Let's Catch Up

We've had a busy month but that's a poor excuse for being a bad Mommy-blogger. I've tried to capture the past few weeks in photos, so here are the highlights.

I flew with the kids to Florida for an 8-day vacation the second week of March. We stayed with my grandparents, who spend three months there each year. My mom was there with us the entire time and my dad was there for about half the time. We had a blast. Warner loved the beach. Loved it. The weather was pretty cold but that didn't stop him. He would be blue-lipped and shivering and I'd have to drag him in to warm up, but he didn't mind. All he needed was a bucket, shovel, and sand, and he was set for hours. He would run straight into the ocean without fear and splash in the water. It was so fun to see my little man so happy.Maren learned to pull herself up on our trip. We were playing one day and my Grandma suggested we move something off the coffee table so she wouldn't break it. I told her that Maren hadn't learned to pull up yet so we didn't need to worry. About one minute later she had pulled herself up to the coffee table. Famous last words.
Warner and Grandpa Gene enjoying a snack on the balcony.The kids were great on both flights. I'm beginning to feel like a pro, having flown to Texas and Florida with both kids - without Kevin - in two months. Either that or I'm crazy. Probably the latter of the two.Maren will use just about anything to pull up on. We spent last Saturday in Lexington for the HS boys state basketball tournament. Warner enjoyed the games but his favorite part were the bands and mascots. Maybe he'll like the basketball part more next year. We spent the rest of the day at Leslie and Billy's house and Warner and Maren had a blast with their cousins.In addition to pulling up, Maren is now crawling on all fours. She is a busy little girl and can often be found crawling into the kitchen ...
... to stand up by Warner's step stool. Which, of course, irks Warner to no end. Ah, the joys of quarreling siblings. And it's only just begun.

Big Kids

Both kids are doing "big kid" things lately, and since it's my blog, I get to brag about them. First of all, Maren is sleeping better. Praise Jesus. The Zantac has seriously helped our baby. She is a different child - not as cranky, and sleeping 8 hour stretches again at night. Now I feel bad for not recognizing her crankiness as discomfort earlier.
She is moving around a ton, and is into everything. I don't remember Warner being so curious. She will stand on her own for a few minutes, but can't pull up by herself yet. Kevin seems anxious for her to walk, but I'm hoping it will be a long time from now. Life will be crazy when she's using two legs to get around.
Warner continues to love to do all things grown-up, including "shaving". He got this pretend shaving set for Christmas and he and Kevin shave a few times a week. He takes it so seriously. Unfortunately he's become disenchanted with potty training, but I'm trying to let that ride. I just checked out "How to Potty Train Your Child in One Day" from the library, so stay tuned to see how that works out.

Jump Zone

Warner's playgroup met at Jump Zone this week and it was seriously the coolest place ever. It's an indoor space that has nine huge inflatables where the kids can run, jump, slide, etc. It was absolutely magical for Warner. He gave me the "this is the best day of my entire life, mom!" look about one hundred times while we were there. The pictures didn't turn out that well, but it gives you an idea of what it was like:I only wish I was allowed to play on the inflatables as well. Maren was enthralled with all of the activity and also enjoyed her time on the air hockey table, playing with the pucks. Summer/warm weather can't come soon enough, but until then, I'm thankful for indoor activities for my little monkeys.

Miss Maren

I called the pediatrician Tuesday to schedule an appointment for Maren to be seen. When the receptionist asked why she needed to come in, I answered: "Well, I figured before I put her up for adoption I should make sure there isn't a medical reason for her to be waking up 20 times a night". There was a long pause on the other end, then, "well okay. Can you come in this afternoon?".

Dr. Fiedler was kind enough to listen to me describe (in detail) our sleepless nights and cranky baby, and also gave her a quick physical exam. He determined that Maren might be suffering from heartburn/acid reflux, and he prescribed Zantac for her to take twice daily. We started the medicine Tuesday night but don't expect to see the full effects until this weekend. Since then, our nights have gotten better, but they are certainly not great (up 3-4 times a night instead of 152). I am happy for the improvement and am praying this medicine will do the trick. Keep your fingers crossed!

Potty Training Update

I'm really clueless when in comes to successful potty training techniques but we're giving it a shot. Last week we bought a potty chair for Warner, hoping it would catch his interest. Up to that point, we were using a seat on the big potty and he had never put anything in the potty when he tried. The potty chair was $12 and he was excited about it at the store (it is a frog, after all) so I thought it was worth a shot.
When we got home he pottied on it immediately. I was so excited I almost cried. We made a big deal of it, calling Bobbie and Grandpa and Nanny and Grandaddy to tell them about it. Warner was so proud. He went to Maren to tell her: "Mono - potty, me!". I didn't have any small candy to give him as a reward, but, seeing as it was the first time he ever peed in the potty, I thought a big reward was appropriate. So, we gave him a piece of Dove chocolate.

The next day he woke up and wanted to pee in his potty. He was successful on his first try, and quickly remembered the Dove chocolate from the night before. I gave him a piece (it was 7:30am). He insisted on staying naked, and I agreed, thinking it would be easier to manage the whole process. Here he is eating a snack, in the nude:
(I realize visitors are probably never going to want to sit on that couch again. Don't worry, he didn't have any accidents on the sofa). He had two accidents (and I think ate 8 pieces of chocolate) that day, but overall, I considered it a successful day. He only had 3 pairs of big boy underwear, so the following day we went to Target to choose new underwear as well as smaller candy for rewards. He chose Elmo and Thomas underwear and Reese's Pieces and jellybeans for candy. This shot was taken after a successful trip to the potty chair, in Sesame Street underwear, and with the chocolate reward, of course:Since then, it's pretty much been downhill. He went nearly two full days wearing a diaper, completely not interested in wearing underwear at all. He has pooped three times in his underwear, despite me promising HUGE rewards if he poops in the potty, and being very sad when he poops in Elmo or Thomas.

I'm not sure how to proceed from here. I'm sure it's confusing for him when I put a diaper on him at naptime, bedtime, and when we go out. And, I'm pretty confident he only pees in the potty to get the candy. Not because he necessarily wants to, or even understands when he needs to. The kid will eek out three drops, then proudly tell me he peed and ask for his candy reward. So, we'll see how this continues. It would be so nice to only have one child in diapers, but until then I suppose I'll just have to be patient.

Fun in the kitchen

It seems like we spend an inordinate amount of time in the kitchen. Thankfully, both kids enjoy helping me cook. To help bake, Warner runs the Kitchen Aid mixer, adds ingredients (he loves unwrapping butter and throwing it in the bowl), and especially enjoys cracking the eggs. Maren helps by chewing on the extra mixer attachments, spatulas, and measuring spoons while Warner works.Maren also enjoys rummaging through the Tupperware cabinet, which keeps her occupied for quite a while.The kids and I have made two batches of banana bread in the past week and a loaf of pumpkin bread tonight. Warner has eaten banana bread and blueberries for breakfast while watching Barney every day this week. The good news: we've switched from something other than Mickey Mouse. The bad news: the new favorite is Barney. Maybe Maren's television choices will be a bit more enjoyable.

Sick and Tired

Last Saturday we discovered Maren had a double ear infection. While I was sad that she was sick, I was hopeful this was the reason for her sleeping so poorly lately. The following night, Warner got sick and vomited from midnight until 5am. This was the first time he had gotten a stomach bug and he was so confused and pitiful. Thankfully it only lasted about 24 hours, but that was one long night, changing sheets multiple times, cleaning carpet at 2am after unsuccessfully trying to get Warner to the bathroom, etc. Then on Tuesday, Kevin and I got a similar bug. Being sick and caring for two children is a difficult thing to do. We all finally felt better Wednesday but Maren is still not sleeping. For example, last night looked like this:

7:30pm: Nurse Maren and put her to bed. Maren refuses to go to sleep on her own.
8:00pm: Leave Maren's room (very angry, I'm ashamed to say) and let her cry herself to sleep.
9:00pm: Maren appears to have cried herself to sleep.
9:30pm: Another round of crying.
10:00pm: Maren is back to sleep.
12:00am: Maren is up. I decide to nurse her, foolishly thinking she might get full and sleep until 6am now. She eats, but refuses to go back to sleep on her own.
12:30am: I bring Maren downstairs to sleep with me on the couch, after she wakes Warner with her screaming.
12:35am: I strongly consider leaving our house. By myself. And never coming back. I resist this urge.
12:40am: Kevin takes Maren upstairs to try to get her to sleep while I lay on the couch, covering my ears.
12:50: I take over again, and rock Maren to sleep.
1:30am: Maren is in her crib, asleep. I go to our bed, exhausted.
2:50am: Warner walks into our room. I take him back to his bed, and he cries for 10 minutes.
4:30am: Maren wakes up. I nurse her again, and put her back in her crib. She screams. I finally try swaddling her, which seems to work, and she falls asleep.
6:00am: Maren is awake. I somehow get her to go back to sleep.
6:30am: Kevin's alarm goes off. Warner wakes up, and our day has begun.

I have read and re-read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child", but this has produced neither healthy sleep habits nor a happy child with Maren. I have endlessly googled tips to get her to sleep. I have tried changing her bedtime, changing her feeding schedule, swaddling her, lying her on her belly, letting her cry it out, Tylenol, Ora-gel, gas drops, etc., etc., etc. I'm at my wit's end. If this child doesn't sleep soon, I am confident Kevin and I will go crazy. Please pray for our family!

Lunch time

Maren is enjoying food much more these days (like mother, like daughter, right?). She gets irritated if you don't feed her quickly enough and eats more at each feeding than I would expect. Here's her "thank you for feeding me, Mommy" face:And, her "Warner, you're so funny!" face:

Potty Training

So far, this is the only use Warner has found for his big boy underwear.

Six Months

It's hard to believe our baby is six months old. At her checkup Maren weighed 16 pounds 8 ounces (50th percentile) and was 26 1/4 inches long (70th percentile). She is now eating peas (loves them), carrots (so-so), green beans (loves them), squash (so-so), pears (loves loves loves), and peaches (likes them). Oh, and cereal too. I've tried giving her puffs but so far she's only gotten one into her mouth unassisted. Warner has shoved quite a few into her face however. He really enjoys "helping" me feed Maren, and always suggests peas for her breakfast.
Maren is now sitting on her own and really enjoys the world from this view. She seems much more interested in her surroundings than Warner was at this age. She grabs for everything and is fascinated with watching other people, most of all Warner. She is also "creeping" across the floor quite well.
Unfortunately she is sleeping terribly. She goes to sleep fine but wakes up every 2-3 hours. We let her cry it out last night at midnight and after 1 1/2 hours of screaming (I wish I was exaggerating but it was a full 90 minutes) I finally gave up and nursed her back to sleep. So begins the sleep training process. The good news is Warner didn't come out of his room during her scream session so at least both kids weren't crying.
She has cut one tooth on the bottom and the other is ready to push through any day. Perhaps this is the reason for the sleep issues. At least she still lets me put bows (or flowers, in this case) on her head.

Morning Routine

Mornings have developed a very predictable routine at our house. Our day begins around 7am, give or take a half hour. The first item of business is to make coffee. Lots of strong, black, coffee for Mama is of the utmost importance. While Kevin is getting ready for work, Warner and Maren help me pack his lunch and make him something for breakfast. When he leaves, the kids and I wave goodbye to him at the front family room window. Warner says "bye-bye, Daddy" as he waves, and sometimes blows him kisses.

Next it's time for Warner's breakfast. This is usually a banana with peanut butter, a peanut butter and honey or jelly sandwich, or a Nutrigrain bar and some sort of fruit. Warner eats his breakfast while we watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Only we can't just watch whichever episode is on Playhouse Disney that day. Warner gets stuck on a particular episode (that I DVR) and asks to watch the same one, day after day, for days in a row. For a while it was the "choo-choo dot dog" episode, then it was Mickey's adventures in wonderland - "tweet tweet dot dog", and now it's the "pool dot dog" - Pete's beach luau. I don't understand Warner's fascination with Mickey Mouse, but he loves the show. Really.
I nurse Maren while Warner is eating and watching Mickey, but now have to cover her head during the feeding because she'd rather watch Mickey Mouse than eat. I guess we now have two Mickey Mouse fans in the house.
After Maren is finished eating she plays with her toys on the floor while I drink more coffee, have my breakfast, and mentally prepare for the day, which includes prayer time to ask Jesus for grace and strength to be a good Mommy that day. And for patience. Lots of patience. It's a routine that works for us, for now. But I do look forward to when I won't have the Mickey Mouse "Hot Dog" song stuck in my head all day.

Texas

The kids and I flew to Dallas to visit my parents last week. Maren sat in my lap and Warner had his own seat on the plane. I was willing to do nearly anything for a tantrum-free flight, so Warner enjoyed movies and all sorts of sugar including suckers, jelly beans, and gummy worms. Thankfully this approach worked. In all seriousness, he was a really good boy on the flights.
Here is Warner living it up on the airplane.Once we arrived the kids were both allowed to do pretty much anything they wished, so it will probably take a while to reprogram them into normal life again. The weather was gorgeous (why do we live in Cincinnati?) so we played outside a lot. We walked to parks, fed ducks at various ponds, and spent time in the backyard. I enjoyed the break from my everyday mom responsibilities and got to run outside and sleep late a few days, which was bliss. The bad part was that Maren got RSV while we were away. Thankfully we found a great doctor in Dallas who saw her twice, and she is now much better. We had to buy a machine to give her breathing treatments and also put her on steroids. She was so pitiful. My mom helped a ton by taking care of Warner almost exclusively for a few days so I could tend to Maren. So, it was probably a blessing that she was sick while we were away. Here are a few more pictures from our trip:We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows one night for dinner. I think it might have been the greatest night of Warner's life.Maren and "Bobbie" (as Warner calls my mom. I think the name has officially stuck).Warner and Grandpa.
Warner and my mom made pancakes in the shape of cows and ducks one morning. We fed the leftovers to the ducks at the pond, which Warner thought was pretty cool.Warner and his "balls". My mom made buckeyes, or peanut butter balls, at Christmas. Warner loved them (he eats them in one bite). Since Christmas he has been requesting more "balls" when we get to Bobbie's house. Warner and my mom made them the day we arrived and Warner made sure they were stored on the lowest shelf in the pantry so he could reach them. The sunshine allowed Warner to use his Thomas the Train sunglasses quite a bit. We had a great visit with my parents and I'm looking forward to seeing them again in March when we take our annual trip to Florida!

Sitting

It seems as though Maren has grown overnight. She is getting the hang of sitting on her own ...
... but still falls quite a bit. When she does fall she doesn't get too upset about it.
It's hard to believe she will be six months old in a few weeks. I'm afraid our baby won't be a baby much longer.

Church

Me: Warner, what do you do at church?
Warner: Ball. (Translation: I play with the balls.)
Me: What else?
Warner: Eat.
Me: Yes, they give you snacks at church. Do you learn about Jesus?
Warner: Yeah.
Me: I love Jesus.
Warner: Daddy?
Me: Yes, Daddy loves Jesus too.
Warner: Me.
Me: You love Jesus?
Warner: Yeah.

Misunderstanding

After Warner's "otch" from couch jumping a few weeks ago, we told him he had to jump on to pillows from now on. What he does instead: stacks four pillows, then jumps over them to the ground. Nice.