Making Memories

I've gotten really bogged down in the time and energy it takes to be a parent to more than one kid.  It's been a frustrating, exhausting six months.  But the last two evenings (ahem...over a month ago...) I had experiences with my big girl that helped me remember why I enjoy being a mom.

On Wednesday night (10/17/12) after I nursed Baby Boy and put him to bed, I asked Baby Girl if she wanted to go take a walk with me.  It was only about 7:20 and she'd been heading to bed around 7:40.  She also took a nap at the sitter that day, so I knew she'd be okay staying up a bit later.  It was gorgeous outside (highs near 80 in late October in Ohio just don't happen very often).  She was really excited and got her Crocs on in record time.

We took a stroll up the sidewalk until we heard a bug chirping.  We stopped to look for it and finally found it and just stood, watching, for a couple of minutes.  I explained how the cricket made its noise and she could see its legs twitching.  We walked down the sidewalk, hand in hand, talking about mundane things.  She's getting bigger and I know soon she isn't going to want to hold mommy's hand all the time.  We got down the block and turned back, pausing at our cricket to see whether it was still there.  It was.

When we got back to our house, we sat in the driveway and looked at the stars.  She doesn't get to stay awake long enough to see nighttime very often, so she hasn't had much experience in stargazing.  We talked about the shapes up in the stars and just snuggled on the ground.  It felt so good to hold her close to me and to enjoy being outside in the crisp evening air.  I want to remember what her warm skin felt like against mine and how she felt snuggled in my lap forever.

25 Weeks

At 25 weeks (10/22), I wrote up a quick blurb about what Baby Boy was doing.  Here are the things on my list:

Sitting
Crawling
More teeth?
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Sleep Issues
Drum
---
Expounding upon the list (11/21):

Sitting: He started sitting like a champ right around this time.
Crawling: He can get around at will, but still no traditional crawling
More teeth?: We're pretty sure there are more teeth coming (they ended up poking through 11/16 and 11/19)
Itsy Bitsy Spider: This is the craziest thing.  Baby Boy is instantly calmed by The Itsy Bitsy Spider.  If he's fussy, he will stop and stare at your hands and start his wiggling and giggling.  I don't understand it, but you'd better bet that I use the hell out of it.
Sleep Issues: I think it was at this point that he started waking 4-7 times per night.  It was ugly.  He only wanted Mommy, too.  Ugh.
Drum: When Grandma and Pops visited Gatlinburg, they brought Baby Girl back a little drum like Native Americans use.  Well, my dad discovered that Baby Boy liked to put it into his mouth when he was teething. He'd put one side into his mouth and we beat the other side with the mallet to make it vibrate on his gums.  It looks hilarious and we end up with a ton of drool down the side of the drum, but it makes him happy :)

6 Months (and 3 weeks...)

Baby Boy,

I don't know if it's possible for me to write even a sentence to you without crying.  My heart swells with joy and love whenever I think of you.  When I see your beautiful smile (which you give me whenever you see me), I want to pick you up and snuggle you like crazy.  And that, of course, would make you squirm and whine because you're just not a snuggler.  Thank God for your sister because I can't imagine not having at least one kid who snuggles!

------
I wrote that first part one day after you turned 6 months old and am just now, when you're 6 months and 3 weeks old (11/21/12), getting back around to revisiting this blog post.

What I really want to say, Little Man, is that you are loved.  You are SO loved.  And I haven't been blogging because I've been soaking up the essence of YOU.  You make me happy all the time.  Your smile lights up the room and my heart.  You delight in the smallest things like playing with a sock or seeing twitching fingers, ready to get you.  You love to squeal and wiggle and I could play with you and just BE with you all day every single day.

So while I'm not writing a lot, it's because I'm spending time with you.  I love being your mommy and if I could guarantee that every baby I ever have could be just like you, I'd have another ten.

Love,
Mommy

6 Month Pediatrician Appointment

I have a sappy post to write and some updates about Baby Boy's development as well as a post about Baby Girl....but this is an easy post to write, so I'm going to knock it out while my queries are running.

Stats:

16 lbs 14 oz (38th percentile)
26 inches long (25th percentile)
44 cm (86th percentile)

My chunky monkey little man has quickly become a not-so-big little boy (except his head...which would explain the 3rd degree tear...).  The pediatrician doesn't have any concerns because both his weight and height have a downward trend (in percentile, not the actual height or weight!), but I have a hard time not worrying, especially since until last Saturday I was his only source of nourishment.  I thought he was always going to be huge, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

The doctor was happy with his development and said he was head of schedule for large motor since he's already army-crawling.  He also said that he doesn't expect babies to start using consonants until about seven months, which he's started to do a bit.  It always makes me feel happy when my kids are head of schedule for developmental milestones, even though I have very little to do with it.

At the appointment, Baby Girl also was getting her flu shot.  We had talked through what would happen and were reviewing it before the nurse came in.  The following conversation ensued:


Me: They're going to give you a little pinch, then put a bandage on it to help it feel better.
Baby Girl: Why does it need to feel better?  It won't hurt.
Me: You're right.  The bandage helps keep the medicine in your body.
Baby Girl: How does the medicine get in my body?  I have skin.
Me: Yep, but the shot makes a little tiny hole to help the medicine get inside.
Baby Girl: ......(you can see the wheels turning).....Will I have to wear the bandage forever?
Me: No, the skin closes up after a little bit of time.


The nurse gave her her shot and she just watched and was happy to get her star-shaped bandage (like below):

Next it was time for Baby Boy to get his shots.  We'd talked to the doctor about what vaccinations he needed at this appointment and the pediatrician was going to give him 4 injections (Hepatitis B, flu shot, TDAP (something like that, at least), and leading cause of meningitis) plus an oral vaccination for rotovirus.  I asked if there was anything we could delay for the month until we come back for his second flu shot and he said that the Hepatitis B could be delayed, so we did 3 shots plus the oral vaccination, then at the end of November need to go back for a second flu shot and the Hepatitis B shot.  Blech.

His sister held onto his arm while I held his hands and looked at his face.  I felt awful for him when his head turned bright red and he was screaming, but he stopped crying pretty quickly after I picked him up.  He whimpered a little, but was generally okay.  I took Baby Girl for her sticker (she chose Mickey Mouse) while The Hubby got Baby Boy dressed.  I then nursed Baby Boy in the car in the parking lot of the pediatrician's office because, as expected, he passed out on the way to the sitter.  We dropped off the kids and went to work.

Mobility

Baby Boy is trying SO hard to be mobile.  He lays on his belly and alternates between pushing up on his arms and laying on his belly flailing his arms and legs.  His preferred method of communication recently has been growling, so when he gets frustrated, that's what he starts to do.  The funny part is that he'll have a toy, then push it just out of his reach and get mad that he can't play with it anymore.  In the last couple of days, though, he's been able to get his right leg bent and push off with it.  He moves a bit crooked, of course, but he's getting there.  The sitter also told us that he's been doing downward-facing dog some, forming an upside-down V with his hands and feet on the ground.  He's SO close.  Even now, we can't put him on the floor and expect him to stay there.  He's a rolling and spinning fool.  He hasn't quite figured out that he could barrel roll to move across the floor, but does it inadvertently anyway.  The place he most commonly rolls, though, is in bed.  We put him down awake and then go downstairs to look at the video monitor to watch the show.  He rolls and spins and does a few laps of his crib until he just falls asleep.  It's so fun to watch!

I guess that means it's time to start thinking about baby proofing since I have a feeling he's going to be into everything.  The bookcase that has been in the living room since before Baby Girl was born might need to be anchored and/or emptied altogether.  It houses my cookbooks, so it wouldn't be a huge deal if it got emptied, but I don't want him to pull up on it.  Baby Girl left it alone in general and I have a feeling that Baby Boy is going to be an entirely different ballgame.  Here we go...

Old Friend

You know that old friend that you've got?  The one that was your BFF, maybe in high school or maybe college.  She knew everything about you.  And then life happened and you drifted apart.  You didn't make time for each other anymore.  Maybe you moved to separate states or even countries.  You saw each other's posts on Facebook, but didn't really know much about your friend's everyday life.  And then that friend comes to town for a visit.  While you're comfortable, you aren't sure what to talk about.

Do you tell her about how your parents are doing, how your work is going?  Or do you tell her about your crazy anxiety about having two kids, a job, a husband, a house, managing your finances, and still trying to foster your own relationship with yourself?

Do you talk about people that you used to know and what they're doing now?  Or do you admit to her everything you're struggling with, from your own weight issues to focusing at work to your lack of confidence because apparently you don't make children that know how to sleep?

I tend to try to do the former.  To talk about surface things.  Easy things.  To not get into the deep stuff, even though you really need to confess it all to that person that used to be your main confidante.

And when you start talking regularly again, how do you get to the place where you talk about The Real Stuff?  You don't want to jump right in.  You want to tiptoe, sticking one toe in the water, testing the waters to see if you can still relate to each other, to see if that friend can handle your new reality.

This blog has become that old friend.  I want to foster a relationship again, but I'm not sure how.  I'm going to try, but forgive me if I can't take the plunge just yet back to the place where we once were.

Update on the kids

I can't even take the time to tell you how incredibly busy I am.  Seriously, people.  I'm writing this on work time, which I shouldn't be doing, but I really want to write down a few things that are happening with the kids.

Baby Boy:

• Yesterday (October 2nd) we discovered that he has his first tooth!  He loves to chew on our hands (always had) and so I let him chew my fingers and then I felt it.  Crazy!  Baby Girl didn't get hers until she was over 9 months old.  Yet ANOTHER thing that shows that they're different kids.
• One thing they aren't so different about is their behavior when teething--you can't tell.  At least with this one (and I hope it continues for the others), we had no idea that Baby Boy was teething.  He's always put stuff in his mouth and drooled, so it wasn't much different.  Yay!
• Another cold has hit our house.  Blech.  Baby Girl started it, shared with her brother (it has been fairly mild for him so far), and just today, 1.5 weeks after Baby Girl first got sick, I'm feeling rough.  Not horrible, but not great, either.  Yesterday I had such a sore throat that it hurt to talk or swallow for a few hours.  Today I'm just a little stuffy and a little cough-y and just feeling sort of run down.  Nothing major, though.
• Sleep improved...for one or two nights.  Seriously, baby sleep is going to drive me insane.  We got through a stretch of waking 5-6 times per night and were down to 2-3.  I don't know why, but he continues to wake up right as we're going to bed, around 10:00 or a little before.  Sunday night he woke up at that time, then slept until 3.  Woo!  Monday night he went down at his normal time (7:30ish) and didn't wake up until 2:00.  Those were both really good.  He was back to waking at 10, 2, 5 last night, though.  So incredibly inconsistent.  His normal daytime sleep is: 15-30 minute nap in the morning (this is usually 45 minutes at home) and then 1.5-2.5 hour nap in the afternoon.  He sometimes will fall asleep in the car on the way home and if he doesn't, is pretty sleepy before 7:00.  We're still trying to figure him out, though.
• He can freely roll both directions at will.  He can get his butt up in the air and can push way up on his arms, but hasn't yet figure out how to combine the two.  I wouldn't be surprised to see him crawling in the next month.

Baby Girl:

• We've been having trouble with her not napping and peeing in her Pull Up on the weekends, so I bribed her with a marshmallow on Saturday.  One if she napped and one if she kept her Pull Up dry (I'd suspected that she was peeing right before we went and got her in the morning).  She did it!  So we did it again on Sunday and it worked again.  I told her that if she kept her Pull Up dry all night long Sunday night that she could have another marshmallow and you know what?  It worked Sunday and Monday nights.  She did pee in her Pull Up last night, but it was a very small amount.  We're finally getting somewhere with her overnight potty training!
• Her behavior has gotten a lot better.  We had an incident where she slapped a one year old on the cheeks at the sitter (she still says she was trying to make him laugh, which I believe) and we've had to be a lot more careful about her being alone with her brother, but she just wants to play.  We talk a lot about how strong she is compared to the baby.  I'm not looking forward to Baby Boy being mobile, but in this instance, it'll be nice when he can run away from her if she's bugging him.  Unfortunately (or fortunately?) he typically busts into belly laughs when she plays rough with him.
• Bedtime is still rough.  She wants snuggles and we end up spending far more time with her at bedtime than we'd prefer.  She only goes without crying at bedtime about half of the nights.  So frustrating!  Why don't my babies sleep???  I LOVE SLEEP!

Still alive, but definitely worse for the wear

Hello.

Yeah, it's been awhile.

Not much...how 'bout you?

Oh wait, we aren't singing anymore.  Yep, it's been awhile.  Sorry about that.  I've missed you as much as you've missed me--probably more.

Things have been hectic around here, to say the least.  On August 13th, I started back to work full time and that means Baby Boy started to go to the sitter.  Work has been incredibly busy and life at home definitely hasn't slowed down, either.  Add to that the fact that Blogger doesn't work well on the iPad, which is my only connection to the outside world when I'm at home, and I just haven't been able to blog much.

Honestly, I'm still busy, but wanted to make a few minutes while I'm pumping to write up a few things.  That means that this will be a bullet point post.  I'd like to give you more, but this is all I've got right now.

• My Baby Girl is growing up super fast.  This morning she got dressed entirely by herself.  She took off her pajamas, went potty, washed her hands, put on her panties, shorts, shirt, and shoes ALL BY HERSELF.  What a big girl.
• My Baby Boy is also growing up too fast.  Over Labor Day weekend, he became a master at rolling from his back to his belly. He *can* roll from belly to back, but not as well as back to belly.  Sometimes he gets on his belly and wants to go back to his back and forgets how.  
• In spite of being able to roll, he's still sleeping on his side at home.  Apparently he's rolling to his tummy at the sitter to sleep, which is fine with us.
• The day I came back to work was the day Baby Boy came down with his first cold, complete with a stuffy nose and cough.  It took him awhile to get over it, but he didn't ever lose his charming personality.  He actually still hasn't stopped coughing entirely, but we started using a humidifier in his room and it's helping him sleep a bit better.
• Speaking of sleep, there's very little of it happening in our house.  Baby Boy is up at least 3 times per night and has been for the last week and a half or so, with the worst nights being over this past weekend.  He has been napping and starting the night (more on that in a moment) in his crib since not long before I went back to work, I think.  The transition was fine.  
• We are sort of unofficially co-sleeping.  When Baby Boy wakes for the first time (which is now happening around 11...when we actually went through a phase of it being closer to 3), The Hubby brings him to me to nurse.  He usually tries to get the baby back to sleep, but quickly concludes that he needs to eat.  I usually nurse him laying down if I'm already in bed and then we all end up falling asleep.  Then it's a vicious cycle--baby rolls toward me, fussing with his mouth open like a baby bird, I nurse him, we all fall back asleep again until The Hubby's alarm goes off in the morning.  It's exhausting, honestly, because I don't get a good night's sleep at all anymore and my back hurts really bad because I'm sleeping on the edge of the bed and have to contort myself some when I nurse him laying down.  I'm hoping to tackle this soon because I think everyone will sleep better once he's in his own bed more.
• Baby Girl has started waking up at night.  She lays in her bed, going to sleep, and wants one of us to come in later.  If we don't or we come in after she's sleeping, she wakes up sometime in the night, thinking it's still early and that she's still waiting for us.  I'm not sure how to remedy this...it's the first she's woken in the night since she started sleeping through the night at 16 months.  Even sickness never woke her in the past.
• We had Baby Boy's 4 month appointment.  I'm not sure if I've avoided posting about it because it makes me anxious or if it's due to the busyness mentioned above.  You see, he didn't grow as much as we'd anticipated.  He'd been in the 90th+ percentile for weight and 75th for height.  At his appointment he was 50th for weight and 30th for height.  I keep telling myself that he was getting ready for a growth spurt (which might explain the sleep issues as well) and that he just grew right after his appointment.  Who knows if that's actually true.  He handled the shots really well. After the first one, he just looked at the nurse as if to say, "Why are you touching me?", but then cried a bit after the second.  He did get a fever for a couple of days afterward, but never got cranky at all.  
• This morning Baby Boy reached for someone for the first time--our sitter.  I'm happy he likes her, I truly am.  But I'm a *little* sad that he doesn't reach for us yet.  It was still cute.
• We went through some eating issues at the sitter.  He went through a couple of days of only eating 7 ounces or so while I was at work, which seemed to be just enough to get him through until we picked him up.  Then he was up every 2 hours or so to eat.  The sitter got him to take a more normal amount (usually around 13 ounces--whatever we give her that I pumped the day prior) by laying him on his side as if he was nursing.  Whatever works! 
• Baby Boy sleeps well at the sitter.  He takes a short (30 minutes or so) morning nap and then a longer (2.5 hours or so) afternoon nap while the big kids are sleeping.  She just lays him down and he sleeps.  Bliss!
• Baby Boy actually puts himself to sleep for us at home, too.  We do a little shh/pat (a la The Baby Whisperer, which is what we used when Baby Girl was younger) if he seems restless, but otherwise he'll just snuggle his lovey (a silky elephant blankie), roll onto his side, and go to sleep.  He does sometimes use a binkie to go to sleep, but not always.
• We also got out the Exersaucer a couple of weeks ago.  We've already had to raise it to the 2nd level and could easily move it to the highest setting.  He loves it and it's really fun to watch him in it.  
• Baby Boy also still really loves his bouncy chair, but unfortunately it's going to have to go away really soon.  His tushy is almost on the ground.  I'm glad the bouncy chair has gotten use this time around since Baby Girl just wasn't a big fan.  He loves to play with those dangly critters and is now strong enough to rip them down.

That's all I can come up with off the top of my head right now.  If you have any questions, let me know!  Hopefully you'll hear from me before the end of *this* month, but we'll see what life is going to throw my way in the next few weeks.  You never know!

15 Weeks

I'm sad that The Blogger interface isn't great on the iPad. I would blog a lot more if it worked well, I swear.

Quick list of developments:

- Started grabbing ahold of your face and trying to eat it when you're close
- Started to consolidate sleep. Even when at home with me, taking one or two quick naps in the morning and a longer afternoon sleep, then maybe one more quick nap.
- The day he turned 15 weeks, he came down with his first cold. He now has no voice, which is adorable and pathetic at the same time. That day was also his first day at the sitter.
- Still rolling to his sides at will from his back. Doesn't seem to have an interest in rolling all the way over.

Meal Plan 8/12/12 - 8/18/12

After having a discussion with the Hubby a few nights ago, he took it upon himself to make our list of meals this week. Would I have preferred to do it with the ad? Sure, but I ended up finding some Managers Special meat anyway. Plus, how could I say something after he took the initiative and did it?

Sunday: Sloppy Joes and tater tots--I'm on my own for dinner with the kids tonight, so I wanted something super easy. This is also left over from last week, so the buns and meat needed to be used.

Monday: Broiled Tilapia and rice--Another leftover from last week. The package of fish from last week needs to be used and I picked up another on Manager's Special today. I can't say I'm a fish lover, but I don't want Baby Girl to not like fish just because I don't, plus there are health benefits to eating fish that I don't want to miss out on.

Tuesday: Cayenne Chicken--I got some chicken on Manager's Special (a rarity), so this will need to be used early in the week.

Wednesday: Tortilla Soup--I'll use some shredded chicken that was cooked during a batch cooking session before Baby Boy was born, so this will be an easy dinner.

Thursday: Tacos--And now, for the Mexican trifecta...  This taco meat was also made during a batch cooking session before Baby Boy was born. It's a good thing I'm okay with Mexican without cheese. I add avocado to make up for the creamy sour cream that I'm missing.

Friday: Pancake Bites--This sounds like a great Friday night dinner. I love breakfast for dinner (brinner) and usually The Hubby does a chunk of the cooking that night.

Saturday: Steak Salad--Something we've had before. Just basically veggies and steak sautéed and thrown over some lettuce.

Three Year Old Stats

Today we had Baby Girl's three year checkup with the pediatrician and she did really well. They weighed her, got her height, took her blood pressure, then did a general check-over. And she was deemed perfect :)

Stats:

Height: 37.25 inches (50th percentile)
Weight: 35.6 pounds (75th percentile)

He doesn't have any areas of concern and mentioned her going to the dentist (she'll go with us to our next cleaning for her first). It was generally pretty uneventful. She got her sticker and wanted to check out the fishies.

On our way out I asked if we could check Baby Boy's weight. With clothes on he was 15 pounds 7 ounces. Wow. Baby girl was 15 lbs 15 oz at 6 months old. Geez.

14 Weeks

I'm actually really glad I waited a day to write this, because now I have new stuff to write about!

In the last week we've noticed Baby Boy being markedly more interested in being upright and just generally being less of a blob.  He can sit with something in his hands (so he's leaning forward) for about 5 seconds sometimes and he seems to love that little bit of independence.  He can also roll onto his sides if he wants.  And just this week he's started really getting his head up high when he's on his tummy.  He's pushing up with his hands some, but it's still mostly from arching his back.

The biggest thing is that today he rolled from tummy to back three times.  It only happened when I left his right arm sort of under him so he didn't have to figure out what to do with it when he rolled, but it was pretty cool.  It also really startled him and he sort of bonked his head on the floor (he was on his play mat on the rug, so it wasn't like it hurt him), but I cheered him and I think he understood that it was a good thing.

This week Baby Boy has really ramped up the drool.  Baby Girl never needed to wear a bib all day, but we may be moving in that direction with Baby Boy.  It just runs out of his mouth all over everything and everyone.  We even have moments of wondering if he's teething because he's cramming so much into his mouth and sometimes even getting fussy.  We know logically that he isn't, but it's worse than we ever remember Baby Girl being.

I've also been working on getting Baby Boy to nap in his crib.  We've had moments where he has done it, but it didn't last more than a half hour or so and we hadn't been consistent about it.  Yesterday he took two (or three?) naps in his crib for 45 minutes apiece.  I also put him down for his first nap this morning in there.  When he woke up he was obviously still tired, but wouldn't go back to sleep.  I let him nap on me for his later morning nap, but when time for his afternoon nap, I thought I'd put him in his crib.  I had to fight him to get him to sleep because he was overtired from having shorter naps this morning.  I swayed with him on his side with the binky in his mouth.  When he was obviously drowsy, I laid him down, then had to shh/pat him for about 5 minutes, again on his side with the binky in his mouth.  I also gave him a lovey--an elephant that is silky on one side and soft on the other.  Since he usually wakes at 45 minutes, I went upstairs after about 40 minutes, prepared to get him back to sleep.  He stirred a couple of times and I patted him a teeny bit.  I'm not sure if he would've gotten himself back to sleep or not, but I'm glad I was up there.  I came back down after he'd been asleep for a little over an hour (I didn't have a clock up there or I would've come down earlier) and he's still sleeping and has been for 1 hour 40 minutes.  This is all in an effort to get him to nap well for the sitter in a crib.

I will make a separate post about my impending return to work full time next Monday.  To say I'm dreading it is an understatement.  I held him earlier today and just sobbed at him--I'm really going to miss him.

I am the girl with the lame ringtone

Stepping away from mommy blogging for a moment (GASP!), I want to talk about technology and its role in my life.

You see, I WORK in technology.  I train people to use computers.  I create technological solutions for work problems.  I help develop computer systems.

But in my real life, technology just isn't all that important to me.  Do I love to have new toys?  Of course.  But it isn't a priority for me financially.  We have an iPad that we received as a gift.  We also have a nice TV that we received as a gift as well (from the same loving in-laws--I love their decision to just do one big gift for Christmas!).  Our laptop, however, is on its last legs and badly needs either overhauled or replaced, but we haven't made it a priority to do so yet.

This brings me to our cell phones.  My husband has an iPhone and I LUV it.  But he wouldn't have it if 1) he hadn't gotten birthday money from his parents to pay for about half of it and 2) work wasn't paying for the service.  It's actually a nice thing--instead of having to carry both a work-owned cell phone and a personal phone, he can have work pay entirely for the data and voice packages for his cell phone and just take work calls there (unless, of course, I hide his phone...not that I would ever do that).  So this means that when we're out and about together we do have access to the internet, maps, and email.  I can't find a way to justify spending the money on a fancy phone and data package for myself to be able to use when I'm not with him.

I have a green phone that was an upgrade from my last phone because it has an optional QWERTY keyboard.  Fancy, huh?  I pay $5 each month for 200 texts.  I pay extra if I receive any picture or video messages.  I pay if I access the internet.  My ringtones are the dorky ones that came with the phone. And I'm saving money and not terribly inconvenienced, so I don't really care.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to hoist this boombox onto my shoulder and take a walk. Why spend the money on a fancy new MP3 player when this 8-track player works just fine?

Three Months Old

Bubba (yep, this is what we're calling you right now),

When I found out we were having a boy, I wasn't excited.  I was actually downright disappointed at times.  I wanted another girl.  I wanted a girl to dress up, whose hair I could do, who would be sweet and loving and snuggly.  But I wasn't having a girl--I was having you.  I had a lot of apprehension from the moment we found out you were a boy until the day you were born.  And then when you were born, none of it mattered anymore; I was in love.  And that love hasn't wavered and I haven't had one moment of wishing you were a girl from the moment I met you.  You are so incredibly sweet, happy, laid-back, AND snuggly.  Is it possible that you'll become more independent than your sister and resist hugs and cuddles from Mommy?  Sure, and I dread that day.  But for now, I cannot imagine having any other baby.  I spend my days home with you (I'm only back to work part time right now) laughing and smiling.  The only time you cry is when you're tired or hungry, both of which can be fixed pretty easily.  You are the happiest baby I've ever seen and you have the best laugh.  You giggle at your big sister, even when she's being a little rough--I think you actually like it.  This morning, for instance, she was lifting your legs up to your chest while you were propped up in a sitting position on the couch.  Sounds uncomfortable for an adult!  She then pulled your legs down and would pull you from sitting to laying on the couch.  You thought it was the best thing ever.  I love watching the two of you together and love the gleam you get in your eyes when she's near.

I cannot wait to see what sort of man you grow into.  If you grow up to be exactly like your daddy I'll be a happy mommy.  I hope we can make that happen.  I want you to retain your laid-back, happy ways, to always go with the flow.  I want you to respect others.  I want you to understand work ethic and work hard to get the things you want in life.  I want you to have a silly streak.  I want you to understand that men don't have to hide their emotions.  There are so many things I want to teach you, my little man.

For now, though, I just want to hold you, talk to you, nibble on your chubby cheeks and thighs, and see that beautiful smile.

Love,
Mommy

13 Weeks

(Somewhat sappy 3 month post to come in the next day or so...I'm all sapped out after writing Baby Girl's letter.)

How cool that 3 months and 13 weeks both fall on a Monday. It makes sense when I think about it, but it snuck up on me this time!

Let's see...this week hasn't been overly exciting, really. Baby Boy is starting to pull his legs up off the floor and is, consequently, rolling some onto his side. He still has no interest in rolling when on his belly--he gets angry really quickly. He is, however, having moments of actually pushing up with his arms and not always just arching his back to lift his head.

He continues to explore his voice and is making more high-pitched noises. If I'm out of the room I'm having a harder time determining if he's happy or sad.

Speaking of exploring, Baby Boy is still exploring everything with his mouth. If you don't want it drooled on, don't give it to him. This could be your fingers, toys, clothes, blankets...whatever.

He is also still really laid back. He slept in the stroller at the fair (without patting, rocking, or anything!) and also slept for a bit in his infant seat at dinner later in the day! He also got passed around at his sister's birthday party and even napped on his daddy during present-opening. He loves it when you get your face close to his quickly and rewards you with a great belly laugh sometimes.

Baby Boy is an incredibly efficient nurser, which is especially nice when you're feeding him in public. He takes about 5 minutes and only nurses on one side each session. He still nurses to sleep each night, although he is starting to fight it. I also frequently nurse him to sleep for naps just because I'm lazy. He could go to sleep with walking and bouncing or I could nurse him... It's nice to be the bearer of the "magic juice", as we call it.

Three years old

My sweet little girl,

You are three years old today. I have spent a lot of the day remembering that day three years ago: where we were, what we were doing, and what we were feeling. It was an overwhelming day--our lives changed in a shocking and amazing way when you entered this world. I wouldn't change a thing. Your daddy and I talk a lot about the fact that we were meant to have you--that baby in that moment. We waited longer than we wanted to for you, but knowing who we ended up with, we wouldn't change one thing.

This last year hasn't been as filled with physical development as the previous ones, but you've grown by bounds intellectually and emotionally and I truly couldn't be more proud. You're such a smart little girl and are able to communicate with us better than we'd ever thought a three year old could. That isn't to say that we haven't had any struggles--we have...oh, we have--but you're still so incredible. Our struggles have been recent and mighty--it's like we're paying the price for never experiencing the Terrible Twos--because you seem to have inherited your mommy's stubbornness. We butt heads from time to time, but in the end you're still my sweet girl who just wants to make Mommy and Daddy proud and happy.

You, my dear, love fiercely and wholly. You are always asking for "one more hug and kiss" before we go anywhere--even just to the bathroom! You adore your daddy and love to play with him.

Your little brother is your favorite person, it seems. People ask me all the time about how you are as a big sister and I'm always quick to tell them that you are a better big sister than I could've hoped for. You are helpful and always want Nicholas to be happy. He is the first person you want to see when you get home and love to kiss and hug him. You get a little rough sometimes, unintentionally--you just want to love on him as hard as you can. And sweetheart, he loves you too. Sometimes you're the only one who can make him smile.

The arrival of the baby rocked your world. For as much as you love him, you were feeling pretty jealous of the time and attention we needed to give him--especially mommy. Once we settled into our home as a family of four, things have improved. Mommy and Daddy set aside time just for you and that led to better behavior--thank goodness! We still have more tantrums and fights than we had before he arrived, but we work through it. Our favorite words that we've supplied you with to use when you're disappointed and want to cry are "that makes me a little sad".

I love you so much, you headstrong little girl. You have shy moments and outgoing times. You still love food, being outside, and books. You want to help mommy with everything and ask me to save chores for you to do. You help me cook, clean, and do laundry (your favorite is folding sheets and when we walk our ends together--it makes you giggle loudly every time).

Thank you, sweet girl, for choosing me as your mommy. I thank God that He chose us to raise you and watch you develop. I can't wait to see what your fourth year will bring.

My love always,
Mommy

12 Weeks

In just a few days my baby boy will be three months old.  I feel like the world is passing me by as I try to cling to every moment.  But that's for another post.

Baby Boy's twelfth week was a great one sleep-wise.  I was in the process of writing up a blog post about how much I fear I screw up my kids' sleeping (or our genetics just create bad sleepers...not sure which) when he started only waking once per night.  Wow.  He did it Sunday night.  I figured it was a fluke.  When he woke up at 2 a.m. Monday night I assumed I'd see him again in a couple of hours, but he slept until morning.  Then Tuesday night he only woke once at 4.  This continued until Friday night, no matter what we did during the day.  Some days he napped better than others.  Some days he took an evening nap and some days he didn't.  And yet he still slept well.  Then Friday through Monday nights (as in Monday, the day he turned 12 weeks) he woke up twice per night, which still wasn't horrible after waking 3-4 times per night prior to the improvement.  Last night he actually woke up three times, but he had an odd evening (didn't nap and then fell asleep eating, which means he didn't eat nearly as well and then was stirring most of the evening), so I'm hoping we'll be back to waking once or twice tonight.  Either way, my fears that I'd screwed him up have been quelled...for now.

I also wanted to document a birth mark that I discovered on Baby Boy.  He has a mole on the back of his left knee.  I don't know if it's been there since birth, but I discovered it around 10 weeks when I was checking out his rolls (which are DELICIOUS...except for the crud I found in one of them yesterday).

Baby Boy is just growing like crazy.  Baby Girl has her 3 year doctor appointment on August 10th, so I might ask that he be weighed then.  If not then, he has his urologist appointment on August 16th and then we'll have his 4 month appointment at the end of August.  He is getting big and is still such a happy little man. If he's fussy, it's always for a reason and is typically because he's tired.  He has the best smiles and gives them to just about everyone.  He also has a little chuckle that he'll emit sometimes that sounds like he's being polite when someone tries to make him laugh.  But then when he really gets laughing, you know it!  He loves to watch and listen to Mommy sing and loves it when Daddy does up/downs over him (he'll run in place and then drop like he's going to smoosh Baby Boy, which is apparently the most hilarious thing in the world).

Meal Plan: 7/22 - 7/28/12

I just haven't been in the mood to eat real meals much recently since being dairy-free, on top of limiting my bean intake, so our meal plan is fairly uninspired. I also don't know when we'll have which meals--it all depends on what sounds good each night.

Now that I've sufficiently reduced your expectations...

Spaghetti and meatballs
Breakfast: pancake bites that I found on Pinterest, eggs, and hash browns
Sloppy Joes and tater tots
Beef and vegetable soup
Lazy man's cabbage rolls

Next Saturday is Baby Girl's third (OMG...SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?) birthday party and her big day is Sunday, so our weekend will be filled with party and the week will be spent getting prepared to convert our house into a Christmas wonderland.

11 Weeks

Friday night The Hubby and I took Baby Boy out to dinner with us at a local German restaurant and while the food was yummy, he was totally overwhelmed by the noise and alternated between fussing and looking around with big eyes. My favorite part of eating there is the cream puffs. I thought I'd try splitting one with The Hubby and see what happened. The good news is that Baby Boy didn't have gas pains. The bad news is that he spit up a lot the next day. It doesn't seem like he's ready for me to have dairy, but at least we know that he won't be uncomfortable and gassy if I have a little.

Saturday we took a trip to my in-laws' house to visit and pick up Baby Girl, who had been staying there since Wednesday evening. We had to make a stop to nurse in a cemetery, but he otherwise did pretty well. We took the Rock n Play with us, but actually used the Pack n Play that my mother-in-law set up for us. He'd never successfully napped anywhere but on us or in the Rock n Play, but he did great! He also slept in the Pack n Play overnight and did no worse than he'd done at home. He was an absolute charmer with The Hubby's family the entire time, as I thought he'd be.

The biggest development of the week is that Baby Boy slept 8:45 to 4:15 last night! We woke up and were both stunned when we saw what time it was. Wow!

I don't know if last night's sleep is related or not, but today he's being a bit crazy. He's crying more than normal, wanting to nurse (possibly because I pumped 4 ounces from the left side when he woke at 4:00, maybe because I pumped 2 ounces when he woke up for good, and possibly because he's just feeling off). I don't know what it is, but he's also extra tired, but not able to sleep for long. He won't let me lay him down or anything when he's awake, which is really unusual. It's got me frazzled since I'm supposed to be working from home an average of 1 hr 20 minutes per day and I can't get anything done.

I hope the sleep progress continues--I was seriously about to write a blog entry about how much I fear I'm screwing up his sleep. I hope, though, that today is the end of the crankiness!

Meal Plan 7/16/12 - 7/22/12

Monday: Mom's Noodles and potatoes--my mom made us homemade noodles when Baby Boy was born for the freezer and we ate some last week. Since they're thawed, we need to eat them up!
Tuesday: Taco salad--this week wasn't a great meat sale week at the grocery, so we're pulling taco meat from the freezer that we prepared before Baby Boy was born, making taco bowls with tortillas in the oven, and serving with avocados.
Wednesday: Mojo Shrimp--this is a meal that friends made for us that we make whenever we want shrimp. Unfortunately, I can't find the recipe online. Maybe I'll type it up for the blog someday.
Thursday: Southwestern Veggie Stuffed Peppers--we are trying to use a bit less meat (although with me avoiding dairy and copious amounts of beans, this is proving difficult) and I found this on my favorite cooking blog. I think I've made it before and loved them!
Friday: Healthy Lazy Man Cabbage Rolls-- I've made these before, but can't find the recipe I used. Hopefully this is as good as the original!
Saturday: leftovers