What about when they swarm you?

Somehow in the last few weeks the boys had converging phases of difficulty that managed to overwhelm all our parental patience and skill some evenings. Henry continues to be defiant and sassy and we were struggling with epic MAD meltdowns that were just spiraling out of control. Even though we were setting timers, giving him warnings before transitions, he just couldn't handle it when a favorite activity was curtailed. We finally decided that a serious contributing factor was video games before bed. He just seemed to be unable to control himself when he got upset about having to stop and we endured a few hour long tantrum/meltdowns before we banned video game to weekend afternoons. He's no sweet angel all the time but so far so good on the utter meltdown messes we had endured. He's been doing well at school and he got "twenty thumbs up" from his babysitter last night so i know he saves the really juicy bits of naughtiness for us.

Silas just about did us in there for a bit. We got locked in an epic power-struggle over seating arrangements for meals. As it turns out Silas is possibly more stubborn (hard-headed as they say at school) than any of the rest of us. He very clearly did not want to sit in his booster seat to eat meals anymore. He wanted to sit in the regular chairs which he can get himself up and down from on his own now. This would be all fine and good, and we do let him sit in the chairs to read books or play at the table, but he's constantly standing up in them testing us and has fallen off more than once. It's essentially impossible to let him eat dinner in the chair without him making a serious mess and most likely impaling himself on a plastic spoon.

As the days wore on i tried to make a tea party with stuffed animals in all the other seats, i switched the placement of his seat with mine, nothing worked. The first night he got so upset and couldn't calm down that he just asked to go to bed-- sans dinner. The second night he finally did calm down and sit in his chair but only after we gave him his pacifier and baby. On the third day JT had the idea of resurrecting the little table and chairs. It's not been a perfect solution-- we now have to constantly get Silas to sit back down until he's done eating. But at least for now we're not losing our minds over the iron will of someone that doesn't reach our knee caps.

Holidays with Small Children, grand and exhausting

We were lucky enough to rap up another year with family visiting for Christmas and then a week-long trip with friends to a house in nearby MI for New Years. Both were fun and exhausting and i can't tell you how much more relaxing going back to work Monday morning felt. This is the first year that being off the boys' routine seemed to be a real factor to contend with.

I don't know if it was just coincidental or what but Henry has entered a very defiant phase in which he frequently says no to whatever is being suggested and often breaks down or gets mopey at the slightest hint of things not going his way. It takes a significant amount of parental effort not to lose it on an hourly basis and to balance funny and cajoling with "i mean it" discipline. It was hard to tell how much of his meltdowns over Christmas were due to being over stimulated and what was just this phase he's in. Anyhow the extra hands were appreciated and it was of course fun to see everyone open their gifts together. Unfortunately our visiting family took turns being sick during their stay but we all amazingly stayed well for the most part.


We spent New Year's week with three other couples with kids. It was mayhem and after all the kids were asleep a ton of fun. We had a few outings to the outlet mall and lots of games of hearts as well as a favorite ice cream treat called chunky monkeys. The boys had a short outing to the lake where they enjoyed tromping around on the snow covered sand and throwing stones into the snow.

Now that we're back to our routine we almost have our sleep schedules back to normal and the house somewhat put back together. I got a promotion at work that took effect Monday so i've been feeling my way through a job that's mostly known to me with some new challenges and JT is working on a case that looks slotted for trial. So we're busy and doing well and just hoping we have only light snowfall for a bit!

21 Months, 4 Weeks, 1 Day

We decided kinda last minute to go out for an uber-romantic dinner at our local taco joint. Henry and i headed over after swimming and met JT. I can't say it was the best behaved Henry's ever been in a restaurant, but it was nice not to have to cook or clean up and Henry actually ate some dinner which was a bonus.

We got home and he found a new easel waiting for him along with a few things from mom, and a new outfit from his Great-Grandmother. He was extremely excited about the easel as you can tell by the picture. He particularly likes to "erase" the chalkboard using the wooden side of the eraser. We've shown him how to do it correctly but he prefers to make a horrendous noise that sends Mom and Dad running for cover.

Valentine's Day!

We've had an eventful day already, although nothing to do with valentine's yet. We've probably gotten about 8 inches or so of snow since two nights ago and we had therapy bright and early this morning, so we got up, got Henry some breakfast and ourselves ready and JT shovelled the walk and dug-out the car. We run a tight ship around here so we managed to actually get out the door on time.

Today was a really great therapy session for Henry. No tantrums really-- a tiny bit of fussing when we'd been doing one thing for a long time and he was genuinely having fun for parts of it. I think it really helps that his memory is developing. I try to talk about his therapist "Jo" periodically, and Henry loves to say her name as well.

Then he headed off to see Ms. Brenda and the kiddos in his valentine's day shirt. I'll try to take a picture and post it tomorrow. He's been more and more particular about what he wears. He has two winter coats-- a puffy green one and a dressy light blue wool coat. Typically he's been wearing the green coat just because it's a bit more casual. Well, Henry has decided that the only wants to wear the blue one and will go over to the coat closet and protest if i have picked out the "wrong" one. He's also pretty clear that he prefers his leather squeaky shoes to his typical tennis shoes.

That's all fine and good but i worry a bit about Brenda's sanity when he wears the shoes that squeak every time he walks for days on end. She said the kids love them so i just try to push the tennis shoes every few days or so.

Henry and i have swimming this afternoon and then he'll get to come home to some valentine goodies. We made sugar cookies the other day and decorated some of them with hearts. He enjoyed one on Valentine's day Eve, but i figure he can have another one while opening a few Valentine gifts.

Haircut

The day finally arrived! I made Henry a hair appointment with JT and i's Stylist weeks ago and yesterday was the soonest we could get him in. You'd think she was a celebrity stylist or something. I wasn't really sure what to expect but Henry passed his first official haircut with flying colors. I packed plenty of snacks and a full cup of milk and even though we got there early and waited for about 30 minutes he was totally content.

Our hairdresser was really great with him. She's very calm and patient and showed him everything she was going to do first. She asked if i wanted to hold him on my lap and i said i'd like to try having him sit in the chair on his own. She got some booster seats and he sat that way the whole time he was getting his hair cut. His favorite part was getting to play with the squirt bottle that she used to keep his hair wet-- oh and of course the snacks he munched on the better part of the appointment.

Please note that the before picture reveals a particularly bad hair day, but it was clearly time for this haircut!

21 Months, 3 Weeks

I know i haven't been as regular with the posting as many folks would like. I'm starting to slow down a little bit with this pregnancy. I'm definitely hitting the big and uncomfortable stage. It's also amazing how busy work is right now and how much there is for me to get done before i go out on leave. I'm also feeling slightly under the weather. Nothing seems full-blown but i think i've got some kind of low-grade virus that is also affecting my stomach. While i certainly don't feel great, i just hope that it stays with me and doesn't infect JT or Henry.

We've been doing everything we can to stay warm around here. We've been dealing with highs from -2 to 4 degrees for several days and it hasn't been above freezing in over two weeks i believe. Today it's a little better though-- a high of 15, and by this weekend it's supposed to be positively balmy at 27 degrees.

We had one really bad cold-related incident earlier this week. I think it was Monday morning and i was taking Henry to daycare. I put his gloves on but they were cold (we had left them in the car from the night before) and he just cried and screamed the whole way to Brendas. It was so cold that the car really didn't heat up at all until after i was headed home so it didn't even improve while we were driving there.

I actually came in with Henry to take his coat off and help get him settled thinking that might help but he was still so upset and then really crying and not wanting me to leave. Unfortunately i did have to go but i called a bit later to make sure he had settled down and Brenda said "of course, as soon as they got the legos out." He hasn't really had any outbursts since then, but he has kept his gloves and hat on because even he knows it's cold!

He's not consistent about it, but he's starting to take more of an interest in his clothes. He has this one t-shirt from Oklahoma State that he loves. My Grandmother bought it for him after my last trip back there in January. It has pistol pete on the front and back of the shirt and whenever he picks out anything to wear, it's that shirt. I told him it was orange and that was a good choice and why didn't he wear his LONG-SLEEVE orange shirt instead. He refused so he's sporting the layered look today with his Pistol Pete shirt over another shirt. This morning he also insisted on wearing his dress coat instead of his everyday coat.

We're making a second go at swim class today. I double-checked the bag and have his swim suit so i just have to make sure to put mine on!

21 Months, 2 Weeks, 4 Days

We had a full weekend capped off with a super-bowl party tonight with friends. Unfortunately the Bears lost, but we had a good time with all the kiddos together. Henry was a little overwhelmed at first between the dogs and the kids and the football-related yelling. Then he settled in and was pretty happy hanging out with JT or I and canoodling with the other folks. Unfortunately i think his entire dinner consisted of three different packs of crackers and part of a cookie. Oh, some OJ as well.

We tried to put him down to sleep over there around his normal bedtime and at first everything went well but i think after being asleep for a short amount of time he woke up and had no interest in sleeping again. He acted like the party was still going and demanded to get out of his portable crib. Since the game was winding down, we decided to cut our losses and just head home. He's been quietly asleep in his own crib for the past 20 minutes, so hopefully he'll have a quiet uneventful night.

Before i forget, i wanted to mention that i'm extremely excited to be getting my braces off at the beginning of March and before Silas' arrival (hopefully). I was keeping my fingers crossed my orthodontist would give me a removal date before the birth because it sure is easier to get to appointments when Henry is safely at daycare and Silas is safely in my belly.

Hysterics

Hmm, well we've had two days that i wouldn't necessarily count as good in a row. Hopefully that means that tomorrow will break the cycle.

Yesterday i picked Henry up and we headed to swimming until i realized i had forgotten to pack his swimsuit. I had everything else, swim diapers, towels, MY suit, even snacks and milk for after swimming but no suit. So, we just headed to the grocery store and picked up some things for the shower i'm helping throw on Saturday. Henry didn't seem particularly nonplussed one way or the other but i was surprised at how disappointed i was.

Today we had therapy in the morning and i was worried it was going to be a terrible session, because Henry was really ornery this morning-- very non-cooperative and lots of screaming. But amazingly it was probably our best day yet. He did really well with everything and didn't freak out once. We're supposed to encourage his running and bouncing because she's really satisfied with his stair-climbing ability.

Tonight when i picked him up from Brenda's he was one ball of hysteria from the time i picked him up until after i put him to bed (and beyond). I had snacks in the car for the ride home which was great for about 15 minutes but when they ran out and he started asking for milk he was inconsolable that we didn't have any. JT is working late today so we stopped off at our local taco place to pick up some dinner on the way home. While we were in there waiting for our order Henry actually did one of those tantrums you see in the cartoons where he laid face down (yuck!) on the restaurant floor and kicked and beat his fists. I'm still not even sure what that outburst was about (maybe the milk still?)

When we got home i got Henry some milk and another snack really quickly but by then it didn't matter what i did he just kept screaming and crying and generally being upset. It didn't help that i thought i had lost my wallet somewhere between the restaurant (3 blocks away) and home. I decided to just scoop Henry up sit on the couch with him and his milk and just cuddle. Good idea but that also elicited screaming. I finally tamed the beast by repeating but also putting on his signing video. He calmed down enough for us to watch some of his video and then go eat dinner. After that he wouldn't let me out of his sight or he would be screaming and crying.

We passed the evening in this fashion and i put him down early for bed thinking he must be really tired. Up until 15 minutes ago, he was up crying every 20 minutes or so. He finally got really upset and i told him it was time to go to sleep and that i would see him in the morning. He screamed bloody murder for about a minute and has now been quiet. I have a very bad headache.

I'll ask Brenda how he's been there but i get the sense he's testing out these new "tantrum" behaviors more than he's really upset about something. He was rarely really crying-- and sometimes while screaming he was making the "fake crying" face. So, he's probably just testing me but tonight was a hard time for the pop-quiz.

I'm giving him a few more minutes and if he's still quiet i'm going to take a bath...

21 Months, 2 Weeks

Henry does seem to be feeling better, but his lower GI difficulties are hanging around. Unfortunately we had just gotten over the last bout when this stomach ailment came around so i'm expecting another 3 weeks of gross diapers. Boy, will we be happy for spring!

We had Henry's final surgery follow-up visit today and it took about 1 minute-- long enough for the Doctor to say that everything looked great. Yeah, one less Doctor to be seeing! I'm just hoping that this concludes the portion of Henry's life where he needs surgery. And, here's to a surgery-free Silas-- i'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed.

Henry and I have swim class again today. Hopefully they've got the water heater cranked up because it's super cold here this week. I talked to Henry about going swimming when i picked him up and he seemed to remember what i was talking about and be excited about it. He had therapy tomorrow morning and hopefully it will be a good session and not one horrendous hour of crying.

Today's picture is of one of Henry's newest accomplishments. If toys fall under the couch, we use a closet rod or "stick" as Henry says to fish them out. Henry now opens the armoire, grabs the stick and attempts to get the toys out on his own. He's very excited about this and as long as the stick is on the ground it's usually all good. Once he stands up with that thing though you immediately have to intervene or anything within a 3 foot diameter gets wacked!

21 Months, 1 Week, 6 Days

Yuck-- that pretty much sums up our weekend. I'm referring her to the stomach bug that Henry came down with on Saturday night. After a brief spice-shopping expedition we headed to apho restaurant that we've lately discovered that's actually quite good (we've been searching for good Pho in Chicago since we moved here). While there Henry had two bouts of acute diarrhea. Unfortunately-- no changing table in the restroom. We did our best, ate as quickly as possible and headed home.

He had a few more bouts before bed and after a quick bath went to sleep by
about 8. Later that night the real fun started around 11:30 with morediarrhea and then waves of vomiting from about 1:30 to 3:00. I'm not sure whether it was a good thing or not but the only thing he had eaten for dinner was a strawberry smoothie. Things weredayglo but i'm sure it could have been worse.

He finally fell asleep with JT in the guestroom around 3:00 and slept until 8. I got up with him then and he acted like everything was fine. The diarrhea kept up and was just plain severe all day but no temperature and his temperament was pretty normal. He took a standard 2 hour nap butseemed pretty exhausted by bedtime and went to sleep early. We were waiting to see how last night went before we made a decision about daycare today. He slept through the night and didn't seem to have any more gross
diapers.

We waited to talk to the nurse this morning at the Peds office and she said as long as he didn't have a temperature that he was okay to go to daycare-- but to remind them about the importance ofhandwashing since he's contagious only through actually touching the gross diapers.

I took him to Brenda's and gave them a full explanation and told her to just call if anything changed and/or she needed me to come get him. Hopefully this spate of gross diapers won't last as long as the last one!

21 Months, 1 Week, 1 Day

Yesterday was swim class day and Henry is making some real strides. He's still not the baby splashing around and squealing (that would be Ellie who we're getting to know), but yesterday he was excited about swim class when i asked him about it, and his body was completely relaxed the whole class. He was comfortable enough that he'd float with his legs out behind him rather while i supported him under his arms, rather than his normal pose of legs wrapped tightly around me. He even put his arms over a floatydumbbell and let me just hold his hands while he floated out in front of me. All of these are things that have caused him some real distress in the past, but yesterday he took it all in stride.

I'm hoping that by the end of the class he'll be more comfortable and really looking forward to swimming this summer (which hopefully we'll be able to manage once Silas is here).

I'm hoping that JT will be able to come to the class next week and take some pictures, because i can't exactly photograph him while i'm supporting him and immersed in the water.

Speaking of pictures, i've run dry, but i can share my new "signature" that i'm using on my message board-- thanks Tammy!

21 Months, 6 Days

You may notice that the last several posts have been copies of the "baby roundtable" missives i've been sending to a group of new and experienced parents. I posted them
all to my blog and then created permanent links to these posts so that they will be a resource to other parents that aren't participating in the "live" version of the roundtable. You can find the links by looking in the sidebar on the right.

Henry will have quite a treat when i pick him up from Ms. Brenda's today. My mom spent Sunday with us and then headed out to the suburbs where she's been attending a conference. The conference wrapped up this afternoon so she's on her way out to stay with us tonight. Henry has added "Nonna" to the list of people that he asks about so i know he'll be exited to see her. It's funny though because he has a tounge twist when he says "Nonna"-- literally. I can't do the pronunciation justice in writing but it's pretty fun to watch.

End of an Era...

We officially retired Henry's "birds" yesterday. This is a crib-dohicky that we received from his grandparents before Henry was even born. I remember being a little skeptical but it turned out to be something that really helped Henry learn to sleep through the night. As he got older, he would simply activate the birds and music when he woke up in the middle of the night, and would usually fall back to sleep on his own.

Now it's not that he no longer needs it anymore, it just that it finally bit the dust. We noticed that it seemed to be sucking down 4 D cell batteries more and more quickly until a few days after i installed brand new ones it was playing the sluggish version of it's music and the lights were really dim. I thought it might be going and JT confirmed that one time he couldn't get it to turn off.

So, we replaced it with the rainfall version that appears to be the new one. Henry went crazy over it when he woke up from naptime yesterday and we had it out for him to play with. He LOVES monkeys and just kept exclaiming over the animated monkey on this one. After some difficulties falling asleep last night he slept like a rock overnight so hopefully we're back in our good sleeping groove!

TGIF

Henry, giving his squirrel a drink of water...

We all had a pretty busy week and i for one am quite pleased it's the weekend. We don't have a lot of plans this weekend, but i did find out my Mom will be coming in to Chicago for a conference and will be able to spend Sunday afternoon with us. Of course that's the day of the big Bears Football game and a predicated 1-4 inches of snow, so hopefully the gods are smiling on us that day.

Brenda told me that she thinks Henry is in a growth spurt. She said that at daycare he used to be very picky about what he ate but now he's eating everything. I wouldn't go that far to describe his activity at home, but he is definitely in a more "exploratory" mood lately. Last night JT didn't get home until late so Henry and i stopped off at our local taco joint to get a burrito and some rice and beans to take home with us. A long time ago Henry loved rice and beans and then somewhere over the summer he decided he was no longer interested and wouldn't even try them when they were offered. Last night he went to town on the rice and ate a decent amount of the beans after he saw that i was eating them as well.

He seems to go in eating cycles so i'm sure he'll be back to eating on crackers before we can fully appreciate this little blip.

21 Months

My post frequency has been affected by a "baby e-roundtable" i'm running with some friends and acquaintances. A fellow Mom and i were talking awhile back about all the people that we knew that were about to become first-time moms. She suggested we have a roundtable to pass on what we knew. I thought this was a great idea but would be difficult to pull together given our differing schedules. So, i came up with the e-roundtable.

Basically we've invited a group of current and future parents to participate. I send out an email to the group on a specific topic each week and then other participants chime in with questions or their own experiences or advice. So far it's been a lot of fun and i'm hoping helpful for those first-time moms we were targeting. I'm thinking that when it's all through i'll post it online and set-up links to the information on the right side of this blog. That way if you have friends you think could use the advice, it's there for the taking!

Henry and i had his second swim class today and he seemed a little more animated. Of course that swung wildly between really excitedly splashing around and screaming no, no, no when he didn't want to do something. All in all he seemed to have fun. One thing we really have to work on though is getting out of the pool. They have this set of steps that goes all the way down into the water and has a very gentle rise. Henry insists on being carried up and down these steps. Into the water isn't too big a deal but after i've been weightless for 30 minutes and then have to walk out of the water into real gravity with a 24 lb toddler-- i feel like i weigh about 300 pounds.

I had my 30-week midwife appointment and everything is still looking good. I passed my gestational diabetes test with flying colors, the baby is moving STRONGLY, and the heartbeat was really clear. We've started trying to make plans for Henry's care when i go into labor. Since the last labor was so fast, i feel like we don't have a lot of time to get Henry where he needs to go which is a little stressful. We'll be talking to some key Chicago actors in the coming days to hammer all of the details out.

20 Month pictures are up on Yahoo so don't say i'm not timely about everything!