The Herring Family: Surviving Month One

Now I know why my parents were always calling me "Beth" and my sister "Stacy." That second child's name just hasn't become second nature yet...every time I try to type "Sarah," my fingers automatically start typing "Megan." Anyway...

Sarah is one month old today! So we have officially survived the first month and are still here and sane enough to blog about it. I'm not saying that every moment has been pure bliss, but it hasn't been as completely insane as I had imagined it to be.

In fact, there have been some downright sweet moments. Yesterday, for instance, a big thunderstorm rolled in after nap time. Megan has developed a crazy fear of the thunder, but when Sarah started crying during the storm, Meg ran over to her, held Sarah's hand and told her, "Don't cry, Sarah. It's thunder. It's just a noise. It's outside. It won't hurt you." I happened to catch this magical moment while I was doing laundry, and I was so proud of Megan for being so caring of Sarah that it brought a little tear to my eye.

And twice this week people have asked Megan if she likes being a big sister. And twice she has replied "Yes." This is a definite shift in Megan's attitude towards sisterhood; two weeks ago she would have told you - hands down - "No." Occasionally she does still tell me, "Megan no want Sarah to go," and she did try to get me to leave Sarah at Granddaddy and Grandmommy's last week, but I can tell she's softening.

So, yes, we are all adjusting. We're trying to keep to our routine and stay busy (not that staying busy is that hard!) It's challenging and we don't make it to too many places on time, but we're getting better. This morning we actually did make it to art class on time, fully dressed, diapered and fed, with almost no resistance to getting out of the house and into the car. Days like today fill me with hope!

Here are a few things that have kept us busy recently...

...hunting for tadpoles and crayfish with Grandmommy