plays hard, sleeps hard

A happy guy

Cliff's Notes for July

July!

July seems like it was over in a blink of an eye.  The date on the blog indicates that we've obviously been very busy in our "real" life rather than in our virtual one.  Not to worry, we've taken many photos along the way.  Here's a recap. Pardon my memory as my evenings are still not quite my own (Grant's bedtime is slowly becoming routine) and by the time I have a moment, I'm multitasking to the max. Tonight's agenda: canning peaches, peach crisp, diaper laundry, and...blogging!  Last night: making basil pesto, washing CSA veggies, vomit laundry (Henry had a 24 hour bug), and emailing.

July's activities included, but were not limited to:

1. Rhythm & Booms.  This year was technically our first celebration (last year was a rainout postponement debacle) and we enjoyed the fireworks show, minus the LONG wait for traffic to clear to get home. We're a mere 10 minute walk away.  It was Henry's third fireworks show and he was the most nervous this year. I think the precursory personal fireworks had him a little uneasy before the show even started. However, he still talks about the parachuters that jumped from the plane, the F-16 flyover, and the "loud, bright flower in the sky, not in the grass".  (If we were playing the game Taboo, he'd win for describing a firework, I think).  Grant slept through them. What a good baby.

2.  Visitors.  The Sanford family came for a visit and to begin a rather complicated journey for their two older kids. George was on a week of nights (ever lived with someone who kept the exact opposite schedule as you? then you'd know how much you see them. never) so I decided to take Andrew (4) and Julia (just shy of 7) to my sister's townhouse in Des Moines.  That's right. Instant mama of 4 on a 6 hour car trip. My only true dilemma came when I was at the rest stop and wasn't sure how I'd manage to actually use the facilities myself. Leave children unattended in the car? Hold the baby, take all 3 children in the bathroom with me? A combination of the two?  I decided I didn't have to go that badly. Fluid restriction. Bladder of steel.  Overall, I was impressed with myself. Aside from the last 20 minutes, everyone remained fairly happy in transit.  Thank goodness for portable DVD players and a long list of camp songs sung from memory.

Photos here:  http://picasaweb.google.com/jmsanford50/MadisonIowaTrip#

3. Vacation.  Oh what a lovely vacation. It was actually a vacation. No mowing the lawn, no clinic notes to write, a little cooking (but campfire cooking adds novelty) and as much sleeping in as a two month old and a two year old will allow. George was with me (dual parenting, using the divide and conquer method, is SO much easier than solo). And for a week we sat and drank coffee, enjoyed the beautiful Lake Michigan beach, swam, played in the sand, ate s'mores, and watched children be children. Did you know child rearing is so much easier when they reach the age where they can entertain each other, play together, and babies can sleep on the shoulder of an auntie or grandma?  Occasionally a thought flits across my mind like this: what did people do before we had bumbo seats, or bouncers, or johnny-jump-ups?  Oh yeah, it was a relative and a rocking chair who kept baby occupied or sleeping so momma could get a breather.

And here's a plug for western Michigan beaches. Fabulous sand. NO bugs, unlike Wisconsin. Fresh water lake, clear water. No sticky saltiness at the end of the day of ocean swimming. Sometimes waves - great for little ones still learning to swim. Don't everyone rush there all at once, I don't want my beach to become crowded with tourists! 

Photos here:  http://picasaweb.google.com/lottie329/CapperSummerVacation2010#

5 years

5 years of wedded bliss = 2 years of nursing school + 3 years of finishing medical school + 3 moves across state lines + 1 house + 2 kids + 2 years of family medicine residency + countless nights of "call" + sprinkles of date nights + several nightly constitutions + evening family meals + coffee, and lots of it + a few tears + smiles and laughter.


A "wood" anniversary.


Would I say Yes all over again?


YES!!

"Let's play trains"

most frequently heard phrase these days at our house

I look forward to the day Henry asks Grant more often than Momma or Papa

Smiles

These help an exhausted Momma feel less irritated about a 5:00am wake up call.

Grant's smiles are so sweet.


We have pillow talk, and then, if we're lucky, another short nap before Henry is at the door.

Hhmmm.

Until I have a little more time to myself, the blog will continue to take a back burner. Though I do have ideas floating around in my head that I'm excited so share, you'll have to simply stay tuned.

Recently, I've been trying to read more about sibling adjustment, as Henry seems to be in an awful phase of acting out and being quite aggressive toward Grant. The University of Michigan has a very helpful website, complete with a questionnaire to help parents understand their child's temperament, in addition to suggestions on how to handle regression or aggressive behavior.  I found the following excerpt on this website and it made me laugh. So I wanted to share:

To get a sense of how your older child might feel about the addition of the new baby, imagine this:  
Imagine that your partner puts an arm around you and says, "Honey, I love you so much, and you're so wonderful that I've decided to have another wife (or husband or partner) just like you."  When the new wife (or husband or partner) finally arrives, you see that (s)he's very young and kind of cute. When the three of you are out together, people say hello to you politely, but exclaim ecstatically over the newcomer. "Isn't (s)he adorable! Hello sweetheart... You are precious!" Then they turn to you and ask, "How do you like the new wife (or husband or partner)?"  

Brand New Cousin

Taking her sweet time to come into the world (8 days overdue!), Elaina Louise Sanford arrives on the scene with a lovely head of hair.  She was born June 18th and weighed in at 8 lbs 15 oz. She and Grant are 6 weeks apart. I'm sure there will be fun times ahead for these cousins.

Congrats, Sanford family!

6 Weeks

Six weeks old. And so strong.
He has to be, to survive his brother.

We've had some scares (well, maybe Grant wasn't scared, but Mommy sure was) -- I've found Henry flat on top of him, like a human pancake. I've seen Grant dangling from the futon, legs over the edge, face down. I'm conscious of the split seconds that I leave the two of them in a room together. Apparently, a lot can happen in a split second.