Seriously?

Photo by Henry (and Mama)

Grant is 4 and 3/4 months old, and he learned to sit up yesterday.  Unbelievable. Just when I thought I was a step ahead of this one...

a walk in the woods

On the other side.  When I'm "in the thick of it" I'm grumpy.

From a mole week. Flipping schedules for overnights at the hospital.

Hearing Henry ask for Papa at bedtime.

A rough week of head colds.

Lack of sleep.

We received a gift.

One night of sleep at the hospital.

One night of sleep at home (the sought after 4 hour stretch) for an exhausted mama.

and a beautiful fall Friday, ahead of a free Saturday and Sunday.  

(are the stars aligned? Super Harvest Moon, indeed)

We took a walk in the woods.

A place to explore, close to our house.

Cherokee Marsh has hidden treasures.

Woods. Water. Prairie.

A refuge.

How can an afternoon walk make the horrendous week slip so quickly from our memories?

speaking of road trip

At the end of August, we ventured to Boston for Grant's maiden voyage out east.  Unlike when we took Henry at 3 months old and endured a horrific heat wave, this time we were caught off guard with unseasonably cool weather and rain, rain, and more rain. It did not dampen our spirits too much (aside from a little disappointment about the quantity of time spent with outdoor trucks, or a trip to the beach) as we were able to catch up with friends and family.

We enjoyed an adults only meal (including a few adult beverages)

Meme and Grant relaxing

an even more relaxed Grant

The reason Henry didn't mind the rain too much: custom built frame for Hotwheels tracks circa 1982

Henry hasn't forgotten, randomly commenting at lunch the other day that Uncle Nicholas was lucky to have this at Meme's house

Autumnal Equinox

The autumnal equinox and a full moon (the "Super Harvest Moon", in fact) this week had me reflecting on the summer days gone by.

Here's a quick recap:
1. My first thought is that it was "The Summer of the Mosquito."

The summer of 2010 caused nearly as much cabin fever as a Madison winter. Henry would stand at the patio door, begging to play in the sand box. I would try to spray him, but inevitably he would return to the house covered with bites and swatting at bugs shouting "the bugs are getting me!"  This fact, combined with an infant, kept us from enjoying our backyard, parks, and beaches to their full potential. But that's not to say we didn't have some good times sprinkled in with what was a rather grueling schedule of sleepless nights, much residency work (George's 3rd and final year!), and adapting to new baby.

There were some summer barbecues:

2.  We did try to stay cool. The fewer items of clothing, the better.   

3. There were occasional days here and there when George wasn't working. So we took a few road trips! These pictures are from our quest to find sandy beaches on the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan.

The weigh in

Grant's four month appointment this week allowed us to weigh our heavy weight champ.
Weight: 19lbs. 2oz. (96%)
Height: 27in. (94%)
Head circumference: 44cm (83%)

Aside from the shared family cold this week, we have a VERY healthy boy on our hands, who has had a VERY healthy appetite.  Breastmilk is some amazing stuff!

Four Month Old Grant

Four month old Grant is so much more than the "baby Grant", who sleeps in the swing or bouncy chair. Four month old Grant is cooing, grabbing, smiling, scooting, nearly sitting, drooling, cutting teeth, and rolling.

Henry dubbed Grant "firefighter"

 We're in a honeymoon period with the boys, I think. Grant is entertained and fascinated with Henry and his whereabouts and whoesy-whats-its, stories, running, and motion. In fact, Grant seems to actually all out miss Henry when it's just me. (Preschool plan back-fire?! I hope not.)

One evening last week, Henry was playing at the neighbor's house and after Grant had napped, diaper-changed, ate, and played, there was nothing I could do to make the boy happy. I checked off everything on the baby essentials list, pulled out some extra mommy attention, and still could not keep the screaming at bay. Henry returned home, Grant was quiet.

Vice versa is equally true. Grant and I took a trip up north for a camp reunion and Henry asked about Grant more than Mama. Their reunion was a collection of sweet smiles and funny noises. Henry loves to get Grant to smile and giggle. And he's quite good at it, too.

First Day

This is why I'll have a little more time to myself. Henry is going to preschool! Two half days per week. Just enough to give him something of his own, and let me try to find a little sanity (let's remember I'll still have Grant to entertain - which is becoming harder each day. How frustrating to have discovered hands, but not be able to work them properly!)

His first day went quite smoothly. We started with circle time, sang the welcome song, then quickly did the art project for the day (stamping, a favorite activity), set up a train track and said our goodbyes. Upon pick up, I received a good report from his teacher. He even went pee on the potty for them, which is a big deal (public restroom fear is easing up).

Recently, I read someone else's comment about the first day of school experience for parents. The phrase fits perfectly. We experience a "joyful heartache" as we watch our kids grow. How lovely to witness them come into their own, and how quickly babyhood fades.

a teaser

This is sort of a post to say, yet again, stay tuned. I might have a chance to post to the blog in the near future.

Lately, we've been trying to squeeze in any last-minute summer activities, weather permitting. The maple tree in our front yard is proof that a palette of autumn colors is sneaking into the landscape and days of running outdoors without a thought of shoes, coats, and long pants are numbered.

In general, we're a pretty happy bunch.

State Fair

For the record.
Iowa State Fair > Wisconsin State Fair.
But I am biased.

But, we went, we saw, we experienced the cream puff.
Apparently, this item is a big deal. We found them yummy, but messy.
I'll "stick" to the fare at the Iowa State Fair.

Genuine smile replaces cheesy smile when a truck is involved.

I wanted to look at the world's tallest living horse. Henry was drawn to the small tractors and trucks. What a tease, to only look and not touch the toys.

Pedal power missing. His heart was in it, though. AND he snatched up the "cool combine one"
Oh. That's a cream puff.

3 months

I blinked my eyes and 3 months went by.

Everyday I've stared at my little baby (who, let's face it, isn't so little, but it's a relative thing). Pun intended.

I've spent three months studying the newest member of our family. I'm amazed by how similar, yet different he looks, compared to Henry. (I know. I want to try not to compare Grant to Henry all the time, but it's hard!) His hair is a little darker and there's more of it. His hairline is different (cowlick, courtesy of George), yet he lacks George's prominent eyebrows - which Henry carries and forms into various funny faces, serious frowns, or my favorite, surprise eyebrows. There are so many things I either forgot from the first time around, or was too worried I was "doing everything right" as a first time parent to really notice about a newborn.

For instance, Grant, even from the earliest days at the hospital, would laugh in his sleep. Not just the little cute smiles of content. Full out laughing. Knowing that this skill takes time to develop, it was strange, yet delightful to hear this. And Grant seems intent on winning strongest baby contest and beating Henry on milestones. At 2 months, he rolled over. I wouldn't just say that if it happened on an uneven surface once or twice. It happened three or four times. On the floor. Crazy stuff. Mark my words, we'll have a walker by 9 months. Honest. But I'm not rushing him.

The second child is a baby to enjoy. The pressure is off.  We've already proven that we can grow a child past a birthday. The confidence gained makes for a more relaxed parent, and in turn, a more relaxed baby. Now as insight to Grant's personality, know that Henry is a fairly easy-going kid, and he was a good baby. Grant is even more laid back. If that's possible.

Though I don't want to jinx myself. I say these things, yet in the next instant remember that yesterday at the YMCA I was paged overhead to pick up my charming three month old who was screaming at the top of his lungs. He is Mommy's boy. The moment he heard my voice and knew I was holding him, he was quiet. On my way out, I realize that his diaper is soaked, so I try to dart back in to change him before loading him in the carseat. All is going well with Grant. Henry was uncharacteristically good at drop off and pick up, but has suddenly lost patience and wants me to carry him. Given that I have the infant car seat (with Grant inside) and a diaper bag in tow, I try to encourage him to get to the car under his own power. Good feeling from 1 hour away from my boys drains from my body. My shoulder blades once again become earrings, my ears start ringing, and I can feel my cheeks flush as I try to encourage, then coerce, then end up dragging my two year old, who has grabbed onto my leg screaming and crying, past the lobby full of people into the parking lot and car and car seat. A separate workout unto itself. Parent confidence suffers a setback.

So, my point being, attachment parenting going well. Henry is attached. (ha, ha) And Grant is attached. The whole time George holds him in the evening, Grant has an eagle eye on me as I continue to put supper on the table, eat, and then clean up afterwards. The. Whole. Time. He knows what he likes. Milk. I mean Mommy. At this stage, one in the same.

I neglected to put up Grant's stats from his 2 month appointment. Better late than never: Here they are from his July 12th appointment:
Weight: 15 lbs 14 oz. for the 95%
Height: 24.5 inches for the 90%
Head circumference 42 cm for the 90%


He is a big strong boy. Ok, last time. Compared to Henry, Grant weighed 1 lbs heavier and was an inch shorter at 2 months. I like to joke that I have "Hank and Tank."  But things can change. One of my sisters was quite chunky as a baby, but always very thin after that. So you never know. You just try to keep up.