Happy Easter!

Our Easter was pretty low key today, despite being E's very first Easter (funny how, despite being a year apart, it was E's first Easter as well as the first Easter of my friend's son, born earlier this month... silly lunar holidays!).

The boys came down while I was getting a shower, and immediately started the egg hunt.  (Must remember to speak to the Easter Bunny about coming while we're at Church....)

I debated between taking the boys to Church and taking A to swimming; we've been struggling with him and his gym classes, so I didn't want to lose an opportunity.  I decided to go the Church route today.  I brought lots of toys, but really should have brought some snacks.  I wasn't thinking we'd need them because they'd eaten before we went, but A kept sneaking E's puffs.

They were really good, though I was feeling really antsy by the time it was over; we'd gotten up to go to the bathroom and get some fresh air (it was so hot and stuffy, with the unexpectedly gorgeous 70 degree day!), but Mass was still an hour and fifteen minutes by Communion time.

We then came home and changed.  E took his morning nap while the rest of us did some yardwork.  Wait a second, he didn't take his nap; I carried him around in the Ergo.  He started crashing around the same time I got tired of yardwork, so I took him up for his nap.  M went to get sandwiches for lunch, and we had a nice picnic out in the backyard in the beautiful sunshine.  E woke up right around the time we started eating, so we brought him out and gave him some lunch too.

Soon after, A took his nap, after which we left to go to Mom Mom's house.  We picked her up and went out to dinner in Bordentown.  I really wanted to take a picture of her and the boys, but because of the restaurant setting, that didn't work out, and we didn't take the boys out of the car to go into her house.  A must do for E's birthday party.

E shoveled food in his face from the moment we sat down.  This place has great bread, and he ate so much of it, he barely touched his actual dinner.  Note, I said barely... he ate a lot of bread, his fruit cup, and then some of his chicken and veggies.  You'd think he's starved.

So, we had a wonderful Easter day here.  Hope you did too!

Teeth

"They" say a baby will get his/her teeth following a similar pattern to his/her parents.  I think A didn't follow that at all, but we sort of thought E would follow a pattern similar to his brother.
Well, A got his first tooth on May 12 (about 10 months old), his second on May 29, though it came the whole way through later.  Tooth #3, well I have no idea about that one.  I thought I'd recorded the date here, but I can't find it, and I didn't record the date in his book.

E, on the other hand, got his first tooth earlier, though I'm not sure when (I did record that date in his book), and the second was soon after.  The third, however, has taken forever to come in!  His third tooth (top left) poked through on his birthday, April 20.  The fourth (top right) is right behind.

I have no idea how it feels to get your first teeth.  But it seems to me that having your teeth come out the FRONT of your gums instead of the bottom seems like it would be particularly painful, and that's how E's top teeth are coming in.  No wonder he's been so unhappy lately!

Go ahead and fret that I can't crawl...

A week ago, I was concerned that E wasn't crawling.  Sure, he was doing the army crawl and could get wherever he wanted to go, but he wasn't CRAWLING.  He is definitely crawling now, and is starting to realize that it's faster and easier than army crawl.

So, last night, he followed me into the bathroom at bedtime and went ahead and lifted to hands and feet.  So, think hands and knees, but hands and feet.  And moving forward.

Go figure.

I'm really worried that E hasn't won the lottery yet....

One year....

I cannot believe my little baby is one today.

The day was pretty uneventful; unfortunately, the weather was crummy for much of the day.  The weather did warm up, though, so we went to the park with A and hung out for a little while in the backyard.   We also took these great pictures here at home.

And had an impromptu bath.

Let me tell you about this little boy at 1.

He prefers to army crawl rather than real crawl.  Today, however, he demonstrated that he has realized regular crawling is faster and easier.

He loves pulling up to standing.  Favorite places to do it area at the tv cabinet and at Mommy's legs.

He loves music and dancing.

He hates going into the car, but babbles when the car is moving.

He mimics "Daddy," "A," and "Hello."

Everything is a telephone and gets held up to his ear.

His two favorite people are Mommy and A.  He squeals with delight when A comes home from school and the happiest part of his day is when A comes into his room in the morning.  Mommy, however, is his constant, his protector.  Mommy doesn't get the same reaction as A does, but I get the "I need you" kind of favorite.

He doesn't not really sign anymore, except for "more," which he claps his hands to sign.  He, however, understands the sign for Daddy, milk, water, cookie.

He can climb up the two steps from the family room to the kitchen.

He loves the cats, and cats of any kind. 

He LOVES food.  The few exceptions that come to mind are broccoli and something else that's a green veggie but is currently escaping me.

He's still waking once a night.  Naps are typically from 9-11 and 2-3:30, though these have been varying as he wakes at different times for the day (a 6:30 wake up has him napping at 8:30, but a 7:30 waking has him napping at 10:30).

We have finally figured out a system for him to stay at the gym nursery.  He has to stay in his stroller, facing away from the door, and have breakfast.  This allows me a full hour at the gym.

Movin and a groovin

I've been worried about E's mobility for awhile.  By his first birthday, A had been crawling well for a long time.  E, however, is quite content to pull along in the army crawl.  He is hesitant to cruise, though he does it, and I'd never seen him go from his belly to sitting on his own.

I seriously started looking into some developmental checkpoints, when the very next HOUR practically, he started crawling with his belly lifted.  Later the same day, he decided to go to sitting on his own.

So, this week, the week before his first birthday, E has started to cruise, go from belly to sitting (though is still inconsistent), and crawl with  his chest and belly lifted (though he mostly prefers the army crawl).  He is a maniac about pulling up to standing on the furniture (favorites include our tv stand, the dishwasher, and his dresser), though he's not crazy about dropping back down and usually gets stuck.

I also suspect he's going to be getting his third and maybe his fourth tooth any day.  Thus, nights have been really tough around here.  Last night, we were up at least 5 times.  He's also been waking up at 6:30, again, and seems to be looking to give up that afternoon nap (please, no!!) though he's still incredibly tired and NEEDS something around 4.

Consistency

Lately, I've been getting a visitor around 6:30 in the morning.  This visitor has elephant feet and comes carrying a blanket named Kiki (who happens to be a boy).  He's happy to snuggle, and will sometimes let me sleep a little longer.  He usually asks to drink some of my water.

With Daddy home this week for spring break, this little visitor has been appearing earlier and earlier.  Now that Daddy's here, he has to go in the MIDDLE (thus, climbing over me) rather than on the edge.  He's also much more fidgety.

I love this cuddle time.


On a related note, every day, he asks to stay in his pajamas a little while.  Every day the same, "Can I stay in my pajamas for a little while?"  We got a calendar for a whole bunch of fun activities this month at daycare, so when he asked that, I said, "You should ask Miss D for a pajama day."  He did, and they got one!  So proud of my little advocate, for sure Future Student Council President!

The tortise and the hare

My mother is a slow eater.  Growing up, there were many meals when the dishes would be cleared, but Mom was still eating by herself (sorry about that, Mom).
By contrast, my father is an incredibly fast eater.  I sometimes wonder what would happen if Mom's food came out with appetizers and Dad's came with entrees.

It appears their grandsons are taking after them in this regard.  See, E will devour pretty much anything.  The only food he doesn't really like (and so gets thrown on the floor) has been broccoli, edamame, and SOMETIMES green beans.  And he's fast.  He will be done with his plate when I (another fast eater) am only halfway through mine.  This, in turn, brings on the pterodactyl noise, and Mommy's frantically going through the fridge for MORE FOOD!  MORE FOOD!

A, on the other hand, will take his time.  If I'm being honest, he dawdles.  I'm not sure if he's eating too much throughout the day and so isn't really hungry at dinnertime (though he will ALWAYS ask for a snack when he comes home from school, despite having just had one half an hour earlier AT school), or what his deal is, but tonight, he started telling stories, playing with this and that, looking out the window, etc etc etc.  I think about setting a timer for him, and if he's not done by the time the timer goes off, he loses what isn't eaten, but then think of Grammi, who really just takes her time and enjoys her food.  I also have no desire to rush him so that he doesn't realize he's had enough and so keep shoveling food into his gullet.

That's a first

E has gotten very proud of himself and his abilities to get where he wants to go and also pull up to standing.

Today, I went to get him from his nap only to discover he finally figured out how to stand up in the crib!  Woo!

He's also been proud of his abilities to climb up the little two step we have from family room to kitchen, and today, decided to go down them.  I was cooking, but M said he did a pretty good job!

Daredevil?

Horse

I was out of the house on Saturday, so M decided to take the boys up to Bepah's and suggested going to visit the horses while they were up there.

He said both boys were totally fascinated and enthralled.

Baby won't you take me on a sea CRUISE!

E decided this weekend he wanted to start cruising.  He's got to have motivation, so if there's something good he wants, he'll go, but he won't otherwise.  He also likes to push around his table or a stool while standing, but he WON'T push around his walker.  Go figure.

I took these today, just for the sake of learning how to take pictures better.

Pier One's Outdoor Furniture

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pier 1 for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Despite the forecast of snow this week, we're thinking spring around here.  I just found out that Pier 1 has already put out their Outdoor Furniture to start the outdoor season.  I took a look at their outdoor furniture line, and I really like the pieces they have, and hope to incorporate some in our patio area.

 

 

This piece is called "Outdoor Crazy Chair," and I think it looks really fresh, and I can picture myself sitting on the deck curled up with a warm drink, a book, and a fire pit.  A lot of Pier 1's furniture is for indoor as well as outdoor, so this wouldn't need to be stored!  Like I said, this piece makes me think of fire and cozy spaces, so it would work on our deck or in our family room near the fireplace.

 

I love the bright colors of this cushion, Whimsical Garden Square.  I love how bright it is, and it makes me think of tiki torches and a cocktail.  I love me some tiki torches and cocktails.

In addition to the furniture for outdoor, they also have lots of spring and summer accessories, which are easy ways to update a space, whether indoor or out.

I love the look of these dots and stripes lanterns, and at $24 for the larger lantern, it's an inexpensive way to brighten up your outdoor space, or maybe even use some citronella candles in there.

 

Speaking of citronella, how cute are these Citronella lamps?  Typically, I don't like the look of citronella candles, but these are decorative as well as bug repellent!

The iconic Pier 1 Papasan has evolved! Check out all the different outdoor Papasans that are available this spring! (outdoor Papasan, outdoor double Papasan, Swingasan). 

Looking at the beautiful furniture, textiles, and accessories Pier One has available this season makes it clear that your outdoor area can truly been another room in your home.

Also, Pier One is having two Tweetups soon. Pier 1 Tweetups will be in the following cities on the dates listed.

Atlanta: April 5th
NYC: April 20th

For more info about dates and times, visit: izea.com/a-pier-1-tweetup-coming-to-your-area/.

Sleep.

Oh sleep, how I miss you.  We've really been struggling around here.  We got E down to one waking a night; it was quick, I'd feed him and he'd be back to sleep within ten or so minutes. 

Three nights ago, E woke up twice, but went back to sleep quickly, and A also woke twice--the first time was around 9 and he was cold, and the second time he woke up screaming that something was in his room.
Two nights ago, E woke up 5 or 6 times.
Last night, he woke once, but was awake from 3-5:30.  It impacted his naps, which were 11-1 and then 4-4:45.  It's been a rough day.  Last night, I got frustrated at not being able to figure out how to get him to sleep/stop crying that I took him downstairs to play.  As soon as he adjusted to the light, he was happy.  **sigh**

I'm pretty sure teeth are to blame, though I don't see anything popping through in there.  I gave him a teether, but he's been playing with it more than chewing on it.  It just looks like his lower gums have the ridges of teeth roots.  He doesn't have any of the other symptoms, but it's just what my gut's telling me.

It's days like this that I'm so thankful for this time to not have to work, to not have to have my brain on, or worse, have my brain on and PERFORM for 14 year olds.

See Kai Run

I've had my eye on the See Kai Run line of shoes since A was a toddler.  Natural Mommie is giving away a pair here!

A's new game and a wiggle worm

As I said last night, E can only crawl with his belly on the floor.  Despite this, he was able to get himself up the two steps from the family room to the kitchen today, successfully as is evidenced in the video below.




In addition, as he was hanging out at the bottom of the stairs, with his little head poking up to the kitchen, A created a new game of "baseball."  With a kitchen spatula and a bouncey ball, he would hit the ball toward E, who ended up throwing the ball back to him.

The Magic Word

Playing rough with A today, he wanted out.  I asked, "What's the magic word?" meaning please, of course.  His response?  "Abracadabra."

Baby Photo Shoot

After a morning snow storm, we had some beautiful sun streaming into the family room yesterday afternoon.  I took the opportunity to take some pictures of E in his diaper for a contest for that diaper company.

Family Game Night

We have a little tv junkie on our hands (in addition to the Mommy and Daddy sized tv junkies).  One Thursday night, A was pestering about tv for one reason or another, and M told him he would not be watching tv on Friday nights, effective the next day.  I jumped on the opportunity for Family game Night!

It has been a huge success.  We've played games one night, and a few other things, but tonight we took advantage of A and my gym membership and went to open swim.  We went for about half an hour and had a great time.  E loves just kicking his feet; he really looks like a little wiggle worm!  A is becoming more and more confident in the pool, though he still relies on the bubble and noodle.  He was very excited to show some of the things he does in class, like "Choo Choo."  In Choo choo, they hang on the wall of the pool and move along it in a train.  He was so thrilled to show this to me.

It was really fun to have a good time and get out of the house without costing us any additional money.  It was also great to get A in the pool during the lull between sessions.  Definitely not an every week activity, but something we can do while we still have the membership!

Movin and shakin

For what feels like months now, I've been fielding the questions of "is he crawling?" "is he standing?" "is he cruising?" and have had to respond with "no," or the qualified, "he's doing the army crawl, but he's not crawling with his belly off the floor."

Lately, he's been much more interested in standing.  He's been much more excited to drag over to me, climb over me, and have me pull him up to kneeling then standing.  Today he did this and kneeled on his own for the first time.

After the boys came home from school, I was talking with M, looked over, and saw that E was standing at his block table.  He'd pulled himself up!  He did it later at one of A's chairs.  So, he's standing!

We have a sunken family room off our kitchen with two steps.  When A was small, I went NUTS looking for safety gates that would work in this area, with absolutely no success (it's a very wide area, and gates for very wide areas need to be screwed in while we have brick on one side of the opening).

Today, E decided to try to climb these stairs.  He was able to get his knees on the first step, but didn't have enough room to push himself up to the second step. 

I am starting to seriously wonder if he's going to just skip over formal crawling and go right to walking.

Peek a Boo

Last night, M was playing peek a boo with E, hiding his face inside his sweatshirt.  I went upstairs to change E's diaper, and he started doing it with the shirt he was wearing.  So cute, my poor little eyes got weepy.

This morning, he was again doing the pterodactyl, and I started doing peek a boo with a napkin.  He stopped.  Sweet music.  I then covered A's face, and E started to laugh.  I gave him the napkin, and he dropped it on the floor.  Stinker.

Updated Slideshow

11 months!!??

E turned 11 months old yesterday.  Unreal!  This year has flown unbelievably fast.

At 11 months, he:

Crawls wherever he wants to go.  That said, this is the belly drag, but it gets him successfully where he wants to go.  I think he looks like someone rowing a canoe, because he "paddles" to the right to the left, rather that just going straight.

Waves when you wave at him, or if you say hi.



Claps when you clap, or if you say YAAAAY!!!


Favorite toys include:  the dustpan and broom, the flyswatter, and his bedroom door.


LOVES climbing up on Mommy and Daddy.  He's so proud of himself and just laughs and laughs.

 

Once he starts climbing on us, he is able to pull himself up to standing if we hold his hands.  

Loves to take steps with help, but will only take one or two before plopping down.

Typically sleeps from 7am-anywhere between 6:30 and 7:30, with one waking (usually around 5am).  

Typically naps from 9am-11am and 1pm-3pm.  This is almost always in the crib, where he's covered by his Grammi blanket, and cuddled with his giraffe.  He listens to the sound of waves.

Today, however, he would NOT take a nap, and I finally quieted him down only to discover:

 Loves his big brother to no end.

Is usually comforted best by Mommy...

...though Daddy is usually more successful at getting him back to sleep when he wakes at night.

His favorite game involves Mommy "accidentally" dropping and then catching him.  Today, I was playing this game with A while E was in M's arms.  E started bouncing that he wanted Daddy to do it too!

The only sign he does is "more," but he only does it if we ask, and it looks more like clapping than more.  He understands (but doesn't sign) A, milk, cookie, play.

Loves food.  Loves.  If he wants food, he will scream until he gets more food.  If he doesn't like the food you've given him, or if he's had enough, he will throw it on the floor.  Or the table.  At dinner, he often eats more than A, and sometimes eats as much as Mommy.



Has taken to doing this new sound in the past three or so days, which we call "The Pterodactyl."  He screeches.  It doesn't stop.  It goes on all day.  He does it when he wants more food.  He does it when he's bored.  I'm not sure what else it means, but it is tough.

Loves storytime, but it has to be in his room in his rocking chair.  If I try to read a story to the boys downstairs, he will sit for one page and start crying and rolling, but upstairs, we have read 5-6 pages of a REGULAR Dr. Seuss book.

Back, Back, Waaay Back

I haven't done one of these in a zillion years, but stumbled across this cute picture from March 18, 2009.  A still wears those jeans and sweatshirt, but they are nearing the end of their days with him.
How much has changed since this picture!  You can see the reflection of my old car, which has been replaced.  We're outside his OLD daycare, which has moved twice since then and is now in its permanent location.  Oh yeah, and A is now a big brother!  Who could forget!

Crawling in my skin...

I've been getting a little nervous that E isn't yet full on crawling, isn't yet pulling up to standing, etc. 

He's going at his own pace, of course, but it's a LOT later than A crawled, and I remember thinking that was late.

Lately, he's been pushing onto all fours and rocking, scooting himself forward, then dropping to the floor.  Kiddo moves pretty quickly doing the army crawl, so I guess he doesn't have a real need.  Today, I caught him using one of the couch cushions to push up to kneeling.

It is also his preference to climb.  He only climbs on and over us, but it's clear that that's what he likes to do.  He has climbed UP my chest, over M's legs, and he just cracks himself up.

Me first and the gimmie gimmies

A is at a tough age.  It's not because he misbehaves or even throws tantrums unmanageably.  It's that he gets frustrated easily.

He loves to be the "line leader."  Every morning, rushing to get out of the house and into the car, I have to stop because, "I'M the line leader!" and I have to let him pass around me in the garage.  More often that not, he has to go down the stairs first (again, frustrating when I'm trying to rush downstairs to make my coffee make the boys' breakfasts.

Yesterday morning, however, was really tough when we did our usual tear down the hallway from his classroom to the pre-care room.  Despite my being out of shape, my legs are about double the length of his so I am naturally faster.  I was being silly for A and E, and didn't think anything of it when I passed him.  He, however, gave up, threw himself on the floor, and started to cry. 

He is home sick today, and we have had a lot of fights.  Not because of anything other than he's not feeling well and his fuse is shorter than normal.  Most times today I've given in, but then wonder if I'm doing the wrong thing (this is motherhood) and if I'm teaching him misbehavior instead.  Sometimes, though, in the heat of the moment, the fight just isn't worth it.  Other than that, though, he's in pretty good spirits.

I've been getting a taste of TRUE SAHM-dom, since we spent E's first nap doing a pretty big art project.  It's not complete, and will go away for the time being to be picked up another rainy day.  I got the idea from the wonderful No Time for Flash Cards... we're making a rainbow!

On a related note, while I was at a baby shower on Sunday, M had the idea to make homemade snow globes.  He got the idea from Special Agent Oso.  It was very much as do and learn project, and he has lots of ideas on how to make it better next time, but they're great because A is pretty obsessed...  this one is M's, but A loves it because when you whack the jar, the duckie inside lights up.

This is Motherhood.

A blog I follow is running an..event?  Activity?  I don't know what to call it, but she put out the call for photos in the theme, "This is Motherhood."  I started thinking, well, what IS motherhood?  And once I figure it out, how can I put it into photos?

So, I got on the floor and started playing with E.  We played peek a boo, and I thought it would make a great picture.  I set up the camera with self timer, and went back to peek a boo-ing.  He crawled over to and started playing with...the camera.

I could take a picture of myself doing laundry, or making dinner, or even with Hoover pockets and a sad face, but who wants to see that?  I know that's not what comes to mind for me when I think about motherhood, anyway, thought maybe all that comes with the territory.

But what does?  For starters, a whole bunch of stuff that I can't take pictures of.  The way the boys come into our big bed on Saturday mornings and we all just cuddle.  The way E's big doe eyes look at me while he's nursing.  Worry.  Pride.  The way my heart, not unlike the Grinch's, grows two sizes when I think of A giving his brother a hug or the look E gets when he's just watching his brother. 

It's working really hard to (try to) balance self and family.  It's being a good role model, and making sure we're all eating our veggies.  It's taking care of them while finding ways to teach them how to take care of themselves.  It's having a partner (or partners) in crime for making mommy sanctioned mischief.

Motherhood.  It's a roller coaster ride.  And boy do I love roller coasters.

Wormy

I love watching E move around on the floor.  He's getting better about locomotion, though he still drags his body rather than crawls.  What's funny, though, is that watching him move is like watching someone row a canoe--he pushes his arms to the right, to the left, and gets exactly where he wants to go.

I am still having troubles getting the video; hopefully before he's walking...

Take a look, it's in a book!

I remember, when I was a kid, my grandmother would bring me Strawberry Shortcake books, then ask me to read them to her.  I'm sure she brought me other books, but for some reason, that's the memory that is striking to me.  I love to read; I'm currently in the middle of two books and a magazine, plus all the blogs and news media I read.  One of my favorite ways to wake up is to spend an extra half hour lounging in bed, reading my book.  In fact, M just told A that, he "didn't like to read when he got to high school, but Mommy reminded [him] how much [he] enjoys it." 

As such, it's very important to both of us that the boys enjoy reading, because not only is it something we love, but it also is so important.  It seems to me that it's one constant, even as our world changes and becomes more and more tech, more and more digitized, it also becomes more and more reading based.  So, when I found the blog Book Loving Boys, and saw that it was doing a virtual exchange of the Flat Stanley Project, I really was excited to participate.  I've heard of Flat Stanley, but we've never before read it.  I changed that by requesting it from the library, and was so happy to see it in my pile today.  It couldn't have come at a better time because tomorrow, M has an all day fencing event, so we're looking for activities, and this sounds like a perfect one for us.

It turns out that my exchange partner also has two boys, and her blog is about their reading adventures.  Check out LitLad, and stay tuned for the adventures of our Flat Stanley!

It also happens that, on a day I've already planned for a reading activity, Target is having a Seuss celebration.  Tomorrow has been renamed "Reading Day!"

Ch-ch-ch-changes

It's really amazing what a difference three years makes.  In E, it's obvious when he's changing, and we notice it immediately.  I can tell how much heavier he has gotten in the past month, I can see his eyes are becoming less blue and more gray, I see he has more hair and that it's gotten darker.  In A, however, it's a shock to realize he's grown because the changes are smaller as a percentage.  I looked at him the other day and realized he's really gotten tall in the past few months.  His face is looking more and more grown up; the other day I looked at him and felt I had a glimpse of how he would look as a teenager--freaky.

In behavior, changes are happening too.  E is getting frustrated that we can't understand what he wants/needs.  He has taken to screaming.  It's a lot of fun.  He screams when the food on his tray is finished.  He screams when he wakes up (I seem to remember A babbling and entertaining himself in the crib; E does not do this).  He screams when he is tired of standing (still not pulling himself up or cruising yet, though he is getting much better at "the inchworm").

By contrast, A is pretty even keeled.  Yep, he throws tantrums and gets mad ("Mommy, I'm mad at you."),  but the kind of cool thing is that after being in time out, he is so friendly, happy, and loving.  Sometimes we all just need a break from each other. 

I am constantly amazed by the feeling when "my heart swells."  I've heard this phrase a hundred times, but never really had that feeling before my boys came along (no offense to my other loved ones!).  I love that my boys are cuddlers, that they're laughers, that they try.  I love that they both have an interest in books (A now tells E stories, and E is happy to flip through a book on his own).  I love the way A will say, "I love my Daddy and my Mommy.  I love my whoooole family."  I love the way E looks for me when he's in one room and I am in another.  And I love the way they make my heart swell.

Awesome giveaway!

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Milestones

On Wednesday night, I was doing the "put the boys to bed by myself" routine.  I took E into A's room, and E decided to start moving.  The next day, he really started moving all over the place.  Now, there's no stopping him; I had him on the floor while I went to the bathroom, and he started wiggle worming all the way down the hall.
I took video, but am having problems transferring videos from that camera to my computer, so it will come soon.
The point is, we have a army crawler!!

On the topic of milestones, A came home the other day and started drawing "the family," his first set of actual stick figures.  He very quickly went from drawing circular scribbles to drawing stick figures.  He has been very interested in coloring on this mask they made at school for Chinese New Year... the other day, I saw him drawing circles--real circles, not just scribbles in a circular pattern.

Cupids, A & E

In January 2008, A and I made our first journey to Picture People.  We went with friends, so ended up at the one in Quakerbridge Mall.  I love love loved the pictures they took, and one of my all time favorite pictures of A was one of them.




So when I took E, on a whim, for 9 month pictures, and saw that they again had the angel wings, I knew we HAD to try to get some good pictures of him in them.

He actually tolerated them pretty well and was his adorable little self.

The Boys' Monthly Pictures

By request, here's a new slideshow.  I can't find E's 6 month shot, and have been really searching for his 7 month.  Hopefully they are on the other computer; I KNOW I took them!

It's so striking because, as it is now, it goes from A at 12 months to A at 1 month--quite a difference!

Kawaii Diapers, a review

E has been waking up with such full diapers at his 3am changing, I've come to the conclusion that he's been waking so frequently because of the diapers.  I discovered that many moms use Kawaii, which can be purchased lots of places but I bought through jackbenatural.com, for overnight.  I checked it out and discovered their prices are way cheaper than the other diapers I've been using (like under $10 cheap).  There are several different styles, and even a Heavy Wetter style, but I went with the Heavy Duty.  They also have all kinds of fun prints, though I went with blues (the Heavy Duty only comes in solids).

My first impression was that the aplix seemed really strong, and more importantly to me, that they might actually stay attached to the laundry tabs.  That held true on the first washing at least!  The next thing we together noticed was that it seemed really big on our little peanut.  I had the rise set just as I do on our other one size diapers, on the second setting. 

Maybe I shouldn't say this and jinx myself, but his first night in the Kawaii diaper had E sleeping 8 hours without waking.  I fed him and didn't change him.  He went on to sleep another 3 hours, went back to sleep ON HIS OWN, and woke for the day half an hour later.  What's that, you say?  He didn't get changed all night and slept really well?  Yes, yes he did.  We'll see how it goes on night two, but I may be writing a love letter to the folks at Kawaii diapers!

The thing about 9 months.

Yet another thing I forgot about in the roughly 3 year interim between my kids--at around 9 months, my boys started rolling around on the changing table.  E really loves doing this, hanging out on his belly, and reaching for what's over his head.  Lovely kiddo today stuck his foot in poop.  Ew, poop, especially eating table food poop.  Gross.

Some other nuggets that I want to remember, should my sons have kids and their wives are interested in advice from their crazy mother-in-law.

• Swaddling is awesome.  Both boys started to break free at about 5 months, at which point I started using the sleep sack.  It took a little bit of adjustment for them to sleep well again, but it really helped keep him warm without a blanket.  At least, we used this until he was old enough to sleep with a blanket, around 6 or 7 months.
• Blankies quickly became a security/cuddly issue for both boys.  E sleeps with a giraffe, and every time I put him in his crib, no matter how sleepy he is, he will reach for the giraffe.  A slept with a bear, though he is not very particular about who he sleeps with these days.
• On potty training.  I think I've documented many of the steps we took with A here, but I really want to remember one trick.  We all know that potty training for number 2 is harder than for number one.  It's about losing a part of himself, it's about control.  Our doctor said that the kid will hold it in, making it even harder to go.  So, we gave him laxative to make it as easy to go as possible.  When I knew he had to go (and believe me, it was easy to know!), everything would stop--no toys, games, tv, nothing.  Sometimes, we even took off his pants.  Once we started that routine, he started using the potty pretty quickly.

That's all I can think of for right now!

40 weeks?!?

I just got an email that E is 40 weeks old.  Wow; he's been outside longer than he was in.
Sooo, what can our E do at 40 weeks?

Clap--he loves clapping; clapping's his favorite.
Wave--sporadic, but it's definitely there.
Babble--duh duh dah dah is his favorite, rah rah rah is his second favorite
Stand--not so great at this, but we're working on it a lot right now.  He stands at a taller toy or at the couch, holding on and standing!

He giggles like crazy when A runs around, when he sees A for the first time in a day, etc etc.  Yesterday, he about had a conniption when A and Daddy came home at the same time.


He's sick right now, but yet seems to be sleeping better at night.  He's been waking only twice the past few days, and only for a quick nursing.... waay better than last week's three or four wakings, plus being awake and crying from 2-4am.

I love this picture of E, because, well, it's adorable, but also because he's the spitting image of: