Full of Surprises...

So yesterday in my blog when I said after naps we would run errands...that was all a ruse. I had plans for a couple weeks to surprise Jason with a date night. My mom and sister were my co-conspirators and babysitters and they came up after naptime. I prepared Easton ahead of time again and while explaining it he'd get a little sad but once I was actually leaving he was fine and was very excited to get to play with the toys Gramoo brought along. Both boys did super. I think part of it had to do with Easton knowing we'd be back before bedtime this time.

Quitting time is around 5 for J so I drove my little self up to Microsoft and called the receptionist and told her my secret plans. She came and let me in and I was able to walk down to Jason's office (with my "Visitor" badge) and surprise him with a, "Want to go to dinner?" Always up for date night we left right then and headed to a restaurant near J's job. Before dinner:

Right after that our batteries died.

We enjoyed a nice dinner, just the two of us. The best part was that we had a gift card to that particular place. Jason got it from work awhile back for a "job well done". Good stuff. We even had wine. Their wine list was so fun to read. Very descriptive: "a hint of smoke", "focused yet full", or "white pepper on finish". I had a rosato and Jason enjoyed a merlot. "Smooth. Like antiqued leather" was along the lines of J's thoughts. He makes me laugh.

Since we were in two separate cars we caravaned home and talked to each other on the phone just like we were in the car together still. It was a nice way to prolong the "date". We had fun keeping the other annoying, aggressive drivers out of our lane and stuff by conspiring to speed up/slow down. "We're like Maverick and Goose," J said. Seriously. He makes me laugh a lot.

We got home to an awesome report from the babysitters and two happy boys ready to start their routines. We did Easton's routine and he was walking into his room after his bath...then he stopped and said he needed to go potty...but he really did! This is a first, people!!! He asked to read some books and before long he stood up and peed in the potty. Oh my!!! We were all sooooo excited. Especially E. The weird thing was he did it again and again for extra praise! Awesome! See how he's concentrating:

And how happy he is at himself:

To celebrate he got 3 M&M's...yellow, of course:

He honestly went about 10 times. That tells me he's got some control to be able to stop and start like that. We liked that he was really getting in some practice. He tried again this morning but didn't produce. Still, we're so excited. It has been a very long time since his last potty successes. Woo hoo!

So we gave the co-sleeping another go last night...just not for the whole night. It went a lot better. Although Dalton was awake from when I brought him in at 3:30 until about 4:30. He was very fidgety. But, we got better rest this time. More comfortable and all that. And D got up at 7:30 with the rest of us.

I think perhaps we might be the "middle ground". Co-sleeping is certainly not something we want to do full-time. But, we love the idea of our baby being in there sometimes. And since last night went better....

I used to LOVE bring Easton into bed with me. It was kinda sad once he stopped being willing to nap or sleep in with me in the mornings. I love my naps with my Dizzlebug, rare as they are. So, we'll probably bring him in from time to time. What I really need to do is buckle down and take away his pacifier. That's what he needs to sleep and I just want him to stop waking for it. However, I'm scared to take it away and feel like a lot of that and the crying would fall to me. Then that makes me a crazy person. His sleep issues are so incredibly frustrating to me. And I thought Easton was bad...

We'll get there. Eventually.

Anyway, today the little dudes and I went to lunch with my good pal from college, Erin. It was an early lunch but that is still close to nap time so Easton was particularly restless. He did good at first but was ready to go before I was. Oh well. That happens. Jason was enjoying his round of "me time". It started with what I'm sure was some very loud guitar playing with us out of the house like we were. Then he planned to head to see the new Die Hard movie. I expect him home after naps are over.

He's probably missing these boys of ours...got home last night just in time to put them to bed and then being out for "me time" today...I'd be missing them. Makes us all appreicate each other even more, though...I think. I wouldn't have thought that possible.

Co-Sleeping <----------Not For Us

Well, really just for the heck of it, we put Dalton in bed with us all night last night. I don't think we'll be doing that again (all night anyway). I don't know how people do it. No one, except maybe Dalton, had enough room. I was so uncomfortable from feeling like I couldn't move too much. I basically laid Dalton where I usually lay and then alternated laying in the middle squishing Jason out the other side or climbed over Dalton and balanced precariously on the egde with my butt cheeks hanging off the side. Plus, Dalton was awake a bunch. Not noisy but just moving around, kicking me in the stomach...that sort of thing. He was apparently awake so much in the night that after I got out of bed at 7:15 Dalton stayed asleep till 11:05!!! What the heck? I let him because I figured he needs it. Because he'd been asleep for so danged long he soaked through his diaper all over our freshly laundered sheets, the mattress pad, and the fabric on the mattress. Lovely. Katie (my online friend) directed me to a site with tips for dealing with that so I followed those and then hauled the mattress down the stairs and outside to dry and air out in the sun. I accidentally knocked Easton in the head with the mattress in the process because when I'd ask him to get out of the way he felt like being defiant and would shout, "NO!" and continue to follow me around. I felt bad that he got conked with the mattress, but I would've felt even worse if he was being nice. I'm so bad.

Anyway...Max was supposed to come over this morning to play in the sprinklers with E but they called 'cause "he woke up on the wrong side of the crib" which I totally understand. But Easton didn't. I chose to break the news to him during a diaper change. He was being a bit unruly so my timing wasn't the best because when I told him, "Max isn't coming anymore" he said, "Yes Max! Yes Max!" and then starting to cry he told me he was a "Good boy! Good boy!" How heartbreaking. I said, "I'm sorry buddy...it's not because you're not a good boy. Max doesn't feel well today" ('cause that's what I could come up with) and he said, "Max happy" to try to convince me. Poor kid. I called Max's mom to tell her just because it was so cute. And sad. He got over it though (we rescheduled for Monday) and did some other things instead:



Once Dalton the Sleepy Sheet Soaker woke up we gave him a bubble bath so he wouldn't smell like a nursing home all day and then we finally got out of the house to go to Chick-fil-a to redeem one of Easton's summer reading program prizes: a kid's meal. He ate about half a nugget! This is actually great for him! He also ate half a waffle fry. The promise of playing in their playland got him to eat a few more bites than he normally would have, but I'll take it. He also ate one more for the camera:

Dalton didn't get to play...or eat:


Easton is wearing his new "Little Guys Rule" tank from Wal-Mart:

I saw it on some kids at a recent festival and had to have it for my own wee one.

Well, since we were so late getting out of the house this morning I'm thinking we'll be heading out for some errands once they wake up. Happy Friday to all and to all a good night! Or afternoon. Whatever.

What He Lacks In Size...

...he makes up for in personality! (That's a quote from AJ!)






He is such a fun kid and a great big brother. I'm so proud he's mine.

Well, Dalton did a lot better last night...couple of paci runs and one nursing. Like I mentioned last night he went down around 8:30 and wasn't ready to get up for the day until 10:00!!! Circle Time starts at 10:30. Needless to say, we were a bit late. Anyway, I gave Dalton that one dose of Tylenol yesterday afternoon and then not again till this morning. He was uncharacteristically (that is a LONG word) cranky so I dosed him up. Easton was still quite concerned about his baby brother and as soon as we went in to get Dalton after he woke up Easton asked to see Dalton's owies. Then he wanted to give him medicine but that's a job for only mommies and daddies. He got to watch though. Dalton makes funny faces when he gets that fake grapey taste in his mouth. Good times.

But, those shots must've helped him be a good sleeper. They always did with Easton. Not that I mind so much. :)

Circle Time was okay as usual. Frog theme today. We got 2 new books for E and a new video. Those videos come in handy when I take my showers in the morning. Jason and I never watch the TV in our bedroom but Easton sure does in the a.m.'s.

And lookie what Easton and I made this morning:

It's his create-your-own-sippy and we did this in Photoshop:

He is very happy about his new "ardigans" cup. We'll have to come up with more to make but it is very hard to get it to print at the right size. I can specify in Photoshop what I want the size to be but the program we print with kind of makes things fit the paper so some were too big and others were too little. Strange. I'll figure it out, I'm sure, and we'll make more fun cup liners.

The boys are both napping and my Lean Cuisine pizza is calling. Lunchtime. Yum.

Dalton's 4 Month Well-Baby Visit

4 months:
Height: 25 1/2 in. (58th percentile according to this chart, 95th percentile according to the doctor's chart...she even showed me)
Weight: 16 lb. 11.5 oz. (73%, doc's chart says 90%)
Head: 17 in. (64%)

Looking back just for fun...
2 months:
13 lb. 15 oz. (81%)
23 1/4 in. (41%)

1 month:
11 lb. 10 oz. (72%)
22 1/2 in. (58%)

Birth:
8 lb. 15 oz. (85%-ile)
20 in. (62%)

So, the appointment went well. She fed me the same lines as always: "A+" "Is this just from breastmilk?" (yes) "He's beautiful"...blah blah blah. She needs a new shtick because it gets old and you realize she says it to everyone, most likely. She's "not worried about him", just thinks "he might be a little spoiled" when it comes to sleeping. She recommended the same book my friend "O" (O-tay) recommended Sleep Lady's "Good Night, Sleep Tight" and claims it will change my life. I hope so. But the library's got it checked out to another desperate mom already. Shoot. I put my name on the waiting list and in the meantime I might try a few things other things.

Dalton got his 3 shots and I prepped Easton about it again. He did NOT want Dalton to get the shots. He told Tina (the M.A. who gives the shots) "No Dalton. No Dalton." Dalton didn't even cry for the first shot, what the heck? And he handled the other two much better than his first batch of shots two months ago. Hope the aftermath goes better this time too. Last time he was nearly inconsolable that night. I've already given him a dose of Tylenol and we'll hope for the best, I guess.

It was weird...that first shot leaked...not blood--medicine. I looked at his leg and there was definite leakage and I asked Tina, "Is it leaking?" and she said, "Yeah, that can happen." She mopped it up with a cotton ball and then I noticed it soaked through his pants once I put them on too. Bizarre. Hope he at least got some of the immunization. That was the one he didn't cry for so who knows?

He fell asleep on the car ride home and also woke up on that same drive. We put him down for the night at about 8:30. I'm starting him in his room and if things get crazy again then he's coming in bed with us.

Anyway, there's your update...thanks for checking. Here's some more pictures for my faithful readers:

"I'm how big?"

Being sweet...



Okay...why are growth charts another thing the medical community can't seem to agree on? This site puts Dalton at an even different number than the doctor's chart or the other online chart I use. Maybe I'll just go with the doc's...it's more impressive that way. :)

Lovely Weather We're Having

It is a mere 72 degrees outside right now. Ahhhhh...who's jealous? You won't be jealous when I tell you how many times I had to go in with Dalton last night...over 15!!! Something must change. Very soon. D has his 4 month well-baby check today and I'm sure his doctor will annoy me with what she thinks are helpful tips and suggestions. She may surprise me with some hidden gem but I doubt it. Until this weekend when we can decide our next approach with Dizz and I have J able to help on weekend nights we might just co-sleep him with us so I can get some more rest (I'm assuming).

There are 2 things I've learned from my vast experience with sleep books and 2 bad sleepers. They are not things that instinctively make sense but I've found them to be true:

1.) Good day sleep (naps) are crucial for good night sleep...it is not like adults where if you are overtired you sleep well...somehow with babies it is just the opposite. Strange but true, I've experimented with my kids on this one. And D is a crappy napper as you well know.

2.) The earlier a baby goes to sleep often makes them actually sleep longer stretches. So, thinking "I'll keep him up till 10 so he'll sleep later while I'm sleeping" isn't necessarily true. In fact, a lot of kids (Easton) do best with a fairly early bedtime. For Easton it is 7:45. We learned that one the hard way too but only once I broke out the sleep books did I "get" it.

Anyway...the other day while on the phone with my mom she mentioned it sounded like Dalton sleeps a lot...he's awake for about an hour and a half to two hours before being ready to go to sleep again. Exact same as Easton at that age. So, I asked around a bit and it sounds pretty common: 2 hours was what pretty much everyone with a 3-4 month old said. On track there. Whew. But, yesterday I let D get up after just 45 minutes (he usually thinks he's "done" then anyway). Then he had a nap in the afternoon which I made longer by inserting and re-inserting the pacifier numerous times until he went back to sleep. And that was all he slept yesterday. Night sleeping last night did NOT go well which illustrates the sleep books' points.

I put D in bed at 8:10 (I rocked him to sleep and snuck out the paci). At 8:50 he was up (his 45 minute waking) and we had to go in there several times to give him back his pacifier. Grrr. At 11:15 he was up again. He was wide awake so I nursed him because I didn't know how else to get him (and me!) back to sleep quickly. Then he was up again at 12:13 (45 minutes after finishing nursing?) and 12:33. 1:00 I nursed him again. I do not remember being so foolish and nursing him so soon but he must've been wide awake again. Then he actually slept for 2 hours as I didn't hear from him again till 3:13...when I nursed again (trying not to just keep giving the paci but what I'm doing is probably "worse"). He was so wide awake that nursing didn't put him to sleep. So I put him in bed with his paci. And gave it back at 3:28, 3:33, 3:35...again at 5:00 and 5:17. At 5:30 I gave up on the pacifying and nursed AGAIN (I never nurse him this much at night but I have been turning to it as a "quick fix" to get us both back to sleep...oops!) 6:41=paci. 7:45=paci. Until he got up for the day at 8:05 and this time was still hungry. Pig. Just look at El Chubbo in his bath last night.

We're anxious to hear what he weighs this afternoon.

So, onto happier less stressful topics. We gave the boys a simultaneous bath again. They both enjoy it. We asked Easton's permission first and as I was taking off his diaper in his room before hand he told me, "Want to take a bath with Dalton". He shared his frog with his little bro:

And they both had a blast playing "throw water at Dalton". Even Dalton loved it. He'd freak out briefly then kick and smile while Easton laughed hysterically. Check out this "Rated E for Everyone" action shot:

Can't believe our camera caught that so crisply. How out of character for it.

"Mooooooooom, Easton got water in my eaaaaaaar"

Just what it looks like he'd be saying. But really, he had fun receiving cupfuls of water to the face and torso. Really. We have video to prove it but it's got some full frontal going on so we won't be posting those...

The brothers saying good night:

"I'll be right here."

Okay, really Easton is playing with the decoration sewn onto Dalton's onesie and D is grabbing E's hand but just go with it...

Easton slept in till after 7:30 this morning. Wish I could've enjoyed it more *sniff*sniff*. Anyhoo, he woke up going, "Daddy Daddy Daddy Daddy Daddy!" and I went in to say, "Sorry, bud...Daddy's already left for work" and the first thing Easton told me was, "I want the pink pig to hide in the house." Huh?!?! What the heck was he dreaming about? Then he told me the pink pig was in the baseball knob on his dresser and the man (the inflatable flailing tube man from Thorntonfest) was in the football knob. Goob.

The boys this morning:




Awwww. Then we went to Gym. It was a small crowd this week...the holiday isn't until next week so I'm not sure why there were so many absentees but it was nice. I like a smaller class for Easton. The question of the day was "What is your favorite thing to drink?" The answer is obviously milk but Easton said, "Waters with ice". He was the first one to answer. Well, Miss Stephanie was technically first and she said water but didn't mention ice. The other kids mostly said "juice" of various types.

This one kid Aidan kept bugging Easton during their gymnastics time when they all sit side by side on a mat and wait for their turn. E turned to me and whined, "Mama!" But, I just let them figure it out for themselves. Aidan's dad said to me, "I'm not sure what Aidan's doing. I don't think he's trying to kiss him, though." That is Aidan's latest thing...kissing everyone. He runs up to whoever is leading the warm up and plants a big wet one on their cheek before going back to his spot in the circle. No, it didn't look like he was trying to kiss Eastie but whatever he was saying was bothering Easton. Get used to it kid, you've got a little brother now who will be annoying you very soon.

So, we'll be heading up to Boulder soon for D's doctor visit. I plan to update so we'll see...look for it later today/tonight if you really want. :)

While You Were Burning...

I still can't believe I let my little man fry like that. I'm usually so diligent about suncare. I'm the one telling my mom I don't want to take Dalton to her pool even if he sits in the shade because UV rays can reflect off concrete and water and burn him. My excuse yesterday (not a good excuse, by the way) was that I kept thinking that we'd be going inside in 2 minutes because E'd get cold or Dalton would wake up. Nope. So we kept on damaging his poor skin. I've put aloe on my little lobster 4 times already today. He doesn't act like it's hurting him one bit. I guess that's good. I still feel awful about it.

Well, anyway...he had fun while he was burning to a crisp...some action shots:






"That's cold!"

Freezing...

Warming up...

See how the sun is right at his back? Lovely.


I debated posting this one for obvious reasons...I'm not a public bikini person anymore (but this was our backyard!) but I really liked how I got Easton to pose hands-on-hips with me. Here it is, accompanied with a cringe from me:

Where'd I put that Abs of Steel video? A full term pregnancy has left my belly a little less flat (lot less) than my 33 week pregnancy did. It was worth every bit, though.

Some water balls:


More videos:

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And some shots of Dizzle so he doesn't feel too left out of the blog memories:


Carseat handle peek-a-boo:


His eyes are starting to look a little less blue in person lately, but you can't tell from those pics, can you?

We didn't go to Sam's yesterday but we did go today. Easton was awesome. In the parking lot he started telling me, "Want to walk. Stay with Mommy and Dalton and Tato Head". I don't know why he added Mr. Potato Head in there but he did walk next to the cart like a little angel. He also put the five pound box of Bisquick in the cart. That's like a quarter of his weight! Hefty!

There was a mean mom behind us in line bitching to her kids about $4 of icees they wanted her to buy. Easton couldn't help but stare as she cursed more than a sailor dropping F-bombs left and right among other words. What good comes from that, I ask? I don't think she feels better about things speaking like that. Her kids didn't seem to be benefitting from that dialogue. Plus my own little innocent guy's ears were listening to every word. Not my favorite thing but I'm not the type to say anything or even give much of a "look".

I want to keep Easton sweet and innocent as long as I can. Yesterday I watched a very heartbreaking video (it was short) and I was bawling. Easton was watching it with me but didn't "get" it...all they said was "Today you went to be with Jesus" not that he'd even know what "dying" means, I don't think. Anyway...he was alarmed to see that I was crying (he just thought we were watching a cute baby). But he put his hand on my arm and looked into my eyes, "Mama?" Then he hopped down, got his Cuddles and wiped my tears "all better". Awwwww. That made me cry harder. Gosh I love that kid. And that video served to remind me how lucky I am to still have him. Both my boys are such gifts. Love them!

Every day is full of new memories that I try to remember through pictures, videos, and this blog. Thanks for sharing it with us!

And the Horrible Mommy of the Day Award Goes to...

Easton's Mommy for her sub-par performance regarding sunscreen today:



Oh no! When he woke from his nap I noticed his pinkish hue. Just on his back and shoulders. Oh the guilt! I'm a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mom. I honestly know better. I do. If it was Jason's fault he'd be in trouble. Don't worry...I'm in trouble with myself.

I said, "Easton I'm so sorry!!! Are you mad at me?" and he said, "No...happy!"

I guess that helps a little. So did the aloe when we took turns rubbing it on each other. Sweet pink boy.

Adrenaline Junkie

I think Easton knows no fear. That kid will try just about anything (except staying on the really high ostrich on the zoo carousel...I'm kinda afraid of heights too). Yesterday we got out his pool for the first time. My online pal Amy told me about theirs so we got one for Easton a long time ago but never pulled it out till yesterday. He is a fan, jumped right in with both feet (even though it's a slide):






Trying out his innertube but the pool isn't deep enough so his butt is resting on the bottom:


We were out there for all of 10 minutes, I think. Even though it was in the 90s it got overcast and Easton was shivering so hard. Jason told me later he was afraid Easton had hurt himself from the way he was positioning his arms and shaking. Despite his extreme chill he still wanted to "play more". We said he could tomorrow (which was today). Poor skinny dude.


But a video montage from the fun:

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So, as you know Jason went out last night and I was on my own with my boys. No biggie. We're on our own most of the time. But being on our own for dinner meant we could have mac and cheese. Easton ate a lot of it. Then I gave him his own ice cream cone. I didn't put a scoop of ice cream on top but I did give him the cone with ice cream inside. He sat sideways in his chair to eat it:

He couldn't quite finish it...he was starting to get gaggy (sometimes a sign that he's really full) and Dalton was starting to get hungry:


He nursed while Easton did a great job picking up all his toys by himself (usually we help him a bit to make it go faster). Then we headed up for the routines. Eastie first as usual. During my "me time" on Saturday I bought E a little wind up frog for the bath:

He liked it a lot.


Then it was bedtime. Dalton and I had a little time playing and I had him laughing sooooo hard. It was awesome. Then he did this scary refluxy choke thing and was shooting milk and boogies out his nose. He had a hard time stopping and catching his breath. Poor baby. Probably up-chucking from all the laughing. Oops. Anyway, then we did his routine and got him down for the night too.

Jason had a nice time out. My cousin's band ended up taking 3rd which is great for them...their first year in the competition and they're so young. My cousin is 17 and I assume the other lads are around his age. Anyway...

Today both boys slept till after 7. The night with Dalton was better than the previous night but still not great. We got our donuts today and ate them on the back porch. That might have been a mistake as some bugs were making off with the sprinkles:

When Dalton went down for a nap Easton and I went out to the pool. I didn't put any sunscreen on us because I didn't expect us to be out there long. Oops. I think E (my half Cajun) is fine although that's not something I'm going to be making a habit of. I know better than that. He did well in the pool with frequent stops to towel off a bit when he got too cold. Pool pictures from today will come later...tomorrow, I'd guess.

I didn't put a swim diaper on him and while we were waiting to go out he peed on the tile floor. I told him, "Eastie, you gotta do that in the potty" and he said, "I soddee (sorry)" so then I felt bad that he felt bad. We must try some potty training before long. At least start trying, ya know? Ember (Ellis's mom) told me the average age for boys to be trained is 38 months and that doesn't include nighttime. Whoa. That seems old to me. I hope it won't take my boys quite that long but you never know...

Both of my guys are sleeping now. Dalton seems extra drowsy today. Of course it never carries over to night time. Blech.

After naps we have to run to Sam's for more milks for Easton. I wish milk was enough for him nutritionally...he'd be a giant if it was. He can really guzzle the milk if we'd let him.

We did come up with a new game to get him to at least try some new things. Not the best as far as manners goes but he knows it's a game. Bless him, he's usually willing to try things, just doesn't like them. But this game is to eat like an animal (no hands) and then he makes that animal's sound. We get him to eat a bean and a bite of chicken...but watch how they give him the rigors:

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Please excuse my fake laughing--it's for encouragement for my son. Even though I think he knows I'm faking. Some of them, anyway.

Okay, I'm due for some blog hopping. Till next time!