Time With My Guys

This week was really crazy for me, so I didn't get to see much of these guys.

I had to work until past their bedtimes two nights in a row. So despite the fact that I have lesson plans to write, tutoring to do, graduate school papers to grade, bills to pay, and I'm under a writing deadline (chapter is due in a week and a half), I'm absolutely determined to spend a lot of time with my boys this weekend. I've noticed that since having Henry, I really need to be mindful during my time with my sons. So I spend an hour or two truly being with them and interacting genuinely. Then I do what I need to do, with a smile on my face.

When I got home today, I put on a DVD called "Letter Factory." It's a somewhat cheesy cartoon all about the sounds letters make. I'm not actively teaching Nick to read, but I figured it couldn't hurt for him to watch the video. He's started asking for it lately, and today, quite awhile after we had watched the video, just randomly, he told me, "Mommy, your name makes the "mmm" sound. M is for mommy!"

Henry is developing, too. We stopped swaddling him a few weeks ago. He can hold things now--see him holding the measuring spoon? He's wearing 3-6 month pants. Henry's onesies are still the 0-3 month size, but he's tall enough that the smaller pants fit him like capri pants, which are not stylish for little boys.  He is drooling like crazy and trying to chew on his fingers, my fingers, and anything he can get his hands on lately. (With the exception of a binky. He does not like binkies.) Isn't it way too early for him to be teething?

Nick and I sang songs this evening and we spent almost an hour reading stories together. Henry sat on my lap and watched, too. One of the books we read was on body parts, so every time they referred to a body part (like an elbow, for example), Nick found his elbow, then my elbow, and finally Henry's elbow. Of course, when we got to the head, Nick decided to bonk his little brother on the noggin, but he's still learning about "gentle touches." Thankfully, Henry is a pretty forgiving little man.

Up to Rockton

I definitely have more to post about our Milwaukee trip, and I also have lots of other posts to catch up on soon. But I figured that today I would give an update on what my little family did last weekend.

First of all, we went up to Rockton last weekend to visit with Greg's dad and stepmom. We went to the Beloit Farmers' Market, which was the best farmers markets I've seen. The prices were very reasonable, the produce fresh, and this market was huge compared to some of the small ones in Illinois. I think there must be a markup on produce in the suburbs for some reason.

Nick loved the big doggies he saw. He seems to be more gentle with the giant dogs. Probably because they're bigger than him!

It was a relaxing weekend with superb weather. Nick especially loved sitting on the porch. In the picture above he is with his Grandpa Jay (Greg's dad). We had a yummy lunch on Saturday at this great bakery. I tried to take Nick's picture with Greg but he wouldn't sit still. My boy has SO much energy lately.

We had a good weekend. Nick entertained us in the car by singing, at the top of his lungs, for quite a bit of the trip.

Way Too Busy!

I have been a little absent in the online world lately. There's been too much to do offline.

The first day of school for my students was Monday, and I've been teaching graduate school one evening a week all month. This new evening job involves learning how to use Blackboard, an online program for managing student work. It's been driving me crazy. So basically, my first and second jobs have been taking all of my time. I've been spending any additional time I can find playing with my boys.

This is what makes it all worthwhile:

Henry has been smiling and laughing more. He even coos, and it makes me smile everytime.

Even when I'm feeling overwhelmed with work and errands, a smile like the one on Nick's face (in the picture below) cheers me up and reminds me of what I have to come home to at night.

Ten Weeks Old!

Today Henry is ten weeks old. Laughing and smiling and cooing, this little man has stolen my heart.

Here he is at his doctor's appointment. My boy weighs 11 pounds, 3 ounces, and is now 22 1/4 inches long. He's hanging around the 25th percentile, so he's not hefty. Henry sure feels bigger, though! It's hard to believe that just ten weeks ago, I was walking (no, waddling!) into the hospital to have him.

Our pediatrician said that Henry was perfectly healthy, with no concerns. That felt really good to hear. Henry enjoyed the doctor's appointment and was happy as a little cuddly clam until the shots came. Then, such a look of betrayal came onto his face. It was like his whole idea of the world was destroyed in an instant, and he was deeply saddened. I cuddled him for a long time after his shots.

Henry had to get his shots so he could start daycare. He started Monday. Both boys are doing a great job both at daycare and with my mother-in-law. They are thriving.

This was my first week back to work, and I'm exhausted. I've been a lazy blogger lately, but I certainly haven't been a lazy person. I started teaching graduate school last week, and I'm struggling to learn Blackboard, the online program that is used to teach some portions of my class. At the same time, I'm helping my grad students, who are struggling to learn both Blackboard as well as the content of the class! I'm sure it will be easier in a few weeks, but for now I've been working nonstop.

In between all of this, I've been trying to set aside some quality time for my boys. I spent a good 40 minutes reading books to Nick. I held Henry for several hours and patted his back to make his tummy feel better. I'm doing my best.

Too Busy Changing Diapers To Post

I just realized my last post was almost a week ago. One week without cute pictures of Nick? We can't have that. Here are a few cute ones that show what happened when Nick found my winter boots. Yes, he was actually able to walk in them (all over the house, in fact). I'll intersperse these photos with my topic for today, which is far less pleasant and (lucky for you) for which I did not take pictures.

I've been trying to post at least three times a week, and this week I failed miserably. It's not that I don't have anything to post about, my hands have just been too busy changing diapers. Nick, who just got over a cold, now has some kind of tummy bug that requires me to change his diaper and replace his pants every hour or two. I do believe Nick has had at least seven baths since Wednesday night. I had to stay home from work to be with him Thursday and Friday. I hate missing work, because it gets my students all discombobulated, but there wasn't much choice, in this case.

The doctor's office said not to worry unless it went on for over seven days. It has already been three full days and four nights of this, and I cannot imagine this lasting longer. We're hoping it will end very soon. The good news is that Nick has been in a pretty good mood, except of course for when we're changing his diapers. Understandably, he gets upset then.

Nick seemed a little better today, thank goodness. As long as I'm not still constantly changing diapers, I'll post again tomorrow about how Nick made my first physical therapy appointment more, ahem, interesting.

A Busy Week

It's been a pretty long week, and I've been so busy with school that I haven't had much time for writing. Between getting lessons ready on Marco Polo and Zheng He and attending umpteen different meetings, I've had to get ready for an observation. It wasn't a bad week, just a really busy one. I'm so ready for it to be Friday.

Nick actually likes being busy. Lately he's been coloring in his Halloween coloring book and squishing Play Doh into everything. Tonight he ate two bowls of my carrot soup, as well as two garlic cheddar biscuits. I think he might be going through a growth spurt--he ate more than I did for dinner tonight. He loved when Greg took him to the park last weekend.





































This week, Nick was vibrating with excitement when he heard that his Grandma Toni was back from vacation. He literally jumped up and down when I told him the news. He was one happy camper when she stayed with us this week. Toni said he really did well at the library today. I guess he kept saying, "Lapsit!" (That's the program my mother-in-law takes him to every week.) Look at the pajamas she brought him from Sutter Creek, California. Check out the little boots on the footie part.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Since school started, I have so much to post about and no time to write. I love the beginning of the school year, because there's so much promise. I also actually miss my students, and it's so nice to see them again, even if it's just in passing in the hallway. But I'm already missing the lazy days of summer, now that the craziness of the school schedule has started. I swear, there are some evenings when I do not sit down until it's time for Nick's bedtime, and that's only because he sits in my lap while we read stories. My school has been very hot and humid this week, so I come home every day and take a shower. Hopefully it'll cool down some next week.

Next week, I'm going to post about our trip to Navy Pier to see the Tall Ships. I also have a cool post about the best carrot muffin in the world, and a garden update. But for today, I'm going to talk about Nick and how he was busy with his Grandma Toni.

He loves to get into the laundry basket; in fact, he likes pushing his toys around in it as well. We have tons of developmentally appropriate toys, and yet my son prefers to play with the broom, a laundry basket, and an old toothbrush. Ah, well, at least he's easily entertained. Plus, he's mostly stopped eating the crayons, which is a definite improvement in maturity. Either that or he's figured out that they don't taste very good.

Next is a picture of him coloring with Grandma Toni and I. Lately Nick wants to color for about an hour each day. He doesn't make anything recognizable yet, just scribbles. But he physically puts crayons into our hands and begs us to draw. He likes when we draw shapes so that he can name them and then scribble on them. So far he can recognize (and name) our oh-so sophisticated drawings of the following things: square, house, socks, kitty, circle, star, moon, heart, car, and door.

Nick calls his crayons "colors!" and he just about flipped out on Tuesday when I took him into the store to buy groceries and decided to get an extra box of washable crayons. Poor kid nearly dislocated his arm trying to grab them from the back of the cart. I tried to convince him that he couldn't possibly color while in the cart, but to no avail. Luckily his arms are still short, and he got to color the picture above as soon as he got home.

Nick seems to have inherited his love for a brand new box of crayons from me. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I stockpile new boxes in my classroom, and when I color with my students, I always pull out my own "special" box of sharp new crayons. Of course, I'm such a softie that when my students beg to use my special crayons, I always let them, and then I have to start over again next time with a new box.

Exhaustion and a Weekly Date

I have been pretty exhausted lately. In this picture, it looks like Greg is pretty beat, too. He was supervising Nick while he perused the travel books. Before having a child, I didn't often lay on the floor because I was tired. Now, I do it all the time. I actually fell asleep sitting up on the couch for about 15 minutes this afternoon. I think something about the cold weather and the dark skies makes me just want to hibernate and eat chocolate chip cookies.

It's funny how when you like a job, it can completely sap all of your energy. I feel like I've done some of my best lessons lately. I prepare PowerPoints, I use cooperative structures, I plan alternative assessments. But I've been doing way more work at home than I'd like. Thus the involvement of caffeine, which is one of my dearest friends. This Tuesday and Thursday, I had to work very late and then pick up Nick from my mom and stepdad's house. The only way I made it through both days was with a 4 p.m. latte. My latte order is pretty crazy, too. Only Starbucks will do, and it is a "tall, sugar-free caramel skim latte, extra hot, with 5 Splendas, an extra pump of the sugar free syrup, and in a grande cup with whipped cream up to the top." Yup, I'm nuts. Today, however, I didn't have my latte and I've been ready to crash since 5:30. I'm hoping once the elliptical trainer we ordered gets here, I'll be able to start working out every night, and maybe that'll give me some energy. Natural energy, perhaps, rather than my $3.75 cup of joy and sanity.

Now Nicholas has absolutely no shortage of energy. Today, I put him on the floor for literally 20 seconds while I laid my purse and keys on the counter, and he had crawled around the corner and up three stairs before I got to him. It's like every fiber of his being is focused on movement, whether it's crawling or cruising.

Above you can see Nick on his new toy. It's not actually new; I bought it last summer for $2 at a garage sale. Yes, I cleaned it with a 10:1 bleach solution and let it air dry before letting my child play with it. This is definitely a little boy. He loves to play with toy cars, motorcycles, and the remote control. He also is mesmerized by bright colors on the TV screen, although we try to keep him from watching too much of that. But he still picks up books to flip through over other toys, and he will sit and listen to between 2 and 5 books every night, depending on his mood.

This afternoon Nick and I had our weekly date. Nearly every Friday, we go to Costco to buy greek yogurt, milk, fruit, wine, and frozen pizza. I do buy other things, but those are the necessary staples of life. You'd be surprised how many yogurts (24) and gallons of milk (3) we go through in a week. Nicholas loves the Costco because of the samples. That, and he also loves flirting with the ladies. Today we sampled garlic bread, smoothies, turkey sausage, mango juice (delicious), and turkey breast. I almost bought him some new board books today, but I held off because his birthday is next week. He also has a bad habit. You see, every week when the cashier hands me the receipt, I hold it in my hand because they check receipts at the door. Nick always grabs it out of my hand and stuffs it in his mouth. Costco receipts must be tastier than most; he grins hugely as he stuffs the long receipt in and chews.