I have so many things to post about, but I will start with this:
No one told me that motherhood would ruin my toes. Seriously, do all two year olds spend the day stepping on their mother's toes? All day long? Do those two year olds where cowboy boots too?
I was reading a book about discipline the other day. I was skimming along through the pages until I was mysteriously drawn to one paragraph that actually talked about what to do when your child is stepping on your toes.
Before I go on, can we all just agree that this is one thorough book?
The book tells me that if my child is stepping on my toes, I shouldn't say, "Ow! Hey! You're stepping on my toe!" Instead I should say, calmly, "My toe hurts." Then my child will look down, realize he is stepping on my toe, and lift his foot off of mine.
There is no paragraph that tells me what to do when my son looks up at me and smiles - and just keeps standing there, right there on my toe.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
One Month
Happy Birthday, Kai! Today you turned one month old.
I'm finding it difficult to know what to tell you about these last 30 days. I haven't had the time I'd like to sit and admire your perfect fingernails, or your blond eyebrows, or your sweet little nose. If I'm lucky I have one or two opportunities a day to just sit and hold you and let myself sink into that beautiful-baby-oblivion. I could sit and stare at you all day, except I can't.
I can't because you have a two year old brother who needs to be entertained and admired and admonished and assured that he hasn't been replaced by you, the cutest baby on the block. When I'm with you I'm also with Jett, and Jett can climb on counters, stand on chairs, unlock doors, and throw hard toys. So I'm a bit distracted.
I hate being distracted when I'm with you. What I want is to spend all day in bed with you, just looking in to your eyes and learning about who you are. I want to examine your little ears and determine once and for all if one is rounder than the other one. I want to see if you will still wrinkle your little nose when I touch it with two fingers - but not if I touch it with one. I want to bring you into the bath with me again like I did the other night, and hold you on your back in the water while we gaze in to each other's eyes. I want to again stare in wonder at the way your hair moves in to tight little curls when it's wet.
Instead I walk around the house while you are breastfeeding. I hold on to you with one arm and help Jett pour his milk with my free hand. I rock you with one hand and buckle Jett's sandal with the other hand (thank goodness for velcro buckles). I lay you down in the pack-n-play or set you in the swing and then entice Jett to play near you so I can rub your belly while I push Jett's cars around the floor.
Thankfully Jett is usually game. He loves you. He kisses you goodnight every night, and lays his head in your lap - his way of hugging you. He does this without prompting. When I walk in his room in the morning with you in my arms, he says his usual, "Oh Momma!" and then says, "Oh Baby!" and reaches out for you so he can kiss you on the cheek and pat you on the head. He's very gentle.
Meanwhile, you don't seem to be holding my divided attention against me. You've been a pretty easy baby so far, full of smiles and patience. You've been very go-with-the-flow too, and we've gone a lot of places. Already you've been to a museum, to a number of parks, a conservatory, a restaurant, millennium park, our neighborhood pool, stores, a wiggles worm class, gymboree, and on a road trip to Michigan. You've seen more Chicago sights than I did the first month I lived here.
The parks are perhaps our biggest accomplishment/adventure. I carry you in a sling in order to keep up with Jett. With you in the sling we climb up the playground equipment and slide down the slides, lift Jett in and out of swings, and struggle with him when it's time to get in the stroller. We sweat through our shirts on to each other. Sometimes I breastfeed you in the sling, and while I feel incredibly kick-ass to have figured out how to nurse discreetly in the sling while sliding down a slide, I know that really it's all up to you, and I'm thankful for your ability to literally hang in there.
So keep hanging in there, Kai. I may only have one hand on you at a time, but I'll do my best not to let you down.
Happy Birthday easy-going baby. We love you.
I'm finding it difficult to know what to tell you about these last 30 days. I haven't had the time I'd like to sit and admire your perfect fingernails, or your blond eyebrows, or your sweet little nose. If I'm lucky I have one or two opportunities a day to just sit and hold you and let myself sink into that beautiful-baby-oblivion. I could sit and stare at you all day, except I can't.
I can't because you have a two year old brother who needs to be entertained and admired and admonished and assured that he hasn't been replaced by you, the cutest baby on the block. When I'm with you I'm also with Jett, and Jett can climb on counters, stand on chairs, unlock doors, and throw hard toys. So I'm a bit distracted.
I hate being distracted when I'm with you. What I want is to spend all day in bed with you, just looking in to your eyes and learning about who you are. I want to examine your little ears and determine once and for all if one is rounder than the other one. I want to see if you will still wrinkle your little nose when I touch it with two fingers - but not if I touch it with one. I want to bring you into the bath with me again like I did the other night, and hold you on your back in the water while we gaze in to each other's eyes. I want to again stare in wonder at the way your hair moves in to tight little curls when it's wet.
Instead I walk around the house while you are breastfeeding. I hold on to you with one arm and help Jett pour his milk with my free hand. I rock you with one hand and buckle Jett's sandal with the other hand (thank goodness for velcro buckles). I lay you down in the pack-n-play or set you in the swing and then entice Jett to play near you so I can rub your belly while I push Jett's cars around the floor.
Thankfully Jett is usually game. He loves you. He kisses you goodnight every night, and lays his head in your lap - his way of hugging you. He does this without prompting. When I walk in his room in the morning with you in my arms, he says his usual, "Oh Momma!" and then says, "Oh Baby!" and reaches out for you so he can kiss you on the cheek and pat you on the head. He's very gentle.
Meanwhile, you don't seem to be holding my divided attention against me. You've been a pretty easy baby so far, full of smiles and patience. You've been very go-with-the-flow too, and we've gone a lot of places. Already you've been to a museum, to a number of parks, a conservatory, a restaurant, millennium park, our neighborhood pool, stores, a wiggles worm class, gymboree, and on a road trip to Michigan. You've seen more Chicago sights than I did the first month I lived here.
The parks are perhaps our biggest accomplishment/adventure. I carry you in a sling in order to keep up with Jett. With you in the sling we climb up the playground equipment and slide down the slides, lift Jett in and out of swings, and struggle with him when it's time to get in the stroller. We sweat through our shirts on to each other. Sometimes I breastfeed you in the sling, and while I feel incredibly kick-ass to have figured out how to nurse discreetly in the sling while sliding down a slide, I know that really it's all up to you, and I'm thankful for your ability to literally hang in there.
So keep hanging in there, Kai. I may only have one hand on you at a time, but I'll do my best not to let you down.
Happy Birthday easy-going baby. We love you.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Two Years
Happy Birthday, Jett! A whole bunch of days ago you turned two years old!
The fact that this birthday post is a week late has everything to do with the fact that these photos were saved on three different cameras and my hands are almost always too full to carry three different cameras over to the computer to upload the photos. Tonight I finally did it and we can now properly commemorate your passage to Two.
Beautiful, Challenging Two.
Our morning started out with a happy little bubble bath, which quickly turned tragic when I wouldn't let you hold my camera.
Thankfully a little after-bath-naked-sprinting cheered you up. Then on to breakfast, where you once again bucked authority by standing in your chair, even though you know that chairs are for sitting.
But then - then! We got ourselves ready and made it to the Children's Museum in time to drive the ambulance and the bus.
The bus! THE BUS! In fact, we never made it past the bus. We spent half an hour at the bus. Other parents looked at me with pity -- not only was I nursing Kai on the CTA, but I was listening to the same three verses of The Wheels on the Bus over and over again, and my kid was insisting that I do the hand motions too.
Thank goodness you got hungry. We met Daddy for lunch and you had your first cheese quesadilla (and later, your first Dots ice cream snack).
Kai was there all along, quiet as a mouse.
I wanted to take a picture of the two of us together, but you insisted on staying two feet away from me every time the camera came out. That's ok. You were just saving me from yet another bad hair day caught on camera.
Later that evening, we had a party! For you! With cake! A special cake. Specifically, a yellow cake with vanilla frosting in the shape of a truck, which everyone thought was a bus. I don't know why Daddy and Grammy and Aunt Jenny and Uncle Brian thought it was a bus. My gummy-worm trim and sprinkle-windows clearly outlined the features of a truck. No matter. You didn't care what it looked like. You just loved it no matter what.
And we love you. Happy Birthday, Sweet Jett. Now you are two.
The fact that this birthday post is a week late has everything to do with the fact that these photos were saved on three different cameras and my hands are almost always too full to carry three different cameras over to the computer to upload the photos. Tonight I finally did it and we can now properly commemorate your passage to Two.
Beautiful, Challenging Two.
Our morning started out with a happy little bubble bath, which quickly turned tragic when I wouldn't let you hold my camera.
Thankfully a little after-bath-naked-sprinting cheered you up. Then on to breakfast, where you once again bucked authority by standing in your chair, even though you know that chairs are for sitting.
But then - then! We got ourselves ready and made it to the Children's Museum in time to drive the ambulance and the bus.
The bus! THE BUS! In fact, we never made it past the bus. We spent half an hour at the bus. Other parents looked at me with pity -- not only was I nursing Kai on the CTA, but I was listening to the same three verses of The Wheels on the Bus over and over again, and my kid was insisting that I do the hand motions too.
Thank goodness you got hungry. We met Daddy for lunch and you had your first cheese quesadilla (and later, your first Dots ice cream snack).
Kai was there all along, quiet as a mouse.
I wanted to take a picture of the two of us together, but you insisted on staying two feet away from me every time the camera came out. That's ok. You were just saving me from yet another bad hair day caught on camera.
Later that evening, we had a party! For you! With cake! A special cake. Specifically, a yellow cake with vanilla frosting in the shape of a truck, which everyone thought was a bus. I don't know why Daddy and Grammy and Aunt Jenny and Uncle Brian thought it was a bus. My gummy-worm trim and sprinkle-windows clearly outlined the features of a truck. No matter. You didn't care what it looked like. You just loved it no matter what.
And we love you. Happy Birthday, Sweet Jett. Now you are two.
Monday, June 16, 2008
What We've Learned in the Last Three Weeks
1. Jett can climb out of his crib.
2. Charlie has superman like reflexes when Jett climbs out of his crib.
3. Jett can climb on to his changing table and we have not yet bolted it to the wall.
4. Jett can push a stool over to the kitchen counter to climb on top of it.
5. Jett knows how to make toast.
6. Jett can unlock the deadbolt on our front door.
7. He has not yet realized there is a deadbolt on the back door.
8. With supervision, Jett can change Kai's diaper (yay)!
2. Charlie has superman like reflexes when Jett climbs out of his crib.
3. Jett can climb on to his changing table and we have not yet bolted it to the wall.
4. Jett can push a stool over to the kitchen counter to climb on top of it.
5. Jett knows how to make toast.
6. Jett can unlock the deadbolt on our front door.
7. He has not yet realized there is a deadbolt on the back door.
8. With supervision, Jett can change Kai's diaper (yay)!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Growing
This one finally made it above the tenth percentile in weight...
and this little piggy now weighs over 10 pounds!
Nice growing, boys!
and this little piggy now weighs over 10 pounds!
Nice growing, boys!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Boys on the Couch
Charlie went back to work on Friday. The day went fine, but we were both nervous about it. Our goal this week was that I would make it through the week without crying. It's just that so soon after pregnancy you never know what your hormones are going to do to you. And sometimes Jett cries when he wants more attention than I can give him that minute, and sometimes both boys are crying at once and it's hard to stay dry-eyed when everyone around you is in tears. But so far, so good.
Today in particular was a great day. Jett, Kai and I made it out of the house by 11:30. Better yet, we walked to the park in our new stroller. (Our home owner's insurance replaced the stroller that was stolen).
Actually on the way to the park, and while at the park, I carried Kai in a sling, which promptly put him to sleep. This totally contributed to our successful morning in that if Kai is sleeping he isn't nursing. It's pretty challenging to nurse Kai at the park and keep up with Jett. I know, because I did that yesterday, but at a smaller park, where I could keep an eye on him from one bench.
Today was different because we were at the big park. The main park. The park where a kid could get hurt, or on a really bad day, maybe even lost, and I wasn't sure how I was going to manage two kids at this park. It's ridiculous; I've traveled to all sorts of challenging places, yet this second successful trip to the park is what convinces me that I can go anywhere.
When we left the park I put Kai in the stroller, and he was still sleeping, so we went out for lunch. Jett sat in his seat. He ate all of his food. He washed is hands before eating and after eating, and didn't ask to play in the water longer than necessary. It's really these small victories that make the day - he let me dry his hands. He didn't touch the toilet.
When we got home Jett napped for over two hours and I remembered to put dinner in the oven.
Then after dinner I was treated to this.
It was a good day.
Today in particular was a great day. Jett, Kai and I made it out of the house by 11:30. Better yet, we walked to the park in our new stroller. (Our home owner's insurance replaced the stroller that was stolen).
Actually on the way to the park, and while at the park, I carried Kai in a sling, which promptly put him to sleep. This totally contributed to our successful morning in that if Kai is sleeping he isn't nursing. It's pretty challenging to nurse Kai at the park and keep up with Jett. I know, because I did that yesterday, but at a smaller park, where I could keep an eye on him from one bench.
Today was different because we were at the big park. The main park. The park where a kid could get hurt, or on a really bad day, maybe even lost, and I wasn't sure how I was going to manage two kids at this park. It's ridiculous; I've traveled to all sorts of challenging places, yet this second successful trip to the park is what convinces me that I can go anywhere.
When we left the park I put Kai in the stroller, and he was still sleeping, so we went out for lunch. Jett sat in his seat. He ate all of his food. He washed is hands before eating and after eating, and didn't ask to play in the water longer than necessary. It's really these small victories that make the day - he let me dry his hands. He didn't touch the toilet.
When we got home Jett napped for over two hours and I remembered to put dinner in the oven.
Then after dinner I was treated to this.
It was a good day.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
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