Chris' Birthday - the rest of the story

Ok, so despite the series of unfortunate events that occured over Chris' birthday, we really did have some good times.  And at the very least, it will be one we will never forget!

On Wednesday morning, Chris' actual birthday, we all woke up and had a big breakfast together.  Bacon, eggs and toast!  Then he opened presents.  Brooks made this rockin' awesome mug for his Daddy!

We woke Brooks up early so he could eat breakfast with Daddy before he left for work. Can you tell??

Chris had to work that day, so our morning and afternoon proceeded as usual.  But the boys did wear their special shirts for Daddy's birthday.

Then after work, we picked Chris up from work, grabbed some subs from Pickle Barrel and headed to the park.  And that's the awesome part.  It's March 28th in Sioux Falls, SD and we're having a picnic in the park!  First time that's ever happened.

These are seriously the best subs EVER! Good choice on your birthday dinner, honey.

Then because it was such an awesome day, we played!

I think he likes the swings!

Ah, I love my boys!!

Brooks insisted that Daddy have a cake with blue frosting.  So blue frosting he had :)  Which, to no surprise, was Brooks' favorite part.  He licked all the frosting off the top of the cupcake then asked, "Can I have some more frosting on my cupcake?"  Um, no.  You need to eat the cake too.

After we finished the cake, we headed over to the arcade to play our annual rounds of skeetball, Chris' favorite.  (He's still a kid at heart!)  Upon arriving, both our boys were totally mesmerized by all the noise and flashing lights. 

We traded in our quarters for tokens and went to town.

Brooks LOVED playing skeetball.  He was terrible at it, but loved it just as much.  The hard part was that he didn't have the arm to roll the ball all the way up the ramp, but when we offered to help him he'd pull away and declare he could do it "all by myself!"  (sigh)  But at least that token went a looooong way since it took him for.ev.er to get all the balls in the holes.

Then we played "Deal or No Deal".  It's pretty much just like the game show, except that you play for tickets instead of money.  And thanks to Brooks' skill at choosing cases, we won 100 tickets!  Maybe we should send him on the real show!!  (if it's even still around)

We ended the night with a game of air hockey!

As you know the night ended with a very crabby, overstimulated toddler screaming and crying.  But I think we'll choose to remember how much fun we had instead! 

Happy Birthday to my amazing husband!  I love you so much!!!

In my mind, I saw that going much differently

Chris turned 30 this week.  Yep, the be three o.  And to mark the big occasion, we decided to do it up big this year.  Big party, lots of friends, cake, party favors, the whole works!  But ... well ... it didn't quite go as planned.  At all.  It actually started on his actual birthday, on Wednesday.

The day started well with a big breakfast and opening gifts.  But later that morning, I totally and completely threw out my back.  That happens from time to time, but of course it had to happen on his birthday.  That evening for dinner we grabbed some Pickle Barrel subs (which may have been the best part of the day) and headed to the park.  And, oh friends, it hurt to walk.  But sitting on my tush at home really wasn't an option.  So I limped along and pushed my kids on the swing and we sang happy birthday and really did have a good time.  Minus the shooting pain in my back, that is.

Then we headed to the arcade for our annual game of skeet ball (in which I always win, might I add)  We had a lot of fun.  And I even let Chris win a few games :)  Brooks had a great time too!  Until we had to leave.  And then he threw the most epic 2 year old tantrum I've heard in a long time.  Cupcakes + lots of stimulation = really really crabby kid.  Chris dragged him out kicking and screaming (literally) and the screaming continued well until after he was in bed.  So, um, happy birthday honey.  Hope it was fun :)

Then Saturday was Chris' party.  The Mustache Party!  We had spent weeks (WEEKS!) planning his party.  Invitation, games, party favors, decorations, cake, food.  It was a ton of work but I was sooooo excited to pull this all together.  I really wanted to celebrate Chris and make him feel special.  And all was going according to plan until .................

Brooks puked.  Yep, puked.  Everything was all set up - it looked great - and just as guests were arriving Brooks threw up all over himself and his chair.  Oh.  Chris was great and cleaned him up, because I was holding an already overtired baby (on my still sore back).  But during that time Brooks was asking to go play with his friends and eat pizza.  So we thought it was just a fluke.  But then he puked again.  And again.  (sigh)  I needed to take him home.

So I left.  Less than an hour after it started, I left my husband's 30th birthday party that I was hosting to take care of a really tired baby and puking toddler.  I can't even describe to you the disappointment I felt.  All that work and I couldn't even be there to enjoy it.  I made my rounds and said good-bye to friends before I left, trying to be upbeat about it all.  But inside I just wanted to scream "THIS ISN'T FAIR!!!"  Why, of all days, does my son get sick today?? 

I couldn't blame him.  It wasn't his fault.  But a guy only turns 30 once and this was the year to celebrate!  But instead of enjoying an evening with Chris and our friends, I spent the night going back and forth between trying to soothe a crying baby and cleaning up puke.  It was a long three hours, my friends.

And from what I heard, people still had a pretty good time and Chris still felt special.  But it just wasn't the same.  It wasn't at all how I had planned.  And if life gave you mulligans, well, this would have been the perfect time to use it.

(I'll post pictures later.  There were some really great moments both days and I don't want them to be completely overshadowed by the above-mentioned events)

Swing Swing Swing

Last week, because of this unusually warm weather, we took a walk to the park.  And Carter had his first ride on the swings!

He was fascinated mostly by watching his big brother swing next to him, but I did get him to look at me for a quick shot.

Carter's my baby who loves to move, so swinging was right up his alley.  I'd say we'll be playing on the swings a lot more this summer.

Cool dude Brooks had fun too!

Bye Bye Toochie

For those who don't know, a "toochie" is the name we have for the pacifier in our house.  And Brooks has slept with it every night almost since the day he was born.  To say he was attached to it is a bit of an understatment.  But I was ok with that.  He only used it for nap and bedtime and as soon as he woke up he knew he needed to put it away.  And with a new baby, and then a not-so-new baby who didn't sleep, I really wasn't ready to tackle getting rid of it.  But for the last few weeks, Brooks has woken up one, two or even three times a night crying because he lost his toochie.

(sigh)  This toochie was becoming more problematic than it was helpful.  So Chris and I decided it was time to say good-bye to the toochie.  It was a tough decision we knew we'd been putting off, but it was time.  So yesterday morning Chris had a good father-son chat about how "big boys" don't need toochies for bed time and Daddy doesn't sleep with a toochie, etc.  Then we took a trip to Target to buy him a new "lovey" to sleep with at bedtime.  I knew it wouldn't really replace the toochie, but that was the idea.

Brooks and his new puppy, "Fuzzy"

Then we headed to the river.  Yep, the river.  Chris and I were racking our brains as to how we would actually get rid of the toochie.  We couldn't just throw it in the garbage because when nap time came he would dig it back out again (or try, at least).  We needed something very permanent; where there would be no way to get it back.  So we decided on the river.  (I know, not very enviromentally friendly but just don't call the EPA, okay?)  Brooks grabbed both his toochies, walked down to the bank and chucked 'em in.  He seemed really ok with this new idea.  He threw them in himself, waved bye-bye and that was that.

Until nap time.  As we walked up the stairs we talked about the toochies being gone and now that he was a big boy he didn't need them anymore.  And he agreed.  But when it came time to lay down, the reality of the situation finally sunk in.  And then he panicked.  "I want my toochie.  I need my toochie.  We need to get a new toochie!"  I hated seeing him so distraught, but there was nothing I could do.  We talked, we hugged, he talked some more.  He started searching for solutions to this problem.  "I could use Carter's toochie.  We could go to the store and buy me a new toochie."  Sorry buddy, they're gone.  After about half an hour of talking, I left the room.  And he cried.  And cried.  And cried.

I felt awful.  But we had to get through this.  After a while Chris went up and calmed him down but he never did take a nap.  And then I started to panick.  If eliminating the toochie meant eliminating nap time, I may want to take Brooks up on his suggestion of buying a new toochie :\  But I figure we would give it a few days and see how things went.  When bedtime came we went through the same routine.  Him negotiating for a new toochie and us reminding him that it was really and completely gone.  Chris laid in his bed with him for almost an hour until Brooks finally fell asleep.  What a good Dad!

But after all that drama and crying, Brooks slept the whole night.  He didn't wake up even once!  Which I had hoped would be the case since I knew how tired he was.

Then today at nap time we were prepared for more crying and negotiating.  But he went into his room and laid down without a fuss.  It took him a while to fall asleep (I could hear him playing around in his room) but that's not too unusual.  And he did eventually fall asleep!  Can I hear an amen!  Bedtime tonight?  Same story.  He did ask for his toochie but I reminded him that he gave it to the fishes (clever, huh?) and he seemed ok with it.  No crying.  No negotiating.  It's simply the way it is now.

And just like that the toochie is gone.  Forever.  I'm so proud of my big boy!!

Watch Me Grow: 6 Months

Well, it's been half a year since our family was blessed with a new little boy!  The time has gone quickly and slowly at the same time.  But he hit a few big milestones this month that made me realize just how quickly he's growing up.

Eating:

• Carter is still my chamption nurser.  He loves to eat, but is starting to go a few longer stretches between feedings during the day.  He'll usually go 3 (sometimes 4) hours between eating.  And I've noticed that's helped with the spit-up too.  I'm finding he really only needs to eat every 3 hours and when he nurses more often than that, he spits up a lot. Too much food in his tummy apparantly.
• Just a few days ago, Carter has his first taste of "real" food.  We gave him some avocado and he had a lot of fun playing with it.  Some even made it in his mouth.  This milestone kinda made me sad.  I know he's six months old and ready for food, but he still seems like my little baby to me.  He can't possibly be eating food.  And although his eating food is more for the experience than for actual nutrition, I know we're headed down the road where he'll nurse less and eat more.  It's good, it just makes me a little sad.
• Another reason this new food eating makes me sad is the diapers.  Before, Carters' poopy diapers were sweet smelling and no problem to change.  But now??  Oh sweet mercy that avocado poop smells awful!  And since he's in cloth diapers I can't just wrap it up and throw it away.

Sleeping

• Oh, where do I even begin?  Most of the month had been the same as before.  Fighting every nap, not sleeping nearly long enough during the day and lots and lots of crying.  I starting reading the book No Cry Sleep Solution which promised me a happier baby who takes regular naps and sleeps through the night.  I was very leary at first (clearly, this lady had never met my baby) but we were desperate for answers and willing to try anything.
• Through reading this book, I realized Carter didn't have any kind of consistent nap schedule and part of that was my fault.  Some mornings we were home, other days we were at story time or a friends house.  Sometime he slept in his car seat, other times not.  The afternoons were hit and miss too with naps since he fought them so hard.  So usually he would become so overtired he would scream and scream at me, unable to calm down to sleep.  So just last week I started working to change that.  (Please don't think I'm boasting that I discovered the answer to this problem - we're just willing to try anything to help Carter sleep and I'm documenting our progress.  Or lack of progress.  We'll see how it turns out)
• I've started trying to notice his sleep cues before he gets too overtired - which is when the screaming starts.  When he becomes a bit fussy, starts rubbing his eyes or yawning, I know he's ready for a nap.
• Carter has been taking a mid-morning nap, usually around 10am.  If we're going to be gone that morning, I'll try to get him to fall asleep in his carseat.  (He sleeps like a champ in that thing)  If we've arrived at our destination and he's still awake, I'll drive around the block a few more times until he's alseep.
• In the afternoon, Brooks goes down for a nap around 1 and Carter is usually ready for a nap shortly after.  So we'll nurse or rock and though he'll scream at me for 10-15 minutes, he'll eventually give in and fall asleep.  On a good day, he'll nap for 1 1/2 - 2 hours in the afternoon.  On a not so good day, he'll sleep 45 minutes.  On those days I'll have to try to put him to sleep again so he can get the amount of sleep he needs (I usually shoot for a minimum 1 hour nap)
• Carter will then usually take a short nap in the early evening, around 5:30.  That's my least favorite nap because I'm trying to cook supper at that time.  Chris comes home around 5:15, so most nights we can tag-team Carter and cooking and make it work.  I'll be happy when he gets a little older and can skip that nap altogether.
• We've started putting Carter to bed earlier in the evening, around 8:30pm (instead of 9 or 10)  Again, he'll cry for about 10-15 minutes (sometimes longer) while we rock him but he'll eventually fall asleep and sleep for the night.
• Although we've seen a little improvement during daytime naps, the nighttime sleep has become a struggle.  He's waking more in the night - not necessarily hungry, just awake.  And the last several mornings he's ready to be up for the day at 6am!  He's wide awake and smiling.  I'm not.  I'll nurse him in hopes he goes back to sleep.  Sometimes he does.  Sometimes he doesn't.  Oh how I live for the day when Carter won't scream at me whenever he's tired and will sleep consistently.

New Discoveries:

• Carter is exploring everything.  And by explore I mean, put it his mouth. Teething is in full swing!
• Carter has teeth!!  (ok, that's not really a "discovery" for him, but it was for me :)  Mid-February Carter finally popped in his first two teeth - the bottom two.  Oh, they're so cute.  You can still hardly see them, but they'll be so cute when they grow in more.  Perhaps that was the cause of a lot of his fussiness.  Perhaps now he'll sleep better.  (well, I can hope, right?)

New Abilities:

• Carter is working so hard to crawl.  He spins in circles on his belly to reach and grab for toys and he's even gotten himself up on all fours a few times!  He's constantly moving, even when he's lying "still".  An arm is waving, a leg is kicking ... something!  We are going to have our hands FULL when this kiddo really takes off and crawls!
• Carter's becoming more efficient at doing things.  He's quicker at rolling over, he easily grabs things (and puts them in his mouth), he's swift to grab my hair.  It's amazing to see just how fast he's growing up.  I love my little boy and although these last several month have been challenging, I still enjoy watching him grow and learn and discover new things.  I don't think it will ever get old.

me and my buddy at the Washington Pavillion

First Food

Tonight was a big night in our house.  Carter had his first taste of food.  Avocados.  Really, he's been ready for food for quite some time.  Grabbing at our food, opening his mouth wide when we eat something.  So since I was making an avocado dip for our salmon tonight, I figure now would be as good a time as any to start.  I think more than anything, Carter was just happy to be sitting at the table with the rest of us.  Not sure why we didn't put him in his chair sooner - even if just to join the family for supper.  Usually he just hung out in his chair on the floor.

Ah, he's so big.  In my mind he's still just a few months old.  Not SIX months old and eating food already!

can I eat this strap instead??

At first I tried feeding him the mashed avocado with a spoon.  But he grabbed at it and starting flinging it all over the place.  Nope, that won't work.  So I just put a little bit of it on his tray and let him explore.

hmmm, not too bad.

And then, of course, it went everywhere!

Yep, even in his ear. The hair.  His eyes.  I kinda forgot just how messy babies are when they eat.  There was more food on him then in him, but that's ok.  It was fun.  Brooks was laughing hysterically at Carter's mess.  But he really seemed to like the avocado.  I think tomorrow I'll leave it in small bite-sized chunks instead of mashing it so maybe he can pick it up a bit easier.

Watch Me Grow: 5 months

Well, my baby is officially 5 months old.  And this is the point where I would say something like "It's gone by so fast." or "I can't believe he's 5 months old already."  But truth?  There have been some very challenging moments days weeks where we've listened to a lot of crying, done a lot of nursing and lots and lots of "putting the baby to sleep" dancing.  And to be honest, these last five months haven't gone by so fast.  And this is even after I quit dairy.  I mean, he's much happier now than when I was still binging on cheese, but nap time is a struggle every.single.time.  Is he teething?  Maybe.  Growing?  Probably.  I keep trying to find the reason why he's fights sleep so hard because then maybe I can accept it more.  But I haven't come up with anything concrete yet.

(sigh)  Ok, now that's off my chest.  On to the happier stuff.

Eating:

•  This kid loves his mama and loves his milk.  So guess what we do a lot of??  Yep, nursing!  Some days he'll only eat every 3 hours, but usually it's more often than that.  The good thing is that he's still a pretty efficient eater and we can be done quickly if necessary.
• He's much more active while nursing.  He's taken to beating my chest with his free hand.  Awesome.  "Easy there slugger!  I'm providing the food, remember??"  I usually can distract him by either holding his hand or giving him something to hold.  The worst is when he becomes distracted with something in the room and turns his head to look at it .... while still latched on!  Holy wow, does that hurt.  Let's just say I've become pretty speedy at unlatching him!
• Our goal is to wait to introduce solid foods until Carter is at least 6 months old to avoid any potential allergy issues.  But I think this kiddo will be more than ready next month.  He's already "eyeing" up the food we put in our mouths and consistently reaches for it.

Sleeping

• Excuse me for a moment  (HAHA! sleeping?? bahahahaHAHAHA)  Ok, I'm good now.  Well, sort of.  As I mentioned earlier, sleep has become a rarity in our house.  The only two places Carter will sleep are in my arms and in his carseat.  Or if I time it right (meaning, if all the planets in the universe align) I can sometimes nurse Carter to sleep on our bed (this only works in the early afternoon.  why?  I have no idea).  Then I slowly slip away and he might sleep for an hour or so there.  Which is good.  But then he fights naps the rest of the day.  And let's just say a 5 month old can NOT be awake for 6 hours straight and still be a pleasant human being to be around.
• Since I can't get Carter to sleep in his bed, we do a lot of driving to put him to sleep.  When we're out and about in the mornings, he'll usually nap in his carseat.  But it's becoming more common to take evening drives with him as well.  That seems to be the hardest time to get him to sleep.
• Despite our daily nap struggles, Carter still sleeps pretty well at night.  He's getting up more often again to eat (usually once around 1am and again around 5am) but he always falls right back asleep.  Praise the Lord for that! 
• We thought his "extra" waking in the night was maybe due to his bed.  We had him sleeping in a pack n' play next to our bed and the "mattress" on that thing wasn't very thick and consequently probably not very comfortable.  So we took it down and set up the actual crib, still next to my side of the bed.  He seems to sleep ok in it, but still prefers to be in our bed most of the night.  I guess I don't mind.  He's pretty snuggly :)
• I do have to say that when Carter is well fed and well rested, he's an incredibly happy baby!  He laughs and smiles and plays!  He's so fun to be around.  I just wish he would sleep more often so we could enjoy more happy Carter time.

New Discoveries

• Carter found his toes.  When he help him sit up, he leans forwards and sucks on those little piggies!
• His mouth.  Carter has mastered picking things up with his hands and shoving them straight into his mouth.  Toys, blankets, socks, my hair.  Anything and everything goes into his mouth.  He's even tried putting my face in his mouth.  Apparently my chin looks good for nursing :)
• Brooks.  I know he's always been aware of his big brother before, but Carter LOVES Brooks and they're starting to interact more.  Brooks can make Carter laugh more than any of us!  It's so fun to see their relationship begin to develop.
• Snow!  It's been a super mild winter this year, but we did get a little bit of snow a few weeks ago.  Brooks, of course, wanted to try out his new sled so I bundled up both the boys and we went outside to play in the snow.  Carter was pretty much stunned by it all.  He didn't smile, but he didn't cry either. 

New Abilities

• Grabbing.  I'm not sure if this is an ability, but Carter has become a grabber.  And usually it's things I prefer he not grab ... such as the skin on my neck or my hair.
• Scooting.  Carter spends most of his floor time on his tummy and when he pushes himself up with his arms, he ends up scooting himself backward.  Or in circles.  He doesn't move too far on the carpet, but the other day I put him on the bathroom floor while I was getting ready for the day and I heard him crying.  I look over and he's wedged himself between the toilet and the floor.  (Note to self: make sure the toilet is always very clean)  Silly baby!
• Carter will also arch his butt up in the air while on his tummy.  He wants to crawl so bad.  And I know it will happen all too soon.
• Blowing raspberries.  Super drooly, but super fun!!
• Blanket sucking.  Carter hasn't sucked him thumb in a while and he's never been a touchie (pacifier) guy.  But lately he's taken to sucking on blankets (or any other fabric for that matter).  Charlie would have been so proud!