Oh, Glorious Sleep

Take a look at this, she's sleeping. Sssshhhh, don't wake the baby. Are you kidding? From day one, we decided it's best to make noise around her so she's use to it. The result, she'll sleep through anything, during the day that is. Night time is another matter. She's up every hour or two ready to eat, actually snack. We can't get her to eat a full meal at one sitting. When we tried some tactics to make her eat more, the result was, how shall I say it, unfortunate. I'll just tell you that I had to change into different pajamas. So, we let her decide how much to eat, thus causing me to get up every couple of hours or so.

However, I am happy to report that last night was different. Everything seemed the same as usual, except when I looked at the clock to see what ungodly hour I was getting up to my daughter's pleas for food, I noticed four hours had lapsed. FOUR!!! Not one, not two, but FOUR!!!

Happily I went through the same ritual I do every night of feeding her, changing her, feeding her until she's in a milk coma, putting her in a sleep sac in her bed (no blankets due to SIDS), and finally putting myself back into bed. When I awoke to yet another desperate plea for food, I looked at the clock, and lo and behold, three hours had passed. THREE!!! Was it possible? Let's see, four plus three equals, hmmm, seven. SEVEN!!! Holy jumping sheep, Batman, I got seven hours of sleep. Whoo-hoo!

MMMMmmmm, Candy!

Ok, Stella, after reading your blog, I have to comment too.

Which do you prefer? Milk chocolate or dark chocolate?
Definitely dark! The darker, the better.

Hard candies or chewy candies?
Chewy, especially gummy bears. I'm afraid of hard candies since I tend to bite into them and sometimes my teeth get stuck together. Once biting into a jolly rancher, I thought I was going to pull out a tooth or two trying to pry my upper and lower molars apart.

Tootsie Pops or Blow Pops?
Neither, especially due to the above.

Plain M&Ms or Peanut M&Ms?
Make mine peanut.

Are you tempted by the candy display at the grocery store check-out?
Most definitely, to distract myself I look at the magazine covers. Fortunately, I usually have Ian with me and he is plenty of entertainment to take my mind off the sugar.

What is your absolute favorite candy?
If money were no object, I would say Godiva Truffles, dark chocolate. Of course any of those truffles would suffice, they're heavenly! Fortunately, Paul knows my weakness for them and supplies them on special occasions. Yes, he's a keeper.

Let Them Eat Cake!

Ah, yes, Ian has discovered the wonderful world of CAKE. I'm not exactly sure where or when the most recent exposure came from, but one day he started spouting it out while looking at his birthday pictures. I didn't think he even knew what a cake was, let alone be able to say it. He kept turning the pages in the photo album and pointing out every place he saw cake. I decided we should have some in honor of the occasion.

We happened to have a small container of petits fours. Not exactly cheap stuff, but hey, he's worth it. I picked out a chocolate flavored one and cut it in half for him. If he didn't like it, I would gladly eat the other half. Needless to say, he LOVED it! He blurted out CAKE again and thusly received the remaining part (too bad for me). Now it seems, anytime we're eating, he's asking for cake. As if that's not bad enough, he's starting to sound like Homer Simpson saying, "MMMMmmmm, cake," followed by a river of drool.

Wonderful Paul had bought us some mini cupcakes for Valentine's Day. They were the perfect size for Ian to hold. However, he didn't know what to do with the swirl of icing on top. He kept putting it in his open mouth, but not biting down. Out came the cupcake, completely intact, not even a tooth mark. I finally got him to try the icing, he grimaced as he chewed. The next time he ate a cupcake, he turned it around so he could eat just the cake part. He left the icing completely alone and unscathed. Normally, kids will eat the icing first, sometimes that will be all that they do eat. Not Ian, no, he marches to a different drum.

LAUREL PICTURES:

Oh, POOP!

You know you are the proud mother of a toddler when...

you get excited that your brilliant child came running up to you shouting, "Mama, Poop!"

In the all too recent past, Ian would rather sit and play in a poopy diaper than be changed. At first, when we got a sniff of unpleasantness, we would ask him, "Ian, did you poop?" and he would respond with a Teletubby sing-song response of "Nooooo." Very sweet, but an all out lie. After a few weeks of this, Ian wisened up to the fact that we didn't believe his "no" response, especially since we changed his diaper anyway. Instead of saying no to the all too familiar poop question, Ian started to run off. He would literally look around for the best escape route and then bolt. Of course mama or dada were in hot pursuit, which resulted in him being led by the hand to the dreaded diaper change. Throughout all of this, I tried to explain to Ian that the best solution would be for him to realize he did have a dirty diaper and tell me he did.

Today, I'm proud to report that Ian has done just that. There I was, taking a breather on the couch with Laurel sleeping soundly on me, when suddenly, this fuzzy head came bobbing by. Ian had this huge smile on his face, just absolutely beaming, and then he spouted out, "Mama, Poop!" I couldn't believe my ears. I checked, and sure enough... I cheered, I clapped, I kissed, I hugged, I did everything I could think of to make sure he knew how important this was. And then, poor Ian was led by the hand yet again to another dreaded diaper change.

Language Explosion

Something major happened to Ian while Paul and I were in the hospital. It seems like over night he learned to speak. Suddenly, he's saying words we had no clue he knew. Sure, he could say ca... we knew he meant car. But now, it's absolutely CAR, emphasis on the R please. We show him an altogether too familiar little furry red monster and he's spouting Elmo. When he's ready for his Teletubbies, he's yelling out T.V.! That thing that's floating in the water, you got it, BOAT. Then there's his favorite word: NO!!!! I swear I hear him saying phrases too. On more than one occasion he has told us, "I did it," or "there you go."

Of course he's still experimenting with the sounds, and he's not always saying the words correctly, but Paul and I have definitely learned Ianese. See if you can figure out what the little guy is saying:

bi bir
orel
ice (not the frozen water either)
ane
ah ee
umm

I'll post the answers later. Here's a hint, he seems to leave off the beginning or ending consonant sound, except for the last two. Good luck.

Wylie health update: Paul & Ian seem to be over the worst of their colds. Ian still has a runny nose and coughs once in a while, but nothing like before. Laurel is still majorly congested, poor thing.

Pictures

Ian loves to kiss his baby sister.










Laurel's not so sure about Ian's interest in her.









The kids and Paul are still sick. These colds could last forever, so I thought I'd post some pictures.




Ahhh, so sweet!










Too funny, Ian will pose with a smile when asked. Very natural looking, don't you think?

Whew!

I didn't know I could exist on no sleep for so long. It's amazing how, when needed, the motherhood/fatherhood gene kicks in and takes over. It seems like all we've been doing is diaper changes, feeding and cleaning up round the clock. I keep thinking to myself that things will ease up, especially once both the kids are well again.

Poor Ian. He has been coughing for about a month. When we got home from the hospital, it got worse. The doctor put him on a breathing treatment and antibiotics. Fortunately, he seems to be getting better, except for a severe case of diaper rash due to diarrhea (a side effect of medications). Laurel must have caught a "cold" from him. She is very congested. We took her in to the doctor Monday after also finding she had a fever of 100. The doctor has us watching her and bringing her in if there is any change. We're also under orders to keep Ian away from Laurel. Yeah, like that's possible when he is so excited about the baby.

Our two sick babies have been so miserable. Paul has been helping out so much, and yet he has had a cold too. The man is amazing, and I'm ever so grateful that he is my partner. Thank goodness he took two weeks off work to help out.

Baby Sister Arrives!

Ah yes, the countdown is now over, our little papoose is here! Question is, was it a countdown for the baby, or the name? One would wonder after all the hassle we got about not deciding on a name before the big day.

Baby Sister was born 10:43 a.m. on January 19. She was (I say was because we all know how fast wee babies grow) 19 1/2 inches long, and weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces. She's a beauty!

As for her name, drum roll please...



Let me introduce you to Laurel Ann.







It's amazing that at just a few days old, we can tell how different she is from her older brother. Ian could care less about eating in the beginning (a much different story now), Laurel could eat ALL DAY! This is a scary thing when you're breastfeeding, YIKES! She's a little piggy, she even snorts to let us know she means business. Ian is a fairly mellow guy, Laurel is quite, how should I put it, feisty. Gotta love a spirited girl! She knows what she wants and is determined to get it. Of course at this stage of the game, it's pretty much just eating.

Bunko Surprise

I still can't believe the generosity of the wonderful women in my bunko group. I showed up to a surprise baby shower! They are truly amazing. Look at the wonderful items they gave to Baby Sister: lots of adorable clothes, bibs, balloons (everyone loves balloons, especially babies), and even a tiny baby-sized bracelet (look at the bottom middle of the picture). Too cute! Paul and I send out a huge THANK YOU to the bunko women for this sweet surprise!

Baby Sister Countdown: 1 day, Whoo-hoo!!!

Ga-ga-goo-goo

Cheerios Detonation

Ian and I got to spend a delightful hour of our day at the Toyota Dealership getting a seatbelt recall taken care of. Oh joy, oh joy. As we were loading up to head home, I realized it had been a long time since either of us had eaten. I found a Ziploc bag of cheerios in my purse. Being the good mother, I opened the bag for Ian and handed it to him. Then I began driving home. Suddenly it hit me, I gave Ian an opened bag of Cheerios! What was I thinking? Didn't I vow NEVER to let him eat by himself in the car again since our vacation to San Diego? Within seconds I hear, "Uh oh." At the next red light, I look back and sure enough he had dumped the entire bag into his lap. Hey, you gotta give Ian credit for recognizing there was a problem.




















Well, at least he got to have a snack on the way home.

Now, meet my new best friend...




Baby Sister Countdown: 2 days (is anyone else EXCITED like me?)


:-)

Baby Sister Doesn't Have a Chance

Last night, we had friends over. To Ian's delight, their daughter Riley, younger than Ian by 5 months, showed up. He kept slyly walking sideways over to her to give her a kiss. She wasn't too sure about this behavior and let us know with a pout and someone would rescue her. Well, eventually she warmed up to Ian, so he seized the moment and took that kiss. I don't think she was too impressed, but I thought it was sweet. (The picture is of Ian and Riley on Halloween. He sure adores her!)



Later, Ian did something a bit unusual to Riley. I don't know, I think he thought she was a puppet or something. He would walk up to her with a huge smile on his face, grab hold of her wrist and make her arm go up and down. Riley looked confused and kept looking to the adults for guidance. She kept standing there, letting Ian move her arm for her. She finally decided this was not cool, and got help by displaying another pout. Hurray, her mommy came to the rescue. However, once she was placed back on the ground to play, Ian would go back to her and start his puppeteering all over again. Riley obvious objected, and yet would not run away. So far, the only way she knew how to solve the problem was to look for adult intervention.

This is why I worry for Baby Sister. Just lying there, staying in one place will be her thing for a while. Will Ian see her merely as a toy to play with? My biggest concern is when we're in the van and they're sitting next to each other, Ian facing forward and Baby Sister facing backwards. Thanks to some advice from a friend, I realize I could separate them by putting them on the side seats and not use the middle. And yet I know that the middle seat is supposed to be the safest place in the event of an accident. But what if Ian IS the accident? Hmm. We will have to play it by ear and see what happens.

Baby Sister Countdown: 3 days, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yakety, Yak

Ian loves the phone. It rings, he's tearing through the house towards one. Anytime absent minded mama or dada (mostly mama) leave one within reach, it's in his pudgy little hands, melodic tones sounding as he presses the keys hoping to reach someone, anyone. He knows that if he keeps pressing the buttons he's bound to get somebody. I just hope it's local and not China.

Unfortunately, he has not learned phone etiquette yet. Last week, he spent the day at Grandma Edie's. During his nap, the phone rang and my mom answered the phone in a different room so as not to disturb Ian's sleep. As she was talking, the other line picked up, and this boastful little voice chimes "Ello, aye," translation: "Hello, hi."Lots of babbling follows. Ian was so happy to finally answer the phone!

Yes, Ian loves the phone. In fact, he loves it so much, he pretends almost any rectangular object is a phone. Legos, blocks, straws at the restaurant, even his own hand. His favorite is a flip travel alarm clock. I think because it flips open, it reminds him of dada's phone. When we are changing his diaper, he likes to put the changing table's straps up to his ear and babble away. We ask who's on the phone, is it grandpa? That always cracks him up and gets him talking more.

For Christmas, Ian received two phones. This boy was in communication heaven! One was an Elmo (another love of his) flip cell phone. The other, part of a Winnie the Pooh book where the phone snaps in and out of the book and there are numbers you can dial to hear messages. He had both of these up to his ears at the same time babbling away. I honestly believe he had two different conversations going on. Oh how I fear his teenage years.

4 AM

Hi, my name is Tina, and I'm an insomniac. Yes, I need a 12 step program.

The millions of last minute to do things before Baby Sister arrives keeps popping into my head. I have probably been awake tossing and turning for at least an hour or two before now, and finally gave in and thought I'd get something accomplished. Evidently sleep is not on my to do list. However, I have done a load of laundry; sorted, thrown out, shred, and filed mail; emptied the dishwasher; cleaned a bathroom; and wrote down and prioritized all the things I want to accomplish this weekend. Darn it, I think I'm nesting.

Baby Sister Countdown: 5 days

Be Gone Grimy Grout!

We have white floor tile with white grout in our entry, kitchen, breakfast nook, laundry room and downstairs bathroom. Paul likes the tile. Me on the other hand, well...let's just say I look forward to when I'm working again, earning a paycheck, and can jackhammer it out. We're talking at least a decade from now, but one can dream. In the meantime, we have white tile.

Lately, actually the last year or so, we've noticed how gray the grout is looking. I spent a good two hours one day trying to scrub off the dirt and grime in just the bathroom. Yes, there was some improvement and I was feeling mighty proud of myself. But within a week, it started looking gray and dingy again. I can't see myself scrubbing like that even once a month, so I called in for help.

Yesterday, two guys showed up to scrub and stain our gray grout back to white. Let me tell you, I felt quite pampered in watching two other people scrub my floors! There they were on their hands and knees laboring, while Ian and I played. Ian wanted to help them, of course, but I intervened. He should learn it's ok to let others slave, umm, I mean help, while you relax.

These grout angels sent from home improvement heaven also repaired the grout in our upstairs guest shower. What a huge improvement! Before, we had dingy yellow grout that was partially covered by white caulk (thanks to previous owners). There were also spots where the grout finally gave way, leaving gaps between the tiles. Yikes! Thank goodness we took care of this when we did, or we would have a bigger problem later.

Now our upstairs shower looks almost new. The grout in the downstairs floors is actually glowing! I kid you not. I am one happy camper. Of course now I'm anal about keeping it that way. Poor Ian and Paul. Last night we had a rice dish for dinner. Ian tried to feed himself and rice went everywhere. I freaked out, and poor Paul had to wipe up the mess. Hey, I'm nine months pregnant and can't see my feet, let alone grains of rice lying on the floor. Paul, being the good guy that he is, cleaned without too much complaint. None, actually. I love that man! I give myself a couple of weeks once Baby Sister arrives before I finally give up on the floors. Hopefully, having stained the grout, it will be easy to return it to its glowing glory.

Baby Sister Countdown: 6 days

Pink Laundry

I've finally attacked the growing stack of clothes we've accumulated for Baby Sister (sorry, we've still not decided on a name). Some of the items have been donated from an unknowing Ian, a lot of the items have graciously been given to us by family members. Of course I had to purchase some myself after cruising some of the baby stores. How could I resist the cute little outfits with bows and ribbons? Anyway, back to laundry. I had enough pink articles, that I did an entire load of just pink. Too cool! As I started folding the clothes and organizing them by size, I realized how excited I'm getting about her arrival. Looking at the socks, I could barely imagine how small she must be, especially when compared to Ian who still resides off the chart for height! I can't wait to hold her and look into those huge, unfocused eyes. I can't wait to have her sleep in my arms. I've really missed that, since Ian outgrew that stage long ago. I can't wait to hear her voice, when she cries that newborn cry that makes everyone turn their heads and sigh "Aww." I can't wait to see her stretch, the way only newborns can, and for hours at a time!

People warned Paul and I that the time with Ian would go by incredibly fast, and it did. I realize how lucky we are that we get to go through all the different baby stages again, but this time with a little background knowledge. We have done our best to enjoy our time with Ian, and I hope we are able to continue this with Baby Sister in the mix. We keep getting asked if we are excited about the upcoming arrival, heck yeah! Are we fearful, heck yeah! Someone told us that once you have two children, the parents are outnumbered. To this I say, bring it on Baby Sister. I'm still going to enjoy every moment.

Baby Sister Countdown: 7 days, Yikes!

Let the Renovation Begin!

Hooray! Paul successfully tore down the two full length mirrors in Ian's future bedroom. The wall doesn't look too bad and should be fairly easy to fix (I say this before actually being attempted, we'll have to wait and see). The first mirror was a real pain to take down. Unfortunately, I had given Paul some suggestions I had read online. He scored the mirror with a glass cutter, used tape to keep shattered glass to a minimum (HA!), tried using wire and a thin saw blade to cut the adhesive (no effect, in fact the saw just tore up the drywall more), and finally shims and a hammer to pry the mirror away from the wall. The glass broke wherever it wanted in small chunks. The second mirror was much easier. He taped it completely over and then used a hammer to pry it away from the wall. The entire mirror came off in one piece! Oh joy! Lesson learned, never listen to me about house projects. A little caulk, a lot of spackle, and even more paint... we may have a bedroom! Keep posted to see how it's going.

By the way, Baby Sister countdown: 10 days

Grandpa's Little Farmer

Paul's dad loves to garden, so of course Ian does too. Here Ian and Grandpa are eating freshly picked corn and discussing what soil amenities are needed for next time.

Gardening is becoming a wonderful ritual whenever Ian is at Paul's parents' house. There is a certain little bucket that Ian knows is his to take to the garden. He goes out with Grandpa and picks peas. Then he proudly takes his bucket in to show Grandma, who helps him open the pods. Believe it or not, he eats the peas! What a great way to get Ian to eat his veggies!

Two Week Countdown

It's official, we have only two weeks before our baby girl makes her debut. I swear this morning she was just going to pop out as she internally kicked my ribs. I laugh at whoever said that the baby's movements slow down in the last month due to lack of space. HA! Baby Sister lets her presence be known! I can't help but think of the scene from Aliens where the alien pops out of the guy's chest and then runs off.

We call her "Baby Sister" due to reserving the right to change our minds at the last minute. This seems to annoy everyone, even my own mother. Hey, it wasn't too long ago people didn't even know the sex of the baby until delivery. At least we let everyone know it's a girl. Paul and I just haven't been inspired. I'm sure once we see her we'll know. So in the meanwhile, people, especially my friends, keep throwing names at me. I just keep shaking my head and thinking I probably did the same to them.

Two weeks and a million things to do. The biggest project is getting Ian's room ready so we can move him out of the nursery. If it were a mere paint job, I know we'd be done. However, having to tear down two full length mirrors has made us serious procrastinators. Not exactly our idea of fun. The phone call from Costco furniture telling us Ian's bedroom set will be here Monday has definitely set things in motion. This weekend should be a lot of fun.

In two weeks I'll get to hold Baby Sister in my arms! Paul and I recently were looking at video of Ian when he was first born. It's hard to imagine someone so small and fragile. Newborns are so funny looking with their big alien eyes, and yet so sweet with everything else so miniature. I just love that button nose.

I can't wait to show her to Ian and see his reaction. We talk to him about her and he kisses my tummy, laughs, and then very sweetly says "Bye, bye." He probably doesn't have a clue. It doesn't matter, I still think he'll make an awesome older brother.

'Lil Squirt

Here is a modest picture of Ian having fun in the tub. He has recently learned of squirt toy fun and humor. His aim is terrible, which adds to the excitement. He never knows what or who he might target, including himself, which really gets him to giggling. Nothing and nobody is safe, we all pretty much get wet. So maybe now I can convince Paul of the urgency in removing the carpet in the bathroom and replacing it with tile.

Trains, Planes, and Trucks Oh My!

If it moves and has wheels or an engine, Ian is interested. He absolutely loves anything involving transportation. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, airplanes, boats, wagons, bicycles, and especially trains to mention a few. If it moves and can transport something, he's hooked.

First thing after waking up, Ian has to play with his newly acquired train table that Santa brought him. He gets so engrossed in connecting the magnetic train cars and pushing them around the track, that I have to drag him away to eat breakfast. Usually tears are involved, although Paul and I have learned a one minute warning definitely helps with the transition. The second he is released from his highchair, off he bounces towards the train table.

Ian also loves to play with his bigger sized cars, trucks and train too. He pushes them around and lines them up like they're in a race. I frequently see him lying on the floor intently watching as the wheels go round and round. The latest newly acquired skill is for Ian to sit under a chair and move the vehicles between its legs. This is funny to watch, especially when he is finally ready to move out from under the chair and finds that his head is stuck, poor thing. Some whining, and "umm," his word for help, and mama comes to the rescue.

The interesting thing is that this obsession is not limited to actual toy cars, trucks, trains, etc. He even loves to look at books with this subject matter. It's so cool when he brings me a book and curls up in my lap to share it with me (because of course I and everyone else must have this obsession too). One of our favorite games is to say a type of vehicle and have him point to it. He's very proud of knowing the names of so many! Even in picture story books, where the topic involves something other than transportation, he keeps a watchful eye for the things he loves. One book in particular titled, "It's Too Soon," about a little rabbit having to go to bed, has a couple pages showing a car on a bookshelf. As soon as we get to those few pages, Ian gets very excited and says, "Caa, caa." Interpretation: car, car.

Ask Ian if he wants to go bye, bye, and he's off and running for the door shouting very clearly, "Bye, bye!!!" This kid loves to travel around in a car. I've heard other parents groan about having to lug their offspring anywhere. As for Ian, are you kidding? He knows that bye, bye means an opportunity to get out on the road and see the very things he loves. Sometimes we even luck out and get to see a real live school bus. Oh boy, when that opportunity presents itself, he squeals with delight and kicks his legs like nobody's business. A school bus sighting will absolutely make his day.

It is so cool to watch Ian play with his toys and be a total boy. But the really neat thing to observe is when he doesn't have his toys and has to use his imagination. When he starts to fill up during a meal, he loves to take his food, start driving it around his tray making engine noises. In restaurants, Ian grabs a straw and drives it around the table and under the place mat which of course makes an excellent tunnel. That cheese stick? A definite airplane once he stretches his arms upward adding sound effects to boot.

His preoccupation with all things transportation has certainly made it easier for Paul and I to think up a theme for his new room. When baby sister arrives and Ian is ousted from the nursery, he will absolutely go nuts when he sees all the trucks, trains, and planes covering the walls and bed. At least that's our hope to help make the transistion go a little smoother.