Hand-me-downs

I haven't been able to pass along much of Ellie's old wardrobe to Jack for obvious reasons. But here is one piece that both can wear with style! Gig 'em!

Ellie at 4 1/2 months:

Jack at 3 months, 1 day:

Pretty, pretty princess

Princess Night at ChickFila. A free tiara, ice cream, and photo with Cinderella. Totally worth the crowd.

The paci dance

Jack has gotten to where he cannot sleep without the pacifier. I have been trying to avoid this pitfall since he was born because I remember what a pain it was with Ellie to have to get up every time it would fall out of her mouth. Unfortunately, Jack really needs a pacifier. He cries and squirms and is so restless if I try to rock him to sleep without one. It really is pitiful to see his mouth open and close like a fish as he squawks desperately. So, here was our night last night:

8:00 - Nurse Jack and put him to sleep in the bassinet in our room
10:30 - Go to bed
12:00 - Jack wakes up hungry. Nurse him, burp him, etc...back to sleep at 12:45
1:15 - Get up to reinsert pacifier
2:00 - Make Tom get up to reinsert pacifier
2:50 - Get up to reinsert pacifier
3:40 - Make Tom get up to reinsert pacifier
4:30 - Jack wakes up hungry. Nurse him, burp him. Get up and start getting ready for work.

I usually wake up every morning at 4:45 so I have time to get myself and the two kiddos ready and out the door by 6:15. I don't mind1 or 2 feedings during the night. But the paci dance? Too much. Surely I could tape that thing to his face, right? I kid, I kid. He is such an easy baby that I can't be too upset about his inability to reinsert his own pacifier.

Look what I bought Jack today!

I think he likes it.

A difficult lesson

Ellie is not the best cleaner. I know, shocking that a child of mine isn't super neat. But, seriously, the kid will not clean. I have to sit down next to her and prod her all the way, doing the majority of it myself. This weekend, it all came to a head. Ellie had completely trashed out the toy room (aka the dining room) and her bedroom. I sent her to her room to clean and told her not to come out until she was done. 30 minutes later I went to check on her and she had dragged out even more toys and was happily playing. I threw some threats her way and sternly told her to get cleaning. Still no response. So, Tom walked in and told her that any toy she didn't pick up would be taken away. She still wasn't taking us seriously so awhile later I told her that as soon as I was done bathing Jack, I was coming in to pick up any toys she hadn't cleaned up. Would you believe she got out even more toys during that time? So, I walked in with a bag and started throwing toys in. The girl went ballistic. I had never seen her so upset. She ripped the bag out of my hands and hid it somewhere. I then went and got a box, but was hindered by a screaming maniac clutching my leg. So I pried her off, shoved her out the door, and locked myself in her room. I heard Tom return from walking the dog and Ellie sobbing to him, "Daddy, Mommy is taking all of my toys!" I opened the door and Ellie launched herself at me again so I handed the box to Tom and told him to put it in our closet. Ellie, at this point, is furious. Her fists are clinched, she is literally shaking, and her face is red. No exaggeration. She starts screaming, "You ruined everything! You and Daddy ruined everything!" I have seen Ellie throw many a fit in my day, but never, ever have I seen her so upset. Of course, Tom and I couldn't help laughing. Once she calmed down, we explained to her that each time she cleaned up her toys when asked, she could go pick out one toy from the closet. Later that night, Tom and I felt bad about traumatising our daughter so much. But...it has worked like a charm! She has cleaned up the past three nights and has been able to recoup a few toys. However, since that night she has started referring to Tom and I as "Mother" and Father." Coincidence?

Bowling (not so) Fun

Tom and I were off today for MLK Day. In the past, when we had a day off from school, we would often drop Ellie off at daycare and made it a "date day." But now that we have Jack, and I am still uncomfortable leaving him, we decided to make it a fun family day. We went to Fuddruckers for lunch and then bowling. OK, Ellie has never been bowling and the last time Tom and I bowled was about 7 years ago. Really not our thing. But I envisioned it being a lot of fun. I didn't take into consideration that Ellie would not be able to roll an 8 pound ball down the lane with any efficiency. I'm talking, we would wait like 5 minutes for that ball to reach the end of the lane. Also, Ellie had issues with taking turns. After we finished one game we called it quits. Ellie went on and on about how much fun she had. Tom and I were like, "Eh, maybe we'll try this again next year."

Dear Jack: 3 Months

Dear Jack,

Today you are 3 months old! This past month has been a very emotional one for me because I returned to work and enrolled you in daycare. I miss you so much while I am at work. Every day you are growing and changing and I hate to miss a moment. I am so excited about watching your personality emerge and seeing what type of person you will be. I have already determined that you aren't going to be feisty and sassy like your sister. I think you are going to be more quiet and solemn, but very loving. I can’t help comparing you to your sister when she was a baby. Ellie was always smiling and talking. You are smiling and cooing more, but you still make us work for it. Ellie could not entertain herself for long whereas you are content to sit and stare at your toys and bat at them with your little hands. Ellie didn’t like to be swaddled and wanted to face out, you have to be swaddled tight to sleep and prefer to be rocked with your nose pressed against my chest. If I could, I would just sit and stare at you for hours because I find you so fascinating.

You are the cutest, roly-poly little boy. At your two months appointment you already weighed 15 pounds and you are growing taller and wider every day! A lady came up to me at church on Sunday and said you were such a cute butterball. I thought that was the perfect description of you.You are more interested in toys this month. You like to stare at them and try to grab them. You are also very interested in your sister and like to watch her dance about, breaking into a smile when she gets in your face and calls you "pumpkinashes."

You are sleeping really well, only waking up once or twice a night to nurse and then going right back to sleep. We are slowly getting you on a schedule where you fall asleep around the same time each night. I have started putting you in your crib to sleep, but after the first nursing I get lazy and put you in the bassinet by my bed. However, you have gotten so long that your head touches the top and your feet touch the bottom.

Jack, it is amazing to me how seamlessly you fit into our family. You are a perfect fit and I am so glad you are here! I love you, my little butterball!

Mama

Sunday Best: Failed Photo Op edition

I was late for church on Sunday so wasn't able to pose the kiddos for their Sunday Best pictures until after we returned home. Which is probably why all my pics turned out something like this:

Still standing

Ellie and Jack survived their first week of preschool. Well, Ellie now has a terrible cold and has lost her voice (she said it is in the clouds) and Jack is coming home completely exhausted and out of it, but, you know, they survived. Or more like I survived. It is hard to leave kids as cute as these!

Back to School x 2

My maternity leave ended today. Jack and Ellie are back in daycare. Well, Ellie is back, Jack is just beginning. Poor Jack. He cannot sleep there. He took like three 15 minute naps today. This from my son who is normally asleep more than he is awake. They told me he was really fussy today. Gee, I wonder why? He fell asleep in the car and only woke long enough for me to nurse him and promptly went back to sleep. 3 hours later and he shows no signs of waking. Daycare is hard on my little man.

Ellie, on the other hand, is thriving. She is so happy to be back with her friends again. Although her teacher did have to talk to me about Ellie's attitude today. Apparently Ellie was pulling her teenager act again...the one where she pretends she is 13 and not 3. It is nice to have someone else dealing with the problem other than me. Maybe Miss Amanda will be more successful.

My students return tomorrow and I am apprehensive about what I will find after leaving them in the hands of a substitute for the past 3 months. I fully plan on revisiting my policies and procedures. Good times.

I wish I could stay home forever, but I realize it is only a few months til summer and then I can return to my days of playing and cuddling and not showering til noon.

Sunday Best: Funny Faces edition

I just love Jack's face in these pictures. Like, please get this child off of me!

"Ellie"

Today I was trying to mentally prepare Ellie for returning to daycare on Moday.

Me: When you go back to school Miss Amanda will teach you how to write your name!
Ellie: I already know how to write my name!
Me: Really? Show me.

So she walks over to her little table and without looking at anything or pausing, quickly writes her name. Holy cow! What else can she do that I don't know about?

Missing

While going through my photos trying to find a good one of Kali for the LOST fliers, I realize so many of them are with Hank. Seeing Hank reminds me of the night we lifted Hank onto a blanket and put him in the back of my car. I could hear him having seizure after seizure as I drove to the emergency vet, praying that he would be okay. I remember the vet taking me into the back room to say goodbye to him before they put him to sleep. I feel like such a failure as a pet owner.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Don't ask me why Jack is so mad about it and appears to be flipping off the camera. Maybe because he is upset about gaining so much weight recently? Maybe he is just worried about our missing dog? Maybe he is mad that his sister got to go do fireworks with Tom and Alex while he was stuck inside with me? Or maybe he is annoyed that he kept getting woken up by three grown adults attempting to play Guitar Hero World Tour (Alex on drums, Tom on mic, and me on guitar)?