tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11952978324826088282024-03-16T01:49:23.716-04:00Married to GingerLife with my favorite redheads.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.comBlogger188125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-49975595385986590172019-03-14T14:48:00.001-04:002019-03-14T14:48:04.683-04:00leo is one<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_t4Pnhy68Q1bPlaY_0xkyMvUzMzAX1zY6qmKpGRuna8skT38rq15Xt7k0R8ii7CSJG31GJrvL5R-pvt8VI2Ykkgh1HhnTE2_diyqX7kteLLjTGdgYTV-qRrOQ-uPSrpZPMRzEv1JUdpIt/s1600/IMG_1925.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1287" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_t4Pnhy68Q1bPlaY_0xkyMvUzMzAX1zY6qmKpGRuna8skT38rq15Xt7k0R8ii7CSJG31GJrvL5R-pvt8VI2Ykkgh1HhnTE2_diyqX7kteLLjTGdgYTV-qRrOQ-uPSrpZPMRzEv1JUdpIt/s640/IMG_1925.JPG" width="514" /></a></div>
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WE MADE IT! It really doesn't seem possible that you are one. It feels like it was eons ago that I was in that hospital room holding a brand new baby Leo. Everything since then has been a blur of happiness and survival.<br />
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I say survival because juggling the needs of two little ones is certainly a lot of work, but you really did make it as easy on us as possible. You've been such a delightful baby that I'm having a hard time accepting that we are officially out of babyhood and into toddlerhood.<br />
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We had so much fun celebrating your birthday with a circus lion themed party. More to come on that later. For now, let's cover everything that's happened over the last month (or so...I've come back to this post several times over the past 2 weeks and have failed to finish every time. I blame the fact that I've been solo parenting a lot lately due to Dada's work travel).<br />
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The most exciting development is that you are now walking! We knew it would probably happen this month, and sure enough, on Super Bowl Sunday with Aunt Mae Mae, Uncle Boo and Abby in attendance, you took 2-3 little steps. We all failed to capture it on camera, but there were witnesses so it did happen! It took a few more days before you were replicating those few steps, and maybe a week or so after that before you were truly taking little walks. Even as recently as 7-10 days ago, I would say you were about 50/50 crawling to walking, but now that you can stand up without any assistance you walk everywhere.<br />
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I love this beginning walking stage so much. You literally toddled around with your arms in a goalpost pose to help with balance. You would just kind of take off and then lunge forward hoping someone or something would catch you. I loved being on the receiving end of that with those chubby cheeks and big smile coming toward me and falling into my lap all day long. You were so proud of yourself! Unfortunately, not everything is as good a landing spot as mama so you racked up a fair amount of bumps and bruises along the way. You are pretty steady now, and able to catch yourself with your hands or bum. You are still climbing stairs like a madman, and you are getting pretty good at going down stairs as well. We are obviously still spotting you, but I'm hoping you'll master them fairly quickly. You even tried to climb out of the bathtub the other day, and you almost succeeded.<br />
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Sleep remains the same. Thank goodness! You sleep through the night from about 7:45-7. There have even been minimal tears when I put you down recently. You usually still take a morning nap around 10/10:30 but sometimes we skip it if you slept in late or if we are out doing something. You won't really nap on the go anymore, but it's not a big deal for you to just skip the morning nap so that's been nice. Your afternoon nap is still about 1.5-2 hours, and I wake you up by 3:45.<br />
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I'm down to just 3 nursing sessions - morning, before nap, and bedtime. I think we'll just see how the next few months go, but I can already tell you are gradually nursing less and less. We have introduced cow's milk and you seem ambivalent - you don't love it, you don't hate it. You prefer water. You are still eating most of what is put in front of you, but it varies from day. One day you might not want chicken, but the next day, you'll have several helpings. If there is one food that you never seem to love, it might be raspberries or pears. You love using utensils, and insist on having your own spoon or fork (otherwise, you'll demand mine!).<br />
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You have 4 new molars now! You actually cut the first two on your birthday weekend, but luckily they didn't seem to cause much angst. They kind of surprised me because I forgot the first set of molars come in before the canines. I was on the lookout because you were drooling and chewing like crazy so I felt your gums one day and was surprise to feel a big, sharp molar. Only 8 more teeth to go and then you are all done.<br />
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What did cause some angst around your birthday was the absence of Mama. Even though the spotlight was on your birthday, I got to celebrate too. We went away for a night while Shi Shi and Papa manned the circus at home. You weren't thrilled about it (boy were you clingy when I got back!), but you weren't a complete disaster either. Shi Shi had to offer some extra snuggles around 11:00 p.m. but you otherwise did OK. Unfortunately, most other caretakers don't have such luck. We drop you off at church nursery every Sunday and MOPs nursery twice month, but you rarely make it the entire time without Mama getting called to come get you. We'll just have to keep trying until you learn that Mama always comes back.<br />
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You have started to really play with toys intentionally and figure out the "proper" way to get them to work - putting your cars right way up and racing cars on the track, stacking rings, etc. You love knocking down whatever Charlie is building with his magnatiles. You like taking things in and out of containers, and in general, just figuring out how to get into things, work things, etc. We are starting to work on using your shape sorter and doing beginner puzzles.<br />
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You also still LOVE balls. We got you a little pop-up tent, which we filled with 300 balls to make a ball pit. I'm sure I'll regret this (I already do to be honest), but it makes you so happy. You love to play catch, and just today I caught you and Charlie throwing the ball back and forth, which naturally melted my heart. You have a pretty good arm for a one-year-old. We also notice that you favor your left hand so we'll see if that sticks.<br />
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Your other favorite toy is the toilet. You love unrolling toilet paper, you love putting things in the toilet, you love splashing in the toilet. You love the toilet so much that I almost wish Charlie wasn't potty trained so we could go back to keeping all the bathroom doors locked. :)<br />
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Here are some things you don't like: socks and shoes. You ALWAYS try to take your socks off, but you usually stop after getting one sock off so you are constantly walking around with one sock on. It drives me crazy always having to look for the other sock. Since you are walking now and we have had a few nicer days to play outside, I had to put you in real shoes, which you didn't love.<br />
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You also don't like diaper changes. You just have better things to do with your time. I try to get your brother to entertain you otherwise I have to hold your still with one hand while trying to change your diaper with the other.<br />
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At the top of the list is your hatred for not getting your way. You are becoming more and more vocal about what you do or don't want to do. For example, if I move you away from the toilet or don't let you touch the stove knobs, you cry and pout. You also LOVE pushing the buttons on the ovens and then, of course, hate when I don't let you.<br />
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You are saying more words, but they tend to come completely out of the blue and then we don't hear them again. You seem to decide every now and then to just go for it. So far, we've heard "uh oh, hello, wawa, and jungle." Random, I know, but they have all been caught on camera or heard by more than one person so I promise we aren't making it up. Dada and mama remain the only two in regular rotation. Dada is still your favorite, but just these last couple of days, I have heard a ton of mamas.<br />
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You continue to learn new tricks all the time. When you decide you want to do something, you are a quick study. Papa taught you how to do (what he calls) head-knockers, where you just kind of lean into someone for a little head bump. Boys....lol. You love doing it at the table while eating. You still give great high fives, and we are working on waving. You attempted to wave at the nurse at your 1 year well appointment.<br />
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As you have become older and more aware of your surroundings, you definitely are more apprehensive around people. You used to smile at anyone and everything, but now it takes more effort to get laughs and smiles out of you. You are very ticklish, though, so that works like a charm when I want to get giggles out of you. You still have this amazing guttural chuckle. Sometimes it seems like you go straight from grunting to laughing.<br />
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As has always been the case, if there is anyone who can make you laugh the hardest just by being silly, it's Charlie. You want to always being doing whatever Charlie is doing (and you are learning how to get into things much faster since you have his example to follow). Charlie has mixed feelings about you always wanting to play with him. He likes that you are walking so you can play "chase" with him, and he loves playing catch with you. He doesn't like when you knock down his magnatile creations. But I see you both learning how to navigate in each other's space more and more each day, and it's pretty cute to watch it all unfold. By and large, you both like each other very much and you are starting to interact more each day. Charlie continues to be a big help, and has lots of opinions on my mothering skills ("put baby down" "i do it" "i'm helping" and on and on).<br />
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The cutest thing is that Charlie still calls you "Baby" all the time. I think it started because we often refer to you as Baby Leo so Charlie just shortened it to Baby. The way he says it in his sing-songy way gets me every time. BaaaaaaaaaBY. The truth is that he's not wrong. You're still Baby Leo to me, and you always will be so you might as well just get used to it.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-19329905343586405072019-01-29T15:40:00.001-05:002019-01-29T15:40:45.320-05:00leo is 11 months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAid4HFDemm8d_lsNUswjWEBG9rf1s3ruVzsyBP1xrr8NLSPeMC-JVRTyMfw7h1YJSqiMSfVNVirQQy06tp9J1mJ1UsaxUOYL2dyT7O9sgGK_3U4W7TI-8FzbnhP_vgaolRG9PFZSuN6JO/s1600/IMG_0753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1340" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAid4HFDemm8d_lsNUswjWEBG9rf1s3ruVzsyBP1xrr8NLSPeMC-JVRTyMfw7h1YJSqiMSfVNVirQQy06tp9J1mJ1UsaxUOYL2dyT7O9sgGK_3U4W7TI-8FzbnhP_vgaolRG9PFZSuN6JO/s640/IMG_0753.JPG" width="536" /></a></div>
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Happy 11 months! One month to go until the big first birthday. We're running out of onesies for photos so I had to squeeze you into a 6-9 month one this month. I'm shocked I got it to snap, and it stayed just long enough for the photo.<br />
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We had a pretty decent snowfall earlier this month. Unfortunately, you were sick at the time so you didn't get to play outside too much. We took you out just long enough to get a cute photo of you all bundled up. I think your stomach just got all out of whack because everything was running right through you for 5-6 days. We started to get worried you were getting dehydrated, but every time we approached the maximum time your doctor said you go without a wet diaper, you would finally pee. I'm so grateful we managed to get enough liquids in you to avoid taking you in for an IV in the middle of a snowstorm. Whew.<br />
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You are always punctual. The day you hit 11 months, we caught you standing unassisted. So far, you can stand for maybe 10-15 seconds before slowly squatting back down. You even took one half step before sitting back down. You look long and hard when we reach out for you to walk, but every time you resort to crawling. If I had to put my money on it, I'd say you will be taking steps by the time you turn one next month.<br />
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Speaking of turning 1, birthday prep is in full force for your circus party. I'm having lots of fun planning all the fun little details while still being in complete disbelief that you are almost one.<br />
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You have still been doing great with two naps/day, and you are back to sleep through the night on the regular. There have also been fewer tears before bedtime lately. Perhaps you are finally learning that it's far more pleasant to chit chat while falling asleep rather than just protest with tears.<br />
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You still love to eat, but you don't necessarily love your high chair. For as much as you want to eat, you can't sit in your high chair very long without getting fussy or antsy. I think it might be a bit uncomfortable for you so we're going to try a different style chair to see if it's a better fit. There isn't much you won't eat, but peanut butter seems to be a favorite right now. You can definitely inhale an entire tortilla covered in peanut butter. You also love drinking water out of whatever cup or water bottle is nearby - mine, Charlie's, etc.<br />
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We are still nursing, but we can start introducing cow's milk soon. Waking you up from you naps and snuggling while you nurse is still one of my favorite parts of the day. You are so warm and squishy when you first wake up., and hopelessly foggy as you rub your sleepy eyes (your poor lower eyelid is always red because you rub it so much you've irritated your skin).<br />
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You say "dada" all the time. You also say "mama," but I probably only hear 1 mama to every 50 dadas. I'm not positive anything has truly counted as your first word yet, but if we had to call it today, dada would win. Sigh.<br />
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Your hair is completely out of control these days. Of course, I can't bring myself to cut it, but you have basically grown wings on both sides. If we can hold out until summer, I know your hair will curl right up in the heat and humidity. Maybe I'll just take a little off the back to avoid mullet territory.<br />
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You still love playing ball and you still love playing with everything Charlie has. It's getting harder and harder to just relocate you and try to distract you with other toys. I fear I'm about to enter the stage of life where I am constantly acting as referee. It's not that your brother doesn't like you. He always makes sure the pillow is placed at the bottom of the step in case you fall (even though you can safely navigate 1-2 steps now). He loves to share food with you and make you laugh or tickle you. But yeah, he doesn't love when you get in his way or try to play with his things.<br />
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You already love cars and trucks. You are great at moving the cars along the race track, and you love watching them slide down the tower. Charlie got a robotic snake for his birthday, and it might be your favorite thing right now. You chase it all over the house, and you are most delighted when you finally catch it.<br />
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When you aren't chasing the snake around, I can usually find you in the bathroom. You love exploring all the fun things in the cabinet, unrolling the toilet paper or splashing in the toilet. It was a little easier to keep you away before, but now that Charlie is potty-trained, we have to keep the doors open so he has access. This has brought you great joy.<br />
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You are pointing at all kinds of things now - especially in your books. You still like the lift-a-flap books the best. You are working on high fives and waving bye bye - both in progress, but you're trying! We have also been working on signing "more" during mealtimes. You played a version of peek-a-boo behind the curtain yesterday.<br />
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You are still navigating the stairs like a champ. You can climb the entire flight of stairs in no time at all. You can easily go down the one step on the main floor, and you can get down the two stairs leading into the basement no problem. I have spotted you before and let you climb down the big flight of stairs too.<br />
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It's amazing how fast you can pick up on things and imitate new things. Dada and I have both noticed that you seem to learn things quickly. I sometimes wonder if you catch on quicker because you have a big brother to show you the ropes around here.<br />
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As you get bigger, we are starting to see more personality...and more opinions! You are certainly not a difficult baby, but you aren't as laid back as your big brother was at this age. You demand a little more attention, and you seem to have more thoughts about what you want and when you want it.<br />
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You have the best chuckle and big smile, but you can be very shy with new people. There is no doubt you are a mama's boy, and separation anxiety has reached its peak (or at least I hope it has...I'd hate to see it get worse!). We've had several weeks now where I haven't been able to leave you with anyone other than Dada. Church and MOPs nursery have been a no-go in the last 1-2 months. However, I'm happy to report that you made it through the entire sermon in nursery this week and also lasted for an entire MOPs meeting. I wouldn't say you were the happiest either time, but you weren't inconsolable. We have a babysitter coming this Saturday so we'll see how you handle that. It's hard because the only way for you to learn is to practice, but it still hurts my mama heart to know you can be so unhappy when I'm away.<br />
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You are also starting to get mad if we don't let you do something or if Charlie takes a toy from you. It's no longer quite as easy to just replace the toy or activity with something else. You have also had a few spells lately where you were just plain unhappy for a couple of hours for no explainable reason. It seems to usually hit in the evening, and leaves us scratching our heads. It's probably different things every time - teething, illness, tiredness, who knows? I still don't understand why babies don't come with manuals or at least mood rings.<br />
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We can't wait to celebrate you in one short month!! Love you, mean it.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-87947383454885999442019-01-07T21:27:00.003-05:002019-01-07T21:28:15.726-05:00leo is 10 months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMMBeS1t1ddGn31uyIZkbdvk2UjHyN8cTh5R_NX3fvvfKxYDUkNenkqe-N-TADFi4WPmtUZ00Pinh4xiNArSkAdODge5Dh-ZgRCIfPGpv4e0d5d0UyqNoZ8dlLIl6T4IK0gnS81caaVY7/s1600/IMG_9957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMMBeS1t1ddGn31uyIZkbdvk2UjHyN8cTh5R_NX3fvvfKxYDUkNenkqe-N-TADFi4WPmtUZ00Pinh4xiNArSkAdODge5Dh-ZgRCIfPGpv4e0d5d0UyqNoZ8dlLIl6T4IK0gnS81caaVY7/s640/IMG_9957.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I took the photo a day early this month, but I'm almost 2 weeks late with the post. That's what happens when a monthly milestone falls on Christmas. It just means I have all kinds of fun things to report...and probably not as much to say in 2 weeks when I do this again. :)<br />
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I think you hit another growth spurt recently because looking at you today, you just look so massive. You barely fit in your infant car seat. You have outgrown many 12-18 month clothes, and while you are still in size 4 diapers, I bought some size 5s to try and you can easily fit into those as well. You also have two new teeth and more on the way.<br />
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Your interaction has been off the charts this month too. It's so fun to see more personality coming out. You are picking up new skills left and right. You learned how to clap at the beginning of the month, and you even recognize that you are supposed to clap when we start singing "if you're happy and you know it..." Tonight, Dada successfully taught you how to high five. You can turn the pages in books, and you've started to point at things. You think it's so fun when Dada points at you and you point back. It's very ET of you both.<br />
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You also started "talking" this month. I probably remember it so clearly because it was Charlie's 3rd birthday, and I was already lamenting how quickly my boys are growing up. You woke up that morning and turned on the babble like flipping a switch. All kinds of "dada" "baba" "gaga" noises with lots of new variation. I hate to admit it, but we hear a lot more "dadada." There's still hope because nothing has sounded like an official first word yet, but I'm afraid I'm going to lose that one.<br />
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You may say "dada" first, but in my heart, I know you're a mama's boy. This can be both good and bad. Sometimes only mama will do, and you don't like not being in my presence. Even in Oklahoma for New Years, you were pretty clingy with mama - often nuzzling into my chest when others wanted to hold you. You did warm up to people after a few days or as long as I stayed within few/didn't leave for too long. I'm not sure when we'll attempt a babysitter again. I'm afraid it wouldn't go well.<br />
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Sleeping and eating remain the same. You weren't a great sleeper over this last month or while we were in Oklahoma - not terrible, but not the dream baby you were on our last trip. I'm hoping we can get back to sleeping through the night now that we are home. You still love solids and eat anything put in front of you. We've successfully weaned down to 4 nursing sessions/day. We have skipped morning nap a time or two lately without too much trouble. I think you'll probably be ready to drop your morning snooze on the earlier side, which is fine by me since it usually means an even longer afternoon nap.<br />
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You were a good traveler again. Even though we got delayed landing in OK and then had to wait a looong time for a gate and our luggage, you were such a champ. On the way back home, we had an early, early flight and you fell asleep on my shoulder before we even took off!<br />
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You are really getting around cruising these days, but you aren't quite brave enough to take a step. I have caught you standing for a second or two after letting go, but you always get down to crawl from point A to point B. You'll use anything as a push toy to help you walk around - chairs, stools, small tables, boxes, etc. Perhaps most exciting this month, you learned how to navigate the step down into the living room. Now I can worry just a tad less about you bonking your head every time I turn around.<br />
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Your favorite toy is whatever Charlie is playing with at the moment. This works out great since 3 yr old's love to share. Insert eye roll. It's definitely been a little more love/hate recently. You both have great moments of hugging, laughing, tickling (Charlie loves to pretend to be the tickle monster getting you) and reading books together, but also some more challenging moments of stealing toys and hitting/pushing. You do love bath time together, and my favorite thing is when you talk to each other. If you are babbling, Charlie will make those same repetitive sounds back and forth with you. Charlie also loves to share his food with you. This is normally fine, but I've had to intervene a few times before he shoved a whole grape or popcorn in your face.<br />
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You love playing with balls. You think dribbling balls is hilarious, and you've learned how to roll the ball back and forth with Dada. The toilet brush and toilet are also on your favorites list. Sigh. You like to open drawers and pull everything out. And you love dumping toys out of bins as well. Unlike your brother, you don't seem scared of loud noises - you crawled right over to the vacuum the other day to investigate. You were pretty fascinated by the tree as well. You liked to pull off ornaments and chew on them. Luckily, we have plenty of soft ornaments to put near the bottom in reach of tiny hands.<br />
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Goodnight Moon is still your favorite book. Charlie has requested it recently, and once you hear me start reading, you always make a beeline to come over for story-time. Speaking of beelines, nothing gets you more excited than nap time. When you hear the water running, you cannot be held back.<br />
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Of course, as you get older, you also get more opinionated. You are still delightfully drama-free 95% of the time, but you have your moments. You get mad when you want to eat (I don't blame you), but you also get mad when you are done eating and want to get out of your highchair and move around. You have learned how to take your bib off and you love throwing your water sippy cup on the floor. Diaper changes have become a wrestling match, and there are still tears at bedtime pretty much every night. You've also been a little more resistant to getting buckled into your car seat lately, but once strapped in and moving, you're fine with it.<br />
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Birthday party planning has started in earnest. Less than two months to go!!Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-78712177647099977542018-12-04T21:31:00.000-05:002018-12-04T21:31:11.175-05:00leo is 9 months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuD1SE6Q1HxD3cuqY-f08pYfIpyGmjhUoazrSRivtJtX42wsj0JbiCPA5rl5OLW7aXkDGCe1LGAUsZHXuyrJy45QXB2V5WllxykxxFg28MIcaH29jx4E95nMSr2TeHf0b0iIktiuTO5oDi/s1600/IMG_9047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuD1SE6Q1HxD3cuqY-f08pYfIpyGmjhUoazrSRivtJtX42wsj0JbiCPA5rl5OLW7aXkDGCe1LGAUsZHXuyrJy45QXB2V5WllxykxxFg28MIcaH29jx4E95nMSr2TeHf0b0iIktiuTO5oDi/s640/IMG_9047.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I know I sound like a broken record, but there just isn't a better to describe you other than happy, happy, happy. You're happy when you wake up, happy when you're eating, happy when you're playing, and happy in the bathtub. You're happy to be crawling, happy to be pulling up, and happy to be exploring. You are not so happy when you are sick, and not so happy about bedtime these days.<br />
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You weigh 22 lbs (84%) and you are 30.5" long (99%). You are wearing 12-18 months clothes and some 18-24 month things too. There were a lot of firsts this past month. Two holidays, one time change, lots of big tub baths, one beach vacation, your first time in church nursery and also your first fever and first stomach bug. Whew.<br />
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On Halloween, you wore the carrot costume that Charlie wore on his first halloween. It was just too cute to not use again (also, the lion costume I ordered for you didn't fit because you're giant). Charlie went as peas so you could match. It was a beautiful evening, and you loved riding around in the wagon and chewing on a glow-stick while Charlie went trick or treating. The peas and carrot were a big hit!<br />
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We used the dreaded time change to move your bedtime by 30 minutes. It actually really worked in our favor. You now go to bed at 7:30, which is the same time as Charlie. You also graduated to the big boy bathtub. So now after dinner, you and Charlie take a bath together much to the delight of both of you. Charlie has taught you how to splash, and he loves to help wash your hair with what he calls "shampoop." You love the octopus bath toy, and you get mad when it floats away. Luckily Charlie helps make sure you always have it. After bath, I get you in your PJs and nurse you while Dada reads to Charlie. Then it's lights out for both of you at 7:30. It's been really helpful to have you on the same bedtime schedule.<br />
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This also means your wake times and naps overlap even more. You usually wake up between 7-8, nap from 10-11 and then from 1:45/2-4. Naps aren't a problem, and bedtime really isn't either, but you have definitely figured out the routine and you fuss as soon as you get out the bath because you know what's coming. You do like reading books - the peek-a-boo and lift-the-flap books are your current favorites. Once we put you down, you usually protest for 5-10 minutes and then sleep all night (you did have a few nights lately where you wanted to nurse in the early morning, but I think that was just a growth spurt. You were back to your solid 11-12 hours last night).<br />
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The time change has also allowed us to put you in church nursery a couple of times when we can squeeze in an early nap at home before church. The first time I dropped you off, you did great and made it the whole time without them having to call me. The second time was also smooth sailing. The third time was a bit of bust, but it wasn't really your fault. You hadn't taken a morning nap so you were just too exhausted and got a little cranky after the first hour.<br />
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Perhaps most exciting this month was our vacation to Turks & Caicos. We met Shi Shi and Papa there for a week of sun and sand. You were a dream travel baby. You did great on all the flights and during two long travel days. You slept in a crib in our room and didn't skip a beat. You went down for naps and bed like a complete champ. I don't think you ever even cried or woke up in the middle of the night. I would wake up in the morning and you'd be sitting in your crib next to me with the biggest smile. You did, however, have your first ever fever while we were there. You were just a bit out of sorts one day and sure enough, by that evening, you had a little temp. But it was gone by the next morning and you were back to your happy self. You loved being in the pool in your floatie. We took you for your first dip in the ocean as well. Like most babies, you were a little puzzled by sand and mostly just tried to eat it.<br />
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You have more than mastered crawling. You are so fast! On the last day of vacation, you finally conquered pulling up. You'd been so close all month, and I honestly think the airport in Turks & Caicos was your first time to really pull up on something taller than the little step in our house. You pulled up on one of those leather airport chairs and never looked back.<br />
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Of course all the mobility means you can get yourself into more trouble now. You love pulling on the knobs of our dresser and opening the drawers. Fingers have been caught. Getting up a step also means you sometimes go back down the step. Head bumps are numerous. You also love pushing doors back and forth and pulling on the pocket doors in our room. Again, fingers have been caught. Your other great love is electronic devices and power cords, which I'm constantly trying to keep out of your reach.<br />
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You still love swinging, and you also still love hanging out in your jumperoo. Charlie likes this too because it keeps you away from his toys. Now that you are mobile, you can get to whatever you want...including whatever Charlie is playing with. This has caused a few kerfuffles, which have occasionally resulted in tears for you and time outs for Charlie. We've been working with him on making sure you always have a toy to play with and this has really helped. He's usually happy to share a toy of his choosing if it keeps you away from his other things. <br />
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Despite his hesitation to sometimes share with you, you and Charlie both still really love each other. Charlie loves to make you laugh and he always keeps a watch over you. He makes sure you always have enough puffs to eat and that you have a toy to play with and that you aren't about to fall down the step. He loves when I put you in his crib post-nap so you can both jump up and down and roll around laughing. Lately, he's been playing hide and seek with you by covering you up with his cloth hamper. Both of you just laugh and laugh when he does this.<br />
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Right before you officially hit 9 months was your first Thanksgiving. It was a bit of a doozy. Nana, Grandpa, Uncle Tad, Aunt Monica and your cousins Zachary and Isaac all came. Unfortunately, Charlie passed the stomach bug to you and mama (Dada, Nana and Isaac eventually went down too). We both spent Wednesday night throwing up, but we didn't discovered you had been sick until Thanksgiving morning. Dada went to get you up, and you were covered in vomit. Poor lil bubby. You bounced back pretty quickly, though - definitely faster than I did. By mealtime, you were happy to eat a plate full of turkey, mashed potatoes and rolls.<br />
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Speaking of eating, it's still a favorite activity. You eat everything and so far, no allergic reactions to anything. You really loved the turkey. Otherwise, it's hard to tell if you have any favorites because you seem to like whatever we put in front of you....or whatever you can find on the floor! You nurse 5x a day (first thing in the morning, before afternoon nap, after both naps and before bed). You are so good about eating solids that I hope you won't be too difficult to wean. But right now, I hate to think about giving up all the snuggles I get while you nurse. My favorite time of day is when I wake you up from your naps because you are so sleepy and sweet while you nurse. You do still bite sometimes when you aren't hungry so I've learned my lesson on trying to nurse when you aren't interested!!<br />
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You have a huge, toothy smile, the brightest blue eyes, and the best chuckle. You're hair is getting long in the back and a few curls have started to form. Your cheeks are still glorious and your neck lost in your rolls. You are extremely ticklish. You make all kinds of fun sounds these days. Lots of happy grunting and guttural noises. You also trill your tongue all the time. We're working on clapping - you love banging toys together so we'll see if you can catch on soon. No more signs of "mama" or "dada" - the serious campaigning starts now to see who can get the first word out of you.<br />
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While you are still smiley with other people, we are starting to see some shyness come out. Sometimes when people approach while I'm holding you, you'll shyly nuzzle into my chest and give just a little smile like you're playing hard to get. It's the cutest and very endearing.<br />
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I took you to your well visit today in a sweater that said "Never grow up." I know I'm losing this battle so I'm just trying to enjoy every little moment of this sweet baby stage. You make it so easy to enjoy. It's such a joy to watch you grow. Love you, mean it.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-14372899658555515312018-11-04T22:19:00.003-05:002018-11-04T22:19:41.921-05:00leo is 8 months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This month was SO much fun. I said in my last update that I thought everything would really take off soon, and I was not wrong. You are officially on the move, and loving every minute of it.<br />
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You started army crawling pretty soon after hitting 7 months, and then you spent a couple of weeks doing a lot of planking in the process of trying to learn how to crawl. At 8 months on the dot, you started real crawling on your hands and knees. It must have been your way of celebrating mom and dad's 10th anniversary. We knew you were *this* close, and sure enough, you just decided to up and do it one day. There wasn't too much easing into it. The day before you had taken one or two lunges forward, and the next day you were crawling across the room no problem.<br />
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Even though I knew this was coming, I still feel unprepared. Sometimes I'm still surprised when I find you somewhere quite far from where I put you down. To make matters even more complicated, your next move after crawling was to immediately find a way to climb the step from the living room into the dining room. It's almost like you were just chomping at the bit to get over there and figure it out. Needless to say, things have escalated quickly around here.<br />
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Of course, being mobile has huge advantages for you. You love exploring....and you love finding trouble. You really enjoyed picking up the air vent so we had to secure it to the floor. You also love licking the fridge. The upstairs landing is a bit of a problem because it has a step down. Naturally, you always want to head straight for it. The other day I found you halfway off the step with your brother helping you down so you didn't get hurt. It was both sweet and terrifying. Don't worry, we do have a gate, and yes, it was closed. Still, mama clearly ain't ready and I need to adjust more quickly!!<br />
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Somehow you've managed to become even more expressive. You have this cute little happy grunt that you do all the time. Perhaps it's because you are so delighted with yourself and your new mobility. You smile and laugh all the time, and we can tell you take great pride in your accomplishments. You are trying to pull up on things, and I suspect by next month you will have mastered that.<br />
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You are starting to do more babbling, and I've definitely heard a "mama" or two. I'm sure it's not intentional yet, but one of the most clear times you said it was right after I said "bye bye" and was walking out the door. I'm determined it will be your first word so hopefully we are on the right track.<br />
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You may have noticed I didn't start this update talking about sleep. I'm so relieved that's its a back-burner issue right now. You continue to be a great napper, and your are still sleeping through the night. I don't think I had to go in during the night one time this month. Hallelujah. Sometimes you'll cry before bed, but it's usually very short-lived. Waking you up is the best. I like to go in and take you to the chair for cuddles while you nurse. Since I don't nurse you to sleep anymore, it's my best time of day to get in my snuggles. When you wake up on your own, you hang out in your crib rolling around and chatting for a bit. Then when I go to get you, you always greet me with the biggest smile. It melts me every time. Sometimes Charlie joins in the fun and climbs into your crib with you. He likes to bounce up and down to make you giggle.<br />
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You are really starting to enjoy your toys. You like rolling the many trucks we have back and forth, and you seem to gravitate toward the O-balls. You love the toy piano and you crawl over to it all the time to just bang away. You love the mobile above your crib - it's a nice little distraction to get some smiles out of you before bedtime. You also really love plastic water bottles just like your brother did. The first thing that motivated you to crawl was a water bottle.<br />
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You took one bath with Charlie earlier this month. It was big fun, but you were still a little too unsteady and you kept wanting to lunge forward. You've pretty much outgrown your baby tub so we'll make the leap to the big boy bath soon.<br />
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You are incredibly ticklish - especially your belly and your neck rolls. Charlie still loves to make you laugh, and will often say "baby laugh" in addition to "baby silly" when you giggle. You have the best belly laugh that almost makes you topple over in pure glee. It's one of my favorite sounds in the whole wide world.<br />
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Charlie is still your biggest helper. He likes to make sure you have your water cup and keeps your baby puffs coming. I think you still like Charlie more than just about anyone. Of course, now that you are more mobile and starting to have opinions about what you enjoy and want to do, Charlie is having to learn how to adapt. Sharing has become more of a challenge. Charlie isn't always thrilled that you can now access whatever you want - including his toys. We try to head this off by telling Charlie to make sure you always have a toy. He is starting to sort what is a baby toy and will often bring something over to you to replace his toy that he wants to reclaim. This system seems to work for now, but it's only a matter of time before I'm breaking up fights over toys.<br />
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Every once in a while, Charlie will take out his anger on you. Luckily, Charlie is not an angry kid so this is pretty rare. It never has anything to do with you either - there is no doubt Charlie LOVES his baby Leo. Sometimes you are just the nearest target. One time he took a swipe at your face with his hand because he was upset he had to come inside when he wanted to keep playing outside. You just looked up at him and smiled. We were almost dismayed because it would have been a more helpful teaching lesson if you had reacted with tears.<br />
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But these instances are rare. For the most part, you are your brother do great together. I catch Charlie "helping" you all the time, trying to make you laugh, wanting to hug you, and even "playing" with you, or at least playing right beside you. Charlie also loves pushing you on the swing. Sometimes when you are napping, Charlie will talk about waking you up because I think he misses his buddy.<br />
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Solids are still going great. You love to eat, and shovel anything put in front of you into your mouth. I literally don't think you've rejected anything yet. Of course, now that you can crawl, we have to be really careful what's within reach. You managed to find a grape under the buffet and popped it into your mouth. Luckily, I saw it happen and fished it out before any harm was done. You do a great job of chewing before you swallow. You love drinking water out of your sippy. All your eating is aided by the help of your 4(!!!) new teeth. All four top teeth came in at once. You took it like a champ, though, and barely registered any discomfort.<br />
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In addition to solids, you nurse about 5-6x/day. You are super efficient (and also easily distracted) so it only takes 5-10 minutes to get in a feeding. You did bite me a couple of times while teething, but I've learned to pay attention to your signals so I can avoid that from happening. Ouch!<br />
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There is really only one thing that makes you really mad - when you run out of food on your tray. Otherwise, you might get grumpy when you are done with your meal, when you bump your head or maybe when you get really tired. Otherwise, you are a pretty darn content baby.<br />
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We went apple picking and to a fall festival this month. You rode around in the wagon taking everything in, and did great despite taking both naps on the go that day. The only time you aren't super expressive is when we are outside. I think it's because you are too busy observing everything. We've been playing outside a lot enjoying the beautiful fall weather. You love to swing, and you've been great about taking your morning nap in the carrier or stroller.<br />
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You bring us so much joy every day. One of my favorite rituals is after your last feed, as I'm walking you to your room, we go find dada and say "give him your smile." Every single time, your whole face just lights up. Thank you for being such an easy-going, happy baby. And thank you for having the fattest, most kissable cheeks!<br />
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<br />Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-6512165213574185692018-09-28T15:27:00.001-04:002018-09-28T15:27:10.468-04:00leo is 7 months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We are officially in the second half of your first year! The 7-month milestone seems like a bit of a tipping point. Maybe it's all in my head, but it feels like things just really take off from here. You're definitely not my little baby anymore. Although, let's be honest, you've never really been <i>that</i> little.<br />
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You were back to being your fat and happy self this month. Thank heaven. Besides a growing desire to be entertained, you've been an easy babe lately and we've had a fun month with Dada being back in town and a visit from Shi Shi. You are wearing size 4 diapers, which somehow already seem a little snug, and you are mostly in 12 month or 12-18 month clothes.<br />
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But let's be honest, everything starts with sleep. A sleeping baby is a happy baby and a sleeping baby makes for a happy mama too. We worked HARD to get here, but you've become an A+ sleeper. You sleep 8-8 and take two naps from 10:30-11:30 and 2:00-4:00. It's almost like clockwork every single day, and there are seldom any tears when I put you down. Hallelujah. We always read Goodnight Moon and sing Jesus Loves Me right before night night time. You smile and giggle your way through the book and you often lay your head down on my shoulder while I sing to you. They are some of the sweetest few minutes of my day (with a naked Charlie yelling "Hey Mama!" from the shower being a close second).<br />
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Perhaps even more exciting, you rarely wake up to eat in the middle of the night now. I wasn't intentionally night weaning, but one night you just slept all the way through...and then you did it the next night and the night after that. Before I knew it, you had slept all night for several nights in a row. Since that stretch, you have woken up 2-3 nights, but I can almost always pinpoint the reason why (one morning you woke up with a new tooth!). The fact that sleeping through the night is the norm now is pretty been life-changing!<br />
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I think a huge part of your sudden night sleep has been your solids intake. Mostly out of convenience, I started putting you in the high chair for three meals/day because it felt rude to leave you out when we're all sitting down to eat. And you've made it very clear that if you're in your high chair, you want food. It feels like we went from 0-60 with solids. I remember with your big brother, it was much more gradual, and he wasn't eating 3 meals until maybe 9-10 months. But one thing I love about having a second kiddo is that we already have so many routines and norms established, and you just naturally fit right into them. It feels so much less overwhelming since we aren't starting with a blank slate on everything.<br />
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You eat whatever we eat. If anything, I have to make sure you don't each too much table food so you'll still nurse enough. You even have a pincer grasp rapidly developing. You pick up small pieces using the tips of 3-4 fingers. From the start, you never really raked food into your palm and smashed it into your face (like someone else I know...). That would have been expected, but you're an advanced eater. :) You really had no trouble picking up food, chewing and swallowing from the start. It's been pretty impressive actually. I thought there would be a little more of a learning curve, but I really shouldn't be surprised. We don't call you fatty fatty for nothing. So far, I think you've liked everything that has been offered. Cheese seems to be a favorite, and watermelon was a big hit too. I'm always shocked at how little food ends up on the floor or in your bib because you've managed to actually eat most of it!!<br />
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Helping you out with solids, are your very first teeth, which finally popped through on the bottom. I guess you really were teething after all. In addition to growing two teeth, you've also grown a ton of hair. I should have mentioned this last month, but between 5-6 months, it seems like you went from bald to a full head of hair. Jury is still out on the color, but it's definitely not red - more of sandy blonde. What is certain is that you have big, beautiful blue eyes. They light up when you smile. Some people say you favor me, but most often, people think you look like your brother.<br />
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You already have so much personality. You give the biggest smiles, and you're an incredibly easy audience. I swear a fly buzzing by could get a rise out of you. You're extremely ticklish - especially poking your belly and tickling your neck, which I believe is there buried under all of your chins. And yes, Charlie still makes you laugh most of all. I think you two already have a secret language, and I swear you've already plotted against us a few times.<br />
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Speaking of Charlie, he's obsessed with helping you these days. He loves putting the baby puffs on your tray and giving you your sippy cup of water. As soon as I get him out of his booster seat, he makes a beeline to your side of the table to hold the water cup for you to drink from. We had to put you on opposite sides of the table because he kept sharing with you and insisting on offering you more food and water. Sometimes, he's been known to pull himself around the edge of the table to get close enough to you to refill your try with food. I think he gave your babysitter quite a scare when she came out of the bathroom to suddenly see Charlie sitting next to you helping you drink your milk from the honey bear bottle.<br />
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Charlie loves to bring you toys and he pauses all the time to come over and gives you hugs, kisses and tickles. Now that you are older and doing more things, Charlie likes to be helpful with your routines. He knows what bib you wear, which cup is yours etc. and he never misses an opportunity to tell me if I've missed a step. He's pretty judge-y about my parenting and already very protective of you. Nothing gets by him. The other day you were sitting on the floor and I stepped away to grab something. Dada was trying to get Charlie to go downstairs to play, but he refused to leave you unattended (even though I was coming right back and you were perfectly safe where you were). Nevertheless, Charlie was concerned and it was about the cutest thing ever that he refused to leave you behind.<br />
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If you are crying and I don't get to you right away, Charlie will often try to comfort you by sitting down next to you and holding a chew toy up to your mouth. He's becoming more attached to you by the day. And yes, he still insists on pushing the stroller. And yes, I still have to subtetly help steer. He also likes to come over and help you play with the toys on your jumperoo. When you both get up from your naps, I often take you into Charlie's crib and you both roll around laughing, reading (& chewing) on books, and giving hugs and kisses (and some hair tugging by you - luckily Charlie doesn't mind). Watching your brotherly relationship grow is one of my favorite things in the whole world.<br />
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You are sturdily sitting up now, and you've learned how to transition back to your tummy without just flopping over. We still have the occasional tumble, but it's mostly when you lunge into something hard. You've been spending more time up on your knees when you rock forward from a sitting position, but you haven't learned how to move anywhere quite yet. I can tell you are frustrated by this, and I know it probably won't be long before you figure out some form of crawling. Almost as soon as I put you down in a sitting position you lunge forward onto your knees before falling to your stomach. I don't think it's because you don't want to sit as it is that you want to figure out how to navigate on your hands/knees.<br />
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You really love my necklace and pull on it whenever I'm holding you. You like being outside and riding in the stroller. We tried out the bucket swing and you were delighted. You love music and anything that plays music. Favorite songs include If You're Happy & You Know It and Smooth Road - both of which your brother enjoys too.<br />
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You are currently obsessed with an elephant stuffed animal that plays You Are My Sunshine. It was a toy I had when I was a baby, and you always find a way to roll over to it. You like hanging out in your jumperoo and anything that you can chew on. Poor Sophie the Giraffe gets eaten alive most days. Bath time is still big fun, but you are starting to try to climb out of your baby tub. It's probably time to ditch the little tub soon. You like post-bath time when you're wrapped up in a towel. We always get the best laughs out of you while were drying you off and putting on lotion. Then, of course, you fuss while we wrangle you into your diaper and PJs.<br />
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You still nap great on the go, which allows us to get out and about in the morning. If we go to a park or to MOPS or to church on Sundays, you sleep for 20-30 minutes in your stroller or carrier, which is enough to get you by until your longer afternoon nap. It's nice that you are flexible so we aren't stuck at home all the time!<br />
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You grew two teeth, lots of hair and started sleeping through the night this month, but perhaps most exciting of all - I left you with a babysitter! We did a few trial runs with Dada and Shi Shi, and everything went A-Ok. You drank your milk like a champ from the honey bear and went down without any fanfare even though Mama wasn't involved in the process. This gave us confidence to leave you with a paid babysitter for several hours while we went to a Packers/Redskins game. I'm happy to report that you were a dream. You took 3 "bottles", ate a good lunch, and went down for your nap like a champ. When we got home, both you and Charlie were happily playing with the sitter, Nargis. It's such a relief to reach this milestone and know that I can leave you in capable hands without any angst. <br />
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And since I feel like I have to point out flaws too...the big one right now is how easily you get bored and demand attention. You've always liked being held (and you still do!), and your ability to sit up, roll and scoot backwards has helped keep you occupied, but you still get bored of each room/toy/activity pretty quickly. I don't blame you - babies aren't exactly known for having great attention spans. You can also have fussy periods in the evening. It's not every day, and I can't really figure out what brings it on, but some evenings you're just kind of a crank. You can also get fussy when nap/bedtime draws near.<br />
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We took 6-month/family photos earlier this month, but that's another story for another day. Let's just say that scheduling photos when it's still so hot outside <i>and </i>the day after your vaccinations was probably not the wisest move on my part.<br />
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The weather is finally starting to cool down, and we're looking forward to all kinds of fun adventures this fall. You'll fit right in with all the round pumpkins (but you definitely did not fit in the lion costume I ordered for you so back to the drawing board for halloween costumes. :) We love, little buddy. We hope you're always as smiley as you are right now.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-35778114037184484852018-08-29T15:37:00.003-04:002018-08-29T15:37:30.421-04:00leo is 6 months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A whole half year. Praise be that we have all survived keeping TWO spawn alive at the same time for 6 whole months. If there was a theme for this month, it would be fat and fussy. Don't get me wrong, you still smile at anything that comes near you, but you were also a big ball of fuss this month. Your nickname got a little longer as I dubbed you fatty fatty fusspants.<br />
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Speaking of nicknames, I overheard Charlie repeat "Fatty Fatty" the other day so I suppose it's time for a new term of endearment. I'd really hate for that to be used out of context. Yikes! You actually have a lot of nicknames. You rarely just get called Leo. It's either Baby Leo, The Baby, Fatty Fatty, Lil' Bubs or really whatever tumbles out of my mouth.<br />
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You are wearing mostly 9-12 month clothes. Some 6-9 month things still fit, and we've also pulled out some 12-18 months things that are a tad big, but workable. You are still in size 3 diapers, but Amazon is delivering size 4 diapers this month because I suspect you'll be ready for them as soon as we get through your current box of size 3s.<br />
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I'm not sure if it was developmental leaping, sleep training, teething or just general baby angst, but you were certainly more demanding this month. It made for a long month - especially with Dada being gone for most of it. But I do see light at the end of the tunnel. The last few days you've gradually been getting back to being your happy, content self.<br />
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The other theme for this month was sleep. It was high time, and I finally just ripped the bandaid off. Nursing to sleep just was not working anymore because you kept demanding more and more comfort nursing. It was going on for 1, 2, or even 3 hours every. single. night. I knew it would be challenging to break that cycle (it has been!), but I also knew it was best for all parties involved. So we set a bedtime, nailed down nap times, created a solid bedtime routine, and then just let you work it out from there. That's a really nice way of saying there were tears...more tears than this mama would have liked.<br />
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The first night was definitely the hardest. As soon as you stopped crying and finally went to sleep, mama had a good cry herself. I knew all of your needs were met, and I knew it would only be worse if I tried to go in and comfort you (been there, tried that, you just got more mad unless I gave in and nursed), but even though I knew it was the best decision, it was still rough. Luckily, you improved every day and save a few bumps in the road when we got off schedule (or, you know, the direction of the wind changed), you've done really well.<br />
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You now take two solid naps in your crib - about 1-1.5 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. One of the best parts about this schedule is that you and Charlie both nap at the same time in the afternoon, which is so necessary for mama's sanity. You go down for naps no problem and fall asleep on your own without any fussing. You still protest at bedtime, and honestly, I think you're the kind of baby who just needs to blow off steam for 10 minutes or so before falling asleep. I can deal with that. Once asleep, you do great - waking up just once to eat around 4-5am. You sleep 8pm-8am, and it's been life-changing for this mama!<br />
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You still have glorious rolls (and those cheeks!!), but I think you're starting to level out on your weight gain. You get so distracted while eating! It feels like I'm always feeding you because you eat all the time but only for 3-5 minutes before you start looking around. We'll find out how much you weigh this Friday when we go in for your 6-month checkup. We've played around with solids a little bit, but haven't started in earnest yet. You grabbed a piece of naan bread out of my hand at dinner a couple of weeks ago and stuffed it into your mouth. And that's how you started solids.<br />
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We got the high chair out of the closet, and we do put you in it during dinnertime. It's mostly just to keep you happy and entertained at this point, but also so you can munch on some teething crackers or pieces of bread. I promise we'll graduate from carbs soon - that's just the easiest and least messy option right now before I'm ready to really ramp up with table food.<br />
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You started sitting up like a champ just after hitting 5 months. You went from tripod sitting to sitting up unassisted for several minutes in a matter of a few days. You learned so fast! And it certainly has made you happy to be sitting up and reaching for whatever you want. You also use rolling to get where you want to go. You haven't started propping up on your knees yet - thank goodness - but you are starting to push with your arms to scoot backwards. Of course with sitting up comes tumbling down. Although you can sit for a long time, you still haven't quite learned how to dismount so eventually you kind of just topple over. No matter where I put you or how many soft pillows I arrange around you, you always manage to bonk into something. It never fails. Luckily, you're pretty tough and hopefully you'll learn how to catch yourself soon.<br />
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The other big development this month was learning how to use a straw! There was no hope for the bottle, but I felt you were finally big enough to try a straw. I ordered a special training cup and within the first try, you were happily sucking milk out of the straw. I mean, who is this baby who HATED the bottle for so many months?! It took a few tries to get the hang of actually sucking AND swallowing the milk, but now you can down 3-4 oz no problem. It's pretty cute to watch you sip through the straw with such delight.<br />
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When we were in the throes of sleep training, we realized you did better on the nights where we had practiced with your honey bear (the straw training cup looks exactly like those plastic bears that hold honey) before going down to sleep. So now it's just become part of the routine. I think you must really like being stuffed full of milk before nighttime - hence the reason you were demanding so much nursing before! I pump before I go to bed and then we use that milk the next evening to help top you off before bed. It's a little unconventional, but I'll do whatever it takes to have a baby who will sleep.<br />
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Because you can now drink milk from a straw cup <i>AND</i> fall asleep without mama, the real test is coming soon - can mama leave you for more than 2-3 hours??? We need Dada to be home so he can be the guinea pig for that. From there, we'll see if we can graduate to a babysitter. :)<br />
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You've been enjoying your jumperoo more each day. Books are also more exciting to you these days. We read Goodnight Moon every night. I love our cuddle time before bed when we read together. You still like music, and it's become part of our routine for me to sing "Jesus Loves Me" to you as I'm putting you down. Bath time still earns 5 stars - you laugh hysterically when we put the bath cup on your head and you watch it tumble off. You love being outside and having lots of things to look at. I'm excited for cooler fall weather when we can be outside for longer stretches of time.<br />
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You are quite ticklish and you love playing peekaboo or just watching us make silly faces at you. You welcome all forms of attention. Charlie still entertains you most of all and gets the biggest laughs out of you. You like any toy you can put in your mouth. I swear you are *this* close to getting some teeth, but I've been saying that all month and nothing has popped up yet so who knows?!<br />
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You've been happier riding in the car these days, and you're pretty great about sleeping on the go. If we go to the park in the morning, you'll happily snooze in the stroller or carrier. Of course, you are always happy to be held - especially while walking around. You spent a lot of extra time being held during all your fussing this month.<br />
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I'd say Charlie has been more interested in you this month. He likes to bring you toys - especially your watermelon teether. He'll also bring your baby gym over to you and turn on the musical star. Before we leave the house, he'll gather a few toys to put in your car seat with you. I think he finds you a little more interesting now that you can sit up and grab toys. On the downside to his renewed interest is that he thinks its funny to push you over. It's not overtly malicious, but he sees you tumble over while sitting all the time, and he apparently thinks it's funny when "baby fall down." It doesn't happen very often, but we've instituted time outs to hopefully help curb that behavior. Again, it's a good thing you're tough. I suspect this won't be the last time you'll have to learn how to hold your own against your big brother.<br />
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I'll end with my favorite moment from the month. One evening you were being particularly fussy during dinner. I was trying to clean up the dishes so I turned some baby lullabies on my phone and set it down next to you on the floor in an attempt to keep you happy. Soon enough, you rolled over onto my phone, managed to call the pediatrician's office and left a 30-second voicemail of yourself crying. I went to pick you up and saw what was happening. What are the chances you managed to do that with just one roll?! I can't imagine what they thought the next day when they got that voicemail. <br />
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I hear you stirring from your nap so it must be time to wrap this up. We love you! Happy half year!<br />
<br />Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-52818173788729647912018-07-29T14:25:00.003-04:002018-07-29T14:25:35.719-04:00Charlie is two and a half <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I think it's high time we check in on Charlie for a little update. It's been almost 6 months since I wrote about his happenings. I know I'm biased, but to sum it up, you're just plain adorable. Your red hair (and probably mischievous look) still gets attention all the time. You're especially popular with grandmas who once had little redhead boys themselves. It also doesn't hurt that you are sweet boy who can charm the socks off anyone (once you get to know them, of course).<br />
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You weren't such a fan of charming the pediatrician and nurses at your 2.5 yr appointment, however, but we did manage to get you weighed and measured. You weigh 35 lbs (92%) and are 39.5" tall (99%). No wonder most people think you are older than you really are! You wear 4-5T clothes right now.<br />
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Luckily, you were fine at the doctor's office once they were done with the poking and prodding. You also didn't shed a tear during the shots. You just don't love other people touching your head. Hats and sunglasses are still a hard no even though you HATE the sun in your eyes. Putting on sunscreen is not your favorite either. Haircuts have also become a disaster. We've literally had to hold you down to get through the last two. No amount of snacks or Elmo could make it better. You hate seeing the hair fall off your head - for some reason it seems to scare you.<br />
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You are affectionate and generous with hugs and kisses with people you know, but you are initially shy with unfamiliar people. It doesn't take you long to warm up, but it's not immediate. You can also be a little hesitant at first in new situations and skeptical of new places. While we were in Oklahoma, Abby took your hand to lead into nursery at their church. You are fine if you have a buddy by your side! You can also be scared of things that really aren't too scary - like noisy car toys, haircuts or Papa's tractor, which you talked about non-stop but refused to go near. These things don't send you into a meltdown, but you just kind of back away slowly and won't get too close.<br />
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You have made so much progress in the language department. At your yearly evaluation this spring, they determined that you are only behind in your expressive language - what you can actually say. Everything else is right on target! You are rapidly adding words and putting together more and more sentences by the day. The way you pronounce things is pretty darn cute. You have a sweet little cadence that is often pretty quiet or timid. I love the way your voice gets a little high-pitched when you repeat things, and how you always nod your head when you say "yesssss". Dada and I understand most of what you say, but we have to interpret for people who aren't around you as often. Some of my current favorites are "tank you" "baby weee-o" and "waffle."<br />
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With more words, comes more demands. Recent new sentences have been "Mama eat it" as you handed me a chicken nugget, or "Charlie push it" when you wanted to push your blue car all by yourself. "Chase, Mama!" has also been a favorite lately. I'm getting my exercise these days. Everything is about "owies" these days. Even inanimate objects cannot be saved. If you drop a piece of food, for example, you usually exclaim "Oh no! Owie." We are trying to harness the power of this into teaching you to be gentle and/or not to throw things that can cause injury.<br />
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We have the same conversation all day, every day. It's all about riding in someone's car. "Ride in Mama's car.....Ride in Dada's car....Everything is Papa's tractor and whenever we Facetime with Shi Shi the first thing he says is "Shi Shi's car." After we went to see the fireworks on July 4, you said "Ride in Mama's car *gibberish* Fireworks!" You always start and finish strong, but you don't always string together real words in the middle. So Mama's car was all about fireworks. Meanwhile, it was "Ride in Dada's car *gibberish* ice cream or donuts or air in wheel (because of the time you went to fill Jon's tire with air...the ice cream and donut associations need no explain - just envision me rolling my eyes right now).<br />
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The words you choose to say always makes me raise an eyebrow. For example, you knew the name of every construction vehicle before you could say milk. Washing machine, apple pie and vitamins were also added before more useful things like "thank you." For some odd reason, you call bugs "bunnies." You are adding words so quickly these days that it no longer surprises me when he says something new. You will also try to repeat just about anything we ask you to say.<br />
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You know how to fold your hands to pray before mealtime, and we're working on learning how to sing Jesus loves me. So far, you're got the "Me!" down and you like to flex your muscles and say strong too. You can name all the letters in the alphabet and count to 10.<br />
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You generally don't care what you wear if I don't make a big deal about picking out your clothes while you are distracted. If you take notice, however, you always insist on wearing your teal shirt with the banana on it and your yellow shorts. At bedtime, if given a choice, you always want to wear your Dory pajamas. You can help put on shirts and pull up your shorts/pants. You can do zippers, but not buttons yet. You like to pick out your shoes too, which you name by color. You can also put shoes on, but we generally do it for you for the sake of time.<br />
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You are still a champion sleeper. Going to bed around 7 (it's been a little later over the summer months) and getting up between 7:30-8. You nap from about 1-4. The first thing you like to do when you get up is stand on your fire truck and look out the window. It's kind of your own personal neighborhood watch program. You also like to give us the weather report and announce if it's raining, cloudy or sunny. You are still in your crib and sleep sack and I have no plans to rock that boat anytime soon. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Potty training is also a long way off. Some things just don't seem like they are worth the effort right now. I'll fight those battles later when we're both ready.<br />
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Things haven't changed much on the food front. You eat a lot of a limited number of things. Lots of fruit, yogurt, and carbs. Breakfast for dinner is a favorite. You love bacon, and often request waffles. You also really like sauces these days. I've seen you dip some ridiculous things in Chick-fil-a sauce, which you would eat by the handful if left to your own devices. As you've learned more food words, you have a little more of an opinion about what you want. "Snack, animal cracker, ice cream, waffle, donut, and fruit snacks" are all favorites to say, and eat, but only on occasion. At least you also finally learned to say many fruit words. Sometimes you go foraging for your own snacks. Within the last week, I've been upstairs with Leo and you've brought me a popsicle and animal crackers to open before 9:00 a.m. Mama said no.<br />
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You still love all things boy, and spend most of the day covered in dirt, mud, water, chalk, food, paint...you name it. We keep laundry stain remover companies in business. You love anything that involves transportation and/or construction. You like to point to things in books and ask me what they are (your "what's that" sounds more like "uhhhh-nat?"). You love all your trucks, trains and cars. You love lining them up and getting them organized just right. Nothing is more delightful than seeing these things out in the wild. You recently watched through the fence as a forklift delivered some shingles next door for a solid 30 minutes. You still like puzzles and can do multi-piece interlocking puzzles with ease.<br />
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You like anything that involves a ball, and you take to athletic things easily. You have pretty impressive hand-eye coordination for a toddler. You can swing and hit the ball, and you have learned how to catch. You also love being in the water and can "swim" around without any help with your floaties on.<br />
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Elmo still has a place in your heart, but your current obsessions are Finding Dory and Finding Nemo. You ask to "watch fish" almost every morning and you get to watch for about 30 minutes while Mama gets ready and/or feeds baby Leo and gets him ready.<br />
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You're a funny kid. You have the best laugh and can really get going while being tickled or playing a game of chase or even just making funny faces at the dinner table. Yet, you are also very serious. You can't be bothered when you are concentrating on something. It takes some work to get you to smile on demand. Yet, you'll be sitting quietly at the table and then all of a sudden you'll yell "Pickle!!!" with your arms up in the air (it started after Aunt Mae Mae used that technique to try to get you and Abby to look up and smile for a picture...somehow it stuck and you do it at random all the time). So it's really the tale of two Charlies. Quiet, methodical, and somewhat shy vs. silly, energetic and curious.<br />
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You definitely like routine and knowing what to expect, yet you can also be adaptable when necessary. Once you've made a connection, you think that has to happen every time. For example, when Miss Molly our speech therapist comes every other week, you head straight for the basement door because you know we always play downstairs when she is here. And the other day, we were going to the ATM when you spotted the frozen yogurt shop and declared it ice cream time. We have to be careful now what we say out loud to avoid you thinking it's about to happen. Cheers to practicing our spelling! :)<br />
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You are becoming more helpful all the time. You like to do chores. You help Dada gather the trash every week and pull the cans to the curb. You also like to help Mama put clothes in the dryer or bring in the groceries. And once you start something, you have to finish the job. We can never leave a room until all the cars are stacked on the carrier or you've flipped through every page in the book, etc. Every task must be completed before you can move on. Mama is learning to be patient about this.<br />
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You got a new play set this spring that is a big hit. The swings are your favorite part. You like riding in both of them (bucket swing and regular), and you've learned how to properly use the big boy swing. You just recently learned how to climb the rock wall and had no trouble climbing up it as soon as you decided you were willing to try. You like the stairs and slide too, but utilize them more when other kids are around to play with you. You went down the slide without abandon at first, but now you insist on holding someone's hand or having someone at the bottom to catch you. But, if we are at the park or someone else's house, you'll follow the other kids and climb, jump, slide without hesitation. You might be more timid on your own sometimes, but when you see other kids, you join right in without fear.<br />
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Speaking of other kids, you like to interact more and more with your friends. You know the names of some of your friends. You love chase, and will often jump right in with whatever other kids are doing or playing. You generally share pretty well and are willing to take turns or move on to something else until the toy is freed up. You even have a furry friend. You love when my friend Lindsay comes over with her dog Gilbert. You are always a little fearful at first, but it only takes a few minutes before you are playing ball with him or gently petting him. Just the other day, you learned how to ask to shake his paw. We gave you a treat to give to Gilbert, but you tried to eat it first. Lol!<br />
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Your adjustment to Leo has been mostly painless. We're so proud of how you've handled such a big change with ease. I'd say you had a little period where you decreased independent play a little bit, and you've had a few rare moments where you showed some signs of annoyance at his presence. But otherwise, you seem to really like him...when you decide you want to pay attention to him that is. You like to make him laugh and sometimes want to hold him or give him hugs/kisses, but most of the time, you go about your day without paying him much mind. It's nothing personal, you're just too busy playing. I think you're ready for him to grow bigger so he can play with you.<br />
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You do like to push the stroller, but that's always an adventure because you don't like us to help so we have to work to subtlety make sure you don't crash. Lately, you have asked me to put baby down when you want to read or sit in my lap, but you have been fairly patient with me and him. You are still always ready to let me know when the baby is crying (as if I don't hear him), and whenever he laughs, you say "Baby silly!" I'm so excited to see your relationship develop and grow.<br />
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I'd say you've had a much harder time lately with the amount of travel Dada has been doing. It's no secret that you are a mini Jon, and it's hard on you when your partner in crime isn't home. Probably because of him being gone a lot this summer, you've developed a little separation anxiety. I tried to drop you off at church nursery last Sunday, but you completely melted down upon arrival. They had to pry you off of me. I assumed you would calm down once I left (you've been perfectly happy to be there for months and months), but you did not. They had to call us back to get you. And then at playgroup this week, you were not thrilled with Dada leaving. He had to sneak out while you were distracted. The supervisors reported that you were sad for a minute when you realized he was gone, but otherwise did just fine. We are hoping this is just a short phase that you'll overcome when this busy travel season is over. And really hoping this isn't still a problem when you start preschool in September!<br />
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For a 2.5 year old, I'd still say you are incredibly easy-going with a pretty mild temperament. Full blown tantrums are still pretty rare and short-lived. But, of course, none of us are perfect, and you have been testing boundaries more often. When you aren't getting the attention you want or if you are upset, you will throw things. We've worked really hard to learn appropriate ways to ask for attention (if I had a penny for the number of times I now hear "Mama!" or "I need help" every day....), and to learn the difference between things that are hard vs. things that are soft vs. balls that can be thrown.<br />
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Your other fun behavior is when we have to force you to cooperate. For example, leaving a place, going upstairs for bedtime routine, or picking you up because you won't willingly walk to the car, etc. you like to express your displeasure by taking swipes at us. Of course this usually happens while you are being picked up against your will so the swipes generally hit us in the face. Lovely. We haven't come up with a great discipline routine for this yet, but we try to offer choices as much as possible so you have the opportunity to obey before we have to force you.<br />
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You also have a tendency to run away. In which case, we force you to sit down and be still until you agree to hold our hands and stay with us. Safety first. I'm sorry we are such mean parents that don't let you run wild in the street.<br />
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I do see our consistency starting to pay off in some ways, and you've just recently started to show remorse. When we have to be stern with you, a minute or two later, you usually give me an unprompted hug. Empathy is setting in too. You teared up the other day when Dada bumped his head and said "ow" and your little lip quivered and tears welled up in your eyes when you were playing with Leo and he started to cry (it was no fault of yours).<br />
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This could really go on and on. I keep thinking of things I want to remember! Every day you do, say or understand something new. It's such a wild ride to watch you grow and learn and discover. You bring us so much joy. We love you!<br />
<br />Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-54038415055183148282018-07-26T15:48:00.003-04:002018-07-26T15:48:57.603-04:00leo is 5 months <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This will be known as the month your ankles disappeared. Happens to the best of us. If I had to sum you up in two words, it would still be fat and happy. And yes, I still affectionately call you Fatty Fatty. Your cheeks are still glorious, and a big hit wherever we go.<br />
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I would guess you weigh 19 lbs now, give or take. You wear 6-9 month clothes, but are rapidly outgrowing this size. Unfortunately, my clothes-sharing plan isn't working out so great. Your big brother stayed in 3-6 months for a while, and you barely spent much time in that range. We have a few warm months left, but you've started to outgrow all of your summer outfits because Charlie's 9-12 month stuff is mostly fall/winter. The other day, I put you in a 12-18 month Thanksgiving shirt - besides the sleeves being too long, it fit perfectly. I don't think you'll be wearing it come turkey day at this rate. I had to get out the box of Charlie's 12-18 month clothes to scavenge for anything we could make work. Oh well, this just means Mama will have to do some shopping. :)<br />
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You are desperate to be on the move. You roll both ways easily now, and I rarely find you in the same spot I left you these days. You easily grab toys, and you like to put things in your mouth. You have discovered your toes, and you've managed to overcome your fat rolls to stick them in your mouth too.<br />
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Sleep remains a mystery. We had a little stretch where you would roll onto your stomach and get mad because you couldn't roll back. I had to go on more than one rescue mission. Luckily, you finally learned to just roll back or better yet, be ok with sleeping on your stomach. Most of the time now, you do end up asleep on your stomach.<br />
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We've somehow managed to land on a schedule without much effort, but it's not exactly the schedule I would have chosen. Your day looks something like this:<br />
8:30-9: Wake up<br />
10:30-12: Nap<br />
2:00-4: Nap<br />
5:30: Nap<br />
9:30/10: Bed<br />
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Naps have been great, and I'm thankful for that. You take three naps a day going down every 2 hrs or so. We've even had some success getting you to fall asleep independently in your crib. Sometimes even if I try to nurse you to sleep, you almost demand to just be left alone so you can fall asleep on your own. You sleep 1-2 hours each nap, but usually I have to wake you up after 1.5 hours to preserve your next nap. Whoever said you should never wake a sleeping baby, has obviously never known the joys of a baby on a schedule. Sure, it would be great to let you sleep 2-3 hours in the morning, but then you won't sleep all afternoon. Not worth it!<br />
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Nighttime, however, is another story. Partly because you are such a great daytime napper, you've become a bit of a night owl. You basically refuse to go to sleep until 9:30-10 p.m. No matter when I start your bedtime routine, you resist until you get so tired you finally give in. And there is no independent sleep at night - you always insist on nursing to sleep. The good news is that we have had a handful of nights where you've slept an 8+ stretch, and the late bedtime does mean you wake up late in the morning too (or rather I have to wake you up by 9:00 am!). The bad news is that bedtime turns into a marathon nursing session every night. And because you still (STILL) refuse to take a bottle, Mama basically can never, ever leave you. I see what you're doing here....<br />
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I'm not totally sure what the answer is, but we probably do have some sleep training in our future. We need to work on moving your schedule up to a more reasonable bedtime, and you need to learn to fall asleep without nursing. Of course, these things are easier said than done, and I'm still not sure how I want to tackle everything...or in what order. And on one hand, I kind of hate to rock the boat and potentially lose our late morning wake-up and it is pretty nice that your afternoon nap coincides with Charlie's nap.<br />
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Speaking of tackling things, one reason I have left well enough alone is because Dada has been traveling a lot lately. In fact, he is gone for some part of every single week in both July and August. Every. Single. Week. Mama is just trying to survive so enjoy your late-night partying while you can. It won't last forever, little buddy.<br />
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Charlie has taken much more of an interest in your lately. He likes to make you laugh (and he definitely makes you laugh the hardest of any of us). When he succeeds in getting you to chuckle, he always says "Baby silly." He is happy to show you things when prompted - holding out his trucks for you to see or driving his tractor over to you. One day, you were getting fussy at the dinner table, and when I said it was because you needed to eat, Charlie held out his fork for you. The other day he brought me a book while I was holding you and said "Read a book. Baby down." But he was patient to wait until you were done nursing before climbing in my lap.<br />
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He's even been receptive to photos lately, happily holding you or laying down next to you when asked. One morning, when you were asleep in the pack n play in our room (after an early morning feeding when I was too lazy to put you back in your crib), Charlie went into your room looking for you, saw the empty crib and exclaimed, "Oh no! Baby Leo!" Apparently he thought Mama done lost the baby. It's so so sweet to see you smile, laugh and interact with your big brother. I think he's really excited for you to continue to grow up so you can be his play buddy.<br />
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You've spent a little time in your jumperoo, and you enjoy it for a few minutes before it gets boring. This could be said about all of your toys, playmats, etc. You probably still need a little time to grow into it to truly enjoy the benefits of jumping. You don't seem to have any favorite toys or books yet. You like anything you can easily hold or chew.<br />
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You love being naked and bath time never disappoints. Your drool game is strong, and you love chewing on my fingers and your own fingers and/or toes. There are still no teeth or immediate signs of any teeth.<br />
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You are quite ticklish. You like when we sing to you. You wiggle all the time. You still smile at anyone who smiles at you or gives you any amount of attention. You're happy whenever you are being held. You've pretty much outgrown your mamaroo and rock n play, but I still stick you in there every once in a while when I need to contain you somewhere.<br />
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This month, you went with Mama and Dada to the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game. Back to back nights out late - and perhaps the cause of your recent late bedtime preference. You did great both times. You were a big hit in your baseball gear and headphones. You slept through most of the events in the carrier.<br />
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There isn't a whole lot that makes you mad - maybe just being tired, going to bed at night, and anytime you just aren't getting enough attention. I always think this 4-6 month stretch is hard on Mamas and babes. It's not because you are difficult by any means. It's just that time when all babies start to develop ideas about how, when, and where you want to sleep, eat and play, yet aren't quite able to control any of that. You're just over the laying around phase of babyhood. You want to be up and on the move. We are working on sitting up every day because I think you'll be even happier and more content when you can entertain yourself and be a little more part of the action. Right now, you can tripod sit for a minute or so.<br />
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We've officially applied for your passport, and you're all cheeks in the photo. We're hoping there are many adventures in the future for you and your cheeks!<br />
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<br />Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-79321482546846536492018-07-06T10:24:00.001-04:002018-07-06T10:24:15.794-04:00leo is 4 months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We're super late this month, but I have a good excuse. We spent the last 2.5 weeks in Oklahoma visiting Shi Shi, PaPa, Aunt Mae Mae, Uncle Boo and Abby. Today was actually my first day home by myself with both boys in about 3 weeks. I forgot how much harder this is without all the extra hands to help!<br />
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We had a crazy travel day getting home. We dealt with a delay, having to sit on a boarded plane for about 1.5 hours before takeoff, and a missing bag. You did pretty good on all the flights - only getting a little fussy at the tail end of a few legs, but man, those 15-20 minutes with a fussy, crying baby feel like an eternity. It wasn't a total meltdown with solid crying, but it was taking all my effort to keep the cries to an intermittent level. You could have been better, but you could have been worse. I don't blame you, though. Even the adults were pretty fed up when we arrived late in D.C. to find out we had to keep waiting because our gate still wasn't ready for us.<br />
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To make things even more fun, we woke up the next morning and went as one big happy family to the pediatrician - the 4 month visit for you, and the 2.5 yr visit for Charlie. It should come as no surprise that big brother was a bigger problem at said appointment.<br />
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You, on the other hand, were a perfect angel - spending a good portion of the time sleeping on mama. You got a perfect bill of health and bonus points for being extra strong. Your only demerit was for your continued rejection of the bottle. To no one's surprise, you are still quite the chunk, and you would probably look even chubbier if you weren't also so long. You weigh just over 18 lbs (90%) and are just under 27 inches long (96%). And yes, that head is still a giant. I affectionately nicknamed you "Fatty fatty" while we were in Oklahoma. It's no secret that I LOVE fat babies, and I'm pretty much obsessed with your wobbly cheeks - that literally shake at the slightest head movement - your chubby thighs, and those arm rolls. It's just the best, and all I ever want to do is squeeze you.<br />
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This update (and really all the monthly posts) will pretty much just cover the last one-two weeks or so. I honestly can't remember what was even happening at the beginning of this month...which is exactly why I write these posts. All I know is that your Dada went to trial in Charlotte and Shi Shi came to help us stay afloat, and we survived... barely. I think the second half of this month was much better. And luckily that's the part I can remember for purposes of this blog. :)<br />
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Let's start with sleep. Before leaving for Oklahoma, we had worked up to an 8:00 p.m. bedtime with an 11:00 p.m. dream feed, but you were still waking up to eat around 3:30 a.m. and sometimes again in the early morning (6-7ish). You basically did the same thing when we were in Oklahoma (save two nights when you just wanted to party from 2:30-5. Thanks for that, buddy!), but the last several nights I started to have trouble getting you to go down. From about 8-11, you just want to be eating. I nurse you to sleep, but you either wake right up when I try to put you down or you only sleep 30-45 minutes before waking up again. It feels a little like being back in the cluster feeding newborn days (although not quite that drastic). So that's been a bit frustrating BUT, on the plus side, all this extra feeding before bed has resulted in better sleep. The last two nights in Oklahoma, you only woke up once around 4:30-5, and then the first night home (after our epic travel day), you slept through the night for the first time EVER. I woke up at 8:00 a.m. shocked that it was that late and you were still sleeping. That's nine straight hours of sleep...and it couldn't have come at a better time. Of course, you haven't repeated that since, but you have been sleeping until 5-6 a.m. before nursing and going back to sleep until 8-9 a.m. I'll take it.<br />
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The plan had been to start some sleep training when we got home, and I do still think that needs to happen, but we might see how this plays out for a bit. I hate to rock the boat when I'm finally starting to get more consistent long sleep stretches.<br />
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You are no longer swaddled. We made that change right before leaving because you really just didn't fit in the swaddles anymore, and you were also starting to break free pretty easily. It was becoming more of a distraction than anything. Thankfully, we had already been working on taking naps sans swaddle so it was no big deal for you to sleep at night just wearing your woolino blanket. We didn't even have to use the magic merlin suit as a transition. And it's a good thing we pulled the plug because you started rolling over pretty consistently right after we ditched the swaddle. And no, we don't need to talk about how it pulls at my heart strings to no longer have a little burrito sleeping next to me.<br />
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The other big news is that you have also outgrown the bassinet. Do you see a theme here? You just did not fit anymore. I squeezed you in there for the last couple of nights at home, but then you slept in a pack n play in Oklahoma and enjoyed having all that extra room to stretch out. Now that we are back home, I've set up the pack n play in our room. We plan to move you to your crib at night soon, but we needed to get settled back into a routine at home before making that leap. Also, mama just ain't ready yet. I like having you close by at night.<br />
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One of the many great things about being in Oklahoma is that I was able to focus on your naps because there was always someone around to help out with Charlie. I made some great progress, and learned some valuable intel. For example, you like a really dark, quiet room and the sound machine is a big help. These seem pretty obvious - especially when this isn't my first rodeo - but you'd be surprised how hard it is to focus on all those things when juggling the needs of two kiddos. Also, it's only within this last few weeks that you've became more aware of your surroundings, and therefore, easily distracted while trying to fall asleep. We have definitely transitioned away from that newborn baby that can fall asleep anywhere at any time.<br />
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I also learned that 2 hours is about your max amount of awake time between naps. We aren't on a schedule per se, but the clock starts for the day whenever you wake up and I know that you'll need to be going down for a nap roughly 1.5-2 hours after that. I've been nursing you to sleep for naps, and so far it's working - although I know it won't work forever (and will eventually be part of your sleep training...but we'll tackle nighttime before naps). You go down easily as long as you are tired, but not too tired - hence that magic 2-hour window. You'll sleep anywhere from 1-3 hours. Whenever you wake up from nap #1, the 2-hour countdown starts again. By the end of the day, you've usually taken 3 naps.<br />
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If we aren't at home where I can nurse you to sleep and put you in your crib, the next best thing is standing and swaying or walking. You can imagine that my back is not a fan of this method, but on a plane or at church, etc. it's the easiest way to get you to fall asleep. You also love napping while I'm wearing you. Of course, even though it kills my back, I do secretly love having you sleep all cuddled up next to me. But when I can't keep holding you, I can put you down and you'll stay asleep. On the 4th of July, we went swimming, and you even stayed asleep when I laid you down on a towel on a beach chair. Even though you can be bothered by noise or light while trying to fall asleep, once you are out, you do sleep pretty hard.<br />
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You enjoyed your time in Oklahoma, which is not the least bit surprising considering there was always someone around willing to hold you. You are a pretty happy, content little fellow, but you definitely prefer to be held over anything else. You are also at that baby stage where you get bored easily because there's just only so much you can do right now. Every 10-15 minutes, you like to change locations or have something new to see. Like most babies, I think you'll be pretty excited when you can sit up and be a little more independent.<br />
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You've started grasping objects and can reach out and grab things as well. It's only a matter of time before you grabbing whatever you want and sticking it in your mouth. We've also discovered that you really love music. We have a little star that lights up and plays music and it's really helped to keep you happy in the car. You also like when Dada whistles for you, and a few times during your all-night parties, the only way I could get you to fall back asleep was by playing lullabies on youtube.<br />
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You smile at anyone or anything that will look at you. It's of no surprise that Papa was able to get the best smiles and biggest giggles out of you. Your big brother used to attract attention because he stared into people's souls. You attract attention because you're just so fat and happy. People love your cheeks, and you eat it right up by playing to your audience with big smiles and lots of chattering. For someone who is so smily, your resting face is quite the opposite. Your other expression is a look of mild concern like you just aren't too sure about us.<br />
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Speaking of those cheeks, you are outgrowing things at a rapid pace. While Shi Shi was in town, we got out the 6-12 month box of clothes and discovered several things in there were already too small or barely fit. Apparently Charlie was still wearing 3-6 months stuff past the 6-month mark so several things ended up in that box. I've put you in so many hand-me-downs already that are a solid "one and done" because it's a tight squeeze. I think you also had a growth spurt while we were in OK because by the end of the trip, you didn't really fit into any of the sleepers I had brought for you. You wear size 3 diapers, and are rapidly outgrowing 3-6 month sizes in favor of 6-9 month stuff.<br />
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You are drooling all over the place and chewing on your hands (or my hands!) in earnest. We'll see if this means any teeth are trying to pop up. I've learned that the only way you really know if a baby is teething is when you can see an actual tooth. ;) Still no pacifier, and still no bottle. I'm losing hope, but the pediatrician said there was no harm in trying sippy cups and/or just letting you cry while I leave the house. I'm hoping we can eventually find a happy balance where I can at least be able to put you down at night and know you'll stay asleep so I can leave the house in peace.<br />
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You went for your first swim in OK, and had a grand time. Even though the water was pretty chilly, you loved floating around. Oddly, you didn't really smile a ton, but you seemed to enjoyed it nonetheless. You still love bath time. You also like laying on your activity mat and playing with all the funs things hanging down. We tried out the bumbo seat for the first time today. I had to squeeze your thighs in, but you did like being able to sit up and lasted for a few minutes before starting to slump over.<br />
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As mentioned, you are rolling now. The first roll was back to front at the beginning of the month, but it seemed pretty accidental. Soon after that, you went from back to front, which seemed much more intentional. Since then, you've really mastered back to front, but have only gone front to back one other time. It takes a lot of momentum to get all those rolls to roll.<br />
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There isn't too much you don't like except maybe not getting enough attention or not getting to be held as much as you would like. You've been doing much better in the car thanks to your star music toy. You do get cranky if you get overtired, but otherwise, it's not too difficult to keep you happy.<br />
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I'm afraid to say that Charlie is losing interest in you. He doesn't seem to dislike you, but he also doesn't seem to particularly like you either. We've settled on complete ambivalence. He likes to point out things that belong to you (baby's sound machine), and he never fails to tell me when you are crying (as if I don't already hear you), but otherwise, he's indifferent. We have to bribe him to agree to hold you or sit next to you for a photo. I think he's waiting until you can play with him a little more or perhaps he's just finally realized that you're here to stay.<br />
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We, however, are not losing interest in you. Quite the opposite, in fact. It's so fun to start to see little glimpses of your personality come out. It only gets more fun from here, and we can't wait to continue to watch you grow.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJx7gyckIyCuF65bMd9pf6i7po5hAg9iGJm0OkpSJOhjHa_MLFySnixUYu-QNrtkj-xxih1v2hCLqyOPPDBrtUP-NGTdOUgPtlIAC9uUVwZIV1dUo7f7Bh8q736PPjI2Cod8-_jzTBh4/s1600/2018-06-08+13.59.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJx7gyckIyCuF65bMd9pf6i7po5hAg9iGJm0OkpSJOhjHa_MLFySnixUYu-QNrtkj-xxih1v2hCLqyOPPDBrtUP-NGTdOUgPtlIAC9uUVwZIV1dUo7f7Bh8q736PPjI2Cod8-_jzTBh4/s640/2018-06-08+13.59.40.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">why would i want this, mom? </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">no more room in the bassinet</td></tr>
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<br />Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-6054809941223494712018-05-25T16:26:00.003-04:002018-05-25T16:26:40.641-04:00air & space museumLast month we took a family outing to the Air & Space Museum. One of the best parts about living here is having access to so many great experiences. It's fun that Charlie is just now getting old enough to really enjoy some of these things. I'm excited to do more exploring as the boys get older. We planned in advance to go on a weekday when Jon could be out of the office for a morning. We opted to go to the auxiliary location near Dulles airport, which is less crowded, easier to navigate, and has the added bonus of watching live planes land and takeoff.<br />
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Charlie is really into planes and helicopters these days so we thought now would be a fun time to take him (especially while we could still take advantage of Leo being in his sleepy baby phase). I knew Charlie would be excited, but I think we still managed to underestimate his excitement level. He started pointing with glee as soon as we walked in the door and didn't stop for roughly 1.5 hours. He especially like the helicopters and didn't hesitate to show off his helicopter sign language and accompanying helicopter noise.<br />
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As if the museum portion hadn't already blown his mind, our last stop was the observation tower. It's the original air traffic control tower for Dulles so it provides an excellent view of incoming and departing planes. Even on an overcast day, it made his every toddler dream come true.<br />
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The only downside was the car ride home. Even armed with jelly beans that I was doling out one by one, we lost Charlie to sleep about halfway home. I reached back and knew we were in trouble when no sticky little hand emerged to grab the jelly bean I was holding. I think that car nap messed up his nights and naps for a couple of days, but I'd say it was worth it.<br />
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Now please enjoy this gallery of Charlie excitedly pointing at flying objects. :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">His first glimpse upon entering the main exhibit</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK8RiiFlQEjhYBCUp_w-IP1NlAfUEtRQJCyGWUzKh3ecHBOhnCboGJZE1K6-cIifR72gmMcQusXN1at-g1pWF9ICcV0lB7AS62WifsH_Smmh0QTvEacTr3tqAox2uMOh_aiikMowd8IFY/s1600/2018-04-19+11.05.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK8RiiFlQEjhYBCUp_w-IP1NlAfUEtRQJCyGWUzKh3ecHBOhnCboGJZE1K6-cIifR72gmMcQusXN1at-g1pWF9ICcV0lB7AS62WifsH_Smmh0QTvEacTr3tqAox2uMOh_aiikMowd8IFY/s640/2018-04-19+11.05.32.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why did we stop, mom? Has no idea a space shuttle is behind him...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By this time, I think he was pointing to a forklift working on repairs. :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Observation deck</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plane! Or as Charlie would say, "Pane!"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICpMQ24FSc_zpEqKu1e5s64objJ7lcKqb9wTVHcDOmjV2dnVgyIZ5ks7RbfPDjSC5jkkz7JRFNe16WXCL2h7U0R5Gq7AA62e048QShSyUCz9ZBvbC8D9mQ_qcf0eKIuhS5spg5yzojAM/s1600/2018-04-19+11.40.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICpMQ24FSc_zpEqKu1e5s64objJ7lcKqb9wTVHcDOmjV2dnVgyIZ5ks7RbfPDjSC5jkkz7JRFNe16WXCL2h7U0R5Gq7AA62e048QShSyUCz9ZBvbC8D9mQ_qcf0eKIuhS5spg5yzojAM/s640/2018-04-19+11.40.14.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't even know what this is, but I'm going to point at it anyways.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6LhUZKFZ3_NUARytOES8WI3Axmo87jchTP5B14dh-ex8Crpm-ZBW15cTqaT-2j4fOWzy9zhwlEf1zdKQnUhRqPKFGR3eqiPLUznIi5iW8lt6g54Tu_-zSPe8NYW4vJz64CljU5txO3k/s1600/2018-04-19+11.40.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6LhUZKFZ3_NUARytOES8WI3Axmo87jchTP5B14dh-ex8Crpm-ZBW15cTqaT-2j4fOWzy9zhwlEf1zdKQnUhRqPKFGR3eqiPLUznIi5iW8lt6g54Tu_-zSPe8NYW4vJz64CljU5txO3k/s640/2018-04-19+11.40.22.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe he thought it would play Elmo...</td></tr>
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<br />Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-59053791440097857372018-05-25T15:11:00.004-04:002018-05-25T15:49:36.039-04:00three months with Leo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We've reached three months, and you have definitely left your newborn phase in the dust. Naturally, this both breaks my heart and brings many new joys.<br />
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We don't have a well visit this month, but on our baby scale at home (which runs a bit heavier than the scale at the pediatrician), you weighed 15 lbs, 5 oz. You certainly are no slouch. You are all cheeks and thighs. I like to joke that you smile with your chins. I'm sure you have a neck, we just can't see it. You have more chins, but less hair than when you were born. It's started to fall out in a classic baby pattern creating a nice friar tuck hairstyle.<br />
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You are in size 2 diapers, but only because we have half a box left. Once they are gone, we're moving you up to size 3. You have completely outgrown 0-3 clothing. Most 3-6 month clothes still fit, but there isn't much room left in them so it won't be long before you're on to the next size. It's on my to-do list to get out the next box of Charlie hand-me-downs. I know there are things in the 6-12 month box that would probably fit right now. The onesie you are wearing in your 3-month photo is a 6-12 onesie for example.<br />
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You are really a delightful baby, and your happy disposition is on full display these days. You are full of smiles, and you do lots of chatting with goos and gahs. You can grasp soft objects and follow activity/sounds with your gaze. Giggles still take a bit of effort, but you often smile right back when we make eye contact and smile at you. This is the best feeling - especially since I know this one baby - I won't name names - who really made us work for smiles. One of your happiest times of the day is right after bath - it's when we get the biggest smiles and best giggles out of you. You also have a habit of spontaneously giggling in your sleep, which is quite adorable.<br />
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You're an efficient nurser now, which is a welcome development for this mama who is juggling the needs of two wee ones. It only takes 20 minutes max to feed you - often just 10-15 min - and you eat about every 2-3 hours. Sometimes I'll try to nurse more often to top you off before we leave the house or to get you to sleep more quickly, but you might refuse because you only like to eat when you want to eat. You don't even require the same amount of cluster-feeding at night anymore. These are all very welcome developments. I'd assume you'd be a bigger comfort nurser since you don't like a pacifier, but your favorite soothing method is just being held and cuddled.<br />
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In other not so welcome developments, sleep was really all over the place this past month. After making good progress last month and inching toward an earlier bedtime and consistent 5-6 hour stretches (with one long 7 hour stretch!), we reverted back to a more unpredictable schedule with wake-ups every 3-4 hours. Every night seems different, and sometimes the unpredictable nature is the worst part. Expectations can be the hardest part when it comes to baby sleep.<br />
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Naps, however, are another story. You usually nap on-the-go in the morning or if we are home, you might snooze in your mamaroo or rock n play. You really nail your afternoon nap, though. After I put Charlie down for his nap at 1:00 p.m., I put you down for a nap in your crib. Sometimes this involves nursing you until you are drowsy or walking around/rocking in the chair, but once you are nice and relaxed, I can put you down in your crib and you'll fall asleep watching your fish tank. Every now and then, you resist and might end up napping in the rock n play after nursing to sleep, but usually it's not much of a fight and I can get you to go down shortly after Charlie. You'll sleep anywhere from 2-3.5 hours. It's basically all my dreams coming true to have two sleeping kiddos from 1-4 almost every day. Praise Jesus.<br />
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You take a third and final little siesta in the early evening. The timing of this is hit or miss, as is the length, but it's most helpful when this snooze coincides with Charlie's dinner/bath/bedtime. Thankfully, we've had a few good nights recently - back to longer stretches of sleeping from 10-8 with just one wake-up to eat. I was hopeful we were getting back on track, and last night you fell asleep at 9:00 p.m., but then you woke up twice - around 2 am and then 6 am (even though I did a dream feed around 11:00 p.m. before I went to sleep). Sigh. At least you did sleep until 8:30 a.m. when I finally had to wake you up because we had to take Charlie to playgroup.<br />
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Despite the hiccups, I do see a natural rhythm is starting to form. And I appreciate that you are still a champ at being put down awake and falling asleep on your own. I hope this sets us up for success when we move toward instituting a schedule. Your bedtime is inching closer to 9-9:30 pm, and your wake-up is moving back to around 8:00 am. I'm in no hurry, but I'm guessing over the next month, we'll start to work toward more of a set schedule with a consistent bedtime and predictable nap times.<br />
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I don't swaddle you during naps, and you sleep in the most adorable position with your arms up in a goalpost pose. We do still swaddle at night, and save for getting one hand out once to chew on, you really haven't tried to break free. You also haven't shown any interest in trying to roll over so we plan to keep swaddling at night until one of those two things happens. We did, however, have to search high and low for a new larger swaddle blanket. Since babies are only swaddled for the first 4 months, give or take, swaddles only come in sizes meant for little babies. I guess they don't really plan on a 3-month old baby who could easily pass for 6 months or older.<br />
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Speaking of rolling over, you seem to be most content to not exercise your baby strength. I don't blame you - it's a lot of baby to try to move. I'd hate to call you lazy, but if the shoe fits...I think you're just fat and happy and happy to be just fat and happy. For example, you hold your head up just fine when being held or sitting up in our laps, but during tummy time, you refuse to prop yourself up and just prefer to flail on your stomach like a beached whale. Needless to say, tummy time is not your favorite. When laying on your back, you like to kick and move your arms resembling an overturned bug.<br />
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You like being outside and are happy to hang out in your baby seat while Charlie plays in the backyard. You discovered bubbles this month and you think they are pretty magical. Bath time is still most enjoyable. You get into the tub and kick away with great delight. Baths are also essential because you collect all kinds of fuzzies in your fat rolls.<br />
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The kitchen counter is still one of your favorite hangout spots. I have to be careful about that now too - not because I think you're close to rolling although I'm on alert because you could always surprise me - but because when you get your little legs going, you can migrate from your original position.<br />
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The bottle was a big no go again this month. We finally just took a break from trying because everyone was frustrated. Oddly enough, I decided to give it a go this week on a whim and successfully got you to drink from the bottle twice like it was no big deal. When dada returns from his work trip maybe we'll try again to have someone else give you a bottle.<br />
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You don't always love your car seat so it's not uncommon for there to be tears during some portion of car rides. You fall asleep easily in the stroller or most any other moving thing, but for some reason, you often resist falling asleep in the car. But what you hate most of all is being overtired. It's not hard to get you to fall asleep, but when naps get delayed for whatever reason and you've been awake too long, that's when the wheels fall off and you get quite cranky. You have also started to spit up more, which is always a fun development. I try to always have a muslin swaddle blanket nearby to catch any surprises. One time I was smelling your diaper to see if you needed a change, and you spit up on my face. It was really a special moment.<br />
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Your big brother is still pretty enamored with you, and you seems rather amused by him. Charlie never turns down an opportunity to burp you - gently patting you on back like he's seen mama do. He's shown quite an interest in picking you up these days. When I'm carrying you, he sometimes comes and puts his arms out to show he wants to hold you. Or he'll climb into the rocking chair after we get up and sit down and put his arms up to signal it's his turn to hold the baby. Of course, when we do help him hold you, it lasts about 10 seconds before he's ready to be off and running again. One time, I stupidly left you on the couch within his reach - I had to get up from nursing you to take away a broom that your brother was brandishing around the living room. In the 10 seconds it took to put the broom away, Charlie had made it over to you and was attempting to hold you. Needless to say, he did not succeed and you ended up on the floor. You were none too pleased about it. Thankfully, no harm was done and it's a short distance from the couch to the floor, where you landed on our cushy rug. Mama learned an important lesson to make sure you're always strapped into something safe - even if it's just for a few seconds.<br />
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Your Aunt Monica, Uncle Tad and cousins Zachary and Isaac came to visit this month and so did your Aunt Mae Mae. They all think you're pretty great. Shi Shi will be here next week to help us survive while Dada goes to trial in Charlotte, NC. And then later in June, you'll take your first flight to Oklahoma to meet Uncle Boo and cousin Abby.<br />
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We love you so much, little lion man. It's been so much fun watching your happy little personality start to emerge. Thanks for being such an easy, delightful baby....now if we can just get you to sleep through the night and take a bottle with ease. :)<br />
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<br />Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-52992101935526498492018-04-29T15:10:00.001-04:002018-04-29T15:10:12.583-04:00two months with leo <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />You've reached two months little lion man! Your baby rolls are becoming quite the problem. Besides the fact that your chubby cheeks are a constant distraction, I just can't handle the fact that you are growing so quickly. You weigh 13 lbs (77%), are 23.8 inches long (88%) - although I think they measured you a little shorter than you really are because you wouldn't hold still - and yes, you still have a giant head. In the words of our pediatrician, "He looks like he's 6 months old." It's bad enough that you are already two months old, much less that you look so much bigger than that.<br />
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You've really become such a sweet baby. We turned a corner around 5-6 weeks much to everyone's delight. You were sweet before - just a little more demanding. ;) I don't think it was ever really your fault, though- I think mama just forget how much attention newborns need. But all of a sudden, things just changed. I suppose that's something I also managed to forget about new babies. You suddenly became less fussy, less needy, more content when awake, and easier to put down for sleep. Like I said, delightful developments all around. I was afraid I was going to have to hold you the rest of your life. Not that I minded the snuggles, but sometimes a mama's got to eat, shower and keep your big brother alive.<br />
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We've also made another wonderful discovery this month - I can put you down awake, and you will often fall asleep on your own. Praise Jesus. This is really the nirvana of baby sleep....and one of the biggest battles we had to fight with Charlie who would only fall asleep while nursing for the first 4+ months. We discovered this somewhat by accident, somewhat by necessity, and somewhat by remembering lessons of the past. Because I can't always pick you up right away when you fuss (second baby problems) and because I learned with Charlie that it can be detrimental to immediately pick up an unhappy baby, we have allowed you to cry and fuss a little bit in certain situations. And like magic, many times, this leads to a nice deep sleep. Of course we don't let you cry very long at this point (just a few minutes), and only when we know you are tired, but not hungry.<br />
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The first time this happened spontaneously when I put you down in your bassinet so I could get ready for the day. Charlie was on our bed watching Sesame Street and I just needed to put you down in a safe place (i.e. somewhere Charlie couldn't sit on you) for a bit so I could have both hands to get ready. You squirmed a bit and made some noise, but after a few minutes, I realized you had become very quiet. I peeked over and sure enough, you were asleep. I almost cried happy tears.<br />
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Now, I routinely put you down awake in your bassinet, and you drift to sleep on your own - both for naps and at night. It's so nice that after I nurse you before bed I don't have to wait until you are really asleep and then hold my breath hoping you'll stay asleep while I transfer you to the bassinet. It makes for a much easier bedtime for both of us. You've also successfully fallen asleep in the rock n play, mamaroo, and while laying in the outdoor wagon. You love wagon naps on a warm spring day. Of course, you still also like to fall asleep while being held (and swaying) or while moving in a stroller or car seat. And yes, you still have that wonderful quality of being able to stay asleep even when the stroller or car seat are no longer moving. All of this makes for one very happy mama. I'm hoping we can continue to have success letting you fall asleep on your own so we can avoid the worst of sleep training later.<br />
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You generally go to bed between 10:30-11 with your first stretch of sleep lasting about 5 hours. The longest you've slept is 6-6.5 hours, but that's only happened one or two times. After waking up to eat, you go right back to sleep for another 3-4 hours waking for the day between 7-8. Of course when Dada was out of town this week - his first trip away since you were born - you decided to sleep regress a little and wake up after only 3-3.5 hours. I hadn't changed anything we were doing so I think it was just an anomaly (growth spurt perhaps). Last night you slept from 11:30-5 so hopefully we are already back on track.<br />
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You aren't up very long in the morning before you like to take a nice long nap. We aren't on any kind of schedule yet, but you do generally take a longer nap in the morning and another long nap in the afternoon with other little cat naps sprinkled throughout the rest of the day. You've really become a champion daytime sleeper, and you aren't too shabby at night. Best of all, I can usually manage to get you to take a decent nap while Charlie is napping so I have a couple of hours to get things done in the afternoon....who are we kidding - more like a couple of hours to nap myself!<br />
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Your first smile was right around 5 weeks. It was so great watching you try to figure out how to do it. At first, you would only use half your face for a crooked smile. By now, you've pretty much perfected your form, but you don't give them away for free. You have even let out some good giggles in the last two weeks. Your first giggle was for mama after getting out of the bathtub. I used almost the exact method that worked with Charlie AND managed to capture it on video.<br />
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Charlie is the one who makes you smile the most. I think you like him. And I know he definitely likes you - maybe a little too much.... He has a lot of love to give, and doesn't quite know how to show you his affection. Right now, I'd say his favorite avenue is smothering. He wants so badly to play with you, but doesn't quite understand that you are just a baby. Mama has had to intervene a few times when he tried to lay on top of you or sit on you. So far, we've only had one intentionally aggressive moment when he bit you. That hasn't been repeated yet so hopefully it was just an outlier episode because you were taking up too much of mama's attention. He is still concerned when you are unhappy and has learned to say "baby cry."<br />
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You love laying on the kitchen counter. Maybe because you like looking up at the lights? It's a little unclear, but it's one of your favorite places in the house. We're afraid you'll roll over soon so I've started putting you in the very middle so you don't fall off. Luckily we have a big island. :) In fact, during wakeful periods when you don't want to sleep, you kind of prefer laying on flat, hard surfaces rather than in a rock n play or mamaroo. It's a funny little Leo quirk that we've learned to just accept.<br />
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You still love bath time, and would probably stay in there forever if we let you. It's fun to watch you become more aware of the world around you. You've started following us with your gaze, and you like to look at the mobile above your mamaroo. The fish tank in your crib is a fun spot to hang out while I'm folding/putting away laundry. Charlie likes to watch the fish tank with you too.<br />
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So far, you haven't minded just going with the flow as we shuttle Charlie to his toddler activities. We took two big family outings this month - opening day and the Air & Space Museum. You were a dream baby both times.<br />
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You are still eating about every 2 hours during the day. Sometimes I stretch you out more if you are sleeping or if we are running around town, but I generally aim for every two hours, and will probably continue to do that until you are truly sleeping through the night. The bigger issue in regards to eating is that you still refuse to take a bottle. We had some success earlier this month getting you to take the bottle from mama (I should mention that this totally defeats the purpose of said bottle) so we know you CAN take a bottle. It's just that you don't usually WANT to take the bottle. The last few times have not been successful - including last weekend when Mama went to grab coffee with a friend and get her hair cut. We figured I would eventually need to leave the house and let you do bottle battle with Dada so that's what we did. But you definitely won round one (why are my babies so stubborn?!), and Mama came home to a hangry baby 3 hours later.<br />
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As much as I love you, I would eventually like to go see a movie or enjoy a glass of wine with friends so we'll keep trying. I'm pretty discouraged about the whole thing because I'm afraid I'll never be able to leave the house again. Dada, however, seems pretty determined, which is good because he's probably the one who will have to find a way to make it happen. Godspeed.<br />
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Speaking of, it's been really nice to still have Dada around so much this month. He's still been working from home some or doing shorter stints in the office. He often hangs around in the morning to help get Charlie up and, when possible, all of us out the door for whatever we are doing that morning. His travel schedule is about to ramp up, but luckily we have visitors coming to help for the longer trips.<br />
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Every day gets a little bit easier as we figure out our new normal. I feel like a new person now that you are sleeping more and happier when awake. My heart explodes watching you and Charlie interact even though it's limited at this point. As much as I don't want you to grow up, I can't wait to see your relationship continue to develop.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK8HEbbo8lBhl_VUDU-zgX6eyXIjmVDWWYEpb_QLMJ6stiOqNdwchVMIlsdKTLz4Q0gywljX2zo5DnOTfPnCV2a6Ip1_ktrL0shxdXL2YLxSU5KzU222v-e0jbe2FkAUVEG4MDvVHsoYE/s1600/2018-04-06+12.50.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK8HEbbo8lBhl_VUDU-zgX6eyXIjmVDWWYEpb_QLMJ6stiOqNdwchVMIlsdKTLz4Q0gywljX2zo5DnOTfPnCV2a6Ip1_ktrL0shxdXL2YLxSU5KzU222v-e0jbe2FkAUVEG4MDvVHsoYE/s640/2018-04-06+12.50.53.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">holding hands</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">baby's mouth!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">introducing Leo to Sesame Street</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-wOXjxy0DxQI1K2Oog5QhicShid8Ilc90gbk0SGnSlCN1bT2exW_NyYNLwe8tBOOmj-qQ0J0m048icPELt3N2ey-RwOHWDOt7vMlEZznv4vUcC4zj8TZ-o8LinQVAIUnP6b4Xt309vk/s1600/2018-04-12+16.20.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-wOXjxy0DxQI1K2Oog5QhicShid8Ilc90gbk0SGnSlCN1bT2exW_NyYNLwe8tBOOmj-qQ0J0m048icPELt3N2ey-RwOHWDOt7vMlEZznv4vUcC4zj8TZ-o8LinQVAIUnP6b4Xt309vk/s640/2018-04-12+16.20.33.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wagon nap</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">another day, another wagon nap</td></tr>
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<br />Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-62514139540528886562018-04-10T14:10:00.003-04:002018-04-10T14:10:57.135-04:00they might be twins...Everyone asks all the time who Leo looks like, but nobody seems to agree. I've heard that he looks like me, that he looks like Jon, and that he looks like Charlie. At first, I didn't think he resembled Charlie that much, but these photos might make the case for them actually being twins...just born two years apart. Or maybe it's the similarity of the backdrop? Who knows. I just think babies look like babies. :)<br />
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Charlie:<br />
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Leo:<br />
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<br />Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-87056048280021442902018-04-09T16:16:00.001-04:002018-04-09T16:16:13.327-04:00leo the lionNow that baby announcements have been sent, I thought it was high time I shared Leo's newborn photos. You never know how photo shoots with kids will go, but luckily Leo was more than cooperative. He was awake at the beginning for family photos, but after having a good snack, he slept right through all of the pokes, prods, and outfit changes during the rest of the shoot.<br />
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I've said this a million times, but if there is one thing I don't ever regret, it's paying for professional photos. I wish I was a better photographer myself, but I know my limits and calling in a pro has paid off every time. We especially love the photog we've worked with since Charlie was 6 months old. I don't know how she does it, but she manages to wrangle toddlers and newborns alike for great photos every time. After breaking a sweat more than once trying to get both boys in a decent photo, I appreciate her work even more!<br />
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Enjoy all this newborn sweetness. He already seems so much more grown up than when we had these photos taken just before he hit 2 weeks.<br />
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<br />Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-5475727244031317072018-04-05T21:11:00.000-04:002018-04-05T21:11:30.724-04:00opening dayOpening day is one of my favorite family traditions. This was our fourth straight opening day, and every year it gets a little bit sweeter.<br />
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2015: The look on Jon's face when I handed him a little league baseball announcing that I was pregnant with Charlie.<br />
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2016: Charlie's first opening day at just over 3 months.<br />
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2017: Charlie's second opening day at just over 1 year old.<br />
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2018: Opening day with two boys! Charlie at just over 2 years old and Leo at 5 weeks. The first year Charlie recognizes anything about what is happening on the field. He calls baseball "bat ball" and immediately recognized it from watching on TV/playing with his bat and baseball in the basement.<br />
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This was one of the colder opening days, and it didn't help that our seats were in the shade and unsheltered from the wind. Poor Charlie was freezing because we hadn't counted on how much colder it would feel in our seats vs. the sunny concourse. He was also still not a fan of the loud cheering when runs were scored. Those two factors were more than he could overcome, and he lasted about 5 outs in our seats before he went to explore the concourse and sunny playground with dada.<br />
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Meanwhile, I wore Leo in his wrap and he slept the entire time - save a trip to the nursing moms room so he could eat lunch. :) We met up with Jon and Charlie after that and sat down for a little snack lunch on the blanket.<br />
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All things considered, we managed to take a newborn and toddler (on a cold day and right in the middle of naptime no less) to a baseball game without any meltdowns or tantrums. We didn't get to watch much of the actual game - no loss there since the Nationals didn't play well - but we continued the tradition and got some cute photos!<br />
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We'll try again later in the season on a warmer day with less crowds and a more optimal late afternoon start time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-game snack.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leo was not so excited.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfLVxg6fRacGevGIwhtNe46z4VJf3THJWB_zvV7fyPc3NcFL1qo9SZs43aRD0fIWl6JVwl6Dgx69HHNvI6m0c_BhFh9ZVqLfNeN5HEk3_77rV8fDPT4s1_LK7U2IfqSUro7Hw-Z0ByDng/s1600/2018-04-05+13.08.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfLVxg6fRacGevGIwhtNe46z4VJf3THJWB_zvV7fyPc3NcFL1qo9SZs43aRD0fIWl6JVwl6Dgx69HHNvI6m0c_BhFh9ZVqLfNeN5HEk3_77rV8fDPT4s1_LK7U2IfqSUro7Hw-Z0ByDng/s640/2018-04-05+13.08.13.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He loves riding escalators.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFrZVefsZHTLOVXP-XY1RaIjpjLDpqB8dSn-EWiyIlrsKcNeG0TjxW5Hu_hCM3nAvP6FxupBbAOaTS7R06vYIEetqdFkgHHlU774YOjOqZ-efNb5yBs-ZoOxl37O1ieHANxIEZXeyuFg/s1600/2018-04-05+14.37.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFrZVefsZHTLOVXP-XY1RaIjpjLDpqB8dSn-EWiyIlrsKcNeG0TjxW5Hu_hCM3nAvP6FxupBbAOaTS7R06vYIEetqdFkgHHlU774YOjOqZ-efNb5yBs-ZoOxl37O1ieHANxIEZXeyuFg/s640/2018-04-05+14.37.09.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dada, the bat ball is happening behind us! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkMHEljesRzGAkCQkGYtMLTskYZtq5x0Lq5mojugPiugPS3viAtX-iklFRge4cHPVsxQXX7uQwRkZ9ndJX0-zZYBaWOd1lctxJZez4oA_X0OwyWn79bXKKSOORtW39b9NN_8jXF0tweQ/s1600/2018-04-05+16.00.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkMHEljesRzGAkCQkGYtMLTskYZtq5x0Lq5mojugPiugPS3viAtX-iklFRge4cHPVsxQXX7uQwRkZ9ndJX0-zZYBaWOd1lctxJZez4oA_X0OwyWn79bXKKSOORtW39b9NN_8jXF0tweQ/s640/2018-04-05+16.00.53.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Both boys asleep on the way home.</td></tr>
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<br />Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-81438698957368308532018-04-04T15:23:00.001-04:002018-04-04T15:23:26.150-04:00happy easterThis was our first foray into trying to get a decent holiday photo of both boys. Taking photos is my new cardio. You'll notice a nice big scratch on Charlie's chin. He had a little run-in with a bulldozer the day before Easter Sunday. Life with boys...<br />
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Shi Shi bought the boys matching Easter outfits. I supplied the matching gingham bow ties. Charlie enjoyed digging into his basket, and immediately wanted to play with the bubbles. After nap, we "hid" (in plain sight) eggs in the backyard. At first, he just wanted to find his balls and trucks to play with, but once Dada showed him how to hunt for the eggs and put them in his basket, he was happy to do so. He also really enjoyed discovering the jellybeans inside the eggs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How most of the photo attempts turned out </td></tr>
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<br />Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-21336645288989786032018-03-28T19:53:00.000-04:002018-03-28T19:53:15.912-04:00leo is one month old<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Everyone is still alive. I'd say it was a successful first month.<br />
<br />
Leo's one-month check-up was yesterday. He weighed in at 10 lbs 5 oz (60%), 23 in long (97%) and still has a giant head. He's been declared pretty much perfect. He barely fits into newborn clothes anymore, and has mostly graduated to 0-3 month clothes. He is wearing size 1 diapers.<br />
<br />
One of the first things Charlie decided to share with Leo was his germs. I knew this would happen, I just didn't plan on it happening so soon! Charlie had a little cold and he passed on a runny nose to Leo. Luckily, some nasal congestion has been Leo's only symptom, but the poor little guy does not like to have his nose suctioned. It's probably caused some additional fussiness - it's hard to know what's the cold vs. typical newborn neediness - especially since he got sick shortly after two weeks of life so there wasn't a lot of time for us to get to know his norms before we added this bump in the road. It has potentially interrupted some sleep, but for the most part, it hasn't made him too miserable. He's still eating great and sleeping fairly well.<br />
<br />
Every now and then we hit a 1-2 day stretch with increased fussiness - wanting to nurse all the time + waking up more at night. I've mostly chalked these up to little growth spurts, but the cold could also be to blame. These little episodes aside, he usually nurses every 2 hours during the day, and then every 3-4 hours at night. Sometimes he goes back to sleep easily, but the last few nights it's taken a little more effort because he's eating so much that he's basically drowning in milk when I try to put him back down. He usually spits up and then needs to burp a lot before he can go back to sleep. All said and done, this process can take about 2 hours. We moved the rocking chair into our room to help with the nighttime soothing. So far, it has worked. Last night, it only took 1 hour for him to eat, burp, and then rock back to sleep. He sleeps in the bassinet next to me, and luckily, is a pretty quiet sleeper so he doesn't bother us...although I'm tired enough these days that I'd probably sleep through anything!<br />
<br />
The last 10-14 days or so, Leo has wanted to be held all. the. time. We haven't quite mastered how to be awake and content so he's either eating, sleeping, or awake and demanding attention, which means being held - preferably while walking, swaying or rocking. He loves the rocking chair because it combines his two favorite things - being held and motion. But sometimes only nursing will soothe him (especially in the evenings when he is the master of cluster feeding). Once asleep, he'll happily transition to his rock n play or mamaroo. I've tried really hard to get him to take a pacifier, but no dice (so I get to be his human pacifier....yay!). Every blue moon, he might accept it, but it's pretty rare.<br />
<br />
The magic bullet is the soft baby wrap. Whenever he is fussy, I can put him in his wrap and he'll settle down and fall asleep. If he doesn't settle down in the wrap then I know it's just because he's just wants to nurse. I like wearing him because I can have my hands free (and because it calms him down almost instantly), but my back isn't such a fan of baby-wearing. We might be in real trouble as little man gains weight. I definitely enjoy all the snuggles, but it can be a challenge to have a baby who wants to be a held all the time and a toddler who wants to get into trouble at least half of the time.<br />
<br />
Leo often cries when first being put in the car seat, but once he's moving, he'll usually fall asleep. Best of all, once he has fallen asleep in the car seat, he'll stay asleep even once he's out of the car and no longer moving.<br />
<br />
He likes bath time except when it's time to get out. He loves being warm and cozy, and can't be wrapped in enough layers. He seems to enjoy his swaddle even though it means he can't access his hands, which he has already discovered are fun for chewing. I have a feeling he'll eventually be a self-soothing thumb/finger sucker, but for now, he'll just gnaw on his hand for a bit before mama lets him eat.<br />
<br />
Now that all the grandparents have left, we are starting to figure out life as family of four. Jon is still working from home most days, but we try to think of them as trial runs for being back at work. We pretend he's not here and leave the office door closed for him to work as much as possible, but he usually pops out to eat lunch with us, and I know he's available if I need to call an SOS. He'll generally rejoin us after Charlie's nap around 4:00 p.m. and then go back to work after dinner and Charlie's bedtime. He has gone into the office a few times in the afternoon, and once for the whole day this week. It was a long day, but we made it. I don't know what we would have done these last four weeks without helpful grandparents and dada being home.<br />
<br />
Being alone with both boys is manageable as long as we all just stay home in our pajamas! But I still have no idea how I'm supposed to get myself and both boys ready and out the door - especially for a morning activity. It takes me a while before I'm really awake in the mornings...and it all depends on the unpredictable nature of Leo's sleep. I know I'll figure out things eventually. For now, I'm anxiously awaiting nicer spring weather so we can play outside in the backyard or go for walks. Anything that doesn't involve getting the kids in the car and anywhere on time. :)<br />
<br />
Around the two-week mark Leo decided he wanted to stop pooping multiple times a day and become more of an every 48-hours (or longer) pooper. I don't mind not having all those dirty diapers to change, but it's an odd elimination schedule for a one-month old. Luckily, he's perfectly content with this arrangement, and it's probably part of the reason he's gained over 2 lbs this month.<br />
<br />
The rejection of the pacifier was only a glimpse of things to come. We tried a bottle of pumped breastmilk last night for the first time. As much as I love Leo, I would like to eventually leave him for more than 2ish hours at a time. However, the bottle was met with fast rejection as well. I went to the store and bought about 10 different types of bottles to try. Fingers crossed that we can eventually find one he'll accept.<br />
<br />
Charlie continues to be the best big brother. He tries to help as much as possible - shoving pacifiers in Leo's mouth, covering him with blankets, offering kisses when he cries, and pushing the buttons on his mamaroo. He has learned how to help burp the baby, and he's even tried to pick him up a few times before we intervened, of course. He always wants to know where the baby is, and says goodbye to him if he leaves the room. He also likes to laugh at his brother for no apparent reason. It's been adorable to watch him assume the role of big brother. It melts my mama heart.<br />
<br />
Have I mentioned how excited I am to no longer be pregnant? I like having Leo on this side of things so much better. Sometimes when I pick him up I can't believe that just one month ago, he was still an inside baby. I mean, how did he even fit in there? But he's the perfect addition to our family, and we can't imagine life without him.<br />
<br />Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-44800353082686278142018-03-20T20:28:00.003-04:002018-03-20T20:28:24.813-04:00leo's first two weeks<div class="MsoNormal">
We spent two nights in the hospital. Because Leo was a big
baby like his big brother, we had to go through the blood sugar protocol again.
Luckily, this time, they had a glucose gel available that we used in the first
several hours of his life. It was great because it allowed us to keep his blood
sugar levels up without interfering with breastfeeding. Even better, he passed
all his tests with flying colors. I was so relieved because I knew it was
probably the one thing that could potentially complicate our hospital stay. It was
also way less stressful this time around since we’d been through the drill
before. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We noticed a pretty big difference in the hospital care this
time. We had the same wonderful labor and delivery experience, but the
postpartum care was far superior this time. It’s clear they had upped their
game over the last two years. We splurged for the “VIP” room, which really
meant we paid extra to have a bigger room with more windows. It was so worth it,
though – if for nothing else than it had a better couch/bed for Jon to sleep on.
We had a great troop of nurses who cared for us and interrupted us as little as
possible. It was just an overall better experience. I couldn’t wait to get out
of the hospital with Charlie, but it was almost, dare I say it, a little
relaxing this time stay. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Papa & Shi Shi came to the hospital on Sunday night to
meet Leo, but big brother Charlie had to stay home. Because of this terrible
flu season, the maternity ward was closed to visitors under age 12. I was a
little disappointed Charlie couldn’t come to the hospital to meet his little
brother, but it was probably for the best to avoid both germs and potential
meltdowns when it was time to leave mom and dad. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We got to go home on Tuesday. We spent that entire morning
bugging everyone who came into our hospital room until all the ducks were in a
row for discharge. We made it home just before Charlie’s nap time. It was a
beautiful, unseasonably warm February day. It was so sweet to pull up to the house
to see Charlie waiting for us at the door. He started to jump up and down when
he saw us coming, which melted my heart. I missed him while we were in the
hospital. Leo kindly brought him a small gift to open – a construction truck
puzzle that immediately grabbed his attention. He acknowledged the baby, but
was much more interested in his puzzle, which he took out of the box
immediately and started working right there in the entry way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once he played with his puzzle for a bit, we tried to get
him a little more interested in Leo. He was more fascinated by Leo’s car seat
straps, which he wanted to help buckle and unbuckle. He did, however,
immediately know that this was the baby Leo who had been in mama’s tummy, and
who he had been talking about for a couple of months. In fact, I think Charlie
gets credit for naming Leo. As we were mulling our top choices, we asked
Charlie one day if he could say “Baby Leo,” which he immediately repeated as
“Baby Wee-ooo” like a fire truck sound. It was such a cute moment that I think
Jon and I both knew right then that we had to name the baby Leo. It also
doesn’t hurt that both boys are now featured in one of our favorite TV shows,
the West Wing. We didn’t do that on purpose, but it’s kind of funny it worked
out that way. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just as we were getting settled back into life at home, we
had this crazy windstorm Thursday night/early Friday morning. In my sleep-deprived
state, I kind of blocked out how bad the wind was raging outside, but by Friday
morning, we woke up without power. Thousands of people across the state were
without power, and we were among the lucky ones. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We went to the pediatrician that Friday morning for a weight
and color check. Just like his big brother, Leo had some jaundice so we had a
follow-up appointment that morning to check his progress. As we left the house,
we saw a truck from the power company on our block so we assumed our power
would be back on soon. We waited all afternoon, but our electricity didn’t come
back so we made the decision to move to a hotel before we were going to lose
daylight. This was a hard day for me. The last thing I wanted to do was move to
a hotel with a toddler and a newborn. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Luckily, we had barely unpacked from the hospital so I still
had my toiletries ready to go. I haphazardly threw the rest of our things in a
bag and we took the boys out to eat before checking into the hotel. Not how I
imagined Leo’s first restaurant meal or hotel stay! But once we were finally settled
into the hotel, it really wasn’t so bad. Charlie was an absolute champ about
the whole ordeal and remained completely unfazed in spite of all the changes
he’d experience in such a short time. It helped that Shi Shi and Papa were here
to offer lots of distraction and attention. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For me, it was almost like being at the hospital, but
without the interruptions of nurses and doctors. I just stayed in the room almost
the entire time nursing the baby, cuddling with him and resting as much as I
could. It also helped that Leo had his best night of sleep thus far that first
night in the hotel. We ended up staying two nights and two full days until our
power was restored Sunday evening. It felt so good to be back home, but it also
felt like we were starting over on getting settled into being home as a family
of four. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Charlie has been such a good big brother. He’s very sweet
with Leo. It makes my mama heart so happy to watch him assume this new role
with total ease. He has started to include Leo when he does his family roll
call of naming everyone at the dinner table. He also gets very concerned when
Leo cries, and can’t get over to him fast enough to try to soothe him with
kisses. He’s only tried to share contraband with him once (sprinkles from a
cake pop), but will go give him a blanket or try to restore his pacifier. But most
of the time, he kind of just lets him be because he’s too busy playing. So far,
he hasn’t shown any jealousy or annoyance at the attention Leo is getting.
However, he does laugh hysterically when Leo gets really worked up and is
crying hard. This happened in the car the other day and Charlie couldn’t stop
laughing at Leo’s high-pitched wails. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As for Leo, he’s been a pretty chill baby so far. His first
few days were especially sleepy, and I had a lot of trouble getting him to wake
up to nurse. He’s gradually become more wakeful during the day, and we seem to
be making progress on figuring out his days/nights. I think it’s about the same
amount of work as the newborn phase was with Charlie, but it feels so much
easier this time since everything is just more familiar. I’m thankful
breastfeeding has been an easier learning curve this time. He’s a great eater –
usually eating every 2 hours during the day and every 3-4 hours at night. He
does like to cluster feed in the evenings, and he also likes to be held during
this period. We survived our first growth spurt that he hit right at two weeks
where all he wanted to do was eat and eat and eat some more. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unlike his brother, he can be soothed in other ways besides
nursing. He often refuses the pacifier, but he likes motion and so far will
often fall asleep in his mamaroo, car seat or rock n play. He can also be cuddled
and rocked to sleep fairly easily. I love all the snuggles I’m getting these
days!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He usually goes to sleep for his first longer stretch
between 10:30-12. He will sleep anywhere from 3-4 hours, wake up to nurse, and
then sleep another 3 hrs or so, nurse again, and then maybe sleep a little bit
more before we both get up for the day. The first several nights were rough
because he wouldn’t always go back to sleep or stay asleep long after nursing,
but now, he generally goes right back to sleep after nursing. He usually sleeps
in his bassinet next to me, but sometimes if he’s being fussier than normal, I
let him sleep in his rock n play. Once he gets into a good sleep, he really
will sleep hard, which is very helpful considering big brother is always
running around making noise.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He likes to be nice and snuggly – either swaddled or wrapped
in a warm blanket or both! So far, he has enjoyed bath time until it’s time to
get out and he gets cold. He’s starting to become more alert each day – having
more wakeful periods during the day where he just kind of looks around or
stares at us with his big blue eyes. I often wonder how strange this all must
be for a little baby who spent so many months inside my belly! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He had newborn photos at 10 days, and was much more
cooperative than his brother Charlie was for his. He slept through most of the
shoot and let us manipulate him at will. He also lost his cord stump right in
the middle of the photo shoot. Ewww. I think we traumatized our poor photographer
(who is a mom herself) but hates the whole newborn bellybutton/cord situation.
Photo day was kind of a turning point for me. It was the first day I showered,
did my hair, put on makeup and wore real clothes. It felt pretty great to put
myself together again for the first time in several days. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m so grateful that the transition to two kiddos has been
smooth so far. Of course, all of this is made possible by many helping hands.
My parents were here for two weeks keeping us fed and Charlie entertained. They
left my freezer full of meals, and I barely lifted a finger to do anything other
than tend to the baby in those early days. Jon’s parents visited next and were
equally helpful. It’s also a huge luxury that Jon has been able to work from
home every day since Leo’s birth. The real test will be when the help is gone
and Jon starts going into the office more often. But every day gets a little
bit easier and seems more manageable. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9_2M5w7_2u4jNQjt12avVFBuMXta9VfAISpQjDb7yN8ig6Nt7SmWH99dTFwrHS1e4js5V84dr_fLbp0KKV4dcyB2dX3MMAIu-IfTa_O_J-QuMaddiK4rZ9wYwRY0PtmWJSHe0KbAoQm4/s1600/2018-02-27+12.56.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9_2M5w7_2u4jNQjt12avVFBuMXta9VfAISpQjDb7yN8ig6Nt7SmWH99dTFwrHS1e4js5V84dr_fLbp0KKV4dcyB2dX3MMAIu-IfTa_O_J-QuMaddiK4rZ9wYwRY0PtmWJSHe0KbAoQm4/s640/2018-02-27+12.56.42.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpyU73RBICRy6I1K9dsyquHv-OF9iHVRAb5PVivZsocRzoplFqNVonIF9TjiDOhTWRD8yOLlwZpziZidO6Uno2HAUS88OdJAptdHUzHUjgcI9lYzI2rzPEnr0x31Q3QZCHkREQeFAUm44/s1600/2018-02-27+12.56.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpyU73RBICRy6I1K9dsyquHv-OF9iHVRAb5PVivZsocRzoplFqNVonIF9TjiDOhTWRD8yOLlwZpziZidO6Uno2HAUS88OdJAptdHUzHUjgcI9lYzI2rzPEnr0x31Q3QZCHkREQeFAUm44/s640/2018-02-27+12.56.55.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCVMdAHa4umkoo3P4O9rCae1AOlJm_5YyA2ahuoteAvHe_zzQ2bYqSqno6P_wO5uVSXgkKwQ10ui6zKSUiqSLMXrVlyv_XuE4Fi-1PQDBWLh6jINAbnWp8ZviwdEkKAHZHdU1YqMY9HLY/s1600/2018-02-27+15.59.26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCVMdAHa4umkoo3P4O9rCae1AOlJm_5YyA2ahuoteAvHe_zzQ2bYqSqno6P_wO5uVSXgkKwQ10ui6zKSUiqSLMXrVlyv_XuE4Fi-1PQDBWLh6jINAbnWp8ZviwdEkKAHZHdU1YqMY9HLY/s640/2018-02-27+15.59.26.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating his cake pop that mama and dada brought him from the hospital <br />(it was actually a gift from the starbucks workers who identified dada as a new - for the 2nd time - father). </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUF5g9R2pwqf1ogkuyYiibNTbOAY9N72_tC-5YQ92aSrKK2MpMkeZRf1elkzYTWkk18QNCImvsHSvn7bZ41s2y0h7tjB30brcHQp80sQ0xW6lIrDMMb0tO9xn1_jtNcb4c2cGhgqDx0Q/s1600/2018-03-01+09.42.29-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUF5g9R2pwqf1ogkuyYiibNTbOAY9N72_tC-5YQ92aSrKK2MpMkeZRf1elkzYTWkk18QNCImvsHSvn7bZ41s2y0h7tjB30brcHQp80sQ0xW6lIrDMMb0tO9xn1_jtNcb4c2cGhgqDx0Q/s640/2018-03-01+09.42.29-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjx71Nikuy_Ti4bKpXGLzKCHxa6aMcQ3Xa2Qrl3BDbxVd-wCrYGl_VzUOm3BpRoYNiosGNxbg2Y3tfgFiHEDBiYvTjMAzcnUVOn8Bo0o7sjK_NEhtEQgic5ImQ-kUPlMWIPUeFvOY0GQ/s1600/2018-03-01+09.51.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjx71Nikuy_Ti4bKpXGLzKCHxa6aMcQ3Xa2Qrl3BDbxVd-wCrYGl_VzUOm3BpRoYNiosGNxbg2Y3tfgFiHEDBiYvTjMAzcnUVOn8Bo0o7sjK_NEhtEQgic5ImQ-kUPlMWIPUeFvOY0GQ/s640/2018-03-01+09.51.23.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reading about how to be a good big brother</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_oKk76rF9IWoJ9sMPsfrIeplNRI7NNS9J6eHCPXhHO4Y0Dwq0kYOBrRGk4qE7XCWZOoL_f1cLj1S9wZszsufhR1GpLO-jJ5l5IWMtwzNjuq8yHZNnUwFNYSo_F58vX_9vs7phdObhgo/s1600/2018-03-03+08.39.47-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_oKk76rF9IWoJ9sMPsfrIeplNRI7NNS9J6eHCPXhHO4Y0Dwq0kYOBrRGk4qE7XCWZOoL_f1cLj1S9wZszsufhR1GpLO-jJ5l5IWMtwzNjuq8yHZNnUwFNYSo_F58vX_9vs7phdObhgo/s640/2018-03-03+08.39.47-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hotel stay!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_LlV-V6tDVtqq8BLQdo4I32_bXTJdf1zEoLoSD5zc2IrxBhjAMuJQLmk0RoHIJnoo_CiM8v-Ym_WgDQP8HDxXWmFD0GmPKXv4Ilr5_rY57mNSYL-lxTKMSxHNaMLwiAsQVSgro_pXnIw/s1600/2018-03-03+15.25.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_LlV-V6tDVtqq8BLQdo4I32_bXTJdf1zEoLoSD5zc2IrxBhjAMuJQLmk0RoHIJnoo_CiM8v-Ym_WgDQP8HDxXWmFD0GmPKXv4Ilr5_rY57mNSYL-lxTKMSxHNaMLwiAsQVSgro_pXnIw/s640/2018-03-03+15.25.01.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghaHr7_IniXGm7iweDsXvjGQ8CKvadsxql0-nzWumnOlW-aJar97hLT9thP20KNVow5wThFGpbkl5aLC0BRXufQDi9U4FQd6WhwjA4FRkMlMp1lyrPOC4EGbvVZRFXlLp0j4nl8D46IVg/s1600/2018-03-04+15.35.08-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghaHr7_IniXGm7iweDsXvjGQ8CKvadsxql0-nzWumnOlW-aJar97hLT9thP20KNVow5wThFGpbkl5aLC0BRXufQDi9U4FQd6WhwjA4FRkMlMp1lyrPOC4EGbvVZRFXlLp0j4nl8D46IVg/s400/2018-03-04+15.35.08-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hotel nap with mama</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixtRIJCHIpDZEbibCJ6zyQp6t0NkmKXikJcIRQVYBIPc88rf3VhZ9G9o9H0ItgfTccEBJFkehqaU9_N7T3skYSOiZ6ArQufDWLMzQCBr3LcDrggvuhcaYzFS1zv4dvshuCkm56aZ3d76E/s1600/2018-03-08+17.08.28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixtRIJCHIpDZEbibCJ6zyQp6t0NkmKXikJcIRQVYBIPc88rf3VhZ9G9o9H0ItgfTccEBJFkehqaU9_N7T3skYSOiZ6ArQufDWLMzQCBr3LcDrggvuhcaYzFS1zv4dvshuCkm56aZ3d76E/s640/2018-03-08+17.08.28.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of kisses from big brother</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-57376365665393231502018-03-14T12:49:00.002-04:002018-03-14T12:49:54.262-04:00leo's birth story <div class="MsoNormal">
This is the story of Leo Grant Hardin's birth. Born February 25th at 6:37 a.m. weighing 9 lbs and measuring 22 inches long. We are so smitten with this baby boy who perfectly completes our little family. </div>
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So here we were again waiting on baby, and boy did I want this baby out. Mentally, I had a harder time
waiting for Charlie who was 8 days past his due date. This time with Leo, I was
mentally prepared for the waiting, but I was so physically done with being
pregnant. It was certainly harder this go-round – probably because I had a toddler
to chase around, kitchen renovation to oversee and a traveling husband for much
of this pregnancy. I also experienced this really fun nerve pain just below my
ribs that became almost constant in the last couple of weeks. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I did everything I could think of to help evict this baby.
Despite my best efforts, he was determined to give his older brother a run for
his money. I went to the chiropractor on Wednesday, my midwife tried to jump-start
things with a membrane sweep on Thursday, and finally, I had acupuncture on Friday.
I’m not sure which of these things gets the credit, but by Saturday afternoon
just after 1:00 p.m. I finally started having contractions. At first, I really
didn’t pay much attention to them. Over the last week or so, I’d had a few
times where contractions would last for 1-2 hours and then fizzle out. I just
assumed that was happening again, and I didn’t want to get my hopes up. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It wasn’t until just after dinner (shrimp tacos that I could
barely eat) around 7:00 p.m. that I started to feel they were getting a little
more intense, but there still wasn’t much of a pattern forming and they were several minutes apart. I took a bath,
drank a little wine, and we watched a few episodes of The West Wing. Around
10:00 p.m. I decided I should just try to go to sleep…still thinking there was
a good chance they’d go away while I slept. I rested for about 2 hours
(meanwhile, Jon was not so much in denial and started to get ready to head to
the hospital). <o:p></o:p></div>
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By 1:00 a.m., it became apparent I was not going to sleep,
and I went back to timing the contractions, which were getting longer and more
intense, but were still about 4.5-5 minutes apart. We decided to call the
midwife at 1:45 to get her advice on how soon we should come in. At this point,
I think I finally accepted that I was in labor and it wasn’t going to stop –
probably right about the time I moved from early to active labor. The midwife
initially advised we should come within the hour, but by the time the call was
over, we all agreed we should leave now. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I was still a little worried we were going in too soon
because I was totally fine in between contractions – able to talk, think
straight, etc. We called our doula Cara to let her know we were headed in soon
so she could meet us at the hospital. God bless doulas who answer their phones
at all hours of the night! While I kept questioning the decision, I had a
pretty strong contraction that caused me to start shaking. That’s when I knew
it was time. We were in the car on our way to the hospital by 2:10 a.m. On the
car ride, contractions started coming every 3 minutes. By the time we were
checked in at the hospital around 2:45 a.m., they were about 2 minutes apart. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I must say that arriving at the hospital in the middle of
the night was so calm. It’s a busy, urban hospital usually bustling with
traffic so I really enjoyed the empty, quiet hospital that greeted me this time
(compared to Charlie’s birth when we arrived in the middle of the day). We had
to use the emergency room entrance where a nice man was waiting to escort us to
the elevators and up to labor & delivery. He offered me a wheelchair, but
that just seemed silly so I walked. Much better than riding in a crowded
elevator while in labor! They were ready for us at L&D so check-in was a
breeze. It was also great because L&D was very quiet that night. There
was plenty of room at the inn. I had heard that sometimes they get so full and
second babies come so fast that they’ve had deliveries in the triage area
before. That kind of sounded like my worst nightmare so I was relieved to
arrive to have a good midwife on call, wonderful nurses, and not as many
laboring women vying for rooms and attention from the staff. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And last, but not least, it was a great night to have a baby
because it was my birthday! I’d been saying for months – as soon as I found out
my due date – that this baby was going to come 7 days late on my birthday. I
remember looking down at my hospital bracelet and seeing that it said my age
was “32” now. That was the first time it really hit me that this baby was going
to share my birthday with me. I really can’t think of a better (or more painful
;) way to spend my birthday. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We started out in (an empty) triage area because we wanted
to wait for one of the L&D rooms with a tub –it just needed to be cleaned
before we could move over there. Our nurse was really lovely, and another one
volunteered to go start filling the tub so it would be ready as soon as I moved
over. They hooked me up for my antibiotics (since I was GBS positive a dose of antibiotics was recommended to protect the baby from contracting strep during delivery). There was a student midwife Rachel there that night, and Whitney was the main
midwife on call. I was so happy to have her for this delivery. She was exactly
who I needed that night. <o:p></o:p></div>
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They checked my progress, and I was dilated about 6-8 cm at
this point. I guess I really was in labor! After about 45 minutes in triage, we
moved to the delivery room. I spent the next couple of hours in transition. It
was totally different this time because I was very present. With Charlie, it
almost felt like an out of body experience where I kind of just went inside
myself to get through the contractions. I remember almost nothing of the time I
spent in transition with Charlie. But this time, I was more aware and engaged while
I was in labor. I was also much more verbal – talking in between contractions,
voicing what I needed, and asking questions. I did get into the tub, but I
didn’t stay in as long because I was getting too warm. I fully planned to get
back in the tub for delivery, but I spent most of the time laboring out of the
tub. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At this point, you may have noticed I haven’t mention
anything about my water breaking…because it hadn’t, and after a few hours of
active labor it was starting to become an issue. Baby was still pretty high and
needed to descend in order to his way out. As I continued to labor, I think I
became more and more aware of the fact that we weren’t really getting anywhere.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Around 6:00 a.m. I asked my doula if my water needed to
break in order for baby to come. I knew it was possible for babies to be born
“en caul,” but I also knew it was extremely rare. My doula confirmed what I
suspected – my water probably needed to break in order for baby to be born. My
next question was asking if the midwife could break my water for me. She advised
we could call Whitney in and have a discussion about it. I knew it was the kind
of intervention the midwives usually tried to avoid. But at this point, I was
getting tired (you may remember that I hadn’t slept), and even worse, I was
getting discouraged. I felt like progress was stalling, and it didn’t help that
all of the things we were trying to encourage baby to descend made the
contractions more intense. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Whitney came in a few minutes later, agreed to check my
progress, and then talk about next steps. Sure enough, I was fully dilated, but
my water needed to break. She agreed that this may be a unique situation where
an intervention may help, but first she asked me to try one last position laying
on my side for a few more contractions. It was pretty awful, but I powered
through for 3-4 contractions with no luck. <o:p></o:p></div>
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She started to walk us through the risks of breaking my
water for me. Jon and I were about to talk about it (turns out, I would have
said “yes” and Jon was leaning toward giving it more time – easy for the one
who isn’t in labor to say!) and make a decision, but before we could even
respond, you guessed it, my water broke. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It was incredibly startling and overwhelming. I still
thought I could potentially have hours of labor left, but as soon as my water
broke, baby was more than ready to make his appearance. We went from 0-60 in an
instant. I think everyone could read the panic on my face as I immediately yelled
“He’s coming!” <o:p></o:p></div>
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But this is where Whitney was really amazing. She knew I was
panicked by how quickly things were happening, but she took control of the
room. She looked me in the eye, told me to stay calm and reassured me that
everything was just as it should be. I felt completely out of control, but she
guided me through what to do, when to push, when to breath, and finally when to
reach down and help pull my baby to my chest. At 6:37 a.m., approximately 6
minutes after my water broke and with just a few frantic pushes, Leo was here. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Looking back on it, I can see why it was all so startling to
me. With Charlie, I pushed for 2.5 hours because he wasn’t in an optimal
position. I had a long time to work toward and mentally prepare for his
arrival. It was a much more gradual process that I could control, and I had
pretty decent breaks in between contractions during the pushing stage with
Charlie. While I’m certainly glad I didn’t have to push for hours this time
with Leo, it was completely out of my element for everything to happen so fast
without much warning. Luckily, Leo was in a perfect position, and I was already
at the hospital when my water did break. Had my water broken earlier in labor
while we were still home, there is a good chance we would have had this baby at
home. Yikes! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Leo gave out a good cry as I pulled him up to my chest. And
just like that, all was right with the world. He was a big baby – apparently
that’s just how I grow them. 9 lbs and 22 inches long. He has the longest
fingers and toes, deep blue eyes, and lots of hair that’s pretty dark – we have
no idea where the darker hair comes from. We’ll see if it stays this color! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m so thankful to have had two healthy, safe and natural
deliveries. Although they were completely different experiences, they were very
similar in some ways. I spent about 6+ hours in early labor with both boys and
then roughly 6 hours in active labor. The hours were just dispersed differently
– more pushing with Charlie, more time in transition with Leo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Welcome to the world, little lion man. Mama, Dada and big brother Charlie love you very much.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joys of being at a teaching hospital :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting dressed to go home!</td></tr>
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Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-31332169781747607942018-01-12T20:25:00.002-05:002018-01-12T20:25:48.465-05:00charlie is two!I'm a little late on this, but that's what happens when your kid has a birthday right before the holidays. I warn you that this post is going to be long and heavy on details. I want to capture what life is like right now with Charlie. I'd like to think I'll remember all these little details, but I know I won't. The growth and development is so rapid these days. He is constantly changing, and I'm learning new things about him every day. It's so fun to watch him grow and discover. Hopefully someday I'll be able to look back at this post and remember these fun (but exhausting) toddler days.<br />
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We have arrived at two...although he could easily pass for three based on how big he is. At his well check he measured 95% for height and 92% for weight. You can imagine that having such a big, strong boy is not this very pregnant's mama favorite thing right now!<br />
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Speaking of his well visit, he was less enthused to be at the doctor this time. It didn't help that the first activity was measuring his head, which he hated. This kid hates having his head/face messed with (we refuse all hats, nose wipes, etc). It snowballed from there, and he resisted the scale and height measurement too because, why not?! He was generally fine when the doctor came in...until she checked his ears. Every time we do battle over ear checks, they always comment on how strong he is - a fact that is never lost on me. We survived, but the last step was a blood draw. It was just a finger prick, which Charlie didn't mind, but man, did he throw a fit over the ensuing bandaid. He did not want anything on his hand (did I mention he refuses to wear gloves too?). He might be the only toddler I know who doesn't like bandaids. It took a juice box to calm him down, but he wasn't fully restored to happiness until he managed to remove both bandaids (which, of course, resulted in him messing with his finger and causing it to bleed all over himself later in the day). Sigh.<br />
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We were in Oklahoma for Charlie's official birthday. We had a fun day exploring the zoo, lunch at chick fil a, cake/ice cream/presents, all followed by breakfast for dinner. I think Charlie had a fun day, but he was also battling a virus that put a little damper on his day. You know Charlie isn't feeling well when he turns down bacon. Luckily, if anyone is a champ while being a sick, it's Charlie. And besides being a little low on energy and not having his usual appetite, he seemed to have an enjoyable day. We had an adorable Little Blue Truck cake in honor of his favorite book, but he was more interested in eating the ice cream.<br />
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When we aren't in Oklahoma or celebrating birthdays, this is what a typical day looks like for me and Charlie:<br />
7:30-8 Charlie wakes up. He starts his day chatting away until we go in to get him.<br />
8:30-9 He gets to hang out in mama and dada's room and watch an episode of Sesame Street while mama gets ready. He recently learned how to say "Elmo" and he loves the letter and number of the day songs - especially when he can identify the letter or number.<br />
9:00 Breakfast<br />
10:00-12:00 We leave the house most days for an activity - depending on the day it could be speech therapy (which we actually do at home), MOPS, bible study, music class, playgroup, running errands or visiting the tot gym or a local playground.<br />
12:30 Lunch<br />
1:00-4:00 Nap - Bless him for taking a solid 3-hour nap.<br />
4:00-6 We usually play at home in the afternoon. We often Facetime with Shi Shi, and sometimes get to watch another Sesame Street while mama finishes dinner prep.<br />
6:00 Dinner<br />
6:30 Bath<br />
7:00 Bed<br />
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He is still a great sleeper and napper. He rarely fusses when he goes down. The only time we run into problems is when he falls asleep in the car before his nap. I'm praying this pattern remains for several more months - especially once baby brother arrives.<br />
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Thank goodness he sleeps and naps so hard, because when he isn't sleeping, he's full of energy. I would definitely consider him busy, yet not hyper. He can sit and concentrate on a puzzle or read books or do another activity for several minutes, and he enjoys playing independently for long stretches. He's not constantly bouncing off the walls - thank goodness - but the challenge is that he is curious and gets into everything. And once he has discovered something, it will probably be thrown - sometimes down the stairs or into the bathtub or maybe even the toilet if mama isn't looking. He's also fast, and I often underestimate his reach until it's too late. It just doesn't take long for him to get into mischief. We've done quite a bit more childproofing in this house - including the kitchen cabinets, much to Charlie's dismay. He can still access the tupperware drawer and spice rack - both of which he loves to rearrange.<br />
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He continues to be the epitome of a little boy. He loves balls - throwing them, kicking them, making baskets, having them thrown at him (he'd be terrible at dodge ball because he lets them hit him and then just laughs and laughs). He also loves when we throw pillows at him. We'll keep working on learning how to catch.<br />
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He loves trucks, trains and all other vehicles - especially pushing them down slides or ramps. He's a big fan of his new train table. His favorite books are all about things with wheels. Helicopters and planes have become a more recent obsession. He stops whatever he is doing when he sees or hears them and then spends the next several minutes pointing to the sky as if to summon more of these magical flying objects. His favorite word in sign language is helicopter, which he often does accompanied by a helicopter sound.<br />
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He loves playgrounds, swings, slides and anything he can climb. Bouncy houses are delightful - as is pushing anything heavy around. He doesn't like when dada is out of town, but he loves when dada comes home with a suitcase for him to push through the house. He really just loves anything physical.<br />
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He's a bit of a daredevil and also pretty tough. It takes a lot to make him cry. He doesn't always know his own strength and can sometimes run into (or run over) other kids if he's not paying attention. Charlie always bounces right back up, but he's definitely been known to make bigger kids [unintentionally] cry. Luckily, he's usually pretty self-aware and good at avoiding collisions.<br />
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When he isn't running, pushing, throwing or sliding, he loves to spend time figuring things out, and can be quite determined until something is solved. He is a master worker of puzzles, and is starting to do multi-piece and interlocking puzzles. He recently became obsessed with buckles, snaps and zippers. He can't unbuckle himself quite yet (thank goodness!), but he always insists on buckling his straps after he gets out of his booster seat at the table.<br />
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Luckily, he seems to love mama and dada equally. No favorites right now. We have a distinct division of labor in Charlie's mind. Some things are clearly dada activities and other things are strictly for mama. When we are reading books together at night, he will bring certain books to me and certain books to Jon. It never fails. Sometimes when Jon isn't home, he might bring me a dada book, but I can always tell he's a little disappointed in how I read it compared to dada. Somehow I got chosen for all the wordy books - I think I have every version of Little Blue Truck memorized. Dada largely gets the books with more pictures and definitely more fun animal/vehicle sounds. :)<br />
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He likes other kids - especially playing chase. He can sometimes get really tickled by other kids and belly laugh when he thinks they are funny. It's still mostly parallel play at this point, but he does generally "share" pretty well. He just kind of moves on if someone takes something from him, but will often hover nearby until it becomes available again for the snatching. He's usually pretty good about waiting for his turn to play with something or accepting a suitable alternative. I think it's because he just doesn't care enough about any one thing to throw a fit over it. He likes a lot of different things, and therefore can be satisfied with many options.<br />
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He still eats a lot, but he's pretty picky about what he eats. Fruit remains his favorite and largest food group. I can't think of a fruit he won't eat. Carbs are also beloved, of course. He likes starchy vegetables (anything orange and roasted with cinnamon), but only does green vegetables in his puree pouches. He loves yogurt and sometimes hard-boiled eggs and cheese sticks. Of course, french fries, mac and cheese, grilled cheese, pizza and PBJ are always acceptable. Chicken nuggets and bacon are his favorite proteins. Chick-fil-A is his happy place (mama and dada can't argue with that).<br />
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He is becoming increasingly shy, and it takes him a while to warm up to people. He usually won't talk a lot around other people. He still stares intently at strangers, but clams up when they try to talk to him. Lately, he's been pretty hesitant to enter the room when we are going to music class or if I'm dropping him off at nursery or playgroup. He doesn't cry, but I usually have to pick him up and carry him over the threshold. Oddly enough, once he's in the room, he's perfectly fine and has a grand time. He's pretty reserved in new places and new situations.<br />
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I really see a lot of Jon in him. Everyone still thinks they look alike, although I do think part of that is the shared hair color. People who have known me my entire life swear he looks like me as a toddler. I just think he looks like Charlie, but there is no doubt he already shares a lot of personality traits with his dad.<br />
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He never strays too far from the equilibrium on the emotional scale. We have our moments, but the extreme highs and lows are pretty rare. He can get really excited, and he can get really mad, but most of the time he exists in a general state of pleasant observation and contentment. But even though he is mostly laid back that doesn't mean he won't let you know his opinion. He is stubborn and strong-willed. He won't eat what he doesn't want to eat. He literally turns his back and hides in the corner of the bathtub when we try to brush his teeth. Wiping his nose can be a two-person job.<br />
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Much like his dada, he can be rather particular. He can dump out a bucket of toys and happily leave them strewn about, but other things must be in their rightful place. He likes to line up his outdoor vehicles and then move them all, one by one, to another location within the yard. The other day, I set up his bowling pins slightly out of order, but he refused to knock them down until they were in their proper place. On his plate, he'll keep his food divided in each section. If I give him more fruit, but accidentally put it where the crackers previously resided, he'll generally move the fruit to it's original section of the plate before eating it.<br />
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Also like his dada, he can be a man of few words, but I'm so proud of all the progress he's made in speech therapy. Our first session was in late May/early June when he was about 18 months. At that point, I think he had about three words: mama, dada, uh-oh. Now, he says all kinds of words (and sound! He loves animal and vehicle sounds), and is just starting to string a couple of words together. He loves his speech therapist Miss Molly, who comes to our house once a week. By now, he has learned why she is there, and almost always shows off with new words during his therapy sessions. I'll work on something with him for weeks without success, and then Molly shows up and he says it right away. Typical.<br />
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The last few weeks alone have been a bit of a language explosion. Apparently this happens a lot around the holidays when kids are exposed to new things and lots of attention from doting family members. He learned everyone's names in Oklahoma pretty quickly, and liked to take roll call while we were all sitting at the table together. He recently added "baby" to his vocabulary and will give the baby kisses when asked. We are nearing 40-50 words now + several letters and a couple of numbers. The other day he walked into the kitchen and said "hello, mama" with perfect enunciation. We'd never even heard the word "hello" come out of his mouth before. It melted my heart.<br />
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Naturally, he demands to be rewarded for his efforts. He claps for himself and says "yay!" when he accomplishes what he wants. He says "yes," but we've only ever heard it in the context of an exclamation - as in "yes, I did it!" I'm happy to give him all the praise he wants if it helps him learn new words.<br />
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Every stage seems to be a little more fun than the last. I'm still in awe of watching this tiny human unfold before us. He brings us so much joy with his sweet kisses, belly laughs, boundless energy, and pure excitement over the littlest things.<br />
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And photos from his birthday celebration in Oklahoma. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These animals are great, but I want an energy drink. </td></tr>
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<style type="text/css"><!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--></style>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-53451732036599430472017-12-17T21:52:00.000-05:002017-12-17T21:52:32.833-05:00the kitchen The last two months have been pretty chaotic (will that ever not be the case?). Much of the chaos and busyness is due to two factors - ok, really three. 1) Jon has been traveling a lot. 2) We completely gutted and remodeled the kitchen. 3) We have a toddler.<br />
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When we purchased our new home in June, we planned to eventually remodel the kitchen. It wasn't terrible, but it was outdated, starting to show its age, and lacked some functionality. I was actually really glad when we found a house that checked all of our boxes, was move-in ready, but still needed a kitchen renovation. When we were house hunting, it was always disappointing to walk into a newly renovated house that wasn't my taste. It would have been hard to rip out a basically brand-new kitchen just because I didn't like the style. However, I had no problem saying goodbye to one that was nearing 17 years.<br />
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We planned to live in the home for a year or so before we tackled the kitchen renovation. We were targeting a spring/summer 2018 project...but then I found out I was pregnant. The thought of having a toddler, a newborn, and no kitchen was less than ideal so we fast-tracked the project and started looking into design/build companies pretty much as soon as the moving boxes were unpacked.<br />
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August and September were full of design meetings, builder measurements, and shopping for countertops, lighting, appliances, etc. We had to make quite a few decisions in a relatively short amount of time. Luckily, we had a great team helping us out. Our project manager guided us through layout decisions, cabinet ordering, and decision deadlines, but I operated as the designer. All of the aesthetic decisions were made by me with the occasional assist by Jon. It was really fun to play designer, but also a lot of pressure to get everything right! We spent several Saturdays picking out tile, looking at quartz slabs, choosing lighting and hardware, browsing sink styles and faucets, and comparing appliances.<br />
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By far, the hardest part was choosing the cabinet paint colors. I knew I wanted gray cabinets and a navy blue island. Because we were ordering custom cabinets, I basically had the entire universe of paint to choose from. I also only had a few days to make the decision. PANIC! It was pretty overwhelming to be responsible for the color of non-returnable cabinets. I think cabinet delivery day was the most nerve-racking because I was terrified of seeing the final result. [Yes, we had color samples I approved, but who can really trust a tiny wood sample?!]<br />
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Thank goodness, I'm happy to report that I absolutely love them! The cabinets are exactly what I envisioned. In fact, everything came together just how I wanted. I love the brass accents against the navy blue. I'm also glad I went with gray cabinets over white (there was some peer pressure to just go with white). I like the softer contrast between the navy and gray. I think white would have been too stark. So far, I don't have any regrets. More than one person has commented that the kitchen looks just like me, and I think that's probably the best compliment possible.<br />
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While the design phase was exhausting, the actual renovation process was remarkably easy. We somehow managed to stay on time and (mostly) on budget. There were no major issues or problems during the renovation. I'm not even sure how that's possible, but I'm grateful it was smooth sailing. They did great work, and went out of their way to make sure we were as inconvenienced as little as possible. They roped everything off with thick plastic sheeting so dust stayed in and Charlie stayed out. Charlie was curious, of course, but he was largely happy to observe from a distance. His propensity to be shy around strangers worked in our favor in this case.<br />
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Demo day was October 16, and they were finished right after Thanksgiving. The worst part was being without half of our main floor during those weeks. While the kitchen was out of commission, we set up our table and fridge in the sitting room. Luckily, we did also have use of our butler's pantry, which meant we had a couple of cabinets for storage, a small countertop and a tiny sink available during the renovation. We ate a lot of crockpot meals (thanks in large part to my mom who stocked our freezer), used paper plates, and made good use of our toaster and microwave.<br />
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Now, for the best part. Before, during and after photos. Enjoy!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZ1XJHM3Rd5_995K3NNPzLMEn9E1T3KGh-lxIQphPZC5N8g3x0JwrkW37Nn4QS1Bj93VBQt22jC2thq4hhWO3BLm1-orpG8g3sJjeaIGNhZ6CpDElA3IiH6CCh1Bf39mpV6hbePt_MKE/s1600/2017-10-16+09.28.35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZ1XJHM3Rd5_995K3NNPzLMEn9E1T3KGh-lxIQphPZC5N8g3x0JwrkW37Nn4QS1Bj93VBQt22jC2thq4hhWO3BLm1-orpG8g3sJjeaIGNhZ6CpDElA3IiH6CCh1Bf39mpV6hbePt_MKE/s640/2017-10-16+09.28.35.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvudzN9a_7N5mj0YIyjtmgZiT2wFkLviQEWUTePULWeWFVvSdJcSYxPXqvx6iMyvD78DqLs52_iik9DIG81zpRQbHgmSvxrk8t1CrkoJz-y-mc-q_qSTmHCNaIABRomnGx0BOdNMNP5c/s1600/2017-10-16+14.59.07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvudzN9a_7N5mj0YIyjtmgZiT2wFkLviQEWUTePULWeWFVvSdJcSYxPXqvx6iMyvD78DqLs52_iik9DIG81zpRQbHgmSvxrk8t1CrkoJz-y-mc-q_qSTmHCNaIABRomnGx0BOdNMNP5c/s640/2017-10-16+14.59.07.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Demo Day!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKAn2xuuXDhe3zRvAL99pkL_lxyaUOaoAIpSt0ptIJ3Mp_FU8-onEirsCqEJT3LjLtmJMSAy6qpESzO49KfdbYEhX39pFCjLpo_49KUTWIPclqoEFHrHyZomAKgC-YDb0LbAqlT5QdNo/s1600/2017-10-17+10.01.20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKAn2xuuXDhe3zRvAL99pkL_lxyaUOaoAIpSt0ptIJ3Mp_FU8-onEirsCqEJT3LjLtmJMSAy6qpESzO49KfdbYEhX39pFCjLpo_49KUTWIPclqoEFHrHyZomAKgC-YDb0LbAqlT5QdNo/s640/2017-10-17+10.01.20.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The plastic fortress</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQiZO6N97a4WOBGKK4_lk3OqUz8ft5HbnqzAQUfs4OSwUA-eTAAhjA7-SvFwNzy4omG9rTtL06W4JHe9wL43G-we-P063KK38lJ33pkD51Wc5dpQg8-H8oZ09IrdBLCzNo3315TN4Ybs/s1600/2017-10-18+13.16.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQiZO6N97a4WOBGKK4_lk3OqUz8ft5HbnqzAQUfs4OSwUA-eTAAhjA7-SvFwNzy4omG9rTtL06W4JHe9wL43G-we-P063KK38lJ33pkD51Wc5dpQg8-H8oZ09IrdBLCzNo3315TN4Ybs/s640/2017-10-18+13.16.47.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our temporary "kitchen"</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXgii3yIUSs1ffyKirmwLrf_fe7hZXzApdmXuEOYrDSS5vjBaYWy6X0mb0SyWRCuyUcqLaqDEkH_I3VJ7mNl5L-puSZpjj3XYbvMwMb2vw-S13rJDGaLz1VhG3VHEg0MRNq4SH6FrOyw/s1600/2017-10-18+13.17.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXgii3yIUSs1ffyKirmwLrf_fe7hZXzApdmXuEOYrDSS5vjBaYWy6X0mb0SyWRCuyUcqLaqDEkH_I3VJ7mNl5L-puSZpjj3XYbvMwMb2vw-S13rJDGaLz1VhG3VHEg0MRNq4SH6FrOyw/s640/2017-10-18+13.17.33.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And dining room </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfP4N8PayhRXz-m0iwWmuUdfLOHFXnqVoti8MsPdLgIDh51fpsfQTn8IbzdvTDGpa8WOdeAA8fRlp6I6GfOB-f0uLYSD5mIkiFx012EC4Fmzn-7mPn9FXfPu_SK8AuVU-z_p4AzyIGPc8/s1600/2017-10-26+12.25.38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfP4N8PayhRXz-m0iwWmuUdfLOHFXnqVoti8MsPdLgIDh51fpsfQTn8IbzdvTDGpa8WOdeAA8fRlp6I6GfOB-f0uLYSD5mIkiFx012EC4Fmzn-7mPn9FXfPu_SK8AuVU-z_p4AzyIGPc8/s640/2017-10-26+12.25.38.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somebody really loved all the boxes that were delivered</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-eAPTRdx1v0rM8FY_BMGvo049NthEVzT8m56AKBD8Tmj_USfT7sBUKSnyKn2YKTZCBi3vbzo6yFq91Ef4FQg7oodE-Ssyv2z0LNYcgm29dxOm59WNWGaD0e7YaRvDxdEBvTuw91T4Qqo/s1600/2017-11-07+09.08.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-eAPTRdx1v0rM8FY_BMGvo049NthEVzT8m56AKBD8Tmj_USfT7sBUKSnyKn2YKTZCBi3vbzo6yFq91Ef4FQg7oodE-Ssyv2z0LNYcgm29dxOm59WNWGaD0e7YaRvDxdEBvTuw91T4Qqo/s640/2017-11-07+09.08.54.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the electrical work was done and the floors were newly refinished</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSs3HkIz-KMvQji5kUQilV13qmi52qwlE8O4Pmi1CE3bTSvB3apyyablRRlV-ksLQyzbOWH_rxwLc7mwsknpdNy_Lp6U3FWZ-WrhHjuf0r6UsGQuAxTCCXV7plJK65khdxiui2K2TH_UY/s1600/2017-11-07+10.20.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSs3HkIz-KMvQji5kUQilV13qmi52qwlE8O4Pmi1CE3bTSvB3apyyablRRlV-ksLQyzbOWH_rxwLc7mwsknpdNy_Lp6U3FWZ-WrhHjuf0r6UsGQuAxTCCXV7plJK65khdxiui2K2TH_UY/s640/2017-11-07+10.20.19.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even better than boxes: having our couch in the entryway. <br />
Luckily the couch only had to live here for a couple of days while the floors were being refinished. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgGIv4tGQWW3f0rWELdkGLM0W2HV3R6oU96qOm69HzY9ODsUFmeI_NCN4MB87TVCDaVIeBnH6V0UF4NBTmQfmUU5EUrD0fovljvo95Y7W0pg6LY9eSbm0nXS4XXjY3SJNyamTV9fDLuM/s1600/2017-11-08+11.50.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgGIv4tGQWW3f0rWELdkGLM0W2HV3R6oU96qOm69HzY9ODsUFmeI_NCN4MB87TVCDaVIeBnH6V0UF4NBTmQfmUU5EUrD0fovljvo95Y7W0pg6LY9eSbm0nXS4XXjY3SJNyamTV9fDLuM/s640/2017-11-08+11.50.54.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cabinet delivery!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImrz4uiJfqSAFzMl-3jr7AK0UZ9rBX5fQ8FbxWINrwBzPIgRgYrRaYRWhwYw5Mo90BtdhNAFxzX_mHGcHbsEgTvruYASH3royNXY-Dw37SgHPf0lcWcjYR4ogUljriC_sG_1G-9LdhMA/s1600/2017-11-19+09.31.48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImrz4uiJfqSAFzMl-3jr7AK0UZ9rBX5fQ8FbxWINrwBzPIgRgYrRaYRWhwYw5Mo90BtdhNAFxzX_mHGcHbsEgTvruYASH3royNXY-Dw37SgHPf0lcWcjYR4ogUljriC_sG_1G-9LdhMA/s640/2017-11-19+09.31.48.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This looks like a great spot to watch Sesame Street, Mom. </td></tr>
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We gained a ton of storage, more useful pull-outs and interior cabinet features, a much bigger island, and an overall much improved layout. The dishwasher moved to the other side of the sink and now I have two ovens (one is located in the island). And if you are wondering where the microwave is, it's a microwave drawer also hiding in the island. I'm also really thrilled to have a pantry. It's not huge, but considering there wasn't a dedicated food storage space pre-renovation, I'll take it. Next to the pantry is a custom spice rack that I designed - it just really makes my heart happy. Oh, and I can't forget my little "garage" where I can keep my mixer and toaster plugged in and ready to go, but out of sight. :)</div>
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<i>After photos: The Newborn Lens (the design/build firm paid for professional photos for their promotional use, and I get to use them too!).</i></div>
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<i>Lighting: Schoolhouse Electric </i></div>
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<i>Hardware: Schoolhouse Electric </i></div>
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<i>Faucet: Newport Brass</i></div>
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<i>Stools: West Elm</i></div>
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<i>Cabinet Paint: Benjamin Moore Nimbus & Old Navy </i></div>
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<i>Quartz: Polarstone </i></div>
Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-18891198490268062042017-11-01T21:46:00.001-04:002017-11-01T21:46:07.671-04:00happy halloweenThis year Charlie was an elf for halloween. It seemed like a good choice for a little redhead. It was also his first time trick or treating at a few houses on our block. He's still too little to understand halloween (hence the reason we limited our stops to friends and neighbors we know), but we all had fun being outside on a nice evening enjoying our new street. It was almost like a big block party!<br />
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Charlie was mostly curious, and maybe a little skeptical, about the whole thing. He sometimes tried to put the candy right back in the bowl. Other times he conveniently stuffed it in his apron pocket. But, he did love running around outside - at one point trying to take off with a herd of bigger kids.<br />
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You never know what you are going to get with a toddler, but luckily, he didn't mind wearing his costume - it helped that parts of it were pinned down. Perhaps the biggest miracle was that he actually kept the hat on for several minutes. Of course his favorite part of all was sampling a few pieces of his candy, which we mostly used as a bribe to get him to sit still for some photos. :)<br />
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<br />Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-45925992959103203132017-10-22T17:28:00.001-04:002017-10-22T17:28:50.299-04:00charlie's first haircutA few weeks ago on a Friday, we found out Meatball's gender. The next day, we took Charlie to get his first haircut. I definitely do not recommend doing so many emotional things in such a short amount of time.<br />
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I wasn't really ready, but I don't think I ever would have been. I guess I just figured we would have to do it eventually so I just decided to rip off the bandaid one Saturday. I suppose a big brother does need a big boy haircut.<br />
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Charlie did great during the haircut. Mama, however, was way more traumatized. In a span of a few minutes, he went from being my baby to looking like he was ready to go off to college. I'm fine now that I've a had a few weeks to get used to the idea. I see photos of his long curls now and can't really believe I let it grow that long. It also helps that he still has some curls left - especially on humid days. :)<br />
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Charlie loved sitting in the little car chair, and he was perfectly content to eat his raisins and watch Sesame Street while the stylist worked her magic. She was very efficient and quick - this was clearly not her first rodeo. The whole thing took all of 5-10 minutes, and they were kind enough to collect a few locks for me to keep in his baby book, which is great because he's probably never getting his hair cut again.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bye, bye curls!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4R-54LnCq_w33e3676hB8ltib0NiSihTfSY0ZoZOdVO4A0x89HJqHnQNZGunZa4HloAPV1s8PZ7h7HaYTFnOFHiIeqNUH-kskuw-16-1_lYTvpHC4pnn5-2wgfNmOzfSQL7oxGkQFbA/s1600/2017-09-23+11.01.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4R-54LnCq_w33e3676hB8ltib0NiSihTfSY0ZoZOdVO4A0x89HJqHnQNZGunZa4HloAPV1s8PZ7h7HaYTFnOFHiIeqNUH-kskuw-16-1_lYTvpHC4pnn5-2wgfNmOzfSQL7oxGkQFbA/s640/2017-09-23+11.01.22.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This place has trucks?! I like it already.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrL7TUxMuVRrfyZiMO6TaPVS8BkDqJGscC1oIVy1_Xn6HanYqeCsfhKXIaq_8CcZJTrzAgYR-k9HR9zB4AUKRgRELnMZxtaD3h60ZEntEW8BHL5RUabYJJPydJkS2gXwgaiWQwU7O3Is/s1600/2017-09-23+11.09.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrL7TUxMuVRrfyZiMO6TaPVS8BkDqJGscC1oIVy1_Xn6HanYqeCsfhKXIaq_8CcZJTrzAgYR-k9HR9zB4AUKRgRELnMZxtaD3h60ZEntEW8BHL5RUabYJJPydJkS2gXwgaiWQwU7O3Is/s640/2017-09-23+11.09.46.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raisins for the win</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will sit still for raisins</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All done. Mama even managed to smile. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't worry, I still got my chubby baby cheeks. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKJWKivpnwDZrcTI9mV30dbSywSw0mFlL48lMgAhA0iNamKsORTLFEgXj6aCfUJowCAFiwmCGrXUxh2NqemGGfHSKp9UGxCTfGqEyM6a35oIcsZW43PACxM2zUXtNKpuNrPRf9eIQyyk/s1600/2017-10-13+11.16.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKJWKivpnwDZrcTI9mV30dbSywSw0mFlL48lMgAhA0iNamKsORTLFEgXj6aCfUJowCAFiwmCGrXUxh2NqemGGfHSKp9UGxCTfGqEyM6a35oIcsZW43PACxM2zUXtNKpuNrPRf9eIQyyk/s640/2017-10-13+11.16.40.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I spy some surviving curls. :)</td></tr>
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Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195297832482608828.post-64700525812810306252017-10-15T21:02:00.000-04:002017-10-15T21:02:02.304-04:00it's a(nother) boy!!!<div>
Exciting news here at the Hardin house. Charlie is going to be a big brother! Baby boy the second, affectionately known as "Meatball," will be arriving in mid-February. I'm feeling very grateful, a little overwhelmed, and hopelessly outnumbered. </div>
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I was convinced it was a girl this time because this pregnancy feels different. I should have known my lot in life would be keeping adult Jon and two mini Jons in check. Lord help us. The good news is that I have absolutely loved everything about being a boy mom. I'm not even sure I'd know what to do with a girl at this point! Charlie is kind to not play favorites too often, but there is no doubt he LOVES his mama. If I leave the room, even just a few minutes, he lights up when I return and exclaims "MAMA!" And yes, I melt every time. And yes, I hope my boys will always think their mama hung the moon. </div>
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Naturally, Charlie has no idea what's about to happen. The word "baby" isn't even in our vocabulary yet, and the looming transition is a bit daunting. We recently gave him a doll I've had since childhood in hopes of endearing him to this whole baby idea. He took one look at the doll and, no surprise, proceeded to throw it across the room. Perfect.<br />
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I'm so excited for Charlie to have a brother so close in age. I hope their age proximity will help create a sweet and lasting friendship....assuming Meatball can survive Charlie's affections, which I'm guessing will come mostly in the form of smothering, slobbery kisses, and sharing (i.e., throwing toys at him). Hopefully we can master the meaning of the word "gentle" before February!</div>
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Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812064799147542102noreply@blogger.com1