13 months.

Brother is known as "Ry ry". He loves to play with the little dolphins in (and out of) the bathtub. Nursing is on the go (except first thing in the morning) - 5 minutes, then we're off. We've officially made the transition to the sippy cup, but of course we had to go through 6 or 7 different types until we found one he would use. Crazy baby. lol.

Kicking legs. C now plays the family leg-kicking game. You have to see the video to get it, but I'm glad he gets it already. :)

First tooth! C's first tooth cut through this week. Bottom left. Second will be soon behind. And I only got bit 4 times the first night. :) lol

Nodding

Ask C any question, and he answers in the affirmative with a great big head bob. It is SOO funny.

His other cute new trick is to point and say, "Dat!" Not sure if he's really curious or just likes to point.

He's finally getting some teeth two - both middle bottom ones at the same time. I'd say he's handling it pretty well so far - he doesn't seem crankier than usual. We'll see how that goes.

He's also finally getting moved over to the sippy cup, despite his protests. Guess when it's the only option, it'll work. :)

Hand games

C now waves bye-bye by opening his hand and he blew his first kiss
today. :) He also figured out how to play peek-a-boo with his hands
over his eye. So fun! :)

Happy Birthday, C!!

My baby is now one whole year old! Where did the time go? He's so much fun too - has a great belly laugh and is easy to laugh, esp at his big brother. He's very independent and will let you know when he disagrees with you. He's got a great smile to go with that great laugh and people just love to be around him. He's cruising and starting to gain his confidence to stand alone (I think he may have done it a couple of times, but can't be sure it was on purpose). He loves cars, airplanes, and things that roar. And he's starting to notice planes and helicopters in the sky. He's a man of few words but loves his Mommy dearly (and his Daddy and brother too). You may look like your brother, but you are very different in so many ways. Here's to a wonderful year, and to many more. We love you!!

Cup time!

When am I going to stop being surprised that C is totally different from R? R did great transitioning from a bottle to a sippy cup. C on the other hand is not wanting to move on. He did, however, drink through a straw from a juice box yesterday. R struggled with a straw until about 15 months of age. C is right at 12 months tomorrow and it looks like the straw is the way to go. Looks like I'm headed to the store to buy more cups with straws tonight. :)

Woohoo!

One day in the car, R raised his arms above his head and said, "Woohoo!" Thinking that was fun, I did it too. Next thing you know, I hear a tiny baby "Woohoo!" and in the mirror I see his arms above his head too. SO CUTE! So now, that's a thing we do together. And for his birthday, he got this dinosaur ride on toy that says "Woohoo!" when you push a button. Guess what he does then? lol. There's also a "ROAR" button that gets a baby roar after he hears that too.

Cruising

The day after the last post, at the ripe age of 11 months and 3 days, C started cruising. He doesn't do it consistently, but he's a baby on a mission. The tension gates also don't work here because he pulls on them, something R never did. I also have to strap him into the stroller (which I know I should be doing anyway, but still) because he will turn around and stand up. R never did that either. LOL.

11 months

Already pulling to stand and very close to cruising. Wow.
He's also a big fan of being outside. Last night he would look out the window, point and say something incomprehensible, then sit down and get frustrated. Repeated this several times. Finally I took him outside and he just laughed and laughed. When it was time to go in, he started crying and pitched a fit. LOL. Silly baby.

Mama!

C finally said the magic word today while crawling toward me. He never even babbled the ma sound before, so it's even more special now. :)

More crawling

C is a crawling machine, and is starting to pull up some too. He laughs when standing, and laughs more when he falls down on his butt. Lol. Silly baby.

Dancing baby!

C has started to dance when he hears music. It's so cute! He also likes to clap with us.

Sleep!

Only 10 minutes of crying last night at bedtime, then he slept all night! I heard him stir twice but went right back to sleep. Woohoo!

10 months

The world his C's oyster now that he is a crawling machine. No pet is safe, no box is left untouched, and nothing is unexplored. Lol. He will entertain himself a lot longer now since he can move from thing to thing on his own. Lady and even Raja have been very patient
with his petting as well.
On another note, I'm blogging at 1:30 am because C doesn't want to sleep...again. About 3-4 weeks ago, we did sleep training with the no-cry sleep solution, slightly modified for us. C has always been pretty good about going to sleep, but won't stay asleep. Anyway, I tried this
method thinking it would be more gentle. And I thought it was working. He would sleep all night 1-2 nights and up once the other nights for about a week. Then we went on vacation, and he started waking frequently again. So we resumed co-sleeping. And now being home for
almost a week, we've been up all night every night, worse than before. I started again with the methods from before, but they are just NOT working. We let R cry it out around 9 months of age because he wouldn't even go to bed in the first place. 45 min the first night, 30
min the second, 10 the third, and done. So, tonight I'm done with C. He's been up 4 times in 3 hrs. I decided to let him cry. After 30 minutes, he's asleep. So, cross your fingers. We'll see how this goes....

9 months

C hit 9 months last week - already! Time is flying! He is on the verge of crawling - he will get on his hands and one knee with the other foot still tucked underneath him and RRRREEEEEAAACCCCHHHH. If he can't reach it, he sits on his butt again, scootches in another direction, then repeats. He manages to move across the room this way, although slowly. He still doesn't sleep through the night consistently, but last week we did some tough love. He had decided he only wanted to sleep with Mommy - something that, while it's sweet, does not allow me to sleep very well. So, I spent one whole evening dedicated to making him sleep in his crib - without crying. Interestingly, the position that works for him has some of the same S's that worked for him when he had colic - side / stomach position, swaddled (or held tightly with mommy's hands), shushing, and sucking on his pacifier. After a week of sleeping in his bed and only waking one time per night, last night he regressed and was up all night. Needless to say, he ended up in my bed for the rest of the night. Sigh. We'll start again tonight. He's also a pro at saying Bye-bye (waving with ba-ba). He was repeating words this weekend - "dag" for dog, and "at" for cat. And he's getting the idea of "more" and "all done" - he waves his hands in front of himself (almost like he's going to clap) for more, and waves his arms above his head when he's done (kinda like "pick me up"). He also has a "you hurt my feelings" cry when he doesn't get what he wants. This weekend he wanted in the pool with big brother and cried when I carried him over to the patio area. Took me a while to figure out what he wanted, but as we walked back to the pool, he stopped crying. This is definitely a child who knows what he wants. lol.


R on the other hand has grown like a weed this summer, but still has managed to stay practically the same weight. lol. He has improved on his bike riding and is getting stronger at swimming. Still needs lots of supervision though. He's off visiting his grandma this week (second trip away from home this summer) and will only talk on the phone if he's talking to C. These boys definitely have a special bond, and I hope it is lifelong. He has such a great vocabulary, and the way he says things can be such a riot. For example, this weekend we were at a pool party. About 10 minutes after he went pee, he said, "Mommy, I need to use the potty!" "Pee or poo?" I asked, knowing that he just went. "Nevermind," he replied. Uh, oh, I thought. I hope he didn't pee in the pool. I asked him to get out and come talk to me. "Why nevermind?" "I said nevermind because, well, actually, it was just a fart." The way he said that was just so funny! I can only imagine the conversations these boys are going to be having so very soon. :)

R stats

Since R is at Grandma E's house and we're expecting our dining set to be delivered this week, it was the weekend to finally get the dining room cleaned out. In a box I found an old planner with some "stats" written around R's first bday. So, for history's sake:

Easter seals eval Oct 29, 2007 - at 1 day under 13 months old

crawling on Nov 1 - right at 13 months

pulling up on Nov 2 - still 13 months

said "fish" on Nov 26 - just before 14 months

said "banana" on Dec 5 - at 14 months

drinks from straw on Dec 11 - my bday, 14 months old

does "prayer hands" on Dec 16 - 14.5 months old

walking at 16 months

And this week, C figured out bye-bye. I showed up at daycare to pick him up. He gave me a big hug, then a kiss (the open-mouthed slobbery kind), then turned to his teacher and waved, saying "ba, ba". He got it! So proud. Time to step up the signing! :)

8 months - written 7/11/11

C still isn't crawling, though perhaps pondering it. He's
very observant, sometimes to the detriment of nursing. He's also very
good at grabbing and manipulating objects, including little food
puffs. He will sit and play with a bucket of toys for 20-60 minutes.
He also doesn't have any teeth yet, despite all the gnawing and
drooling. Lol. He has started waving bye-bye over the last 2 weeks.
And his favorite phrase is "da dee ba ba". He cracks up when we say it
back to him. And he's still a pincher. We've had to cry it out a
couple of times because he prefers to sleep with mommy (or while being
held) and sometimes R needs some help too. It's been really quick
though, like 2-3 minutes, and he's out. I'm still not a huge fan, but
he needs to sleep without us. Needless to say I'm still not sleeping
through the night. :(

Meanwhile, R was such a big boy yesterday. He volunteered to help me
at the grocery store, and I'm happy to report he asked for only one
junk food - fruit snacks. Otherwise he was asking for pears, cherries,
watermelon, peaches, fresh corn, fish, and frozen broccoli. And after
an hour and a half, he was still helping and politely asking for his
buddy bucks. What a big boy! And the best part was when he told me he
enjoyed spending time with me. Be still my heart! :)

Chicago

At the ripe age of 8 months, C has now been on his first plan trip. We headed to Chicago for the fourth and to see our rescheduled U2 concert. We had bought these concert tickets in Nov 2009 for July 2010 to celebrate my residency graduation and a babymoon of sorts. However, Bono hurt himself and the concert had to be rescheduled for this July. And since we were bringing the boys (no longer a babymoon since we brought the baby...lol), we turned it into a longer family vacation. And we had the most awesome tour guide - Rose! Here's a brief recap of the activities.

Sat, July 2 - fly in, navigate the El system (trains and buses), had some Chicago dogs, explore the Field Museum where Sue the T-rex lives, and had a picnic of Chicago stuffed pizza on the beach of Lake Michigan.

Sun, July 3 - watched Cubs vs White Sox game at Wrigley Field (Cubs won), checked out Taste of Chicago in Grant Park and saw the Buckingham (aka Married with Children) fountain, walked around Millennium Park where "the bean" sits, grabbed some burgers and ate them at Rose's rooftop pool. Matt also squeezed in two photography sessions - morning at the Planetarium and nighttime at the John Hancock.

Mon, July 4 - Willis (aka Sears) tower, lunch at the Walnut room of Macy's (aka Marshall Fields), naptime (at R's request), then headed out to Navy Pier for lunch at Harry Cary's Tavern and an architecture cruise that ended with fireworks over the lake.

Tues, July 5 - explored the Museum of Science and Industry (including a tour on the U505), then left the boys with Rose for the U2 concert (inner circle AGAIN!). After the concert we walked the 3 miles back to Rose's place - straight up Michigan Avenue.

And now we're home. Whew - what a weekend! Overall, a very nice vacation. And it was nice that it wasn't QUITE as hot there as it was here. :)

Go Cubs!

Nighttime

After staying up to watch fireworks on the fourth and getting home late, R didn't go to bed until almost midnight that night. Upon awakening at 8 am the next morning, he said, "That was quick!" "What was?" I asked. "Nighttime." LOL

The old apartment

Well, the old house. Makes feel sad to be here. First, there's sooo many memories we made here, so much work we did, so much love. And knowing we won't make anymore makes me sad. It's also sad to see it with the floor all ripped up, awaiting repairs. Won't be the same house once that's done. It seems so small, too, now. But I remember how large it felt when we first moved in. I wish I just felt happy to remember life here, but today I'm sad that the time has ended....

Love

Yesterday on the way to camp, R suddenly says, "Mom, I love you!". I told him I loved him too. Then he asks if I know why he loves me. I asked why. "Because you bought me cinnamon pop tarts.". Lol. :)

Swimming!

R finally got all the pieces together tonight and actually swam! Face underwater, arms paddling, and feet kicking! He was just as excited as we were. Gone is the kid of last summer who was afraid of the water. It should be a fun summer! Oh, and C likes to be in the water too. Slashing and floating around. My two fish. :)

Old

This morning, R was talking about how it makes him mad when we leave the house without him because he doesn't want to be alone. While this is never happened, so I'm not sure why it would concern him, I wanted to reassure him. I told him, "Maybe when you're 10 or something you can stay by yourself, but not when you're four. I promise we won't leave you alone." To which he replied, "Wow. Ten. That's old! I don't want to be 10 because I don't want to be old." LOL. Too cute. I'll ask him again when he's 10.

Pete and Repete

The boys definitely are very similar, especially in appearance. Of course, they are two separate kids, but some of their differences are more subtle. For example, we're reusing most of R's clothing. It seems he jumped from the 3-6 month stuff to the 9-12 month stuff. There are a few things in between, but not much. So now that C is getting out of the 3-6 month stuff, I moved on to what we had - 9-12 month. I guess R was shorter and fatter at this age because this stuff does NOT fit C. He appears to be longer but skinnier. The 9-12 month stuff just hangs on him. Poor kid. But I guess that's one way to ensure he gets new stuff. HAHA.
Another difference is interest in toys. R liked playing, but not like C does. This kid will play with his toys for almost 30 minutes and be perfectly happy - especially if I am around in eye-sight. R just wanted to be around whomever, but wanted to be entertained. And R seemed to like music more than C does.
C also tends to fever easier. R could be very sick and never run a fever - great for having to go to daycare. C on the other hand seems to fever every couple of weeks, but not seem sick hardly at all. Except with shots - he does not fever after those. Go figure. I'm just glad C is old enough for ibuprofen because tylenol doesn't seem to do much for him. Whereas R was fine with just a little tylenol.
So, nothing earth-shattering, but little things I'll want to remember later. :)

God working through my child

After staying out late Saturday night at the wedding of one of my friends, I had already decided that church was not going to be a priority this weekend. I managed to get to bed around 1 am, expecting C to be up for his feeding in 2-3 hours. I was surprised when I didn't awaken until 7 am hearing both boys up and about. Well, C was playing in his crib but starting to fuss in hunger, and R was up getting himself ready. Before I could make it upstairs, R bursts into my room all dressed in his church clothes. "C'mon Mom, get ready for church!" This was definitely God working through R. Here I was, not planning on going, but here was my 4-year-old, asking to go. No, not asking; demanding. I was not getting dressed fast enough. So, I fed C, got dressed, dragged hubby out of bed, and we made it to 8 am mass!!!! Usually we're lucky to make it to 10 am mass. lol. Once we got there, R was his usual self asking when it was going to be over. haha. But a special blessing definitely goes to him for getting us to church in the first place. :)

7 Months

C has made it to the 7 month mark! He's now a pro at sitting up, though it was funny how it happened almost over night - lots of wobbles and falling over, now basically none unless he's reaching for a toy. Loving the toys still. And LOVES to eat. Even with all the eating, I'm still overproducing, so last week I donated some to another mommy - what a precious little girl! And the freezer is still full at this point. lol. But back to Mr. C. Still no teeth, and still waking up at 3-4 am for a feeding. Funny how he'll eat really well then and then not be hungry again until almost 8 am. Makes it hard to get a feeding in him before taking off for the morning, but oh well. He stayed with someone other than family or daycare this weekend and did really well. Such a big boy! Oh, he's also started blowing raspberries alot. And I'm working on getting him to clap - he gets so excited when I do it, but hasn't copied yet. Last night we went swimming for the first time, and he loved it! Splashing with his hands, floating on his back (with mommy's help), and even putting his face in the water once without crying. lol.

R spent last week in daycare since school released the week before but then summer camp didn't start until today. While he was okay with going, he's definitely very excited about getting back to his school for camp. The kids at daycare were just learning their letters and tracing them on worksheets. R informed me that, "they're like little ones" and "I had to help them trace their letters." R is reading and writing, so I think he was a bit bored. But he did a good job taking it in stride. Just wish I could find something more stimulating for him for the end of the summer after summer camp.

Babbles

Just when I was thinking C was going to be late on his language - he took off!!! I didn't hear even the beginning of a babble until Fri night in the car - then it was Bababamamambabaagoo sounds all the way home! lol. He talked all weekend too! He also set a new personal sitting up record of about 2 minutes this weekend. Making progress! He loves eating, but not the "garden variety" of veggies. I've tried those like 3 times, and he spits them out every time.

Meanwhile, R has finished t-ball season. He is sad it is over and says he would rather play tball than soccer. I'm glad the season finished just as the really hot, humid weather is starting. Next up - swim lessons! School finishes this week, which makes me realize that summer is here! Eek!

6 months!

Time sure is flying!

C is 6 months and 1 week now. This kid loves to eat! They feed him breakfast and lunch at daycare, and then we try to do some at dinner as well. But he hasn't decreased his milk intake at all. But he has chunked up again - growth spurt! lol. He is getting so much stronger - sitting unsupported for up to a minute or so, but then turning like he's going to take off crawling. Much more motivated to move than his big brother was at this age. Also really likes toys, so maybe he's going to grow up to do something with his hands. lol. Who knows. Still waking 1-2 times per night for nursing, but goes to sleep well and is a very happy baby overall. Loves to cuddle with Mom though. He gives great hugs too. Very social baby.

R is still enjoying tball, but he's got stuff this summer that he's really looking forward to. Also getting to play with the boys across the street pretty often, so he really enjoys that. Playing with them is a bigger motivator for getting chores done than stars or toys or anything else. The older boy across the street is really into animals, and R is really into dinosaurs, so they have some pretty good converstations. R has also started bringing home his reading folder, so we have homework every night now. He is so excited about reading! I went to turn out his light last night and he was still up reading - in the near dark! lol.

Both boys crack me up daily. I really need to get on here more often to record what they say. For example, on the way to school this morning, R wanted to play "looking for animals". Then he pretended to be a "kikichu" or something, which was a small monkey who was nocturnal, loved pears, and dug underground. lol. Kinda odd, but very creative.

Well, that's it for now. Hopefully more to come soon.

5 months!

I'm sad to see that it's been almost exactly a month since I've blogged. However, it has been one VERY BUSY month! We have moved homes, I've started working this week, R started t-ball practice and then games, and we as a family have been doing all the usual things as well.

C is now 5 months old and growing so very quickly! He still doesn't like to roll (and hasn't done that much of it), but is learning to scoot while on his back. He makes it pretty far too! His sitting skills are improving as well, and he has done the tripod position a couple of times recently. He knows the universal sign for "pick me up" - arms up when someone walks near him. He also looks for his big brother in the carseat every time he gets in the car. He likes to talk and doesn't scream nearly as much now. He has been teething for over a month now, but no sign of those pearly whites except for all the drool. lol. He puts his paci in and out of his mouth by himself, is starting to play with toys (especially the ABC Leap Frog), and LOVES being outside. He's doing great at daycare, though I think he misses Mommy (who wouldn't?!?) because his sleeping has become much more fragmented. At 3.5 months, he would sleep a 5-6 hour stretch, and then another 3-4 hour stretch - I can totally work with that. But then he had a cold, and then a growth spurt, and then we moved, or something. And now that I'm working full time as of this week, he wakes every 1-3 hours all night long. I'm trying the No Cry Sleep Solution, but that requires me to be at least a little awake to comfort him without nursing. And quite frankly, I'm EXHAUSTED! I can barely wake up enough to get upstairs and let him nurse before I fall asleep again. It's just easier. But I know it's not the long-term solution for any of us, so hopefully I can get a little more rest this weekend and start again next week. The other thing that really helped him sleep was being swaddled, but he has out-grown his sleep sack and manages to get his arms out of the swaddle. Hmmmm.... But the biggest new thing happened last night - C had his first rice cereal! We waited a bit longer than with R (an extra month on the cereal), and will not be rushing to other baby food. I'd like to wait until 6 months, but he loved the cereal so much, we may start just shy of the 6 month mark. With each bite, he would open wide just like a baby bird. You'd think he'd done this before. LOL. There's still some tongue thrusting going on, but he's sitting well in the high chair and seems to get it. He likes being with us at the table too and is always grabbing whatever is in my hand. We'll keep playing with it for awhile before it becomes a regular thing.

R is also growing by leaps and bounds too. He's done well with the move, though the day we disassembled all the furniture and the swingset, he had a bit of a meltdown. But after re-assembly, he's been fine. He likes this house better because 1) he has a cool tree to climb, 2) he has boys right across the street to play with, and 3) the drive to and from school is shorter with less traffic. We haven't sold the old house yet, so we'll see what happens when we go to say our final goodbye to the house (which I'm very sad about, though I definitely love our new house). He has finally been allowed to see Star Wars and loves it. He knows the names of the places and characters much better than I do already. He was skipping naps at school so he could do more lessons, but that plus tball has been too much. A sleep-deprived R is not a nice kid. So, we're waiting til next school year to try that again. He has REALLY been enjoying t-ball. He really seems to get it, and tends to pay attention more than he did in soccer. I think some of it is just having had the experience of playing a sport before, but he really seems to like baseball and tries really hard. I'm glad he's enjoying it. We're trying to figure out a new way to motivate him - pebbles just aren't as exciting, and quite frankly there are not enough hours in the day to let him watch any TV when he does earn the pebbles. I would like him to take more personal responsibility (like, knowing where he took off his shoes since he no longer puts them by the door like he's supposed to), but he's really pushing his limits and wanting a lot of extra help. I guess all the time spent taking care of the baby is adding up in his mind. But he's still a super creative kid and has decided he wants to be an artist. I told him I needed his help tonight packing his suitcase for an upcoming trip, and he said, "But I'm not a very good packer. I just want to be an artist!". LOL. He also likes listening to the news in the car, and he's really paying attention. He asks questions far beyond his years. And that's us in a nutshell. Just doing the daily juggle while still trying to find time to enjoy each other. The boys are changing so fast. I wish I could slow them down!

Special Delivery

I got a special delivery yesterday -HAHAHAHAHA

Except this is what it really looked like:

A little too big for the box. He's growing so fast! He actually rolled from belly to back on 3/7/11 at 4 months and 5 days old. Instead of having tummy time, we had rolling time. LOL. But he hasn't done it since. Little stinker.

Meanwhile, the other one is reminding me of the joy of being a 4 year old - no matter how much of a hurry we are in (because we're already 30 minutes late leaving for school), it's always exciting to stop and watch the rollie-pollies or pick that dandelion for mom. Reminds me to find the joy and beauty in every moment. :) Thanks, buddy!

Four months!!

Well, C is already four months old. Time sure is flying! He still really likes his hands, especially holding them together (looks like he's either nervous or praying..lol) and chewing on them. He's had two pretty bad colds in the last month. I'm highly suspicious the first one was RSV given the difficulty he had with breathing and the duration of the illness. This last one was just a bad cold - I know because I had it too. We're both finally feeling better today. But, wow, it was a doozy too. I'm glad he's breastfed - imagine how much worse it would be if he wasn't!

Anyway, C still isn't rolling over, but can sit up pretty well with minimal support for awhile. I even put him in the racecar swing last week to swing with big brother and he loved it! I didn't think he would be able to sit in it just yet, but he's totally into it. And while I could technically start feeding him some cereal and other solids, he really doesn't seem interested. He's pretty happy with nursing, so we'll stick with that for now. He takes a bottle at daycare, but not really any other time.

So, that's the quick update. I'll try to get some pics added soon.

Being a Mommy

As I'm doing some spring cleaning today, I find myself asking a question that I never thought I would: Why is there blood on the banister and who's is it?

HAHA

And a note to myself - NEVER buy Walmart paint again. It may be a little cheaper price wise, but it is SO thin it runs down the wall! There. Noted.

Mastering Skills

R has really made some progress this last week. He's mastered two skills that he's been working on. First, he can now swing himself on the swing by pumping his legs. You should see him fly! And because of that, he LOVES going outside to play and swing, without prompting. Yay!

The other skill is shoe tying. He's been getting SO CLOSE for awhile, but this morning he finally got it completely!

C is very close to rolling over (esp when lying on the changing table, of course), but hasn't quite done it. I think there's a little lack of motivation when he doesn't like being on his tummy anyway. lol

Sleepy Time

Not that I really know what that is between an infant and a cough, but R does! Last night, as I was tucking him in, I offered 2 minutes for him to play with his "friends" in bed, since he usually asks. But last night he responded, "No, thanks. I'm really tired and want to go to sleep now. Can you turn out my light?" Awww - such a big boy!

And C is about to graduate from the cradle to the crib. The move was planned for when he started rolling over, but he is getting so wiggly at night after his 3 am feeding that I think I may have to move him this week. With R I was eager to move him to his own room, but for some reason with C I'm trying to delay it as long as possible. Maybe it's because now I know how quickly they grow and really want to enjoy each stage.

Now if I could get a bit more sleep, that would be heavenly.

Mommy failed!

I've always been an over-achiever, and I don't find myself in a failing position often. But this week I have massively failed, and it's only Tuesday.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. I remembered the cards for both boys and helped R decorate his shoe box. But then I let him get himself dressed - in a long sleeve green and blue striped t-shirt. I show up to pick him up and notice ALL of the other kids are in red or pink. Oops - he was supposed to wear a red shirt. Fail #1.

Then he starts telling me about his Valentine's party. And he mentions that he saw his buddy and his buddy brought him a card. Oops - I was supposed to send a card and a treat for the buddy. Fail #2.

Okay. So, today is a new day. Got the lunches made, R had time to eat breakfast, and we all make it to school and work on time. Score! Then I go to pick R up after school - and notice that his pants are on BACKWARDS! I asked if he had taken off his pants at any point today, and he said no. Then I asked if he knew his pants were on backwards. He said yes, that he tried to twist them around but "they were stuck on the legs so they wouldn't twist". He was unable to tell me when he attempted this maneuver. So then I ask, "So, you've been wearing your pants backwards all day long?" The answer: "I guess so" accompanied by a shrug. Fail #3.

So, despite the fact that R is proficient at dressing himself now, I guess I still have to take a moment, think about if he's wearing the right thing, and make sure it's on properly.

Tomorrow is a new day - let's see what failures appear this time. Hopefully we don't forget his lunch or something. Haha.

Valentines Day

Valentines Day is about love, and I definitely felt loved today.

I got love from my little baby, who smiled at me when he woke up. He also showed his love during nap time. We were playing on the bed, with him sitting on my lap. Suddenly, he got serious and started rubbing both his eyes with his hands. I then laid him down on my chest and asked him if he was tired. He sighed, closed his eyes, and immediately went to sleep. There's something so magical about having a baby sleep on my chest.

I also got love from my big boy, who ran to greet me after school. He showed his love for his brother during our nightly High/Low game. His low was that he didn't get to play with C enough today, and his high was that he got to play with C in the car some. R also made C laugh while I was making R's lunch by jumping around the kitchen like a bunny. I'm so glad they have such a special bond already.

And hubby showed his love by ordering dinner for me so I wouldn't have to cook. It may not sound very romantic, but it was actually very thoughtful. Because I didn't have to cook dinner, I got to take R bike riding, taking the boys to the park after school. I love spending that time with them, and it's good for them as well.

We don't normally celebrate Valentines Day since I think it's a made-up holiday for retailers to make money and teenage girls to feel sorry for themselves. But I have to say this was the best Valentines Day EVER! :)

Hands!

Now that C is 3 months old, he is fascinated by his hands. He's really into grabbing things (including Mommy's hair and Daddy's chest hair), hitting his dangling toys (or his big brother who gets too close), sucking on them (and accidentally gagging on his fingers), and looking at them. They are just fascinating!

C's really developing fast and is so much fun to play with. Our only problem is the fact that he doesn't want to take the bottle. It didn't help that he got sick for the two weeks prior to starting daycare, and then this weekend he hit a growth spurt and has been cluster feeding. So, we haven't really been able to "practice" with the bottle at home. It makes us sad that he gets so hungry during the day. Fortunately, I haven't had to work a full day of work yet, so he hasn't starved, but I'm hoping the catches the hang of it soon. It took a couple of weeks of coaxing to take the pacifier, so hopefully we'll have success soon.

It's my Mommy!!

Today was C's first day of daycare. Eek! Fortunately, it was just for a few hours to get him used to it. Of course, as expected, he refused the bottle and just waited for my return to eat. It's going to be a difficult couple of weeks, but I'm sure he'll eventually come around. He did with the pacifier.

But the awesome part was when he saw me. He immediately smiled and started "talking" to me. I picked him up, and he smiled more. Then he started diving for my chest. lol.

It's so amazing how much he has changed and grown over the almost 3 months. He doesn't like to snuggle as much as he used to, but he does respond to me more. Part of me already misses the newborn, and yet I'm so excited to see him learning new things. You'd think it was my first kid. lol.

Keep your fingers crossed that he keeps doing well. It's tough enough on me without him having a hard time. :)

Grandparents

R has got this grandparent thing figured out. He was asking about the R2D2 toy at my parents' house tonight and said he really wanted to go visit "for awhile". I reassured him that he would get to go for a whole week to each grandparents house during the summer. His response? "YES!!!" accompanied by a fist pump. Too smart, that one.

My Little Man

R is all grown up at the ripe age of 4. He got up this morning, made his on toast, cleared his dishes, then washed up in the restroom (including brushing his teeth). He then disappeared upstairs for awhile, only to reappear clothed with plans to go ride his bike. After he and Daddy rode to the park and back, it was time for lunch. He specifically requested brats (Daddy's fav), which he ate without difficulty. At the end of lunch, he announced he was tired and was going up to his bed for a rest. Daddy told him that he would let R know when rest time was over. R replied, "No, I'll wake myself up, thanks." LOL TOO CUTE! Hope he's having a good nap!

Growing Boys

A few weeks ago I noticed R's pants that had fit were all high-waters. So, we headed over to the wall and measured - he grew an inch in about 6 weeks! He's also losing that baby look in his face very quickly. Who is this kid and what did you do to my baby?

Earlier this week, C had his two month check up. From 8 lbs even at birth, to almost 10 lbs at 2 weeks, and now up to 13 lbs 1 oz at 2 months. No worries about this kid eating enough! We're already in 3-6 month clothing and about to go up to size 2 diapers. We've also had our first sleeping through the night earlier this week. Yay! Now hopefully it can become a more regular activity.

They grow up so fast.

Turf War

So, there's been two conflicts so far between the boys. Well, really between R and Mommy since I'm the one making the changes. First, I used the doggie blanket on C. I was out of blankets, and thought that since R was such a big boy and it didn't fit him anymore, I could "borrow" it. Well, I was wrong - R had a fit! So, I washed it and returned it to it's rightful owner. lol

The second was about a picture frame. There has been a frame next to the couch for YEARS with a picture of R smiling when he was about 2 days old. Well, now that it's almost a month after taking our Christmas pictures, I thought I'd put some up around the house. Of course these are the first ones of C, and before there were plenty of R, so I chose to remove some of the older ones of R and let C have some up of him. Including this particular picture. Well, an hour after I get it in there, R comes home from school and notices IMMEDIATELY. And was VERY upset. So, now I have to find another frame for C's picture because R is still mad.

I guess the good news is he's mad at me and not C. :)

Belly Laughs

Previously, C would only really laugh when he was sleeping. Not sure what he was dreaming about, but it was funny! Over the past few days, he's been laughing when awake in response to us. It's been so fun! He really laughs when hubby laughs. And when C laughs, it makes me and R laugh. R and I just feed off each other until we're both out of breath from laughing so hard. So C's laughing is really a good thing for all of us. Fun!

Christmas

R was VERY into Christmas this year, both the Jesus part and the Santa part. It's nice that he goes to Catholic school to help reinforce the religious aspects. His wish list started getting ridiculously long, so I told him he had to pick three things. He stuck with kitchen, grocery store, and guitar without fail. Until Christmas Eve that is. Then he decided he still really wanted the guitar but also wanted Hiccup from how to train your dragon, James the train, and something else. Not only was it frustrating that he changed his mind, but we had put in the biggest effort getting the kitchen. The day we went to get it from Toys R Us, they were sold out. Shipping would have been too much. Luckily, Grandma found it in Houston. So on our way across the state, we had to stop and pick it up, taking up 1/2 of the SUV. Then we had to assemble it for Christmas so that we could DIS-assemble to take it him. Whew! So when he said he didn't want it anymore, I was crushed. I told him Santa may not work that fast, and he should be happy with what he gets. After bed, there was a mad dash to Walmart before it closed to the get coveted guitar.

Christmas morning was a HUGE success! R was so excited about the kitchen he was speechless. And when he opened the guitar, he did a little flip / dance thing. He even said "My grocery store!" when he opened the food to go in the kitchen. Yay!!

C, on the other hand, just liked the pretty lights of the tree. And big brother got to open all of C's presents, which was fun for R. Next year will definitely be more exciting for C. :)

Milestones

Now that C is 2 months old, we're hitting some more milestones. His head control is much better, and he can even hold his torso upright for a little while. He loves to smile, and he has "conversations" with us regularly. He also loves hearing Hubby laugh as that will always make him smile. His biggest tickle spot seems to be under his armpits. And C will sometimes turn his head to "kiss" me when I'm covering him with kisses. He also let's me know when he's hungry by going "huh huh uh uh" like beevis and butthead used to do. Still not a fan of tummy time but manages to move himself on his back just by kicking and wiggling.

R has reached a new milestone as well. It's called being a smarty-pants. :). The other night at dinner, I told him to "eat the entire plate". So he picks up the plate, bites on the edge of it, and says "like this, mommy?". And then giggles. Forget about keeping a straight face. Lol

They're growing up too fast! :)