Ready, Set. Goal

I've been neglecting this blog. Partly because I am busy with my two little men and partly because it's easier to just talk to the few people who actually read it.  Either way I haven't been writing and I miss it.  I miss the writing, the reflecting and just the putting the thoughts into words.

So I'll be posting each day in November.  We'll see what I come up.

***

In other goal setting news, I announced today on Facebook that I'll be running a 5k to celebrate my birthday.  In exactly two months.  Let the training begin!

Leo - 9 Months

My little bubby has now been out in the world roughly as long as he was inside me.  Which is crazy because I am sure he was just born like two weeks ago and I was pregnant for months and months.  Some theories of evolution I've been reading suggest that a human baby is still more like a fetus than other animal species.  Human babies are totally incapable of doing much until about the 9 month mark and are totally dependent on others until that age.

Now that Leo is at that special 9 month mark, I see how this can be true.   Leo can now scooch around and get the things he wants (like car keys, remote controls, or the battery powered Percy the train).  He can pick up foods to eat them.  Favorite foods are pears, graham crackers and anything Milo hands him (crusts of bread, small pieces of chicken and most cooked vegetables).   Leo is around 21 pounds and 29 inches.  A solid little bundle of opinions and love.

Leo gives the best hugs and has the most amazing baby giggles.  I so love hearing this little man laugh. Luckily for me he is a ticklish little monster and giggles come easily.  He is at the smiley baby stage where everything enchants him - people, flowers, leaves falling from the trees.  Everything around him is cause for a huge grin.  I get taken in by it each time he flashes his smile with his five little teeth.  Even in the middle of the night when he is waking me up to eat again, he smiles and wraps his chubby arms around my neck and all is forgiven (mostly).



Each night when Chris gets home from work, Leo whines and whimpers until Chris picks him up and gives him a hug.  He loves the people around him so much.  Whether it's crying right along with Milo because Milo's hurt, hugging Daddy or sucking on Mommy's hair, Leo is right there as an important part of our little family.

(Pre)School Days

Milo started preschool about a month ago and we are settling into this new rhythm of life.  He goes twice per week for 2.5 hours each time. It's just long enough for him to get his feet wet with this whole school thing.  His classroom is a wonderful environment of stations, toys and textures to explore.  It is totally play based and there is no set curriculum.  Actually, I have no clue what he does there.  The most he usually tells me is that he played outside and saw some people.  A couple of times I have seen him be the line leader for when his class comes back from the playground - he is so proud of himself for doing that task.

On the first day of school, he cried and fell to the floor as Chris and I left him with his teacher.  He had been repeating bye bye as we were getting ready to leave and then his face crumpled and he lost it.  Our little guy was being so brave.  He quickly recovered after we left and has had no problems since that time.  I am so proud of him for assimilating to school and enjoying the process of meeting new friends, listening to his teachers and enjoying the time away from me.  I can tell he is learning, doing better socially and taking in the whole experience.

In the next month or so he'll go on his first field trip and we'll meet the teachers for conferences.  It's so official!

Leo - 8 Months

For several months we thought Leo was going to be the serious one.  We mistook his studying us as a sign of contemplation when, now it seems, he was just plotting and biding his time.  He has suddenly exploded into a silly baby.  One who thinks it is super funny to make loud shrieks and drop sippy cups.  One who loves to be sung Isty Bitsy Spider.  And, most of all, one who puts everything into his little mouth and then either tries to hide it or laugh about it.  Sometimes both which leads to a little coughing fit.


Leo is sitting up like a champ and spends most of his floor playtime sitting, playing with toys and reaching for objects that Milo prefers he not have.  When on his tummy he will try to crawl and can pivot well in both directions as well as move backwards, but full on crawling alludes him at this point.  He is super proud of himself when he is assisted into a standing position and then maintains it on his own.

See?  Silly.

This past month we took a long family road trip.  Leo did pretty well although he was definitely over his car seat (we moved him out his infant carrier and into a convertible seat).  We stopped often to nurse and talk with him.  For a baby as cuddly as Leo is, it wasn't pleasant for him to be on his own and not held for several hours a time.  This boy is a lover and enjoys the human connection of being held.

Leo continues to eat more and more food.  He'll eat small finger foods as well as pureed foods.  Lately he's really been reaching for our food and wanting to taste more things. He still nurses countless times per day (and night).

Actually we've had ups and downs with sleep.  Currently, as we recover from our trip and adjust back to the routine, we've been a down phase.  I have high hopes we move past that soon and back to our sleeping boy who is happy because he is well-rested.

Making Our Own Memories

Cat we met at the marina who wanted to sleep in our room

It has gone down in family lore: the time my Mom, Dad and I drove for hours around upstate New York looking for a hotel to sleep in.  We kept driving further into the foggy night and finding only no vacancy signs.  Evidently Saratoga was racing and hotel rooms needed to be made in advance.  The three of us were making our way back to Ohio after visiting my mom's sister in Montreal.  We were stopping in Cooperstown to see the Baseball Hall of Fame and we needed a place to stay.  After briefly considering sleeping in the van at a rest stop, we kept driving almost all the way into Cooperstown and stumbled upon Gail and Larry's Roadside Motel.  I, in all my adolescent glory, said no way to the scary looking 50s style motel, but my Dad went in and through a stroke of luck was given the key to the last available room.  The room was wood paneled and covered in plastic, the linens were from the Carter era.  I was convinced there was a camera in the tiny shower.  On the plus side, there was a lovely diner attached to the office of the motel.  The diner had the most delicious pancakes.

Milo running on the docks

I was reminded of all this last week as we spent a night at a lodge along Lake Cumberland.  The room had the same funny smell, the same wood paneling and the same discomfort that had me laying awake all night imaganing bugs crawling all over me.  Still as I tried to get comfortable in the small room - Leo in a pack and play in the closet, Milo in a cot and Chris in the other twin bed - I listened to all the sleepy breathing around me and realized we were making our own traveling memories.  Memories of me locking us out of the room and the office staff spending two hours trying to get us back in the room.  Memories of us all walking along the docks trying to make the best of a situation that wasn't turning out at all the way we envisioned when planning the trip.

The four of us now have our very own Gail and Larry's.  Just without the pancakes.

This Summer

At the end of last summer, I was waxing nostalgic about the season being over and it never being the same again.  I was right to know things would never quite be the same.  Turns out I love the age of 2.5 and find 3.5 to be more trying.  Also, each afternoon last summer there was a long afternoon nap that rejuvenated all of us and left the family ready for more adventures in the evening.   Now, the nap is a thing of the past and evenings typically pass in a rush of dinner and baths while keeping fingers crossed that none of us will melt down before lights out.

I was right, too, though to know this summer would have its own sweetness to it.  A trip to the Fair where Milo was so proud of himself for catching his first fish.  At the same trip to the Fair, I was so proud of him for marching right up to the carnival rides, giving his ticket to the person, fearlessly launching himself on to the ride and smiling so big the whole time the ride was in progress.

We've also been taking lots of walks in the woods at various parks.  We've found new paths and brought friends to our old favorite haunts.  My Mom will sometimes join us for a walk around the creek behind the Dublin library.  This week we watched as gold finches flew around the heads of echinacea flowers and explored a dry creek bed together.

Our garden isn't doing great, although the tomatoes continue to be our prized crop.  Instead we have used the backyard for a couple of fun play dates with our friends.

August will move along quickly with a trip out of town soon and then Milo will begin preschool in September.  Tonight it is cooler after a day of rainy weather and my thoughts again turn toward the next season.

Leo - 7 Months

Yesterday, Leo turned seven months old and today it's like he is a whole new grown-up baby.  His cries are starting to sound like words (mmmmaaaa, dddaaaa) and are used with more direction (I saw Mommy walking by and she didn't stop to feed me, I should let her know that's not right).  He's had his "vampire" teeth for a few weeks now, but this week he also sprouted his bottom two front teeth.  There may be others in there, too, it's dangerous to stick fingers in to check.

What's that you say, 7 months already?

Also, just today, he has started rolling over from back to front.  This pisses him off when he does when sleeping or trying to get sleep.  He's otherwise not moving much.  Poor guy just spends in circles when he tries to crawl.  Again, this frustrates him.

Otherwise, he's an easygoing and fun little guy to have around.  Lots of shrieky laughs and big gummy smiles.  He still loves to be bounced and lifted up overhead.  We've had a few pool trips this summer and he is a great kicker in the water and doesn't mind getting wet one little bit.

An example of his easygoingness is this: even though he's been eating solids for over a  month (and can now pick up and eat Cheerios and also grab green beans straight from my plate to gnaw on), there are nights we don't feed him.  I still nurse him, of course, but he doesn't seem to really miss not eating his purees on busy nights.

Speaking of nursing, it's still Leo's favorite thing.  He will fling himself into breastfeeding position whenever he gets the chance to.  We've tried a few times with a bottle and he just won't take it.  Most nights he wakes at some point to nurse, but there are other nights he sleeps through (so wonderful).

Milo continues to be Leo's main entertainment.  He wants to be able to see what his big brother is doing at all times.  They are also starting to play with another more.  Milo is sometimes, what I consider to be, too rough with Leo, but then I notice Leo is laughing and smiling.  Boys!