technicalities

This is not terrible twos anymore. We are so near the land of the 3-year-old...new reasoning skills and all.

Case in point:

Henry requests some milk for supper.
George asks, "Is this your cup?"
Henry replies, "No. It's a mug."
George tries again, "Is this your mug?"
Henry responds, "No, it's your mug."  (true, the Massachusetts mug does belong to Papa).
This prompts George to ask, "Do you want to use it?"
Henry: "yeah."

Two guys

There's a saying that's repeated at our house. Two guys.

Henry might request "hold me, two guys" when he wants to also get a ride somewhere (like Grant). Or if we're horseplaying, it's "two guys" or cuddling in bed "two guys" (even a little playmate friend repeats the phrase "two guys" when there is car action and vigorous play).

So this is "two guys" in jammies.

Sleep, cont'd

Sure, he's sleeping peacefully now. Now that he's squeezed everyone else out of bed. Papa's pillow is comfy.

7 months old

and SO busy.

After months and months of struggling without much sleep, and crabby baby issues related to who knows what (teeth, colds, new foods, milestones, you NAME it). I have many theories, which only lead to further frustration when Grant doesn't comply with these theories. We have had our first "sleep thru the night" -- to bed at 7pm, up at 11pm for a nursing snack, slept til 5am. FINALLY!  So that's roughly 7 months, 1 week and 3 days of getting up several times per night.

I know it might not occur regularly, but it was enough light at the end of the tunnel to provide an exhausted and grouchy mom HOPE that one day I will sleep again.

Now if only Henry would stay in his bed all night...

Got Snow?

Yes. We do.

And ice.
And a new Subaru. I LOVE the way it handles.
We are sure to get Henry back and forth to preschool safe and sound, so that I may have a few moments of quiet each week.

Winter in Wisconsin is hitting us hard already this season.
I am wearing my long underwear, we are having hot breakfast, and we're snuggling together enjoying the lights on our Christmas tree.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. (except in two weeks when we want to travel by car and plane...) that would be a good time for a snow hiatus.

It's Wintertime!

The Leydon family with 2010's Christmas tree.

Despite the calendar date, it is, in fact, wintertime here in Madison. Henry is really starting to grasp the idea of seasons, and what occurs with each.  So when we experienced our first real snowfall of the season over the weekend, he continually exclaimed "It's Wintertime!". There was so much excitement and joy at looking out the window at our world transformed. Henry was like a new puppy. Diving in, rolling around, and even licking it. If you can remember the show "Duck Tales" with Scrooge McDuck enjoying his piles of money, that's about how enthusiastic Henry was in the snow.

This is what I'm clinging to as I continue to experience a real "bah humbug" attitude throughout our season of Advent. The pressure of Christmas lists, the frustration of trying to even get out to the stores with two little ones, and the battle between Christmas secular and the true meaning, have all got my spirits dampened. My lack of sleep psychosis has magnified all of these feelings. So there are a few simple moments that I'm trying to keep in the front of my mind as I struggle to figure out how we're going to get the tree up (and keep it up, with Grant into everything) and prepare our household for the Christmas season (which, in fact, is the twelve days AFTER December 25th).

One of them is hearing Henry's excited squeals for fresh snow and being able to spend a little time sledding, just Mommy and Henry, down what is becoming my favorite winter place in Madison. The BIG hill in Warner park.

The other is remembering that Christmas is about children. Not just the joy of gifts on Christmas morning, but keeping in mind that their presence is hope for the future. That God's gift was a child. God made human, God with us (Emmanuel). And I remain humbled that some people aren't as easily blessed with children as we are.

I absolutely love our parish here in Madison. I've been trying to take full advantage of their gracious services to young parents. On Sunday, going to church with the two boys by myself would not have been possible if it wasn't for the nursery. And afterwards, we've begun the tradition of staying for coffee and donuts (given that the nursery is right next to this event, it's practically impossible to get Henry out the door without one). And this Sunday, even though I was reveling in the message that a fellow parishioner shared about her prayer life with a young family, I was caught off guard when Henry (unprompted) prayed over his donut before digging in.

Bless us, O Lord
And these thy gifts
Which we are about to receive
From thy bounty
Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.

The Good Ol' Days are Gone

I'd like to begin with a side note about children's books. There are some good ones, some not so good ones, and some that are questionable at best. Anyone who has ever been to the library with small children knows you don't do any reading there. I spend the majority of my time making sure Henry isn't in the plants, behind the fishtank, running out the door, or any other thing that would give me an eyebrow raising from the librarian.

In this pressure situation, my tactic is to look first for books with cars or trucks, knowing this is a subject near and dear to Henry's heart. Otherwise, I settle for any other theme (new baby, closest holiday, pets, etc.) and any combination of these popular themes is a bonus. Second, I open it up and glance through to see how many words there are per page (we need to maximize the short attention span). Most of Henry's reading time is before bed, which means that George is then subjected to the new batch of books. Apparently tonight's Christmas theme choices were odd, at best. One story tonight entitled "The Christmas Train", involved a little girl warning a train on the tracks about a rock fall ahead. She does this, of course, by dragging her Christmas tree, ornaments and all, out of her house, down the track, 400 yards, through the tunnel, to light it on fire.

The other book tonight was about the "New Baby Blues". I'm still trying to expose Henry to books about siblings, in the hopes that transitions become easier. Grant's new crawling and pulling up on everything skills have Henry a little freaked out about the sudden forced sharing of every toy he owns.  I'm also a little freaked at how physical Henry gets when Grant gets dangerously close to said toys, and tables get turned over onto his head in anger, frustration, or general big brother maliciousness.  This book's message is a little bit of a tough love approach and the last line of the book is "The Good Ol' Days are Gone".

Sounds about right.

 

Thanksgiving

From t-giving 2010

First Thanksgiving for the 2010 babies.  One for the record books.

We had a real "National Lampoon's" type of Thanksgiving.  For one thing, almost ALL the men in our family (Grandpa, Uncle Stevie, and George) had to work at least part, if not all, of the extended holiday weekend. So Grandma, Jessica (a little dog named Clover), two small boys, and I packed into the car to visit the Sanfords in Michigan. For a sleepless, weekend together, when misery loves company and a stomach bug, kind of holiday.

Grant is not known for being a great sleeper, but this time his nighttime antics were joined by a niece making trips to the bathroom due to the stomach flu, a dog being let outside to bark at squirrels, a small boy with cold feet, and someone who snores. It will be a while before the image of people sitting around the table with coffee mugs and baggy eyes escapes my memory.

A holiday like this one makes us truly thankful for our health...and sleeping babies.

Eat. Play. Love.

We're into solids. Still trying to master how to keep the food in his mouth, but he loves the new foods, and likes to handle his own spoon. This picture gives him more credit than he deserves, he's not quite that handy with the spoon!  Henry and I had a laugh at his Red Sox outfit. We dress for dinner at our house. ;)

a little trouble

just when I thought he was outgrowing the exersaucer...

Grant loves to explore.  He might be more of a climber than his brother.  I've come around the corner to see his little hiney sticking out of the bottom bookshelf!

Henry calls this the "naughty Grant" photo. Grant is after Mommy's plant with a vengeance. 

But...trouble travels in twos.  Rough and tumble buddies.

Look Out

Grant has learned to crawl, so things at the Leydon house are on full alert. Henry is trying to master the concept that Grant can now attain anything that covers the ground and about 2 feet up. I'm always amazed that crawling not only means horizontal mobility, but vertical movement is close behind. I found him standing at the coffee table in no time. Although Henry should be used to sharing (practice with playgroup and preschool), let's face it, he's two, and he's a big brother. Part of me doubts sharing will ever be 50/50. Right now I just hear panicky phrases like "Mom! Grant's getting close to my train track! No, Grant, not that car!"

I have previously alluded to the fact that Grant thinks Henry is funny. Today I realized I really have my work cut out for me regarding Henry's behavior. As I try to emphasize to Henry that Grant is smaller and he shouldn't put his feet on Grant's head, or steam roll him, or Henry should be careful with his body and not run and jump right in front of him, or throw toys up in the air (ok, am I really picky? Am I taking ALL the fun out of childhood?) Anyway, throughout all these antics, Grant laughs. It's not a mystery which influences Henry's actions more, my nagging, or Grant's positive feedback in chuckles.

6 month stats for Grant:
27 inches (68%)
20lbs. 5oz. (88%)

firefighting

We all wear the firefighter hat around this house, in jest, but sometimes I really do feel like my job is to "put out fires" around the house.

This is an account of a day I had a couple of months ago. Although I don't remember all the details, but for some reason, it really stuck in my memory. Most likely because of the items that fell victim to circumstance.

I believe the day began with some leaky diapers. I do recall starting some laundry immediately, after stripping the beds.  Then, as I was getting Grant changed for the day, Henry heard the call of nature. I stopped to get him set up on the potty, and returned to Grant. Continued to change Grant and was called back to Henry to help him finish up and wash hands. (My method for this is to fill the sink with a little soapy warm water).  Done with Grant, I find Henry sloshing water all around the bathroom, with my toothbrush. Ugh.
_______________________________________
Last night's sleep journal, which has been the typical night's sleep for me way too frequently:
bedtime 9:00pm (this was an attempt to get "extra" sleep)
11pm Grant wakes
1:30am Grant wakes
2:00am Henry wakes to go pee
2:20am After helping Henry and lying down with him for a few minutes, he tells me he has to go poopy. False alarm. We return to settle into bed. He tells me there are dinosaurs coming out from under the couch.
2:40am I return to my bed, (I'm unable to sleep in his bed because I'm afraid of him hurting me, like headbutts, accidental or not, feet in my back, etc.)
2:50am Henry comes into our room wanting to sleep in our bed. George joins him in his bed.
4:00am Grant wakes
5:00am George's alarm rings
6:00am Grant awake again.
7:00am Henry awake.

Needless to say, I felt like I was a zombie today. Like I really drifted in and out of consciousness at times. First thing I did was try to make Henry oatmeal for breakfast, by lighting the fire under the tea kettle. After contemplating whether I'd be able to pull off a shower before getting out the door for preschool (and ruling it out) I realized I smelled something hot. In fact, I had lit the wrong burner and the pots that were on the stove drying through the night were getting mighty hot, while the tea kettle remained cold.

We just ate leftovers the remainder of the day.

Raising kids is like a "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times" kind of story. It's extremely exhausting and terribly frustrating (Henry's on a kick of "I don't want to...", "No!", etc.).  But the kiss and hug at bedtime, or the spontaneous giggles between boys at supper, help to soften the edges of the day (which happened to include broken dishes, argh!).

6 month old Grant

 

 

He has cut a tooth, but continues to blow his lips together whenever we attempt to feed him. We've tried rice cereal and squash. I'm not entirely surprised by his response.

Happy Halloween!!

From October 2010

From October 2010

San Francisco: AOA conference 2010

George and I recently traveled to San Francisco so he could attend an osteopathic conference. We also took Grant, since he is still a regular breastfeeder.  Henry stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Capper.

From October 2010

Here's a few lessons we learned along the way:
1. San Francisco is fabulous this time of year (if you don't hit the start of the rainy season -- we missed most of that weather -- but since we haven't had many rainy days at home either, we rather enjoyed the change of pace).

From October 2010

From October 2010

2. We can travel with a baby, sight see, and survive. We won't sleep much and the aftermath will be pure exhaustion, but we will survive. At times, in the midst of our best intentions, I wonder where we land on the spectrum between smart, stubborn, or naive parents. This time around, I think we were simply overconfident, chalking up an experience like this to the "how hard can just one child be?" mentality or thinking "we've done this once before, anyway, we're pros by now, right?".  We DID learn, by observation, that in the future, bringing travel companions (such as grandparents) to the conference might be a good idea. Back up is a must for small children and traveling. For future trips and destinations (there were signs for "save the date" Orlando, FL in 2011. I think I will!!) Grandparents take note!

From October 2010

3.  It's nice to get away.  George and I, despite our lack of sleeping, really enjoyed some conversation, a break from the routine, actually just the fact that we saw each other for more total hours than we spent together in the previous month. No kidding!

From October 2010

baby yoga

Grant has been busy learning to crawl. Here's what he's accomplished so far:

cobra

From October 2010

plank

From October 2010

downward dog

From October 2010

Gee, I wonder where he picks this stuff up?

modified plough pose

From October 2010

Grant's christening

A beautiful weekend to share with family near and far (everyone!) to celebrate our little guy, Grant. We love you.

bike rides

we've been taking them daily.

Henry yells "pedal power" and makes motorcycle noises.

I get thumbs up from passers by. Maybe it's the ingenious strap to help guide Henry and assist him on steep hills. Or having Grant hanging out on my back.  But most likely, it's the whole show. In a "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts" kind of a way. Like a goofy, homemade parade.

"Off leash"
Henry is getting stronger and stronger.








Grant catches a nap during our outing.

My Favorite Tree

This is my favorite tree in Warner Park. Last summer, on a nature walk, I learned that it is around 100 years old.  It's an oak tree, which isn't spectacular for fall color, but I love the location and the shape. I've watched this tree for 8 seasons now, which is how long we've lived in our house near the park. Keeping track of the seasons based on what goes on at this tree seems to be continually timeless. Sun, rain, snow, rinse, repeat.  100 years.

fall time

 More fall days that feel like summer keep us outside as long as possible to soak in the sun and warmth. Actually, it's impossible not to, as the shade has fallen from the trees almost entirely!

Henry has been singing more and more recently. I love it. I love hearing his sweet little voice try to find the correct pitch.

Today, he was spontaneously singing a song from his preschool class. Sung to the tune of London Bridges:

Autumn leaves are falling down, falling down, falling down.
Autumn leaves are falling down, 
it is fall time.


Autumn leaves are yellow and green, yellow and green, yellow and green.
Autumn leaves are yellow and green, 
it is fall time.

co-sleeping

has become a misnomer.

we're working through some tough times in the sleep department. It's so bad, it can only get better from here. It's unfortunate, because until now I've enjoyed many snuggles with Grant. However, it's time to actually get some sleep!

Mr. Mischief

Lately, Henry has been playing independently more frequently. I think this is a great development. Until I find that damage control is the second stage to his time alone.

Dog Days

We've had some frost, leaves are turning color, but we're enjoying some lovely, warm, fall days in our backyard. Minus the mosquitoes, for the most part (seriously, though I still swatted one or two today - no kidding!).

These are the days we never had this summer. Some lazy afternoons in the sand box, soaking in the sun's rays on a blanket and birdwatching (a great horned owl sighting last week was exciting, especially among our crow population!).