Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Funny Kids and Jack: 4 Months

 These two are a crack-up.  I wrote down some funny sayings of theirs lately to share and maybe other people will find them as funny as we do.  Before that, though, let's get a good look at Happy Jack.  He has been smiling away since about his first month of life.  Now he laughs when Brooklyn makes funny faces or when he gets tickled. He is one long string bean of a baby though!  He is just long and lean like his daddy!  His pants are often so loose around the waist that they fall off and they get all caught on his legs as he kicks and kicks.  That's the other thing...he's a wiggle worm!  No surprise there!  His brother and sister are the same way and his mother is quite the busy bee!
 His fourth month brought a host of new first for Jack including: rice cereal, rolling over both ways, and what mom calls "sleep training." I realized right around Jack's 4-month mark that he is so adorable that I never want to put him down if it means he'll cry.  It nearly broke my heart to hear him cry since he normal is so cheery.  However, I couldn't keep it up.  Try running a house with 3 small children and doing all your normal tasks (mostly dishes, cleaning, cooking, and all around being the hub of activity!) with one hand.  It's not so easy.  So finally on his 4 month mark, not intentionally though, I put him down for a nap when I knew he was tired and let him cry.  It was so hard for me because I wanted to go rescue him, see if he needed to burp, hold him, snuggle, do something to comfort him.  However, I stayed tough! The first time he cried on and off for an hour and when I couldn't stand it anymore, I went and got him out, nearly worked up into tears myself.  The same thing happened the next day, and finally on the the third attempt, it only took about 15 minutes of fussing.  It hasn't been smooth sailing ever since, but usually the fussing is not intense and not long (5-10 minutes or so, but sometimes not at all).
 I haven't let him "cry it out" at night yet though.  It's just too easy to pick him up and let the rest of us get some sleep!  Consequently I'm still up nursing him two or more times nightly.  He has not yet once slept through the night.  He's just too cute and I'm just too tired during those wee hours of the morning.  Also, I'm a little bit nervous about letting him go too long without food because he's so skinny already!  He was born big, but now he just seems to keep stretching without rounding out in the belly any! 
 This is our Ian buddy.  What a character!  He knows how to charm his mother almost as smoothly as his father does!  He tells me when I'm up wiping his bottom in the middle of the night and he's half asleep, "Mom, you're hair is so beautiful!  It's so long...and straight."  Okay, I admit that totally melted my heart.  He filled that silly little part of me that has always wanted a guy who is into hair and would say something like that!
 Here's Ian with his friends Ada and Seth Rutman.  I'll share a few more Ianisms:
When I'm saying "I love you" to Jack, Ian prompts me to include the missing but typical phrase, "Say 'I love you to pieces,' Mom!"
Ian also likes to use his toothbrush to carefully wipe off the toothpaste mustache that he acquires when brushing.  He pretends that he's shaving like dad.
When watching the opening scene of the Lion King the other day, Ian informs me about Simba, "He got blessed." What a great assimilation of experiences, dude!  Right on, I was impressed!
One of Ian's favorite sayings is, "Guess who I love?"  I always guess everyone else in the family, but of course, he always refers to the person to which the question is directed as the one he loves.
The other day after some friends came over, I asked with whom he most enjoyed playing.  His response, "I just love the girls, Mom.  Makaili's so beautiful!"  Our friend Makaili is 8 years old!
Ian's latest artistic endeavor is making pictures of the floating lights as in the Tangled scene.  I'll have to include a picture next time.
At my last trip to the doctor's office, when we get into the exam room, Ian gives me a stern look and says with raised eyebrows and a pointed finger, "be good!"

To be continued...

Peek a Boo Bubbles and More

Wanted:   Run-away Oompa Loompa's!
 Eclectic dinner: maple sausage, apple, and sweet onion brunch tart alongside a roasted artichoke and cottage cheese with peaches and kiwi
 These next pictures are from one of our final visits to SeaWorld. Sadly, our passes recently expired. Thanks again, Grammy and Grandad for all the wonderful memories!

 That is one cool penguin!
 My favorite show: the Cirque de Soleil-inspired Cirque de la Mer
 Crazy cool acrobatics and colorful costumes make this 20 minute performance oh-so-amazing!



 Love this!

Monday, June 4, 2012

Glimpses of our Home and Family in May

 I thought it worked well as a learning time manipulative and discussion piece.  
Love these pictures of our sleeping brutes and beauties.  Can you tell who the first one is?  Too funny.
 Yes, this was all happening at the same time - Hallelujah! - on a Sunday afternoon.  I had to snap the evidence before joining in to complete this scene from the napping house!

 Ian really wanted to wear some deodorant one day.  At first he was ready to use a glue stick!  Then I thought it would be less sticky, so I convinced him to use a large tube of chap stick instead.  This kid is HILARIOUS.
 Brooklyn's class participated in the International Festival at her school recently.  She and her classmates rocked out to some fun 60's tunes. It was such a delight to see her dance up there with her class.
 I was beaming with motherly pride.




Mother's Day

 Love that kindergartener of mine!
 We're back to our date-night rotation with friends and lovin' every minute of it!  Here Stephen heads up the craft segment of our night.  He was happy to expand his repertoire of tissue-paper hand-made flowers.
The following day, I was showered with pancakes and tissue paper flowers for breakfast.  Thanks kids and Stevebo.  I feel loved!
 Here I am with a life-size drawing Brooklyn created of me.  Such a sweetie, that girl is.  For just about the whole month of May, she'd make Mother's Day cards for me when I'd sneak in an afternoon nap with the boys.  I am still able to convince her to occasionally nap in the afternoons too.  At least she knows how to busy herself when the rest of us are off in dreamland!
 Not related to Mother's Day, but this is a recent snack that I am happy to report that my kids enjoy!







April and May

 Kids at play are just about my favorite current source of entertainment and joy.
 We will sorely miss our Ada, a.k.a. "Tiny," who is just three months younger than Ian, when she moves to Seattle with her family for her Dad's medical rotations. :(
 Eden and Ian enjoying a rest break on a recent hike of Torey Pines.
 I loved this original superman/cowboy dress-up combo.
 Watermelon anyone???
 Yes, those were all eaten by Ian!  Crazy kid!
 Mormon Helping Hands at Doyle Park. 




 Jack and Henry, our friend, napping.  So precious!  Henry is exactly 4 weeks older than Jack.
 Ian played hairdresser!  So lovely!
My first time making beef brisket.  So delish even though I will go with a tried and true method next time.  This time at least the bbq sauce moistened it up.  Thanks for letting us shop your fridge and freezer before your big moving day, Brit and Mike! ;)

 Another day we had a chiles rellenos casserole (slightly altered by me) along with steamed broccoli, sauteed mushrooms, spinach, and red pepper, and some pureed butternut squash.  The squash was supposed to be soup, but was so thick that it really didn't need its own bowl. 

Jack @ 3 Months



I am so behind on my posting that I have just pictures to share of the 3-month mark.  I only can remember what his latest and greatest accomplishments are, which I'll share in the 4 month post soon to follow!