Friday, September 21, 2012

Toddler Times: Toothpaste

I just climbed out of the shower to find Krew sucking all the toothpaste out of his Thomas the Train toothpaste tube while watching his TV show. You know, since there was no popcorn available. The tube is pretty much empty. Prior to my shower, it was pretty much full.

As I took it away, he proclaimed, "But it's yummy!!!"

Apparently.

At least it's flouride-free.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

The End of Who's Who?

Well, it's official.  Greyden doesn't look a whole lot like Krewson did as a baby anymore.  It's getting pretty easy to tell the difference.  Example below.


This is when they were both around 5 1/2 weeks old.  Krew on the left, Grey on the right.  The picture of Greyden cracks me up...holy cow he looks like a chunker!!  (This picture makes him look chunkier than he is, although I won't deny the boy is carrying some hefty rolls.)

Or here's another:


There are definitely similarities, but I also think it's easy to tell them apart.

It's so fun to see how genetics can combine to create completely different little boys. :)

Alright, there's a little one upstairs screaming to be swaddled, so that's all for now.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Babyhood Weeks 3 through 6

Grey, you turned six weeks old this past Saturday! Such a big boy! :)

You continue to grow like crazy, gaining almost a pound per week.  I measured you the middle of last week (when you were 5 1/2 weeks old), and you weighed 13.2 lbs, you were 23 3/4 inches long, and your head was 38 1/2 cm around.  That put you at 99th percentile for height and at >99th percentile for weight and head.  In other words, you're giant!!  Haha I don't know how your daddy and I make such big babies...your brother was an oversized infant, as well.  But I love your giantness.  It makes you so cuddly, and all your rolls are just awesome. :)


I'm still nursing you for all your meals, and I'm hoping to be able to nurse you until you're a year old like I did your older brother.  It only takes you about ten minutes to eat at each feeding, which is absolutely amazing to me.  Your brother would nurse for 40 minutes each time! Although you don't eat at the same pace as he did (thank goodness), you sure do spit up at the same pace.  I go through about six burp cloths a day.  It never seems to bother you (unless you choke on it, which happens occasionally), and you're obviously gaining plenty of weight, so I'm not too worried.  It's just something we have to deal with.


You've continued to get closer and closer to sleeping through the night, sometimes going to bed around 11pm and sleeping till 5:30 or 6:30am.  The first time you slept past 3:40am (your typical first wake-up time), your momma here got worried.  I woke up over and over and over, wondering if maybe I hadn't turned on the monitor loud enough, or if it was on the wrong channel.  I of course even wondered if you were alive, as all paranoid mommas do.  But you were alive and well.  You were just trying to bless me with some extra shut-eye, if I would have taken advantage of it.  You sleep swaddled in your rocker at night most of the time now, because that's how you seem happiest and sleep the longest.  Plus I like knowing you're on an incline with how much and how often you spit up.  I'm not sure when I'll switch you to your crib...just playing it by ear. Isn't that how most people do most of parenting? :)


You've started occasionally smiling in response to things, which is so adorable to watch. Your smile just warms my heart. :)  You still really enjoy watching your mobiles, too, and have started tracking with your eyes while looking at them.  It's so neat to see you taking interest in things around you.




You seem to pretty much hate tummy time, just like your brother did.  I still try to do it several times a day, but it's hard to convince myself to do so when I know it's just going to put you in a crabby mood.  Your brother ran a little behind on holding his head up while on his belly, and I don't want the same thing to happen to you.  So sorry to disappoint you, but the tummy time is going to continue!







You definitely seem to prefer your mommy to anyone else, which I must admit makes me feel special.  I can almost always calm you down, and sometimes when you're calm and I hand you to someone else you start crying.  Of course, I'm sure a lot of this stems from the fact that I carry your food hanging off the front of me.  But I enjoy being the preferred adult nonetheless. :)



You've done a lot of traveling already in your short life.  The weekend you turned four weeks old you went to a frisbee tournament in Maryland, the weekend you turned five weeks old you went to Lake Gaston and went on your first boat ride, and this past weekend when you turned 6 weeks old you were in Charlotte visiting your grandparents and great grandparents on your daddy's side of the family.  You've been a great travel buddy so far!  You ride well in the car, sleeping most of the time, and you adapt well to changes in schedule.  I'm so impressed. :)



On your first boat ride!

I think you're looking less and less like your brother as you're changing to look more like an infant than a newborn, but we'll see.  A couple weeks ago I noticed that you all of a sudden had two hair lines.  That's right - you had this little strip of hair growing on your forehead, then a strip of baldness, and then the rest of your hair.  It was quite the bizarre hair style. :) Since then little baby hairs have started growing in the bald area, so it doesn't really look like two hair lines anymore.  And I'm pretty sure the hairs are brown, so we might have a little brunette boy on our hands! It's so fun to watch you grown and change, especially during this time when it all happens so quickly.  I'm so thankful for my phone camera, because it makes it easy to take pictures of you every day and catch all the changes. I don't want to miss a thing!




Till the next update, keep us smiling little boy!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Two and a Half!! (Krew 30 Month Update)

How is it possible that my first baby is 2 1/2 years old today??  My life is just whizzing by!

Krewson boy, every day you continue to grow and mature and amaze us with the things you're learning about this world.  I love having conversations with you and listening to you talk.  I love seeing how your mind works and laughing at your naivety about the things around you.  You just bring so much joy to every day!


You are becoming more and more independent and determined to get your way.  Multiple times a day we hear "My do it MY BY SELF!!".  "NO!" comes out of your mouth quite frequently now, and is often met with "Krewson, you do NOT tell your mommy [or daddy, or grandma, or grandpa] no!"  Your response is usually a mischievous smile or an instant pouty face and the words, "My sad."  You're definitely testing your limits!


As of today you are 34.75 inches tall (20th percentile) and weigh a little over 30 lbs (56th percentile).  You are wearing size 8 or 9 shoes, 2t shorts (although they're getting small), 24 month and 2t shirts, and size 5 diapers.

Yes, you are still in diapers.  You pretty much refuse to use the potty and come up with great excuses for your reluctance.  Eileen told me she offers your friend Adi "chocolate mountains" (Hershey's Kisses) for using the potty at daycare.  I thought I'd give it a try the other day, but you replied "My don't want chocolate mountains!!" despite the fact that you love candy and chocolate.  I've bought you two books about little boys learning to use the potty, and you love having the books read to you.  But still no potty in the toilet.  I might have to start doing a bit of research on potty training methods.


Of course, if you were done with diapers, there would be no more awesome shots like this.

You seem to be warming up to your brother a bit, although you still see him as more of a nuisance than anything.  Thankfully you've stopped acting angry toward me and seem to have accepted that he is a part of our family.  For the most part, you ignore him.  Occasionally we'll catch you doing something sweet, such as trying to give him his pacifier or blowing him an air kiss, and I treasure those moments.  But they are few and far between.  I know that once he starts acting more like a child and less like a little blob you'll like him a lot more, but that time is still a good ways off!


This past month you did a lot more swimming.  You let your head go under water without crying, and you even learned to swim by yourself with a life jacket on, which is so exciting!  This past weekend you even went tubing behind a boat (VERY slowly) with your daddy! I was so impressed.  When your head goes under water, you always announce immediately afterwards, "My a big boy now!!!"  Yes, yes, you're a big boy now. :)


You still love all things sports, cars and trucks and buses and airplanes and tractors, rough housing with your dad, coloring, singing, dancing, playing instruments, climbing on playsets, and tearing our house to shreds.  You've also started to play make-believe a lot more lately, which I LOVE to watch.  Hearing you make pretend voices for your trucks as you smash them into one another is quite entertaining.



Oh, and you still love to talk.  Nonstop.  As long as there are no unfamiliar people around.  Then you tend to go mute.  My favorite words to hear you say right now are "maidorhood" (neighborhood) and "That's important!" because your little voice sounds so sweet when you say them. (You can listen below.)  You're also getting a lot better at using your pronouns.  We've had several mini-lessons on "girls are her, boys are him, girls are she, boys are he", and then we go through lots of people you know and discuss whether each of them is a boy or girl.  One of my favorite of your little sayings in the past month was when you were looking for Maggie and you said, "Where is he??  Oh, there she are!!!"  It was simply adorable. :)







Keep on growing our little two-and-a-half-year-old! Your Mommy and Daddy love you!

Monday, September 3, 2012

Amazing Grace

Since Greyden was born, I haven't been having my daily morning quiet time spent reading the Bible. I mean, let's be honest, if I'm up at 6am, it's because I'm nursing him and plan on climbing right back in bed. There hasn't been a morning where at 6am I'm even close to being rested enough to read my Bible and get anything out of it.

And of course, whenever I do get up, there's newborn stuff to do, or newborn + toddler stuff to do, and I never know what the schedule is going to be. So attempting to have a planned morning time to read my Bible is pretty futile at this point.

I have been reading the Bible on my phone occasionally, but not near enough. I'm weeks behind on my year-long reading plan. When I do read it, it's not touching me the way I hope. I'm glad I read it, yes, and it helps me focus on the Lord, but I'm not feeling the inner stirring that I want to feel.

But one thing I have found helps: music. When I have Christian music playing in the background as I'm doing my daily responsibilities, my soul feels so uplifted and every thought and action of mine is so much more focused on following God's will. And then, when I read the Bible after a day with lots of music, I find myself much more engrossed in the Word.

Is anyone else like this with music?? It just touches me so deeply!!

One of my favorite Christian songs (and I'll admit I have a lot, so you may hear me say this about a bagillion songs) is Amazing Grace. Its words are so pure and speak so clearly about God's love and how we should be living this life.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

The songs lyrics are awesome, and put to music they can always bring tears to my eyes. Below is my favorite rendition of the song, performed by Michael W. Smith and his choir. I hope you enjoy, and that it touches your heart as much as it touches mine.