Yesterday Daddy and the kiddos got their fill of time with Dr. Mann. We managed to accidentally schedule Ivy's 4 month and Jack's 3 year well visits for the same morning, 2 hours apart. Made for a long morning for all, but did offer the chance for multiple trips to the donut shop (a tradition for Jack to celebrate a smooth appointment).
All was well with both babes.
Here are some stats for you:
Jack was pronounced "perfect" (but you knew that!)
His height and weight were both in the 97% range.
Height: 39 inches
Weight: 35 pounds
Apparently we don't monitor head size anymore, but he did get his blood pressure taken for the first time and thus far he has no blood pressure problems.
Ivy is "right on track" with her development, though we were warned that by her 6 month visit we really ought to stop going in to her when she wakes at night, or we might get yelled at then.
Height: 24.5 inches, 60%
Weight: 14 pounds, 60%
Head: Just under 25%
Nice to know her little noggin is growing along it's own, diminutive, curve (and actually catching up a bit).
That's all for now as weekdays are doozies at the moment. Here's my Wednesday in brief: Up at 5 to nurse a baby and head to the gym. Awesome spinning class then to work by 7:30. Run around and attempt to teach my little darlings something while making lots of copies and coordinating various schedules for 8 hours. Run home by 5 and take over kiddo-care at home. Play with Jack, bounce Ivy, make dinner, play with Jack, locate Buzz Lightyear toy, cajole Jack into eating dinner, nurse the baby, locate Woody toy, locate Buzz Lightyear toy again, play with Jack some more...then plug in the boy, tuck in the baby, tuck in the baby again, locate Buzz Lightyear toy, tuck in the boy, tuck in the boy again, tuck in the baby again, tuck in the baby again, tuck in the baby again. Then do the dishes.
I think I am ready for bed.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
17 weeks
I like these pictures for several reasons:
1. They are of my lovely, elfin daughter.
2. She is wearing what may be my new favorite dress (there's a sweater that matches!! polka dot madness!)
3. She is showing off her new skills of grabbing her feet, trying o-so-hard to sit by herself, and making very cute faces. OK, so that last one's not new. But it is a good skill!!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Saucers
The girl is 17 weeks old this weekend and she is lovin' herself some exersaucer. As I type she is going to town over there, standing and bouncing and kicking, spinning around to reach out for different toys. A delightful look of surprise and pride comes over her face each time she causes something else to happen. She's got that thing rocking and rolling and a hand on two different toys and this big ol' stream of drool coming out of her mouth and she is CUTE.
All of a sudden this weekend she is seeming so big, so grown up, so competent. So "baby, as advertised" to steal Anthony's phrase. Perhaps its her skill at grabbing and holding and interacting with toys, that has bloomed this week. Perhaps its the fact that she is dressed in 3-6 month clothes and that I spent the afternoon boxing up her teeny tiny summer stuff (sigh...). Perhaps it was yesterday's visit to Pittsburgh to meet an actual tiny baby, Fi and Anthony's little Keely, 17 days old yesterday.
Sitting next to her, Ivy seemed to be a bit of a behemoth, actually. It's amazing how quickly you forget the tini-ness, the mushy baby-ness of a newborn. The little chicken legs and the absolute floppiness and the wide eyed expression. The ball of warmth curled on your chest. It was kind of nice, actually, to hold a little mushy again, as Ivy girl never snuggles in at all these days (what have I done, to be cursed with two children who don't snuggle???). I think it is so much easier to enjoy someone else's newborn, because you are not busy resenting someone else's baby for stealing your sleep and your life-as-you-knew-it. So you can just appreciate the singular moment in time the newborn represents, and soak up the snuggles with no strings attached...
It was a lovely visit all told- a good day for a drive, nigh cold outside, but with some shy autumn-tinged sunshine that broke through just in time for our trip to the fabulous playground. Jack, despite his early reticence to be there, ended up enjoying his time at Fi's house-- giving treats to Otter the cat, playing with the fabulous hover-craft toy, and getting his first ever treat from an ice cream truck. Kid picked a confection named the "two ball screwball". Who on earth is coming up with ice cream novelty names these days? I tell ya.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Playing catch up...
So, can you tell that school has started?? Blog posts may be few and far between because, as it turns out, working full time with all the school start up stuff to take care of, running after two kids and tucking them in (solo) many nights, going to the gym 3 mornings a week, keeping up with photos, keeping up with facebook, doing laundry and dishes, occasionally noticing the dog, and trying to spend some social time with Nat and friends on weekends-- spare moments are a bit hard to come by. I think I need a secretary. I think of lovely things to post here, all day long, but by the time I sit down after bedtimes, and try to work within the 3-20 minute segments of sleep Ivy gives us for the first bit of the night, it's hard to arrange my mind into a writing mood. Sigh. There is certainly a part of me that is feeling happy and fulfilled and excited to be at work (it's a good year so far, delightful group of kids, a nice laid back vibe to the day... hope that sticks!!)-- a whole lot of me is longing for the stretched out time of summer and our full-time, two parent household.
It's a big adjustment, two on my own. I know there are so, so many mommas who take care of their two, virtually or totally on their own, from day 1. But you see, I got spoiled, soft. So now I need to tone those multi-tasking muscles and develop a rhythm to balance my time and arms and patience between two and it is a slow process for me, I think. I am very, very tired these days. Sleepy-on-the-drive home from work tired, even with more coffee than I should drink, and I am not used to this. Hopefully I will toughen up soon.
It would help if Ivy Jane would remember how to sleep, I tell you that. The Great Crib Transition appeared to be moving in the right direction for about a week, even including one night with a 6 hour stretch in the crib. Then I went back to work and it all fell apart. We now have a girl who wakes 4-7 times a night (shades of little Jack!) and some nights can't even maintain sleep in the swing anymore. I try to be patient and realize that this is a big change for her, a transition, and she too needs to adjust. That she may not yet be drinking her fill from bottles during the day, and might actually need to nurse more at night. I try to remember that at not-yet-four months old, she is too young to be doing this with malicious intent, set on making me to exhausted to think straight at work. That this is normal, not spiteful. But in the dark of night when she won't go back to sleep I can't help but think I must have done something very wrong in a past life, to have these non-sleeping babies. She's a little sleep-shark, this one. Lulled us into complacency with her comparatively excellent sleep early on, and then bam! hits us with nights like this just when we think she should be getting even better. Cruel, cute little thing...
But enough about sleep. Need to actually play catch up, here, before sleep overtakes me for the night...
Quick updates on current milestones for the kiddos.
Ivy: At almost 4 months old, Ivy has discovered her feet. She spends most of her time when on her back or in supported sitting, grabbing onto her toes. She hasn't thought of bringing them to her mouth yet but that's just a matter of time. Her hands sure go there! She likes to suck on the middle two fingers on her hand. Or on one of ours. Drooly, drooly little thing, she is. No teeth yet that I can tell, though. Today she "said" a /g/ sound in her babbling. She's quite vocal and has a terrific range of "ah!" sounds that she makes with great intention.
She seems to be following in Jack's footsteps when it comes to rolling, as well as sleep. Having rolled from tummy to back 3 times, she has decreed that milestone "complete" and has not bothered to do it again. She does, however, pivot around in a full circle when placed on her tummy, and kicks and "crawls" with her legs with great determination. Still loves to stand up on our laps, and loves sitting up, too. On something squishy like the couch, with the help of her freakishly long arms, she can sit in a tri-pod without our support for a second or two.
She also laughs a log and continues to be a happy little girl, impressing the ladies in the daycare at the JCC and worming her way into our good graces in the days that follow these rough nights.
Jack's big update is: He has pooped on the potty!!!!! ( I really was doubting this would ever happen) After about 6 attempts yesterday he managed to do it and then liked to talk about pooping "a really BIIIG one" for the rest of the day. Nothing like a 3 year old to change the focus on conversation topics around the house.
He also spent ALL day today (including nap) in underwear and earned a cupcake for a dry day. Of course, we have no cupcakes right now so he is working on delayed gratification...
Perhaps the boy will be potty trained before college after all. Maybe even before pre-school. Orientation starts next week. First he turns 3. Then he starts wearing underwear (can I tell you how cute his little bum looks in train print undies???) Then he starts school. Not sure I can handle the pace at which this is all happening. My baby boy, my little love, cutest child in the universe-- all grown up.
Which he took pains to remind me of, on the way to the park this afternoon. I mentioned something about "my little boy" and he quickly corrected me: "I'm not a little boy, I'm a big boy. I'm growing tall. (pause) My legs are 16 long!! (pause) I'm taller than a mustache."
Taller than a mustache. How can I NOT love him more than anything?
It is a consolation to think that, with the way time moves, it'll only be a moment til Ivy is cracking me up with strange little phrases and these hour-by-hour nights are a thing of the past. The nights are long, the years are short. Right now, in the evening, dark of night not yet upon us, coming off a fairly successful evening on my own with the babes-- the years to come are looking like they might be pretty nice...
It's a big adjustment, two on my own. I know there are so, so many mommas who take care of their two, virtually or totally on their own, from day 1. But you see, I got spoiled, soft. So now I need to tone those multi-tasking muscles and develop a rhythm to balance my time and arms and patience between two and it is a slow process for me, I think. I am very, very tired these days. Sleepy-on-the-drive home from work tired, even with more coffee than I should drink, and I am not used to this. Hopefully I will toughen up soon.
It would help if Ivy Jane would remember how to sleep, I tell you that. The Great Crib Transition appeared to be moving in the right direction for about a week, even including one night with a 6 hour stretch in the crib. Then I went back to work and it all fell apart. We now have a girl who wakes 4-7 times a night (shades of little Jack!) and some nights can't even maintain sleep in the swing anymore. I try to be patient and realize that this is a big change for her, a transition, and she too needs to adjust. That she may not yet be drinking her fill from bottles during the day, and might actually need to nurse more at night. I try to remember that at not-yet-four months old, she is too young to be doing this with malicious intent, set on making me to exhausted to think straight at work. That this is normal, not spiteful. But in the dark of night when she won't go back to sleep I can't help but think I must have done something very wrong in a past life, to have these non-sleeping babies. She's a little sleep-shark, this one. Lulled us into complacency with her comparatively excellent sleep early on, and then bam! hits us with nights like this just when we think she should be getting even better. Cruel, cute little thing...
But enough about sleep. Need to actually play catch up, here, before sleep overtakes me for the night...
Quick updates on current milestones for the kiddos.
Ivy: At almost 4 months old, Ivy has discovered her feet. She spends most of her time when on her back or in supported sitting, grabbing onto her toes. She hasn't thought of bringing them to her mouth yet but that's just a matter of time. Her hands sure go there! She likes to suck on the middle two fingers on her hand. Or on one of ours. Drooly, drooly little thing, she is. No teeth yet that I can tell, though. Today she "said" a /g/ sound in her babbling. She's quite vocal and has a terrific range of "ah!" sounds that she makes with great intention.
She seems to be following in Jack's footsteps when it comes to rolling, as well as sleep. Having rolled from tummy to back 3 times, she has decreed that milestone "complete" and has not bothered to do it again. She does, however, pivot around in a full circle when placed on her tummy, and kicks and "crawls" with her legs with great determination. Still loves to stand up on our laps, and loves sitting up, too. On something squishy like the couch, with the help of her freakishly long arms, she can sit in a tri-pod without our support for a second or two.
She also laughs a log and continues to be a happy little girl, impressing the ladies in the daycare at the JCC and worming her way into our good graces in the days that follow these rough nights.
Jack's big update is: He has pooped on the potty!!!!! ( I really was doubting this would ever happen) After about 6 attempts yesterday he managed to do it and then liked to talk about pooping "a really BIIIG one" for the rest of the day. Nothing like a 3 year old to change the focus on conversation topics around the house.
He also spent ALL day today (including nap) in underwear and earned a cupcake for a dry day. Of course, we have no cupcakes right now so he is working on delayed gratification...
Perhaps the boy will be potty trained before college after all. Maybe even before pre-school. Orientation starts next week. First he turns 3. Then he starts wearing underwear (can I tell you how cute his little bum looks in train print undies???) Then he starts school. Not sure I can handle the pace at which this is all happening. My baby boy, my little love, cutest child in the universe-- all grown up.
Which he took pains to remind me of, on the way to the park this afternoon. I mentioned something about "my little boy" and he quickly corrected me: "I'm not a little boy, I'm a big boy. I'm growing tall. (pause) My legs are 16 long!! (pause) I'm taller than a mustache."
Taller than a mustache. How can I NOT love him more than anything?
It is a consolation to think that, with the way time moves, it'll only be a moment til Ivy is cracking me up with strange little phrases and these hour-by-hour nights are a thing of the past. The nights are long, the years are short. Right now, in the evening, dark of night not yet upon us, coming off a fairly successful evening on my own with the babes-- the years to come are looking like they might be pretty nice...
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Three at last!
Favorite gifts thus far: The "old fashioned fire truck", Woody, the Duplo tractor set, the Playmobil fire engine, and the new monster truck. A massive playroom overhaul was carried out today to make room for the haul. It is frightening how many toys this boy has accumulated in these quick 3 years.
And quick they have been! Quick, and wonderful. Love you so very much, so very very much, my birthday boy Jack...
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