Playing the Game

I have come to realize in the last few days (how I didn't realize this sooner is beyond me), but the best way to get Turkey to do what needs to be done is to "play the game".

Take for example cleaning up before bed.  I tried check lists, posted lists by the sink, reward systems, picture charts, punishment; you name it I tried it and I could barely get him to brush his teeth.  The other day I told him to go upstairs and "get ready for inspection".  Now I tell him "inspection time" and he springs to action.  He washes his face, he washes his hands and forearms (and he actually uses soap), he washes his feet, he brushes his teeth, and combs down his hair with water.  And then stands at attention and shows me what good work he's done.  It amazing!!!

Why didn't I think of this sooner?  For years, we've been racing to see who can get dressed first.

To get him to finish eating his dinner, I tell him to pretend he's Adam Richman (Man V. Food, he loves that show); and his plate gets cleared.

When I need to scrub behind his ears I tell him to pretend he's a cat (he loves cats and they love getting scratched behind the ears).

It's all about the game, and how I can play it better than he can.

Food Glorious Food

(I wrote this blog post last night, and I have had scenes from Oliver! in my head since the; thanks for this posting.)

When Monkey turned 6 months we slowly started the weaning process and introduced solids into his diet.  We are doing what is called "Baby Lead Weaning".  If you want a generic description you can check here on Wikipedia.   Basically you let baby feed themselves table food, Monkey insists on using a spoon.  Sometimes he can get it out of his bowl himself, most times he can't (we need to get him a lower sided plate); but he still insists on using a spoon, unless say it's corn on the cob or such.

We started with oatmeal (one of mine and Turkey's favorites) unflavored.

And since then he's had:

Corn on the Cob (along with frozen nectarines in his mesh bag - those things are great for teething)

Watermelon

and Cottage Cheese.

And he's also had cream of wheat (yum!!!), peaches, and green beans (which he likes raw, but not cooked; just like his dad), cantaloupe, Cheerios, mashed potatoes, creamy-ranch cucumbers, acorn squash and avocado (man, was that messy).

He gets very excited when he eats and sticks his arms and legs out straight and grunts and shakes as he waits for the food to get to his tray, or if he looses his spoon (he loves his spoon, it is the  funniest thing; especially considering he won't hold his own cup).

To Monkey food is a wonderful thing, he loves it.  I am so glad we waited till he was 6 months old; as he was ready for solids at that time, very ready.  He knew what food was for and that he wanted it.  And like his big brother, he is proving to be a very good and adventurous eater.

When I Grow Up

Turkey and I have some of our best talks when we go out for a walk.  The other night we were walking and talking after dinner and we got to discussing what he wanted to do when he grows up.

Turkey: I wanted to be a Ninja, but I don't think anyone will pay me to do that.

Me: I would have to agree.

Turkey: So I guess I will have to be a chimney sweep.  But I have a question.  What happens if they turn on the fire while I am cleaning the chimney.

Me: Well, you have to go to school to be a chimney sweep, and they would teach you how to make sure no one can light the fire on you.

Turkey: So, I would have to go to more school?  So maybe I will be a video game maker instead.  But I don't want to write the program and stuff.  I want to design it, I'll be a video game designer.  But I can't design the people because I can only draw stick figures.  I might have to work with someone else.  I'll do the landscapes and weapons, I draw weapons really well.

Me: Ok, but you'll have to take drawing lessons and such.

Turkey:  Maybe I will be a chimney sweep.  I bet that is easier.  Unless someone will pay me to test video games.

Look Me In The Eye: Flooding from Hurricane Irene

Look Me In The Eye: Flooding from Hurricane Irene

Yesterday I posted about some Hurricane Irene flooding; the blog above shows some still photos of the flooding.

The Bridge of Flowers

One of our favorite day trips is to visit the Mohawk Trail in north western MA.  We have several places we make it a point to stop at yearly (well, we didn't go last year because we simply ran out of "good weather" weekends to go).  We were planning on going this year in late September.  But now that Irene has left the area I think our plans may be altered; as one of our favorite spots is now under water.

This favorite spot I speak of is The Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls.  We love spending time in Shelburne Falls and Buckland (on the other side of the Deerfield River).  We love the Trolley Museum, watching the glass blowers work, eating fresh made ice cream, and visiting the glacial pot-holes (plus a little shopping).  

Here are a few pictures from our last visit in 2009.

Turkey with cotton candy the size of his head.

Watching the glass blowers at work.  They really make some amazing stuff.

Glacial potholes.

Turkey checking out the top of the car.

He's too cool for his job.

Bridge of Flowers.

Turkey stopping to smell the flowers.

And another.

  If you want to see what Irene has done to this beautiful and tranquil place, then check out the video posted by our local news station here.

Many Thanks

Many thanks to Ella over on Baby Love for my awesome new blog header.

She made me two of them... first without the black band around it, and then one with it (per my request).  But now I am wondering... maybe the one without the black band would look better.  Hhmmmm..... Apparently Irene is making me very indecisive today.  Anyhow... your thoughts?

A Penny

A penny for your thoughts on the new look of my blog?

What do you think about the color scheme?  Are the fonts easy enough to read?

Thoughts?  Suggestions?

And that's why they call it...

"The Little Professor Syndrome".

Turkey was being himself while Monkey was getting his 6 month pictures done this morning, and the photographer turned to him and said "Why aren't you just a little professor."  I replied "Why yes, he is."  I am sure she had no idea what the reference was too, but I appreciated it.

Under Construction

My blog should have an "under construction" sign on it this weekend.  If you popped over 10 minutes ago you would have wondered who was messing with your head.  Have no fear... good things are coming.

Dear Irene,

I heard you were coming for a visit this weekend.  And while I know your visit has been planned for the last week or I suppose I have been in denial.; so please excuse my last minute request.  Please change your plans; we do not wish to have your company this weekend.

You see it is the last weekend of summer before Labor Day and we had been hoping to spend one day at the beach and the other day doing some shopping.  Clearly we would not want to go the beach while you are visiting. And ugh, it's such a pain to run in and out of stores and to the car with a baby in tow while you are around.

Perhaps a nice visit on, say, Monday instead?  I can work from home, you can do your think while my family and I stay inside all nice and dry and warm.

So what do you say?  Will you think about it?

Sincerely,
Kate

6 Month Spray

Monkey had his 6 month well baby visit at the pediatrician today; and it went wonderful.


He is now 17 lbs. even (45%) and 28 inches (90+%).  He's following his growth curve wonderfully.  He is a full inch taller than his big brother at this age, although their weights are almost the same.  He got 3 shots and a drink vaccine.  He took his shots like a champion, not crying till the second one, and then calmed right down when I nursed him (another wonderful reason to nurse your baby if you can).

His doctor was pleased with how well he was sitting and standing, and told me not to worry about him not rolling much or scooting. Some babies (like his brother) do these things late, and others skip scooting and crawling all together.  She was also very happy that we were still breastfeeding and was OK with our solids feeding plan (a cross between Baby Lead Weaning and purees that are not really purees aka, mashed up table food).

He goes back at 9 months at which time Monkey will also join us for their flu shots.  (I am hoping Monkey sees what a tough guy his baby brother is for shots and doesn't have a freak-out attack.)  

And since the weather was so nice and I didn't have to work until 1pm, we went to the spray park to play.  It was a blast.  I'm glad we got to enjoy the weather before the hurricane comes.

Monkey checking out the fountain.

My boys posing for a quick picture.

Run Turkey run.

He really loved the water.

More running.

Getting into the swing of things.

Climb Turkey climb.

 

One last splash before leaving.

Butt Fluff Review: bunnie4

This is a Butt Fluff Review of the AIO (all in one*) cloth diaper I bought from bunnie4 on etsy.com.

Pros:

• * It's an AIO - which means it should have everything you need to keep baby dry all in one diaper, no need for covers, or additional stuffing (unless you want it).
• The Velcro closure is super strong... this is some grippy stuff
• The Velcro has pockets to turn them into for washing (this prevents it from sticking to itself or other things in the wash).
• The fleece lining is super soft and quick drying
• The PUL layer is great at keeping the cover dry.
• It fits great.
• It came with an additional liner.
• It was a great price: $11, plus shipping.

Cons:

• I didn't get a confirmation from the seller that she received my order and my payment, and when I e-mailed her she was a little short with me.
• It's a custom, which means you need to wait to get it.  But it IS well worth the wait.
• The Velcro strip is very wide and stiff, which gives the diaper a "sumo wrestler" feel to it.

Oh and if you are wondering, this is one of the MIA diapers I posted about earlier.

I was not paid to write this review, all opinions are my own.

Found

A few days ago, I wrote about a few baby items missing.  Hours after posting; two of the three missing items surfaced.

The missing diapers where found in Monkey's laundry basket (clearly I was behind on doing his wash).  I probably tossed them there one night, meaning to bring them down and put them in the wet bag and just plum-forgot.  Hhhmmmm... maybe if I bought that second wet bag I was talking about a few months back for the bedroom this won't have happened.

Ice Decaf

I come from a long line of coffee drinkers.  It's in our blood, we cannot help it.  So it's no wonder Turkey loves the stuff - coffee flavored milk, coffee ice cream, you name it.

When he was young he started out drinking chocolate milk at Starbucks, then a year or so ago I let him get an iced decaf (my drink of choice) and ever since then he has not looked back.  9 times out of 10 while we are out, and it's not a meal, he'll opt for ice decaf.

This morning I took him out for donuts and an ice coffee before going to work, and as promised I let him get a large (usually I get him a small, this was a treat).  Once the barista realized it was for him and not, she wanted to remake it to make sure it really was decaf.  Then the older gentlemen in line behind us started teasing him about it; so Turkey turns around and says "It's decaf, not beer.  I'll be OK."

Silent(ish) Saturday

Friday night happenings at our house.

Monkey enjoying his dinner.

Turkey leaving on vacation with my mom.

Missing

I have a few baby items missing, and it's driving me nutty. And it doesn't help that I am pretty certain they are lost in my house.  My house isn't even that big (1,500 square feet, less the basement and attic... 3,000 if you include them but I KNOW they are not in the attic).

The missing items: two cloth diapers, one of which is the new monster one; and a bottle, the good big Avent bottle.  Ggggggrrrrrr!!!

Worst of all these items are missing in their dirty forms; both diapers had pee in them and the bottle had (at one point) breastmilk in it.  You would think that after a few weeks month these items would have started smelling and I would have found them... but NO they are still MIA.

Perhaps there are mean little baby item elves living in my house?

Baby Bullet

Turkey and I were grocery shopping this weekend, and he was full of one-liners.  If you haven't already read it, you should read the post about our drive to the store.

Anyhow, we are in the baby aisle and I am looking at baby wipes.  Turkey waves his hand in front of the jars of baby food and proclaims, "This is all garbage.  You should get the Baby Bullet and make his food."  I guess my look said it all, because he quickly came out with "I know, I know, I watch too much TV."

The boy does love his commercials.  I've called him my "commercial savant" before.

It's That Time of Year

It's that time of year again when we see commercials on TV of elated parents dancing around office supply stores in pure bliss while the kids sulk behind them - It's Back to School Time!!!

Thankfully we don't have any moments like around my house.  We have been blessed to live in a town (with only one school district) that does not have "back to school supply lists".  I am so grateful for this.  I have seen some of the lists my friends have for their kids and I am shocked, clearly schools are under funded.  The lists include: tissues (and they call out how many boxes), crayons, pencils (enough to staff a small army in my opinion), markers, note pads, hand sanitizes (what ever happened to good old fashioned hand washing?), deodorant (really I don't get this one), rulers, empty boxes, paper tubes, 10 folders... I could go on and on.

Our PTO asks kindly for donations to the class rooms in our town.  Some teachers send home wish lists, some teachers encourage you to sign up to supply certain items.  Sure we are asked to donate; but it's on our terms and what we are comfortable with.  I love it this way.  I am happy to go out and buy several boxes of crayons or tissues and help stock the class room, especially when they are on sale.

We are very fortunate to live in a town like this and to have so many parents willing to donate to the class room.  And most importantly it saves me from having to go and dance around an office supply store.

6 Months Down...

... a lifetime of memories to go.

6 Months

Monkey turned 6 months today (well technically in a few more hours).  The time has flown by, yet stood still at the same time.

This is where he's at:

Size 9 month clothing fits best

I'm not sure of his exact height and weight, as his appointment isn't for another week plus

He wears cloth diapers and his daddy and I love finding new cute ones for him

When he wears disposable he wears size 3, but we'll be buying 4s next

Playing in his Jumperoo is one of his favorite things to do

The rougher you play the more he likes it

Which is good since Big Brother loves to play with him

He has been exclusively breastfeed

Until today, we slowly started the weaning process; he had his first solids this evening

He has been sleeping in our room, in the co-sleeper, since he was born

Until today, he started taking naps in his crib in his room

We know he can sleep 12+ hours, but he chooses not to

Still no teeth

He does not like being on his belly

But he LOVES to sit and stand

I predict he will walk before crawling

Some of his favorite toys are: Sophie, Baby Dee and his car keys

Just born

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

Ramblings

Turkey likes to talk.  And I mean talk.  He will just talk and talk and talk, even if the person he's talking to has no interest in what he's talking about.  


Today on the way to and from the grocery he graced me with his conversational "skills".  Here are a few excerpts.


"What is the difference between murder and assassination?"  Does not wait for an answer.  "Why would John Wilkes Booth try and kill Abraham?"


"You know that Scoody Doo episode?  You know the one from season one where the theme song is "Scooby-Dooby-Doo, here are you. You're ready and you're willin'.  If we can count on you Scooby Doo, I know we'll catch that villian."  You know that one right?"


"I have a question.  No wait, maybe I have a comment.  I'm just not sure. Can I say what I am thinking?"


"So that new Lego set I got.  I think I built that super extra fast."


"How long will it take us to shop?  Can I time us?"


"When were the pyramids built?"  


"Pepere's in heaven with Uncle Wayne.  Does that mean he's making Uncle Wayne do work?  But Uncle Wayne has been there longer so maybe he's in charge of Pepere."


"How old was Ney-Ney when that other president was killed?  What's his name again?"


"How come some bad guys are called deadly-assassins if they aren't trying to kill presidents?"


"drdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrddrrddrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrrdrd"  That would be the sound of a machine gun.

Zombies!!!!!!

At 4:30am this morning, my bedroom door was burst open and the light was suddenly turned on.  "The zombies are coming!!!"  said Turkey.

I replied as calmly and as quietly as I could "Who said the zombies are coming?"  He replied with Husband' s name.  To which I responded "He's here sleeping in bed with me.  Did you have a nightmare?"

"I must have." he tells me and climbs into bed with us.

So here it is, 4:30am on a Wednesday morning and BOTH boys are in bed with us, and I haven't really slept since about 12:30am.  I think mama is going to turn into a zombie soon if she doesn't get some good ol' fashioned sleep.

The problem we've been having with Monkey lately at night is he's all about me and all about nursing.  It's been going on for the last week or so, and given his less than average milk intake during the day I fear he is reverse-cycling.

Some one please tell me this is a phase and will pass soon enough????  And while you are at it, can you let Turkey know there is no such thing as zombies?

First Word

Nope, not Monkey.

This day, 7 years ago, at 6 months of age Turkey said his first word: "bath".

We were at Nana's house and had just finished dinner and it was bath time, and I looked at him and asked him if he was ready for his bath and he reached his arms up and said "bath".  Which Nana echoed, and then Turkey kept saying "bath, bath, bath" over and over again.  While we carried him upstairs, and ran the water in the tub and gave him his bath.

Bye 9 months of age he was also saying: Mama, Dada, Ba-Ba (eat), Nana and Nun-ni (good-night).

He's been talking for 7 years now, and we haven't had a moment of silence since (OK, it's quiet when he goes on vacation with my mom... at least it's quiet for us.)

The Best Of (Part 2 of 10)

A few days (er, weeks ago) I started a "The Best of Baby Stuff According to Me"; it's designed to be a top ten list of things I LOVE and feel I couldn't live without for baby-rearing.

When we all know, really all you need is diapers (of your choice), food (of your choice) and patience... lots and lots of patience.  


In my previous post I named the Arms' Reach Co-Sleeper #1 on my list.

And now tonight... without further ado....drum roll please....

My #2 baby item is: The Woombie.

Monkey modeling his Woombie (in his co-sleeper).

My friend, Devin, over on "Devin is a Girl" recommended the Woombie to me months ago, back when Monkey was first starting to be a mini-Houdini and getting out of his swaddles.  Maybe it was because I didn't want to wait for it be shipped to me (that was before I knew I could get them locally, well sort of locally); maybe it was because I didn't want to spend the nearly $30 on it (I've mentioned it before I am thrifty).  So I kept going out and buying bigger and bigger Velcro-closure swaddler blankets.  And he kept escaping from those.  I should have listened to Devin sooner.  

We tried the miracle blanket a friend gave me, we tried swaddling the old fashioned way (with receiving blankets and with muslin ones), we tried to see if Monkey was ready to sleep un-swaddled (but he wasn't).    Over and over we went back to the Velcro-closure swaddlers, and then after he managed to get it wrapped around his neck the 2nd time, we ordered the Woombie (in Big Baby Size, Pineapple color).  After some drama, it finally arrived - and we have not looked back since then.

The Woombie is everything we could hope for and look for in a swaddler; and in this family my babies need to be swaddled.  Dr. Harvy Karp, the author of "The Happiest" series has his 5 S's for calming babies: swaddle, sushing, swinging, sucking, and side/stomach.  Swaddling is needed for a reason people... and we love The Woombie for swaddling.

5,000!!!!

Today we're celebrating - 5,000 page views on this here little ol' blog Two Eggs Over Easy.

Let's get this party started!!!  Maybe one of these days I will actually decide on a background I like or even get one of those fancy headers (which I could make myself if I was so motivated but my creative photo juices are just not flowing these days).

And don't forget... to "follow this blog" if you don't already do so.

And yes, in case you are wondering it's all about the little things in life making me smile.

Fiery Fun

My friend M lives in a small, sleepy New England town.  One of those places that if you blink you might miss; that is unless you drive through it the last Saturday of July.  It is on this date that the town hosts it's yearly Firetruck Parade.  Towns from all over the state, and even some from out of state, show up to drive and march down the main drag.  The trucks, new and old, are polished to the point of seeing your reflection in them, their tires glisten, and they are decked out with flowers, ceremonial axes and hatchets, 9-11 memorials and the like.  The firefighters typically wear their dress uniforms and march with pride; all while throwing candy at the kids that eagerly line the streets.  The evening is capped off with a carnival (that runs a few days before hand as well) and fireworks.  All of this to benefit the fire department, which is volunteer.

M lives a short walk from the beginning of the parade route, and for the last 5 years, we have had the pleasure of joining her and her family for a cook-out (or pizza) and then a trip to the parade and fair.  Turkey is best and oldest friends with her oldest son, E.  And looking back on the pictures it's amazing to see how the boys have grown, including M's youngest son who was an infant the first year we went.

This was Monkey's first year going, and while the truck sirens startled him, he did well; only really crying during the seven gun salute at the start of the parade (I think it scared all of us).

I remember the first years, when M and I used to have to go on the rides with the boys.  Now they are happy to go on without us, or even alone.

Here's some pictures of the boys over the years.

Turkey (left) and E, 2006

Turkey with Husband, 2008

Turkey (right), with J and E, 2009

Turkey (right) and E, 2011