Happy Mother's Day!

May starts the beginning if my season - Mother's Day, anniversary, and birthday. And I am not too old yet to get a kick out of it, and I am not too old yet to want to celebrate to the max! I don't expect big or copious gifts, but I do want recognition and celebration. Even if holidays are "made up" or "overindulgent" they give us an excuse to stop and celebrate, and also to appreciate our lives and each other. And this Mother's Day did not disappoint.

I have lots of helpers at play in my children's lives who helped make sure

That the kids had excellent gifts prepared. And in doing so, they really got the kids into the spirit of the day. The first is our awesome babysitter Brittney. I knew she had been working with the kids all week onnsometuing, but the while process was as secretive as can possibly be when Mac and oli are involved. She helped each of the kids author a book for me. Marc's is very mature and talks about our relationship and the connection of mother and daughter, while oli's is a completely (completely) nonsensical story about a chicken. Both are so utterly "Mac" and "oli" that they couldn't be more perfect!

The kids also made stff in school, including a photo magnet and a book about "mom." In Mac's book, she said that to relax, I grade papers. Maybe I work too much?

We visited grandparents on Saturday and stayed home on Sunday. Our first stop on Saturday was House of Cupcakes. It is a Akers in Princeton that won the Cupcake Wars competition, which is one of Mac's favorite shows. I managed to keep it a surprise until we got there and Mac was soon excited. Even Oli got excited. We got Mother's Day cupcakes for everyone, and headed up for mani/pedis with grandma and Aunt Beth.

On Sunday, the kids excitedly gave me their gifts. It was awesome. We made it to church by the skins of our teeth, and then went to one of our favorite eateries, Corner Bakery, for lunch. Then, we headed to the only place I "had" to go for Mother's Day - u- swirl. It is a frozen yogurt shop where you pay by the ounce and add all the toppings you want. This pregnancy, I had given up soft serve, since it could be linked to Listeria. So all summer, I suffered watching the rest of the family ate frozen yogurt. I've had it a few ties since, and it is all I hoped for. As a result, I covet it and it is even more f a treat than it would normally be.

I added a 4 mile run when we got home ( I'm just starting training for a half marathon this fall), and then we cleaned and had movie night. I am blessed to be the mom of such wonderful kids, and to have a great husband. My family feels full and right. And I am happy to celebrate that every chance I get!

Weekend Fun

Out weekends are often busy, and this one was no exception. We started out nice and early, since Miles is teething, has allergies, or both. Tim went to work and I rounded up the kids for breakfast, then swim. Oli cried the whole way, since I forgot to bring his iPod in the car, and then kept it up as he got in the pool. He finally calmed down for about half of his lesson. He says he hates swim but he looks like he is having such a good time! I'm getting tired of fighting him anout it, but Im not ready to gice up, either. In general, Oli has been crying a lot to get his way lately. He also asks a lot about being "little" or "a baby." I don't know if a) this is a reaction to Miles (which seems painfully obvious on paper, but really doesn't play out so obviously in real life), or b) the fact that Oli really thinks of himself as "little" or "a baby," since he has been our baby for so long, and we have often told him that his is "too little" to do things, especially things at playgrounds or amusement parks that require walking. I have to work to get to the bottom of this since a) it is driving me crazy, and b) we have to make sure that he sees himself in an age appropriate way before this spills into other areas of his life. (I know -- a lot of lists.)

Once Tim got home, we went to see his parents. We wouldn't usually make the Jersey trek this late in the day, but it had been a few weeks since we had seen his parents, and his mom has been recently rediagnosed with cancer. Her health has been hit or miss, but she was doing well on Saturday. It was good to see her acting more like her old self and we had a really enjoyable visit. It was great to see her loving on Miles, since all of the grandparents see him so much less than they saw the other two at his age.

By Sunday, we were all wiped and suffering from allergies/a cold/teething. I'm embarrassed to say that we missed church, but did make it to a cinco de mayo birthday party. We are late for church every week, but one of the great things about our church is that they both start late, and sing for the first twenty minutes. So even though we are always late, we never really miss any of the "important" part of the service. And, there are always some donuts left when we get there. But this week, we were just too late to justify it. So we skipped church, and somehow, still wound up leaving a bit late for the birthday party (where did that extra hour go??). I will blame the lateness for the party on Miles, since he had to eat right before we were ready to go. We definitely live on breastfeeding time -- when he is hungry, we stop everything so I can feed him.

I haven't celebrated anything cinco de mayo since before kids, so it has been a good 8 years or so. While this wasn't as wild as happy hour at On the Border or Marita's Cantina, it was a really awesome party. It was for our friend Sam's first birthday party. His mom, Maria, is incredibly detail oriented, and this party had everything. Alcohol for the adults (SANGRIA! I only had half a cup, but I was in heaven. So different from my twenties -- I was monitoring both sugar and alcohol intake. I am so hopelessly boring now. I did have beer and a bit of margarita, but really a step down from the old days. I often wonder what 20-something me would think of 30-something me. Probably that I'm refreshingly quiet and calmer, but b-o-r-i-n-g), a bounce gym and toy tent with the kids (with pinata), a taco bar (delicious), and a popcorn maker. Really, it was awesome.

Afterwards (and perhaps this is why I drink so much less) we came home, I nursed, Tim cleaned, and we made dinner for the kids and had movie night. We try to have movie night once a week, so instead of going out to eat on the weekend like we used to, we watch a movie and eat in the living room. Usually homemade pizza, but lately burgers. All in all, a busy, fun weekend. And how nice to know that the semester is over, so on Monday, I could give myself the day off :)

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!