Swimmin' fool

Dad made it to swim class today to check out G's progress.  G was particularly rambuctious and he and his classmate got the evil eye from his teacher several times to cut out the horseplay.  I've got to get her to teach me that ASAP!

G is now learning to breathe during his trek across the pool.  He is also diving in all on his own and swimming half way across the pool to Miss Tracy.  He also dives down for toys with assistance and comes back up all on his own to swim to the edge.  He is also getting thrown up in the air to land in the water and come up to the surface and swim to the edge.  He's really become more comfortable in the pool in the past few weeks and he's really progressing in class as a result.

I'll post swim videos in a bit.

Adam in action.

This was G in the afternoon at the water park.

Connor and Kyle visit

Connor was born the same day as G and Kyle was born about two weeks before Adam. We saw Kyle briefly at 2 weeks old and today the whole family came to visit. We all walked to the bakery nearby (with Oskar!) for breakfast.  This was Oskar's first time spending more than 2 minutes with any of Ethan's friends.  Of course all the kids were in strollers and Oskar wasn't at home.   

Then we hit the park to let the big brothers burn off some energy.  They hiked up the hill and played on the playground.  There was also a little bit of water play.  After rounding up the big boys (the Dads) and reminding them that their sons needed to eat lunch we prepared ourselves for the long trek home...across the street.  We had lunch and then the boys had fun taking pictures and checking out one another's brothers.  I wonder if they were trying to arrange a swap.

Sling buddies

"Wanna trade brothers?"

Kyle is tired and ready to go home.  Adam is ready to zonk out.

I want a nap

I never thought I would hear those words come out of G's mouth...EVER, but it happened today.  He had a busy day of soccer and swimming and it wore him out.

First he had soccer where he had another day of full participation.  He did a great job stretching with Dave so I knew he was going to participate in the other activities.  Here is a video of red light green light where he is currently performing monster steps for the yellow light.

Little Aaron made his debut at soccer today. So here are the little brothers watching their big brothers play soccer.

Then soccer pal Kaitlyn came over to swim.  They braved the pool for a little bit and once they started to shiver and turn blue in the 82 degree water, we heated up the spa and the swim session really took off.  Apparently the little kidos like warm water.  G was swimming from side to side all on his own.  He still needs to learn to pay attention to what he is doing as you can see from the video.  He starts to rub his eyes and nearly falls backward into the water.  

After swimming for at least an hour, the kids picked at some food and then G started crying and crying and wouldn't stop.  He was demanding his green blanket, which we didn't have with us.  I should have known that meant he was tired, but I didn't figure that out for at least twenty minutes.  Finally when I set him down to sleep he was quiet and happy and went to sleep.  He's never gone down for a nap that quickly and without protest!  Just wish we could have skipped all that crying and hysteria.

Day at the Zoo

Ian and Tyler's Mom invited us to join them at the zoo today, so our day started out early.  Of course G knew this and slept in until 7:30!  He's never done this, and I'm sure will never do it again unless we have to be somewhere early.  

We packed all four kids and two adults in the white beast along with a double stroller and a single stroller - an amazing feat if you ask me!  I brought up the navigation to take us to the zoo even though Shannon can get there in her sleep.  As soon as we hopped on the carpool lane the nav lost it's little mind and aborted the route.  After Shannon stopped laughing, she directed us to the zoo.  

It was a hot day, but G had lots of fun.  Ian led him around and held his hand to cross the "streets".  In fact when I tried to hold his hand to cross the street, G said "I want to hold Ian's hand".  Tyler and G hopped in and out of strollers, but amazingly did a lot of walking.  Tyler was usually forging ahead, Ian was walking patiently next to his Mom and G was bringing up the rear 20 feet behind me.  Ian and G loved finding stairs and doing a circuit of up the stairs and down the stairs.  In general G was into following Ian and copying what he did.  If he went and sat on a bench instead of checking out the animals G did.  

Unfortunately this did not carry over to lunch.  G did not eat much of anything...except snacks.  By dinner he was pretty darn hungry and ate 5 meatballs and 3 cups of yogurt!  Yes that is what he wanted for dinner despite my offerings of an actual meal.

I also learned something at the zoo.  I think G just likes to scream and wake things up.  We were in the Koala area and they were sleeping in the trees so G said that he needed to wake them up.  He and Ian started squealing.  Perhaps Adam is not the only thing he likes to wake up.

Today his buddy Patrick also stopped by in the afternoon to see if he wanted to play at the park.  That was a nice surprise for Mom and much appreciated (thanks Patricia!).  Adam was sleeping and I had a landscaper coming over to present a bid so having G at the park made things a lot less hectic.

Now the best part of the day...both the kids are in bed and I get to blog and upload pictures.

G's favorite part...snack time!
Ian leading G around

My beast of a stroller makes it's debut outside of the neighborhood.

Three amigos riding a gorilla

Finally, proof that Adam was actually at the zoo.  Look carefully and you'll see a monkey behind him in the trees.

Day with Grandma

Today Grandma picked up G for swim lessons and kept him until after his nap.  G had another great swim lesson and went swimming in Grandma's pool after his nap.  He seemed to enjoy his time with Grandma and Grandpa today.  Videos to be uploaded later.

Last night Adam slept a whopping 7 hours straight!  Unfortunately it was from 7pm to 2am.  We are heading in the right direction though.  Today Adam and I took naps and had a little photoshoot.  It's much harder to find time to take pictures of Adam alone.  G always wants to be in the picture as does Oskar.  Even when I take his weekly photo with the sheep G always wants a turn in the chair too.  I think I captured a few smiles on camera too!

Terrible Tuesday

Well after he threw a fit when we were in the parking lot of swim class yesterday I should I have know today would be bad.  Maybe I'm just less patient since I've been running on virtually no sleep for the past 6 weeks.  

I had to wait around all morning for a plumber so I thought G would like it if one of his friends came over to play.  Kaitlyn (who he is normally nice to) came over and G was very excited about it... before she came.  When she got here he body checked her a few times, stole toys she was playing with or thought about playing with.  In between all that he was zipping around the room like he was pumped up with caffeine.  By the end of the hour/hour and a half Kaitlyn ran out of the house telling her mom to drive away.  In reality it probably wasn't as bad as I make it sound, but all of it did happen.

He was still wired when it was nap time.  He couldn't sit still for a story and kept throwing things around his room.  Finally I just left after reading the story to myself, since he clearly wasn't paying attention.  I turned off the monitor and took a nap.  Thirty minutes later I woke up and turned on the monitor to check on him and he was asleep.  Thank goodness!

After his nap, things weren't any better.  He started body slamming the dog, hit Adam twice (I wasn't fast enough to block), hit me numerous times, and I was just ready for Dave to come home and take him away.  I guess this is why they call it the TERRIBLE twos.  It was a terrible day!  I felt like I had no control.  After the slapping, I didn't even have time to threaten a timeout, he asked for one and sat down and started counting.  It's all a game to him which makes it even more frustrating.  Things are just getting harder now that Adam is awake more and requires more attention and interaction.  

I almost forgot to mention his new hobby.  When he knows Adam is asleep he runs into his room and starts screaming to wake him up.  He knows exactly what he is doing too.  I asked him why he goes into Adam's room and screams.  He said, "to wake him up".  I asked why and he said "Adam wakes me up."  I don't think that is true, but I've decided to put a childproof door knob on the outside of Adam's room so he can sleep without being disturbed.

Weekend with the boys

Adam is clearly messing with me.  The other day he slept for 5 hours at night!  Unfortunately it was from 5pm-10pm!  Then a few days later he repeated this incredible feat from 11pm-4am.  I felt so good the next day, but still crashed for a nap.  I swaddled him identically the next night, put him in the same spot in his crib, crossed my fingers, and the stinker woke up every two hours all night long!  He's still doing well with the bottle, but I'm kind of lazy about giving him one reguarly which is going to get me in trouble if I keep it up.  

This weekend Dave installed two more ceiling storage racks in the garage and we got ALL the boxes off the floor of the garage.  I was inspired to get the other boxes unpacked and organized. That's right, 9 months after moving in, we are STILL unpacking.  I was reminded why I don't try to unpack with G around.  He would empty boxes that I had neatly organized, or take things out of carefully categorized piles.  The house is quite the disaster after my cleaning and unpacking today!  

This evening we went to go meet Isaac's little brother Aaron who is 4 days old!  He is so tiny compared to Adam.  I can't believe how quickly babies change at this age.  A mere 5 weeks and a few days and Adam looks gigantic!  I'm sad he's growing up so fast!

 

Swimming and soccer breakthrough!

Yesterday G went swimming at Grandma's and.........actually SWAM!  In the past he just stood on the steps and played.  He refused to swim or put his head underwater.  However this time, he stood on the edge and said "Ready Go", jumped in a swam to the nearest person and repeated.  Sadly there is no video of the incredible event because I was on the phone with my parents when it was all happening.  I'm excited to take him swimming again!

Today at soccer G participated in Red Light Green Light the entire time!  For some reason he used to always demand to be carried during this game.  Today he was excited to run for the green lights, do monster steps for the yellow lights, and stop on his own for the red lights.  He also rode in the parachute again!  G is just full of surprises these last few days!

After soccer we headed to a Rendezvous at the park.  G was very excited to go because Grandma kept telling him all about it.  It was a festival with people dressed from the Cival War era complete with tents, guns, and other period pieces.  G seemed interested in their outfits, but was REALLY excited about riding the steam train with Grandpa.  Grandpa took G for a ride on the train and G had his head at the window looking around the whole time.  When his ride was over, he and Grandpa went to check out the engine and watch the next train load of people go around the track.

All aboard!
Watching the next train leave.

Proof that Adam was there too.

Not so shy these days

We've had a few repair people and landscapers come by the house recently.  G used to freak out and ask to be carried when strangers came to the house.  This last wave of people he followed around and talked to!  G even walked into the shower while the tile repair guy was working on the shower.  He followed the garage door repair guy around too like he was surpervising.  The guy would say something and G would try to repeat including any pointing or gesturing.  

Adam on the other hand has become quite the Mama's boy.  Dave even has a hard time holding him and keeping him happy.  While Adam is still a pretty mellow guy (well I guess I should clarify this is in comparison to G as an infant), he's getting more difficult to put down for naps and staying awake for longer periods.  The worst thing is he is still not sleeping for more than 3 hours at night.

G and the Wii

Ian and Tyler came over and Ian and G had fun (and then fights) playing Wii soccer and skiing from the new Wii Fit.



Last week G played his first game of Wii golf and got a Birdie! All the holes after that he got cut off because he had too many strokes. His long game has some potential, but his short game is really killing him. He also enjoys Mario Kart Wii, but I'm not sure he knows which car he is driving when he races Dad. Dad is definitely turning him into a gamer/motorcycle rider/rc guy and I don't think there is anything I can do about it.

Productive Day

After soccer we left G with Grandma who was going to take him to the Poway Days parade. We went shopping for an ottoman/coffee table as well as pillows for the couch, something for over the fireplace and other decorator items. Adam was a trooper and did great through this 7 hour expedition. We were successful in finding our ottoman which we pick up tomorrow as well as some pillows for the couch. Then we got home and Dave washed the car while I rearranged/cleaned up/cleaned out the garage. Adam sat in his bouncer supervising everything. Sadly I think this put him in a bad mood. He took forever to get to sleep tonight and is currently vibrating in his bouncer next to me as I update the blog.

The garage doesn't look that impressive to the untrained eye, but I purged and organized everything. All we have to do is hang two more overhead storage racks and I think all those boxes in the front will be gone. But now I can get in and out of the van without entering and exiting through the passenger's side! Hurray!
The van after being cleaned and waxed! So pretty.

Super fun soccer

We went to G's soccer lesson in the morning. This week G was much more excited to be there and had more gusto when he knocked over his cone tower than last week. It was much cooler today as well so maybe that helped. He had a blast copying Declan in the parachute and even rode in the parachute with a smile on his face! Apparently he also tried to get Kaitlyn to do a header by chasing her around the field with his squishy ball ready to bonk her in head. She ran for it squealing around the field, but it was okay because she was laughing through it. I somehow missed getting this on video, but I have other videos and pictures.



Good golly, he's on the parachute!

That's right folks, Isaac not only swims, he plays soccer too!Showing off his stamp.
Copying Declan under the parachute.
Another first...participating in the team cheer!

Mom leaves her twenties behind....

The boys were so good to me on my birthday. I decided to go shopping for a couple of shirts and some pants so I can stop running around in my maternity clothes! Adam slept through the whole shopping trip and G had fun browsing through the clothes and copying my actions. If I flipped through the clothes on the rack, he did. If I pick up a shirt from a pile, he picked up the pile! He found a full length mirror to amuse himself for quite a while when I was browsing. He was kind enough to tell me that all the clothes I was trying on were too big. Sadly that was not the case and I did not walk out with any pants because I refused to go high enough to find a size that would fit my expanded figure. I found a couple shirts and of course clothes for G. In a couple weeks I'll be able to start jogging and the pounds will just melt away. haha!

Then we went over to Grandma's house for a birthday dinner. We had steaks and birthday cake and ice cream. And best of all G stayed over at Grandma's house for the night! What more could a girl ask for? Well Dave and I also got Wii Fit from Grandma and Grandpa. I can't wait to try it out!

Dave weighed Adam tonight and we think he is just under 10lbs already! Not quite big bro's birth weight, but getting there!

My two boys on my birthday (note: I wanted to get Oskar in there too, but it was hard enough getting just the two to cooperate....next time):

First bottle

Here is video of Adam's first bottle. He took to it pretty well. Listen carefully and you can hear him squeak as he drinks. Hallelujah I will have freedom now!

Just an update

G has started to eat again. For a while he has been on a food strike. He would eat cereal in the morning and barely anything the rest of the day. Now he's eating Grandma E's spring roll (which has veggies in it - shhhh), an egg he helps me make and quesadillas that he sprinkles the cheese on. He's really getting into helping prepare his own meals. He also likes to have eating races with Dad. They each take a spoonful of their meal and both gobble it up at the same time. Hey anything that gets him to eat is okay by me.He is also prefering Mom these days. When it's time for bath or bed he insists I do it. Makes me feel special, but at the same time I'm ready to pass him off to Dad for the night. He has also become OBSESSED with trains and Thomas! He takes Salty, Percy, Thomas, and James with him for naps and bedtime. He lines them up in his bed next to him. I really should get a picture of this! He'll also be doing something and all of a sudden say he wants to go play with his trains. He is making decisions now which is cool. It used to be that I would have to suggest different things to do. Now he tells me he wants to play with play doh and he'll go get it and clear off the table. Grandpa B is also building a Garden Railroad and G is always eager to talk about with anyone that wants to listen. I didn't actually see the work in progress, but G tells me the tracks are going to be in the dirt and it will have a tunnel. I'm not sure who is more excited about building it, Grandpa or G.

He wanted to share his trains with little brother.
G has had a stutter for the past few months. When I was calling the pediatrician about Adam I mentioned it and he decided to refer us to a speech therapist. At first since mum was the word and he didn't want to talk to her, she thought it was just something he would grow out of. It's more common in boys from age 2-5. Then I pulled out Thomas the train and he was bursting with conversation. She noticed he was stuttering over simple words like "I", "do", "daddy", etc. So now we are going to see her for a few more sessions to get tips on how to help this not become a problem. She said the most important thing is that he not become aware of it. Once he does and starts to get frustrated it becomes more serious. So we never tell him to slow down and just try to guess at what he is saying instead of asking him to repeat it. Hopefully this is something that he will overcome quickly.

Adam on the other hand remains to be an easy going little guy. He loves his pacifier and his bouncer and also seems to like the carseat a lot. He's gaining a lot of neck muscles because he's constantly trying to lift his head and check stuff out. He's not a fan of tummy time, and rarely gets to use his playgym because big brother likes to carry it around and whack it into things as well as crawl through it and drives trains on it. For his own safety, Adam is better off doing tummy time on the carpet.

I now realize why the second child doesn't have as many pictures. The first child keeps you so busy and on your toes you just don't have time to take pictures! Being a second child, I vowed not to let this happen, but clearly I have. However I'm really trying to take more pictures. Adam has such a funny expressive face that I just have to capture on film. He's got a Popeye face that cracks me up. He opens his mouth wide only on one side and closes on eye when he's rooting.

Here are the dynamic duo. G is reading to Adam before his nap.

Getting in trouble in swim class

G has been extra happy and EXTRA energetic in swim class the last few times. This has gotten him in trouble with Miss Tracy a few times because he's splashing and causing trouble with the other kids. However since he's happy I much prefer it over the screaming days. He was all business when it came time to swim though. Here are some recent videos of G which clearly demonstrate he's on his way to becoming the next Michael Phelps.



Here he is with good buddy Isaac:

The family leaves...

It was a nice week with the Grandparents visiting. They are early birds so the often took G and Oskar for walks in the morning so I could sleep in a little with Adam. G really likes having a full house of people to play with. I think I bore him even though I try to do puzzles, color, play doh, trains, etc with him. I guess Mom just isn't cool! We also got one of my projects finished - G's magnetic board. The only bummer is G was sick for half of the time they were visiting, but honestly I preferred having them here during that time because it's a bear when he's sick and I'm alone with him all day!

His cool new magnetic board:
Here are some photos at Grandma B's house before lunch.

More family visits to meet Adam

My Aunt, cousins, and their kids came to visit to meet Adam and see Ethan again. Ethan loved playing with my cousin's son Ian. Here they are giving the dog an overdose of treats. It was so nice to see them all again and I wish I had thought to take some pictures. These are all pictures from Grandpa.

Midway Museum

Well we all went out to the Midway because we knew Grandpa and Dad and G would enjoy it. G even got to go on the Island Tour even though he wasn't tall enough. I think he was bored to tears on that guided tour except he LOVED climbing the steep and narrow Navy ladders. The rest of the aircraft carrier was viewed at G-speed which meant no time to read any signs or watch any videos. If there were buttons to push we stayed there for a few minutes, but otherwise it was on to bigger and better things.

Here is the gang on the deck (minus Adam and I who are taking the picture)
G pushing one of many buttons he found:He really enjoyed getting into the cockpits of the planes and playing with the switches and controls. I was kind of surprised because this is the first time he was willing to get in a plane. Dave thinks he's afraid they are going to take off and crash. G flies planes in Dave's flight simulator a lot and that is all he does....take off and crash and repeat 50 times with 50 different planes.