The summer of love

We have been having a wonderful summer. Aside from Kev being gone for two straight weeks, and him being sick for a good portion of the summer, our summer has been one of the best in recent memories. My stress load lifted by about 3000% in May and it's made life pretty peachy around our house.

Our days have been filled with painting, chalk, bike rides, trips to the pool, Meadow Music concerts, Pearl Street fountain trips, dinners out and about, picnics in the backyard, games of catch, playdates, runs, hikes, lazy mornings, coffee (for me, obviously), gymnastics, soccer lessons, the farmers market, dog fetch outings and so much more. And I can do it all by myself and WITHOUT Kevin.

Sometimes our days are so wonderful it's all I can do to not start pinching myself and wondering when it will be over? When the snow comes? I have to knock on wood after I type just about every one of these words, but Delaney has been a downright lovable and fun little girl all summer long. Her tantrums and fits have been fleeting and manageable. She has been saying please and thank you more. She gives out hugs all the time. She agrees. Really. She has agreed to do *some* things that I suggest. I'm not kidding... really... one or two times I have suggested a plan and she willingly went along! She tells me repeatedly how much she loves me and how much she loves spending time with me. Just the other day we were laying in her bed with the lights out, as we often do just before her bedtime, and she told me emphatically that "today was a great day, Mommy". I know that seems simple. But I know she meant it and really DID enjoy her day. She and I are having actual, real, genuine fun together. I have come to the conclusion that I'm not sure she and I have ever really had longterm continual fun together. Ever. I guess it's sad to admit it, but it's true.

I tell ya, this parenting is something else. One day you are losing your mind from fighting the 100th battle of the day about the color of a barrette, or lack of barrette, or too many barrettes, or whatever F'ING frustrating quirk about a darn barrette. I mean really... when you get pregnant and think about having kids, you generally plan to lose a lot of your free time. But you really don't picture yourself fighting about barrettes. Over. And over. And over. Again. I really don't even care about barrettes. I just want her to MAKE UP HER NETTLESOME LITTLE MIND ALREADY AND LET'S BE DONE WITH IT. If it's not the barrettes, it's the cereal, the bowl, the cup, the clothes, the book, the TV show, the way to the park, the right side of the blanket, the right animal, place to eat, and, well, I think you get the drift. Mindblowing, mindnumbing, mindexhausting and just plan losingyourmind. More than one occasion I have sat down with my head in my hands and been downright devastated about the life of battles that lay ahead of me. Battles that I don't care about, don't want to fight, and just want to be over already. Just TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT and let's go have fun. (Phrased that way it's probably enticing enough to make any kid jump for what you want. Right?)

Then you get a little window into the future and a little breather from the insanity. I know "they" say often that you are not given more than you can handle, and lately I feel like they just might be right. Just when I think I'm at the end of my rope, someone throws me another couple feet of it as if to say "here... we see you are working your *ss off, why don't we cut you some slack." It wasn't a moment too soon, really, as in May I felt like I might have to move out, assume a new name and never return to our house in Boulder. You could see new wrinkles developing in my face. I felt like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. In body and spirit. But the gods of "we're going to screw with you up until you blow" have quieted and we are having an amazing summer. I will always remember the summer of 2009 as one filled with laughter and fun. THIS is what I pictured. And I'm actually getting it. Could it be true?

Don't get me wrong. I still can't pick most things that touch or come across Delaney in a given day. Just yesterday I said "ok, I'm going to pick out your outfit for tomorrow" and Delaney RUSHED over to the closet with lightning speed and said "no, no, no, Mommy, don't you know I am the only one who picks out the clothes?" Ah yes, of course, and to which I replied "sigh, just once, can I pick out your outfit?", and she said "one day, Mommy, but not anytime soon." Which is fine with me I suppose as long as we can get on with it and start having some fun. :)

Growing Up, Mom

Yes, that's the masthead and name of this blog. But it took on a different meaning the other day.

We had gone to the doctors office because G Love was a serious crankypuss for a full two days. Cranky at breakfast, in the pool, in the bathtub. You name it. It was abnormal. So figured I should pay someone $25 to look in his ears. Which they did, and they were fine, although completely filled with earwax.

Given my solo stint due to Kevin's travels, Delaney had to accompany us to the doctor. It was an impromptu appointment and this is a girl who does about as well at impromptu as I do at brown nosing. But, she didn't even blink when I told her where we were going and how we were going this very minute. She was great. She pushed Garrett in the stroller, sat patiently and waited for the doctor, waited for the nurse to prod his ears, waited for a lot of stuff. She actually waited. Hallelujah. She F'IN waited.

We were in the elevator going down after the appointment and I said "thank you Delaney, for being such a good helper, and being so patient, and being such a fun person to be around."

And no shit, she looked at me, and said "yeah, I'm growing up, Mom."

I patted my heart and said "darn right Laneybug, darn right."

Snippets

Here are three recent snippets of Delaney conversations...


Delaney: Mommy, I love you so so much. I don't ever want you to go away.
Me: Well, I might go on a vacation, but I'll never truly go away, I'll stick around if you want me to.
Delaney: And I love Garrett so much too. I want him to stay for at least one more week.


Me: Delaney do you have to go potty?
Delaney: No, I don't.
Me: Then why are you clutching yourself down there and looking down?
Delaney: Because I was hoping that if I looked hard enough I could see my vagina.


Delaney: Mommy am I ever going to have a sister?
Me: No, Delaney, we are done having kids and we are so happy with the two children that we have.
Delaney: I sure wish I could have a sister.
Me: That's nice, bug, but I think you will be a pair with your brother.
Delaney: I wish I had a sister, but I wish she was teeny, teeny, tiny and was the size of my little pinky finger.

Delaney "Goucher" Runner Girl

Last week Delaney completed the Uni Hill Kids 1k race. There is an adults race as well but they kick the event off with kids doing one lap of the 1k course.

Delaney did this race last year and Kevin ended up carrying her for a bunch of it. This year she not only did the whole thing under her own power, but RAN almost all of it. She stopped to say hi to Daddy a couple of times and occasionally stopped because she almost ran into curbs and holes in the road. It is an understatement to say that she was excited about this race, but I imagine her excitement is a direct result of our excitement and fussing over how cute she is in her running clothes and how proud we are of her to.

There are a lot of pics in this post, so bear with me, but I wanted you to feel like you were at the event with us.

Delaney has a snazzy running outfit (from Target) which has had to be pinned due to the fact that it's too big.



First we had a few training runs which were documented on film.





Once we got to the event, there were funny moments of Delaney doing her own stretching routine.



(This one is my favorite)



Kevin getting her ready.





Doing the stretch routine with all the kids.



And finally... the actual run.








The whole thing was a ton of fun for everyone and we will be doing the other two 5430 kid races this summer as well, in the hopes of getting one of the free pair of Crocs that go to the first 100 racers that do all 3. Next up, July 23 West End 1500.

General goings-on update

I guess it's true what they say about habits. I have gotten out of the habit of updating this, and lo and behold I've almost stopped posting!

So here is a general update on our life and I have started some writing about various childhood topics like sleeping and discipline. I hope for them to be a "series" of writings with my .02 cents on such tough and interesting topics to me.

The biggest news around here is that I am done breastfeeding. FOREVER! I started weaning Garrett about 3 months ago (yes, you should be laughing) and finally closed the door about a week and a half ago. I don't know why it was so darn hard for me to close this chapter with him but it was.

I will give you a little background on nursing for me. I really struggled to do it with both children for different reasons. In both of my childrens first month I struggled to get through my days, and one of the big reasons was the struggle to nurse. I had almost every breastfeeding problem in the book (undersupply was the only one off the list). But my determination and guilt propelled me to stick with it and persevere. I can't really say I ever LOVED the act of breastfeeding as an act. Pulling up my shirt, unhooking a bra and having a little child tug at a very intimate part of my body was never what I would call "fun". It was satisfying in the sense that I was providing for them and each time it was like I could pat myself on the back because I was providing them with something that was supposedly the best for them. But honestly I get a nice sense of providing by giving my children bottles as well. I see them eating, I am providing it for them, and they are happy. So I guess you would probably ask why would I nurse if I didn't really enjoy it? GUILT. Lots and lots of mom guilt.

I probably could go on and on about the pros and cons of breastfeeding and what I think has happened in our current day to drive the craze and guilt around breastfeeding. I am not saying I am a victim of my guilt, but I definitely admit to having guilt issues around just about everything in my life (one of my personal challenges I hope to work on over the next decade) and when you are prone to guilt it's hard to not get sucked in to the vortex of breastfeeding.

Garrett has been sick for the last 7 weeks with a low grade shitty illness (LGSI). It's not bad enough to warrant a fever, or stomach upset, etc. But crappy enough to make him a little miserable, make him not want to eat or sleep as much, and more fussy and crying behavior. I even put him on antibiotics because the docs were stumped and figured it had to be a sinus infection (which they officially can't tell if you actually have when you're 8 months old). This illness was poorly timed with my weaning and as a result Garrett has been Grade A fussy about taking bottles. Who knows if it's the illness, or the weaning, or both. But then it got me to thinking that maybe he just never really ate that much when he was nursing. He only used to eat on one side at a time and even though I know how much my breasts could produce based on my extensive (i.e. really annoying) pumping schedule. So maybe I think he's rebelling about the bottles but really he's still getting what he used to on a day where he was nursing?!? ONE STRIKE AGAINST NURSING -- you never REALLY know how much your little one is nursing.

But Garrett seems to be slowly improving even though the substances that come out of his nose are terrifyingly gross. And on another note, I AM SO F'ING READY FOR FLUIDS TO START LEAKING OUT OF HIM! He is either spitting up, puking, draining mucous, peeing or pooping. Really. I can list a lot of great things about my baby boy, but the process of cleaning up all of those fluids is not one of them. At the end of the day it's all I can do to not want to rub my body with bleach along with my entire house. I don't even want to tell you how many surfaces (some not cleanable) in my house have been graced with regurgitated milk or formula. So so so much fun. On really good days I am cleaning up his mess and also dealing with Delaney accidentally peeing all over something. Good fun. I had dinner with a friend of mine in the bay area recently and she told me something that absolutely amazed me. Her kids are 5 and 7 and she said she was in a "good stage of life" simply because she had NO IDEA when her kids pooped. Now I know everyone tells me ad nauseum that I am supposed to enjoy the moment. But really. I am really looking forward to that day. Then it's just back to worrying and thinking about my poops. My poops have been so neglected due to the fact that I am forced to clean and think about my childrens poops. Can I say poop ONE more time in this post? Maybe. I'll work on it.

Delaney is still trying and testing us at most turns in life. And she can turn on a dime. One minute she is adorable and without even hesitating she turns into a kid on Super Nanny. Yesterday I was home with both kids and we had an amazing day together despite the weather that kept us inside. But right when Kevin said that dinner was ready she started throwing her toys and came at me with the toy knife she was using to cut her velcro vegetables (Melissa and Doug plus). WTF. One minute nice. The next coming at me with a knife. Some days I really wish there was a boarding school for toddlers. She is running in a kids run race tonight and I hope to post video or pics soon.

I am taking my Praxis teaching certification exam this Saturday and based on some practice tests I muddled through this week, I could be in trouble. I am dusting off my brain and trying to remember things like mitosis, seafloor spreading, zygotes, isotopes, Pythagoreum thereom, allegory, Thomas Paine, protons, neutrons, kinetic energy, fractions, the Magna Carta, and, well, you pretty much get the drift. Better get to some more studying.

Dear Delaney, age 3

Dear Delaney,

Yesterday you turned 3 years old. We had a party for you on Saturday and just about everyone in your life who you enjoy was there. We were missing family, and a few friends who couldn't make it, but all in all the people who bring you joy came over to celebrate with you.

We were supposed to have your party at the park, because we thought it was only fitting that our park girl would celebrate there, but Boulder brought out the rains and thus we had to move it to our house. There were 14 kids under the age of 4 in our house and lemme tell you, it was a sight to be seen. I think you were thrilled to have so many close friends over to share in your day.

On your actual birthday we had Gabe come over to watch Garrett so your father and I could take you out to breakfast. You were in heaven getting to spend time with the two of us all by yourself. Although you never even commented that you were enjoying it, or mentioned the lack of your brother, it was clear you were having fun. You also spent the day in the backyard with the whole family, running in the sprinklers, blowing bubbles, at the park with me and running around with Finley.

The last few months have been a bit rough as you have tried in many ways to push us around with your strong will and temperament. I think we hit the high crescendo when Moma was here helping me during dad's recent trip to China. You were not happy that she was here and you would not let her help you in any way. You complained about most things going on in your day and generally made life difficult for everyone. As a result I bought about 6 books that try to help parents through the toddlerhood phase and I am in the middle of my second one. I think by reading them I am gaining a little bit of an understanding about where some of your behavior comes from and I am trying to watch you closer to get to know you better. Sometimes I have a tendency to rush to frustration but I am doing my best to really understand the Delaney inside and what makes you tick (and explode, incidentally). I think the bottom line is that you are a very strong willed, opinionated, stubborn, active, perceptive and strong girl. That is never going to change. You have been that way since you were born and it's about time I figured out how to nurture that better so we don't go to battle as much as we have been lately.

I must admit I do love your spirit and energy. I am constantly amazed by it, and I also really love and admire it. I don't have that and I am glad you got it. You have been the absolute best big sister to Garrett that I could imagine. You are kind, helpful, nurturing, funny, and a great companion to him. Maybe things will change once he starts moving around but I hope not. I love the generosity you show towards him and it really is one of the things I enjoy most in life. In fact we noticed yesterday that he lights up more for you than anyone else in the world. He loves you because you are so nice to him.

Your athletic abilities have started to come shining through as you have taken a liking to dribbling a basketball, kicking a soccer ball, and hitting balls with your baseball bat. Bike riding is coming along as you have progressed a lot on your scooter and Skuut bike (bike with no pedals). We were in Mexico recently and you nearly learned to swim. You can propel yourself but haven't figured out how to stay up while you lift your head up. I predict this summer you will really learn to swim. You are quite an athlete. I see lots of sporting events in our future. Also you love all of the equipment at the park... the slides, big girl swings, monkey bars, jungle gyms, tunnels, diggers and more. You can spend hours at the park at not blink an eye.

Your favorite foods have changed a bit recently and I wish I could come up with a long list of foods that you enjoy, but the sad truth is that you are getting more picky by the day. You like chicken, hamburgers, sausages, hamburgers, quesadillas and bread. You will eat some veggies and most fruits, but it saddens me that very often you sit down to meals and only eat three or four bites.

Your favorite toys are your musical instruments, puzzles, Play Doh, games and your cars. The Memory Game is your favorite game and you continually amaze us with how good at that game you are, and how you play (and win) with such ease. You are not particularly into your dolls or stuffed animals, although occasionally you will pick an animal to join you in your bed for the night. Mina blanket, super Mina, and Mina pillow are all still very important to you. I am glad we have multiple versions of those and we swap them out regularly so that they will last longer. One little polar bear (actually he is a lamb) named Jeeky Deeky came around last summer and has been sleeping with you ever since. Most days at home you carry Mina and Jeeky around with you everywhere you go and they sit under your dinner table chair while you eat.

Television is not too important to you, although you do like Sesame Street and have warmed up to a few movies like Madagascar and Finding Nemo. You would much rather play with an adult or go outside. Your inability to sit still is obvious as you roam around the family room while you watch TV. I fear that you will struggle in school due to your "fidgetyness".

Jasper is still your closest friend and has been so for the last year. You also love to play with your other schoolmates, namely Cecil, Abilene, Nella, Eben and Gaby. Kids from my mom's group are also fun, especially Spencer and Kyra. Finley, your neighbor, is a regular playmate especially when the weather is nice. Playing nice with other kids is a strong suit and always has been. Sometimes you play the role of "beat up kid" a little too much but we are working on how to stand up to behavior that you don't really like.

We bought you a shirt about a year ago that was "Little Miss Chatterbox" and nothing could be closer to the truth. You are always talking. You make astute observations and chatter on about anything and everything. Your vocabulary is wonderful and you pick up phrases and words so quickly. Yesterday we were walking home from the park and we briefly lost your basketball in some bushes. I looked at you and said "uh oh" and you said "wait Mommy I have a plan!". I had to chuckle. My three year old had a plan! And you did... I would hold the bushes back and you would climb in. Classic Delaney.

Your teachers at school say that you are very easy going at school and always game for any game or activity. Your imaginary play has increased as you regularly lead your classmates in pretend games of swimming, house, cooking, etc. You do the same thing here and I love it when you bring me some strange object and tell me it's "chocolate" or "bananas" when it is nothing like those things. And just agreeing with you isn't enough as you stand there and make SURE I enjoy and eat what you have brought me.

I think this year we will have some kind of turning point in that maybe I will figure you out a little better, learn how to react appropriately and you will figure out life a little bit more. I hope so, although I am trying to enjoy the precious time that is toddlerhood and the really cute moments that happen. Just a few minutes ago you walked into our room and said "are you almost done working Momma?" and I said "yep, just a few more minutes". And then you said "ok, I'll come back and check on you in a few minutes and make sure you don't need anything". So cute.

Thanks for being you, Delaney, and for forcing me to be a better person everyday. I feel like I will be invincible once we get through your childhood because you are teaching me SO much about myself and the world. Delaney, Laney, Laneyloo, Bug, Bugalicious, Laneybug, Bugaboo, Laners and D. Happy 3, my whirling dervish.

Love,
Mom

School almost done

Thursday marks the official close of my spring semester. Phew. I can honestly say that the last 3 months have been the busiest, and arguably, the most stressful of my life. I am not really sure how I managed to keep all of the balls in the air that I did. Now I can focus on summer, my kids and my job. I am taking one online course over the summer but that should be reasonably easy and I am not going to start that until June.

Next week we leave for our big trip to California which will be great because I actually get more than a few days there and can see most if not all of my friends. Kevin is making the drive out with me and I will be making the drive back with my Dad. So at least I won't be doing it with two kiddos by myself.

I am starting to get concerned about this swine flu thing. Given that both of my kids are in school/daycare it seems like if a case breaks out anywhere near there that it could be terrible. No cases have been found in Colorado yet but I have to admit I am watching the stories with anxious fear. Silly, probably, but these types of things cause me to worry.

Delaney turns 3 this Sunday. I cannot believe she is turning 3! Crazy. I am hoping to write her a letter this week and post it on here because we have definitely gone through some changes over the last few months since I wrote to her last.

Kevin was gone for two weeks in China and it nearly killed. Even though my Mom was here to help it still nearly killed me. I had so many projects, papers, and school work to complete all the while trying to keep up my 20 hours at work. It was a really bad two weeks. I am hoping that Delaney acts a little better when we are in California because it was very embarrassing to see her behave like an out-of-control brat when she was here. If 3 is full of behavior like that I am not sure I want her to turn 3. A friend of mine recently told me that her oldest child didn't throw tantrums. Ever. How can that be?!? Delaney started throwing tantrums at 9 months and hasn't looked back. She could be a professional tantrum-thrower.

Garrett is teething and fussier than usual. He is finally sitting up, he did that right about at 7 months. He still doesn't roll over or show any interest in being mobile. I LOVE that about him. He is so content to just sit and be. Yeah Garrett! Two days ago his babbles took on a different sound as he is repeating ga-ga-ga-ga-ga and da-da-da-da-da and ya-ya-ya-ya. It's really cute.

I hope to be able to get back to more regular posting now that my school work is over. I am also looking forward to getting back a clean and organized house, and being able to work out more than once every two weeks. Come on, summer!

Milestone for The Bug

We have hit a new milestone with Delaney, and one that I am not entirely happy about. She has figured out how to reach up onto counters to get what she wants. The other day I put some cashews on our cutting board and was intentionally hiding them from her because she goes bonkers over any kind of nut and you can't get her to stop eating them. Well... I was doing one of the million little things it takes to keep the house functioning and soon noticed that not only was Delaney missing, but the cashews were too! There she was in her room quietly and contently mowing down a half-bag of cashew nuts. She is not that tall so I definitely have to wonder how she managed to see they were there in the first place and how she found a way to get up there and reach them. Ugh. Now even the counters aren't safe! There is so little left in the house that is sacred from the children. The bathroom... fuggedaboutit! Delaney opens the door even when I'm in there asking for privacy. She takes things out of my nightstand, my closet, my bathroom drawers, my backpack, my purse, you name it. Nothing is sacred anymore. Our house is too small and I find myself searching for the highest nooks and crannies that are unreachable for her but there are so few of those now. She's like a little mouse, fitting into and reaching things I never thought possible. And she leaves traces of everywhere she's been just like a mouse. My house has been invaded by a very large, messy, nosy, and hungry mouse. And her name is Delaney.

Funny snippet

When we were in Mexico, here is a little conversation that happened between Delaney and us:

Me: Are you going to be sad when we leave Mexico, Delaney?
Delaney: Yes!
Me: We're going back to our country. Did you know Mexico is a different country?
Delaney: Yeah, and Mexico has a king!
Kevin: No, Mexico actually has a president just like the United States. Do you know who the president of our country is?
Delaney: (pause.....) Santa?
Kevin: (Laugh) No, Santa comes to every country, but we have a different president, do you remember who you voted for in the election at school?
Delaney: Rack Obama!

Dear Delaney, Month 33

January 26, 2009

Dearest Delaney. Bug. Bugaboo. Little D. Laney. Laneyloo. Laner. Bugalicious.

You are 3 months away from your 3rd birthday. I haven't sat down to write you a letter since before your little brother was born and I thought this was long overdue.

Your brother was born about four months ago, and I am not going to lie to you, the transition was very rough on you. It was actually pretty rough on all of us, but you and I seemed to take it the worst. I think there is a definite link between you and I not taking it well. You were not happy about the disruption to your world and I could not give you the love and attention you needed which then made it worse. Your father stepped in and pretty much took over everything for you, from the start of your day until the end of it. I was not sleeping very much and I spent much of Garrett's first month feeding or pacifying. All of my waking energies went to him and keeping him happy and fed. There was pretty much nothing left over for you and I apologize for that. I knew that deep down it would be good for you to have another member of the family to share time with, but you were not happy in those first few weeks. There were a lot of tantrums, time-outs and tears. You were always loving and gracious towards Garrett, but your anger and frustrations with us were very obvious. Your dad, one of the most patient people I have ever met, was occasionally pushed to the very limit by your behavior.

Thankfully we seem to be past that and you are much happier, I am getting more sleep, and able to devote more time and energy to you. I am not going to go as far as saying that I can match your energy, but at least there is a little bit there to give you. Which brings me to your energy. You are one of the most energetic kids I have ever known. You never stop. Your only relaxation comes when you are sleeping or watching Sesame Street. Otherwise you are going, going, going. Not just moving, but aggressively moving through life. Some of your favorite things are bouncing on beds, dancing, hopping, running, and playing chase. Your father and I had an in depth discussion the other night because I had called you a "spaz". He disagreed because he though spaz meant "mindless" in some way. But to me a spaz is someone who has tons of energy and has trouble figuring out where to focus it. That's you. But I love it and I'm pretty sure that most of my smiling moments come from watching you zoom around our house. There are actual dirt marks on all accessible walls in our house from you literally bouncing off of them. It has been made VERY clear to us that you are going to need to be active in your youth. Me thinks there will be a lot of soccer and swimming in your future.

It needs to be noted that you have become an extremely helpful and loving big sister. You genuinely seem to like your brother despite the fact that he can't do very much with you. Every time I ask you get me a spit-up rag you gleefully find one for me. And if he needs a hat you will run and go get it without me even asking. The same with a blanket. You love climbing up onto his crib and peeking in on him. There have been a few times where you have climbed all the way in there so you could lay with him and hold his hand. It's beyond sweet and cute and just absolutely warms my heart to see you nurture and care for him. If he's crying you run over and tell him it will be ok and gently rock him in his seat or swing. You're so small and yet so much love can come out of you. It makes me shed a tear of happiness just thinking about it.

One of the things that seems to make you the most happy is when your father and I are happy. You are continually asking us if we are happy. It's sad and endearing all at the same time. Sad mostly because if you have to ask me I'm probably not doing a good enough job of showing you how happy I am. Or gosh, maybe you are astute enough at 3 years old to know that maybe I'm not really happy. And it's endearing because it seems like you have developed quite a sense for trying to please.

We will be driving in the car somewhere and it will be completely silent and you will say "are you happy mommy?" and I will say "yes, Delaney, I'm happy". And then you'll say "really, REALLY happy?" as if you don't believe my response. If you do something that upsets either one of us you will immediately ask if we are happy because you can see that our demeanor has changed. If I tell you no then you immediately try and fix the thing that is making me not so happy. Not a day has gone by in the last two months where you haven't asked one of us if we are happy. It just dawned on me that I haven't really asked YOU if you're happy. I'll try to do more of that.

Your diction and vocabulary continue to astound us. Just yesterday you went to Cost Co with your dad and when you came back our exchange went something like this:
Me: Delaney how was your trip to CostCo?
D: Good! I got a hot dog and a smoothie for lunch.
Me: Really? Great! What did Daddy buy there?
D: For lunch he had something different, but similar.

The fact that you even know "different but similar" amazes me. And the other day you said, in response to one of Ellie's loud meows, "boy is she demanding!" I'm pretty sure demanding is not in most 3-year old vocabularies.

Your father went on a business trip last week and it was the first time it seemed like you understood the passing of time and meaning of him being gone. Every night when we would get home an overwhelming sadness would come over you because your Dad was not there. After inquiring about it and finding out he would not be home that night, you would sulk. We were on an errand the other day and out of the blue you turned to me and said "Mommy I miss Daddy because I love him so much". I hugged you and told you that I missed him too, but that sometimes he would go away for work and we would get to have quality girl time. And when we called him on the phone the other night, you asked me to give the phone back to you so you could say one more thing. "Daddy, please come home tomorrow because I miss you." I can only imagine the melting that occurred on the other side of that phone line.

I have been trying to figure out for about a year now if you are going to be a "mommys girl" or a "daddy's girl". Sometimes it seems like you prefer him and sometimes you prefer me. I know you absolutely love the energy that he gives you and quite honestly there is no way that I can match it. And I suppose I don't want to because it's your thing with him. You are always being swung, tickled, tackled, flipped, and spun around by your dad and you LOVE it. I am not sure if there is an equivalent thing that I provide that he doesn't, but my guess it would be nurturing, books, and a general "providing". I think I like that you seem to prefer us equally and thrive in your own way around each one of us. And the thing I like best is that you are actually the most content when we are ALL together.

You are still learning a lot at your school and this pleases us immensely. You have become quite the yogi, practicing yoga twice a week with the older kids. And the teachers are helping you with numbers and the calendar. You can count to 20 pretty easily but often get hung up around 14. You can recognize about 10 letters with ease and are close to zeroing in on the other 16. You recognize most animals and your song repertoire grows every day, in part thanks to Amy and the music program at the Acorn.

Food seems to be a bit of an issue with you as you seem to prefer carbs over all other kinds of foods. There are plenty of meals where I am concerned to see that you have only had 3-4 bites of food and are content to call it quits. Everything I read tells me to just keep feeding you the food and you will come around. We try not to force things on you too much, but you have such a tiny niblet body that it worries me. So far I have not caved and started feeding you fried food or pasta every night.

The last thing I need to mention doesn't really involve you directly but it's very important. Last week our country swore in a new president. He is not just any president, though, and I want you to know a bit of history that occurred late in your second year. Barack Obama is our first African American president and I find him to be the most inspiring public figure that I have ever known. He is taking office at a generally tough time in America, to say the least. The economy is weak, almost crippled, we have been fighting a war for over five years, and in general people are discouraged. Homes are foreclosing, jobs are being lost and every day the death toll of our US soldiers grow. The news is very frequently depressing. But then came this man from Illinois who had the moxie and fortitude to try and change things. My sincere hope is that he can. They said that the moment when Barack Obama was inaugurated would be one of those "where were you when" moments. Like the Kennedy assassination or the Space Shuttle disaster. Since you will likely be too young to remember, I'd like to tell you that you were at your classmate Lucy's house which is just down the street from the Acorn school. You all walked there holding hands so you could watch it together. Your teachers said you were all very quiet and listened very intently. I was in class myself, doing my part to fulfill President Obama's wish that we all do our part to make this country a better place. I am going back to school so that I can help children learn and also to give me a schedule that allows me to be home when you are home. Both of those are things that will help this country and I'm proud to be doing my part.

My wish for you is that we build this country to be even better than before and you can fulfill your wishes and dreams here. I want only the best for you because you deserve. It seems like you will demand the best out of everything in life.

I love you Delaney bug. And when I am with you I am really, really happy.

Because we're girls....

There are lots of things to love about Delaney these days. We went through a hard patch for a few months after little G was born, but it seems like she is hitting her rhythm now as a big sister. And I'm getting more sleep and consequently have more energy to dedicate to the whirling dervish. But one thing I particularly like these days is that she is finding a bond between us due to the fact that we're girls.

She exclaims multiple times a day that we are both in fact, girls. If I reach out to take her hand I'll say "come on, grab my hand" and she'll exclaim "because we're girls!" If I ask her who she wants to read her a bedtime story she'll say "I want mommy to do it..... because we're girls!" And if I put her in the car to run an errand she'll sit in her seat and say "Mommy we're girls".

My reply is usually "that's right Delaney, we're girls. Really cool girls."

I remember first finding out that we were going to have a girl and having a twinge of disappointment. I had always wanted a boy. And knowing first hand how hard the teenage years are for girls I shuddered at the thought of her struggling to fit in, having self esteem issues, weight concerns, promiscuity, you name it. I was terrified knowing she would undoubtedly reject me for a few years, rebel and date guys (or who knows... maybe even girls!) that weren't good for her, and do things in experimentation that would help her figure out who she wanted to be. I made it through all of those things, but some days I'm not really sure how I did given my crazy freshman and sophomore years of high school.

But now I couldn't be more happy that I have a girl and can help guide her through that mess. I consider it one of my most formidable tasks in life... to use whatever I learned (and my mom learned) and be as supportive as possible. And hopefully we will make it through to the other side where I will have a best friend for life. Similar to my relationship to my mom. My mom is still the first person I call when something good or bad happens. The person I look to for that extra support and buoyancy. And it dawns on me that the best thing I can do for her is to be the best person I can be and hopefully some of it will rub off through osmosis.

Someone told me that having girls is great because they will never really leave you even when they get married. Boys have a tendency to "leave" more, especially their relationships with their mothers. But not girls. Somehow the relationships between mothers and daughters seem to be a different kind of closeness. I look forward to when Delaney grows up and I can possibly have someone to share passions like cooking, reading, culture, sports, athletic endeavors and more. I'd like to help her become strong and confident. Athletic yet feminine. Loyal and committed. Self-centered yet giving. But really, I want to help her become whoever she wants to be. I want to help her be THAT.

It appears that right now the pendulum has swung towards me in Delaney's eyes. She still loves her Daddy uncontrollably but for the last few weeks has been relishing in finding time for just the two of us. And I'm enjoying it quite a bit as well. Maybe it's because.... well... we're girls.

Jeeky Deeky

As mentioned in my recent list of Delaney's favorite things, she has become incredibly fond of a little stuffed lamb named Jeeky Deeky.


There are a few significant things about Jeeky.

First of which is that she calls him a polar bear when he really is a baby sheep. We kept trying to correct her on this when she first became acquainted but it really didn't seem to matter to her. She saw a polar bear in him and we just rolled with it.

The second and most significant thing in regards to Jeeky is that after a few weeks of calling him "polar bear", Delaney gave him A NAME. I have always chuckled and admired the way that Delaney takes life literally. For months and months she has become friends with inanimate objects around the house and has provided each one with a very literal name.

Here is one of her favorite dolls...

named Baby Boy.

And here is one of her favorite dolls...

named Baby Girl.

This is one of her favorite stuffed toys...

you guessed it, named Koala.

I can post pics of a lot of other items around here that also have incredibly literal names. We have "dolphin" and "ducky" and "elephant".


There is even a blanket named "soft blanky". Her pretend sister is named "sister". The list goes on and on...

And so we were not surprised when she found this little lamb (which was resurrected for Garrett) and had named him "Polar Bear". But for some reason after a few weeks she started to call him Jeeky. I thought it would pass but she continued to call him this random name, and then a week later she added a last name of Deeky. How she came up with these names I have no idea. But they have stuck.

Jeeky has been allowed to go with her in the car (but he doesn't get to leave the car on errands) and as a result of this and the fact that she likes to wipe her nose on him, he has become a wonderful shade of grey. She has slept with him every night and likes to put him under her dinner table chair so that she can still be close with him while eating. If she is helping out mom and dad in some way it's common for Jeeky to take a turn as well. Jeeky has brought Garrett his binky, put away toys and had lots of sips from her sippy cup. He really is a pretty active member of the household.

Oddly I feel much more attachment to him because he has been named. It's like he's a part of the family, he almost deserves our last name at the end of Jeeky Deeky. Welcome to the family little fella.

Delaney's favorite things

A few of my friends have sent me emails recently saying how they read my blog regularly and how they love feeling like they still hear from me on a regular basis even if we don't talk. Which is great and I definitely write entries here with the sole purpose of keeping friends and family updated on our life. But the REAL reason I started this blog was to force myself to write things down and journal my children's lives more. Plus I enjoy writing so I figured it might be good for the soul as well.

I found myself going back to last years posts to see what I wrote and was pleasantly reminded of things that I had already forgotten about. So this blog is succeeding in that way, which is a nice relief.

In that spirit, I am going to write about Delaney's favorite things right now because those seems to change on a weekly basis.

1. Lightweight clothing. For the last 6 months or so Delaney has strongly resisted wearing anything that resembles warm clothing.... long pants, long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts and jackets. We have managed to get her dressed for fall and winter, only after serious hard work, but when she comes home from school the first thing she does is beeline to her room so she can change into a short sleeve shirt and a skirt. We had to remove the shorts from her room so they weren't even an option. Two days ago she changed into a short sleeve shirt, the underpanties that come under a skirt and her Keens. I wish I had a picture of it because it was really quite a sight.

2. Changing clothes. Delaney also likes to change her clothes about 3 times a day. School days she only changes once but the average for days where we are home is 3. Our rule is that she can change the clothes but she can't ask us for help in doing so because we don't support that many clothing changes. A nice side effect to this policy is that she has learned to get dressed by herself very well. I have also stopped washing a lot of her clothes that she wears for only a part of the day. Who cares if there is a little stain on a sleeve?

3. Jeeky Deeky. I am actually going to do a separate post about this little stuffed lamb because it deserves it's own post, but I need to list him here because there are not too many moments of her current days that she has spent without this little fella. And it's the first stuffed toy that she has actually NAMED. Jeeky has been a constant friend and companion for Delaney for at least a month.

4. Balls and activities around balls. Delaney has taken to playing catch inside with any one of her many balls, and also asks to bring balls when we go to the park. She is getting very good at catching and also kicking balls. We play a game where we see how many times we can throw back and forth to each other without one of us dropping it.

5. Games. I went on game purchasing bender a while back and bought a slough of new learning games for the bug. We are now the proud owners of Old Maid, Go Fish, Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, the Memory Game, Coocoo the Rocking Clown and Zimbbos to name a few. Her favorite is the Memory Game and she is VERY good at this game, arguably better than Kevin or I.

6. Playing pretend. I think it's wonderful that Delaney's imagination has started to grow and you can see it best when she puts on her pretend hat. Delaney has a pretend sister and now a pretend husband. She eats pretend food and has pretend conversations. She likes to make up stories and at night likes to have her ears filled with made up stories by Kevin and I. She has not been very good at playing by herself but recently I have noticed that she plays by herself best when she is doing some kind of pretend activity like baking, cooking, eating, etc.

7. Park/pool/bouncy house. She loves going to any one of these places and regularly asks to do so.

8. Her buddy Jasper. Jasper has been in great favor at school for some time and she has been thoroughly enjoying a close friendship with him. She also likes and talks a lot about Maddy, Boden, Spencer, Finley and Jeanie Bean. But no one quite compares to Jasper.

9. Chasing/hiding/being scared. She absolutely relishes in someone chasing her around an item (island in the kitchen, table, etc) and loves it best when you reverse your direction and scare her by coming right at her. She "sort of" gets hide and seek, although it's pretty darn cute when she hides and when you say aloud "hmmm, I wonder where Delaney is?" and you hear her say "mommy I'm hiding over here!".

10. Running. Delaney loves to run. She likes to race other people and does this hilarious little starting pose where she says "ready, set go!" and then takes off. She does it in grocery stores, on errands, in the house, at the park or wherever the mood strikes.

11. Mina. Her "mina" blanket (aka her lovey) has been a constant companion since she was 6 months old. She has slept with it every night for the last two years. When she gets upset she frantically looks for mina's comforting arms and promptly sticks her thumb in her mouth. We have 3 mina blankets and she doesn't seem to mind that we switch them out on her (she knows the differences between them). I think mina will be in her life for a very, very long time.

12. Sesame Street. Given that I knew Delaney would be spending more time at home after Garrett was born I bought a whole bunch of movies to try and spice up the variety of what she watches on TV. I bought Happy Feet, Nemo, Sleeping Beauty, Kung Fu Panda, 101 Dalmations and a few others. But they only succeed in capturing her attention for about 10 minutes. Sesame Street is still her favorite, and Elmo's World is her favorite within the show. She will actually sit through a full one-hour episode of the Street. I will admit that I let her watch a whole episode on the days where we are all at home. It helps start our day off happy and I watched it as a kid so it can't be too bad, right??!

13. Rough-housing with dad. We have an adventure seeker on our hands who likes to be spun, flipped and thrown by her dad. As soon as you do something like that to her she immediately asks "do it again!".

Those are the big ones. It felt good to write them down because I realize there are a lot of fun things about Delaney right now in her life. Writing down what makes her happy is a nice way to remind myself of how great my little daughter is, even though I am challenged and tested by her every day.

Bug, here's to you, and your unmatched zest for life.

Expectations

A number of people have inquired about the difficulty of our "two young children" household and how it compares to my expectations. So, for example, what things have been harder or easier than expected. I haven't quite figured out all of those answers and I have no doubt that the answers will change a lot over the next year.

Keep in mind that there are a number of things not on this list that I had thought would be very difficult, like, Delaney's tantrums, cries for attention, breastfeeding Garrett, finding time to get out and exercise, finding time to connect with my husband, and more.

But for starters....

HARDER THAN EXPECTED: At first it was the lack of sleep. I remembered it from the first time and for some crazy reason I think the lack of sleep was harder this time. I felt overwhelmed by the lack of sleep on Day 2 of Garrett's life and for whatever reason I don't remember it hitting that quickly with Delaney. Maybe I was able to do more daytime sleeping the first time around? Maybe I actually got less of it this time around? Or maybe as I get older the toll of no sleep is harder on me? So sleep is the first one.

The second was just how annoyed and frustrated I was with Delaney in those first few weeks. It's improved immensely since then but those first few weeks I couldn't stand to be around this crazy storm of energy and tantrums. Her neediness really annoyed me to the point where I wanted to move somewhere else so I wouldn't have to hear her complaining. The other side effect of that was how hard it would be to switch energies between the two children. On the one hand here was this adorable tiny little creature that just needed to be held and fed. The energy needed for that was completely different than the energy required to be around Delaney and keep her occupied. Thank goodness for Kevin and my mom in those first weeks because they really did an amazing job of keeping up with her energy while I was able to get into a zen rhythm with Garrett.

And, most recently, I would say what constantly challenges me with being difficult is keeping the house together on the days where I have two of them. It seems nearly impossible to do it some days and I have had to really lower my expectations of myself on those days.

And lastly, what is really hard is going out places with both and how it takes me forever to recover from doing that. Being out isn't that hard but it's the recovery process that seems to overwhelm me. Often when we come home I am frantically occupied with getting everyone and everything out of the car. It seems to take a long time to get them both situated in the house, take off coats and shoes, wash our hands, put away diaper bags, coats, sippies, snacks and whatever it is we may have purchased while out (groceries are really hard), catch up with feeding Garrett, and more. We did a big grocery store trip once and I swear it took me 3 hours to feel like there was no evidence that we had made that trip.


EASIER THAN EXPECTED: I think the most obvious one is just how EASY Garrett is when it's just he and I. Our solo days are like this picture perfect day of relaxation. We don't have a schedule and we both do great just rolling with the "free form" nature of our days. I am not the least bit stressed or unsatisfied with those days. Since I didn't have those with Delaney I guess now I understand just how EASY little newborns can be and how much fun it is take care of one.

That's all for now, I'm sure I'll have more soon.

Mish mash

This morning I woke up at it was -3 degrees outside. Yesterday it did not get any warmer than 25 degrees. I watched the weather this morning only to be dismayed at the prospect that it is not supposed to be any warmer than 35 degrees for the next 6 days. Mark it, note it, kick it off. This will be my first post in what I can only guess will be a bunch of posts about the cold weather and it's toll on my California bones. Brrr.. I am looking forward to spending 6 days in California next week.

I think I have my third case of mastitis, which is mighty unfortunate (the first two were with Delaney). I called the doc this morning and they are going to call in a prescription for me today. I woke up at 2am chilled to the bone and a high fever and have other symptoms that would be boring for most people, even other women who have breastfed. I guess I am just prone to this annoying infection.

We had a great weekend and on Saturday night I got to have a night out with friends without any children. It was our annual book club party, which is very similar to our book club meetings only this time husbands can attend. And there is a hilarious white elephant gift exchange which always brings much cheer. The only bummer was that we happened to come home with two stinker gifts... "Cleveland in a Box" board game and a Paper Voodoo kit. Even though I still had to scurry home in the middle of the party to feed Garrett and put him down I thoroughly enjoyed my 5 hours away WITHOUT any spit up on me.

Which brings me to spit up... I feel like I live in a world of spit up. I get spit up on about 5 times a day. Sometimes it's just a dribble and other times it's a half cup full. Sometimes it's on my shirt, sometimes on my pants, and my favorite is in my hair. Our son spits up a lot. Apparently most newbies grow out of this between 7-9 months. Bummer. That's 4-6 more months of doing umpteen loads of laundry because he and I are both changing our clothes at least once a day. Delaney was not a spitter upper and instead the bigger deal with her was diaper blowouts. Believe it or not we have only had about 3 blowouts with Garrett in his first 3 months. I vaguely remember having blowouts with D about every two days. I guess if it's not one orifice exploding fluids it's the other.

Garrett is doing great otherwise and most nights he is doing very well with his sleep. We regressed a while back and he still has his nights of waking twice, but by and large he only awakes once to feed. Last night I had to get out a warm compress and also do some pumping so I had to turn a small light on. Normally I keep it as quiet and dark as possible for our nighttime feeds. But given that there was a light on once he finished feeding he decided it was cooing social hour. He was smiling, cooing, gooing and generally having a party in his room at 3:30am. Even though I was tired, feverish and achy from the mastitis it was hard not to enjoy his playfulness for a few minutes. I know I get annoyed about the newborn sleeplessness but I did realize that pretty soon these moments will be gone. He seems so unbearably sweet at this time in his life. Contrast this to my willful toddler and I am reminding myself to enjoy this time with my precious little newbie.

Some things that I love about Garrett... I love that he will now pretty much smile on command. And I love that he has little to no control over his limbs. He moves his arms up and down with wild abandon and clearly has no control over where they are going. You can tell he wants to move them somewhere intentional but he can't muster the coordination just yet. It seems to me it's the ultimate little newborn move. He wants something or feels excitement and the only thing he can do is move his arms up and down in excitement. I've even seen him whack himself in the face unintentionally. Same with his legs...kick kick kick. I put him on the couch and just watch the little guy get his exercise. It's ridiculously cute.

He has also started to find his hand and fingers for sucking enjoyment. He sucks so loudly on them that you can hear it from the next room. My guess is that he will become a thumb sucker just like his sister but I suppose only time will tell.

I have started using consequences with Delaney and it seems to be working quite well. Since time outs work only moderately effectively for Delaney a few friends started suggesting removing items of hers that are important (but not too important, like a lovey). I have had to threaten twice to take a privilege away only to have her buck up and start listening. It seems to be working for now which is nice.

This week we have Kevin's Christmas party on Wednesday night and a holiday part at our friends brewery on Thursday. Then Saturday night is Lara's annual birthday fiesta at Sushi Zanmia. So we have THREE nights out scheduled this week. Look out... it's almost like we're entering the world of adulthood again.

To spank or not to spank

What a provocative post title, I wonder if I will get listed in Google for people searching about naughty spanking thoughts.

We are currently in the throws of Delaney and her wild and often cantankerous behavior. I have posted here often about how she is constantly testing the limits and pushing a lot of buttons. I feel like we've been at a high crescendo of this kind of behavior for some time now... like... about a year. She goes in waves and some days are mostly good and some days are mostly bad. Some months are better than others. Some hours are better than others. She has perfected the ability to be ridiculously cute one minute only to turn into the whiniest, most annoying toddler the very next minute.

Yesterday she was on point with this behavior in the afternoon when I needed her to get ready to go to the store to pick up a few items. We were going to walk to the local market and it was the only thing I really needed to get done yesterday. We had a good focused morning of play and making cookies and I just needed her to cooperate for about 20 minutes. She refused to wear a sweatshirt (it was 35 degrees outside) and when I forced her to pick one (out of two choices) and I put it on her she defiantly took it off and stomped around the house. "I don't waaaaaaaaaaant to wear that sweatshirt, I want to wear the PIIIIIIIINK one". Ok, Delaney, this is your last chance, I'll put the pink one on and then we're going to leave. Then I put the pink one on her even though I asked her to put it on herself about 4 times. One she got it on the melee continued. "Nooooooooooooooooooo I don't waaaaaaaaaaant to wear the pink one, I want to wear the purple one" and she defiantly takes the sweatshirt off. Then we went through the same thing with her boots. I would put them on and she would take them off. Now, I could see how you might just say "let her freeze and go without the clothes". But a big part of me feels like she really needs to learn that some things ARE NOT a choice. I felt like wearing some kind of sweatshirt was mandatory. We went back and forth trying to get her dressed for about 25 minutes. Meanwhile I'm trying to get dressed, Garrett is fussing in his bucket seat and daylight hours were ticking away. It was maddening to the point where I could see how you get to a place where using some sort of physical communication might be deemed as effective. Words clearly do not always get through or have any kind of effect.

So Kevin and I got in a discussion about spanking as a form of discipline. I know plenty of families who have chosen to spank their kids and both Kevin and I were spanked as children. I was only spanked a handful of times for doing absolutely terrible things that I clearly knew were against the rules. Like writing on the walls, defiling my dad's Alfa Romeo leather seats, lying about something when my parents knew the truth, etc. Kevin was spanked a bit more and his temperament as a kid is often described as similar to Delaney's. I don't really feel strongly about the spanking issue one way or the other and as far as I'm concerned each family can do what they feel effective.

However I am more inclined to go without it and to see if we can continue to use words and lessons to teach our child. I generally feel like once you use spanking then kids will do anything up to the moment they know they are going to get spanked. And what about when your child is at school or other places where they know spanking is not an option? I think oftentimes the spanking escalates and it seems like you do more spanking over time to continue to get your point across. And I guess my biggest concern is that I don't want Delaney to learn that hitting or violence is an acceptable way to communicate.

Now these feelings might all change if Delaney's behavior gets worse or we run out of tools and options. But for now we are going to stick with time outs and words and hopefully we can continue to mold her in that way. And I will be giving myself time outs and taking moments to calm down so that she seems calm behavior and knows it's possible to be calm and deal with conflict. Easier said than done some days...

Serious cuteness

Delaney went to school today in one of the cutest outfits she's ever had on. I love that recently she has come to letting me put her in dresses. This comes after a full year of her absolutely REFUSING to wear anything girly. Who knows with this one...








and here is one that's not great quality of the little man, but it's from last night so it's recent.

Trying to freshen up the blog

I'm trying to add some new pics to the left hand column, and make some updates to the content. Who knew this could consume so much time?!?

I am loving life today as a mom, loving my casual day with Garrett. Aside from a puking incident from G Love (my new name for him) about 2 hours ago, it's been an all together CHILL day. I'm wondering how it's possible that it's already 1pm?!?!

We had a great weekend as a fam. Saturday Kevin and I both got to workout and enjoy the mild Colorado fall weather. We watched a bunch of football both days, and also went on a family run with the double stroller on Sunday. I'm wondering how, with all of this activity and exercise I'm getting, it's possible that I still have a huge stomach pooch?!? This weight-loss thing is going to be even harder this time around, I can see that now.

The big update on our lives over the weekend, however, is that Delaney officially moved into her big girl room AND bed without a hitch. Two naps, and two overnight sleeps and I'm prepared to say that it was much easier than I had anticipated. She still calls for us to come and get her and her sleep has not been affected as of yet. Yeah!

Now on to that pesky little potty training thing....

Busy, turning a corner, visitors

Let's see. I haven't posted an update in a while.

Just after Garrett's one month appointment, he caught a little virus that had us visiting the doctor daily for 4 days. His fever didn't go much about 100 degrees, but since he is still so little and young, the docs always want to be as cautious as possible. His sleep definitely regressed during this period and he was more lethargic than usual during the night. If he had been one week younger they would have automatically admitted him to the hospital for two nights. I'm glad we just made it out of that window. He seemed to rally through the illness with little issue and I suspect that he will end up having an even more rock solid immune system than his sister given that he is exposed to tons of germs (from his sister) every day.

Then Jo and Bob (Pop pop and Nana) came for a visit. They were both here for 4 days and then Jo stayed on for an additional 6 days. It was great to get some grandparental help around the house and I think they enjoyed getting to know their grandson.

Garrett is doing really well and seems to be getting more chill by the day. He has fussy moments, and usually it's at its worst during dinner, but he is SO so much easier than his big sister that it seems downright easy to take care of him. The days that it's just he and I are wonderful and I get to fully enjoy spending time with the little fella. I feel like I am finally getting the newborn/infant experience that I wanted. Yeah! He is still gassy and you can tell that it's gas that's bothering him a lot of the time. From what I hear this almost always resolves itself by 4 months, sometimes between 8 and 12 weeks. Hopefully for his sake it will resolve sooner than later.

Garrett spits up and pukes more than Delaney did, which leads me to believe he inherited more of his dad's stomach. Delaney almost never spit up or puked and has also avoided a lot of the stomach ailments that have plagued a lot of her classmates. This is similar to my typically rock solid gut. But Garrett... just last night I was feeding him and noticed he was having a particularly good feed. Well, just after having thought that I got a few cups of recently drank breastmilk regurgitated all over me, the boppy, him and the couch. Since Kevin generally has a more sensitive stomach I think maybe they are more similar.

Halloween was great. Delaney seemed to relish in trick or treating, and especially liked going down to Pearl Street where a lot of the storefronts open up to kid trick or treaters and the place is jam packed with kids in costume. She was Elmo this year and I hope to post some pics soon.

Delaney is still as feisty as ever and can be a handful when it's just the three of us. While Nana was here I got to get out with just her and enjoy a few mornings of girl bonding which was fun. She is still way more emotional than usual and we are getting a bit more tantrums and acting out than we used to, I sure hope that will start to settle down soon. I can tell she loves her little brother and is always trying to help me take care of him by bringing him pacifiers, blankets, spit up rags, her toys, etc. It's very sweet but I definitely have to keep an eye on her around him because sometimes she gets a bit overzealous in her affection and caretaking.

My parents are due here in Boulder tomorrow for a quick 3-day visit. I am thrilled to have my mom back and my dad gets to meet Garrett for the first time. I have a bunch of projects queued up for my dad and we are also planning on getting out for dinner and on a separate night, a movie. I definitely miss going to movies. I have also scheduled a massage, a nail appointment and a few trips to the gym. Woo-hoo, I will definitely get some great "me" time this week.

We still have yet to get our first snow in Boulder, although there have been a few days where it threatened. They said on the news the record latest day for snow here is November 15 and we are potentially poised to break it this year. I can't say I'm complaining.

Garrett's sleep has improved enormously since we put him in his own room. He took a step back when we had to put him back in our room because of our visitors, but I was relieved to see that as soon as he got his own room back he started to put in some good straight hours of sleep again. On Saturday night he slept for 6.5 straight hours. And then 3.5 hours after that stretch, which meant I was only up once with him in the middle of the night. I am hoping this means he will be as good of a nighttime sleeper as his sister. It does seem clear that him having his own quiet space makes a difference. With those kind of good sleep nights it feels like we are turning a bit of a corner on the newborn daze.

I think that's most of my update and hopefully now that out visitor schedule is settling down I'll be able to get back on here more and post some pics and updates. Today's project is finishing Garrett's birth announcement.

Looking for roommates?!?

I have two potential roommates to offer up, in case you are looking for some company.

Roommate #1 -- 2.5 years old, sometimes cantankerous and defiant, likes to push buttons, get things out and refuses to put anything away, eats only a few different things and changes her mind frequently about what those few things are, spills lots of milk and food on the table and floor, resists going to sleep at all costs, carries lots and lots of germs (like hand/foot/mouth, pink eye, head lice, runny noses, etc), addicted to Sesame Street, will only wear what she wants when she wants and that changes on an hourly basis, often wears 2-4 outfits in a day and gets them all dirty, still wearing diapers, refuses to take off pajamas in the morning, puts her thumb in her mouth when you'd like to talk with her, trips and falls regularly resulting in many cries and needs for instant comfort through boo-boo duck/elephant/fishy, insists on wearing band-aids even when she doesn't need them, wants to take baths on days where she doesn't need one and refuses to take baths on days where she really needs them, wants to go to the park all the time and once we get there she wants to go home, hopelessly in love with her classmate Jasper, and OCCASIONALLY will give out a hug and say she loves you.

Roommate #2 -- Pretty much all roommate #2 can offer is sleeping, crying and eating. Lots and lots of dirty diapers, spit up, occasional puking from overeating, changes outfits about 3-4 times a day, requires you to do laundry at least every other day, and here is the BEST part. Most nights is awake and fussing for 2-5 hours. Usually this happens between 2am and 7am. Occasionally there will be a good night and good day, but that is really just a mind game to give you hope that things are changing, when in reality most of life and future days will be spent without sleep and crying. This one needs a home quick due to the fact that his current caretaker and roommate is losing her mind and wants to run away from her house and life as a result of no sleep.