So I took the boys to Panera for lunch this afternoon after their doctor appointment. While eating, Ben was yammering on about football this and football that. (his latest and greatest full-on obsession... JOY!) Simon worked diligently on his grilled cheese lunch until there was a pause in the (one-sided) conversation and then said:
"So, how about we talk about grilled cheese?"
Thursday, December 30, 2010
This Makes me Smile. ;)
I love the stoic expression his face the entire time. This is what I get basically ANY time I point a camera at him. He'll be smiling and laughing, bring out the camera and *wham* blank stare.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Binkies and Drinkies...
Since we have no place to go this week, I'm doing a little experimenting on Jonathan. You probably know from reading here that I'm not above a little trial and error on my children to see what works.
Anyway, he's a crappy sleeper. Have I mentioned that lately? C-R-A-P-P-Y. I looked back at my blog from when Ben was the same age and, apparently, he was a similarly crappy sleeper. It's funny how you block all this out as the years go by. I knew Ben didn't sleep through the night until he was 9 months old, but I thought we were getting at least long stretches by now. Apparently, that was not the case.
The common thread, other than shared crappy sleep genes, is the pacifier. Yesterday, I toyed with the idea of taking it away, which I still might try... but not until a weekend when I can reclaim a little of the inevitable lost sleep that will occur for a day or two when it disappears. I'm not sure that's the problem though because Jonathan spits it out when he falls asleep and always stays asleep. Maybe it's just when he wakes up without it in that he can't resettle himself? I dunno.. if that's the case, and we don't wean him off of it now, we may as well buckle down for bad sleep until he can find it and replace it himself. All the books say four months is a good time to take away a sleep crutch because they are adaptable... as we learned with Ben, they are not so adaptable down the road. So we'll see what happens with that... not sure if I'll be able to actually pull the plug on the "plug", so to speak... but it'd be nice.
Otherwise, I'd say maybe he needs to eat more? But I'm not sure about that either because no matter what I do, I can't get him to take more than 30 ounces in 24 hours. (which is actually a decent number, and he spits up a ton when you overload him, so I hesitate to push TOO much more milk into him)
Yesterday, I did try upping his bottles from 4 ounces to 6, hoping to load him up during the day and maybe he'd sleep longer at night. I was hopeful because I had him at 23 ounces at bedtime... he ate another five between then and 12:30 and that's ALL he would eat until 7 this morning. So me thinks the jig is up on that. He is NOT really hungry at night, at least not after a certain point. (sigh) But after going to bed at 7, he woke up at 9:30, 11:30, 1:30 and then 4:30. Bleh. Maybe solids will be the key? But honestly, I'm not in a hurry to start food because our morning routine is chaos as it is... also, I am not anxious for the smelly poop to begin. LOL. Plus, as I recall, food didn't do much for Ben's nighttime sleep anyway.
My bottle experiment wasn't a total loss though because I did learn that he's not ready for bottles any bigger than 4.5 - 5 ounces. I never could get him to finish a 6-ouncer in one sitting... it took hours.
So yeah, all that to say, I am at a loss. I know by the time he's a year, this will be a distant memory and he'll be a great sleeper like the other two are now... but in the meantime... OY. I'm tired.
Anyway, he's a crappy sleeper. Have I mentioned that lately? C-R-A-P-P-Y. I looked back at my blog from when Ben was the same age and, apparently, he was a similarly crappy sleeper. It's funny how you block all this out as the years go by. I knew Ben didn't sleep through the night until he was 9 months old, but I thought we were getting at least long stretches by now. Apparently, that was not the case.
The common thread, other than shared crappy sleep genes, is the pacifier. Yesterday, I toyed with the idea of taking it away, which I still might try... but not until a weekend when I can reclaim a little of the inevitable lost sleep that will occur for a day or two when it disappears. I'm not sure that's the problem though because Jonathan spits it out when he falls asleep and always stays asleep. Maybe it's just when he wakes up without it in that he can't resettle himself? I dunno.. if that's the case, and we don't wean him off of it now, we may as well buckle down for bad sleep until he can find it and replace it himself. All the books say four months is a good time to take away a sleep crutch because they are adaptable... as we learned with Ben, they are not so adaptable down the road. So we'll see what happens with that... not sure if I'll be able to actually pull the plug on the "plug", so to speak... but it'd be nice.
Otherwise, I'd say maybe he needs to eat more? But I'm not sure about that either because no matter what I do, I can't get him to take more than 30 ounces in 24 hours. (which is actually a decent number, and he spits up a ton when you overload him, so I hesitate to push TOO much more milk into him)
Yesterday, I did try upping his bottles from 4 ounces to 6, hoping to load him up during the day and maybe he'd sleep longer at night. I was hopeful because I had him at 23 ounces at bedtime... he ate another five between then and 12:30 and that's ALL he would eat until 7 this morning. So me thinks the jig is up on that. He is NOT really hungry at night, at least not after a certain point. (sigh) But after going to bed at 7, he woke up at 9:30, 11:30, 1:30 and then 4:30. Bleh. Maybe solids will be the key? But honestly, I'm not in a hurry to start food because our morning routine is chaos as it is... also, I am not anxious for the smelly poop to begin. LOL. Plus, as I recall, food didn't do much for Ben's nighttime sleep anyway.
My bottle experiment wasn't a total loss though because I did learn that he's not ready for bottles any bigger than 4.5 - 5 ounces. I never could get him to finish a 6-ouncer in one sitting... it took hours.
So yeah, all that to say, I am at a loss. I know by the time he's a year, this will be a distant memory and he'll be a great sleeper like the other two are now... but in the meantime... OY. I'm tired.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Four-Month Side-by-Sides...
The official four-month side-by-sides...
And, with their bears. :)
Yes, I had to dress Jonathan in an extremely seasonaly inappropriate outfit. LOL. I've decided to save all of the monthday outfits. I can't remember how long I continued it w/ Simon before I gave up because of the seasonal issue... I think it may have been when I would have had to put him in a Christmas outfit in February. But I'll save all the ones I used, anyway. :o)
And, with their bears. :)
Yes, I had to dress Jonathan in an extremely seasonaly inappropriate outfit. LOL. I've decided to save all of the monthday outfits. I can't remember how long I continued it w/ Simon before I gave up because of the seasonal issue... I think it may have been when I would have had to put him in a Christmas outfit in February. But I'll save all the ones I used, anyway. :o)
The Dichotomy That is My Second Born...
So... Simon...
I worry a lot about Simon. Actually, wait... that's wrong. To be perfectly honest I worry less about Simon himself and more about how he is perceived and reacted to by others.
Twice in the last two weeks, people have used the word "bully" when talking about him and I can't shake my hurt feelings about it. One person being my husband (!) and the other being my father-in-law. This makes me sad... sad that anyone would think of my (our) son in that awful term and throw it out so callously, without realizing the power of such a word, what it really means and that it's not true. (Tom did admit that I was right about this, thankfully)
Have you ever looked up the definition of "bully"? Because I just did... and here's what I found:
Bully: A person who is habitually cruel or overbearing, especially to those younger and weaker
I also think of bullies as heartless and cold -- the kids who go after other kids for no reason. They are the kids who pick fights for no reason, who just push other children around for no reason.
Simon does none of those things.
Simon's issue is that he has a very quick temper and is easily provoked and is loud about it. If he feels like someone is trying to take something that is his or is treading on his territory, he gets defensive and overreacts.
I am not at ALL denying that he overreacts and can be physical about it. We are working very hard over here to help him learn appropriate reactions, to use his words and to help him learn to manage his temper and I feel like we've made some progress lately.
For that reason, I wish people would give him a little grace. He's three. He's a work in progress. (aren't we all?) All kids have their issues and their faults and are not nice sometimes. Ben? He can be quietly mean (usually to Simon) in a very sneaky way sometimes. Simon? Well, the positive is that at least you KNOW when something is going on that you need to intervene with because he NOT sneaky NOR is he quiet about it.
Sadly, because he's usually the one who is demonstrative and loud in an alteraction and because he's BIG, it's ALWAYS assumed HE is the one at fault. He is quickly becoming the family scapegoat. I'll admit, even *I'm* guilty of jumping to the conclusion that an arguement is his fault when probably about half the time? It's not... he was just reacting.
This ALSO makes me extremely sad and worried for him because everyone knows -- the more you continuously label a child the more likely they are to live up to that label. He's no dummy. He'll eventually pick up on the fact that he's known as "the mean one" or "the bad one" or "the problem" and then we'll have an even bigger issue on our hands that will not be solved (as most of the rest of this will) by him just growing out of it and maturing.
So many of his reactions to situations too have to do with being the second born and having an older brother. He has learned he NEEDS to defend his territory here at home. What he hasn't learned yet is that it's not always as necessary to defend things so passionately elsewhere. (much like my husband has had to learn it's not necessary to eat five bowls of cereal anymore like he used to have to do when he lived at home with his brothers because otherwise they'd eat it all)
Simon is a really great kid... he tries to be obedient and to be a good listener (but again, he's THREE), he loves people genuinely and effusively. He thinks about the feelings of others. When you explain to him that he needs to share something, he's usually pretty agreeable, even if his initial reaction it NOT to share. The Simon I see at home most of the time is warm and kind and loving and has a HUGE heart. He really does. I just hope the people in his world don't step on it and kill it.
Thankfully, we do not seem to have much of a problem with his behavior at school. There was one day where I was concerned things were going south, but he turned out to be sick. Haven't had a problem since. From what I know, he listens well the majority of the time and gets along with other kids as well as everyone else. Is he a rigid rule follower like his older brother? NO. But he's not "bad" or "defiant" by any stretch. His temper, reactions and territorialism are just an issue with family and with kids he is very comfortable with who are his age and size.
So this is my plea to to Simon's world -- to my family and to our friends. Please give him a chance, not a label. If you know me at all, you *know* I'm not the parent who looks the other way. I'm the first to jump in and correct things when I know he's at fault... probably more often than I need to. Really, I'm hard enough on him for all of us.
That's all...
Gosh, being a parent is tough stuff sometimes. :(
I worry a lot about Simon. Actually, wait... that's wrong. To be perfectly honest I worry less about Simon himself and more about how he is perceived and reacted to by others.
Twice in the last two weeks, people have used the word "bully" when talking about him and I can't shake my hurt feelings about it. One person being my husband (!) and the other being my father-in-law. This makes me sad... sad that anyone would think of my (our) son in that awful term and throw it out so callously, without realizing the power of such a word, what it really means and that it's not true. (Tom did admit that I was right about this, thankfully)
Have you ever looked up the definition of "bully"? Because I just did... and here's what I found:
Bully: A person who is habitually cruel or overbearing, especially to those younger and weaker
I also think of bullies as heartless and cold -- the kids who go after other kids for no reason. They are the kids who pick fights for no reason, who just push other children around for no reason.
Simon does none of those things.
Simon's issue is that he has a very quick temper and is easily provoked and is loud about it. If he feels like someone is trying to take something that is his or is treading on his territory, he gets defensive and overreacts.
I am not at ALL denying that he overreacts and can be physical about it. We are working very hard over here to help him learn appropriate reactions, to use his words and to help him learn to manage his temper and I feel like we've made some progress lately.
For that reason, I wish people would give him a little grace. He's three. He's a work in progress. (aren't we all?) All kids have their issues and their faults and are not nice sometimes. Ben? He can be quietly mean (usually to Simon) in a very sneaky way sometimes. Simon? Well, the positive is that at least you KNOW when something is going on that you need to intervene with because he NOT sneaky NOR is he quiet about it.
Sadly, because he's usually the one who is demonstrative and loud in an alteraction and because he's BIG, it's ALWAYS assumed HE is the one at fault. He is quickly becoming the family scapegoat. I'll admit, even *I'm* guilty of jumping to the conclusion that an arguement is his fault when probably about half the time? It's not... he was just reacting.
This ALSO makes me extremely sad and worried for him because everyone knows -- the more you continuously label a child the more likely they are to live up to that label. He's no dummy. He'll eventually pick up on the fact that he's known as "the mean one" or "the bad one" or "the problem" and then we'll have an even bigger issue on our hands that will not be solved (as most of the rest of this will) by him just growing out of it and maturing.
So many of his reactions to situations too have to do with being the second born and having an older brother. He has learned he NEEDS to defend his territory here at home. What he hasn't learned yet is that it's not always as necessary to defend things so passionately elsewhere. (much like my husband has had to learn it's not necessary to eat five bowls of cereal anymore like he used to have to do when he lived at home with his brothers because otherwise they'd eat it all)
Simon is a really great kid... he tries to be obedient and to be a good listener (but again, he's THREE), he loves people genuinely and effusively. He thinks about the feelings of others. When you explain to him that he needs to share something, he's usually pretty agreeable, even if his initial reaction it NOT to share. The Simon I see at home most of the time is warm and kind and loving and has a HUGE heart. He really does. I just hope the people in his world don't step on it and kill it.
Thankfully, we do not seem to have much of a problem with his behavior at school. There was one day where I was concerned things were going south, but he turned out to be sick. Haven't had a problem since. From what I know, he listens well the majority of the time and gets along with other kids as well as everyone else. Is he a rigid rule follower like his older brother? NO. But he's not "bad" or "defiant" by any stretch. His temper, reactions and territorialism are just an issue with family and with kids he is very comfortable with who are his age and size.
So this is my plea to to Simon's world -- to my family and to our friends. Please give him a chance, not a label. If you know me at all, you *know* I'm not the parent who looks the other way. I'm the first to jump in and correct things when I know he's at fault... probably more often than I need to. Really, I'm hard enough on him for all of us.
That's all...
Gosh, being a parent is tough stuff sometimes. :(
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Jonathan is Four Months Old!
Dear Jonathan, (a.ka. Jellybean, Jumpin' J, Bellybean, Jellybelly Bean and JJ Jetplane)
I am writing your four-month letter from your bedroom at nearly 1a.m. This is because you are truly the worst sleeper I have ever given birth to. Can we please work on discovering the virtues of long stretches of sleep? Mommy is pretty much over this every 2-3 hours nonsense.
That complaint aside, I do have to say you are pretty much the awesomest baby ever, for reasons I have expounded upon on this blog so many times, the posts need their own "awesomest baby ever" label. Honestly, you are just happy with life. You spend about 95% of your day with a smile/contented look on your face and five percent that you don't, it's usually because mommy or daddy has done something amateurish, like not realized you've barfed all over yourself in your crib and are now rubbing your face in it, or that one of your too-big hats has fallen over your eyes while we're driving. (For what it's worth there are very few things sadder than arriving at our destination after ten minutes of listening to you scream and realizing THIS was the reason... very sorry!) If you get hungry, decide you need your binky or want someone to chat with while we're driving driving, this can also be cause for extremely loud displeasure. I just won't be going on any long road trips by myself with you anytime soon. ;)
You have a fantastic upgrade from our last two babies that I hope isn't just a trial-period feature. You will fall asleep anywhere. It doesn't have to be super-quiet or dark. As long as we have a bottle and a binky, you're good to go. You napped on the couch on Christmas Eve at grandmom's, you nap in your carseat on preschool pickup days, you'll nap in peoples' arms. If this lasts, at least through January, it's going to make doing the parks in DIsney a heck of a lot easier, so let's keep it up, okay? I'm hoping this also means that we won't have to wait until you start giving up naps (two years?!) to be able to do any fun day trips as a family. At any rate, it's nice and we like it. Go you!
You're working your hardest on the next round of milestones. You've become a master of the front to back roll and can almost roll from your back to your front now too! You can also sit up by yourself for short periods of time, figuring out in the last few days that you can use your hands to be more stable. You also still LOVE LOVE LOVE to be held standing. You love it so much that sometimes, I try to sit you down and you refuse to bend your knees. I have a feeling our plane ride for the aforementioned Disney trip may consist a lot of me playing stand-up/sit-down with you for 2-1/2 hours.
Oh and yes, it WILL be me playing stand-up/sit-down for 2-1/2 hours because you've officially entered the I-really-love-mommy-and-only-mommy phase. If you can see me while someone else is holding you you often suddenly miss mommy a WHOLE lot and demand for me to take you back, at which point you will continue to make noise for another ten seconds or so to punish me for daring to have my hands free for a few minutes. Then you settle down and grin smugly at whoever I just rescued you from. As much as I adore you and love holding you I do hope THIS phase passes quickly. :P
You've discovered your hands, previously just blurry things that sometimes waved around in front of your face, are very useful tools for which to grab toys (or my hair). You grab things purposely now and aim for immediately for your mouth.
Oh and the drool. My gosh, the drool. I would be surprised if the next monthly update didn't feature the emergence of a tiny tooth in your mouth. Also supporting this theory is the fact that you spend a good portion of your day with one hand jammed down your throat. The gagging makes us laugh. Sorry about the laughing... but it IS amusing.
Anyway, I think that about covers this month. You've gotten to be quite a lot of fun. :) You've also experienced your first Christmas and I think you approved. :o)
See you next month!
Love,
Mommy
The Four-Month Stats:
15 pounds
23-3/4 - 24 inches (it's hard to stretch you out!)
Size 2 diapers
30 ounces a day, though sometimes on a heavy day, you'll take 32 now... especially since when daddy is home because he thinks everytime you cry, it's time to feed you)
2-3 good naps a day, though some days, you'll still just catnap... no rhyme or reason here
Sleeping through the night? HA! Not even close. Eats twice a night... usually midnight and 3a.m.
Friday, December 24, 2010
6-3/4
(will add more to this and a photo later... )
Three months from seven (!) and here's what he's up to... :) List from 5-3/4 -- copied, pasted, updated and edited where appropriate. :)
Likes: (in no particular order)
Wii games - Backyard Football is his current favorite
Playing football
Didj
math
writing in "digital" (he makes all of his letters square)
Simon (about 70% of the time)
Jonathan (100% of the time, for now)
His cousin, Anastasia (99.9% of the time)
His cousin, Alek (100% of the time, for now)
athletic pants (getting him to wear anything else lately is a battle)
football jerseys (see above about athletic pants)
Basketball
Meat
working in his room at his "desk"
hot chocolate with marshmallows
monthday pics (he reminded me we needed to do this on Christmas Eve several times this month)
Dislikes:
all veggies, especially "wrinkled edamame"
long homework, especially spelling
being woken up for school
Fears:
He says he is afraid of nothing (LOL) I asked him what about going underwater? He said, "I did that last summer!!" Hrm...
New Skills:
writing in digital ;)
Three months from seven (!) and here's what he's up to... :) List from 5-3/4 -- copied, pasted, updated and edited where appropriate. :)
Likes: (in no particular order)
Wii games - Backyard Football is his current favorite
Playing football
Didj
math
writing in "digital" (he makes all of his letters square)
Simon (about 70% of the time)
Jonathan (100% of the time, for now)
His cousin, Anastasia (99.9% of the time)
His cousin, Alek (100% of the time, for now)
athletic pants (getting him to wear anything else lately is a battle)
football jerseys (see above about athletic pants)
Basketball
Meat
working in his room at his "desk"
hot chocolate with marshmallows
monthday pics (he reminded me we needed to do this on Christmas Eve several times this month)
Dislikes:
all veggies, especially "wrinkled edamame"
long homework, especially spelling
being woken up for school
Fears:
He says he is afraid of nothing (LOL) I asked him what about going underwater? He said, "I did that last summer!!" Hrm...
New Skills:
writing in digital ;)
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Last Minute Gift Swap Outs...
Three times now, I have swapped out gifts at the last minute to make sure Santa comes through for the kiddos. Well, actually, the one for Simon I just made sure was covered by someone... so really, it's only two last-minute swapouts and both are Ben's.
He will be getting the Nintendo DS he so desperately wants for Christmas. Tom doesn't actually know this yet and actually, I may get into trouble for this one... LOL. We had several conversations about saving it for his birthday. But, Ben actually climbed up on Santa's lap and requested this. How am I supposed to keep the Santa myth going if Santa doesn't cough up the ONE gift that Ben asked him for? (I'm a little sloppy/half-hearted in the rest of my Santa myth-spinning anyway...not a huge Santa fan... so it's the least I can do)
Anyway, I swapped out the Leapster Explorer I got so I can give him the DS. The Explorer I am going to put away for Simon's birthday or possibly just to pull out later since our Leapster 2 is on its last legs.
I also will be swapping out one other thing and saving it for Ben's birthday because the last two weeks he has also been talking about wanting a very specific Ravens jersey for Christmas. He wrote a letter to Santa and put it on two separate Christmas lists that I found in his room. (sigh) I was going to let this one go and just wait for his birthday, (Santa has already loaded the sleigh, buddy!") but NFL.com was doing an awesome overnight shipping deal today... so my little football fan will be getting his white Joe Flacco jersey after all. Not sure which of his gifts to swap out though. Will have to ponder this tomorrow when I set everything up. Hrm...
Ah, the burden of being "Santa"!
He will be getting the Nintendo DS he so desperately wants for Christmas. Tom doesn't actually know this yet and actually, I may get into trouble for this one... LOL. We had several conversations about saving it for his birthday. But, Ben actually climbed up on Santa's lap and requested this. How am I supposed to keep the Santa myth going if Santa doesn't cough up the ONE gift that Ben asked him for? (I'm a little sloppy/half-hearted in the rest of my Santa myth-spinning anyway...not a huge Santa fan... so it's the least I can do)
Anyway, I swapped out the Leapster Explorer I got so I can give him the DS. The Explorer I am going to put away for Simon's birthday or possibly just to pull out later since our Leapster 2 is on its last legs.
I also will be swapping out one other thing and saving it for Ben's birthday because the last two weeks he has also been talking about wanting a very specific Ravens jersey for Christmas. He wrote a letter to Santa and put it on two separate Christmas lists that I found in his room. (sigh) I was going to let this one go and just wait for his birthday, (Santa has already loaded the sleigh, buddy!") but NFL.com was doing an awesome overnight shipping deal today... so my little football fan will be getting his white Joe Flacco jersey after all. Not sure which of his gifts to swap out though. Will have to ponder this tomorrow when I set everything up. Hrm...
Ah, the burden of being "Santa"!
By the Numbers...
My mother-in-law told me that when her sons were little, she actually kept a graph with their heights and weights on it so she could see all of their various growth curves up against each other. Not that it matters how they measure up to each other in the least... But it IS interesting to see how it looks on paper. I keep track of all that in the baby books anyway (and on here), so I made a graph. It's especially interesting because we've all been wondering whether Jonathan got what we refer to as "Gene Package A" or "Gene Package B" as far as his size is concerned. It's been up in the air since he was born so much bigger than the other two!
To be honest, I've kind of been rooting for Gene Package A (Ben) for two reasons. 1) Simon got way too heavy to carry WAY before he was ready to stop being carried all the time. and 2) Of late, I've been a teeny bit concerned about Simon's eating habits and his rate of weight gain. I definitely need to be more careful with his snacking and such than with Ben... his height/weight ratio is a little upside down at the moment. I know he's still too young to really worry about it much, and that he's built very solidly/big anyway, but I still suspect keeping it in check is something I'll need to work on as he grows. (and yes, I worry just as much about Ben NOT gaining... does a mom ever stop worrying, really?)
Anyway, based on my weight comparison chart, I think we have an answer to our question. Interesting, huh? Haven't finished the length/height one yet... but I already know it's similar. Jonathan is only 23-3/4 inches still... so he's probably going to be a shorty like his eldest brother. Now I have this funny mental image of Simon towering in the middle of his two "little" brothers. ;) Too funny! Genes are so weird.
What's not taken into account is that Jonathan is breastfed, which I know makes a difference in growth. So I guess, in theory, he could totally take off when he starts solids? But my guess is he won't. He feels much more like Ben did as a baby when I pick him up... and his clothes fit the same way they fit Ben. It seemed like Simon was always busting out of onesies and shirts because his shoulders and chest were (are) so broad.
I do wonder though how much of a difference will Jonathan being a decent eater make? (Ben was always so hard to feed, even as an infant) All interesting questions. Gotta love "mom science". ;)
ETA: Not sure why all the month labels didn't show up at the bottom even though all the measurements are there. Weird style thing with the graph, I guess. At four months, Jonathan is 14-1/2 lbs, Ben was 15 lbs. and Simon was 16-1/2 lbs. This was definitely the month where Ben and Simon sort of split off growth-wise, which is why I decided to try the chart this month. LOL.
To be honest, I've kind of been rooting for Gene Package A (Ben) for two reasons. 1) Simon got way too heavy to carry WAY before he was ready to stop being carried all the time. and 2) Of late, I've been a teeny bit concerned about Simon's eating habits and his rate of weight gain. I definitely need to be more careful with his snacking and such than with Ben... his height/weight ratio is a little upside down at the moment. I know he's still too young to really worry about it much, and that he's built very solidly/big anyway, but I still suspect keeping it in check is something I'll need to work on as he grows. (and yes, I worry just as much about Ben NOT gaining... does a mom ever stop worrying, really?)
Anyway, based on my weight comparison chart, I think we have an answer to our question. Interesting, huh? Haven't finished the length/height one yet... but I already know it's similar. Jonathan is only 23-3/4 inches still... so he's probably going to be a shorty like his eldest brother. Now I have this funny mental image of Simon towering in the middle of his two "little" brothers. ;) Too funny! Genes are so weird.
What's not taken into account is that Jonathan is breastfed, which I know makes a difference in growth. So I guess, in theory, he could totally take off when he starts solids? But my guess is he won't. He feels much more like Ben did as a baby when I pick him up... and his clothes fit the same way they fit Ben. It seemed like Simon was always busting out of onesies and shirts because his shoulders and chest were (are) so broad.
I do wonder though how much of a difference will Jonathan being a decent eater make? (Ben was always so hard to feed, even as an infant) All interesting questions. Gotta love "mom science". ;)
ETA: Not sure why all the month labels didn't show up at the bottom even though all the measurements are there. Weird style thing with the graph, I guess. At four months, Jonathan is 14-1/2 lbs, Ben was 15 lbs. and Simon was 16-1/2 lbs. This was definitely the month where Ben and Simon sort of split off growth-wise, which is why I decided to try the chart this month. LOL.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Three-Kid Update...
1) Ben has a perforation in his eardrum. We don't when it happened... except that there was a small one there in August when he last had an ear infection, so it may have just enlarged and never healed up. Apparently when tubes are placed and eventually extruded, they leave a weak spot in the eardrum leaving it extremely vulnerable to future perforation. :( The pediatrician is sending us to our ENT in a week to see if it has started to heal and if not, he'll need surgery to patch it. Fantastic. He also sent us home with antibiotic eardrops to put in Ben's ear twice a day to prevent it from getting infected in the meantime. Let me just tell you how fun THOSE have been to administer. Even better, the biggest symptom of an eardrum perforation is that that when water gets in the ear, it's excruciatingly painful... eardrops = water. Yep. Good times.
2) Otherwise, Ben is well. He's all into football now, much to my chagrin. Tom's enjoying sharing it with him on the weekends though. I think I'd call it his current obsession... although his obsessions as of late haven't been full-on, 24/7 like previous ones. Nevertheless, there is a LOT of football talk in our house these days.
3) Simon had his preschool pageant today and it was as adorable as it was chaotic. He most definitely secured his spot as the family ham. Videos are on Facebook and I'll put them here later as I think they do deserve their own post. ;) He danced and sang and rang his little jingle bell with a ridiculous amount of spirit. TOO cute. :o)
I'm glad he's the performer in the family... I think it will help counteract some of the middle child stuff because honestly, it brings him a TON of attention from everyone. I actually feel a little sorry for Ben because he kind of hangs in the background when Simon is hamming it up. I think he feels a little inferior in this respect... He even said to me the other day, "When it comes to smiling for pictures, Simon is ALWAYS the winner. I don't know how to smile." (and no, he has not heard me say that... the "I don't know how to smile" thing is something he has said of his own accord repeatedly lately...I think he's kind of self-conscious about it) Ben gets SO much attention for other things though... he can let Simon have this. Right? First-borns can't have/be everything!!!
4) Jonathan is a crappy sleeper... perhaps the crappiest sleeper of my three babies. (or maybe I've just blocked out the bad sleeping habits of the other two) Seriously. He is still not sleeping more than 2-3 hours at a time at night. OCCASIONALLY, his first stretch will go from 7-11... but even that isn't very regular. After that, he wakes up at 1, 3 and 4. (or 12, 2 and 4. It stinks. I'm kind of to the point where I may need to start trying a little tough love. We don't do cry it out... I can't stomach it for more than five minutes... but I may need to do some leaving him in the crib while soothing and re-binking from above action. He hasn't been eating much at night lately... so I don't think he's all that hungry. He just wakes up and can't soothe himself back to sleep. I am really longing for a nice 8-hour stretch sometime soon. REALLY. (yawn)
Otherwise, he's my easiest baby ever. I keep joking (sort of) that he's my favorite baby of the three (as babies). I toyed with trying to get my mother-in-law to admit that my youngest brother-in-law was her favorite baby of her three, but thought she might not see the humor in that because she goes to such lengths to NOT favor anyone. Anyway... he's just all around content and easygoing. If Ben had been like this, I might have had Simon about two years sooner. LOL!
Almost ready for Christmas over here... can't wait for the downtime with Tom home and all the boys in one place. :)
2) Otherwise, Ben is well. He's all into football now, much to my chagrin. Tom's enjoying sharing it with him on the weekends though. I think I'd call it his current obsession... although his obsessions as of late haven't been full-on, 24/7 like previous ones. Nevertheless, there is a LOT of football talk in our house these days.
3) Simon had his preschool pageant today and it was as adorable as it was chaotic. He most definitely secured his spot as the family ham. Videos are on Facebook and I'll put them here later as I think they do deserve their own post. ;) He danced and sang and rang his little jingle bell with a ridiculous amount of spirit. TOO cute. :o)
I'm glad he's the performer in the family... I think it will help counteract some of the middle child stuff because honestly, it brings him a TON of attention from everyone. I actually feel a little sorry for Ben because he kind of hangs in the background when Simon is hamming it up. I think he feels a little inferior in this respect... He even said to me the other day, "When it comes to smiling for pictures, Simon is ALWAYS the winner. I don't know how to smile." (and no, he has not heard me say that... the "I don't know how to smile" thing is something he has said of his own accord repeatedly lately...I think he's kind of self-conscious about it) Ben gets SO much attention for other things though... he can let Simon have this. Right? First-borns can't have/be everything!!!
4) Jonathan is a crappy sleeper... perhaps the crappiest sleeper of my three babies. (or maybe I've just blocked out the bad sleeping habits of the other two) Seriously. He is still not sleeping more than 2-3 hours at a time at night. OCCASIONALLY, his first stretch will go from 7-11... but even that isn't very regular. After that, he wakes up at 1, 3 and 4. (or 12, 2 and 4. It stinks. I'm kind of to the point where I may need to start trying a little tough love. We don't do cry it out... I can't stomach it for more than five minutes... but I may need to do some leaving him in the crib while soothing and re-binking from above action. He hasn't been eating much at night lately... so I don't think he's all that hungry. He just wakes up and can't soothe himself back to sleep. I am really longing for a nice 8-hour stretch sometime soon. REALLY. (yawn)
Otherwise, he's my easiest baby ever. I keep joking (sort of) that he's my favorite baby of the three (as babies). I toyed with trying to get my mother-in-law to admit that my youngest brother-in-law was her favorite baby of her three, but thought she might not see the humor in that because she goes to such lengths to NOT favor anyone. Anyway... he's just all around content and easygoing. If Ben had been like this, I might have had Simon about two years sooner. LOL!
Almost ready for Christmas over here... can't wait for the downtime with Tom home and all the boys in one place. :)
Simon the Interpretive Dancer...
I was sitting on the couch Sunday night playing on Facebook or something similarly mindless. Tom and Ben were watching football and Simon was playing with Muppet YouTube videos. All of a sudden, the dancing broke out. I laughed SO hard and knew I needed to get it on video a.s.a.p. ;) Those of you on Facebook have seen these, but I had to make sure they were here for posterity too. :o)
The video he was dancing too is pretty funny in itself. It's this one. Gosh, I love the Swedish Chef!
The video he was dancing too is pretty funny in itself. It's this one. Gosh, I love the Swedish Chef!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Cookie Day: Part Deux...
We had another Cookie Day for the kiddos yesterday at my in-laws' house since my mother-in-law had been sick last week for our other one.
Here are the standard "kids putting way too much stuff on top of sugar cookies" shots --
I think Ben won the award for thickest sugar coating layer.
Jonathan hovered above the action and supervised... weird to think he'll probably be old enough to participate in this next year.
Then it was time for our newer tradition: The decking of the Unbreakables Tree in the basement.
Once upon a time, my inlaws thought it would be fun to let the grandkids help decorate their actual Christmas tree. The one that sits on top of ceramic tile between their kitchen and family room. A nice idea in theory; but a lot of ornaments were destroyed. And so, the Unbreakables Tree was born. The end.
Simon contemplates his ornament placement...
Anastasia hangs one on the oft-neglected back of the tree
Pausing to say, "Cheese." I love how our kids are all so used to/annoyed with/tired of the constant paparazzi whenever they do something that they'll notice someone taking their picture and will actually just start saying, "Cheese!" without even looking up from what they are doing. It's a bonus when I actually get one of them looking at the camera.
Simon and Anastasia choosing ornaments to hang -- where's Ben? Oh, he's nearly seven, don't you know. He lost interest in this project about two minutes in and wanted to watch whatever sport was on the tv in the room at the time. (sigh)
Oh wait, here he is... he made a brief reappearance when he and Anastasia located the beaded garland.
Several spots on the tree looked like this. ;)
Aunt Sarah helping Anastasia fix a hook. Is Anastasia's hair bow driving you insane too looking at these pics? We ALL kept trying to fix it but she wouldn't let us. LOL! Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I slipped it off the pigtail when she walked by me. She turned around and was all, "Hey, wait, where's my bow go?" "Oh look! Here it is! Let me put it back in for you!" ;)
Giving Baby J a kiss on the head -- she proudly told her Uncle Tom - "*I* have a baby too now!! Baby Alek is MY baby!"
Just hanging out with daddy
After Cookie Day, we made a very brief stop at Marc and Krystyna's to see the baby, who is so sweet and yummy and newbornish. Way better than a cookie!
And here's a shot that gave me total deja vu. My poor second and third borns weren't the newest for long. I almost dreaded taking this picture because I knew suddenly, Jonathan was going to practically look like a toddler to me next to his new cousin. (sigh) How do they get so big so FAST?! Didn't I just have him?
So that was our day... we pushed it a little too far (probably shouldn't have gone to see the baby after Cookie Day) because Simon had a complete meltdown on the ride home. He hadn't eaten because he didn't want the chicken soup Nanee had made for lunch and he was SO tired on top of that. I felt so sorry for him. :( Today is a more low-key day. The kids and Tom are just going to play and I'm baking all day... so yay for home! :)
Here are the standard "kids putting way too much stuff on top of sugar cookies" shots --
I think Ben won the award for thickest sugar coating layer.
Jonathan hovered above the action and supervised... weird to think he'll probably be old enough to participate in this next year.
Then it was time for our newer tradition: The decking of the Unbreakables Tree in the basement.
Once upon a time, my inlaws thought it would be fun to let the grandkids help decorate their actual Christmas tree. The one that sits on top of ceramic tile between their kitchen and family room. A nice idea in theory; but a lot of ornaments were destroyed. And so, the Unbreakables Tree was born. The end.
Simon contemplates his ornament placement...
Anastasia hangs one on the oft-neglected back of the tree
Pausing to say, "Cheese." I love how our kids are all so used to/annoyed with/tired of the constant paparazzi whenever they do something that they'll notice someone taking their picture and will actually just start saying, "Cheese!" without even looking up from what they are doing. It's a bonus when I actually get one of them looking at the camera.
Simon and Anastasia choosing ornaments to hang -- where's Ben? Oh, he's nearly seven, don't you know. He lost interest in this project about two minutes in and wanted to watch whatever sport was on the tv in the room at the time. (sigh)
Oh wait, here he is... he made a brief reappearance when he and Anastasia located the beaded garland.
Several spots on the tree looked like this. ;)
Aunt Sarah helping Anastasia fix a hook. Is Anastasia's hair bow driving you insane too looking at these pics? We ALL kept trying to fix it but she wouldn't let us. LOL! Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I slipped it off the pigtail when she walked by me. She turned around and was all, "Hey, wait, where's my bow go?" "Oh look! Here it is! Let me put it back in for you!" ;)
Giving Baby J a kiss on the head -- she proudly told her Uncle Tom - "*I* have a baby too now!! Baby Alek is MY baby!"
Just hanging out with daddy
After Cookie Day, we made a very brief stop at Marc and Krystyna's to see the baby, who is so sweet and yummy and newbornish. Way better than a cookie!
And here's a shot that gave me total deja vu. My poor second and third borns weren't the newest for long. I almost dreaded taking this picture because I knew suddenly, Jonathan was going to practically look like a toddler to me next to his new cousin. (sigh) How do they get so big so FAST?! Didn't I just have him?
So that was our day... we pushed it a little too far (probably shouldn't have gone to see the baby after Cookie Day) because Simon had a complete meltdown on the ride home. He hadn't eaten because he didn't want the chicken soup Nanee had made for lunch and he was SO tired on top of that. I felt so sorry for him. :( Today is a more low-key day. The kids and Tom are just going to play and I'm baking all day... so yay for home! :)
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Photo Dump...
We are bored here at home... trapped here since we apparently suddenly reside in Antarctica. (sigh) I hate winter. But, I digress. The boys and I are just hanging out, painting, playing playdough, watching Nick Jr. and taking pics. ;)
This is Jonathan's favorite thing to do -- jam his hands all the way into his mouth. He constantly gags himself and pukes. He's already a frequeny spitter upper, so this really adds to the fun.
Mr. Smiley
His "Eh. Whatever!" look.
My silly second-born...
He loves the camera!
No, for real.
He smiles and poses and cheese and hams it up. I REALLY need to start taking more pics of him to document this. It's so funny!
This is Jonathan's favorite thing to do -- jam his hands all the way into his mouth. He constantly gags himself and pukes. He's already a frequeny spitter upper, so this really adds to the fun.
Mr. Smiley
His "Eh. Whatever!" look.
My silly second-born...
He loves the camera!
No, for real.
He smiles and poses and cheese and hams it up. I REALLY need to start taking more pics of him to document this. It's so funny!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Nephew! :)
Baby Aleksander Marcus Graff was born at 12:33p.m. today and weighed 8 pounds, 1 ounce. :) I love him already and can't wait to hold him... didn't get to today. Simon, Jonathan and I ended up not going back when Tom went over to meet him because it's so darn cold and windy out. I just didn't have the heart to drag Jonathan back out into that. :(
A is definitely a Graff baby, for sure! The minute I walked in and saw him, I could see the resemblance to Ben, Anastasia and Jonathan as newborns, though I think his nose and ears are from Krystyna's side. :)
A is definitely a Graff baby, for sure! The minute I walked in and saw him, I could see the resemblance to Ben, Anastasia and Jonathan as newborns, though I think his nose and ears are from Krystyna's side. :)
Baby Day!
Krystyna is having the baby today! :o) This all feels very deja vu... Anyway, so excited, though I'm a little iffy on the logistics of when to get Ben from school and head over with he and Simon and Jonthan and when to squeeze in my pumping today. LOL. But, it will all work out somehow, I'm sure! (see how Type B I've gotten?)
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Cookie Day 2010
The phone rang at 8:30 this morning and it was my father-in-law breaking the news that my mother-in-law was sick and that cookie day was canceled. I almost cried. I had been so looking forward to cookie day... mostly for the fact that I was going to get to catch up with my sisters-in-law, one of whom is having her baby in two days and other of whom just found out she is having a girl. There was much chatting to be done! Anyway, so some scurrying around and cookie day was quickly relocated to our house. I have never in my life whipped up sugar cookie dough so quickly.
We made four or five dozen, I lost count. My sisters-in-law stepped in and did the rolling, cutting and baking after the first three dozen which I did before everyone arrived. (Jonathan was being a bit clingy)
At any rate, there was much decorating and lots of sugary goodness eaten. I'd call Cookie Day 2010 a success despite its somewhat shaky start! ;)
We made four or five dozen, I lost count. My sisters-in-law stepped in and did the rolling, cutting and baking after the first three dozen which I did before everyone arrived. (Jonathan was being a bit clingy)
At any rate, there was much decorating and lots of sugary goodness eaten. I'd call Cookie Day 2010 a success despite its somewhat shaky start! ;)
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Three-Kid Update and Other Things....
Benjamin -
What can I say? I am just loving his the age/stage he is in now. He's great and seems so old to me these days. I had a realization the other day that in just three months he is going to be SEVEN. SEVEN! Seems like just yesterday he was Jonathan's age and now he's going to be SEVEN, which is SO not even close to a baby. He's practically old enough to drive, for goodness sake. LOL. His interests are all "older kid" now too. I cleaned out his room this week and left only chapter books and science books on his bookshelf. (Yes, Simon shares the room too, but I keep a selection of the younger books in the nursery) Crazy. He likes to sit at his desk up there and do problems out of math workbooks for fun... he likes to play football and also watches it very seriously with Tom. He's the absolute stereotype of a first-born and reminds me SO much of Tom and me in his interactions with his brothers and with the world in general.
Simon -
Things have improved on the temper front. Oh, don't get me wrong, he still has one and I'm sure always will. But we're going through a relatively quiet phase right now. He really is a very sweet kiddo under that short fuse. He loves to snuggle and read together. He relishes any little bit of individual attention you give him, which almost makes me a bit sad at times because it reminds me how much we rocked his world by giving him a baby brother. He really does often get lumped in with Ben... insofaras, we are always saying, "Go play with Ben while we do _______" or "Go play with Ben while we feed the baby/change the baby/put the baby down for a nap." At any rate, I've been trying to find things to do special with just him and we've fallen into this baking thing, which he LOVES. He asks almost every day now if we can bake something. He's a great little helper. He also loves to paint and draw and is very artistic and thoughtful in his creations, even if they do still look like random smears of paint. You can tell he puts a lot of care into what he makes. He'll tell you he's an artist. ;) He always wants to make sure he has something displayed on the fridge and ALWAYS notices when something disappears. I have to be very careful! He is definitely going to be my creative one. He's funny funny FUNNY and such a performer, but often gets shy if you try to take a video of him singing something and will just babble nonsense. I can't wait for his little preschool pageant on the 21st, because I have a feeling he'll be QUITE expressive up there. :o)
Jonathan -
Seriously? THE most content baby ever. I don't know what else to say except that we are just enjoying him. He is all smiles and so alert and happy, I could just eat him up. He is a bit of work in that he wants to CONSTANTLY be interacted with... he's is definitely a super social, friendly little guy. If I put him down to make dinner or do dishes, I have to chatter to him the whole time and keep turning around to make eye contact or he gets annoyed. Yep. He's DEFINITELY my little extravert. It's going to take some work on my part to understand him as I am the exact opposite. ;) He does seem to have hit a patch of separation anxiety already... if I'm in the room and someone else is holding him and he spots me, his bottom lip will pop out now and he'll start to bawl until I take him back. LOL. I hope it's a short-lived phase! He's starting to sit up now here and there, though he topples over to the left and right easily. His other fun new skill is grabbing things and bringing them closer so he can stare at them all cross-eyed. I love all the little baby phases and milestones! :) I go back and forth between being sad he's the last one and relieved that in a couple years, we'll be able to do so many fun things as a family without worrying about naps and bottles and early bedtimes. :) Bittersweet, for sure. :)
In other news, my one SIL is going to be induced on Tuesday and we are SO excited!!! :) This will be our first nephew/boy cousin and we are looking forward to finally meeting him and finding out his name!
My OTHER SIL found out yesterday that she is having a girl, which is also ridiculously exciting! My older niece will have a playmate just three years younger now, so sort of a little sister-type situation for her. She has been surrounded by boy cousins up until now (plus a little brother on the way), so this will be fantastic, I think! :) Plus, Aunt Erin now has TWO excuses to shop in the girl department. Squeee!! I am a little miffed I can't unload my massive collection of spring baby boy clothes right now though. ARGH. Maybe next time, since I know Aunt Sarah and Uncle Taylor are good for at least two babies. ;)
And that is all that's going on around here lately. Life is crazy and I'll be happy when the holidays are over and we can just enjoy some time with no commitments for awhile. (before we head to Disney again in January.... yikes!)
What can I say? I am just loving his the age/stage he is in now. He's great and seems so old to me these days. I had a realization the other day that in just three months he is going to be SEVEN. SEVEN! Seems like just yesterday he was Jonathan's age and now he's going to be SEVEN, which is SO not even close to a baby. He's practically old enough to drive, for goodness sake. LOL. His interests are all "older kid" now too. I cleaned out his room this week and left only chapter books and science books on his bookshelf. (Yes, Simon shares the room too, but I keep a selection of the younger books in the nursery) Crazy. He likes to sit at his desk up there and do problems out of math workbooks for fun... he likes to play football and also watches it very seriously with Tom. He's the absolute stereotype of a first-born and reminds me SO much of Tom and me in his interactions with his brothers and with the world in general.
Simon -
Things have improved on the temper front. Oh, don't get me wrong, he still has one and I'm sure always will. But we're going through a relatively quiet phase right now. He really is a very sweet kiddo under that short fuse. He loves to snuggle and read together. He relishes any little bit of individual attention you give him, which almost makes me a bit sad at times because it reminds me how much we rocked his world by giving him a baby brother. He really does often get lumped in with Ben... insofaras, we are always saying, "Go play with Ben while we do _______" or "Go play with Ben while we feed the baby/change the baby/put the baby down for a nap." At any rate, I've been trying to find things to do special with just him and we've fallen into this baking thing, which he LOVES. He asks almost every day now if we can bake something. He's a great little helper. He also loves to paint and draw and is very artistic and thoughtful in his creations, even if they do still look like random smears of paint. You can tell he puts a lot of care into what he makes. He'll tell you he's an artist. ;) He always wants to make sure he has something displayed on the fridge and ALWAYS notices when something disappears. I have to be very careful! He is definitely going to be my creative one. He's funny funny FUNNY and such a performer, but often gets shy if you try to take a video of him singing something and will just babble nonsense. I can't wait for his little preschool pageant on the 21st, because I have a feeling he'll be QUITE expressive up there. :o)
Jonathan -
Seriously? THE most content baby ever. I don't know what else to say except that we are just enjoying him. He is all smiles and so alert and happy, I could just eat him up. He is a bit of work in that he wants to CONSTANTLY be interacted with... he's is definitely a super social, friendly little guy. If I put him down to make dinner or do dishes, I have to chatter to him the whole time and keep turning around to make eye contact or he gets annoyed. Yep. He's DEFINITELY my little extravert. It's going to take some work on my part to understand him as I am the exact opposite. ;) He does seem to have hit a patch of separation anxiety already... if I'm in the room and someone else is holding him and he spots me, his bottom lip will pop out now and he'll start to bawl until I take him back. LOL. I hope it's a short-lived phase! He's starting to sit up now here and there, though he topples over to the left and right easily. His other fun new skill is grabbing things and bringing them closer so he can stare at them all cross-eyed. I love all the little baby phases and milestones! :) I go back and forth between being sad he's the last one and relieved that in a couple years, we'll be able to do so many fun things as a family without worrying about naps and bottles and early bedtimes. :) Bittersweet, for sure. :)
In other news, my one SIL is going to be induced on Tuesday and we are SO excited!!! :) This will be our first nephew/boy cousin and we are looking forward to finally meeting him and finding out his name!
My OTHER SIL found out yesterday that she is having a girl, which is also ridiculously exciting! My older niece will have a playmate just three years younger now, so sort of a little sister-type situation for her. She has been surrounded by boy cousins up until now (plus a little brother on the way), so this will be fantastic, I think! :) Plus, Aunt Erin now has TWO excuses to shop in the girl department. Squeee!! I am a little miffed I can't unload my massive collection of spring baby boy clothes right now though. ARGH. Maybe next time, since I know Aunt Sarah and Uncle Taylor are good for at least two babies. ;)
And that is all that's going on around here lately. Life is crazy and I'll be happy when the holidays are over and we can just enjoy some time with no commitments for awhile. (before we head to Disney again in January.... yikes!)
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Oh My...
So I had to run Ben to the doctor today for a crazy excema flareup on his arm. (seriously, it looks like a third-degree burn!). Anyway, as per routine, he got weighed... clothes on, minus shoes. My six and three-quarter year old weighs, ready for this? 39.5 pounds. (cry) She didn't do height, but he leaned up against the height marker and I think it said around 42 inches. The nurse laughed and said she really tried to give him the extra half pound and bump him up to 40, but he just wasn't quite there.
I'm sure he's healthy and all... and he really does eat these days and eats a lot of variety, including meat and veggies, which he didn't really used to touch muh of. But ya'll... he is now in the "less than third" percentile for weight and height.
I mean, I *think* that's okay? He seems healthy and all... ridiculously energetic... doesn't look pale or particularly skinny or tired or anything... but really, IS that okay? I guess we'll find out in March at his physical. Poor kiddo. He's such a peanut!!! I really thought he looked like he had grown a ton too!!
I'm sure he's healthy and all... and he really does eat these days and eats a lot of variety, including meat and veggies, which he didn't really used to touch muh of. But ya'll... he is now in the "less than third" percentile for weight and height.
I mean, I *think* that's okay? He seems healthy and all... ridiculously energetic... doesn't look pale or particularly skinny or tired or anything... but really, IS that okay? I guess we'll find out in March at his physical. Poor kiddo. He's such a peanut!!! I really thought he looked like he had grown a ton too!!
Graff Dairy...
So the great pumping experiment of 2010-11 continues. I am basically to my next goal, which was to make it until my sister-in-law Krystyna had her baby. Granted, said baby has not arrived yet, as he seems to have some phobia of the outside world... but I had assumed he would be here by now and so we're going to call that goal basically met! ;)
It's all pretty routine now, though I still groan when I have to drag myself out of bed at 11:30 or midnight for the last session of the day. I'll be happy when I finally let that one go in a month or two.
I pump five times a day now, about every five hours or so, for about 20 minutes at a time.... still getting the same ridiculous amount of milk every day. Jonathan, however, has been having himself a little growth spurt the last week or so and so I'm freezing about 6-10 ounces less a day than I had been. This is not a bad thing, because my freezer is now literally overflowing as in, when I open it, I have to stand back, lest I be pelted with bags of frozen milk. That will be remedied soon enough though. I found a mom nearby who is going to take all of September, October and November off my hands. WOOHOO! Not only will this clean out my freezer, but it will provide an extra incentive to keep going for another three months to rebuild the stash with new milk.
Next stop, end of January. (Disney trip) Then? Probably Feb, which take me to six months. Honestly, I can see myself doing this at least through spring... though I could definitely see me getting annoyed with it when the weather warms up and the days get longer. Ideally, I'd like to continue him on the fresh stuff until his first birthday though... so we'll see. One goal at a time. Currently, I'm in the house all the time anyway and it's freezing outside and dark at 4:30 so who the heck cares if I'm stuck in the house hooked up to a pump? Not to mention, I'm in major hibernation mode and eating nonstop, so the pumping is also helpful in that regard. LOL!
Anyway, so that's the semi-regular update on the Graff Dairy. Still going strong! ;)
It's all pretty routine now, though I still groan when I have to drag myself out of bed at 11:30 or midnight for the last session of the day. I'll be happy when I finally let that one go in a month or two.
I pump five times a day now, about every five hours or so, for about 20 minutes at a time.... still getting the same ridiculous amount of milk every day. Jonathan, however, has been having himself a little growth spurt the last week or so and so I'm freezing about 6-10 ounces less a day than I had been. This is not a bad thing, because my freezer is now literally overflowing as in, when I open it, I have to stand back, lest I be pelted with bags of frozen milk. That will be remedied soon enough though. I found a mom nearby who is going to take all of September, October and November off my hands. WOOHOO! Not only will this clean out my freezer, but it will provide an extra incentive to keep going for another three months to rebuild the stash with new milk.
Next stop, end of January. (Disney trip) Then? Probably Feb, which take me to six months. Honestly, I can see myself doing this at least through spring... though I could definitely see me getting annoyed with it when the weather warms up and the days get longer. Ideally, I'd like to continue him on the fresh stuff until his first birthday though... so we'll see. One goal at a time. Currently, I'm in the house all the time anyway and it's freezing outside and dark at 4:30 so who the heck cares if I'm stuck in the house hooked up to a pump? Not to mention, I'm in major hibernation mode and eating nonstop, so the pumping is also helpful in that regard. LOL!
Anyway, so that's the semi-regular update on the Graff Dairy. Still going strong! ;)
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Out and About at Christmastime...
This morning, we hit the local "can't miss it!" train garden. Ugh. Hate Christmas crowds. But the boys enjoyed it... at least, when they could actually find a spot to stand and watch the train.
Can you spot my kids in this picture?
Attempt at a nice shot with some Christmas scenery. I have discovered in the last two days that Ben isn't actually being a pain when he smiles all goofy... the child legitimately doesn't know how to smile on command. (if he's actually smiling AT something or laughing, that's my best chance at a genuine Ben smile)
I was kind of annoyed that Tom put them in their Ravens jerseys (OH how I hate those things on my kids... sorry, it's just a thing with me) because I was hoping for some cute, Christmasy shots... but then we went to Noodles for lunch and they were giving away meals to anyone wearing a Ravens jersey. So the boys ate for free! Can't complain about that.
Then tonight, after some arm twisting from our friend Beth, we went to the kids Santa dinner at the golf club. The boys had a blast and, strangely enough, were exciting about dressing up. Funny story though... the outfit Ben is wearing was actually intended for Simon. We made a last minute switch when the khaki pants SImon is wearing turned out to be slightly too short for Ben, but Simon's black corduroys actually fit him perfectly. Heh. Oops.
And then were was the man in the red suit. Ben was wary of this situation but REALLY wanted to tell Santa that he wanted a Nintendo DS (uh oh) and two different football jerseys. Yeeeeah, so um... Santa isn't bringing ANY of that. Should be interesting on Christmas morning.
Simon wanted nothing to do with actually approaching Santa, but did call out from the safety of behind me that he wanted a light saber like the one John (our neighbor) has that is blue and the blade pops up and makes noise. LOL! THankfully, that particular gift is covered by someone!
Then we handed Santa Jonathan, who was rather unfazed by it all... we told Santa he wanted a sippy cup and some Gerber Puffs.
So that was our Christmasy day! The boys had fun, I think. :o) Next week is more Christmasing with cookie day on Saturday! Yay! Love cookie day. :)
Can you spot my kids in this picture?
Attempt at a nice shot with some Christmas scenery. I have discovered in the last two days that Ben isn't actually being a pain when he smiles all goofy... the child legitimately doesn't know how to smile on command. (if he's actually smiling AT something or laughing, that's my best chance at a genuine Ben smile)
I was kind of annoyed that Tom put them in their Ravens jerseys (OH how I hate those things on my kids... sorry, it's just a thing with me) because I was hoping for some cute, Christmasy shots... but then we went to Noodles for lunch and they were giving away meals to anyone wearing a Ravens jersey. So the boys ate for free! Can't complain about that.
Then tonight, after some arm twisting from our friend Beth, we went to the kids Santa dinner at the golf club. The boys had a blast and, strangely enough, were exciting about dressing up. Funny story though... the outfit Ben is wearing was actually intended for Simon. We made a last minute switch when the khaki pants SImon is wearing turned out to be slightly too short for Ben, but Simon's black corduroys actually fit him perfectly. Heh. Oops.
And then were was the man in the red suit. Ben was wary of this situation but REALLY wanted to tell Santa that he wanted a Nintendo DS (uh oh) and two different football jerseys. Yeeeeah, so um... Santa isn't bringing ANY of that. Should be interesting on Christmas morning.
Simon wanted nothing to do with actually approaching Santa, but did call out from the safety of behind me that he wanted a light saber like the one John (our neighbor) has that is blue and the blade pops up and makes noise. LOL! THankfully, that particular gift is covered by someone!
Then we handed Santa Jonathan, who was rather unfazed by it all... we told Santa he wanted a sippy cup and some Gerber Puffs.
So that was our Christmasy day! The boys had fun, I think. :o) Next week is more Christmasing with cookie day on Saturday! Yay! Love cookie day. :)
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Tree Deco -- Part I
Decorating our tree is probably going to be a three-part process this year... seeing as we only seem to have about fifteen minutes on a weeknight to work before it's bedtime.
Simon was itching to decorate and asked all day if he could hang balls on the tree... Is it time yet? Is it time yet? Finally, daddy got home and then FINALLY we finished dinner and then FINALLY it was time.
Setting the scene...
Ben gets to work...
Simon showing me his first Christmas ornament (which sadly, Jonathan now has a duplicate of because Hallmark didn't come out with a new series of age ornaments this year...)
No sooner had I put the tree skirt under the tree than the cat claimed his traditional Christmas season napping spot...
Looking up...
Simon checking out the Fisher Price barn ormanent... "Moo!"
They both love the Pat the Bunny one. ;)
Simon was itching to decorate and asked all day if he could hang balls on the tree... Is it time yet? Is it time yet? Finally, daddy got home and then FINALLY we finished dinner and then FINALLY it was time.
Setting the scene...
Ben gets to work...
Simon showing me his first Christmas ornament (which sadly, Jonathan now has a duplicate of because Hallmark didn't come out with a new series of age ornaments this year...)
No sooner had I put the tree skirt under the tree than the cat claimed his traditional Christmas season napping spot...
Looking up...
Simon checking out the Fisher Price barn ormanent... "Moo!"
They both love the Pat the Bunny one. ;)