Whenever it is just me and 3 kids at bedtime I usually manage to fall back on the old "divide and conquer" approach, except I rely on the next oldest person in the house to take on the other half of the divide: Preston.  He may only be 5, but he is an awesome big brother.   If I put Alyssa in her cradle and her cradle next to Preston while he watches TV, I can usually get a good half hour of cuddle time with Luke to get him to bed.  Preston will rock Alyssa, shush her, offer her a paci (which she always rejects), or even sing to her to get her to quiet down.  Tonight Luke was being stubborn about going to sleep so a few times I had to take a few minutes to nurse Alyssa and put her back into Preston's capable care.  Eventually Luke did fall asleep and then there was no longer a need to divide.  It gets rough ehen both Luke and Alyssa are inconsolable, but tonight was pretty smooth by 1:3 standards.  I'm still exhausted, though ;-)

This kid!

At least we are pretty sure he's registered.  The whole thing was chaotic and disorganized, but we made it through.  Preston was a little apprehensive about visiting the classroom without us, but ended up going and coming back happy.  This is a brave  new world for us, but many have gone before us.  
After registration Daddy had to go to work, Preston stayed home from school with me and Alyssa for the day.  I took him to Dunkin Donuts for a strawberry frosted sprinkle donut and hash browns "The best restaurant EVER." 
At home Preston helped me to make a lime meringue pie for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow.  His favorite pies are pumpkin and blueberry, but after he tasted the green filling for the pie his favorite pies were modified to "Pumpkin, blueberry, AND lime - it's SOOO sweet and yummy."  He also claimed that the leftover lime hanging around in the fruit bowl was his new friend, and that it saved him from falling off of his chair - or something.  It was cute.  
I really have enjoyed having each of the boys home by themselves for the last 2 days.  Their little personalities shine when they are not trying to constantly overshadow each other!  

Alyssa and I both had well visit appointments with the pediatrician this morning.  Grandma came along for backup and did an awesome job of helping me with my appointment.  I stood on the scale like a big boy and let them stretch me out on the table to get my height with the measuring mat.  Alyssa and I each hat to get one shot.  We both cried a little bit, but then it was all better. 
I weight 30 lbs and 9ozs, and I'm 34inches tall.  They predict that I will be 6 feet tall when I grow up.  
Alyssa was 9lbs 9ozs and 21 inches tall!  That's bigger than Mom thought she would be but we are both right on track with our weight charts.

From Mommy:
We are definitely getting some little smiles out of Alyssa this week!  They are usually pretty quick, but John and I and Grandma have all seen them
Luke did the rope swing at gymnastics all by himself for the first time tonight!   He held on tight and swung out and back without falling into the pit!  He was very proud of himself!  I'll try to get a video next time.  I forgot to take my phone this week.
Preston has Kindergarten registration in the morning and is very excited out it! 

Mom made 2 pies for Pi day: chocolate pudding pie and chicken pot pie.  Yum!

I turned 2 yesterday! We played with Gavin and Charlotte in the morning, and then all the grandparents and uncle Joe came over for birthday dinner!  My favorite gift of the day was my new Thomas underpants even though I'm not sure what to do with them.   When I was rocking with Mommy before bed I asked her all about the underpants and if I could try them.  I have yet to actually tinkle on the potty though so mom is holding off a little while until i really ready to try underpants.   I'm only 2 after all.  

Watching Daniel Tiger on my birthday morning. 

Two year old favorites:
Diesels
Orange juice
chicken nuggets
strawberries and blueberries
pineapple (apple-pie)
Daniel Tiger
Thomas and Percy
Airplanes
Heart Shape
Stroller walks
Rocks
my lunch box
stickers
chocolate
lollipops and popsicles

Things I don't like:
remote controlled cars (when they are chasing me)
wearing hats
when Preston takes things away from me

And finally have a few minutes to post it.  Psych - Alyssa is waking up.  Better hurry!

Alyssa turned one month old already on Monday.  I almost can’t believe how fast it is going, expect that I have done this 2 times before and know that it goes fast!  She’s getting better at sleeping.  She gives me 3-4 hour stretches at night sometimes.  She is still pretty sleepy most of the day, but when she is awake she is happy!  I think I caught her giving some smiles to the ceiling fan the other day.  I’m so excited to see her smile at ME (or Daddy or her brothers) for the first time.  It’ll be soon!  She is still in her newborn clothes, so I haven’t had to switch out to the bigger sizes yet.  We do some tummy time, and she can lift her head a bit, but she really loves to play on her back on her new quilt from Aunt Emily.  

​Alyssa on her 1-month birthday:

From Luke:
​
We had a very busy weekend, which concluded on Sunday with my 2nd birthday party!  I turn 2 on Saturday, but we had everyone in town for Poppop’s Memorial service so we thought it would be a good time to have a birthday party! All of Mommy’s siblings were together for the first time in a very long time, and we got to play with Liora and Talia.  Talia LOVES my baby sister Alyssa.  She wanted to hold her all the time and gave her lots of love and kisses.  Maybe she needs a new baby sibling *winks.*  I got a ton of fun new toys to play with, and we had great brunch! 

Mommy: Lukey, do you want some more pineapple?
Luke: Yes!  More apple-pie!

​Tomorrow I turn TWO!!! 

Luke's Party Pics:

Meeting everyone at Poppop's Memorial Service:

From Preston:

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week (March 8 and 9th – the same days we were having huge icy storms the last few year) the weather was in the 70’s with not a cloud in the sky.  Mom came to pick up Lukey and me from school with the stroller, and we walked home from school!  It’s a little over a mile and a half for me, but Mom says I did great!  It’s kind of fun to walk home from school.  I find all sorts of treasures like pinecones, sticks, rocks that look like eggs, sometimes we meet some new friends and puppies along the way.  We take the route through the developments, so the roads are mostly safe and quiet.  Alyssa LOVES the stroller, and so does Luke.  The double stroller sure does come in handy.  Lukey likes to “couple” himself in to the stroller, and he frequently checks to make sure that Alyssa is safely coupled in, too.  He’s a good big brother like me! 

​I’ve had a really good week this week.  I’m being a great helper, getting myself dressed in the morning without being asked, helping to set the table for dinner and getting myself breakfast.  Mom and Dad say they are really proud of me.  I have my moments of defiance when I’m tired, but I’m mostly a really good boy.  Tonight we are going to Qdoba for dinner because I was so good all week!

Preston Stories:
Mommy.  When I am trying to sleep at night it takes me a really long time and sometimes I see TV in my eyes.  I have a show where I am DEEP underwater with a fast jet boat and Timmy has a jet boat too that is fast but not as fast as MY jet boat.  And Alyssa is underwater and we have to save her and my boat is faster than Timmy’s boat so I get to Alyssa first and SAVE her.  Isn’t my boat so fast Mommy!? 

Preston has inherited falling asleep issues from me, if that is even possible.  I remember being pretty little and lying in bed listing for the big clock downstairs to chime what time it was.   As an adult I still have trouble falling asleep, so sometimes I’ll make up stories in my head, too.  Usually I fall asleep before anything exciting happens (guess I probably shouldn’t attempt writing fiction).  It seems as though Preston has figured out this trick, too, although his stories seem a bit more exciting than mine.

​Next week Luke and Alyssa both go to the doctor for well visits, so I’ll know how much they weigh and whatnot.  And Preston goes to Kindergarten registration!  It’s going to be a busy week!  

More pictures of Alyssa just for fun: