Now that things are settling down and we've been doing this whole "3 year old + newborn" thing for a whole month I thought I'd just give a rundown of what things have been like over here.

     Let me just start off by saying, postpartum is hard. Now that I've been around the block a few times I've figured out a few things that help me navigate the baby blues. First thing that comes to mind is that my entire day depends on if I've showered and gotten ready. It may seem dumb, but my mood drastically changes as well as teeters depending on if I've had 5 minutes to myself in a hot shower. My goal every day is to be showered with the boys dressed for the day by noon. At first that seemed like a lofty goal, but now as we're establishing a routine we are getting better about hitting it, as well as beating it! But on days that are full of tough mornings, it's nice to be able to look at the clock and see that I've still got time. I've also found that I'm itching to shoot more. An hour away from it all with just my camera, subject and yummy light can leave me feeling so recharged, it's like I'm a new person. I took some senior pictures for my cousin and it felt amazing to be out doing my thing. So amazing that I've started planning shoots for myself again. I saw this quote online that said, "Your kids don't want a perfect mom, they want a happy one." So this is how I'm keeping myself happy. I am loving all the newborn snuggles I get and am so relieved that Fields likes to be worn in my ring sling. That is seriously the only way I've been able to function!

     Jones is loving being a big brother! I'll often find he's left Fields some sticky kiss marks on his head! The hardest part of the transition to not being the only kid at home was bedtime. Prior to Fields, Jones always wanted to sleep with us and would inevitably end up snuggled up between Danny and I when morning rolled around. With baby brother here, that wasn't going to fly. Slowly over the last month we've been able to get Jones back on his own bed. Jones has also turned into quite the helper - whenever Fields starts to cry he'll run and grab his bink for him. (He's also decided that if anyone is crying all they need is a pacifier and they'll be good to go!)

     Danny is just the best dad ever. He has been wonderful with picking up extra slack at home with dishes and laundry and basically being on Jones duty. (Especially since it feels like I'm always sitting and nursing!) We've had our fair share of sleepless nights. Early on when we brought Fields home, Jones was sleeping on the floor of our room in his sleeping bag. When he'd wake up in the middle of the night he'd pull Danny down to sleep and cuddle him. One day Danny woke up from his cramped sleeping arrangements on the floor to find me asleep with Fields in the recliner in his room. The only ones asleep in our bed were our dogs, Indy and Scout. They were sprawled out on the bed like they owned the place. 

     That's basically it. We're always in a state of constant tiredness, but constantly surrounded by love. We love having our little Fields here and have loved watching his personality grow. 

     Oh, and as far as the dogs are concerned, It's just like we've brought home another puppy. Already loyal to a fault. Indy has resumed her position of "watch dog" whenever I nurse around people and Scout just wants to cuddle. They love their newest pack member.