Memorial Day

Over Memorial Day weekend my friend Jacque came with her new (or new to me anyway) baby Collin. He is 8 months old, just about 3 months older than Mia, and since Jacque and I have been friends since our Freshman year in high school we were definitely interested in how the future couple would get along at their first meeting. Of course our get togethers these days, first with Nate and now with three kids, are very different than the days of grape stomping, horse races and weekend trips to New York!

Grape stomping in Temecula, CA

Winning at the races in Del Mar, CA

Seeing the sights in New York, NY

We started out with making sure we had a car that would fit three car seats (thanks Jack and Dianne!) and a shipment of a huge box of diapers to make sure Collin was covered for the weekend. After picking them up at the airport we had a quiet night at home with take-out Thai food and a movie from Redbox.

On Saturday we had a quiet morning with blueberry muffins before Peter headed to work. Then we decided to head to a local museum that has a new Cowboy exhibit that Nate would enjoy. Unfortunately it was actually kind of disappointing. The last couple of exhibits they've had (Pirates and Caves) have had at least some live animals in the exhbit, which because Nate can't read (yet!) aren't otherwise super interesting. This one didn't have any live animals, but did have a fake pony they could "ride" and dress up cowboy hats and boots. Then we went home for naptime!

Get me out of here!!!

I'm not so sure about this...

Well, everyone else got to take a nap, but since Peter's car decided to breakdown on his way to work I had to talk to him and the shop to try to get all of that worked out. By the time I was done, it was about time for the kids to wake up and me to go pick Peter up from work! Again, we had a quiet night based around the moods of the kids.

Mia, Nate and Collin playing nicely

Sunday we headed to church for our Pentecost Sunday mass that is held outside every year with a picnic and games/bounce houses for the kids. Then we headed back to the house for... you guessed it, naptime! This time I actually got to sleep for a few minutes. After an early (for me) dinner of leftover Thai, we headed out for frozen yogurt before Nate had to go to bed. We spent the rest of the night "watching" Harry Potter and talking.

Me and my babies

Monday morning we wasted away the morning trying to decide what to do. By the time we got around to do anything, we didn't have time to do much of anything before Jacque and Collin had to get back to the airport. After a quick lunch we headed back to the airport to say goodbye.

Jacque and Collin

It is kind of sad to think that last year I got to see her three times over the summer (every patriotic holiday - Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day!), but this year we will probably only get this visit. Maybe next year we'll both feel a little more comfortable driving the 10 hours between Florida and NC. But the kids all seemed to get a long pretty well! Even Nate was very sweet to the babies and was very good about sharing his toys with Collin. The lovebirds were kind of indifferent to each other though... Oh well, we all know girls have cooties! They'll get over it.

Checking each other out

After dropping them off at the airport we headed over to Jack and Dianne's for a Memorial Day barbecue with Peter's family and some of their neighbors. We had the famous Morris Family BBQ sandwiches, a bunch of salads and some yummy rhubarb pie. Nate got to run through the sprinklers and play ball with his uncle and cousin - a great way to end the first unofficial weekend of summer.

Yep, it's summer!

He's a Big Kid Now!

Riding his big boy bike!

Peter's parents were out of town this week at the beach on a much needed vacation, so Peter took the week off. We decided this would be an ideal time to really focus on potty training, since one of us would be home with him every day for a week.

Well, we got off to a rocky start the first few days going back and forth between underwear and diapers for naptime, church, fro-yo runs, doctor's appointments... But, Tuesday really seemed to be the turning point. He had one accident in the morning, then for the rest of the day every time he went to the bathroom was in a toilet. I think the first time was during his naptime. He was probably using it as an excuse to get out of bed, but hey, whatever works! Wednesday afternoon he didn't have any accidents until I got home... He was showing me how good he is at riding his new bike (more on that later) and when he got done said he needed to go potty. When he went in to try he wasn't able to go, but I still made him wash his hands. Sticking his hands in water was definitely not the best idea!

But, from Thursday to today he has not had one single accident! At first he really seemed to do better when he decided to go on his own; he wouldn't go when we prompted him. It was kind of cute... He would be playing with his toys then all of a sudden say, "oh" and head to the bathroom. Those were the times that were successful. But for the last two days he has finally started to be successful about going when we ask him to try sometimes. This is good so that we can have him go before we leave the house... so we can leave the house.

Pete bought three books for him as prizes for going potty and he got all three of them on Tuesday! After that we had to come up with other ideas for rewards... So Wednesday he got to come visit me at work as a treat! Then Thursday he got to go to his Nana and Grandpa's house (which was a treat, I guess, even though they weren't there). We have also been trying to just give him high fives and verbal rewards and let him know how proud we are of him.

He seems to be proud of it too. When we were at his Nana and Grandpa's house Peter's sister Cindy and two of her daughters came by. I told him to tell them what he had been doing all week, tell them about the new thing he'd been wearing all week. Well, instead of telling them, he decided to show them! He also likes to announce when he's doing something. I think part of this comes from him usually being by himself when he's going to the bathroom. When he actually goes to the bathroom he shouts something like, "Mommy, I'm doing something!" or "Mommy, I'm going potty!" He is so excited.

We haven't started night time training yet. He still wakes up wet most mornings, and I have just started getting to sleep more than 3 hours at a time. He gets upset sometimes that he has to put on a diaper after he's been wearing his underwear all day, but I told him that we need to really get the day time potty training down before we worry about the night. But we have maybe 3 weeks worth of diapers, so we might just try when we run out.

He also got a new bike! It has training wheels, but it is a BIKE, not a tricycle... When we got it in the store he didn't even want to ride it because it was so wobbly and kind of scared him. But Peter took him out to ride it on Tuesday and he rode it no problem! He fell off one time trying to take a turn a little too tightly, but had no problem getting right back on. Such a big boy!

Already riding away from me... :(

Four months!

I totally missed last month's update, but I would have just been guessing with the stats anyway. So, here you go!

Me and my beautiful girl... Yeah, I know I look like crap, but if I didn't post pictures I look bad in... well, there would never be any!

Four month stats
Height: 25.25" (90th percentile)
Weight: 14lbs,7oz (75th percentile)
Hair: Still red, and people keep asking where it came from! She hasn't really lost any, but only the one front section seems to be getting any longer. Seems like a littl mohawk.
Eyes: Still her beautiful blue!
Sick: Poor baby girl has thrush! (A yeast infection of the mouth mostly found in infants or older people because of their weakened immune systems.) We have to give her droppers of medicine every time she eats and re-sterilize all of her bottles and binkys. We thought she might be teething, and even thought we saw and felt her top teeth poking through, but the doctor said she didn't notice any tooth activity going on, so it was probably just this making her cranky. Also she had to get two shots today. She screamed until I picked her up, then she was happy and fell asleep right away in the car.
Clothes: It depends. She can still fit into most of her 0-3 month stuff, but the PJs and onesies are getting a little snug and the pants and dresses a little short. We've pulled out the 3-6 month stuff, but she normally just wears the 0-3. I'll probably pack up all the 0-3 months stuff next week though, just to make it easier to organize.
Eating: This girl definitely loves to eat! A few weeks ago she must have been going through a major growth spurt because she went from eating about 18oz per day while I was at work to like 30! She slowed down for awhile, but seemed to pick up a little again last week. We got a new (fancy!) breast pump hoping that would help, and it has a little. But she has worked through our stash and I have, incorrectly, assumed a few days would be the day she ended up having formula. A couple days last week I had Peter come pick up what I get in my first pump of the day and I've started trying to do some a little in the evenings and last weekend. The doctor suggested that if she's not getting full on the 7oz every 4-6 hours she should be eating we might want to try her on some solids... I was hoping to make it to six months with no formula and no food, but I might need to weigh which is the lesser of two evils. She is starting to show interest in food though, and Nate started early and is pretty healthy, so I might just have to give in. I even froze our first batch of carrot cubes over the weekend.
Sleep: Well, for awhile I was back in the chair with her most nights (or letting her sleep with us in bed when she would), but over the last week she's actually slept through the night 3-4 times either in her own crib or the pack'n'play. Don't tell anyone, but this has happened since we have accepted the inevitable and put her to sleep on her belly. Since she is a rolling machine and can lift herself up no problem we feel comfortable doing this. She also took two long naps this weekend which she's never done for me before, but apparantly does for Dianne all the time. The dr said she shouldn't NEED to feed overnight anymore so I might need to start having Peter get up with her now so her food source isnt so easily accessible. I would also like to add that both of my children have loved me enough to sleep through the night on their first Mother's Day - a wonderful gift for this sleep deprived mom!
Awake: She is getting very curious! She likes to check out and reach for the bears on her swing and has recently started playing with the toys on her car seat. She loves bath time with her brother. She will splash and smile when she's in there. She also doesn't seem to mind his splashes too much. We have also put her in her rolling chair some to mixed results. She seems to like it a lot... sometimes... for about 20 minutes. But that's really all she should be in it anyway.

Reaching for the stars... or the bears... whichever are closest!

Maybe she has a thing for bears...

Rolling: About a month ago she rolled from her back to her belly! Now she pretty much gets around by rolling and rolling and rolling.
Scooting: She definitely doesn't crawl yet, but she has done some army style crawling. It's very slow and over very short distances, but it has been done!
Laughing: Around the same time she rolled from back to belly she also laughed! I thought I heard her laugh one day, I can't remember what I was doing. But she really seems to like when I put her on my knees, she kicks and I pretend that she kicks my face. Today she laughed when Nte made an elephant noise at her. I love baby laughs!
Nate: He seems to have gotten over the worst of his sibling rivalry. He still acts like a baby sometimes to try to get attention, but has gotten a lot more independent in the last few weeks. He now calls her Mia instead of just Sister, but sometimes I'm not sure if he's saying "me" or "Mia". He loves to give her hugs and kisses and today he was teaching her how to dance. He's pretty much just a great big brother!