Rockin the Baby Legs Trend

Thanks Aunt Beth! I'm just stretching them out for Harry!

Our Crazy Kids

Our awesome babysitter, Britney, let the kids go crazy with her computer the other day, and this was the result (although I'm fairly certain that she took the picture of Miles. He's advanced, but I don't think he's quite at the "taking my own pictures stage" yet).

And we had a playdate with our friend Sam yesterday (son of Marc and Maria, at whose school Tim works). He is an absolute love, and really likes Miles.

Six Months and the Boy is Growing!

So, they are all growing. Obviously. But the newest boy is growing fastest of all. Now that he has reached the six month milestone, he is really out of the infant territory and is a full fledged baby. He gives great smiles and snuggles, has an awesome laugh, and shows preferences (including mommy!).

Playing on his playmat -- a common place to find him

Lets start with his actual size. At his last checkup, Miles weighed 16 lbs, 7 oz (double his birthweight at 4 months). He was in the 18th percentile for height and the 79 for weight. The other day, I weighed him with me on the scale, and he topped 21. I don't think that can be quite right - our scale is kind of wonky. That said, he is a big guy.

Now, lets talk milestones. He can roll over, although he has only done it a handful of times. He is a bit unsteady sitting, but I blame that on his big head. But in the last few weeks, he has moved from cradle to pack n play

That was a major event in an of itself, but we still had to swaddle him to sleep. But not too long ago, I went without the swaddle, and he took to it right away. But he does kick his legs all night now, so I hear "thunk, thunk, thunk." He seems to sleep through it, though, so I get to fall right back to sleep, too. 

We're still nursing, and he has no interest in solids. So far, he has had avocado and applesauce, but when he sees the spoon coming, he clamps his little mouth shut. I'm thinking if I get him into an actual highchair and let him play with tiny bits of food, he might be more interested. It's an idea called baby led weaning, and seems to be pretty popular. It makes a lot of sense in some ways (getting babies to eat regular food so that it is a habit that is formed early on), but also seems not so smart in other ways (giving little babies without teeth chunks of food to munch on). Still not sure how I feel about that. 

Trying the avocado

Still deciding on the avocado

Miles is a wonderful, sweet baby, and an absolute blessing to our family. I can't say enough how fun it is to have a little one again, and how I am looking forward to all of the baby and toddler stages. The kids LOVE him, and are great older siblings to him. I can't get enough of him and am so grateful to have the opportunity to have him in our family. Tim is so much more comfortable with Miles' baby stage than with the others - practice really does make perfect. He is an awesome dad to all of the kids, but this is the most he has really engaged in the baby years. Who would have thought he could clothe diaper with such ease?

Happy half birthday to my sweet little Miles! I can't wait to celebrate all of your milestones with you!

6 months today!

Being present, playful parenting, and a game I can get behind

I am not always a fun parent.

Anyone who knows me might not be too surprised to hear this. I am fun because I can think of activities to go out and do, and I try to make sure we have fun stuff in the house. But when it comes to getting down and playing, I'm not too fun. I just don't get it. I'm not good at playacting, I'm not good at roughhousing, and too much noise makes me cranky. I do it, but I don't last very long. I like to read, and am good at reading with the kids. I'm also fun when I drink, but I don't do that with the kids (although they may like me better if I did).

I read about a book called Playful Parentingand thought "this is the book for me." It's all about how play can be therapeutic, and bring parents and kids closer together. I get that in theory, which is why I bought the book. But when it comes down to doing it, I'm just not that great.

I'm about 10 pages in now, and already get what the author is saying. It makes so much sense. Part of the problem he identifies is that adults are always thinking of something else to do: laundry, work, cooking. That is totally me. Although the author doesn't phrase it as such, part of getting into play is about being present. So instead of trying to sneak in some extra work once I picked them up, putting away laundry, we headed outside with chalk, bubbles, and new super hero dolls. 

What really helped is that Oli came up with a new game. Instead of the dolls being the bad guys, he was the bad guy beating up the dolls. And, instead of the guys hitting each other, they had to hit him. So, I was the guys, and basically got to bean Oli with the stuffies. It t was sort of like a pillow fight, but with superhero dolls. It feels kind of wrong that I enjoyed it so much, since it was really me hitting him with the stuffed animals. He made very funny voices. Sometimes, Oli seems out of touch with what is going on. But sometimes, he is so aware and creative and funny that it cracks me up.

We made it for about 40 minutes, and then I really did have to come in to cook dinner. And soon enough, Oli's friends came over to play. Was I relieved? Yes. I knew he was having fun, engaging in play, and I could cook dinner and clean up the dishes in the sink . Did I have fun playing? Yes.

A Trip to the Hospital

Not to brag or anything, but I made it almost 8 years without an ER trip for my kids - and that is with a child who has special needs. But last night, we made out second trip for Miles.

I was getting the kids to swim at the Y, where oli is a newly minted member of the Stingrays adaptive swim team. On our way in, we were a) running late and b) kids were in trouble, since Oli had rolled himself into the street while I was getting miles out of the car and Mac took it upon herself to reprimand him. Once we got to the sidewalk, oli rolled one wheel into the grass. Since I was holding Miles (first time ever walking inside not using infant seat or stroller), I asked Mac get him out of the grass. One push later, he was headed toward the curb at a fast speed. I reached out to grab him, and just kept going. I crash landed in the gutter. I'm sure it was a spectacular site. Luckily, oli had stopped himself, so it was only miles and I who went down.

I got up shaken and sore, but okay. Miles started crying, but stopped after less than a minute. Mac was a wreck, apologizing b/c she had pushed Oli so hard. I told her it was okay, and after a minute of checking on and calming everyone, we went inside.

We headed into the locker room, where the janitor saw us and (much to my embarrassment) got the lifeguard to come bandage my elbow, which was bleeding. Miles seemed okay, and Mac swore he hadn't hit his head, but I called the doctor anyway. I was pretty sure he had hit it, and it was all red on one side (even though his head is sometimes red from leaning in the carseat, so I wasn't sure it was red from the fall or not). At first they said to take him to the ER, but I asked if we could just watch for a while and see how he was, since he seemed okay. The doctor agreed and said they would call back later. Mac and Oli swam, and I fed Miles. He ate like a champ, and didn't pass out, which I took as a good sign.

Miles' red head

After we got home and started dinner, the doctor's office called back. They said I didn't have to take him in, but gave me an extremely long list of things to look for and do, including waking him up a few times throughout the night to make sure he could be roused and hadn't vomited in his sleep. Talk about parental triggers -- I think they hit them all. They basically said, "Well, we would take him, but if you don't want to, it is all on you." So I took him.

Three kids in tow, I traipsed to the ER. Anytime the kids and I go somewhere, I joke that we are the world's longest parade. I feel like we must be such a site. However, just when I thought I might be the biggest spectacle in the ER, I saw a mom with 5 kids. I felt like an amateur.

Tim met us at the hospital and took Mac and Oli home to bed. Miles saw two doctors, and while they debated doing a CAT scan, ultimately sent us home. We were home by 11. A scary day, but it all worked out in the end.

Monday, Funday

Monday is a great day at our house, because Tim is home. It is the only day that he is here when the kids get out of school and for dinner. Today, he took Oli to get fitted for new braces. I stayed home and went to spin class, then did work. When they got home, miles woke up. We decided it was "man day," since I had more work to do. So I dressed miles up in his best man outfit, and the brothers and their dad watched some batman.

It's Me Again

So I am probably the most absent blogger on earth (or in the blogosphere, as the case may be). But I am writing/presenting a paper on Mommy Blogs at a conference next Saturday, so my own blog has been on my mind. It often is. I always think "I should blog this," but I never seem to find the time. If I get online, I either work, go on Facebook, read other blogs, or go on babycenter. If I don't blog as I think of it, I never go back and recapture it. The moment is lost. So, after 2 hours of researching other Mommy Blogs, I figured I would recommit, jump on, and capture the moment.

I have months worth of things to say, months worth of pictures to post. Some highlights:

Mac's birthday -- A fun day at the King of Prussia Mall with a few of Mac's friends, mini-golf, and a way to expensive trip to the candy store (where you pay by the 1/4 lb) where I made the rookie mistake of letting the kids fill up their own candy favor bags.

Work -- We have renegotiated time and space several times to give me the amount of time I "need" to get my work done. I often feel like a prima donna, but it has come out that I really need more time to do my own stuff. Tim leaves for work at 1, comes home at 10, and I do everything in between. Plus, he works weekends. He has been so supportive about helping me find the time, and I also had to realize that I might have to sacrifice (read: get up earlier) to fit everything in. It may not be fair, but I know I am not the only mom getting up before 7 am (this is a joke, b/c I know almost every mom gets up before 7 am. Heck, almost every adult gets up before 7 am. except Tim.) Work is getting back on track, but I am also working on making some longer term adjustments to help ensure that I get tenure.

Miles -- He is so cute and such a joy. I knew that I would love having another kid, but I had no idea how great it could be. I forgot how much I love the baby stage, and I am really looking forward to all of the toddler stuff, too. His personality is emerging more every day, and I couldn't love him more.

Oliver -- We are currently debating holding him back v. promoting him to first grade. The experts are weighing in on both sides, and I fear making a decision that will damage him for the rest of his life. Only half-joking. He continues to be cute and love super heroes. He also just joined the adaptive swim team at the Y. He, of course, says he hates swimming. But I say he loves it. So there.

Mac -- She continues to lead the pack in terms of spirit, energy, and opinion. We are still waiting to see if, like Anikan Skywalker, she will use her power for evil or good. There is no doubt that either way, she will rule the universe. She has also emerged as a wonderful helper in the world of 3 kids. She is my extra set of hands, and I often have to remind that she probably does so much more than the average 8 year old, with minimal complaining (about helping -- she does complain about almost everything else.)

Tim -- Continues to work at the martial arts school owned by our friends, and seems to enjoy it. I wonder if he misses having his own school, and ask occasionally, I think that he does, but he also likes not having all of the responsibility. Tim recently started coming to church, and accepted Jesus as his savior. It has been one of the biggest and most wonderful changes that I could have asked for.

There is more, so much more, but since I don't have any pictures to add to this post, it will wait for another time...soon.