved clothes / light fabric long sleeves {newborn and 0-3 months} to replace the above mentioned fleece clothes that he won't be able to wear. {thanks, texas!}
• Get out the "baby stuff" and put it all away / set it up. {Boppy, baby tub, swing, bouncer, etc.}
• Buy newborn diapers. Buy any diapers. Just buy diapers. {this one seriously put me in a panic a couple weeks ago when I realized I haven't bought a.n.y.}
• Buy a baby book. Easy enough, you would think, but I can't find any. Any. Thanks Nana!
• Buy month to month stickers, to take pics on each "month birthday"
• Buy a co-sleeper.
• Buy a diaper bag.
• Buy crib bedding. {Jaxon will use his crib bedding on his new toddler bed, once he moves to his toddler bed, that is.}

You'll notice that some of my "to-do's" are only half done. Like, I did sort through all of Jaxon's clothes {and cried the entire time} but I don't have a dresser here yet, so I can't put them away. Tyler's parents graciously offered to bring an extra dresser they have sitting around their house that they aren't using to give to us when they come. So once they arrive and we get it set up, I can cross that one off my to-do list too. The other thing that's half done is the task of getting out all of the baby things and setting them up ... they are all out of storage, but I need to clean and sanitize them, and set them up. And install the car seat.

Oh, did I mention my husband is working every day up until the baby comes for the next week? He switched around his schedule so that he could have more time to be with me/us after the baby is born, which I appreciate. So I'm trying to remember that as I sit alone each day for the 13 hours he's gone... at least he comes home at night which is better than a few months ago when we were living 11 hours apart. {reality check!}

Still looking for a bassinet or co-sleeper... yeah, I'm a week away from d-day and still have no place for the baby to sleep... no biggie......

The only other thing that I need to do, that's not on my list, is pack my bags. Pack my hospital bag, and the diaper bag. I need to google the list of things to bring, I can't think of anything besides remembering newborn binky's. What can I say... mom of the year, right here ;) I'll do it one of these days ...

I guess I'm in a procrastinating kind of mood today.

One week from today my Mom and Grandma will be flying in! I can't wait!

And just because a post without pictures is boring...

I got 2 of these stools/chairs for our kitchen table off Craigslist yesterday. The guy paid $210 for them each, and I got them both for $75.

Score!