2 Weeks In With 2

Well, we have survived the first 2 weeks of being parents of 2.  People are right when they say it is a totally different thing parenting 2 rather than 1. And I say this even having ridiculous amounts of help and support.  We have 2 sets of grandparents here, a maid, a nanny, and of course the 2 of us! It should be sufficient but sometimes we still seem to be missing a set of hands! We got through the Bris, or Jewish circumcision ceremony, last Monday which felt like a big ordeal since we decided to host it in our home with 30 people and food both made by us and brought in from bakeries.  Isaac was a champ though and I think everyone else suffered more than him, as it's not a pleasant thing to watch. But, it was fantastic to be surrounded by our family and our newly made friends, all of whom have been extremely generous with their time, lovely gifts, and support.

Here are some pictures from the day.

 Our other preoccupation since bringing little Issy, as we call him, home is helping Eli feel attended to and loved.  I cannot imagine how he understands this in his small head of only 2 years.  He has definitely been more irritable and quick tempered since the arrival of his brother.  He has moments of tenderness with him though and lately even kisses Issy goodnight.  It will be an ongoing effort on our part to make him feel included and important.

Eli's had a few little treats during the last couple of weeks including these really cool wall decals for his room.  He came from school and I surprised him with big tow trucks and construction vehicles!  He was really excited and said with his Spanglish "otro tow" which is how he calls trucks.

And of course our parents have spoiled him with gifts of toys, new clothes, and lots of grandparent play time!  Eli's also gotten some play time with his cousins both from Lima and Bogota, as Alan's brother and his family arrived from Colombia last weekend to visit us and meet Isaac.

So with a lot of support from our families and our wonderful nanny, Salvi, and our cook extraordinaire, Rosa, we are adjusting really well.  Of course we are both sleep deprived and Alan is the one who has to go to work every morning completely lacking in the sleep department due to Isaac's every 2 hour feedings and Eli's recent bouts of waking up in the middle of the night.  We split the night time duties...me feeding and changing Isaac and Alan returning Eli to his bed 6 times a night and even sleeping on his floor on an air mattress to get him to stay there. But we fit in little naps when we can and of course looking at these two boys and anticipating what will become of them down the road makes it all worth it!