Carrots and peas

I have discovered a food that little man likes- the mighty carrot!  We started it right before xmas and he kept opening his mouth like a little birdy.  It's awesome and tuns hs poop inyo a really fun color.  We started peas two days after xmas, he was not pleased.  The yucky face was back.  So, tonight being the second night, I mixed it with carrots, not only for taste, but also to loosen the poop, it was super thick just as peas !!  Now, we can conquer pears, squash, peaches, meats, egg yolk, other veggies/fruits, bread products, and get rolling with finger foods.  Woo hoo!

Finally

Little man has been making some serious progress:

On Thursday little man got weighed and finally made it over 17 lbs! He was 17lbs 3oz. I mean, it was about time, we've been languishing in 16lb land for over 2 months.

Also, he's figured out sitting up, almost. He can sit up for a good 15-20 mins if he's engrossed in a toy or looking at something interesting. But he's still doing trust falls- where he will just fall over or in an attempt to go onto his belly, lands on his face!

He's a rolling machine! Essentially, he is wiggly and can squirm his way to what he wants. Very dangerous, but also very cute. It's so funny seeing them develop from rolling being a big production, to all casual and calm. And he loves jumping to his belly from sitting. Which in the past few days has gotten more steady. He occasionally will end up on hands and knees swaying back and forth. Hmmm, when will crawling start?

And our other big development has been food!! Little man is readily eating oatmealtwo times a day. One meal is usually plain while the other has applesauce, banana or sweet potatoes mixed in. Little man is not too into these foods, so we are moving slowly through them. Big guy was a little birdy with food, so I have to be more patient and creative. Funnily enough, little man loves my food, so maybe he will be more interested with self feeding. But his reactions to new flavors is awesome. He makes these dramatic faces and bodily shivers. Sometimes I just give him more just to see the faces. Cruel, I know. But he's finally liking apples and bananas. So, he'll get there!

4 AM

4 am is an evil time. What isn't happening at 4 am, you ask?

1. The sun is not up
2. It's very quiet
3. It's very dark
4. The cats think it's play time
5. I've been awake every day this month with a baby who has decided that it is time to be awake, regardless of dark, quiet and the cats!

Sadly, it's become a pattern, which then throws off the rest of our day. Naps have become bizarre and exhaustion sets in! For both of us. So, on Saturday morning, we went over to our library to elicit some written help on better sleep. I'll keep everyone posted on "the no-cry sleep solution." Why no cry? Well, mostly because anytime either of them makes a noise during sleep hours, the other wakes up!! Very frustrating to a tired mamabear.

The month that got away...

December got away from me! I was doing so well! What can I say, there is no excuse. I will say that we are 3 days away from Xmas and I'm already overwhelmed! Luckily, all Xmas shopping has been done for over a week. Little man is getting nada from us, but only because he will literally be swimming in toys from as eve with hubs' family get together. And will also be swimming in wrapping paper and boxes from big guy. And in my amazing motherly experience, those are endlessly entertaining to babies and maybe even next year.

I'm aware of just about all of big guy's gifts. Boy, is he in for some serious fun and joy! The big present from Santa this year is a fish tank. Which he asked for this summer. Santa has delivered. Then gmom Dino wrote a letter from Santa with instructions for purchasing his fish and other items the fish will need. We r putting in cash so he can buy this stuff.

He's going to lose his noodle. I just know it! It's really cool because this year he totally gets Santa, Xmas, writing lists, Xmas carols and everything else that goes along with this holiday. Even Hanukkah, he knows the dreidel song and all about gelt. The tooth fairy is making her annual visit and delivering toothbrushes, which gmom Dino explained was her desire to do good motherly work by providing them every big holiday. Good thinking!

I'm excited and it's going to be great! Wrapping presents has been challenging only because I can't do it when big guy is home. And little man has been giving me a hard time with naps. The other day he sobbed for an hour and a half in his pack n play during nap time while I wrapped. The good thing is I can wrap his presents in front of him because he won't remember! Ha!

xmas tree

On sunday we walked up the street to the local church and bought our xmas tree.  As in the past 6 years we have lived in this house, hubs walked it home.  This year was cool because big guy had gotten a wagon for xmas last year, so there was less cursing, less stopping and as hubs told me, less feeling sap becoming part of his person!  anywho, big guy and I were in charge of choosing the tree.  And as usual we bought an even bigger tree, completely by accident.  hubs would disagree, saying that I clearly have no spatial reasoning (true) and big guy is unreliable because he's a kid (also true).  but it's beautiful.  I will document it's unfurling, decorations, and more tree fun later, but I wanted to remember this snippet of talking to my child:

Big guy: Can we decorate it now?
Me: No, we have to let it depoof!
Big guy: Take a POOP???
Me: No, depoof. Um, let the branches come down so we can put the ornaments on.
Big guy: Oh, ok.

Does it make me...

A bad mommy if I actually had this thought while pouring lucky charms into a bowl this morning for big guy, "I wonder if I could write lucky charms a letter asking for a bigger marshmallow to cereal ratio... Probably couldn't ask for just marshmallows..."

I quickly decided that was a bad idea. But then I thought of one day over thanksgiving morning when I let him eat ice cream and bacon for breakfast. But it was a holiday, afterall!!!

Cute Pictures

My mom told me that in the span of a week, I had sent her the following pictures, which show the boys in cool weather, fall weather and then in snow!  See below for some serious cuteness :)

The apple

So, the weekend before turkey day, I was eating an apple and little man was in my lap.  For some unmemorable but obviously vitally important reason, I needed my left hand and thus little man and the apple had to share the right one.  I look down and there is little man gnawing on my apple!  He was really sucking on it and having a good time.  At first, horror!  Then, mental shrug, "eh" and just let him keep going.  Difference with child 1 and 2 I suppose.  He seemed ok the rest of the day and I just let him chew on them for the next couple of days.  Looks like apples are OK!

6 months!

Little man turned 6 months old on turkey day!  I can't believe it!  Half a year with this little man and it's like he's always been a part of our family.  On tuesday we had his check up with our favorite dr.  Dr. W of course loved him and praised how well he is doing. He is in the 89th percentile for height and 36th for weight.  To which she said that he will most likely be long and lean.  And since she was completely right about big guy being really tall, I'm taking her word for it.  Afterall, long and lean is a good thing!  He's doing everything right developmentally and she gave me the OK to start fruits, veggies, and another meal during the day.  yay!  Overall, a great visit.  Even the four needles were taken in stride, crying, but short lived.  We went home, where little man ate, pooped, and passed out!

academy of natural sciences visit or I'm a crazy woman!

The majority of thanksgiving break, we sat around at home and relaxed.  Finally, by saturday, big guy was starting to show cabin fever.  I took the boys on a brief outing to the petco so we could go talk fish and xmas.  We also stopped in the five below because big guy had $4 to spend and since we are practicing recognizing numbers, I let him spend it only if he read the numbers to me.  Big guy ended up getting a thing of candy canes for $2.49.  I had a deep conversation about getting something for a dollar, but he said he only wanted one thing.  Which is smart because he has change, but also because while the box is one thing, he actually got 12!

The next day we really needed to get out.  Since longwood had been such a success, I thought, the academy of natural sciences would be great!  Ok, I'm a crazy woman!  Mostly because, Longwood is outside and is a lot of long walks.  Academy was inside and much busier, though I was surprised at how few people were there when we first got there.  Little man, who should have fallen asleep in the car, decided to be awake the whole time!  And he was insanely grouchy, like screaming his head off if I wasn't holding him.  sigh.

Anywho, we managed a really great visit.  Big guy was in good spirits and was listening very well.  We went to the play area and enjoyed the sand.  Big guy also got to pet a legless lizard (not a snake) and a turtle.  We made a cool turkey picture with fun feathers.  Did you know turkeys are dinosaurs? And then visited the dinosaur area, following lunch.  It is also a big chocolate exhibition, so various parts of the museum smell heavenly!  I fed little man in the auditorium while it was quiet, for about ten minutes before a show came on about how chocolate was made and all these people came in.  grrrr.  Luckily, he ate well and pretty quickly but unluckily, he didn't stay asleep after I put him in his stroller.  oh well.  Oh, and big guy pet a hissing cockroach.

We then made it to the car and back home where little man took a lovely long nap.  whew!  And really cool is that big guy is going to have his 5th bday party at the museum, so it was fun to see what the kids will be up to at the party.

Turkey day

This year we stayed home for turkey day!  The past two years we have gone to NYC to see my mom and great aunt H, but with too many other things to consider, we decided to simplify and stay home.  HOwever, I did make a delicious feast!  Added to our fun was one of my former students, who is just awesome, came to spend the holiday with us and she brought yummy mac n cheese!

On the menu-
Turkey w/ gravy
Mashed potatoes
Roasted sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts
Cranverry sauce
Rolls
Mac n cheese
Dessert- ice cream, apple pie, pumpkin pie

It was certainly a lot of work, but everything turned out delicious!  Big guy only ate the rolls and little man had oatmeal.  But we talked, laughed a lot, and had a really relaxing meal.

Longwood Gardens

Last monday, it was nice out.  Since it was possibly the last nice day we would have until spring, I kept big guy home with us and we went to longwood gardens.  Little man had slept through the last visit, so I was hopeful with careful timing that he would see some stuff this time! We went to our weight watchers meeting at 10am, down another pound!  I'm within 5 pounds of my goal weight, but turkey day has since happened, so we shall see...

Anywho, following the meeting, we hopped in the car around 10:45 and drove down.  It's a long ride, and after big guy had a snack, they both promptly fell asleep.  Ah, success.  Of course when we got there, they both woke up, but that was OK, because I fed little man in the front with me while big guy hung out in the back eating part of his lunch. We got in and quickly made our way to the train display which is in a new location this year, due to some major remodels to half the grounds!  We ran around and talked trains, then parked on a bench and ate lunch (yogurt, carrots, apple, banana, chips) while watching trains.  Big guy got a new train book for free at the train gazebo, as last year's copy is pretty worn out.  Inside are all the model trains and accessories any kid could hope to have!

Following trains, we went to climb the tree house and checked out lights that were sporadically lit on the trees.  Since this was 3 days before turkey day, the conservatory was closed and the lights were being strung all around the gardens for the big xmas season opening.  But it was cool getting to see them setting up.  Next we went to the dupont house or the big, fat cat house as I call it. Since it normally has a big, fat cat outside, who this time was probably somewhere a little warmer.  We walked around and oohed the cool trees, decorations, and lights.  Then we went to the fountain show, which we saw another time before we left.

Following that excitement, I plopped little man in the stroller and we walked the grounds and peeked into the conservatory.  We then made another loop through everything before hitting the road around 2.  Little man fell asleep and big guy dozed.  When we got home, everyone had a snack and we had a really nice afternoon.  It was an awesome visit!

enough adventures update

My car had another adventure, this one without me.  The neighbor's dodgy fence fell on my car.  My poor car!  I took it to the shop given to me by the insurance and talked to the guy who owns the fence.  Full compensation... duh!!!  My car is ok.  Needed a new mirror and had some scrapes and bangs.  Most noticeably they cleaned the inside of my car which looked like a bomb had gone off inside.  As in they threw everything out, assuming that if it was on the floor and looked like trash it probably was trash!  And they vacuumed it and washed it.  even the tires were clean.  It doesn't feel like my car!  But I'm grateful it's ok and now I just need to keep it clean!

birthday parties

This fall has been very busy. Most notably, we've been going to birthday parties for the kids at big guy's class. Last year, we only went to one party, after I was "bullied" into going to one last year by big guys teacher. So I've made a point to go to every party so far this year. Being socialable, letting big guy see friends over the weekend, and making sure he's not left out when kids talk on Monday. It's exhausting. The coolest party so far was the first one of the season and at a farm. There was a hayride, pumpkin picking and a hay bale maze. It was really cool!! Subsequent parties have been less cool to downright torture. As a bonus, little man gets to go along and have fun. Mostly he just stares in amusement with the wildness around him.

Of course, this has led to a discussion about big guy's bday party for his classmates. We hemmed and hawed about a great location. With a February bday, we are kind of trapped inside. But we decided on the academy of natural sciences.  We love it there, he can touch bugs and they get a personalized tour around the museum! I'm still debating if I will do decorations, cake and favors or let the museum do it. Gmom Dino and I are figuring that piece out and I'm really excited because she is going to fly down and visit! And she will be here for the family party and kid party! Clean house... Here I come!

hat's off

Grandma J had made for little man a hat for Halloween. It's a pumpkin hat- bright orange with a green swirl on top. It's precious. And fits really well so we've been wearing it around ever since. We get a ton of compliments on it as well. She's really an amazing knitter! So little man hasn't given me any trouble with this hat, until this past week. In the morning when it's really frosty, I leave the hat on in the car. And this week he started ripping it off!! Little man starts arching his back and this the hat slips over his eyes. He gets all enraged and then reaches up and rips it off!! I'm actually impressed it's taken less than a month for him to figure out he doesn't want it on. Then he promptly starts munching on it. The good thing is that he still keeps it on outside. For now!

things I hate

rain
driving in the rain
putting two kids in the car in the rain
cold and rain
putting two kids in the car in the rain
people who come into your lane before making a right hand turn

Oatmeal

Little man got the OK to start oatmeal at his 4 month appointment. However, it wasn't until around Halloween that I got it together to try. I had to buy the baby oatmeal flakes which now come in a plastic box. Probably to make it more expensive. I had to clean the high chair, which my mommy graciously did for me during her visit! And then I needed to get some purified water just in case I needed to make it without breast milk. Finally, I had it all in order.

I set the stage but dawdled. I tried it one afternoon with little success. Little man was tired and not interested.  I tried again this time with a free sample of formula. No go. Then on Wednesday night, I had made a delicious dinner and big guy and I were devouring while little man sat on my lap. He was watching. And started to smack his lips. Hmmm, perhaps I was missing the social aspect of eating. So, with little hope of success, I used some bottled water and ta-da! He gobbled it down. Slurping and swallowing noises were heard! Smiles and laughs! And though he was covered with it, we had success. I was so relieved. Big guy had been such a voracious eater and I got nervous that I would have produced a non eater. But no, he just needed to eat with us!

Thursday, we went to breastfeeding group and got weighed. A gain of 2 oz, so not due to oatmeal. But we shall see next Thursday. Also at bf group, I ran into someone I went to college with. Weird. And our favorite lactation consultant was there, T, who was my go to gal and got me through big guys first year! She was glad to see little man and hear his progress, as well as hear about big guy. She also said I have to do a month of oatmeal once a day before starting a second meal of introducing veggies. Oh boo!

Grandma Dino visit!

Last week grandma Dino came to visit. Yay! Ironically, hubs had a conference in New Hampshire, so they switched places. It was a lovely visit. Big guy was of course in heaven because he loves Dino and only wants to be with her. And he got her big time. She took over bath and bed time while I fed little man. And even though she was meeting with friends during the day, she was always available for drop off and pick up from school. The best day was Friday though. Dino, little man and I had the whole day to ourselves. After dropping big guy at school, I fed little man and then we went to suburban square and walk around and shop. We visited the farmers market, which little man loved. Then we strolled outside and it was chilly but really fun. Little man eventually fell asleep in the Williams Sonoma and we went home. In the afternoon, we went to big guys school for the Halloween parade!

Hubs, grandpa J, grandma C and uncle I met us to watch the procession. Luckily, we got good seats and big guys class was the first to come through, which was good bc it was cold. Following the parade, we went home and hubs made everyone eggs and bacon for dinner. Then we got back into our costumes. Big guy was a doctor! Yes, he actually dressed up. Dino made the costume out of one of hubs' white button down shirts, a name tag she reused and one of her stethoscopes. Big guy looked awesome and was so proud. He even used his play drs kit as his candy bucket. Little man wore his pirate pumpkin onesie and pumpkin hat that grandma J knitted for him.

We bundled up and went to pick up our neighbors who have a 1 year old daughter. Surprisingly, big guy was totally into it. He loved having company I think and showing the little kids how to ring the doorbell and what to say to get the candy. We only stopped because little man was getting a bit cold. Which like a good big brother, he said he was cold and tired too. We found hubs at home giving out candy. Big guy promptly dumped his candy on the floor to take inventory!!

Saturday brought music class and a trip to the Bj's. Big guy stayed with Dino while hubs and I took little man. Both Dino and big guy were exhausted with the time alone. We had a huge pizza dinner in farewell to Dino, as she left early the next morning. We had a really nice Sunday. Hubs worked and the boys and I went to a free art festival with grandma C and crew. Big guy loved all the cool artwork, including a thanksgiving card, sun catcher and a cool mosaic tower. He also appreciated the free soft pretzels, watermelon and grapes. We took pretzels and cookies for the road. Upon coming home, he kept eating and we had a nice relaxing night before everyone turning in early. Day lights savings took it's roll on our family!!!

Enough adventures already

In the past two months, we've had a few adventures. First, my car battery died. Apparently I had left my lights on. Though I hadn't turned them on to begin with. Cue AAA coming with a new battery. Then two weeks ago, our carbon monoxide detector went off after an incredibly long day of music class and visit from grandma J and aunt B. Cue firetruck with lights and sirens. Tonight, as we were driving home from voting, someone pulled up and told me my tire was flat. Cud AAA again coming to put on the spare. Never having had a flat in my driving career, I was at a loss. But the man who came to fix it was awesome. He couldn't fix it because the lugnut key wasn't with the spare. But assured me it would be ok to drive on for half a mile to the dealership tomorrow, who I called and said it needed to be fixed and oh yeah, can you do my 30,000 check up!!  He put some air in and went on his way. At this point, I'm good with no more adventures!!

Well, that was an interesting day!

Saturday was an interesting and filled to the brim kind of a day.  Big guy woke up super early, like 4:30!  Yikes! We had music class in the morning.  Big guy was in rare form.  Alternating between running around and not listening to clingy to me and pouting.  Ugh, I needed a break from him when we got home.  He ended up losing tv for the afternoon because he wasn't listening!  Little man had a great time at music class.  He just thinks it is so fascinating watching all the kids run around and hearing all the cool noises.  He promptly passed out.  So did big guy but he woke up when hubs got him out of the car.  grrrr.  Anywho, it turned into a pleasant afternoon, albeit tv free.  But it was for the best.

After everyone ate lunch, gmom J and aunt B came to visit.  We went down to the duck pond with a ton of stale bread, cereal, and snack foods.  Everyone had a great time.  The weather was perfect.  Warm and sunny.  Following the epic meal, we walked on the nature path for a while.  Little man fell asleep in my arms.  We went home, everyone ate a snack and then we just hung out.  We had a nice dinner of chicken fingers, pasta with butter/cheese, and roasted broccolli and cauliflower.  Delicious!  Following dinner, we said goodbye and headed upstairs for bath and bed.

I gave little man a bath and then came downstairs.  Big guy and hubs had a bath and then I heard yelling.  And beeping.  Big guy and hubs come running down the stairs, saying the carbon monoxide detector was going off!  After about ten minutes trying to look online about what to do, hubs changed the batteries, opened all the windows, and asked me to call the oil company, since our water heater would be the only thing that could cause a problem in our house.  They suggested calling the fire company.  So, I called the non-emergency number and they sent me to dispatch.  Who told us to go outside and wait.  A police officer came about five minutes later, very discreetly.  Big guy, little man and I were staying warm in the car.

Then I heard the sirens.  I asked, "is that for us?"  Yup!  Down comes a huge fire truck, all lights and sirens on.  Then they put on this huge spotlight on our house.  Hubs and the fireman proceed into the house, while I chatted with the officer.  But then put the boys back into the car because it was rather cold and past everyone's bedtime.  our house is fine, we are all safe.  Big guy was a bit shaken, after asking me a million times, "Mommy, what's wrong with the upstairs?"  Hubs slept in his room with him.  Needless to say, it was an adventure I never wish to need to have again.  But everyone was really nice and professional, which is a great feeling about our community resources.  And it was a really interesting day!!!

super roller

the day before big guy officially became five months, he decided to be super impressive and roll from his back to his front.  He was working on it for a good ten minutes.  Shifting back and forth on either side.  Then I think he was just like, forget this!  and did it.  I was skeptical, surely that one arm would never get out of the way, but then he just wriggled himself into the correct position.  And then he was happy, since he loves being on his belly! Oh, and he's just about sitting upright all by himself!

kids say the funniest things....

Big guy has selective hearing.  Like all men I suppose...kidding! Anyway, usually he's so busy doing something he doesn't hear the 8 million requests, questions, inquiries we make.  The other day I was so frustrated I yelled rhetorically, "How many times do I have to ask you before you answer?"  He looks up at me, smiles and says, "Three times, mommy!"

Finally

Little man rolled over from belly to back when he was 11 weeks, but hasn't been since then. Not that I was worried, but I did want to see it again.  Finally, on sunday, I just had him on the floor with a toy, whereas I usually put him on the gym play mat.  He pushed away his toy and I was going to move him, but he started trying to put his knees under his belly like he wanted to crawl. I just continued chatting with hubs and he rolled over to his back! We all started cheering and clapping. Little man gave a huge smile.  Then hubs tells me, that's how he gets him to roll over, by making it boring!!!  Now he tells me!

lose a little, gain a little

Monday weight watchers check-in- down two more pounds!  a total of five :)  Big guy is at 46 pounds, which means he's lost a lot of weight since the school year started, about 4 pounds.  WE are fattening him up.  This week I've made his two favorite meals, pasta with meat sauce and tacos.  He's inhaled both.  Little man was surprisingly up this week, after a 3 week stalemate.  He's 16l bs 7 oz.  Just in time because his 9 month clothing is on it's way from gmom J.  woo-hoo!!!

Barbershop Haircut

Thursday night, hubs had to get his haircut before a friday conference.  He recently discovered a coll barbershop that uses scissors, straight edge razors, and a bunch of dudes!  So, he had gone last month and big guy showed interest but then freaked when we asked if he wanted to get his haircut.  But we've been talking about it for some time since then and on thursday, he finally agreed to get it cut.  We got Antonio who is apparently the fastest cutter they have.  Big guy wanted scissors because the clipper noise scares him.  But he was excited to get to sit up high in the chair and look in the mirror.  He did a very nice, if squirmy job.  Antonio was awesome, very calm but firm with him.  Little man and I stood with him the whole time encouraging and praising.  And in the end, he has a really great haircut and more importantly, got to pick a lollipop.  He's such a big kid!!!!

Got 'em

Following the dr's appointment on monday, little man was exhausted for the rest of the week.  Must be going through a growth spurt, though he'd only gained .5 oz as of thursday.  oh well.  But he did manage to finally grab his feet when he's laying on his back.  He's been staring at them for quite a while when he sits.  With this look on his face that is totally thinking... how can I get those into my mouth?  No mouth yet, but he finally got a hold of them and then was smiling with glee!  So cute!!!

4 month well visit

Little man had his 4 month well visit yesterday.  In a moment of I what I thought was brilliance and yesterday realized was insanity, I kept big guy home from school so he could get his flu shot at the same time.  To begin with, little man did a great job.  We had just spent an hour at the weight watchers meeting- down 3 pounds!- so he was tired but was still happy and in good spirits.  He officially is 16 lbs 1.5 oz, which is what he's been at for about three weeks.  He is 25.5 inches long.  A lightly bigger than average baby boy.  Nothing in comparison to the giant that big guy was and continues to be, but he's just as awesome!  Dr. W, our favorite dr, was very happy with his size, how good he looked, his temperament, to hear that his reflux was gone, he was sleeping better, and with his head and overall muscle control.  She said that we could start oatmeal twice a day to try to improve weight gain, which I think I will wait another two or three weeks, just so I can get the high chair in order.  She wasn't overly concerned about the weight gain, but it was cool to get the green light for oatmeal.  She said wait until 6 months for starting the process for one food at a time.  oh well, still a start.
Big guy did a great job staying relatively calm and only interrupted me every two minutes.  But he was very sweet telling everyone who his baby brother was and that he's going to be big one day and play with him, eat with him, and go to school with him.  uh, clutching heart, it was so precious.  Dr. W said that we could just start to fatten him up since he's lost some weight from the past pooping issues.  Healthy fats of course!  Anyway, then came the shots.  Little man got two and big guy was getting his flu shot.  I asked big guy if he wanted to get his shot first of little man.  He totally threw little man to the wolves!  Big mistake because he saw little man get that first shot, the blood well up and little man burst into tears.  Big guy promptly burst into tears and backed himself into a corner sobbing about not wanting to get the shot!!

Luckily, our nurse was hardcore and coaxed him into getting it.  He was incredibly moody for about 20 minutes after that.  We went home and everyone ate lunch.  Little man promptly slept for three hours after eating and big guy actually fell asleep watching a movie!  Dr's offices are exhausting.  Upon waking up, everyone had a snack and then we drove over to the toy store and book store for some treats.  We came home to eat some dinner, took a nice long walk, and then got ready for bed.  Overall, a pretty good day!

Just call him Mr. Inquisitive

So big guy has been super inquisitive recently.  His new favorite word is "why?" All last week were questions about our house.  Here is a sample of some of our conversations:
BG- Why do we live in our house?
Me- Mommy and Daddy bought this house.
BG- Why did you buy it?
Me- We liked it.
BG- What did you like about it?
Me- Well, we liked that it was pretty, where it was in our town... (perfect answer by the way and I was secretly thinking, this is it, he can't ask any more questions!)
BG- Why is it pretty?

As you can see, last week was a lot of explaining.  But only to be surpassed by the conversation on saturday.  The leaves have started to change color, so we've been chatting about why they change colors:

BG- Why do leaves change colors?
Me- Well, the seasons are changing.  The sun is awake for a shorter amount of time during the day so the leaves are changing colors.  And it's getting colder.  And soon the leaves will fall down.
BG- Why do we have colors?
Me- Ummm, Mommy is going to have to think about that for a little bit.
Hubs- Well, see we have this thing called the light spectrum... (cue, lengthy explanation about the sun, prisms, light spectrum.  I look at hubs and say, you know he doesn't understand all that.  Hubs says, "true, but he's stopped asking questions for a few moments."

Little man update

Yesterday we went to breast feeding group. Little man weighed in at 16 pounds 1.5 ounces.  So, he has essentially doubled his birth weight (8lbs1oz)!  Which is great because he technically has until 6 months to do it.  His weight gain has slowed down a lot the past two weeks, but she said that around 4 months is when they slow down naturally with the weight gain.  But I'm pleased and little man is so fun recently!  That is even with the cold.  He has started grabbing his hair and ears, but only on the right side.  It's so funny.  He is also a champ at tummy time.  He really enjoys being on his belly when he's already in good spirits and everyone is home, so that he can check out all the activity.  Tomorrow he turns 4 months old!  I can't believe it.  I feel like he's been a part of our family forever.  And my subconscious must feel the same way.  Last night I dreamed about him.  As my family and friends would tell anyone, I have very vivid dreams that I always remember.  And then like to share with everyone.  Normally, only big guy is in my dreams, but last night little man finally made an appearance.  We were on a family vacation and our room got broken into.  Hubs was holding little man and big guy was standing with me as we walked into our room.  My purse was stolen as were all of little man's clothing.  Odd, I know.  I was more upset about the stolen clothing in my dream!  Glad it was just a dream, but I'm glad all of my boys were finally with me.

we've been sick

Big guy got a cold this weekend.  Followed by his normal routine of getting a cough. Cue the nebulizer.  But this time is the added complication that he is being really difficult about going #2 on the potty!  As in crying, screaming, hysteria when mentioning the potty.  I called the dr last week because we were battling, and I was losing the battle. The nurse said to stop fighting, keep up miralax, and set a time for potty usage.  It worked sort of.  He's still hysterical.  And with the added exhaustion and sickness it's been a not so fun time in our house.

On monday and tuesday, he stayed home.  Then little man and I got the cold.  So, while it's great I wasn't missing work or anything, I was however home with two sick small children.  I'm so tired!!!  Today big guy went to school.  He was not pleased.  But honestly, he needed to be at school and not with me.  He drove me insane yesterday, which means he is healthy enough for school.

Monday, I joined weight watchers again.  I have about 15 pounds to go before pre-pregnancy weight.  And I would like to do it in a sensible way.  I took both boys to the initial meeting.  We were good for 97% of the meeting.  Big guy was up at the front with the teacher helping, answering questions, interrupting...  She was very good spirited about it.  Of course he and I both lost our noodles during the last 5 minutes when she actually was explaining the point system.  As I needed to hear this because they re-did the whole thing since I was on it four years ago with big guy as a baby.  So, I'll have to make do this week.  Oh, and I get 14 extra points for breastfeeding- woo-hoo!  Tuesday, we went to the supermarket and big guy was semi-helpful.  He pushed the cart for me and was talking/harassing all the employees about their jobs.  The guy putting the egg out got a particularly long interrogation!  But then right before we left, big guy pushed the cart down a long aisle and let go.  Luckily, no one was there, because it probably could have killed someone!!!  After freaking out and thoroughly ensuring everyone who was there that they should not have children, we made it home safely.  And now, I am going to feed little man and take a long nap!

Xmas tree 2013

This past xmas was really cool because big guy finally understood xmas, santa, presents, and the joy of all that entails.  We started the excitement when we got the xmas tree following thanksgiving.  We have the luxury of having an xmas tree selling spot at the top of our street, which means we can walk up, buy the tree, and then walk it back.  And "we" walking it back is hubs holding it and big guy holding a branch.  I just try to make sure no one trips.  As in years past, hubs asks if they accept credit cards, to which I say no, he doesn't believe me, and so when we make it to the place and they say no, he went to the acme and got some cash.  During this time, big guy and I walk around and we found the PERFECT tree.  It was really big, like 7 feet and perfectly shaped.  It smelled good and we were sold.  Hubs was not pleased to have to get this puppy home and in the stand!

We got the tree inside and hubs had to do extensive surgery on the bottom to get it into the stand.  But big guy was smitten with the tree.  He was in love.  He kept hugging the tree, giving it kisses, and asking when we could decorate it.  It was very sweet.  He also wanted a million pictures with it.  He was utterly disappointed to learn we had to wait for it to settle before putting on lights and decorations.  But we got to those within a few days.

Funnily enough, big guy had been telling us for months what he wanted for xmas- a green bike!  He was kind of obsessed with this movie, "arthur christmas" and in it there is a bike wrapped in green wrapping paper.  So, whenever anyone asked what he wanted, he would say a green bike.  Adorable!!!

Thanksgiving 2013

Ok, a little back up here to thanksgiving of last year.  We packed up and headed to great aunt H's apartment in ny.  This year, my mom's whole family came for dinner so there were going to be a lot more people.  And I told my mom that she could announce that I was pregnant!  Which she was more than happy to do,  She had known since about 6 weeks because she had come to visit and I was throwing up everywhere, so we had told her.

Anywho, our journey was fraught with disaster.  Only an hour into our drive big guy had mercifully fallen asleep but only to be awakened when I had to stop because I was getting a speeding ticket!  Then he was awake and asked every five minutes if we were going to see gmom dino.  It was a long car ride... made even longer because we got caught in two huge traffic jams.  The same ride the year before took twice as long,  Four hours. With a 3 year old.  Sigh.  They ate appetizers without us but we finally made it!

Everyone except big guy ate and enjoyed their time together.  big guy watched tv on the giant flatscreen.  We left shortly after dinner to go to our swanky hotel.  We slept in luxury once again.  The next morning we met with gmom dino and pop pop at great aunt H's apartment for bagels and coffee.  Following lots of hugs, we went to the big toys r us and did some pre-x-mas shopping,  Then we stopped to have lunch with the rest of my mom's family at an italian restaurant.  we had quite the feast but then big guy lost his noodle, so left for home, but of course stopped to get some real nyc bagels, which we ate for dinner!

Busy Saturday

We were incredibly busy on saturday.  We had music class with mr. j in the morning.  It was really fun because we hadn't been to his class since big guy was about one year old. The house still looked the same, as did mr. j and ironically, the music was familiar. (apparently, he runs it on a three year cycle!) Big guy was unsure on the way there, probably since he had to leave the tv.  But he had a great time! He danced, clapped, sang, and most adorably, was immediately smitten with this little one year old girl.  He kept hugging her, helping her do the activities, giving her instruments.  it was very sweet.  And her dad was pretty chill, too. I said to him, "Guess you can tell he's desperate for his brother to be older?" He looked at me and said, "Can you blame him? I bet you are, too." Good point! Little man had lots of fun, too.  He was enraptured with mr j and his guitar.  But he stayed awake the whole time and didn't freak out. Not that I thought he would, big guy is certainly louder than music class!

After music class, everyone ate lunch and hubs and little man napped a bit.  Then we were off to a friend's bday party.  Again, both the boys did an excellent job.  Big guy ran around like a crazy person playing with everything he could. Though admittedly, he was the best behaved of all the boys.  Little man played and hung out with me while I chatted with other moms.  We only stayed a short time which was for the best, everyone was exhausted!!  And everyone slept wonderfully that night!!

Productivity

Some days, little man and I are really productive.  For instance, Tuesday of last week, we... went to supermarket, did two loads of laundry, unloaded and reloaded dish washer, made tacos for dinner, put away laundry and managed to both eat and nap.  A good day. Other days are less productive.  Mondays are usually pretty slow.  Mostly because we are so exhausted from big guy during the weekend! Little man usually naps the entire day, usually while he's eating, so I'm held captive, seeing as I have the food source. No joke.  Anywho, we so far today have run the dishwasher and I've taken a shower.  It's at least semi-productive!

Pre-K

Yesterday was big guy's first day of pre-K! I was a bit nervous because we had missed friday due to an upset belly and general exhaustion.  Big guy had been telling me all weekend that he "was never going to school ever again." I convinced him that he needs tp go to school because it's his job.  Like how daddy goes to work.  And how I'm home with little man until he's npt a baby and then I'll go back to work.  Which then opened up an entire gender discussion where big guy told me mommy's don't go to work, they stay at home and buy food and stay with babies. Interesting...

Anywho, following that we made it to school.  Ms. D, who is very loud and a bit intimidating was there, she is the assistant.  I stayed for a bit.  We put his lunch box in the fridge.  Signed in at the board.  He had to write his full name, which only caused him minimal concern.  (the second day he did it all by himself!) Then ms D asked if he wanted breakfast, and he said yes.  So, little man and I went to choose a cereal with him.  Golden grahams if you were curious.  Then he sat and ate while I chatted with ms D.  Then he got up and sprinted while squealing through the room making one lap before going up to the loft area to read a book.  I said bye and got a huge smile in return!

When I picked him up, ms D said he had a good day.  Naptime was the only time he was upset because he fell asleep late and woke up crying.  big guy said to me that Ms K, the teacher, had yelled at him for not going to sleep.  They had learned about humpty dumpty and big guy let me know as we were leaving that he wanted eggs for dinner! We went over to petco to see the fish tanks, had dinner and spent time outside before hubs came home for bath and bed.

up for grabs

Little man has started grabbing everything.  My hair, his hair, his ears.  He grabs at his clothing, especially his pants, which sometimes makes it look like he's hiking them up so he won't trip or something.  Shirts are now instantly seized.  He grabs fingers to shove into his mouth.  Because at the same time, anything he grabs immediately goes into his mouth,  towels after bath time.  All of his rattles. He's eyeing up his feet, clearly trying to figure out how to get them into his mouth!  All in good time.  The great thing is that he's so proficient at grabbing and thus keeps on developing and growing,  It's so fun to watch!

Thursday

This past thursday, little man and I went to breastfeeding group as usual.  Little man weighed in at a whopping 15 pounds 8 oz!!!  Quite the tank.  Also, he perfected the wet, drooly raspberry!  I've been doing them for a few weeks and he's done them randomly.  But thursday was a turning point. He kept doing them and hurling drool everywhere, it was awesome!!!  I love a ggod raspberry!

Baby hulk

I'm jumping a bit in posts recently, but I remembered this tidbit from when little man had just been born.   Hubs had bought big guy this hideous hulk doll for graduation from pre-school, which he had named baby hulk.  Baby hulk slept on a pillow in big guy's room, we even put baby hulk in a newborn diaper.  Additionally, baby hulk drank milk.  Yes, big guy would proclaim that baby hulk was thirsty, then he would lift up his shirt on one side and drink like he was nursing him. Then there would be a some pats on the back to elicit a burp.  Then it was nap time.  Anywho, it was really cute.  Skip ahead to the next show and tell friday, big guy brings in baby hulk.  I come pick big guy up from school and ms C says, "big guy taught everyone about breastfeeding today! He demonstrated with baby hulk as a visual."  She wasn't amused, whereas I thought it was rather funny.  I told her as long as we don't get any parent phone calls, we should be in the clear!!

Little man birth story

Memorial Day weekend. I was due on the 31st. I had been checked at 38 weeks and was 3cm dilated. I went to my 39 week appointment and was still 3cm! The dr recommended walking. A lot. So that is what we did all weekend. Luckily the weather was nice and big guy is always up for a walk. We walked to the toy store. To the duck pond. To the supermarket. Everywhere. I was feeling nothing except that I was huge and ready to not be preggo any more. I hadn't made it this far into my pregnancy with big guy. He was a week early! This little man wanted to stay put!

Cue Memorial Day Monday. Uncle E, aunt K and cousin C came over to come swim at our pool and have a BBQ that evening. We had an awesome day. We swam for a few hours. It was pretty hot out, but certainly not sweltering. I just dipped my toes and chatted with aunt K. It was really nice having the time with her alone. Following a few ice cream bars, we went home and hubs made hot dogs, corn on the cob, and I had some fresh fruit and a salad for everyone. We ate heartily and watched movies and laughed a lot. Looking back I'm so glad we had this day because it was our last day as a family of 3!

My back had been bothering me all day. No doubt from all the walking. I couldn't get comfy sleeping either. I got up around 2 to go pee and my water broke. I ran downstairs to where hubs had passed out on the couch and woke him up. Scared him half to death, too! He started yelling and I shushed him because I didn't want him to wake up big guy. We called grandma C, who came over to be with big guy. We headed to the hospital.

I was about 4 cm dilated around 3:30am. I got checked an hour later and was about the same. Some jerk dr came in and rudely told me that I  must not be in labor if I wasn't in a lot of pain! I was glad he was getting off his shift. They started me on pitocin to speed things up. I was definitely nervous. Things progressed rather quickly. And around 10, I was feeling contractions really badly. We ordered the epidural, only after hubs told me to stop being so stubborn. Truthfully, I was afraid of that needle again! I had gotten stabbed twice last time. Turns out, I was going to get stabbed twice again this time. The anesthesiologist had an accent and through the pain and exhaustion I couldn't figure out what the hell he was saying. It was a tense half hour but finally after two jabs and me almost loosing my cool, I was feeling better. I was laying there thinking I could push or take a nap. I told the nurse and she checked me. Dilated to 10!

I opted for the nap and dozed for an hour or two. Then my dr came in and said, let's do this! I did about three sets of four pushes. Maybe over twenty mins and he was out! Very quick. I loved having my dr there the whole time. What a better experience! She coached me, joked with us, and  add me feel so safe. Little man was born on 5/27/14 at 1:34pm. He weighed 8lbs 1oz and was 21 inches long. About the same size as his older brother!!!

Happenstance encounters at the zoo

On Saturday, we decided to go to the zoo, the little one with American animals. Anywho, little man slept through the main part of the visit, which was fine because it meant bug guy got all the attention, which he loved! We got there around 10 and quickly worked our way through the animals. Focusing a lot of time on the duck pond, which I had actually come prepared for with quarters to feed them, only the machine was jammed. Stupid machine. Oh well.

We then went to the playground which essentially was a disaster! Big guy wanted to go down the biggest and twistiest slide, but not by himself. Hubs went down a few times with him, but then refused. Really, there was a backup if children behind him. So, big guy had a meltdown. Of course. We threatened to leave without going to the zoo shop. Cue hysterics again. We settled down with a soft pretzel and then I convinced him to see the bird show with me in exchange for going to the zoo shop. He agreed. The bird show was actually really good. Big and little birds flew over our heads, ruffling our hair! Big guy was delighted and very chatty. We even got an orange bird feather for donating some money. Which a bird took the dollar out of big guys hand!

Following the bird show, I fed little man and hubs and big guy had lunch. We then bought a stuffed giraffe and got on line to feed real giraffes some romaine lettuce leaves. Then I had the weirdest confluence of people around me! I saw two former students, one I see all the time as he is kind of a bigwig. Then I ran into a girl I went to high school with. She actually remembered my name! I had no clue about her name, only that I knew her from somewhere. And then in complete oddity, we ran into this woman and her son who we had randomly met at a pizza place in our neighborhood last week! So odd. I told hubs that if we see them again, we should become her friend. He agreed. We fed our lovely giraffe friend and then said goodbye to the zoo.

Bittersweet

This week marks big guy's transition to pre-K. That's right, I have a child who is in a real class and who will next year at this time be in kindergarten!!  On a school bus!! In a classroom with desks!!  I'm freaking out! It's exciting, don't get me wrong. He's ready. His brain power continually astonishes me as does the things he says to me. So much logic sometimes. But it's sad because I love his teacher he has had all this year. She's awesome and loves him. And has fostered so much growth and education into big guy.

Two weeks ago we started talking about this move to his new class. At first there was denial. Now he understands but is nervous about bit having ms c. Today, he was sad. And admittedly tired, as he was up every five minutes between 1-2:30 this morning. He was sensitive. He wouldn't let me leave right away, instead taking me to the fridge. The sink for a drink. Then he told me he was tired and wanted to lay down at home. Then the big tears started! Oh, ms C scooped him up and he quietly sobbed into her shoulder saying he was sad. Then I started to cry. We got him calm. Alternating hugging and kissing me and gripping onto ms C. I'm pretty sure he isn't going to let go at all this week. So, we are all ready, logically, but it's bittersweet to see him move on.

3 months baby

Little man turned three months old last week! I can hardly believe it. He's getting out of the infant stage- thank goodness-and into the baby stage.  And he's doing an excellent job at all his skills. Belly laughs. Attempting raspberries. Drooling. Rolling over. Good head and neck control. Grabbing stuff. Paying attention to people. Growing- he weighed in at 15 pounds 2 ounces last week! Not the crazy tank big guy was, but he's no pipsqueak! He's doing really well according to lactation consultant T, who was there the whole time with big guy. Whew! I'm loving this growing up and seeing how he's so similar to big guy when he was this age. Very busy. Always moving, babbling and laughing. Very alert and checking stuff out. It's just awesome! I try not yo get ahead of myself too much, but I keep saying to big guy, he's going to sit up soon, then crawl, then walk.... And start eating! I can't help it! It's so awesome getting to experience this all over again. I'm so blessed!!

A bit early, but I'll take it

Today was a great day!  Very relaxed.  Lots of fun.  Hubs got to sleep in while I took the boys downstairs around 5am to eat and watch tv.  We relaxed and had fun.  I had this glimpse of the future when little man isn't a baby anymore and the three of us are hanging out on weekend mornings watching cartoons all snuggled on the couch.  It was a really fun glimpse!

After hubs came down around 7ish, I put little man on his gym mat to swat at some stuff and kick around.  He's very kicky.  Then I plopped him on his belly after 15 minutes or so to do some tummy time.  And I walked away to get a drink and look back and he's on his back.  Hubs and I started cheering and saying, "yay!"  Much to his delight.  I thought, ok, maybe I put him a little on his side.  So, I put him back firmly on the belly.  Within seconds, and this time I was watching, he rolled himself onto his back.  I did it three more times just to be sure and he rolled over three more times!  Hubs was so excited and of course looked up online to see the average age that babies roll over- 4 months is when they usually start.  He was all excited and was I.  Of course he didn't do it the rest of the day.  Probably won't for a while, but it was really cool.

Following all the excitement, big guy, little man, and I went to get bagels for breakfast.  Then the rest of the day was spent eating, watching tv, hanging out, practicing writing letters.  We had a late snack at our favorite pizza place before more relaxing.  It was a really nice day.  Which we all needed and appreciated!!

baby clothes

This morning one of my friends came over to collect little man's baby clothes- newborn to 3 months.  It was a mixture of big guy and newly acquired clothing.  As I watched her load them into a bag, I panicked.  Should I keep some of them as mementos? Logic said no.  Our house is small and I've no use for them now that little man is wearing 6 month clothing. I think I feel sad that my boys have no use for them anymore.  Not that I'm sad the newborn age is done.  I'm definitely glad about that.  I guess I cant describe it but to say that I will miss those adorable clothes.  Rompers with cute nautical themes.  My penchant for horizontal stripes.  Little onesies.  Maybe it's knowing that I won't have another baby.  But then I think, I'm so lucky to get to watch little man become older. How wonderful that I get to do this all again while watching big guy continue to develop and grow. And that's way better than any cute clothing!

New Hampshire Trip

Tomorrow we are embarking on our trip to New Hampshire.  Different this year- hubs and little man are in attendance.  Traveling with two should be an adventure.  Am I brave?  Am I insane?  Perhaps a bit of both!!!  I'm hoping the trip will be as rejuvenating as it was last year.  We went to breastfeeding group today and little man weighed in at 14 lbs 9.5 oz.  An almost 1/2 pound gain!  Lactation consultant said good luck!  And have fun of course.  first, I have to finish packing!!!!

First visits

First visits that little man has slept through so far...

Philly zoo
Ikea
Supermarket
Poppi's pizza
Babies R Us
BJ's
Big guy's preschool graduation
Big guy's first friend visiting our house

Leaves, glorious leaves!

Water tank

Yesterday, we went to the petco to get some stuff for the cats.  Hubs had come home early, so we all went to pick up big guy from school.  And dropped off the huge box- 179 to be exact- of ice pops we had bought at bj's for his class.  We then went over to petco and quickly got what we needed.  But little man was up, so I took him back to see the fish.  Wow! His eyes were wide open and he was following them all around the tanks.  It was really cool! Which means that when gmom dino comes to visit in october, big guy can play hooky and we can all go to the aquarium!  Anywho, big guy and hubs come back to see and big guy gets all excited about the different fish.  Then, he looks at me and asks if he can get a water tank.  Which, as a good mother, I immediately say NO! He turns to hubs and asks again.  And hubs says, "you'll have to ask Santa!"  Cue dramatic yelling towards ceiling- Nooooooo! Then big guy starts this whole conversation about santa, getting an x-mas tree, etc.

Has hubs forgotten our house is the size of a thimble? We need to de-clutter bc we want to put it on the market in the spring? We can't even keep the humidifier clean/functioning in big guy's room? (seriously, I've killed 7 of them!) And most importantly, when we fish-sat three years ago and killed half the fish off? Apparently, the answer is yes!!!

Anywho, seeing as big guy remembers everything- I might be in the market for some fish soon.  Help!

Fall!

I absolutely love the fall.  It's my favorite season, besides summer. Ok, it might be a tie! Anyway, last fall had glorious weather.  Something about cooler weather, leaves crunching, school starting, and pumpkins! We had a lot of fall festive fun.  Mostly revolving around visits to linvilla orchards. We went apple picking, pumpkin buying, apple launching (where they let you slingshot yucky apples into a field), hayrides, and lots of playground time.

I absolutely adore this picture. Look at that face! 

Hayride! We went like three times a visit. 

Sometimes I just want to eat the cuteness!

Old and new

Here's the plan- I have to back track through this past year but simultaneously give updates about current days.  So, that's my plan!

School

I know I've posted before about big guy's rocky experience with school.  However, this year he has hit his stride.  And it is all thanks to his amazing, loving, supportive teacher this year. Really, the adjectives could go on and on.  No joke, I love her! I will be epically sad in a month when she is no longer his teacher.

The beginning of school was tough, as always, but Ms. C actually got who big guy was as a child.  She figured out the way to work with him and to support and encourage him to work with her and his classmates. Like playing, calling people by their names not 'you people,' wanting to learn to write, talking a lot, actually showing his skills instead of pretending he doesn't know them. Like counting. Like knowing left from right. Like washing his hands.  She embraces his wackiness and yet harnesses the wildness. She gets him to try new things- oranges, nori rolls, chicken fingers! And she has helped me figure out how to help him and support him at home.  I'm getting misty just writing this!

Additionally, she has a great sense of humor and can see that in my child and life in general. And she loves to throw themed parties!  Every holiday is so much fun!  The best was the easter/pirate/princess party where my mom and I hid literally 400 easter eggs at the local park! more on that late.

And the true testament to how much big guy loves school- he always asks if it's a school day and he never is ready to go home.  In the spring, he never wanted to leave.  Like I would be sitting in class for an hour playing, talking and doing activities before I could cajole him from the room.  Finally, the love of school he deserves!

First week of school

So, it's been awhile...

Hello world! I'm back.  There is a lot to cover about my almost year hiatus with blogging.  The biggest being that I was pregnant with child #2! Yes, and he was born on May 27th!  We are officially 9 weeks old now and chugging along.  This time has been such a different and yet similar experience... it's strange.  Anyway, the reason for not blogging mostly started because I was so exhausted this pregnancy.  First time around, I was able to relax and nap all the time.  Second time around, I was working and taking care of big guy.  Then it morphed into being very personal and not wanting to share too much, even with close friends.  and then it was just too much to get started again.  Interestingly, what got me motivated again was reading about big guy when he was just about little man's age.  And I realized that I gave myself such a gift by writing about his life!  So, I'm slowly going to get back into the flow.  Catching up on big guy's life.  He turned 4! And introducing the little man. Stay tuned and check in :) In the meantime, feast on this cuteness: