Welcoming Spring

This week we got a sneak peak at spring and it was lovely, really lovely.  Warm temperatures and sunshine allowed me to pick up the boys and hit the park most days after school.  Henry and Silas resurrected their bikes from the basement and Henry was getting quite comfortable on his by the end of his first session.

JT has been working on end of quarter projects and will be starting spring break next week which we're all looking forward to.  We've got plans to get the yard prepped so that when it's really warm we'll be all ready to plant in another month or so.

Preparations for Henry and Silas' frog and toad party are continuing apace.  I've got the birthday crowns about 75% done, the frog bean bags were helpfully sewn by Oma, and this weekend i've got to hit the thrift store to find hankerchiefs for the frog parachutes.

Clearly i need to take some pictures because i don't think i have anything new to share.

Rotating Playgrounds

From July 2009

This summer we've gotten in the habit of going by the playground 3-4 afternoons after i pick the boys up from school. It helps the boys unwind, lets me have a chance to just play with them before we get home and i'm distracted by housework, and lately it's given us a chance to appreciate some of the benefits of living in the city.

We've taken to going to new parks every so often and now have a stable of 5 parks that we rotate based on request. The boys have named each one, so there's the "bear park," Silas favorite and named for the bear statues that spray water, the "shower park" which has an awesome water feature like a gigantic showerhead that Henry adores running through, the "close" park-- which happens to be the one 4 blocks from our house, the "sandbox" park and a few others we're still creating names for.

Henry has been exploring more and more in the past several weeks-- climbing to the top of ladders, wanting to do the monkey bars, hanging from the rings and dropping on his own, and climbing up steeper and steeper slides. It's awesome to watch. Silas has been going through a bit of a timid stage lately. He still adores the swings but constantly tells you "no high." He and Henry entertained each other for a good half hour last week "chasing" each other around the playground. I'm hoping that habit takes over because sometimes i'm just not up for another round of tag!

Almost Summer 2009

Last week i was reminded why the park by our house is really one of the best. Sure it has some bigger kids that can get out of hand on weekdays, but it has shade, lots and lots of shade. The bigger park we've been going to lately without the big kids and with a huge sandbox is lovely when it's 70. Last week when it was 82 i took the kids on the way home from work and after about 15 minutes Henry was asking to go home. They had spent a long day at the park at daycare and the water for the drinking fountain hasn't yet been turned on. So we played a bit, picked up sticks under the few trees at the park and called it a day. It was a good reminder to keep a bag packed in the trunk in the summer with sunscreen, hats, and water bottles (well those have to be filled fresh).

Today was day 2 of our 3 days of Memorial weekend BBQs. This one was at our house and very small. Even with just 3 families of us there were kids a plenty but they had fun, played well together and we didn't freeze even though by the early evening it was definitely cold enough for jackets. Henry and i sneaked out to a local carnival while Silas napped today and Henry had a blast! It was really the first time he's been on rides that i can think of (other than an odd carousel here or there). Some things were a little scary for him but in general he loved it and at the end of the day he said his favorite was the one he kept saying "was too scary for me!" It was a nice impromptu visit that we shoehorned into a busy and fun day.

One last vignette from the weekend-- unfortunately without any pictures. I've talked in the past about it being more of an "organized equipment rental" rather than a "class" but this time was totally different. There was a new coach and he actually led them in a class. He started out by hitting them balls, alternating where they went so that the kids got into the rhythm of waiting for a ball to come in there area rather than all running after the same ball. This was crucial for Henry. Previously he had hated "fielding" because he never gets to the ball first and this oftentimes prompts him to throw his glove and storm off the field (something we're clearly working on.) Next up was hitting until the coach realized the kids really needed to figure out the bases. So he made them line up and run the bases several times. Then back to hitting but he had everyone in the outfield and each child come up one at a time. He helped them with their stance and how to hold the bat. Really-- was this so much to ask from a class? I'm just hoping that guy is there next week. If we can keep him for the last few weeks of the class, i think Henry will really get something out of it. Next up are swim lessons that start in the middle of June. I've decided my philosophy right now is to try to have him try as many different activities as possible. I figure this way it broadens his skills and also lets him decide later what he really likes and wants to focus on.

4M/ 3W/ 4D, 2Y/ 4M/ 4D

So i survived! JT was gone for 5 days, count-em 5 whole days, and i can tell you honestly that i've never been so happy to see anyone as when he walked in the door late Sunday afternoon. It's not that it's impossible to manage two children, and our two children are pretty mellow, but working both the am and pm shift when Silas isn't fully sleeping through the night is difficult-- definitely more difficult than i'm used to. Saturday we had a nice day, as we were able to get out to the park and hang out with Corey, Troy and Kerala. Kerala and Silas seemed to really enjoy their baby face off and playing with the same toys.

Sunday was a slightly different story. It's been raining and raining and raining and Sunday in particular was one long rainstorm. This prevented us from getting to the park or even the back-yard which made for one very wound-up 2 year old. I can tell that if i was a stay-at-home mom i would need to have a schedule and a bottomless list of in-door activities to handle inclement weather days.

As has been the case for the last several weekends, Silas' naps were great on Saturday and pretty terrible on Sunday. I can't quite figure out what the difference is, but Saturday he goes to sleep easily and takes naps that are 1-2 hours in duration. Sunday brings increasing bouts of fighting sleep and 30-45 minute naps which result in a fussy baby by the afternoon.

One of the strategies i used while JT was gone, was to break our time up among the different levels of our house. Typically Henry spends most of his time on the first level of the house where his room and the playroom are. We have some toys upstairs for him and i set-up a small tv and dvd player that we used when i was showering. In addition, i took him down to the basement with me while i tackled organizing projects (we have 7 18-gallon containers of baby clothes (!)) and he was absolutely enthralled with all the "old" toys that are stored down there. I decided that while our basement is never going to be "finished" that i'm going to do some upgrades down there so that the basement can be an indoor playspace during the winter. I've already started on some basic things but i'll try to take some before and after pictures to post.

Playground

Wow! Guess we haven't been to the playground in awhile! Today JT was going to be a little late getting home from work, so Henry and Silas and i stopped off at the playground. I sat and fed Silas the rest of the bottle he hadn't finished at Ms. Brenda's, and Henry very independently and very assuredly played on the playground. Just the last time we went to the playground a few weeks ago Henry still wanted me to stick close to at least the equipment and he wanted help doing things like going down the slide. Tonight not only did he repeatedly go down the slide on his own, he crawled UP the slide like it was no biggie. I also saw him scampering down this climbing incline thing and with only a little boost from me he climbed up two steps of an open chain-link ladder. Seriously, has JT been secretly taking him to toddler boot camp or something?

All of this bodes well for my plans to enroll him in a gym class this fall. I'm in the process of trying to determine if the (much cheaper) Parks district class is any good or if we should bite the bullet and shell out some bucks for the Little Gym or My Gym class. At least now i think we stand a fighting chance of him engaging at least a little with some of the activities-- and maybe i should even set the bar higher.

Silas is just moving along in his babyhood. It stands to reason that he *can* roll because if you put him on his back he rolls to his side and at other times he'll roll from his side to his stomach, but he's not doing full-on rolling much that we can tell. He is very excited for his jumper and has paid more attention to those toys than anything else to date. He's also starting to watch Henry more and seems fascinated by what he sees. I've been trying to draw Henry's attention to Silas when he's doing this so that they can start to develop more of a relationship. I think it won't be long before Silas is demanding Henry's attention and Henry will be excited for his big-brother role.

10 Weeks, 5 Days/ 2 Years, 2 Months, 3 Weeks, 3 Days

What a busy weekend! Saturday we met Corey and Troy and several of their friends with kids at the park for a playdate. Although we were there by about 10:15 it was already VERY hot. After about an hour the kids were very sweaty and tired. We retreated to the cool of Corey and Troy's house, and enjoyed a lunch-time cookout. We went home for Henry and Silas to nap, and then went to Helen's birthday party over at Tabitha and Cullen's house. The kids had a ball playing in the little pool and with the water table and Henry was just as excited about all of Helen's presents as the actual birthday girl. Today we tried to lay low-- having a nice father's day at home and catching up on stuff around the house.

It's hard to believe, but this week is my last week of maternity leave in Chicago. Saturday some of us leave for the beach, and when i get back it's back to work. Seriously, where has the time gone?

2 Weeks, 6 Days/ Almost Two!

Finally, some warm weather around here! I got to meet Corey and Kerala in the park this afternoon and we all soaked up some sun. It looks like it's going to be a mix of some cool and some sunny and warm weather for the next week. Right now we've got sun and 70 degrees projected for Henry's party on Saturday-- let's hope that holds.

JT is out of town on a one-day business trip, so i had the pleasure of getting up with both kids this morning. Thankfully Henry slept until 7:45 which gave me time to feed Silas soon after 7. After dropping Henry off Silas and i came back and slept for a few more hours which was wonderful. Then we went to order the cake for Henry's party and buy some balloons. We're planning to tie them on his chair tonight so that when he wakes up for breakfast tomorrow he has a fun start to his birthday. We'll do family gifts tomorrow night and then Saturday will be his actual party with a few close friends and Chicago-style hot dogs!

22 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days

We're enjoying another day of warm weather but i think it's about to end. JT took Henry to Brenda's this morning so i could get on an early-morning conference call, but we're hoping that we can all meet up at the park again this afternoon.

I took Henry to the park yesterday afternoon and he had a ball. I think especially since he was just there the day before he was more adventurous and by the end of our stay he was climbing up to the playground equipment-- crossing the shaky bridge, going up two steps to the slide and then sitting down, scooting forward and going down the slide himself. This is pretty amazing to watch especially considering how cautious he was on all the equipment in the fall when we were frequenting the park.

JT and i enjoyed getting out last night for our last planned babysitter outing before Silas arrives. Unfortunately our babysitter had a work complication so we didn't make our movie but we did have a nice dinner out and enjoyed some adult time. Amazingly i don't have any Doctor appointments today or tomorrow.

22 Months, 3 Weeks, 1 Day

Henry is most definitely in the "mine" phase. It's interesting to observe though, because he's only about 50% of the time using mine as a declaration. The other half the time he says it in a questioning way and you really get that he's honestly trying to sort out what belongs to him and what doesn't. We went to the bookstore yesterday afternoon and while JT was browsing Henry and i headed to the train table they have set-up in the kids section. Henry played with the trains some and enjoyed watching the older little boy play with them as well. Then he noticed the boxes of train stuff for sale. He picked up a couple and asked "mine" repeatedly. I just told him no, those trains belonged to the bookstore. After a few times, it sunk in and he said "yeah" like this made sense to him. He does it with all kinds of other stuff, some of which is funny trying to explain that no the church bells aren't Henry's and the birds and squirrels don't belong to him either. I love watching his little brain sort all of the details of living out.

I'm so sorry that i forgot my camera, but we made it to the park yesterday for the first time in ages! We're enjoying a bit of a warm-up and we tried to take advantage of it. It was fun to watch what Henry could do, or do more confidently since we were there last in the fall. He loved the slide and just walking back and forth over the arched bridge and up and down the ramp. He thought he wanted to swing but was immediately interested in being back on the ground once he tried it out.

Saturday i hosted a baby shower for a friend of mine due at the end of April. Henry woke up from his nap to find the dining room peopled with ladies having tea. He was actually less shy than normal and was actually a little flirtatious. I even found him sitting on one guests' lap at one point. He and JT enjoyed a leisurely walk around the block while the party was winding down.

In news about me, i got my braces off on Friday which feels amazing, and i've some mild contractions off and on since Friday night. Nothing particularly strong and nothing that has turned into anything. It would be nice if this didn't last for two more weeks, but at this point i'm not due until two weeks from tomorrow.

New Stroller

We received a new stroller yesterday that will accommodate both Henry and Silas. Henry helped me get it all set-up last night and was super-excited to try it out. First we tried him in the front seat (which he won't use much because it holds the infant carrier at first and then Silas once he's bigger) and then the back (where he'll sit at first and then stand once he gets a little older.) He was so excited to sit in the front with the tray on and eat his snack and to hang out on the back like a big boy. In fact he spent the rest of the evening climbing in and out of the stroller on his own and trying to figure out the clasps. I'd say he approves!

It's nice to see him becoming a little more adventurous physically because right now we are on a physical therapy hiatus. The insurance company has said that his therapy is not "medically necessary" and we're embroiled in the process of appealing that decision. In the meantime, we've been trying to replicate the exercises he works on in therapy and hopefully he won't be too far behind when/if we start up again.

The weather has finally taken a turn for the warmer here so we're hoping to head to the park this weekend and see how he does there.

18 Months, 1 Week, 4 Days

Henry had a full weekend. He has enjoyed the visit with his grandparents immensely and invented his own little games and interactions with each of them. We made use of a really beautiful fall day today by heading to the park where Henry did really, really well. Just a few of his accomplishments include going down the slide on his own, and getting much more confident walking up the ramp and up and over the bridge. By the last time on the bridge he walked without holding on to either my hand or the railing and did a wonderful cautious job. The easy part of his park "therapy" is getting him to walk around on the grass and to transition from grass to sidewalk. We're supposed to get him used to walking and transitioning among different surfaces but he just loves all the leaves covering the grass so much that it's not work at all to get him to cooperate. I know come therapy Wednesday our big issue is going to be going down stairs which he still absolutely hates and will protest against with all his might.

Henry did seem a bit off his game today however. He had some kind of stomach bug yesterday which affected his digestive tract but not really his mood. Today his teeth really seemed to be bothering him and he was really congested. He was just cranky and not very cooperative and there were quite a few full-blown tantrums. We're hoping a good night's sleep helps so that he'll be back to normal on Monday.

JT and i did get to enjoy a really wonderful dinner out while Henry's Grandparents babysat. Unfortunately Henry has gotten to the age when he's really aware we aren't there and from all accounts he had a pretty rough night until bedtime. Tonight JT wasn't feeling well and went up to bed before Henry. You could tell Henry was confused and worried about where JT had gone and really wanted to make sure that i was staying put.

17 Months!

Henry has been quite the little walker this weekend. He also started climbing a bit, which is the first we've seen. Jt snapped some pictures of this feat while i was downstairs cleaning. He hasn't attempted to climb on furniture yet, but i'm sure we'll have a little monkey on our hands before too much longer.

Friday afternoon we met up with Henry's playgroup at the park. We've been mostly on hiatus over the summer, so it was so fun to see how big everyone has gotten and catch up with people. Henry is generally more interested in putting leaves in his pockets than playing on the playground equipment, but by the end he seemed pretty content and adjusted to all the new people.

We checked out the baby stuff sale my old church was having as a fundraiser this morning and came away with some good bargains. We picked up a second pack-n-play for the new baby and several really nice toys for Henry including a huge bin of wood blocks. He's been pretty contentedly playing all day with his new finds and his favorite drawer of plastic bowls and utensils. His nap was slightly short today, so we're off to an early bedtime.