Reach for the Sky!

And speaking of Toy Story (because we're almost always speaking of Toy Story in this house these days)...

Andrew got a hold of Philip's Sheriff Woody doll during Philip's nap time this afternoon. Hilarity ensued.

"Mmm... I'm so glad my big brother is sleeping so I can finally get my hands on his favorite toy."

Andrew: "Hey, what's this thing?" Pulls string. Woody: "Reach for the sky!"

"Whoa."

He protects the galaxy from the evil Emperor Zurg...

It's Philip, er, I mean Buzz Lightyear!

That's "Buzz" demonstrating how his "laser" works on mommy while she tries to take a picture of him. This is his new response to my plea of "Smile for the camera!"

Someone takes his Toy Story very, very seriously.

Finding Our Groove

Finally! After 5 long months, I finally feel like I am getting a handle on this mom of two kids thing. One very good indicator of this: It's 10:00 PM and I am able to update the blog. Both of my hands are free! And that is because both of the boys are upstairs sleeping soundly. Philip until morning, (8 AM or later, bless his heart), Andrew for another hour or so, (hopefully), until he wakes up to eat again. Lately he has been going to sleep "for the night" around 9:00 PM every night. This falls about an hour and a half after Philip's bed time on most nights. Last night he went to bed at 9, woke up to eat around 11, and slept until 4:30! It was such a nice surprise! I hope it starts happening more often.

Phil is working overnight tonight so it's just me and the boys at home. This no longer scares the bejeezus out of me like it did when Andrew was a newborn. Nighttime wakings are no big deal. Andrew gets up for the day around 7 AM. Sometimes I can get him back to sleep for another hour or so. Philip gets up around 8. I get both boys changed and dressed and we come downstairs for breakfast. Andrew sits in his high chair while I get Philip's food together, usually oatmeal, eggs and toast, or frozen waffles. When Phil is home he makes us all pancakes or homemade waffles. Philip and I eat breakfast and then I get Andrew a bottle. He drinks his bottle while Philip sets to work on pulling all of his "guys" out and tearing apart the living room in general. We play, I fill sippy cups, and change diapers, until about 9 when Andrew decides he needs to sleep. He naps for about half an hour if we're lucky. Philip asks for a snack. We might try to get an errand or two out of the way.

Lunch happens around 11:30 or 12:00 and nap time for Philip follows immediately after it (on a good day). He sleeps for about two hours. Andrew nurses and/or takes another bottle and hopefully another nap while Philip is napping. Once Philip is up it's time for more play time for both boys. These days, Andrew likes to bounce in the Jumperoo or practice sitting up and reaching for toys on a blanket that we spread out on the floor.

Dinner is at 6:00, followed by bath every other night and bedtime around 7:30. Once Philip is in bed, Andrew and mommy get in some more play time, and he takes his nightly nursing session and/or bottle. With any luck, he's passed out by 9:00 PM and mommy gets some much-needed time to herself!

It's taken us some time and, for a while, I thought we'd never get here, but we did. I think tomorrow I might venture out with the boys to the library or maybe to Borders to find some new books to read. Maybe we'll swing by Target. Heck, maybe we'll make the forty minute journey to Fredericksburg to visit Grandma Nettie. Nothing this seasoned mommy of  two can't handle!

Andrew: 5 Months Old!

Milestones for this month:

• Teething! Oh boy, we're in for it now. What started out as a lot of slobber has escalated into a lot of gnawing on teething toys and general crankiness and discomfort. Here's hoping that tooth breaks through soon!
• Solids. We just started D out on some rice cereal and bananas. He's still not sure what to think but we have a feeling that will change soon. 
• Rolling. A couple of weeks ago Andrew decided he wanted a change of scenery and rolled himself from his back to his tummy. What an accomplishment! Now he's so into rolling you have to restrain him during a diaper change!
• Sitting up. He's thisclose to sitting unassisted now. He can tripod for a short amount of time before gravity takes over and he topples. 
• The beginnings of creeping? This evening he was on our bed on his tummy and he pushed his backside up in the air so he was almost in a pyramid shape. It won't be long before he figures out how to get those feet to do what he wants them to do and then there will be no stopping him!
• Finally starting to lose some of that baby hair! Not enough of it though... That hair is something else I tell you. Phil insists he's going to need a hair cut before his first birthday. I refuse to put him in the chair prior to one. Should look really interesting at his party. ;-)

Cereal and bananas, most of it worn on his shirt

Playing with Buzz

Impromptu teether

Bored with mommy's photo shoot after dinner

Tricked into smiling!

Playing with daddy

Loves his bouncer!

"Things I Don't Want to Forget"

My mom recently asked me if I was recording the cute things Philip has been saying and doing lately. I've been meaning to start jotting these things down for a while now, but I just never find the time. A fellow blogger's decision to start doing just that has motivated me to periodically record those things here.

Andrew. As trying as life is with him right now, I want to remember the good/funny/precious/heart-warming moments with him long after I've forgotten the sleepless nights and unexplained crying fits.

My favorite thing right now about our sweet baby "Dee-doo" is how much he loves his big brother. Tonight he was sitting on my lap, his eyes trained on Philip as he bounced around the living room in front of us. He watches Philip so intently and with such admiration! He started giggling watching Philip go about his business playing with his toys. Philip noticed and responded by coming up to him, smiling at him and giving him hugs. Andrew got such a kick out of this! He started belly laughing and the two of them were lost in a game of making the other laugh. The very best thing about being a mother for me so far is seeing the love my two boys already have for each other. I can't even put into words how it makes me feel to see the bond they are forming to one another.

Andrew's laugh is a lot like how his brother's was at this age: kind of nasal and high pitched. Only Andrew's is punctuated with brief squeals and inhalations that make him sound more like a dog's squeak toy than a baby! It's hilarious and you can't help but laugh along with him.

Philip. Our little conversationalist. I can't get over how much he's talking these days. He loves learning new words from us and imitating how we express ourselves. His favorite adjectives for describing things are "cool," "cute," and "nice." When he says cute he says it like "cukes." For example, he was talking about his new big foot toy this morning that he got from his Nana and Papa for Christmas. "Big foot cool!" Yes, Philip, Big Foot is cool! "Yeah, and 'cukes!' Big Foot nice, too!"

Concern for others. I guess we frequently ask Philip if he is okay if he coughs because we can't cough even one time now without Philip asking us "Mama okay? Daddy okay?"

Keeping us straight. If Philip detects that Phil and I are "debating" over something or just joking around with each other in a teasing way, he will so helpfully remind us to be kind by saying "Mama, be nice. Daddy, be nice." The other day, Philip was sitting in Phil's lap while Phil was saying something sassy to me and Philip took Phil's face in both of his hands and said "Daddy, be nice." I about died!

Learning to sit unassisted!

Showing off his favorite dinosaur

Philip was trying to get Andrew to clap

Andrew is obsessed with sucking on his hand these days

Sick and Tired

There is nothing more miserable than being sick. On Tuesday I came down with a nagging cough that wouldn't go away. By Wednesday I was coughing so hard I was almost gagging. Today I have a headache that won't quit, a stuffy nose, sinus pressure, and that same horrendous cough. Phil calling in on Tuesday night to stay home to take care of me and the boys. He was off yesterday and today but has to go back in tomorrow. If I wake up feeling the same or worse tomorrow I am going to see the doctor.

All of this wouldn't be so bad but for one thing: my dear, sweet, darling 5 month old son, Andrew.

Let me paint you (whoever may be reading this and also, you, future self) a picture here. My baby only wants me. Clingy, attached, dependent, stuck-like-freaking-Crazy Glue doesn't even begin to cover it. He only marginally tolerates Phil and that's a recent development. He wants all mama, all the time. So I can't even get a break from him when Phil is home and can step in. God love him, he tries. But Andrew has the stamina and lung power to outlast us all. He will scream to the point that he is hiccuping and gasping for breath. What am I to do? Thank God Phil and I work opposite shifts, myself only twenty hours per week, because I have no freaking clue what we would do otherwise. He absolutely, positively will not accept a substitute.

Also, he doesn't sleep. That's right, doesn't sleep. He's still up every hour or two at night. Sometimes less. I don't think he's slept more than 3 hours straight since October. He also doesn't nap. He falls asleep for 30 minutes at a time during the day, mostly in my arms, and if I dare lay him down to nap he's awake within 5 minutes, screaming.

He also doesn't tolerate being in his car seat. I have to sit right next to him in the car, bottle, binky, Sophie-ready, just to get him to relax enough to hopefully fall asleep for part of the ride.

And once we get to wherever it is we are going, he won't deal with being transported in his car seat onto a stroller frame. He has to be worn in my Ergo for every outing or all Hell will break loose. It's the only way I am able to go out in public with him.

And all of this at five months old.

So long story short, I am tired. T-I-R-E-D, tired. And now I am sick on top of it and don't even have the ability to rest in order to get better.

And there it is, my reality, in all of its painful honesty: My baby doesn't sleep through the night--not even close! My five month old baby rarely does a two hour stretch at night, and he doesn't make up for it during the day, either.

And the next person who tells this sleep-deprived mother that their brand new baby is sleeping 7 hours straight at night is getting punched in the eye. Don't say I didn't warn you.

New Car!

Well, that tears it. We're officially grown ups. Yesterday we put aside our pride and said goodbye to our youth and bought ourselves a minivan. Nah, I'm just being dramatic. I actually got over the anti-cool factor and started lusting after power sliding doors about five minutes after we left the hospital with Philip. And now, the wait is finally over. We are now the proud owners of a new-to-us, certified pre-owned silver pine mica '09 Toyota Sienna LE. Aahhhhhh. The 8 seater model. You know what that means right? Room for four more kiddos!

*Insert picture of Phil packing his suit case here*

Okay, maybe just one more... or two. ;-)

In any case, it's the ultimate family vehicle and I'm so glad relieved we finally crossed the line from life in the fast lane to life in the car pool lane. They really ought to hand these things out when you leave the hospital along with those diaper bags full of formula samples!

Our Swagger Wagon 

Christmas 2010

I haven't been very good about keeping up with this blog since Andrew was born. To be honest, I just don't have the time! I'm back at work part-time and taking care of two little boys and a household the rest of the time.  By the time I get Andrew to sleep at night (and he's just now starting to fall asleep at a predictable time and stay asleep once I lay him down in his bed) all I want to do is mindlessly surf the web and hang out with Phil. So it's not that there's nothing going on or that I have nothing to say, it's just that there's not enough time to talk about everything that's going on!

December was a super busy month. Normally I love Christmas and the anticipation and business of the days leading up to it, but this year I could really take it or leave it. Not sure why. Blame it on the sleep deprivation! However, this year we have a two year old who was very into this thing called Christmas and you couldn't help but get excited too when you saw it through the eyes of a little one just big enough to get excited himself!

So despite constantly feeling like there wasn't enough time to get everything done, we managed to pull off a great first Christmas as a family of four. We put up lights. We saw Santa. We baked cookies. We had pictures taken of the boys in their holiday clothes and sent out Christmas cards. We bought we may more presents than originally planned!

Christmas morning was so fun. We got the boys up and dressed, and I went downstairs and put cinnamon rolls in the oven, made coffee, lit the tree, and turned on Christmas music. Phil brought Philip and Andrew downstairs where I was waiting, video camera in hand, to catch Philip's reaction when he saw that Santa Claus did indeed come, just as we had been telling him for the past few weeks. It was so fun to watch him opening his gifts!

Once the gifts were all open Phil made us a basil and potato frittata and we spent the rest of the day enjoying our new presents and each other's company. As a child of divorced parents, I spent almost every Christmas of my childhood traveling in between houses on Christmas day. I made a promise to myself back then that when I had a family of my own, I wouldn't make my kids leave their new toys behind and pack us all into the car to go visit relatives. Visiting with family is done on Christmas Eve and the days after Christmas, but Christmas day is reserved for us. So far, I absolutely love it! 

After all, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy this peaceful moment in quite the same way had we not been in the comfort of our own home. ♥