The least efficient way from point A to B

I breastfed Skyler until he was about six and a half months old. I actually remember the day that he stopped breastfeeding, because he was the one who actually put an end to it. It was October 27th, 2007. A few days before his first Halloween and we were going to the pumpkin patch at the last minute. I was actually relieved, because although I had enjoyed the closeness breastfeeding had brought to our relationship I loathed the idea of being the one to initiate an end to the process. Plus kid had some teeth by then, yowch. Skyler has made a lot of things easy on us, weaning himself was just one of them.


Mason has not been a good breastfeeder. It doesn't really seem right to say it that way, since it's not really his fault. I don't know if it's the latch, or if he is just not into delayed gratification and being willing to wait for my letdown. Whatever it is, it hasn't been working. Two days ago I decided to try a different direction. I still want to provide him with the same nutrients I gave Skyler through my breast milk, so I am pumping. I am pumping a lot for what seems like so little as I only seem to be able to keep up for the next feeding. It's frustrating trying to get ahead of myself with an advanced supply, especially when it would be so much easier if the little guy would drink straight from the tap. Andy reminds me that it has only been a few days since I started down this path, and it will take time. Which of course he is right, but I still cannot help but feel disheartened by this extra (time consuming) step in Mason's feeding process. I will keep pumping and keep trying to make this choice work, I just hope it gets even a little bit easier soon.

In other news, Mason is one week old today. He is the sweetest little baby and is actually asleep for the majority of the day's hours. We actually have been having to wake him up during the night to make sure he gets a feeding. So far he seems to be a pretty laid back baby, something I am pretty sure we don't deserve after having Skyler who was a relatively easy baby himself. Speaking of Skyler, he loves his 'baby brother Mason'. He dotes on him, loves to hold him, and is always coming up to kiss and love on him. I feel so blessed that he has taken to Mason so well, I really expect something far less pleasant. Then again, it has only been a week.

Veinte y seis

Dear Skyler,Alright, so for now I am keeping the monthly letters. Who knows if I will manage it after this month though, in eight days you aren't going to be the only one whose milestones I will need to take notice of. Eight more days and you are going to be a big brother kiddo. There will be two of us (parents) and two of you (little monkeys).


This past month has just been a blur of cognitive advances for you. I realized today that when you sing the ABC song you actually sing the ABC's. Before it was just the tune and an occasional intelligible vowel. Now you clearly say each letter, and even finish off the ditty by requesting that next time we sing with meeeee! It's amazing, and I am not sure I can pinpoint exactly when that change took place. You are so much better at putting thoughts and sentences together. You clearly understand what is going on around you and can even think outside of what is there and present. You continue to love being active and above all else outside. I think you would be perfectly content to spend hours 'mowing' the lawn and dragging your tools around behind you. Daddy even took advantage of your enthusiasm for outdoor chores the other day and put you to work gathering rocks out of the lawn. Very few people would gain as much pleasure from collecting and then disposing of rocks, running back and forth across the back lawn to do so, as you did. You love to be a helper.


We also sprung something pretty big on you this month, a brand new bed. We let it sit side by side with your crib for a few nights before making the grand switch, but truly it seems our greatest of fears are yet unfounded since you are sleeping quite well in it (even now as I type). At night you like to sit on the end of 'Skye-guy car bed' and let your feet dangle as we read your nightly stories to you. Then, all of your night time ablutions attended to, you willingly climb right in and lay down for the night. I am still marvelling at your acceptance of this change, perhaps you are more willing to grow up than we are to let you.


I won't say that two months past two has been all roses, you have been providing us with a fair amount of disciplinary challenges and general toddler trouble. But with all your big hugs, 'need' kisses, and willingness to share any treat you come across I can see how parents (and their children) survive to year three. Happy 26 big man, and I hope you enjoyed it as your last as a single child.

Ch-ch-changes

We are doing our best to get some big changes in Skyler's life out of the way before the greatest shift of them all occurs with Mason's arrival in just a few *gulp* short weeks. We are "pursuing" potty training, though not on an overly active basis. We moved out Skyler's dresser into Mason's room. And now, now we have removed his crib and replaced it with this:

Skyler's big boy bed, his race car chariot to dreamland. We made the transition slowly, partially out of our desire to be sensitive to Skyler's dislike of change though largely due to lack of courage and love for our own sleep. We had no idea what this new bed would bring out in Skyler, we still don't really as this is only day three of it being in full use. So far so good, though I am not sure he has fully grasped just how much freedom he truly has in this new bed. It frightened him a bit the first night, though only when we got down to the business of getting him to sleep in the bed. He loved the idea of a bed he could 'drive' and he didn't really seem to notice (or at least mention) the lack of his crib. He has slept as he usually has otherwise, which frankly I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I am sure it can't be this easy.

I also made some changes to the decor in Skye's room. It has always been largely dominated by dinosaurs, but it has become quite clear over the last year that his true love is cars. So with the introduction of the car bed I thought some more car themed decoration would be appropriate. I painted the roads onto his walls and still plan to get some little cars up there as well. It's a work in progress. Hopefully it will all pull together before Mason arrives, including Skyler's full acceptance of this new sleeping arrangement.

Potty training?

MR went pee today, amazing I know. But it was, because instead of his usual diaper wetting he went pee in the potty. He's one and a half years old and he went pee in the potty. Incredible. This kid just keeps surprising us. Not to denigrate our parenting abilities, I think we are perfectly wonderful parents, but the mister certainly makes things easier on us. He is such a clever little kiddo, and so observant. Lately he has begun to let us know, sometimes, when he has to go or when he does go. He is fully aware of what he has down there (just ask him where his "peh-peh" is, he's very forthcoming), and he seems pretty interested in dealing with it like the big people do. Today he told BL "Ah peh-peh" (I pee pee), to which Andy asked him if he needed to go. MR ran into the bathroom and with BL's assistance used the toilet. He, and we, were very excited. Andy went out and got him his own little potty, which he has already asked for (and used) three times since. Don't worry, we do possess a healthy amount of hubris and aren't going to count our chickens before they hatch- but it is pretty cool that he is even approaching the subject of toilet training. And with enthusiasm. We figure we will strike while the iron is hot and see where it gets us. Having number one trained by the time number two arrives would be almost too much to ask for, but it won't stop us from trying.

Happy Anniversary

Happy second anniversary baby, here's to the years we have seen and those yet to come. There are exciting things afoot and so much more in store for us and our little family.

Thanks goodness I have you to hold my hand through it all. I love you.

Catorce

Fourteen months old. Seriously? My baby, my boy, is fourteen months old now. He looks older and acts older, and I can't help but feel a little older myself lately with all the energy this guy expounds. Up the stairs, down the stairs, inside then outside. He's everywhere, and I am always trailing a few steps behind him. I love, love, love what a sweet little adventurer he has become. I can't think of anything cuter than when he kicks his heels into our hips as if to say 'Giddyup!' so that we will help him chase the other parent in his favorite game of tag. He does everything with a little extra thought now, most often with some form of premeditation tinged with impishness. He's such a goob.

He had his first big fall the other day. Every once and a while the kiddo will end up in our bed by the morning, and when this happens I will quietly ease myself out from next to him when I leave for my morning shower. I know that if I say something to BL to signal my absence either BL will make a noise and wake the MR or the MR will wake at my voice itself. So I have been playing an unsafe gamble that BL will be aware I am gone and/or MR will not stray to close or over the edge. I lost that bet the other morning when the kiddo did get too close to the edge and did roll off. My poor baby now has a few small bruises on his little cheek to show for my carelessness. Sure I didn't actively contribute to his tumble, but I also didn't work proactively to prevent it. I also know that this is only a sign of bumps and bruises to come. *Sigh*

Happy fourteen months, my big bruiser boy.

In the blink of an eye

It's funny how our children have those sudden bursts of accomplishment, periods where they seem to learn and grow by leaps and bounds. The growing process in general entails a lot of generation and maturing that goes on unnoticed, even though it's continuous. MR is going through one of these strides right now, he's putting together skills and thoughts that just a week or so before seemed unlikely. Aside from the fact that he is currently growing four (yes four!) new teeth simultaneously, he is throwing new mental and motor skills into the mix. As mentioned before, he is definitely saying dog now. Anytime he see or hears a dog he yells out 'Dah!'. Now today he starting waving, saying what sounds like hi, and while using his 'more' sign he has now started to say the word more (though sporadically).

We recently met up with a friend who hadn't seen MR for several months. She was so in awe of how much boy he was and how little baby. He really is a little boy now, he just has to keep on reminding me.

Wordless Wednesday- Dahg!

*True, this is early again and true there are words where this should be wordless. But, I had to share that I think the kiddo has his first (definite) word: Dog

Trece

Not only was today Mother's day, but today was also the MR's thirteenth month on the outside. Strange to start counting months again, there was so much anticipation leading up to his one year birthday. This last month has been one full of transition for our poor little kiddo. I feel so bad for him because he is so obviously on the cusp of so many physical advances, but being in a new environment (and one not laid out with him in mind) is stifling. He's so curious, and fearless, he wants to explore every corner and open every door. He always wants to be standing, often because he has spied something he wants to get his little hands on. He is also always on the move, which is how we got the picture above. Diaper changes have become increasingly difficult since MR has not a single second to spare for idleness. What we see here is the result of yet another failed diaper change, someday I will make sure to share this with his significant other. Than I shall have my revenge, oh yes. But really, our kiddo continues to be such a joy for us and others. Now that we are closer to family, some more than others, it's very obvious that this little boy brings light into more lives than just our own. He's also growing two more teeth, which will bring the count to ten! So much going on in such a little life, thankfully we have such a resilient kiddo. Happy thirteen months booger bum, mama loves you.

Bittersweet

MR turned one year old today! I don't even know how this happened so quickly, BL keeps saying he wishes it would all slow down and I have to say I agree with him. Considering how quickly this last year went, I am afraid the many to follow will pass with the same velocity. I am so amazed by my big little man and all that he has managed to become in this past year. You know we have to walk down memory lane to commemorate this event. Here we go...

Ah, hello very pregnant self. Here I am waiting for the anesthesiologist to take me away so they could shoot me full of epidural. Several things led up to this moment. We knew the mister was going to be a big boy, our shared genes and my gestational diabetes assured that. With the risk factors hovering around the tail end of my pregnancy we decided to have a c-section. I can't say I was disappointed by this outcome, I was never very attached to how the birth would occur as long as it ended with a healthy baby in my arms. So when my trusted doctor pronounced this as his medical opinion, we went with it. The receptionist went to check the schedule and came back to us with 'How's tomorrow?'. Tomorrow would be April 11th, six days before my anticipated due date. We were shocked, who knew it could be so routine to schedule the arrival of our child. Did we want to be parents tomorrow?

So we got up that next morning, prepared ourselves as much as we could and left for the hospital. Which led to the moment above. Which then led to this moment, at 3:59 p.m.

Look at that squidgy little face, that there is 8lbs 15oz of baby chunk. 21 inches long, for posterity. The next few weeks, really months, that followed were a blur. By the time we managed to catch our breath and feel a little more on the ball he was already growing so fast, and time just flew by. And now I have a one year old, and doesn't he know it. He is every where and into everything. He laughs when his daddy tickles his tummy, and he growls (yes growls) when he wants to be a ham. Which is quite frequent, our little boy is such a goof. He loves to hear us laugh and when he catches us laughing at something he has done, he repeats it. He plays peekaboo and patty cake, and he loves to chase after all his little balls and toys. He's just so big.

Happy One Year bug, we love you

Holy crap, he's crawling

Like the title? Not the best use of my words, but it's the first thought that came to mind. It's official, MR can now crawl. Over the last month he has become progressively more mobile. He would roll, squirm, and slide his way from place to place. Even before tonight he has made tentative overtures towards crawling, but this evening he officially started to crawl. He went a few feet in one direction, then he sat down and turned to go in another. Then he crawled over to these little nooks we have by the fireplace, pulled himself up and grabbed a controller we keep stored there. Oh.my.shiz. It's exciting, but oh noes now I will actually have to be more active about what's laying around. I'm just so proud that my big little man has achieved this milestone, it's no mean feat lugging around his long little body. Not to mention that head.

In other exciting and also moving related news, we ourselves are moving! Finally!! BL gave his month's notice today, which means we will now be trying to get ourselves up and out of here in around that same time period. This will mean lots of work and a very busy month ahead of us, but I am just so thrilled right now that I am willing to accept this for what lies at the end. Going back home. Having a house of our own. Being back with friends and family. This past year we have been in such a stagnant state, constantly wondering when the move would happen and rearranging our life and our plans around it. So I am willing to spend some late night's packing and several weekends stressing, it's all going to be worth it.