October 2003 Moms and Kids

[Renrel]

Good idea Erin! I think we did have some at some point. We have several bottles and sprays of baby sun lotion floating around and I think one of them had come with a stick. I am sure to find it as soon as I buy a new one.

[Renrel]

DH just called me at work. Gabe threw up at grandma house. First a little than alot. He also was not himself on the drive up and ate very little at dinner which is not like him. But he does not want to sit still. He is trying to tumble. :rolleyes: He is also saying he is hungry. They gave him a little bit of apple and some cola. He has been OK for 45 minutes and if he is still ok in another 15 DH plans to drive him home so he will have access to BM, video, toys and me. Poor little guy.

Now I also have to worry about whether I can take him down to NJ for the Bris. Not only would be be near the baby but we would be staying at homes of other people with children. And I have a sore throat myself which I should probable get checked out. What fun. Even if I don't go DH has to go because is interview flight to CA is out of Newark. But the Monday is almost a week away so there is time for us all to get better, right?

[Renrel]

Last night was horrid! DH got home with Gabe around 11pm, Gabe was fine on the ride but threw up all over the common area in the back of our apartment building (A large home divided into 4 units), which has carpet, so is hard to clean. He could not keep anything down, not even breast milk. He just kept throwing it all up and then begging for apple juice to drink. Everytime we almost had him to sleep he threw up again. He even got tired of videos. Nothing would console him. At about 3:30am I put him in his crib and sat with him while he screamed bloody murder. I don't know how long he cryed and screamed. I fell asleep at some point and woke around 5:30 to go to my own bed. When I awoke at 8:30 (after having turned the alarm off at 6:45) he was awake and feeling better. He drank a few ounces of apple juice and kept it down. Then a few ounces of grape juice and kept it down, then bf and kept it down, then pedilite and kept it down, while watching tv. Then he no longer wanted to watch tv. He did not want to do anything, including being left alone. He cryed and fussed and finally fell asleep on the couch. I have showered and have a dr appointment for myself later this afternoon to see if my sore thoat is contagous and if I have a UTI. Oh, and my period came this morning. The stars are not lined up well for health in my family right now are they?

[AlisonCO]

Renrel - OMG - you poor things! I hope that Gabe is feeling better and that you are too!!! I also hope that you all are better so that you can see your nephew and attend the bris. Hugs to you all today:)

FYI - We used the stick sunscreen also with great success - no rubbing or fussing, just swipe it on. Also we used the Mederma scar cream for kids - you use it 3 times a day for 8 weeks (the sooner after the stitches are removed, the better.)

kerrykate - I love the hunny bunny stuff - so cute! We haven't had a poopy underwear, but I imagine that unless it was diarhea that I would try to save them. I might change my mind after a few accidents, though.

mittyrd - I like erinn's way of teaching them to use a straw - I think that we just kept explaining it and trying to show him. Also some straw sippies are true straws, but some you have to bite a bit and then suck. You might make sure that you have a true straw cup which I think is easier initially.

[Renrel]

Today went smoother than expected. Gabe stayed asleep till around 2pm, shortly after I left for my dr. appointment, so I got to catch up on the sleep I missed last night and DH got some work done. DH misheard when my appointment was and let me sleep a bit too long, so I was rushed and arrived late for my appointment. Gabe had a very soft poop shortly after he woke and has occassional said his stomach hurts but otherwise is doing well today. He has only had liquids and some white bread though. We went for a walk with him still in his pjs and ended up at a school playground where he played like nothing was wrong. We did keep him at a distance from other kids.

I have a UTI but it is unlikely I have strep. I have to talk to my sister as to if she wants us to come if I have an upper respetory infection. I would of course keep my distance from the baby. :( No fair. I am always sick when there is a newborn around to hold.

[jay&erinn]

Renrel: I'm sorry you guys are all sick. That really stinks. How's Gabe feeling today?

[Renrel]

Well we are all feeling better and at work or daycare today. Gabe has not really started eating "real" food yet, but has had no problems with the liquid diet and some bread. Luckily the menu at daycare is pretty good for a bad tummy today, corn bread and apples for breakfast, roast beef sandwhichs and some easy to eat sides that I forget and toast and jelly with juice for snack. I gave them some pedilite to replace any milk to day. Other than the roast beef all the foods pretty much come under the heading of recovering from a stomach bug. Hopefully he will tolerate the roastbeef as well. He seemed totally himself this morning and we had not problems over night.

I talked to my sister last night and she says we will play it by ear as far as the Bris to see how we are all feeling at the end of the week. She and the baby are doing fine. Her only nursing issues are difficult moving the baby because she hurts from the surgury. He eats about every 4 hours so she has a reasonably easy sleep schedule so far for a new mom. Similiar to Gabe and me. My other sister had a baby that ate every 2 hours so she was a wreak from lack of sleep before she even left the hospital.

[Renrel]

Gabe is mostly better. No throwing up or runs, but he is still on the cranky side, getting all upset over next to nothing. He is also not eatting much but drinking lots and lots.

I am off from work tomorrow. The plan was to drive down to NJ before the holiday traffic started but I think we may wait till Saturday. I have done no packing and it would give Gabe another day to recoup before a long car ride.

[jay&erinn]

Just bumping us up to see how everyone's weekend is going.

DH is out of town helping with his brother's roof. I'm not thrilled about it, but what can you do. It's leading to an exhausting weekend for both of us. DH is miserable since he'd rather be home, and is exhausted from working in this heat on a roof all day long. I'm miserable since I have terrible insomnia and Mia wants no one but me since DH isn't around. We've been spending most of the weekend at the pool which is nice, but Mia won't let my mom take her in the water- just me. So I've spent way too much time swimming and not enough time just sitting around. Oh well. DH will be home tomorrow night and hopefully we can enjoy next weekend together.

[mittyrd]

Erinn: I don't know how you did it this weekend being as pg as you are. i would have told BIL to go.....you know.

Renrel: Hope you have all recovered.

Our weekend was quiet. We went to a local farm/sprinkler park. It was fun. Other than that we just hung out and stayed around the house. We bought a slip n slide. Jake wouldn't go in (it was too cold for him) but DH and I slipped and slided away. It was cold but lots of fun...

[Renrel]

Errin - Sorry you were on your own this weekend. I would insist on having DH home next weekend. You need to relax together as a family before your lives are turned on their heads again by the new baby.

Mittyrd - Glad you guys had a pleasant quiet weekend. The slip and slide sounds like fun.


Hi all. The weekend was nice but very hectic. Lots of visiting at different places and lots of trouble getting Gabe to sleep at night. The bris was very nice with no unpleasant suprises. The baby is gorgous. Very alert and sleeping and eating well. My sister is tired by happy. Gabe spent alot of the weekend playing with other kids without mommy or any adult supervising. Such a sense of freedom in that for me. I think Gabe had mixed feelings about it. He likes being a big boy and independant but misses being my baby and being taken care of.

The drive back alone with Gabe went well. Gabe was a bit cranky starting off but fell asleep quickly and stayed down or quiet for about 2 hours. When he woken up he was only a wee bit cranky. I made two mistakes on the route but fixed them quickly. When Gabe woke from his nap we stopped for lunch at a Burger King and I set up the new DVD player for the rest of the trip. He kicked it out of place once but I was able to stop at a rest stop to fix it and it kept him happy until we reached our home town. Then we stopped for ice cream and played a a park before going home. I actually got him to sleep by 8:30 last night, though our routine was all backward.

DH had a delay on his lay over but other than that his flight went well. He was staying with a good friend last night and the interview is today. This morning was tough without him. I woke up at 5:00 due to road noice, went back to sleep and than the alarm did not go off. I was waking Gabe up about the time I am usually pushing him to get out the door so everything we very rushed but he actually handled it well, until I had to leave him at daycare without any transition time.

[AlisonCO]

renrel - I am so glad that you all had a nice time and got to meet your nephew. It also sounds like Gabe did well - are you both feeling better?

mittyrd - I am glad that at least you and your DH had fun on the slip and slide - it totally makes me smile to think of you two doing that:)

erinn - I hope that your DH is going to be around this weekend so that you can have a break. Can you believe tomorrow is June? Are you ready?

We are doing well. Aidan is all of a sudden very resistant to the potty so we are taking a break from that. He is also mister independent - it takes us 10 minutes to leave the house because he wants to put his shoes on, give the dogs a bone, open the car door, buckle his own belt:D etc. He is also back to waking early - today it was 5:45 (recently it had been more like 6:30-6:45.) He is still going to bed at the same time so I don't get it! Today we are going to playgroup and then to watch the Thunderbirds fly for the Air Force graduation - should be fun, hopefully it is not too loud. Hope that you all have a great day!

[Renrel]

Allison - We are both feeling better. The antibiotics did the trick for me, and now DH is on a longer course of them for a different infection, though is is also feeling better. Gabe still tell us us his tummy hurts but has not thrown up since Tuesday night and other than one green poop there has been no other sign of a stomach bug since than. I think the green poop is a sign that his stomach could not digest some of the food right after the bug hit him. He has had a "normal" poop since than. Normal since for him that means one super sized poop that requires major drama to get out of his body. This time it was in his new underwear too, which was not fun. I just could not throw out a new set of gymbo undies so even though we were at a friends house I cleaned it in the toilet and packed it in a bag to bring home. So not fun! Gabe is also trying to get all the perks of being sick - more tv, drinking juice instead of water at bedtime, getting dessert even if he did not eat dinner, lots of attention. And he did get lots of tv and sweets this weekend so he is going to be really pushing us for these treats over the next couple of weeks.

Sorry about the resistance to potty training and the early wake ups. That sucks. We had lots of accidents this weekend given the odd schedule. We also had to deal with our son who one night would not go to sleep till after midnight, and that required moving him to the basement where he could scream himself to sleep without waking anyone else, and a niece who then woke us all up at 5:45am. Ugg. But at least the early wake up meant I got to actually spend some time talking to my sister while we let the kids watch some tv. I never get to talk to them when we visit because there is always too much going on and the kids always distract us. But I would go crazy if Gabe woke us everyday before 6. This morning the birds woke me at 5am, (there was the weird bird that made a sound like a dog barking followed by a baby crying, I had to keep listening to be sure it was not Gabe crying.) than I tryed to go back to sleep and the alarm did not go off at 6:30, so I slept till 7:30 and needed to be out of the house by 8am. Amazingly I was pretty close to making this.

[Renrel]

Are you girls all enjoying the first day of June? It is a hot one over here. Around 80 degrees or so.

Other than being tired I am having a nice day. DH indicated on the phone yesterday that the interviews seemed to be going well. At least well enough for the hiring manager to tag on an interview with one of the two presidents at the end of the day. (Which unfortunately meant he needed another expresso at 5pm and could not sleep on the plane.) He liked the fact that no one was boxing him into one position. The talked about several positions to try and see where he would fit best and be happiest. There were some positions he had no interest in and a few that he said sounded very interesting, though a bit scary. This could be a chance to make a real imprint on his resume. It was odd though that they started the day of interviews with a drug test. My experience through my job of conducting hearing on employment seperations is that this step usually comes after an offer not before an interview, but I guess if the applicant lives in another state it might make sense to do it this way.

DH took the red eye into Boston and staggered into bed with me around 6am this morning and got up around 7:30 to say good morning to Gabe. He will be at a meeting tonight so may not see him unless he stops by daycare briefly before the meeting.

Gabe is coughing. Otherwise he seems fine. No runny nose, not cranky, no fever. He is eating alot. He was jumping around and very happy when I visited at lunch. He did not even ask to nurse. He is not coughing alot but it sounds bad when he does. Should I take him to the doctor tomorrow or just wait and see?

[Jenyfer9]

Renrel: where is your dh interviewing again? I can't remember...

not much news to report here, other than the fact that I got pulled over this morning. I DID NOT get a ticket, but man! was I close to it. The funny part is this: when the officer took my license to go "check it out", TJ says (when the officer was only like 3 feet from TJ's open car window) "NOW go fast Mommy!"

:o

[Renrel]

He is interviewing in CA but they have positions both there and here in MA that he may be interested in. Tonight he will probably tell me more, depending on when he gets back from his meeting and how tired I am. I hate the fact that he talks to be about important stuff and half the time I am looking at him nodding my head and taking in none of it.

Cute story. What was the officer's reaction?

[Jenyfer9]

I honestly don't know if the officer heard him (I would think that it would be hard NOT to, but...) because he didn't make any comment or have any kind of response at all.

[kerrykate]

Ugh, I can't post from work anymore... I can read a long on CC but when I try to log in I get blocked out. The nerve, can you believe they're trying to make me work at work;)

We had a good weekend, although it was soooo hot. We haven't gotten around to getting central air put in the new house but it will be in by this Saturday afternoon, thank goodness!
Sunday Lauren, Dh, my mom, dad, and I went downtown to something called the Rubber duck regatta. They dropped 10,000 rubber ducks in the river and they race for a 1/4 mile. You make a donation and adopt a duck and if the duck that wins is the duck you adopted you win a prize. We didn't win but had so much fun, it was really a sight watching all the rubber ducks float down the river. That evening we went over to my brother and SIL's house, they bought one of those huge bonzai waterslides for their backyard. It said for ages 4 and up but we let Lauren do it anyway and we saw why it was for ages 4 and up, she looked like a little rag doll going down it but she didn't even notice and had a blast.
And Tuedsay I took her to this park/garden center that just opened a childrens play area that has waterfalls, small caves(man made), interactive fountains, and flowers everywhere. She was soaken wet by the time we left but had a great time and the place was beautiful.
We've got another busy weekend, we've got my nieces b-day party and my friend/coworkers 30th b-day party. And next Friday we leave for vacation...

Renrel~
I hate the fact that he talks to be about important stuff and half the time I am looking at him nodding my head and taking in none of it.

That made me chuckle, b/c I do it all the time. I feel like my head is always in a million different places. There just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. It's embarrassing though when dh calls me out on it. I hope the interview has some promising leads for your dh.

Erinn~ Hope you survived your weekend! Not too much longer now...

Allison~ Sorry to hear about the early awakenings. And I can totally relate on getting out the door, L also has to do everything herself which is fine but it takes 10 times longer and is frustrating if we're in a hurry.

Mittyrd~ I saw a slip and slide at the store the other day and thought about getting it for L but maybe I'll wait until next year, although it does sound like fun for adults!

[jay&erinn]

Can I just say I'm miserable? I hate to complain. After the two miscarriages, all I've wanted is to be pregnant again, but this stinks. I've broken out in a rash on one arm, one leg, my belly, back and chest and am itching so badly that I can't sleep. All they can tell me is to take benedryl which I still need to go buy. My schedule at work is packed since my fill in can't do half of what I do in a day. Anything she can't do, my boss asks me to "squeeze it in" somewhere. Pretty hard when they're hour long tests and I'm not even getting a full hour for lunch anymore (my only break) in a 10 hour day. I started my first doctorate class yesturday and have 2 assignments, a quiz and mandatory chat room discussion every week for the month of June. DH and I still haven't had one discussion about a name for this baby and I'm due in 2.5 weeks. Mia's been acting very 2 the past few days and just wants me to do everything.
OK- I think I'm done venting. Guess I'll go clean the bathroom since I'm still awake. At least that's one less thing I'll need to do tomorrow after work. At least there's one upside to not sleeping.

[mittyrd]

Erinn: It seems to me you have every right to complain! You have a lot on your plate! Jake has been acting VERY 2 these last few weeks. Oy.

[Jenyfer9]

Erinn: I'm sorry that you're feeling so miserable. Just remember that being preggo (IMO) is soooo much easier than those first few weeks after a new baby comes.

And TJ has been acting "Very 2" lately as well. Must be something in the air. :p

[Renrel]

Erin - Vent away! Sounds to me like you have way way way too much on your plate. I would have found that work and school schedule alot without being pg and the mom of a toddler. Any way you can cut back your hours a work or get some extra help at home? A cleaning lady every other week or a mother's helper? I hope you have some help lined up for after the birth. As for names, our discussions for Gabe consisted of my making suggestions and DH vetoing all but two of them. Then we debated those two at the hospital for 4 days not actually making a decision till Gabe was in his car seat ready to go home. We have video of DH asking him if he liked his name so if he hates it we can show him he had a say in it.

The interviews went well. Dh said he really thinks he would only concider a job here because he does not feel confident enough about fitting in at this company to put that much stress on or family. He is concerned that moving me across the country away from family and my job and my friends while he is going to be stretching to fit into a job he has to learn how to do with about 30% of his time away on travel will be too much. The positions sound interesting and he loves that the respect how he thinks and trust that he could learn new technology and stuff rather than insisting he already know how do do everything but he did not like the fact that when he asked the president if he was "having fun" (meaning do the work, creating a new division, etc was exciting and made him want to get up in the morning) he did not know what he meant by "fun". He said he was getting fulfillment but it was a job and you do what needs to be done. The company is also not know to pay way. But if he met the goals of some of these positions he would have some real accomplisments to talk about with future employers. We will see. There is no offer yet and they want him to interview with one more person here. I love these waves with multiple possiblities but it is a killer when they all some how dry up without DH finding work. He is getting much more centered on what he likes and wants though, so progress has been made.

[Renrel]

Gabe is sick again.:( He has a bad sound cough, a runny nose, a hoarse voice and was running a fever last night. All he wanted to do was sleep on me. Bedtime was strange. We skipped bath, got him into pjs, read one story and then instead of begging for more stories and wandering around his room picking up toys and looking for way to stall, or nursing he just sat/layed in my lap trying to get comfortable till he fell asleep. Unfortunately he woke up when I put him in his crib and then the stalling happened. But at least he did sleep through and is still asleep at 8:30. He was supposed to go to the home depo project day today and meet up with a daycare friends followed by lunch. Our first big boy playdate. Of course that is now canceled to be replaced by a long day at home. At least I had not actually made any plans for my free morning.

Anyone have plans for father's day? It is coming up fast and all I have done so far is buy matching ties on sales from Gymboree. I doubt DH will even like that gift. I am thinking of getting him a photo tie with a Gabie photo as the subject but I am not sure that if would ever be used. I know nothing about what makes a good tie. I actually have a three day weekend that weekend and I am thinking of leaving Gabe at my IL over night and DH and I taking a room someplace if I can find something not too expensive. An overnight date would be soooo awsome.

[kerrykate]

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That's hi from Lauren:)

Renrel~ I'm so sorry Gabe isn't feeling well again. My nephew has been sick too and I've been worried that L would get it since they spent the day together the day before he became sick. So far so good though. A night away together sounds heavenly!

Erinn~ Sorry you're feeling miserable. The end is in sight though! I remeber after I had Lauren even though I was getting up with her during the night I was still getting more sleep and felt better than I was feeling during those last few weeks of pregnancy.

Father's Day~ We were at Lowes the other day and dh saw a smoker (a grill type thing) that he liked so I'll probably go back and get him that.

Lately Lauren has been wanting to be something else. She'll say she wants to be older like her cousins or she wishes she was bigger like daddy. The other day she said she wishes she was a horse and I asked her why and she said because she wanted a long tail. Then went on to tell me she wanted to be a horse and live in a barn and eat grass and hay and I could be a pig and daddy could be a chicken and we could live in the barn too. Her imagination has been in overdrive lately!

Have a nice weekend everyone!

edited to add: OMG I just realized that the first letters in that last "word" L typed is almost the F word...

[jay&erinn]

kerrykate: Lauren's quite an accomplished typist already;)
I love her imagination. Mia often pretends to be a dog- crawling around on the floor, barking for what she wants. She also has quite a few imaginary friends that stick around for a day or two and then are gone for a few weeks.

Renrel: That stinks that Gabe is sick again. Being stuck at home is no way to spend the weekend. Hopefully he'll wake up feeling much better.

Thanks for all the support ladies. I'm feeling much more human today after sleeping last night. Yesturday was pretty miserable after no sleep the night before. I only worked until 1:00 and DH came home right after (he told work I needed some help and since they weren't busy he was taking half a day off). He helped me clean the house and then entertained Mia while I submitted my first doctorate assignment. We went out and bought benedryl and calamine lotion to help control the itching. The benedryl knocked me out and the lotion is sort of helping this morning (enough that it's not driving me crazy). We went and bought a double jogging stroller last night and DH is walking Mia around the neighborhood in it. I'm sure it's quite a sight. Mia's in her rain boots, a sweat suit and her big floppy hat with her baby doll strapped in next to her. Since they've been gone I was able to compete another assignment. I'm hoping to get a third one in by the end of the weekend.
We have a wedding this afternoon and an anniversary dinner for my grandparents tomorrow afternoon (they've been married 61 years), so it'll be a fairly busy weekend.

[Renrel]

Kerrykate - nice typing! I noticed that almost word too. hehehe Sounds like Lauren has a wonderful imagination.

Errin - Glad you are feeling better. Good that DH understood enough to take some time off and help you out. You are quite a woman to be completing all these doctorate assignments while working and being pg and a mom. I doubt I could handle half of your load.

Gabe is feeling better this morning. He does not feel feverish and is coughing less. We are still staying in for the day though, mostly because we don't want to share his germs. He is being ornary about covering his mouth when he coughs and gets so upset when we keep telling him to do it. He helped make pancakes and coughed right into the batter. Yuck. We will all probable get sick now.

This morning I was pretending to eat him and he was yell at me that he was not food. He told me I could eat him when he became food. I asked when that would be. He told me that he would became food after he went into his food cacoon.

[mittyrd]

All 3 boys are asleep and Dh is at home depot so I have some alone time!! We have been having a terrible time with bedtime with Jake lately. He used to go right to bed and now he fights it, carries on, and absolutely refuses to go to sleep alone. He'd probably go right to sleep if one of us laid down with him but we are trying not to get him in that habit. He cries so loud that it upsets Sammy so much so then I have 2 of them up screaming (Matt, the dream child, goes right to sleep no matter what is going on). So tonight, DH and I decided to make a stand and we decided to let Jake CIO and not give in (and then drag bedtime out for an hour and a half). Well, Jake started as soon as he went in so DH went in with him, made him close his eyes and think of all the people he loves (us, his brothers, his daycare provider and all the kids) and Jake stayed so quiet and stayed in bed so nicely!! It still took him awhile to fall asleep but he didn't make a sound. Yay, DH!! So Sammy was quiet too b/c Jake was quiet. We also made the babies crawl up and down the hall (it's a long hallway) to tucker them out before their last bottle so that helped. Now, we'll have to get him to sleep in his own bed for the whole night. That's been another big issue. He climbs in and falls asleep. Sometimes, we'll move him back but he just comes back in later on. This morning he came in at 3 am and it took him until 4:30 am to fall asleep, just as the babies were waking up.

Renrel: Sorry Gabe is sick again. I love that he told you that he was not food. I have a memory of telling my niece once that she smelled delicious and she yelled at me that she was not a hot dog!

Kerry: I had to do a double take with Lauren's almost foul language.

Erinn: I'm so impressed by all that you do too. That's a lot with being so pg and having a 2.5 yr old. I don't think I coud do it either. I love the visual of Mia in her outfit in her stroller.

I booked the babies' first professional picture for the end of this month. I haven't had any done yet. The only one I've ever done for Jake is his 1 year old picture too. I'm going to do some shots with the babies together, a couple of them each alone and then some of all 3 together. I am putting Jake in a button-down Hawaiian type shirt (navy blue with orange and white flowers) and then one baby in an orange t-shirt and the other in a white t-shirt and then all 3 in navy blue shorts. Now, what are the chances that I'll get all 3 to smile at once??

[Renrel]

MIttyrd - Sorry about the sleep issues. Love your sleep inducing method. Very sweet. Good luck on the professinal pics. Dont feel bad about not having done any for them yet. I still have not done any for Gabe.



Gabie wants a wife!

We went food shopping end of the day since Gabe had not acted particularly sick all day. I went off to get somethign while DH was on line. DH made a comment about "Where is my wife?" Gabe asked who is wife was. DH made him guess and he got it right. Then Gabe asked where his wife was. DH said he would get one when he got older. Gabe said he needs one now! LOL Any of you have a daughter you want marry off young? :p

[AlisonCO]

Any of you have a daughter you want marry off young?

I always liked the idea of arranged marriage:D ;)

renrel - That is a great comment about wanting a wife! I am glad that G seems to be on the mend. DH is getting a frame with a picture of him with the kids at the park on one side and their handprints on the other. He is also getting a multi tool thing and his favorite pecan coffee cake. I think that an overnight date with a bottle of wine would be a great gift - maybe the three of you could have brunch the next day.

kerry - I agree about the imagination - A is always asking these questions or making up stories that are so amazing and complex.

erinn - I can't believe how busy you are right now - vent away, this is such a hard part of being pregnant (especially the second time.) Hope you get some rest this weekend in between events. I forgot - are you due in the middle or end of the month?

mittyrd - I hope that all your boys sleep well tonight. Like you, I find that if it is not one, it is the other! Yesterday Caitlin cried at 5am and A came out shortly after that - luckliy they both went back but still. I seriously cannot wait until we get to a point where I am getting 6-7 hours of straight sleep regularily! Good luck with the photos - the outfits sound so cute. I have not been brave enought yet to try them with both kids.

Today A had a pretty good day. I am finding his "mood swings" more exhausting and frustrating lately. I really try to always give him a choice between a couple of things (both resulting in the same outcome) but he still just looses it sometimes. He is also being more of a brat with Caitlin - he will watch her out of the corner of his eye and when she gets close he yells NO at her. She is so moblile now (and pulling up) so it is a full time job keeping her occupied. More and more I am considering a Parents Day Out program for A this fall - maybe 2 mornings a week.

I hope that you all are having a nice weekend.

Oh - here is my fashion forward son:

http://images1.snapfish.com/346%3C5%3C48%3B%7Ffp346%3Enu%3D3283%3E9%3C%3B%3E5% 3B4%3EWSNRCG%3D32337%3A7733457nu0mrj

[Renrel]

DH just shared another Gabe comment with me. In the bath tonight Gabe was tryng to get DH to eat or drink out of some bath toy. DH says no that is dirty. Gabe informs DH that he has"many different ways to get dirty". And later stated "I am a very dirty boy." Where do they come up with this stuff?

[Renrel]

And yet another....

This morning Gabe was sitting outside my bathroom playing with a blush compact I let him have. He tells me he needs some "privacy." I smile and walk into the bedroom where I converse with DH. A couple of minutes later Gabe walks in and askes "Do you two need some privacy?" Would that he knew what that phrase meant....and was actually offering it too us. ;)

[Renrel]

Gabe was in a very cranky mood again after his nap yesterday. And clingy. He woke up around midnight again and DH got him back down. He wanted his back rubbed, some water and for someone to sit with him. He was in a good mood this morning but clingy when we got to daycare. Some of this is probably not feeling well, but I am beginning to think there may be some other emotional/develomental things going on. An older form of seperation anxiety. He has recently potty trained, he is getting more daring as far as climbing and physical "feats", he has been told he will be starting preschool in a month and last weekend he spent alot of time playing with other kids without an adult right there watching. I suspect that as fun and exciting as these new "developments" are, he may be feeling a bit scared and unsure of this new independance and thus is clingy to me and dh and looking for reassurance and some of the dependance of his babyhood. He was also more agressive than usual yesterday. Not towards people, but this his toys. He was throwing his magnatic letters around and later crashing his toy shopping cart into a chair. Nothing scary or anything just unsual for him. I could sort of sense that he had this aggressive feeling inside that he wanted/needed to get outside of him. It did not help I am sure that he was stuck in the house nearly the entire weekend between his cold and the rain. The food shopping was his only outting. Anyway, I am not sure what I can do to help him through this, other than try to remain calm, loving and there, while still making him do the work he needs to so - go to sleep by himself, separating at daycare, eatting in his own chair-not my lap, using the potty, etc. He also had several accidents this weekend. I actually kept in in pull ups all of yesterday instead of underwear. This weekend was actually the first time we ever had to change a sheet due to it being peeded on. As a baby even if he soaked through it never when through to the sheet, just his jammies.

[jay&erinn]

Renrel: Sorry Gabe is going through a rough spot. Probably just left overs of illness. Mia's also been a little more clingy lately. I figured she was just sensing that the baby was coming sooner than later. But, it may just be the age. Even though it seems she's been much clingier with me (DH actually had to call me at work to try and calm her down last week- she was crying hysterically when she realized I went to work for the day), she's also interacting more and more with DH- asking him to come play with her whenever he's around. Before, if I was there, it was always me. That's definately changed.

Alison: I'm due in just over 2 weeks (the 21st). Most people think I'm not making it through the week though. I lost my mucus plug this weekend and have been having intermittent contractions. We'll see. For completely selfish reasons, I hope the baby waits until next monday or so (I need a haircut and want to take Mia to see the movie Cars on Saturday).

Funny story: We went to dinner sunday for my grandparent's anniversary. DH ordered angel hair pasta as one of his side dishes. Mia decided that it sounded good, so she told us she wanted angel hair pasta too. No problem. The food comes and she's eating really well (she likes to twirl her pasta around her fork like mommy and daddy do). About half way through dinner she starts asking where her angel is as she's digging through the pasta. She ate almost the whole dish of pasta looking for the angel. Once she was finished eating and we tried to explain that there wasn't an angel living in her pasta, she put her head on DH with her bottom lip sticking out saying over and over, "I want my angel back."

[kerrykate]

Here are a few pics of Lauren:
She does this all the time when I try to get a picture:
http://images1.snapfish.com/346%3C79293%7Ffp344%3Enu%3D325%3B%3E979%3E932%3EWS NRCG%3D32337%3B3977844nu0mrj
Ok, there we go:
http://images1.snapfish.com/346%3C79293%7Ffp344%3Enu%3D325%3B%3E979%3E932%3EWS NRCG%3D32337%3B3975758nu0mrj
http://images1.snapfish.com/346%3C79293%7Ffp33%3A%3Enu%3D325%3B%3E979%3E932%3E WSNRCG%3D32337%3B3975767nu0mrj
http://images1.snapfish.com/346%3C79293%7Ffp344%3Enu%3D325%3B%3E979%3E932%3EWS NRCG%3D32337%3B3975743nu0mrj

Ren~ That's so cute Gabe offered you privacy. It's amazing the phrases kids pick and understand!

Erinn~ Awww, that's a sweet story kids are so innocent.

Allison~ Love A's ensemble:)

[Renrel]

Kerry - I love the photos. Lauren is just soooo cute.

Erin - The angel pasta story is precious.

Gabe had a tough day. When I visited before lunch he was very involved in a block project and did not nurse or cuddle or anything and then got very upset when I had to leave when lunch started. I am told he did not eat much. Then I was workign late so DH picked him up and took him to two parks, both of which he only enjoyed for a few minutes before wanting to leave. Turns out he still had not pooped after needing to all last night when he was with me. He was so miserable that DH called me and I guessed it was a need to poop that had him out of sorts. As I was on the phone he stopped crying and DH smelled something. After that he was fine and ate a ton of dinner. I don't know what we are going to do about his resistance to pooping. MIL told DH that he used to do the same thing. All anyone tells me is to give him fiber but his poop is not hard. He just does not like to go. At this point we are even letting his have a pull up to go in rather pushing for the potty. And with all the pooping issues DH did not get him to sleep until 10pm.

[jay&erinn]

Renrel: Have you questioned Gabe's doc? I'm sure they see this many times, and might have some other suggestions for you to help Gabe. I hope it improves soon.

kerrykate: Lauren is absolutely adorable. Mia covers her eyes for certain pics too- if she's not in the mood. Other times she'll put on a big show for the camera.

[mittyrd]

Cute Jake story: Since we have been having such trouble at bedtime we have been having him close his eyes and tell us what he loves and it has been working and he has been falling asleep. DH put him to bed MOnday night and then Jake wanted me to come in and say good night. When I asked him what things he loved that he was thinking about while his eyes were closed, he said "cheerios, waffles,..." So cute!!

Now that we are getting him to fall asleep in his own bed, we haven't figured out how to get him to stay there. He crawls into bed with us every night and will come back over and over if we bring him back to his own bed. This morning when I asked him where his bed is, he patted our bed and said "right here!!" Any advice?

[Jenyfer9]

Mittyrd: if given the choice, I think that TJ would do the same on some nights... we have been gating off his room for a while (when he learned to open the door, actually), so it gives him no choice but to go back to his bed.

[Renrel]

Errin - I called and spoke to the nurses once a while back and all they told me was to give prune juice. I don't think consitpation is the problem. I may call them again but I get the sense from others that it is just something he will have to figure out on his own, that there is nothing we can really do for him. Though I guess seeing the doc for a quick check to make sure nothing is physically wrong might not be a bad idea.

Mittyrd - Sorry no ideas. We have kept Gabe in his crib even after he started climbing out ( when the side was in a lower position) to put off the problem as long as possible. Gabe has not slept with me, other than a few times traveling, since he was maybe 6mths old. Any time we have tried it, other than when we were all at the point of exhaustion, it has not worked at all. He does not sleep and we do not sleep. I miss sleeping with my baby but sleeping with my almost preschooler is not the same thing.

DH is sick. He had a hopefully final interview with the MA/CA company yesterday evening at a resturant. It was obvious that he was sick and the interviewer offered to do it another day but DH said no. He did not want it to appear in anyway that he was not interested or unable to carry through. He also wants to get an offer from this company so he can give an answer to another company he has been holding off for weeks now. When he got home he has a 102.5 temp. He is feeling better this morning.

We are supposed to go to a bat mitvah Sunday in NY. Not sure if we will with DH sick. Depends how we are all feeling. We either wanted to stay in NY with my sister who has the newborn or with my ILs in RI Saturday night but if we are contagious we don't want to be either of those two places. It is just to far to drive both ways from MA.

I am making some progress on bedtime. I have been getting him down around 9 more consistantly. Not great but better than the 10pm we were doing. But this means DH does not get to say good night even if he gets home from a meeting before Gabe is asleep because if he does he must be incorporated into bedtime which makes everything later. DH did not see Gabe all all yesterday since DH slept late due to sickness and had the interview at night.

Gabe has his first personal shopping experience yestday. We returned a gift from my Mom to target and I told Gabe he had $10 on his gift card to spend however he wanted. He did better than I expected. He grabbed more than he could afford but did not argue when I told him that if he bought this than he could not buy that, that this took all the money, that took half the money etc. He ended up with a $5 hula hoop, a $2 set of small bouncing balls and from the $1 aisle, a fly swatter that looks like a bee, a big bubble wand with bubbles and a deck of card. I ended up getting him some sparkly looking pipe cleaners for crafts myself and Gabe picked out two fathers day cards, one for DH and one for my Dad, then he was tired of cards and told me we had to come back another day for the other grandpa. He picked out a baseball and glove card for DH and insisted I find another baseball card for my dad. My dad does love getting baseball stuff for Gabe so it was cute that he fastened in on that theme.

[jay&erinn]

We had a busy day Saturday. We took Mia to see the movie Cars. She decided she wanted to sit on my lap through most of the movie- not an easy or comfortable thing for me, but it was nice to cuddle with her for so long. We came home for nap time (which she never fell asleep) and then went to an Arts Festival. I'm hoping all the walking will help stimulate something. I bought a few early Christmas gifts, and Mia was able to make some of her own art at boothes sponsored by the Children's museum. It was a nice day.
I got out of bed since I was having some fairly regular contractions, but they seem to have disappeared again. They were getting pretty uncomfortable, but now that they've calmed down, I'll head back to bed.

[AlisonCO]

erinn - When I saw that you had replied in here, I was hoping that you were coming in to tell us that you had your baby!!! Darn it;) Hope that you got some sleep!

Renrel - I hope that you DH is feeling better, Did you guys go to the bat mitzvah?

mittyrd - So cute about the things that Jake loved:)

We had a fun day yesterday. Aidan, my parents and I drove up to visit my sister. She has a pool at her complex, so Aidan went swimming. My sister has 2 rats and Aidan loves them - they really are cute and nice pets. Then we went out to lunch at Chili's and Aidan was looking at the kid's menu. He said that he wanted chicken and french fries but then saw the picure of the milkshake. He asked my sister what it was and she told him. Then our watress came and got our drink orders and she looked at Aidan and he said "chocolate milkshake, please." The waitress was so sweet and said that he was one of her most polite guests. When she brought it Aidan said thank you with no prompting and she gave us the shake for free.

Caitlin is up from her nap - hope that you all have a great Sunday!!!

[Renrel]

Errin - I have been thinking about you soon. Sounds like it should be happening really soon if the contractions are waking you up and Mia is clingy. Toddlers seem to sense these things.

Allison- Glad you had a fun day. It is great that Aidan has such good manners and that you had a waitress who noticed. Gabe is actually pretty good at ordering for himself quite politely as well as saying thank you but the waitresses/waiter usually don't expect it and ignore him unless I tell them to listen to his order. I hate that he does not get the feed back he should.

Yesterday we stayed in most of the day, other than a short trip to the libary. It was raining and we were lazy. We did not go to the bat mizvah. DH is feeling better but we did not want to stay with anyone right after he was sick and the ride back and forth in one day was too much to deal with. Hopefully we have not hurt anyones feelings and the hosts did not lose too much on the food they purchased for our meal. It was hosted at their home not a catering all, so hopefully they were able to order what the needed rather than by a strict head count.

Today we went to a local park and had a little bagel picnic. Then we took a walk with Gabe leading the ways singing a song he made up about going for a walk. Then he decided we should go fishing. So we all were given long sticks and sat next to the river sticking them in the water (no line, hook or bait) waiting to see if any fish would bite. When the didn't Gabe had us put pretend cake on the end of the pole. Then we went to the playground and played with the bubble wand Gabe bought with his gift card earler this week,. There was a 6 yr old desperate for a playmate while his mom ate and read a book. He kept trying to engage Gabe and Gabe was so so on this friendshop, but I was very proud that, without any promting he offered the kid a turn with the bubble wand.

Right now however he is showing no patience while I finish thist post. sigh. Bye

[mittyrd]

Erinn: I had hoped you were telling us you had the baby too. I'll keep checking back!!

[Jenyfer9]

I feel horrible. Physically, I'm a mess. I have this terrible cough that is only getting worse, not better, so I'm going to the doc this afternoon (on the suggestion of the kids' ped who asked me when I was going to the doc for my cough). Nothing like going to 2 different docs in one day (Will was just diagnosed with ANOTHER double ear infection earlier this afternoon). BUT, I'm a trooper. I went to swimming lessons this morning with TJ. What am I, crazy? Aparrently.

Oh, and Erinn, don't post here again unless you have given birth, ok? :p You're making too many of us all excited. Just kidding (of course). I'm sending labor vibes your way!

[Renrel]

Jen - Sorry you are feeling so badly. So many people seem to be getting sick right now. I expect I will get sick on Thursday given that I have a 4 day weekend scheduled. Hope the doc can given you something to get you on the way to recovery.

I am so annoyed. I took Thursday off to accompany Gabe class on a field trip to the public gardens and a ride on the swan boats. They rescheduled the trip, for the second time, to next Thursday. Too late for me to cancel my use of vacation time. I can still go on their other field trip to a city park but that is not the same thing. At least I can use the time to have Gabes transition conferences. July 3 he will start spending morning in preschool, then the following week he will spend afternoons there, then he will spend all but nap time their the third week and they he just stays there all day. He is growing up to fast. I think he agrees on this because he is trying to get us to let him wear pull ups at home and he wants to be carried everywhere and otherwise is acting very babyish lately.

[jay&erinn]

Let's just say there's still no baby. I don't think this child wants to come out. They offered to induce me at my appt yesturday but I told them no- I'd wait it out another week. I have a horrible head cold and had a gall bladder attack over the weekend. So much fun. I guess I can't stay pregnant forever, so I know it will get better. I just hope it's soon.

Jenyfer: I hope you're feeling better. Were you able to get to the doc?
How did swimming lessons go? Mia starts Monday. I'm a little nervous since she's so little and they are without an adult. My mom will be with her with strict instructions to watch her like a hawk.

mittyrd: I was going to suggest a gate in front of the door too. My cousin had to do that for awhile with her daughter. When she stopped trying to come out of her room they started taking the gate down after she went to sleep. Now I don't think they have to put it up at all.

Renrel: That stinks about the field trip.
Mia's going through a clingy stage too. I'm hoping it's just a phase since it's wearing me out. She'll tell me she's a baby and needs......(diaper, held, fed, carried up the steps instead of walking on her own, etc). I'll hold her whenever she wants, but the diaper and being fed are non-negotiable. I let her stay in her diaper from the night before as long as she wants, but that's the only diaper she gets until nap time. Usually the first time she has to pee in the morning, she changes right into underware without a complaint. If I try and force her earlier, it's a fight- just not worth it.

Well, I'm off to work. I hope it's an easy day.

[Renrel]

Errin - I am sorry baby number two is taking his/her time, but I would also probably have said no to the induction. It won't be long now and, depending on you family choices, you may never have "this body" again, so I would suggest "being" in the spiritual aware sense pregnant as much as you can for the next few days.

And thanks for letting me know I am not the only mom who will let her kid hang in their overnight diaper/pull up for awhile. I am always so embarrassed when I finally change it and it weight about 2lbs. :o

I worked late last night and DH had evening duty with Gabe. Gabe is apparent aware of punctuation now and asking about it when we read things. I field a question mark question a day ago but DH got stuck with quotation marks last night. Every try to explain something like that to a kid who does not even know what a sentence is yet?

Tonight a friend who is a real estate agent is coming over for dinner and we are going to start talking seriously about what towns were are willing to move to and what we need in a house. We are giving notice on our apt and either moving to a less expensive rental or buying or, most likely, both. I will be happy to finally have a house but I am soooooo not looking forward to everything it will take to get to that point. The summer is pretty much shot before we even start it.

[Jenyfer9]

I'm feeling better today.. but yesterday was HORRIBLE! The doc gave me this medicine that stopped my cough, but it honestly made me feel like I had a hangover ALL DAY. Of course, DH had to work semi-late last night so he didn't get home until almost 7, and to deal with my two boys all day with a medically induced hangover ...it was awful! I went to bed before TJ did last night (so like 7:45), and MAN, I must have needed that sleep, because I didn't wake up until 7 this morning. I couldn't tell you the last time I slept that long. I only took one dose of the cough medicine (yesterday morning at 10am), and I will NEVER take it again! N-E-V-E-R!

Our swimming lessons, while, not all that informative on teaching TJ how to swim, sure are fun! TJ LOVES them. His poor little lips were blue today by the time we were done, but he could have cared less... he kept laughing and squealing with delight. It's fun to watch/participate in.

[Renrel]

Jen - Sounds like yesterday was awful but that your body needed some quality sleep. Glad the swim lessons are fun. Wish we had time for those.

[AlisonCO]

jenyfer - I am so glad that you are feeling better - that cough syrup sounds like it has codeine or something in it! What are you doing with Will when you and TJ go to swim lessons?

Renrel - Wow, house hunting! I hope that it is smooth and that you find a great place soon. I smile to thing of you and your DH trying to explain punctuation to Gabe - I was explaining to Aidan yesterday why he cannot have baby Caitlin in his belly (we were looking at pictures from when I was pregnant) and he told me that he wanted to have baby Caitlin in HIS belly right now!:)

erinn - Thinking about you and hoping you are getting some sleep - I also hope that work is being extra nice to you! Aidan was WAY clingy right before I had Caitlin and it was so hard - maybe she senses that something is going to happen SOON!

We had playgroup today and had 10 kids. Aidan was way overwhelmed but he did play in the pool with another boy. In other news, Aidan can now pedal his tricycle! 2 days ago DH was pushing him up and down the hall and realized that A was actually doing it. Then DH showed him how to get started by putting one pedal up high and pushing down with it. He loves to ride it now and he is so darn proud of himself. Caitlin loves to follow him up and down too:) OK we are off to the bath - hope that you all have a great night (it sure is a good night to have a baby - wink, wink erinn):D

[Jenyfer9]

Yes, the cough syrup was coedine (sp?) with liquid vicadin in it. I've had vicadin before and never had a problem with it, so it must have been the coedine. I'm not sure if I had that before or not.

The swim classes are at our gym, so I have the luxury of putting Will in the childcare while I take TJ to swim lessons. I'm not getting my workout time in AT ALL, but hey... he loves it, so how can I say no?

[Renrel]

Hey all, I had a lonnng day. Normally I am scheduled for 5 one hour hearings a day and not all go forward or take the full hour. Today was a continuance of a hearing that has already gone 6 hours and it went another 4.75 today. Uggg. Then it was a pooping night for Gabe so pre dinner and dinner was him being fussy and trying to get me to some how make him not poop. Then he had alot of fun with our company so did not get to bed till 10:30. And he just decided today apparently that it is fun to take off your clothes, including your pull up if you dont get what you want. And when I went looking for zip up one pieces that might fit him backward all I could find was very warm winter pjs. I finally put him in a onsie and that stayed on, at least till he was in bed. He has also started pushing his shoes off the last week or two. Such fun. I remember some of you complaining about this behavior months ago. Any idea how long it will last or any idea for discouraging it?

Errin - Sending you water breaking contraction thoughts!

[jay&erinn]

Renrel: Ugh- clothing removal. Unfortunately those days haven't completely ended around here- they've just changed, literally. Now Mia will go to bed in one thing, and will be in totally different clothes/pjs and pull ups when she gets up. I don't even hear her opening drawers to get other clothes out. For the most part it's pretty funny, but changing the pull up is annoying. I thought her being mostly potty trained would save money, but now she'll go through 4 pull ups at night.
We figured the clothes just weren't worth fighting over and the phase eventually ended. She slept in just a diaper for a very long time. If we put her to bed in pjs (it didn't matter what type) she would take them and her diaper off. If we left the clothes off, she usually left her diaper alone. That was also the time we switched to pull ups. Even though she's perfectly capable of taking off a pull up, she'd leave them on. We'd switch back to diapers, and it would be off in the first 5 minutes of bed time.
I hope the phase moves quickly- I did a lot of laundry during that time due to wet sheets.

jenyfer: I'm glad you're feeling better. I'm awake now because I have a cough that just won't quit. This head cold is making me exhausted, then I lay down and can't sleep because of it. I figure I'll sleep on the couch so I don't keep DH up. Maybe all this coughing will pop out a baby (it's that easy the second time around, right;) )

Alison: Yea for pedaling a trike. Mia can get going if the pedals are in the right direction, but we didn't think about trying to teach her how to set them the right way herself. She rides the neighbor's trike- I thought we bought her the smallest they made, but our's is still a little big for her, so she can't do it. It's funny to watch her ride outside. If it's completely flat or slightly downhill she does great. There could be the slightest upward grade (the type you can't even tell, unless you're running) and it takes all the effort she has to pedal that bike.

[Renrel]

Allison - It is great that Aidan can pedel his trike. Gabe can only manage if he is heading down hill. Not sure if it his leg strenth, height or the inexpensive trike we have that causes the problem but we are looking forward to him doing it on his own. We don't have a push bar so pushing him is a major pain.


Errin - Sorry you are not feeling well. It is hard enough to be in the end stage of pg without being sick. That is so funny about her changing clothes in the middle of the night. Sounds like you are going to have a lot of arguments over clothing shopping when she gets older. We have been encouraging Gabe to dress and undress himself but he still wants/needs help. When he refuses to go to potty I started telling him he had to go get and change into the pull up himself, thinking it would be less entising without my involvement. That may have sparked this new behavior. He does not change into other clothes he just pulls off his pants and pull up. It is not something he is doing in his crib at this point, it is while he is up and about. Yesterday was the first time it happened and it happened 2-3 times. I think each time he was unable to get me to do things his way. I am at a loss for the moment on how to deal with it his, other than staying calm. I can't dress him in cloths he can' take off since he has to be able to go potty by himself, at least at daycare. I can't let him walk around naked for obvious reasons. Our only real "discipline" so far has been taking away an item he is not treating appropriately (throwing, putting in his mouth) or putting him in his room when he is throwing a fit/ crying/ unable to control his emotions ( I take him to his room put him down and tell him he needs to get control and when he feels better he can come back out. He throws himself on the floor, crys and yells for awhile and than comes out with a smile on his face saying he is ready to eat dinner with us.) Neither of these works for pants removal.

Strangely enough this morning he was still in the onsie and pull up but had wet the crib. He told me how he peed in the crib, He showed me how it went down his leg and where his crib was wet and then told me about how when he was sick he threw up in his crib and made it wet. When I changed him the pull up was still on and his penis inside. I had thought maybe some how the pull up had been pulled to the side or down and he was hanging out. It was not even super wet.

[jay&erinn]

Renrel: I think pull ups leak sometimes. Mia has peed the bed a few times. When I go to change her and the sheets, the pull up is almost completely dry, but there's a big puddle on the bed. I don't think she takes it off when it happens since she usually rips the sides to get them off, and they're in one piece and still on when this happens.

[mittyrd]

Hope everyone is feeling better.

Erinn: I am still anxiously awaiting your news.

Renrel: Where are you going to look for houses?

I finally have a peaceful moment to myself to post. I took the day off today to get some stuff done around the house. I ended up picking Jake up early from daycare and took him to see Cars. It was our first trip to the movies (except when he was 2 months old :rolleyes: ). He didn't want to sit by himself so he snuggled me in my lap (which I, of course, LOVED). I could tell in the first 5 minutes that he wasn't going to like it but it took him about half an hour to freak out and we had to leave. He was crying so hard and holding on to me so tight. I'm not sure exactly what it was that scared him but he was fine once we left. He's been carrying around his red car (from the McDonald's happy meal) 24/7 for days. I have even had to pry it out of his hands once he falls asleep. It also ended up in my bed last night when Jake came for his nightly visit. Oh well, we will try the movie thing again in a few more months or so.

Jake woke up this morning, came to me and said "hi Mama, how are you? Good? Good". Geez, he's growing up so fast. Bedtime is back to being a pleasure again with all 3 boys. I have no idea what the change is (although we did stop doing books at bedtime which may be what has helped) but I love it. Sam is still waking up during the night but it is getting better. Both babies have cut about 10-12 teeth total over the past few weeks so I'm sure that was part of the problem. Now that their teeth have cut through they are growing like weeds. They are going to look like little boys (not babies) for their 1 year bash. We are finally having pictures taken with all 3 next weekend. Yay! I hope they turn out good. I will try to post them here when I get them back. The big party is in 2 weeks. I can't believe they are going to be 1. Where did this year go?

What is everyone doing for Father's Day? We are just hanging out here. The usual. I bought DH a few gifts. B/c I am feeling too lazy to wrap them, I am going to hide them around the house and make him look for them.

[Renrel]

Errin - At least we are not the only ones, but it is the first time it has happened to us. Any changes on the delivery front? How long will your doc let you go before insisting you induce?

Mittyrd - Glad bedtime has gotten better. I would miss books but there is alot to be send for kids going down at a decent hour. We are not sure where we will be looking yet. We would like to be near boston since I work there and our daycare there is great but prices are of course higher the closer in you get. We are also spoiled right now, 15-25 minute commute and we drive along a river and passed a train station and some trollys which makes for an interesting ride. I will find it hard to adjust to an hour commute on the Pike if we move out that far.

We had a very nice weekend. We picked up Gabe from daycare on Friday after nap time and drove to my ILs who took him until Sunday. I was worried that he would go through some seperation anxiety but he was great. He did not even cry when we left. According to my ILs the only time he cryed all weekend was when he woke up from a very very short nap in the car and this was on Sunday when DH and I were waiting for them at their house. She told me they were not sure they were going to give him back he had been such fun.

DH and I spent the evening in Providence having dinner in Federal Hill and then drove to a B and B about 25 minutes out of the city. We lucked out and got a cabin right on a quiet little lake. We booked a room/suite in the main house but because we were not getting in till very late and they only had one other set of guests they gave us the cabin for the same price. The cabin was nice, not great but pleasant, the setting was wonderful though. Wonderful porches over looking the water. Saturday we had a big breakfast in the main house, took a nice hike, went out in a paddle boat, had bottle of wine and some good cheese on the porch, took a nice nap and went into Providence around 9:00 for dinner and WaterFire (barnfires set up in the river with music piped in and various vender around. Very romantic. We actually had one dinner between us over the two nights. The first night we had cocktails, shared a salad, and each had a cup of soup and bought 2 dessert that we took home and did not eat. The second night we split an appetizer and a steak and ate the dessert from the night before back at the room. Sunday morning brunch was beyond huge. It was only the two of us. We sat down to coffee and a plate of breads and spreads. The we were each served a 5" but 5" cobbler, then she brought out a muskmelon pie, Turkey Kilbasa, eggs, salad, macaroni salad and some other stuff I don't remember, which was bad enough without factoring in the fact that we had had coffee and toast and a bit of cheese on the porch when we woke up. After we checked out we came back to my ILs and waited for them to get back from where ever they had taken Gabe. Turned out they were at BJ and amoung other stuff they bought him a Wilson Green tennis racket. He was sooo excited. He could not wait to play with us. He did not even ask to nurse or cuddle or even say hello. He just grabbed my hand and pulled me outside to play "tennis." For dinner we went to my BIL but by that time Gabe was starting to loose it. Not only was he tired from not napping but he needed to poop, which was strange since had a huge messy one the day before with my ILs and he usually only goes every 2-3 days. He did not poop till after we got home and because it kept him awake he did not go to sleep till 10:00 again.

Anyway we all had a a good time. Ny favorite part were being able to give DH my full attention as he outlines all his job possiblities. I have not been able to do that in months. I am either drifting away because I am tired or have half my attention on Gabe and therefore only take in every other sentence. My second favorite part was cheese and wine on the porch. I love love love cheese and wine picnics.

Tomorrow we are back to the grind.

[Renrel]

Quick cutie story - My IL live in the woods so bug repelent was necessary. We were spraying some on Gabe when he announces "I don't like this, so I am going to scaddadle" and with a impish little grin on his face as he shuffle footed himself about 3 feet away from us.

[kerrykate]

We just got back from vacation on Friday. We had a great time and Lauren is a fish in the water. She would jump right in and dog paddle all over the place, she didn't even mind if her face/head got wet. Here are a few pictures:
http://images1.snapfish.com/347399665%7Ffp346%3Enu%3D325%3B%3E979%3E932%3EWSNR CG%3D3233855992%3C3%3Anu0mrj

http://images1.snapfish.com/347399665%7Ffp346%3Enu%3D325%3B%3E979%3E932%3EWSNR CG%3D3233855994633nu0mrj

Sleeping on me in the boat:
http://images1.snapfish.com/347399665%7Ffp33%3A%3Enu%3D325%3B%3E979%3E932%3EWS NRCG%3D323385599462%3Anu0mrj

Dh pushing her around on the inflatable jet ski:
http://images1.snapfish.com/347399665%7Ffp342%3Enu%3D325%3B%3E979%3E932%3EWSNR CG%3D32338559983%3A%3Cnu0mrj

I thought for sure I would come back from vacation to news of Erinn having the baby;)

[jay&erinn]

kerrykate: Looks like you have a real little swimmer. Mia's still a little shy about getting her face wet. She loves the water, but won't put her head in yet. I'm hoping to make some progress on that in the next few weeks.

I wish I had some news on the baby front. I had an appt this morning and I'm still 1.5 cm. No change for 3 weeks. Very frustrating. They've scheduled an induction for next Monday. My body has exactly 6 days to get moving on it's own.

[Jenyfer9]

Dangit, Erinn, why are you doing this to us? I see that you posted and come RUNNING in to hear the news. :p I'm sure you're more anxious than we are! My neighbor just got induced yesterday with her second because she went past her due date by a week. I still haven't heard any news from her husband, so I'm assumming that all went well! Here's sending you some labor vibes!

[mittyrd]

More labor vibes - it's just too hot to be pg.

[AlisonCO]

Caitlin just woke up but I just wanted to send

LABOR VIBES to erinn!

Hi to everyone - I'll be back later.

[Renrel]

More labor vibes heading your way Errin!

We took Gabe to a mini improve show that was part of a thank you meeting for Probono work DH did. It was too adult and Gabe did not enjoy it, actually DH and I did not get alot of it either. But I was very proud of Gabe's theater manners. He was quiet and when he had had enough he pointed at the door to let me know he wanted to leave and did not say anything.

He was not feeling well though. I thought it was just the need to poop. He screamed the whole way home and at home nursed and cryed till he fell asleep in my arms. He was not himself at daycare again today and complained his tummy hurt. We all assumed it was a need to poop. Late in the afternoon he felt hot and they took his temp. He had a fever of 103.5. He was still in a pretty good but quiet mood when I picked him up though. I let him have a few prunes which he loved and got some children's advile into him. Hopefully he will feel better in the morning. They have a field trip to the boston garden swan boats and he has been looking forward to it. He usually feels better after 6-12 hours but we will see. The only symtoms have been his tummy hurting and the fever. Oh, he did finally poop tonight.

[Renrel]

Gabe is home sick today. Strangest thing. He is running a fever but does not seem to have any other symtoms. His tummy hurt yesterday but I think that is mostly releived since he pooped. When I ask he says it hurts "a little" which is a standard response and does not really help much. His fever was 101.5 under the arm this morning, which I think means 102.5. He is missing the class trip to the swan boats. :( I actually concidered sending him anyway. I talked to the assistant director this morning and she said that if he was OK other than a fever he could come if we gave him meds to keep the temp down. If it was a normal day I might have sent him in. I am 5 minutes away if he got worse and needed to go home, but since he would have to walk in 80 degree weather to the public garden, and stand on line, and spend time in a boat, even if he started feeling worse, I stuck with the stay at home plan. DH is doing the morning and I will come home this afternoon to relieve him.

Errin - Any change? Still sending labor vibes your way!

[Renrel]

Question - Are any of your kids stuttering lately? I know it is very normal somewhere around this age group, so I am not worried, but I was wondering how long it lasts. I was suprised at how suddenly it seems to have come on and how much Gabe is stuttering. We can tell that he is trying to find a word to meet his "thought" and either can't find it or does not have such a word yet. It is so hard not to complete his thought or question for him and just wait for him to finish his thought, if he can.

[mittyrd]

Renrel: I heard the fever thing was going around here too. No other symptoms except for a fever. Weird. Jake is stuttering a little too sometimes.

[Renrel]

Actually he may have one other symtom - Gas and lots of it. Even his teachers commented on how much he was farting and for them to notice while taking care of a full class of 12-13 kids there has to be alot of it.

[AlisonCO]

Question - Are any of your kids stuttering lately?

OMG YES!!! DH is way concerned so I am SO SO glad that you mentioned it. It really comes and goes - we will have several days of no stuttering and then a day where it is alot. I can tell that it is Aidan's brain working faster than his mouth can move. I also think it is worse on days when he is tired. My brother has Down Syndrome and so I am used to the stuttering - I am also conditioned to not try and finish the word. Sometimes I try to redirect him but he never seems phased by it (and my brother never is either - I would be so frustrated.)

Renrel - Aidan had the high fever virus a few months back. It was so weird that I took him to the ped and he ended up also having a very red throat but nothing like strep. Maybe Gabe got a bit of a tummy bug hence the gas. Hope he feels better.

kerrykate - So cute! I love the picture of Lauren sleeping on you.

erinn - More labor vibes!!!

mittyrd - Are you planning the big 1st b-day? I can't believe that they are going to be ONE soon!

We are doing well. Not much to report except the fact that my whole life right now is playing referee to the kids - Aidan is being such a turkey lately and Cailtin is one tough cookie so needless to say I have to watch them all the time. Yesterday Aidan grabbed her hand off of his bench and pushed her off. She made a mad cry sound and went right back over and pulled up again:) Also Aidan loves to introduce himself to people now (mostly other kids). He will say "Hi, I Aidan."

[mittyrd]

Alison: I can’t believe they are going to be one either! In 9 days!! I have planned a big bash. So far, I have 60 people coming (including us). I rented a moon bounce since there will be tons of kids there and we are having a cookout. Most of my family and friends have not even met the twins since I kept them in seclusion all year b/c of their preemie-ness. So I think that is why so many people are coming. Please, please, please let it be a nice day……….

[jay&erinn]

mittyrd: I can't believe those babies are going to be one already. Where does the time go? I'm hoping for good weather for the party.

Renrel: There's something odd going around here too. Mia's been OK, but there are 3 kids at the pool that have broken out in a rash- none of them have been exposed to each other and all ended up with it about the same time. At least one of them was told it could be 5th disease. All of them have acted fine, they're just broken out in a rash. They're all assuming it's viral and will pass quickly.

Stuttering: Really common at this age. Mia's been doing it for a few weeks now. The best things to do are not to draw attention to it and be patient. If it takes 2 minutes to get out a sentence, that's how long it takes. It's so tempting to finish a sentence for them, but it won't help in the long run. For most kids it'll pass in a few months when their mouths catch up with their brains.

Alison: When does Caitlin turn one?

How can I teach Mia to stand up for herself? I can't remember if I've brought this up here before, but we've always stressed to her not to hit, bite, take toys from other kids, etc. I'm finding that many other parents have not been teaching their kids the same lessons. On a regular basis, kids will rip things out of her hands, push her over, etc, all with a parent standing right there who says nothing (one mother actually looked at me and said that she just didn't know what to do about her sons behavior, but never made him give back the things he took from Mia). Mia turns and looks at me and I'm just as stunned as she is. I usually help her find something else to do or someone else to play with. I don't want other kids walking all over her, but I don't want her to resort to hitting or grabbing either.

Nothing else to report here. Still waiting on this baby. I keep thinking that maybe something will happen, but it's not looking good.

[Jenyfer9]

I find it amazing the things that other parents let their kids get away with. I mean, almost every single time that we go and interact with other kids, whether it's at the play area of the mall, or just hanging out at a park (which I HATE, but that's another story), there are always kids who push and shove. And the parents just stand by and watch and act like there's nothing they can do about it. :mad:

[Renrel]

Errin - I think all you can really do is teach her the words to defend herself (NO! Thats not nice! I don't like that! Don't do that! That's mine! etc) and continue to talk to her about right and wrong and telling other kids how she feels. But I will warn you that it will not feel like enough even if she does it well. Gabe has gotten very good at his words but if another kid is getting physically words only go so far. It does help that he is getting more emphatic in his delivery and has an upset face rather than a shocked face to go with it. There are times I have wished he would push back and that I could just tell him to use his words knowing he was able to do more if he needed to. I do hope to find a good martial arts class for him in a year or two so he can learn self defense and confidence, but it has to be a class that respects the philsophy that you can always avoid a fight.

[Renrel]

Errin - I think all you can really do is teach her the words to defend herself (NO! Thats not nice! I don't like that! Don't do that! That's mine! etc) and continue to talk to her about right and wrong and telling other kids how she feels. But I will warn you that it will not feel like enough even if she does it well. Gabe has gotten very good at his words but if another kid is getting physical words only go so far. It does help that he is getting more emphatic in his delivery and has an upset face rather than a shocked face to go with it. There are times I have wished he would push back and that I could just tell him to use his words knowing he was able to do more if he needed to. I do hope to find a good martial arts class for him in a year or two so he can learn self defense and confidence, but it has to be a class that respects the philsophy that you can always avoid a fight.

[Renrel]

GAbe had a pretty good day concidering. He spent the morning watching video while DH caught up on sleep on the couch. Then was a bit cranky around lunch time, unable to decide if he wanted to go out for a walk to the park or what he wanted to eat. DH made him mac and cheese and left him alone while he went to work on the computer. When he came back Gabe was asleep in his high chair. He woke up when DH moved him to crib and cryed but fell back asleep after a few minutes. Woke up and then fell asleep on the couch till I came home at about 3:30. He started getting a bit cranky at that point and we had to force feed him some advil. Then we took him to a park, away from other kids and he had a great time with his new tennis racket. We even saw a family of woodchucks, they were so cute. We ended up getting some Burger King and picnicing at the park. When we got back he started painting which is not something he does much. We got him to bed about 9:30. I plan on taking him in to daycare tomorrow. It is suppose to rain so it is unlikely they will go on a walk. He may be a bit cranky but I don't think it will be more than the teachers can handle.

[mittyrd]

Jake has also started to stand up for himself after letting the older kids at daycare take his things for the past year and a half. But now he’s becoming too aggressive back. L Yesterday, he got a major timeout at daycare (that’s much longer than a regular timeout, I guess) for hitting one of the younger kids for no apparent reason. The other day, one of the older kids who is always taking stuff from Jake, took something from him and Jake pushed him down. When I told him to apologize he said “I don’t think so, go away, Momma”. Nice, huh? So, DH and I are not sure how to deal with it. We keep talking to him but we haven’t seen a change yet.

Funny story: Sunday, Jake was wet so I went to change his shorts. I pulled out a pair from his bureau that he hasn’t worn before. I bought it as part of a set (Sweatshirt/shorts). I thought it was kind of strange that it had underwear attached but I was thinking it was like a bathing suit so I just put them on him. About an hour later, I hear DH asking Jake why he was wearing a SKIRT!! So DH spent the rest of the day calling him Jakelina. Here he is in his glory:
http://images1.snapfish.com/34742%3A675%7Ffp33%3A%3Enu%3D3257%3E3%3B%3A%3E357% 3EWSNRCG%3D3233867458%3B9%3Bnu0mrj

Here's a new picture of the boys:
http://images1.snapfish.com/34742%3A675%7Ffp344%3Enu%3D3257%3E3%3B%3A%3E357%3E WSNRCG%3D3233867458%3B9%3Cnu0mrj

[Renrel]

Mittyrd - Cute pictures. Sorry you are having some behavior issues to deal with. I remember a friend of mine commenting when her kid was two that now the "real" parenting begins. Teaching them how to behave and get along in the world. It can be so hard.

Gabe was happy this morning until I told him he needed to get dressed for daycare. Then he cryied and fought getting dressed. Under his arm his temp was 102 while he was crying. It was probably a bit lower because he works up quite a heat when he crys but he certainly had a fever. Then he fought us on taking the advil. But once he was in the car he was fine and he did not even fuss when I left him at daycare. I will be by like usual to check on him at lunch and I am 5 minutes away if he needs to be taken home. I feel a little guilty taking him in when he is running a fever, but daycare has specificly said it is OK so long as he does not require more care than they can provide without neglecting the other kids. They figure that he already shared all his germs before he started showing symtoms so there is no reason to keep him out just for a fever. It is unsual for him to continue running a fever though. In the past one or two does of advil and his fever was gone. I wish it was not the weekend. If he keeps running a fever we will not be able to see his doctor till MOnday but I don't really want to go to the ER for a fever with no other symtoms.

DH wants to call his mother and warn her that she has to be careful about using inappropriate language around our Son! When she asks what he is talking about? He will explain that yesterday Gabe said to him "Come here sweety pie." LOL

[AlisonCO]

jenyfer and erinn - your posts were very timely! Just yesterday we were at the park and a little girl who was probably 3.5 kept pushing Aidan as he was trying to climb up a rope net thing. It is hard because I don't always want to be right there defending Aidan but I can't let kids (especially older ones) pick on him just to pick on him! Then last night I was talking to some moms from my group and they said that Dr. Phil:) said that you really do have to stand up for your kids until they are about 4. Usually I walk over and say loudly "Aidan, I am so sorry that that little girl is pushing you - that is NOT very nice behavior!":D

mittyrd - Matt and Sam deserve a big blowout party - sounds fun, I hope that the weather cooperates! VERY cute pictures!

Renrel - Hope Gabes fever goes away today!

We are off to storytime where Curious George is the theme and he is going to be there in costume. Hope Aidan doesn't freak:) I will try to get a picture.

Happy Friday!

[Renrel]

I visited Gabe at lunch and he was doing great. We read some books while he friends did circle time and lunch. Then I sat with him a while as he ate. I left while he was eatting and he did not fuss at all, which is better than what I get when he is healthy. He did not feel warm at all so I think he is on the mend. I am guessing that if the fever comes back at all it will be low grade, but we will see.

[Renrel]

So far Gabe seems to be over his illness. If he was feverish tonight you could not tell by touch. Teacher said he had a great day with no sign that he was not feeling well other than his crying in his sleep during his nap, but when she asked him if he was OK he was sound asleep and just stopped crying. Hopefully he will still be fever free tomorrow.

Errin - Maybe your baby will be like my sister and decide to come this weekend just to be sure no one is telling him/her what to do. Thinking contracting thoughts for you.

[jay&erinn]

Renrel: Looks like you're right. I've been up for the past hour with consistent and painful contractions (boy, that after birth amnesia is great- I forgot how much this hurts). I'm hoping to tolerate them at home for a while longer, but we'll see what happens since I'm a big whimp.;)

I'm glad I'm not the only one dealing with an "easy going" child. I was talking to another Mom at the pool the other day. Her daughter acts somewhat like Mia. Her mom said she's trying to take it in small steps. If another child has her toy and it's time to go home, she has her daughter go ask nicely for the toy back. She's hoping to teach her to approach kids that aren't being aggressive towards her first, and then working on the more difficult situations in the future.

Well, I'm off to shower and get some things together. Have a nice weekend. I'll check back early next week.

[Renrel]

WooHoo Yeah for labor! Sending you easy labor and delivery vibes now!

I agree with encouraging kids to appoach other kid to request their toys back as well as to ask if they can play or ask other kids if they want to play. I also try to get Gabe to hand money to cashiers and bring tips to the woman who cuts his hair and things like that so that he gets used to being responsible for interacting in the world and not to mommy or daddy or someone else always being the intermediary.

[AlisonCO]

erinn - YEAH! I hope that you have a wonderful, fast and easy labor and delivery! I can't wait to hear the news about the arrival of you little surprise:):):)

Renrel - So glad that Gabe is feeling better - just in time for the weekend!

[jay&erinn]

Well, I'm still here. I had contractions for about 2 hours that were 3-4 minutes apart. The next hour (just when I started getting things ready to go to the hospital) they were 5 minutes apart, so I waited to see what would happen. The next hour they spaced out to 8-10 minutes apart. They haven't quit entirely, but now I just have a few an hour. I was finally able to go back to sleep around 6 this morning. My back is so sore from all of the contractions last night- I feel like I worked out all night. I've also had spotting on and off (mostly on) since yesturday morning. Guess I'll just wait and see what happens.
If it happens again tonight, I'm tempted to just go to the hospital and see if they'll break my water to keep things moving. It's hard dealing with a 2 year old on 2 hours of sleep. They did that when I was in labor with Mia. I had contractions 3 minutes apart for a few hours so we went in. By the time I got there they were 5-8 minutes apart so they broke my water since I was just days from my EDD to speed things back up. This time around I wanted to labor at home for a lot longer- I just hadn't planned on it being all weekend:rolleyes:

Renrel: We also have Mia give tips, order her own food in restaurants, etc. She loves having that responsibility. I think she just finds it hard when other kids become aggressive with her.

[mittyrd]

Erinn- Good luck! I'll be thinking about you all weekend!

[kerrykate]

Erinn~ Good luck! Hopefully things will start up again, I'm so excited for you:)

Renrel~ Glad Gabe is feeling better.

Mittyrd~ I can't believe the boys are going to be 1 already, where has the time gone? Cute pictures!

We've had a good weekend so far, we went to a church festival last night and Lauren got a sunshine painted on her cheek. She was SO excited about it and had a big grin on her face the rest of the night.
Today my sister, parents, and I had a garage sale at my house. I made $52 which I didn't think was to bad for getting rid of junk.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

[AlisonCO]

erinn - Thinking about you! Hope that things started back up and that you have your little one this weekend.

Hope that everyone is having a great Saturday!

[Renrel]

We had a quiet day at home. Gabe went back and forth between the 2 year old from Hell and sweet darling, with very little in the middle. He seems to be in a phase where he gets it into his head that things should be a certain way and can not let go of that idea. Lord forbid I pour out the juice in a cup before he looked inside to see if it was empty or put the food on the wrong place on his plate. Screams of outrage. And if he does not like the car snack I offer he denies himself the pleasure of a song because songs may only be played after you get your snack.

[Renrel]

Errin - Hoping you are in the process of pushing out Mia's sibling as I type.

Gabe slept from 9:30pm to 10:30am and is in a good mood so far today. We have a party to go to this afternoon around 3, so I am guessing we are skipping nap today. The party is a BBQ but given the weather we will be inside. Luckily the family has a very large home.

[Renrel]

Errin - Hoping that the lack of a post today means you are at the hospital and all is going well.

We looked at houses today and it is really depressing. Half a million gets you very little anywhere near the city. We have to figure out how small we are willing to live to be close and/or how far we are will to commute to live "big. Big meaning 4-5 bedrooms of a reasonable size, a nice sized kitchen and living room, a playroom and a yard large enough that a grade school could run around in it and still have fun.

After house hunting we went to a party and had a nice time. Gabe is starting to approach and talk to other kids. Not right away or for long periods of time but it is still a big transition into interactive play that I am looking forward to while at the same time feeling a twinge of saddness at yet another step away from me I know Gabe is taking. I think the freedom to converse with adults and eat and enjoy a party as an adult (till we have a second and go back to ground zero again) will make up for the growing away part at this stage.

WE did not get Gabe down to sleep till 10:30 because we were bad and did not leave the party till 9:00. He used to go right to sleep in the car when we pulled a late night like this. Not any more.

Everyone kept getting a kick out of how Gabe would say he wanted to got have some "privacy with mommy."

[jay&erinn]

Just a quick post- Our surprise baby ended up being a girl:D Ayla Elizabeth arrived Sunday morning at 12:19 am. I'll be back when I have more time to post.

[Jenyfer9]

Horray and Congratulations!

[Renrel]

Mazal Tov to you and your family Errin. Can' t wait for details, but take your time. Better you should be with your family than online with us for now.

[mittyrd]

Congratulations!!

[AlisonCO]

CONGRATS erinn and mia and family! Welcome to Ayla - what a beautiful name:)

[AlisonCO]

Gabe went back and forth between the 2 year old from Hell and sweet darling, with very little in the middle. He seems to be in a phase where he gets it into his head that things should be a certain way and can not let go of that idea.

renrel - This is SO Aidan. It is very hard and I feel like I am sometimes on the edge also - never knowing which Aidan I am going to get:) Our big issues are who sits where at dinner and who gives him his bath. I am sorry that house hunting was discouraging!

Saturday was Aidans last soccer class and he had a meltdown. Dh was dissapointed that it ended that way. I find that he (DH) has a harder time letting things like this go. Of course A was fine by the time they got home, but DH's was stewing about it all day. Today we went to a fun playgroup. They all got in the pool eventhough it was only 70 degrees. It was fun but loud.

I hope that you all are having a great Monday!

[kerrykate]

Erinn~ Congratulations! That's great you didn't end up having to be induced. Does she look like her big sister?


Over the last few days Lauren has totally gotten this potty thing down. She didn't have an accident all weekend, except one dirty underwear incident. We even ran errands in underwear and that's my biggest fear is L standing in the isle at Kohls or somewhere and pee streaming down her leg getting all over the floor but she did fantastic and told me everytime she had to go. I had to work today so my mom watched her and she forgot to put a diaper on her at naptime and she woke up dry!

Anyone else have a child that has to do EVERYTHING themself? We call Lauren Miss Independent b/c she doesn't want help with anything which is good in a lot of ways like putting her own shoes on, going potty, getting dressed, but other times it drives me crazy. She HAS to fully buckle her own carseat, when she goes potty she has to be in the bathroom by herself with the door closed, and she loves to dress herself which is usually great but the other day she walked out with her dress on backwards and inside out it was a nightmare trying to switch it around.

[Renrel]

Unfortunately Gabe is more into being babied then independance. He is always asking to be carried, to be dressed, to be taken care of. I try to encourage him to do for himself but it is hard alot of the time. He is just not in the big a rush to grow up.

We had another pooping crisis tonight. Gabe melted down at dinner so we put him in his room and told him when he felt better to come out. He calmed down but did not come out. So we were going to have him go without dinner. I started the bath and he cryed through the whole short bath. He complained about getting into his pull up and his pjs. Then he cryed and wiggled and rolled around and climbed on me and off of me and made me lie down on the floor so he could lay on me and then wanted to lay in his crib and then came out and laid on my in the chair and ate bits of prunes and drank apple juice cryed hard and finally pushed out a poop. Then he was all happy and sat in my lap refusing to have his diaper changed and finally got it changed and at 8:30 he decides to sit down and eat dinner. Since he had a physical reason for being such a "poopy head" through dinner I let him have dinner and he at more than usual and now we are trying to get him in to bed before 9:30. With bath over at 7pm I though we would have him down by 8:30 at the latest.

[Renrel]

This morning Gabe insisted that DH hide in the closet so that he could play privately with mommy for a few minutes. Gabe was very polite but insistant. Opening the door but telling DH to please step inside. DH was a a good sport but wants to know why it is always him who has to leave the room. Gabe was good about openning the door and letting DH out after we played a short game of swinging his lovey while counting to 20. I have notice Lovey playing a more important role in Gabe life lately. He definately uses her both for playing out nuturing roles and when he needs extra comfort. I used to suggest or bring Lovey when he needed some comfort now he insists on finding her when he is upset.

[Renrel]

Gabe tried to learn a drop kick today. It was so cute. He kept holding his leg up in the air and hold the ball next to it and then trying to kick it. He was upset because he tried to join some bigger kids playing with a ball and they did not want to play with him. I am guessing because he was little and they all knew each other and he did not. I was proud of him for making the effort to try to join in. And I was told today that when they play with the preschoolers on the playground the preschoolers ask him to play with them. That bodes well for starting the preschool transition next week. I had completely forgotten that cost would go down as well. From $208 a week to $168 a week, which is a nice little drop.

[jay&erinn]

Just dropping off Ayla's birth story. It's long, so feel free to skip it.

Friday night I had contractions on and off for about 5 hours. They just went away. They started up again on Saturday around 2:00 pm. They got closer and closer together, but were never unbearable. We called my mom and she took Mia to her house for about 2 hours while DH and I napped. They came back and DH gave Mia a bath and got her ready for bed. By this time my contractions were 3 minutes apart, but still not horrible. We were trying to put Mia to bed and she was having a hard time settling down- sensing something was going on. I was lying in her bed when my water broke. I yelled for DH to bring towels and went to clean up. Mia told DH that I peed her bed. She then came into the bathroom to tell me it was OK- It was an accident. It happens. My next contraction was a big one so we took off for the hospital. It was only 5 minutes away, but by the time we got there I was crying through the contractions. They were about 2 minutes apart and very strong. I had to wait to be registered for 15-20 minutes in the ER, and DH was getting angry. They finally called me back and a paramedic was hanging out and told the girl that I needed to go up to the floor immediately. She told him I had to register first, and he said to call the floor, that I was coming up now and DH could register me. He walked me up and I was put in a room and hooked to the monitors. I told my nurse that if I was only 2 cm I was going to cry after all the pain. She checked me, but said nothing. I took that as a bad sign and asked for pain meds. She left to call the doctor and IV nurse. When she came back she started pulling out the basinet and all the instruments. I was a little confused since they only did that when it was time to deliver Mia. About 20 minutes later the IV nurse got there. She said I had to lay down to have my IV put in. We waited out a contraction and I laid down. She missed the vein the first time and by the time she was putting the second one in I was in the middle of another contraction. I wasn’t happy. They gave me Stadol, but it didn’t help- just made me feel very lightheaded. About 20 minutes later my doctor came in, checked me and said I was 6 cms. They called anesthesia and we waited. My contractions were measuring between 50 and 100+ on the monitor and were sometimes on top of each other, not giving me a break. The doctor and my nurse were hanging out in my room which confused me. With Mia they were hardly there at all until the end. At one point it was just me and DH in the room and I asked why there were so many people around. He told me that they didn’t think anesthesia was going to make it on time and that I may have to go without an epidural. I looked at him and told him that if they thought I was giving birth without drugs, they were all crazy. About a half hour later anesthesia showed up and I got my epidural. The doctor told me that if I could just make it through 20 more minutes I’d probably be finished. Since I was too afraid to try pushing without drugs, I declined. The contractions had me overwhelmed enough at that point. After the epidural kicked in, they checked me again and I was 8 cms. They let me sleep for about an hour and had me try pushing. I pushed through 4 contractions and Ayla was born. She has a bunch of dark hair and looks just like her big sister. Part of me is a little disappointed that I didn’t try to deliver her naturally, but I had never considered a natural child birth and couldn’t even imagine it at that point in time. If we ever decide to have a third child, it may be something I consider.

What do you use to post pics- I don't think shutterfly works here anymore.

[Jenyfer9]

GREAT story! Snapfish is the site that I use for posting pics now.

btw, I love the part about Mia telling your DH that you peed the bed and when she came in to tell you it was ok... PRICELESS!

[kerrykate]

Erinn~Mia told DH that I peed her bed. She then came into the bathroom to tell me it was OK- It was an accident. It happens.
That is precious! I definitly think a natural childbirth is something you would need to prepare yourself for and not an easy quick decision, so don't be too hard on yourself. That was a beautiful birthstory, congratulations again:D Oh, and I also use snapfish.

[mittyrd]

Erinn: Great story - thank you for sharing. I would never ever think about a natural childbirth - I just want lots and lots of drugs!! Of course, I had only 3 contractions with Jake before I had DH call the hospital and demand drugs be waiting for me when I arrived. (and they weren't and I was not happy) I can't wait to see pictures so get yourself to snapfish immediately!

I forget who asked earlier about our angels wanting to do everything him/herself. That's all I hear these days - "I do it, I want to do it, I do it, etc." Mr. very independent over here. His other favorite line "I play with babies now" So cute.

Saturday is supposed to be so nice. Yay! We have about 60 people coming for the birthday party. I have so much to do between now and then. Yikes. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get it all done. I thought I would have some help in the morning (family) but it turns out I'm not. :(

[AlisonCO]

erinn - Wonderful story! I can't believe that you had to register when you got there - I would have seriously killed someone. Please post a pic ASAP OK:) I hope that your recovery is going well.

mittryd - Yeah for nice weather for the weekend! I hope that you are able to get everything done so that you can enjoy the big day. Gosh I can't believe that you were due with the twins after me and here they are almost 1!!!

kerrykate - Yeah for the potty training going well!

Hi to all - we had company for dinner so I need to go clean up while DH wrestles Aidan into the bath. Have a great night!

[Renrel]

Errin - Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story. I am sure you are tired and busy. It is a beautiful story. I also love Mia concern that you not feel bad for peeing the bed. Can't wait to see some pictures. How is Mia doing now that the Ayla is here?

Mittyrd - So glad you are getting the weather you prayed for. I am sure it will be a wonderful party. Enjoy! I think first birthdays are more for the parents making it through than for the kids, so make sure you get your share of fun, OK?

We are having a relapse of Mommy Mommy and only Mommy around here. Gabe is complaining if DH comes into a room or trys to do anything for him again and constantly wants to be laying on me, carried by me, have me in the room with him. I am assuming that he is nervous about preschool starting on Monday and therefore regressing a bit. Next week he spends mornings in preschool, than the week after he spends afternoons, than the week after that he is in the whole day except for nap time, then the last week in July he stays there all day including nap.

DH accepted a job offer today, but it is not the job he wants. He had fun negotiating his salary and all but the job has no real future. It is more engineering, although in a management role. He wants to be in marketing or at least somewhere that he meets customers and can direct stragegy a bit. He is still waiting to see what, if any offer the other job he has been interviewing for will make. He really did not want to accept one offer and than skip out on them to take another but we have to do what is best for us and the other job will most likely be better, if they offer it.

Now we have to start house hunting in earnest. I found a spread sheet rating of elementary schools. It turns out that alot of the top 50 schools are in towns we could afford. But I am not sure what happens when grade school is over. I hate to move after Gabe has developed friendships and if we have 2, as we hope, at least one will not be moving at a easier transition point like grade to middle school.

[mittyrd]

Renrel: Congrats to DH. What towns are you going to be looking at?

I can't believe the twins are 1 either. Exactly a year ago tomorrow evening I went into labor and had the worst night of my life thinking that they were not going to make it. It's a miracle to see them now. So yea, I am going to celebrate on Saturday!!

[Renrel]

Mittyrd - I am not sure. DH played with the spread sheet and told me what he had found regarding elementary schools but we did not get into the details of which towns. We still need to look at other factors in that set of towns - distance from boston, house quality, neighborhood quality, will we be the only Jews in town, stuff like that. Next Saturday our real estate friend is coming over for dinner with his sign other and we are going to talk more. At least I hope this time we get to talk. Last time Gabe was too needy and our friend came by to late for much to be accomplished.

Everytime I bring up a negative about a housing choice (having to move for middle school, long commute, no extra room for a guest or au pair) DH is harping on me about how we/I have to decide what we are willing to give up because we can not have it all. He is right but it is hard. 4-5 years ago given housing prices and our income we were looking at some very nice large homes in nice towns. Now we have to look a very unappealing homes in nice towns or nicer homes in not so appealing towns. It is amazing what just a few years can change. Homes that were $300,000 then are $500,000 now and interest rates are higher and we are dealing with the financial reality of no income from DH for the past year as well as the reality of daycare prices etc which we did not really understand pre-Gabe. I should be excited that we are moving on with our lives but instead I feel a bit sad. Mourning what could have been I guess.

[jay&erinn]

Renrel: Yea for DH's new job. Have fun house hunting. Wherever you end up- it'll become your home. When DH bought the house we're living in I wasn't too happy (we weren't even engaged yet, so I didn't have input). It's a great neighborhood, but was a crappy house. Over the years, it's become our home and somewhere I'd be incredibly sad to leave.

mittyrd: Have fun partying Saturday. I hope it's a beautiful day.

I need to get a snapfish acct set up. As soon as I do, I'll post pics.

[jay&erinn]

I forgot to post that Ayla had her kidney ultrasound before we left the hospital. It was completely normal- 5 months of worrying for nothing. She only had 2 days of antibiotics and they stopped those as soon as the test results came back.
She also has had 2 weight checks. She's holding steady at 6 lb, 14 oz. We have to take her again Monday. At least she's not losing like Mia did. I forgot how stressful BFing was when babies don't gain as much weight as they need to.

[kerrykate]

Erinn~ That's great news her kidney looks normal, what a relief for you guys. How is Ayla sleeping? Can't wait to see pictures!

Renrel~ Congrats on the job for dh, how soon does he start?

Mittyrd~ I can't believe the boys are already one, the year has flown by! The party sounds like it'll be a lot of fun.

Tonight we're going to see fireworks with my parents, sister, and nephew. It'll be a late night but should be fun.

Have a great weekend everyone:)

[AlisonCO]

erinn - I am SO SO glad that the u/s showed no problems with her kidney!! That is great that her weight is holding steady - I do hope that she starts to gain so that you can relax a bit. How big was she when she was born? Caitlin was 6-10 and 6-5 when we left the hospital - it did take a week for her to get back up to 6-10 eventhough my milk came in on day 3. Anyway - congrats again:)

Renrel - Congrats to your DH - wonderful news! Hopefully it can be a starting point to find something else if he ends up not loving it. I also hope that you all find a house that fits as many of the things that you want as possible.

kerrykate - Have fun at the fireworks!