Surprise!

No, I am not pregnant.  I wrote this blog post, then read it and read the title and all I could imagine is everyone thinking we were expecting based on the title.  

TT is my "sleeper".  Don't get my wrong RR is a great sleeper, always has been.  But with RR also came night-terrors and sleepwalking.  And ERP is still figuring out this whole "sleep at night" thing.  TT on the other hand sleeps 11 hours a night and naps for 2 or 3 or even 4 hours a day.  Hey... he's a big guy and needs the sleep to grow.

So yeah, TT is my good sleeper.

Last night, I went upstairs and checked on RR; it was a little before 11pm.  I turned off his computer and his lights, then went to brush my teeth before checking on TT.  While taking my vitamins I think I hear TT.  I stop and listen, start opening the bottle again, and stop and listen again.  I decide I must be hearing the TV downstairs.

Then I open TT's bedroom door.

All the lights are on.  It's as bright as day.

And there is TT, standing in his sleep sack - caught mid-step - on his way back to his bed - clutching his ABC book.

He looks at me - surprise!!

I look at him - surprise!!

And he starts crying.  It was so adorable, and sweet and sad at the same time.  Husband came to see what was going on.

So I sat in the rocking chair, and offered to read his ABC book.  He read it, through the tears... and was done crying before the end.

He was shocked.  He had been caught.

Then we nursed and off to bed again he went.

What a sweetie... this time.  It happens again I am sure I will not find it so cute and sweet and innocent.

Silent Saturday - The Cocktail Edition

Watermelon Mojito

10 Reasons 10 Years Old ROCK!!!

1) They randomly bake

Yellow cake with key lime frosting

2) They still hold your hand in parking lots and stores... on odd occasions

3) They are excellent at getting pictures of their siblings while you're busy driving

4) and off of #3.... they know how to work your smart phone better than you do

5) They are still young enough to sit at the little kid computer in the library

6) They do chores - the ones you really don't want to do yourself - like cleaning all the Tupperware up off the floor

7) They can teach their younger siblings how to do chores - like setting the table - take note parents - teach your oldest well as they will be passing down the torch to the younger ones

8) They can be incredibility silly

9) They are at the perfect age to introduce some of your favorite movies to: The Princess Bride,  The Police Academy movies, Happy Gilmore

10) You can spend time with them bridging generational gaps while watching Weird Al videos.

Silent Saturday - Brotherly Love

I haven't posted one of these in forever... lately these would have ended up on Facebook.  But here is better.....

Not a Blob

Yesterday, after a particularly long 12 hours in the office, I came home and was holding ERP.  And suddenly he looked so big.  So less like a newborn, and more like a baby; and at that - more like a baby who was well on his way to becoming a toddler.

His face seems to be changing.  He has gotten a lot bigger in the last week - can you say "growth spurt".  yawn!  And he is sitting now.  I mean, really sitting.  He was sitting weeks ago, but he still slumped forward some, now he sits and plays with his back nice and straight.

And he's all about standing.  He loves standing at the couch and at the little play table.  Then he raises his arms high in the arm, and I take a deep breath, and down they go back to the couch.

This first year is going by so fast with my little guy.  Thankfully he's still a pocket baby, and loves being held close, carried and snuggled.

And speaking of a year - yesterday I found a picture from ERP's 20 week ultrasound.  The day we found out he was a boy.  And that picture was dated 7/17/13 - I found it exactly 1 year after it was taken.

7/17/13 was a sad day for me.  The days following it were dark for me.  I was upset.  I had truly wanted ERP to be a girl.  I had my heart set on a girl.  My pregnancy was so different with him than his brothers, everyone swore he was going to be a girl.  And when he wasn't I was sad, scratch that; I got depressed.  I cried for a couple of days.  I lashed out at my family.  I was crushed.  Gender disappointment is a real thing.  It can hurt.

But you know what?  I wouldn't trade ERP for a girl, never. He is exactly the baby meant for me.  He's my mama's boy.  He's my baby with blue eyes (finally!!).  He's boy #3.  And I like being a mom of boys.  I love it.  Boys are great - messy, loud and smelly.  But they are great.

So in a year.... ERP went from being a blob of a boy on an ultrasound, to a little baby blob that I held in my arms... to a strong, and sweet, and lovable little man sitting around happily playing with his toys.

One year.... it can make all the difference in the world.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

Earlier this summer we; Husband, RR and myself, sat down and make a bucket list of things we would like to do this summer.  While I know the trend to do this is popular these days, this is the first time we have done so.

A couple weekends ago we were able to quickly cross two things off our list - fly a kite and make homemade ice cream (blueberry cheesecake - YUM!!).  And since then nothing else has been crossed off.  Last weekend, we had ERP's baptism.  This weekend we went to Husband's family re-union - wait does that count as a BBQ on our bucket list?  We had been planning on finding a new park this evening and having a picnic dinner - but it keeps getting darker and darker outside.  I guess we'll have to see what the weather holds.

PS - did you see RR's goal added to the end?

Pumping on the Run

A couple weeks back I posted about how I had to go on an over night business trip.

Guess what?  I survived being away from baby.  Yup, I did.

It was tough.  The emotional part I was able to get past once I was on the road.  I was so busy the whole trip I hardly had time to think about what I was missing.  But boy, once we were on our way home I couldn't wait to see my guy.

Now pumping (breastmilk) on the go was not as easy as I thought it would be.  First of all, packing was a nightmare.  I had more pump equipment than I had work and clothing combined.  It was like getting ready to be in the Amazon for a week.  Insane.

I opted to manually pump in the car, because my boss' car didn't seem to have the right types of outlets.  This was OK, until it rained.... then I would have to get out of the car; once all of my male coworkers I was with left me, get my stuff out of the trunk, get into the back seat, pump - being careful not to get milk all over the place, get everything repacked and into the trunk.  All while trying not to get wet.  And it rained, did it ever rain.  Rained so hard we had to pull the car over on the interstate we couldn't see while driving.  So here I am pumping in the back of my boss' $60K BMW at nearly every stop on the New York State Through-way.  The one time it wasn't raining, the people parked next to us came back and stood outside their car for the longest time.  The teenage girl eating pretzels was either staring at me, or looking blanking into space... either way that sucked.

At the hotel, while my coworkers took 30 minutes before dinner to relax, I was a mad women running around to get my milk in more ice and trying to get a good pump session in with my electric pump; all while calling home to check on the kids.

Dinner was super awesome and fantastic.   It was great to eat and not have to get up and get more food for anyone, clean up any messes, or tell someone to sit in their chair and eat.  Not to mention it was one of the best steaks I ever had.  And the desert.... it was so good I took a picture of it.

Business the next morning was good.  But by the end of the meeting, oh my aching breasts.  So while my male coworkers figured out where we were going to eat for lunch, I was sitting in the back of the car again; pumping away.  This time, in the parking lot of a strip mall.

More pumping on the NYS highway system on the way home.  More rain.... and finally, finally I was home.  Back with a little over 40 ounces of milk, mostly pumped by hand in the back of the car.  Pretty proud of myself.  And my boys... they were no worse for the wear and so happy to have (and my milk) at home.

7 Months

I feel like ever since ERP hit the 6 month mark we've been rolling down hill... getting closer and closer to 1 year.

So ERP turns 7 months today!!  And what an eventful month between 6 months and 7 months for the kiddo.  He has really mastered sitting on his own, and loves to stands.  Stands holding on to anything and everything.  Food is his new best friend.  He loves to eat all types of foods.

We had his baptism, and he cried.  But you see ERP is a sympathy crier; if someone around him cries, he feels the need to as well.  Which is super extra double annoying at home since TT is a crier in general.  And RR has the tendency to over react.  But there was a wee tiny baby also being baptized and he was crying, really crying, so ERP felt the need to do the same.  Once that baby left the church ERP stopped crying.  He's a sensitive fellow.

We had his belated 6 month check-up and he was 15 lbs. 1 ounce - in a wet diaper and with a full belly.  He is a little peanut.  He is by far my smallest little guy.

The last day of being 6 months ended with a bang.  Literally.  RR was in charge of him while Husband and I made dinner.  RR left ERP on the couch to get a pacifier and ERP went tumbling off.  He caught an ear pretty good and it's all banged up, but he's OK - once he started nursing he was fine.  RR on the other hand, he took it pretty bad.  I don't think he'll make that mistake again.

ERP is stilling rocking the size 2 diapers when he wears disposables.  He's barely in a size 6 month clothing.  And I think we might finally be moving the straps up on his carseat in the next week or so.

Things from this month I don't want to forget about:
~ The first time he ate watermelon - boy did it make he excited
~ His first ice cream cone
~ His laugh and smile when you toss him about your head
~ Snuggling on the bed, with him tucked in the crook of my arm watching TV - this is him being the ultimate pocket baby
~ How when he gets excited he kicks both of his legs at the same time - they go all the way up and all the way down
~ He moves his arms the same way when excited
~ The way his hair sticks up when he gets food in it and how it stays that way, no matter how much you clean it
~ The way he looked on his baptism, all in white with his special sweater on
~ The way he rolls around on the floor - eager to chew on some plastic Thomas train track

Feeding Baby

It's that time again - time to start feeding another little person "real" food.  ERP is nearly 7 months now and is eating all sorts of food.  Like his brother TT before him, we are mostly following the food method of baby-led-weaning.  Which in a nut shell is letting baby fed themselves age and stage appropriate foods.

I like it because it gives me a chance to actually eat my dinner at the same time - it's great we get to eat as a family.

Yup; you really start getting lazy with baby #3 on this whole parenting thing.

Sure it makes a mess, but exploring new food textures is a great learning tool; plus yogurt is a great skin and hair treatment.

This time around however we are skipping grains until ERP is at least 12 months old.  New research shows that the gut does not develop the proper enzymes to digest grains until 12 or so months. Grains before 12 months is linked with higher rates of allergies, eczema and "chicken skin" (which both older boys have).

Foods that ERP has had and has loved
Cantaloupe (thick slice)
Watermelon (again a nice thick slice)
Pickles (not chip style)
Peas (smashed)
Apple (peeled)
Sweet potato (smashed)
Potatoes (smashed)
Yogurt (all types)
Ice cream
Celery (frozen, great for teething)
Peach (peeled)
Banana
Shredded chicken
Hamburger
Sour cream
Guacamole
Red cabbage

Foods that ERP as not loved
Egg yoke
ok... make that food with no s....