Thursday, October 13, 2011

6 Month Check In

We had Jamie's 6 month check on Wednesday. Little guy is weighing in at 14 lbs 13 oz, which puts him in the 10th percentile! You'd never know it, the way he eats. He has been chowing down on everything (except avocados) we've put in front of him. Bananas, applesauce, pears, melon, sweet potatoes, acorn squash, butternut squash, you name it, he'll stuff it in. He tries to feed himself, poor thing. Doesn't work well.
He is definitely, officially crawling. Tonight, he got his knees up under him, and sort of tried to launch backward into a sitting up position. Didn't work. But, he's getting faster everyday, and I'm getting more nervous that Babies R Us doesn't carry enough gates for our house.
Two little teeth are trying their best to work their way through on the bottom, but no luck yet. Just lots of drool.
Basically, my little guy (or muffin man, or Buster, or small fry, if you ask Emmeline) is getting to be quite the baby. Not an infant anymore. I kinda like it!
Emmeline, for her part, is getting to be such a preschooler, along with the requisite imagination, that I can't keep up. She has a host of imaginary friends, and they all do such interesting things together. I can't even keep track of all the funny things she says.
Her absolute favorite, most loved pastime right now is watching The Sound of Music. I have no objections to this. Is there a more family friendly movie out there? Only bad people at the end, and only bad because we KNOW they're bad. They don't even actually do anything bad in the movie. Em can't quite grasp or pronounce Nazi, so she calls Herr Zeller a Nasty or a Naughty. HILARIOUS. She wants to see the "muppet" part with "old lou" (this is yodeling), and now asks me almost every day what some of my favorite things are and how I can solve a problem like Maria. She loves Captain "Bontrap" and Frau Maria. She's a little caught on the nuns though, calling them "ones" for the fist three viewings of the movie. We're obviously not Catholic. Luckily, because this movie is so long, we often watch it over a week. We watch 30 or 40 minutes at a time, so we really stretch it out. Luckily, I heard through the Christmas grapevine that a DVD version is coming, which is really fantastic since the copy I have is, yep, on VHS! I had to drag out the VCR and dust it off. Still chugging along though.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Here He Goes

My camera (with its video function) is broken. My phone requires a memory card to take video. Shawn's camera, despite its many options, does not take video. My Flip was unavailable for comment. So, in order to prove that Jamie is (pseudo) crawling, I have taken some pictures, flip book style. I present for your review and entertainment, the following:








I know it might be hard to see, but he was going for the tag on the boppy. This only took him about a minute, and that was mostly cause he was pausing to listen to the camera click.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A Few Pictures

I got my toes!


James saying A-looooooooha from Hawaii


Emmy and Jeffrey loving the fish


Love the Aquarium

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Bless Us, Every One

When we started saying grace before dinner with Emmeline, I wanted to keep it simple. To that end, we have always just said "Dear God, thank you for our food, and thank you for our family. Amen." I thought that was simple enough for a little toddler to grasp - to the point. Now that she's so very old, she likes to help me. Now, dinner goes more like this:
M: Dear God, thank you for our food
E: And our milk!
M: and our milk, and thank you
E: and our forks!
M: and our forks, and thank you for our family
E: and thank you for Jamie's blue elephant
M: yes, Lord, thank you for all the toys that we're able to give to our children. Amen.
E: You didn't say thank you for our dinner!
M: I did. You were too busy thanking God for everything else.

I like that she's so very thankful, but I'm also kind of hungry and would like to get to the eating part of our dinner. Bless her.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Moving and Shaking

This is not a brag post. This is an I-Don't-Know-What-To-Do-With-This post. Emmeline, as we all remember, never crawled. I mean, I guess she did a bit around 18 months, long after she was walking. James, on the other hand, has been a bit more...shall we say, advanced in the physical arena. He's been rolling both from belly to back and back to belly for a while. Monday, he began scooting across the floor on his back. He will have a nasty bald spot on the back of his head. Today, he got his knees up under him and scooched forward. It was not a crawl, but it wasn't far from it. He did it three times this morning, and a few times yesterday. He will be 4 months next week. I could be wrong, but I'll put money on this guy crawling before 5 months. This is amazing to me. I never experienced this with Em, so it's all new. She did combat crawl a bit for a little while, but she hated it, and it never progressed. I am continually surprised by Jamie's physical strength and interest in moving. It is awesome!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

That's What She Said

Me: Jamie, you are the King of Blowing Bubbles, huh?
Emmeline: Why?
M: Because, hear him blowing all those bubbles? He's good at it.
E: Mommy, you're the King of Mommies!

Shawn: Emmeline, please get your jammies on. It's almost bedtime.
E: I am! Chill out!

Uncle Gary: Uh-oh, looks like you dropped your taco.
E: Actually, it's a tortilla.

E: Mommy, I'm not sure he (indicating Jamie) is the perfect Jamie for us.

E: (crying, in bed) I'm not dreaming very well!

E: Where's Daddy's little car?
M: Remember? Daddy drove himself to work today.
E: He drove hisself? I'm so proud of him!

No-Cry Sleep Solution - Preferably Neither of Us is Crying

Things are chugging away here. After enduring a nasty heat wave, we're enjoying a day with a high of only 93! I think we're starting to settle into a new routine. Emmeline is doing much better with staying dry at night, and Shawn's been able to get to work on time more than not lately. That may not sound like much, but when you have two small people waking you up at night, and they are both still sleeping when the alarm goes off, it's very easy to turn it off and sleep until the wee ones get you back up. So far, Jamie is getting a nice nap routine. Up until this week, the score of Jamie vs. Mommy regarding naps has looked like this:
Jamie - 287
Mommy - 3
I don't know where I was when God was handing out Mommy-baby-soothing-skills, but wherever it was, it was not the right place. I am not sure why I am completely incapable of soothing an infant to sleep, but I really suck at it. I try rocking, humming, singing, patting, shushing, pacifier, tummy-sleeping, rubbing and every combination possible of those. Maybe Jamie is a tough nut to crack, maybe I just haven't hit his magic combo yet, but I leave every nap feeling defeated and incompetent. While my toddler wreaks havoc through the rest of the house. I have been yearning for the day Jamie is old enough to Cry It Out. Pediatrician said not till 4 months, and I honestly don't remember how old Em was when we started. However, this week has gone much better. More like this:
Jamie - 0
Mommy - 5
Those are good numbers. He has put himself to sleep, without tears, every nap and bedtime since yesterday morning. I consider this a victory. Who knows how long it will last, but I'm excited about it for now.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Trout Lake

We have many awesome friends - Shaina and Craig are two of them. I met Shaina in Denver, at TMI. Her parents own a lake house just outside Adirondack National Park. We drove up there on Sunday and stayed till Friday. We swam, boated, kayake, fished, cooked, and inner tubed. What a great time with great friends! Emmeline was a bit wary at first since there were 4 dogs between the Fergusons and the Spielers. By Friday, she was just like old times - loving the dogs, especially Figgy, Mrs. Spieler's geriatric dachsund. Jamie had a tougher time. He's still kind of a homebody, and seems to REALLY like his bed best. But he did ok.



The view looking up the lake from the end of the deck. Bee-yoo-tiful.


Em had a little bit of a crush on Craig. Maybe it was because he read to her - every single time she asked.
Emmeline took this one of Jamie. It's kind of artsy, I think.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Monday, June 6, 2011

Baby Shawn, 2.0




I was so excited when Jamie was born. He looked a lot like me. Now that he's lost that newborn look, he's looking more and more like his dad. Which isn't bad, I was just hoping I might get one kid to look like me, a little.


We have fallen in love with the Playseum in Bethesda. Awesome. Emmeline likes the dress up room, the animal room, the grocery store, the music area, and getting her nails painted (for $1!!). She and Shawn were sampling the wigs.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Pediatrician Update

Today was Jamie's 6-8 week check (he's 7 weeks). My little peanut has grown from 7 lbs even to 10 lbs 13 oz! Chunker! Of course, I looked back at Emmy's baby book, and she weighed 11.2 at 7 weeks, so he's still behind...but not by much! He also grew 2 inches in these 7 weeks. I knew he was getting longer, but 2 inches is a lot. Jamie's in this weird middle size where most newborn size clothes are really too small, but the 0-3 month stuff is huge on him. He owns about 6 onesies that really fit. And when you vomit on minimum three outifts a day, this means we have enough clothes for two days at a time.
Emmeline is enjoying all the time we've been spending outside, up until this weekend when it got nasty. She and Shawn went camping over the long weekend, and she had an awesome time kayaking, and swimming in the lake. Alas, I don't have any pictures, but I'm sure I can wrangle some from Jessica.

Friday, May 27, 2011

6 Week Growth Spurt

Growth spurts are a real pain. I managed to block out Emmeline's 6 weeker. Jamie's has been a trial. Moms-to-be: arrange for extra help this week, and be prepared to drink heavily. There is non stop eating, followed by serious fussiness and virtually no sleep. Jamie was an eating machine, sometimes eating every hour. He also gave up on napping for more than 15 minutes at a time. Of course, the trade off was that Tuesday night he was so tired he slept from 8 to 4 am. I think it's over now, he's been napping again, and we've gone back to eating every 2.5 or 3 hours. I can't wait to know how much weight he put on in this feeding frenzy.

Monday, May 16, 2011

5 weeks!



Jamie will definitely be surpassing Em on physical milestones. He rolled over three times this morning! Safety disclaimers:


1 - This is the last time tummy time will take place on the couch, clearly.


2- I did not hop up to grab the camera to take this amazing footage. I had my media assistant (Emmeline) get it for me.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Car Seat Safety

If you have car seat(s) in your car, check out this website: http://www.seatcheck.org/. There are locations in every state that will check the installation of your car seat. We had a small problem with Jamie's about two weeks ago (his seemed to be rolling to the sides a bit much when we'd take a corner particularly fast...or at all.) I made an appointment with our local place, and they checked both Em's and Jamie's. Both were technically installed correctly, but had way too much wiggle room. It is scary to think that although both Shawn and I had checked both seats to make sure they were in right, these officers were able to tighten them so much more. Jamie's was also at the wrong angle. I'm sure they both would have been fine had we been in an accident, but there's only one way to know for sure, and I'm glad we didn't have to find out. They were able to do both seats in less than 30 minutes, so it's not like it was a big hassle.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Emmeline "Green Thumb"



We have started our garden! Emmeline loves to water her plants, and check to see how everything's growing. We have one planter with just herbs, one with just flowers, and one with veggies. To be honest, I don't even know what got planted, since Shawn did all of that. It will be a surprise for me!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

What a Couple of Cuties!

She really does love him, she's not trying to twist his head off.



Emmeline's a dog at Great Country Farms


Tummy Time

Saturday, April 30, 2011

How does a 2 week old contract pink eye? Don't know, but ours did it.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Speaking Poundage-wise...

Jamie was exactly 7 pounds when he was born. Like all babies, he lost a little after he was born, getting down to 6lbs 4 oz (I think) at his lowest. I took him for his 2 week check today and he's up to a whopping 7 lbs 13 oz! Whoooo! He's gained a net 1.5 pounds. That equals a LOT of nursing. Luckily, Jamie mastered breastfeeding about as quickly as Emmeline did. It's certainly not easy, but once mom and baby get it, things turn around. He weighs less than his big sister did at this age, but he'll catch up eventually.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Just a Few Pictures

Emmeline and Jamie in the hospital


I caught a gas smile. Priceless!

Enjoying the sunny weather (also helps with a touch of jaundice)

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Welcome to the world, James Wesley!


I won't get into the whole story right now, but we welcomed our little boy early Sunday morning. He was a boy in a hurry, and came after only 4 hours of labor, and 10 minutes of pushing. Jamie weighed 7 lbs even, and was 20 1/4 inches long. He looks nothing like his big sister, who is completely smitten with him!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

39 Weeks

Technically I'm 39 weeks tomorrow. But I had a doctor's appointment today, and they did a check - unexpected. Still 50% effaced, but nearly 2cm dilated now. I was only 2 cm when I checked into the hospital to have Emmeline. I'm really, really hoping I can do something with all of the very strong contractions I've been having, and get this baby born while Grandma Patsy is in town! Here's hoping... In case that doesn't happen, I did get to schedule my induction. April 21st will be the magic date if my body can't seem to get it together.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Ultrasound, Take 2

Shawn and I had our last ultrasound this morning. Nothing too eventful, looks like baby is head down, very healthy, and we got to watch as s/he sucked his or her thumb. Too cute! The detail was so good we could even see the tongue moving around the thumb. The tech said baby is measuring a few days ahead, and weighs approximately 6 lbs, 13 ounces. Which is a great healthy weight, but I really hope I don't go all the way to 40 weeks, since babies at this point are putting on about an ounce a day! I still have three weeks to go till my due date, so at an ounce a day, we'd be looking at a hefty 8 pounder! I know that's not even that big, but bigger than Em was, so scary for me. Heartbeat was in the 140s, and all the organs we looked at were functioning and looking good. So now it's a waiting game. I continue to have contractions, and hope that they develop into something real, while the baby continues to grow and thumb its little nose at me, cozy and comfy.

A Little Mom Vent

What do you do in those situations when another mom is interacting with your kid in a way that you disagree with? I don't mean a stranger disciplining my child...I think I know how I would handle that. We went to the play area at the mall this week, and Emmeline was having a great time following two older girls around the play area. I was completely exhausted, and told her when we got there that I would be sitting down. I told her if she needed help to come get me, but that I couldn't lift her onto the equipment. Not that I do that anyway; I think it's a safety hazard to put small children onto play equipment if they can't get on themselves. I never do that, not at school, not with my own kid. Anyway, there's a train at this particular play area, with two open carts, like coal carts. She wants in there in the worst way. Every time we go, she's after me to put her in. As soon as we got there, she goes straight to the cart, and looks at me from across the playground. I shake my head no. Ok, she moves on. Ten minutes later, I see the mom of Em's two new BFFs lifting her onto a little slide. Repeatedly. Then, the girls make their way to this coal carty thing. Yup, Other Mom lifts my kid into it. She wasn't doing anything wrong - she was being nice to someone else's kid. I couldn't be mad, but was thinking dammit! I told Em no, that she has to do it herself! And as an aside, she CAN. She's tall enough to get herself into this thing, she's just not adventurous enough to try something like that until she's positive she can do it. Which I LOVE...makes for far fewer injuries generally. So the point is, what could I/should I have done with this mom? As all this is going on, I'm also being chatted up by a mom with three kids, who as it turns out, is running for the state Senate. As soon as Candidate Mom left, I hauled my huge self up off the seat and went to talk to Em, letting her know we only had 5 minutes before we had to leave. Helpful Mom told me she thought my daughter was adorable. I was worried I was going to get judgement for letting my kid run all over the play area without helping her, but I think H.M. saw my incredible midsection and gave me a break. I said thanks, and we left pretty quickly after that. I think this lady was really nice, and I know I would be upset to think that I undermined another mom when I was trying to be kind. I don't know - moms can be so sensitive, and I didn't even know how to broach this with a woman I don't know, so I let it go.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Go Looking for Trouble....

And it will find you. I've been having contractions since Monday morning, started at 10-15 minutes apart, got to 7, and today only 5 minutes apart. Not painful though. In any case, I am only just 36 weeks, so I called the doctor and moved my appointment to today. I am not dilated at all (which is sort of disappointing, considering the discomfort I've been in), but my doctor feels I need to take it easy until I hit 37 weeks, when they consider me "full term." So, effective tomorrow, I'm out of work until the end of next week. Woot. A little excitement to spice up this pregnancy.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Ice Cream Date

Testing posting from my phone.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Monday, March 7, 2011

35 Weeks

Weeeee! I'm not complaining...this might sound complainy. Apparently pregnancy is boring. For me. I mean, I don't really want to be going to L&D early, or stressing about being on bedrest or anything, but. These doctor's appointments are completely boring. I measure on target, my BP is fine, on the low side, my weight gain is within the normal range. I am both desperately looking forward to having this baby, and thinking that the longer it stays in, the better. Not just for health, also for simplicity's sake. Dealing with one toddler is easier than one toddler and one newborn. Anyway, for now, baby is not making any moves that make me think it's coming anytime soon. I have a check on the 21st, they should do an internal, so I'll have numbers then, and then we have an ultrasound on the 25th. My doctor's office likes to do one at the end to check for the position of the baby, fluid levels, potential weight.
Maybe before this baby comes, I'll get some pictures of my big belly. Sorry guys.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Happy 2nd Birthday!


We had Emmeline' s birthday party a few Saturdays ago. Sorry so late in posting. We had a few of our friends over, and the kids made pita pizzas, and frosted strawberry cupcakes and put sprinkles on them. Low key, and very fun. She had a great time, and the next night, her actual birthday, we had our family birthday dinner. Meme, Papa, Aunt Katie, John, Uncle Alex, Jenny, Aunt Tracy, and even Aunt Merissa all made it over for quiche and fruit salad. There were a disastrous number of presents, a beautiful cake made by Emmeline (funfetti with chocolate frosting), and loads of fun. Naturally those pictures are on the OTHER memory card, which I will have to locate.
For Emmeline's second birthday, I've been writing her a letter in my head for weeks, like I remember Erin did for Grace's 1st. There's probably too much to put into one letter, but I'll try:
Dear Emmy Bear,
You are amazing! You have learned so much, and teach me and Daddy so much. You are kind, and caring, and sympathetic. You love to give hugs and kisses, and love snuggling "on Mommy's belly." You seem to already love your sibling, who's not even here yet, often telling me all about what you will be sharing with "our baby." I love how loving you are! You are so smart, and so inquisitive - I love watching you learn something new. You ask questions all the time about everything. You seem to love words as much as I do, and love hearing new words. You have so many adult mannerisms, which are so precious and mark you out as obviously soaking up all of the things and ways Daddy and I are. I love when you tilt your head to the side, palms upturned, and crinkle your nose to explain that something is "prolly" all gone, or gross, or at Meme's house. You always say excuse me to get by me, and are very polite most of the time. You love bedtime, and ask for your jammies most nights. You make things so easy for me and Daddy! Except for eating...no matter how many wonderful, new and exotic foods Daddy and I offer you, and eat in front of you, nothing makes you happier than a "cheese sammich" and some fruit. Which is funny, because you love to cook all the great foods you don't like to eat. You run for your apron and your tower any time we mention cooking, and know what Boiling, Mixing, Whisking, Measuring, Pouring, and Baking all mean. You are such a special little girl, and I have loved every single minute of the last two years!
Love, Mommy

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Ladybugs




Emmeline has moved into her new room and is "so 'cited!" She loves all her ladybug stuff, most especially the ladybug lamp that Meme, Katie and John all worked so hard on. She loves to turn on the nightlight function all by herself. She is still working on climbing into the chair that Grandma Patsy got her for Christmas, but I think another inch or two and she'll have it. Thanks to all for all the birthday gifts that helped us put this together!
And yes, I'll post about Christmas and birthday next.