Rolling boot camp

While Dad and G were away camping, I had Adam do lots and lots of tummy and back time to get him rolling. Sadly I was not successful, but I think Adam enjoyed all the one on one attention. He was full of smiles and giggles for me.

I often feel guilty that Adam doesn't get more attention from me. While I'm not in any hurry to get Adam mobile, I do feel bad that at 4.5 months he isn't rolling in either direction. I hold Adam a lot because we are moving from room to room or playing outside with G. Also in the afternoon G is very wired/energetic and clumsy...not a good combination with a baby on the floor.

The other big thing I did this weekend was wean Adam from the swaddle at night.  I tried to for naps as well, but he clearly wasn't ready.  He couldn't settle himself down to sleep.  I'll try again in a week or so.  But at least now when he is settling down for sleep he has some time to get things rolling.

Other than lots of Adam time, I'm not sure what we did all weekend. It sure came and went fast though.

ka-pow!

Well G's pink eye seems to be clearing up fast. He doesn't like getting the eye ointment, but asks for his Amoxicillin. I'm kind of curious what it tastes likes since he doesn't like to eat food 99% of the time.

Continuing with his morning tradition, G was a super grump while Dad packed for the desert trip. He just whined wanting Dad to play trains with him instead of pack. After everything finally got packed and they were ready to go, we all headed out to load up the trailer and hook it up to the Ian's Grandparent's motorhome. Then Adam and I would get to come back home with the van and have a weekend alone!

Things took longer than I anticipated and Adam was overdue for his nap and cranky. That seems to be the ongoing story these days for both of my children... Anyway holding Adam in the carrier and walking with Ethan down the driveway, Jake (Ian's boxer) came running toward us and jumped up on G knocking him on the pavement. G fell face first, or more accurately lip first on the driveway. He was bleeding pretty bad and I was worried his teeth might have been knocked out. Turns out it was just blood from his lip. He got a huge lip in just a few minutes and of course he was crying a lot. However being G and being two, within 30 minutes he was running around chasing Ian with scrapes on his face and a fat lip.

I hope G's luck turns around for him soon. He's had a rough couple of days with his cold, pink eye, ear infections, and fat lip. I'm kind of worried what the desert has in store for him.

Bahumbug

Well I was exhausted and now sick after our crazy Christmas Eve. I went to bed early and forgot to put out Santa's presents. Luckily Dave was on top of things and set everything out before he went to bed. I was excited to see G's reaction to all the gifts under tree on Christmas day, but Dave let me sleep in a while since I was so sick so I missed it. However I guess G was continuing with his less than happy mood. The good news is he didn't play with the stockings while they were hanging on the mantle or try and open any presents under the tree (after the first day). But at the same time he wasn't all that crazy about riping into the presents when it was time.

I made the mistake of wrapping every little thing and everything separately to have a lot of packages. I also wrapped all of Adam's presents and asked G to open them too. G got tired of opening presents just a few presents in. Once he opened the radio controlled Lightening McQueen from Uncle David, he wasn't very interested in opening his other presents. He was very thankful for the car and ran up the computer to thank Uncle David who was Skyping with the Grandparents to watch the boys open presents.

G clearly needed a nap, but even popping in the Cars DVD didn't work. After I woke up from my nap, we headed to Grandma's for dinner. G was already bouncing off the walls so it was impossible to get him to sit and eat dinner. We didn't make it to dessert before we had to throw the boys in the car and head home to put them to bed.

Cranky pants!

Monday he was cranky, and Tuesday he was cranky. For some reason I was hopeful seeing his friend Connor on Tuesday would get him out of his cranky funkness. Well instead he cried for an hour because he wanted Daddy to feed him breakfast. He wanted Daddy to come home and not go to work.

I finally got G in the car and to Connor's but it took forever and we were late. He and Connor did well at first playing with trains around the tree and the train table. But then something happened...when one would play with a toy the other would shoot to it like a magnet and a struggle would ensue. Then they were broken apart and another toy was introduced to distract one of them. Almost immediately the other would shoot to the new toy and the vicious cycle continued. Then G lost it and knocked down the structure on the train table. After my "lovely" morning of dealing with him screaming and whining I was done. I told him it was time to go, but taking 15 minutes to pack up, change Adam's diaper and put him in the carseat doesn't really have the same message as whisking him away immediately.

Wednesday we needed to make a run to Costco for some last minute items and found out Connor's family was going too, so we met up and headed to McDs for some grub and playland time. As we were leaving McDs we noticed G's eye was oozing. As we looked at it more and more I was afraid it might be pink eye. We went home for a bit to start making deserts for tonight, but didn't get very far before we decided we needed to take him to Urgent Care.

G did in fact have pink eye and ear infections in both ears (!) so we canceled our Christmas Eve dessert party and instead pumped him full of antibiotics and eye ointment. In hopes of avoiding a screaming bedtime that we have endured for the past week (probably due to the ear infections), I carefully selected a present for him to open on Christmas Eve. However stuffed Elmo did not do his job and G was restless/grumpy when it was time for bed. Dave and I was exhausted and grumpy too!

Fondue

We had Kaitlyn and Isaac over for Fondue. There was cheese and chocolate, but I swear G didn't even touch the cheese. He licked chocolate off of every dipping piece multiple times before eating it. His favorite dippers were pretzels, pineapple, and pound cake.

Kaitlyn, Isaac, and G fought over toys and jumped off the retaining wall outside for a while before heading outside to watch their Dad's fly and crash helicopters. Then they headed to the park to play. G was granted the honor of holding Kaitlyn's beloved Manatee at the park. She was instructing him to feed it and he complied. It was his first "babysitting" job. haha

During all of this, the Moms got to lounge on the couch inside and chat until they realized it was nap time. "What is nap time?" I thought...oh yes I vaguely remember.

Anyway it was a fun weekend and I couldn't believe it was already over and Christmas was just days away!

Snow!

We headed to the mountains today to see some snow with buddies Kaitlyn and Isaac and the Grandparents. Since this was the first weekend after the big rains we knew it would be a crowded day, but I really wanted to take G and Adam to the snow. Last time we took G he was 9 months old, so I was excited to see what he would think of it now that he's older. Also Adam has a cute snow suit that had to get some use.

We left around 10:30 and it was wall to wall cars when we got up to the snow. We passed play area after play area with no parking to be found. Eventually after we headed far up the mountain we found a side road where we could park and play. However there was a lot of snow on the road by this point and I was nervous about getting back out. Our friends had chains, but we didn't.

Not long after we got there, a pick up came down the road and stopped next to our van as they were passing us. Well once he stopped he couldn't get going again! So all the men in the area worked to push the truck out of the way. Luckily no trucks or people went sliding into our van. Our play spot ended up being a pretty high traffic area with three other vehicles needing to be pushed out. Finally a forest ranger came by and told us to move our cars so we all left to go up to the top of the mountain. Our minivan didn't have any problems driving through the snow thankfully!

The second spot was much better and we had fun sledding and eating lunch with the kids. We laid the babies, Adam and Aaron, down in the snow for some pictures. By 3pm the parents were worn out and we all parted ways. I was sure G would pass out on the way home, but no he was still going strong when we got home. Definitely a fun day, but I wish Oskar could have come and frolicked in the snow.

Preschool update (2 months)

When G discovers it's preschool day, he tells me, "Noooooo!!! I don't want to go to preschool. I want to stay home with you." He then proceeds to whine and roll around on the floor refusing to put on a jacket or shoes. In fact on non preschool days he'll inform me that he doesn't want to go to preschool that day either.

So our preschool mornings are no fun because there is a struggle to get dressed, to eat, to get in the car, etc. Once we get there, he's still telling me he doesn't want to go to preschool, but he walks in with me. After I sign him in and tell him I'm going to go then he loses it. I have not been able to walk out of the classroom without having one of the teachers come and hold him so he doesn't follow me out. However they tell me he only cries for a couple of minutes now, versus 20 minutes a few weeks ago. I'm going to add a second day in January so hopefully that helps.

I can see he's learning things at preschool, but I can't get much information out of him about what he does at preschool. It as if he hates it so much he doesn't want to talk about it.

He's doing a lot more imaginative play since starting preschool. The bbq access doors outside are apparently home to his pet dinosaur. He also hands me giant plates to hold and carry for him. He is also getting really good with building houses with Lincoln Logs and has started to build little structures with Tinker Toys. I'm amazed how much his coordination has improved in the past few months. Dave got him a race car track for his second birthday which he couldn't operate at the time. Now he can run the cars on the track without a problem. He's also into real jigsaw puzzles (though only 12 pieces right now).

Cookies and gingerbread oh my!

It was a busy busy weekend. We had a cookie exchange on Saturday and Sunday! Saturday was my bookclub cookie exchange and G and Dad came along to sample some yummy treats. We even made some truffles days after the exchange because they were sooo good (and I had to make treats for Dave's work). The funniest part was getting dressed for the cookie exchange. I dressed G and Adam in matching sweaters, the same ones they wore to visit Santa. As Dave is trying to dress G in his sweater he says, "No! I don't want to see Santa." Apparently that sweater is cursed with Santa cooties and can't be worn anymore. G doesn't know I paid a small fortune for that sweater because it's really hard to find matching things in 3-6 months and 3T sizes so he will wear it and wear it often this winter. HAH!

Connor and Kyle were at the cookie exchange and their Dad had fun comparing Blackberry Storm tips with Dave. I have the best picture of the two Dads holding the two babies and their Storms.

After sampling cookies, fighting over trains with Connor, G went with Dad and Grandma and Grandpa to a train expo. I'm not really sure what they did there, but Grandpa and G have a love for trains so I'm sure they had fun. I called to see how things were going and got to talk to G. He informed me that he was in a timeout in the car because he pinched Daddy. He said "I pinched Daddy so I can't ride the train". He really wanted to ride the little train outside, but couldn't stop pinching Dad. Oops.

The next day was the playgroup cookie exchange. Not long after we arrived, G found a train and spent the rest of the day trying to monopolize the toy. He also had a few fights with Isaac and they had to be separated a few times. Both kids are now quite grabby when they see something they want to play with. G used to be better about sharing when they weren't his toys, but I guess he has decided they are worth fighting for.

We had a paparazzi session with Adam, Aaron, and Caden who are all born within 5 weeks of each other with older brothers all born in May 2006. After we had G good and sugared up from cookies we took him to make Gingerbread houses at the Watt's house.

He and Ian and Tyler were mostly eating the building materials while the Dad's assembled the houses. Needless to say, he wasn't that easy to get to bed that night since he had two days worth of sugar coursing through him.

We also picked up an exersaucer from Kaitlyn (G's friend) for Adam to borrow. He seemed really interested in checking it out and seems to enjoy looking and grabbing at the toys. He can already operate the spinning wheels, but tends to crash into the dragon puppet and then cry.

Adam is four months old!

I went to the doctor today with both boys! Adam is 4months old and 13lbs 10oz which puts him in the 25th percentile for weight. He's 50th percentile for height and head circumference. I got in trouble for not doing enough tummy time with him. However the Doc remarked that he had very good head control and could sit up well assisted. He also commented on Adam's natural worried expression. I told him that Adam is very smilely and happy, but his normal expression was very concerned. I guess being born in this economy has him worried.

I still can't get over how different my boys are. Adam loves to be held and often demands it. He also gave up the pacifier on his own at 3 months old (vs big brother who gave it up at 14 months because we took it away). We tried to get him to take it again, but have finally given up. Since I wasn't diligent in giving Adam a bottle, a month went by and now Adam will not take a bottle. It is kind of inconvenient, but in reality I'm never gone from the boys that long unless it's at night. However I'm going to try again when he isn't quite so frantic.

Brownie

I guess I've told G I'm busy a lot because lately when I ask him a question he responds with "I'm busy, in a minute". It's funny to hear him talk because he mirrors a lot of what I say. He also says "donkey donkey" which translates to "okie dokie".

For the past couple weeks G has taken on the identity of a dog. That's right he asks to be called "Brownie" and thinks he's a dog. He barks at the landscaper with Oskar (the real dog), barks at the vacuum and tries to bite the hose with Oskar. I've even caught him drinking out of the dog's water bowl. Gross! However this new identity comes with some perks. He tells me to order him around and he obeys! I've taken liberties when it's time to change a diaper or get dressed. I tell him "come here Brownie", "lay down Brownie", "good dog Brownie", "leave it Brownie", and you know what he does it! Of course when he's not pretending to be "Brownie" my commands fall on deaf ears. One night Dave was out of town we had the best bath and bedtime ever! He was Brownie and obeyed all my orders. He even asked for a belly rub and I showed him how to shake his leg like Oskar does. What a crack up!

Adam seems to be getting back into the swing of things since the desert trip. Twice now he has fallen asleep while I was holding him. I'm not talking about in a carrier, but just holding him. This is something G NEVER did beyond his sleepy infant stage. I'm so glad he remains to be an easy going baby. He loves looking at his mobile now and bats and kicks at it. He is getting more tummy time thanks to Mommy guilt. I looked at G's baby book and at 12 weeks he was rolling tummy to back and at 19 he was rolling back to tummy. Adam at 16 weeks isn't doing anything probably because I spend a lot of time holding him. I'm okay if he doesn't crawl early. I know he'll do it someday.

Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde - G's two sides

Is it a coincidence that since G stopped napping he's been just a huge pain? It has been about 3 months since he has taken a real nap.

Today while I was sorting through laundry things got really quiet. I looked around for Ethan and found him in his room standing a chair which he put on top of his table!!! He was trying to get to that darn train coat rack again! He wasn't out to use it as a baseball bat this time though. He was trying to get all the hats and his soccer medals off of it. After I pulled him off the chair I tried to explain that he was not allowed to do that because it was dangerous. This made him really mad and he kept trying to put the chair back on the table. I asked him what he wanted and he said he wanted to take everything off. I said I would help him, but he demanded that he do it himself. Finally I had to hide both of the chairs in my closet and listen to him scream.

If it's not an episode like today, it's dissecting a sandwich and spreading it around the kitchen like confetti while I'm upstairs trying to put his brother down for nap. Or it's asking to have his diaper changed, but then halfway through he starts kicking me. Let's not forget a favorite pastime of riding the dog like a horse, chasing him around the house with his electric quad, etc, etc.

Just when I think I have things figured out he outsmarts me. He was running into Adam's room and screaming to wake him up. I put a childproof doorknob cover on Adam's door and the problem was solved... until the other day when he discovered the Jack and Jill bath. Now he enters through the bathroom and continues the scream fest. Off to get another door knob cover I guess.

He does have plenty of good moments though. The other day he helped me wipe down all the kitchen cabinets, clean outside of the fridge and dishwasher, and dust the stairs. He also helped me weed the yard and trim the plants. He also gave his brother two airplanes to try and cheer him up when he was crying. And when Adam cries in the car G says, "Shhh Shhh it's okay Adam." When G occasionally wakes in the middle of the night only Mommy will do. Even though I'm dead tired, I do enjoy that he actually wants me to hold him and lay with him.

The bad behavior always rears it's ugly head in the afternoon and he's pretty good in the morning. The morning is when the kitchen gets cleaned and the afternoon is when he's trying to base jumping off the stairs. The bright side is that bedtime is 6pm for both kids so Mom is free most of the night! The only downside is Adam is up at 6am.

Dad leaves

We arrive home and then before the 5 loads of desert laundry are even started, Dad leaves on a business trip. I was really not looking forward to him leaving because I knew the adjustment to being home again would be difficult for all of us. G always misses Dad when he's home for a long time...plus G was sick!!! But, the absolute worst part is that Grandma and Grandpa left town too! I was completely on my own.

The biggest challenge was bedtime. Both boys need to go to bed around the same time and G tends to go wacko in the evening. Usually Dave puts G to bed while I put Adam to bed. Then I clean up the mess from dinner and make our dinner and pick up his play area. However without the divide and conquer, I had to do it all...at the same time?!

If I put Adam to bed too early, he gets up even earlier, but it's impossible to give Ethan a bath and get him ready for bed without having a screaming crying baby. This whole process really wears me out and by the time both kids are in bed I'm too tired to do anything. I ate leftovers of G's dinners or other things I scavenged around the house to avoid cooking an actual meal. The house was also in complete disarray. Good times.

Thankfully Dad came home, but worked late the first day he was back. I was about ready to ring his neck when he told me he wouldn't be able to help me put them to bed. I demanded he come home and help me, then go back to work, but that didn't fly. I guess he figured out I was pretty tired from dealing with all of this on my own, so he made it in time to finish the bath. Hooray, Dave can live another day.