4th Trimester

I once read a book whose author theorized that babies were born 3 months early because humans brains have evolved to grow too big to fit through the birth canal.  It was an interesting theory.  He compared a human birth to the births of all animals.  Think of a baby horse - they are born and can walk within minutes.  The book was all about how to nurture your newborn as if they were still in the womb for as long as they are supposed to be.  Then we would all be giving birth to these adorable, smiley, cooing 3 month olds!

my 3 month old cutie

The first three months have flown by.  Each day seems long, but the weeks go fast.  Alex is a very good baby.  He is quick to smile, rarely fusses, eats good, is healthy, and is sleeping through the night.  What more could you ask for?  I don't know how I did it, but I am one of the extremely lucky few to have had two easy babies.  We'll see how the next few years go, but I am optimistic!

He is about 15 pounds, and 26 inches which is 97 percentile for height and 75 percentile for weight.  Mason was similarly huge until about 18 months and then he only gained 1 pound for the entire next year.  I am guessing that Alex is going to be bigger than Mason - his shoulders are very wide (remember the birth story), and he is taller than Mason was at this stage.  There isn't a lot more to say about a three month old.  But hey, he is supposed to still be in the womb right now.

I have enjoyed spending the summer with my baby, but I am ready to get back to work in a couple weeks.  I think I have said this before, but I know that I am a better mom when I am working than when I stay at home with them.  It just fits my personality better.  I also do not normally have the mommy guilt many talk about.  I just don't - I am not sure why.  I do wish I could work part time.  How awesome would it be to work from about 8 to 2 or 3 pm - leisurely mornings and then you get to play with your kids after their naps until dinner and another leisurely night routine.

Random Mason sayings:
Last night Mason and I were talking while I was holding Alex.  Mason informed me that Alex is his, "but I will share him with you mommy."  And this morning he told me that his tree is going to grow apples and cheese.

Just like his momma

I LOVE puzzles, and before kids I would almost always have a half completed jigsaw puzzle on the coffee table.  To me, it is just the perfect way to relax and let your mind wander.  Of course having wandering toddler hands has put this hobby on hold, but I am grooming Mason to love puzzles just as much as me.  

I know this video is kinda long and probably nobody cares, but I love to see his hands moving along the puzzle - still quite clumsy but very capable.  I think it is the perfect vision of my almost three and a half year old.

Since he has pretty much mastered this puzzle, I got him a 100 piece puzzle to try.  I know it is a little ambitious, but I thought I would try.  It is also the United States, thinking he would recognize some of the states.  He did!  He can do it with me helping.  He has learned to sort the pieces by edge pieces and middle pieces.  He knows where a lot of states are.  For instance, if I say that is Alabama, he knows it goes towards the bottom of the puzzle.  And this is how we get through it. I prompt him and give him clues, but he fits every piece on his own.

Granted sometimes he has no patience for puzzles - he is still a little boy.  But when the time is right - usually right before bed, he can concentrate on it for about 15 minutes at a time.  It is hilarious though when he doesn't want to.  He turns to me and says, "You do it all by yourself" or "Don't get frustrated" or "You don't need me to help you."  I wonder where these phrases come from.... 

hhhhmmmmm.....I have waited one hour, and the video still won't load.  I guess I have to try another way.

Click HERE to see the video!

My wonderful Grandpa

Lately I have been thinking a lot of my Grandpa. Seeing Kenny Guinn die brought back so many memories.  My grandpa was a principal when Kenny Guinn was the CCSD Superintendent.  If my grandpa were still alive he would have been very saddened by his passing.  We probably would have heard many stories about his principal years because he loved telling stories.

I while back I went through all his pictures and things and he always had little notes on the backs (or fronts) of pictures. I found this letter on ordinary paper, folded irregularly, and taped together so that you have to break the tape to read it. On the front it says:

For Marie, Only when needed (undated) J

It was unsealed, so I read it:

To Marie: (undated)

If I shall die before I reach my journey's end. I will cross many rivers and come at last to the sea.

-So wide you cannot see the further shore.

Yet, I will go on-on-

But I will still have far to go

-He who needs others is forever shackled

-He who is needed by others is forever sad

I will soon drop those shackles and put sadness away.

-And now I will wander into the kingpin of the great void. I fear no evils but great unknown comfort. As this life was full and worthy to me. One person made the reality of time a blessing and all that was good was from her warmth and love. Yes - We will meet again - Sweet Marie.

J

He then drew a little stick figure of a man and woman hugging (which was his signature doodle). It also has in pencil (read to Marie 2/1/99).

He lived 10 years past this date.

My grandpa and grandma the way I remember them the best.

Now my grandma is in an assisted living place, and I am not proud of this, but it is a chore to visit her.  But reading this and remembering how much my grandpa loved my grandma makes it much easier to visit and make sure she is taken care of.  

Here is sweet Marie a couple of weeks ago with Alex.

How old are you again?

Dad took Mason to get his hair cut today. We didn't talk about how I wanted it cut, but we have always had it cut the exact same way.  So I just assumed....
Today he brings me back a 5 year old!  Gel in his hair and everything!

Some random things my almost 3 and a half year old is doing:
100 piece puzzles (with a little help, but he is amazing)
counts to 40
sings about 20 nursery rhymes by heart
brushes his own teeth (I give them an inspection though)

I am sure there are tons more I could be bragging about, but Alex just woke up...BYE!

Rewind - First two months

Alex is 11 weeks tomorrow, but I just organized all the pictures from the first 7 weeks, and thought I should write some of my thoughts down before I forget them.

First couple of days

The first couple of days were spent on the couch or various chairs with Alex resting on my chest. He was super cuddly and sleepy. Even a few days after he was born, it boggled my mind how he fit in my stomach, because he stretched from the bottom of my chin to my lap. Everyone asks how I just had a baby because they couldn't tell a couple of weeks later, and all I have to say is he was TEN POUNDS and was taking up every square inch of real estate in there.  No room for extra fat.

1 week old

After the first blurry week, we started feeling better and getting into a little routine. I followed the advice of "The Baby Whisperer" with Mason and it worked like a charm, and so I did the exact same thing with Alex. He took to the routine pretty well also. I recommend this book to every new mom! Although, if you know the book, I believe I had two "angel babies", so no guarantees if you have a "spirited baby" or a "grumpy baby."  At this point I couldn't get over the fact that he looked so much like Mason. I actually had a hard time even calling him Alex because the name Mason would just fall out of my mouth.  I tended to call him baby or something along those lines. I really started doubting that I named him the right name because it was so hard for that word to come out of my mouth.  Before he was born we debated about names and I liked Alexander and Steve liked Jackson.  I didn't like how trendy Jackson had become, and since I was pushing this baby out of my body, I thought I should get the say in the naming department.  So obviously, we went with Alexander Jackson, but I really thought about changing it to Jackson Alexander, because he looked more like a Jack than anything else.  I also realized about this time that there is a nickname that I had not considered - AJax (like the cleaner).  I got worried for a little bit, then posted it on facebook, and everyone told me that was a cool nickname.  I guess there is a soccer team named AJax - so I guess we will stick with the original name. On top of that, some relatives are calling him AJ - so who knows what his name will become.

Grandpa Forrest

This is my cutie with Grandpa Forrest.  He has a way with babies - they all love him and he loves them right back!

Mason helping!

I have to be honest, bringing Alex into our lives was not as comfortable as bringing home Mason. He seemed like a stranger in our home for a few weeks. Now (at 11 weeks) it is perfectly normal, but the beginning was a little weird. It was actually Mason who seemed to be the most comfortable with a new little baby brother. I really don't know how to put this into words, but there was a little adjustment period.

Alex at 6 weeks

He just started smiling at six weeks old, and gave me the first coos a couple days later. He still looks exactly like Mason to me.  We joked that we didn't need to take any new pictures of Alex because we could just recycle Mason's.  At this stage he was crying every night from about 5 pm until he fell asleep for the night.  It was quite annoying, but compared to other babies, I had it EASY!  

Mason loving on his baby brother

I wish I was a good writer so I could express how much love Mason has for his little brother.  It is the sweetest thing I have ever seen. Mason is a sweet boy and has a tender heart. He wants to be right next to his brother all the time. One night at about 4 weeks old, I got up to feed Alex and the bottles I had gotten ready before I went to sleep were nowhere to be found. In my sleepy daze, I couldn't imagine where I would have put them, but something told me to look in Mason's room.  Mason had moved the three bottles right next to his bed!  It was just like he wanted to be included in every part of Alex's routine.  By the way, yes, we switched to bottles at this time. Alex got thrush - which is like a yeast infection in his mouth (gross!) and I was not up to expressing my milk for much longer.  He always needed supplementing because he was so big, and I love the consistency that formula gives you.  I felt pretty guilty for a couple of weeks, but hey, he doesn't look like he is suffering does he?

If you ask Mason about his brother, he describes him like this: "He poops and pees all the time! aaannnnddd he cries all the time!"  He refers to Alex as "baby brother" which I love, and when Alex does cry (which is NOT all the time), Mason says, "It's alright Alex."  I just love these little phrases and I didn't want to forget them.

Alex at 7 weeks

What a cutie!  I don't know where he got these adorable little dimples, but they sure are cute. Alex is so quick to smile. He really is turning into a great baby. He is perfectly healthy and happy and I couldn't be more proud!  

Shoes!

I moved all Mason's old shoes out of the closet to make room for Alex's things - and thought I should take a picture of all the shoes he has worn. This is not so bad for three years of shoes. I wonder what a 3 year old girl's closet looks like?

Cabin

This past weekend we went to the cabin to beat the heat. It was nice and I did actually have to wear a jacket for a little bit! It was Duck Creek Days and so we knew it was going to be very crowded, but actually it turned out to be pretty nice. We didn't do any ATVing because we though the trails would be so crowded and having a 10 week old kinda craps your style a little.

Mason loved the bounce house they had for Duck Creek Days. He enjoyed his very first snow cone too!

Alex hung out on the couch most of the time. He was very content and cute!

Steve had to cut down a tree that was mostly dead - and that was quite the adventure. It wouldn't fall! There was literally only 2 inches of trunk still in tack and the tree was perfectly straight still. Steve wrapped a rope around the tree so that it would fall on particular way while my dad finished it off with an ax. The tree finally fell after a nice rest break from my dad (you had to be there).

PLEASE Someone help me with this stinkin' blog. Every time I post a picture it goes to the top of the post! What is happening? There has to be an easier way?!?!?

jinxed myself

yeah, that last post...nevermind. I was up three times last night checking for breathing! I think it was because my last conversation of the night had to do with SIDS. How can you sleep soundly knowing that tiny little babies just don't make it through the night? I hate anxiety!

10 weeks

Alex is 10 weeks tomorrow. Parenting the second time around is so much easier than the first. Granted I continued with daycare for Mason, and some weekends are terrible when I don't have Steve to help. The lack of anxiety is the main difference. I was always terrified of everything Mason did. Was he sleeping too long? Did he eat enough? Was that acne normal? Why is he coughing? I was constantly entertaining him in his awake hours - showing flash cards or reading to him - I remember sending Steve out at three weeks old - in a slight panic - to get flashcards or else our baby would be stupid!

Now, if Alex is mesmerized by his fist - well, I take that as a sign that I can continue writing this post. Alex is sleeping about 8 hours at a time (that means a wake up between 3 and 4 am) and I AM TOO! Mason slept through the night at 7 weeks - but I don't think I did until probably 3 months, because I was constantly checking to see if he was still breathing.

Alex is starting to look more like me and less like Mason. He face is just thinning out. He smiles quite a bit. He is getting strong enough to sit on my lap forward, leaning against me. He is tolerating his brother much better and doesn't cry when Mason plays "wiggles" with him (Mason just puts his hands on his hips and shakes Alex around).

We have a great little routine going on, but I am ready to go back to work. Staying home doesn't suit me very well. I just HATE to do all the things you should be doing when you are at home - cooking, cleaning, etc. So I spend a lot of my time unproductively so that I won't have to do chores. I tend to get depressed...not in a serious way, just a not-proud-of-myself way. I am trying to enjoy myself and allow myself to read and relax, but I mainly feel guilty the whole time. And this time around I don't have worry of finding the right day care. He will be going with Mason to the best day care there is. Laurence (day care lady) is heaven-sent and I never worry for a second when Mason is there. It will be even easier with Alex because his big brother will be right by his side all day. I am dreading the constant fast pace I will be at, getting two kids up and ready and at daycare by 6:30 am to be at work by 7 am. Why can't we all work part time. It would be the best of both worlds?

Coincidence?

The story goes like this...I am obsessed with the blog dooce.com. Well she had a guest blogger on her website because she had to be away for awhile. So I now am introduced to a new blogger Sarah at www.queserasera.org. She wrote a book called Cringe: Teenage Diaries, Journals, Notes, Letters, Poems, and Abandoned Rock Operas, that I thought sounded hilarious. It is essentially a collection of teenage diary entries that is supposed to make you "cringe". I decide to order it on Amazon, except Amazon is out of stock. I have always been skeptical to order from those other sellers that sell the book for cheaper than the shipping fees. I just ask myself shy they go through the hassle of listing a book and then selling for 0.99 cents. Whatever...I decide to take the leap and buy from one of these other sellers. The book was like 2.99 and shipping was 3.99.

I get the package in a couple of days and think that I am so looking forward to a good laugh. But when I opened the package it was the wrong book. I received The Circle. Some feel-good yoga healing blah blah type of crappy book I would never have been interested in. I send a short and simple email to the seller asking them to send the right book. No response. A couple days later, a slightly longer, meaner email. No response. A couple days later, an email through Amazon's website. No response. By now I have given up but just looking at the book made me mad over the past two weeks.

In the mean time my Dad had sent me a book, The New Good Life, by John Robbins. I loved every word in that book. I devoured it. For the first time in my life, I underlined quotes in that book. It just spoke to me at exactly the right time. There is something about being on maternity leave that makes you question your life. And right now I am screaming to move out of Vegas. I think a few things happened all at once. Quite a few of my friends have moved away over the past 6 months or so because of the lousy economy or for new jobs (including my mom). Steve is not happy at his job - if you could even call it a job. It is more like volunteer work! I like my job and am more than grateful to have a good paying stable job. But often I feel that I have the "golden handcuffs" and I can't ever leave because of the retirement. Then having another boy makes me realize how much they are going to miss by living in Las Vegas. Mostly recreation and schooling comes to mind.

So I get to really considering how we could move. Where would we move to? When could we? Why would we? Would it be any better or am I just getting restless being in this house all day? etc. etc.

I keep glancing at this crappy book that I got that actually makes me a little anxious with it sitting next to me. I don't like it when I get screwed - even if I was only out 7 dollars. It just eats at me. I decide to open it up and see what the book is about. I think, maybe I will read it - even out of spite, so that my 7 dollars wasn't wasted.

Oh my goodness! The book is all about how there are no coincidences and how many things happen all at once and you have to open your mind to hearing the message. Now I did skim through all the flowery mumbo jumbo about meditating and joining your power with others. Yuck. That stuff makes me want to throw up. But the gist of the book couldn't have struck me harder. I am not religious - but this is as close to a "sign" as I think I will ever get. I mean I wasn't even supposed to get this book - it was just thrown in my lap - and it was exactly the words that I needed to hear at the time I was ready to listen to them.

I do think my true happiness will be when I am surrounded by trees, streams, mountains; where I can wear my hair in a pony tail every day; where I can completely outfit my closet from REI; where I won't have to pay $2,000/month for private school; where Steve can pursue his life passions; where friends get together to play cards instead of go to bars; where you don't have to be afraid to open the door to someone knocking. I could go on and on, but I think I have made my point.

I am totally inspired right now and I hope this life will come true for me one day!!!

Growing up

Last night I awake to hear Alex crying. I hurry to go get him before he wakes up Mason which is happening more and more...Darn it - I see Mason's light on and hear him moving around. When this happens he usually stays up for a while and makes feeding Alex much harder because he wants to kiss his head all the time. Then he wants me to tuck him back in and such. So I go to see if I can head him off and put him back to bed. I was shocked to see that he was going to the bathroom - in his own bathroom - all by himself. I asked if he needed any help and he just said, "No mom; I go in my own bathroom now." He has had this bathroom for all of two days, since we booted him out of our bathroom. I mean, the bathroom has been there, but he never stepped foot in it, he always used ours. Then all of a sudden, he doesn't even need to tell me when he has to go to the bathroom. My little boy is growing up! I used to know about each dirty diaper - now he doesn't even need me at all. sniff sniff. Good thing I am getting my fill of diapers with the new little one.

On top of that, when he was done he just turned out the light and crawled back in bed. He didn't even say good night or wait for me to tuck him in or anything. I am very thankful that he is so independent, but man it just hit me like a wave last night - he is no longer my baby.

Doctor Boelter

This story starts off with a slight confession from me. I don't do well at home by myself. I am a huge couch potato and not very proud of it. I have a little leeway right now as most of my couch time is spent with my sweet baby in my lap, but still I need to do better. All this couch time has resulted in three separate boo boos (I speak three year old now) within one square inch on my poor shin from where I have run into the coffee table after getting up from the couch. Not my proudest moment.

Anyway Mason is overly aware of everyone's boo boos and always tries to fix them. He does almost the same routine every time and I had to share it with you. First he concentrates on the boo boo (great bedside manner I have to add), "Does it hurt? How did you get your boo boo? Why did you do that? etc. etc."

Then he moves into full doctor mode with a quick: "Let me check." He turns his back to you and pretends to type something into a computer.

He quickly comes up with the treatment: "Here is your band-aid, and your sticker, and your sucker....Remember not to eat the stick or the paper."

That last line is always exactly the same!

The other reason we think he is going to be a doctor is his fascination with Dad's Anatomy book. This is not the little kid Introduction to our Body - no, we go right into the college course manual Atlas of Human Anatomy. He calls this his skeleton book. He LOVES to see the pictures in the book and then find his corresponding body part.

We would be thrilled if he wanted to be a doctor. Both Steve and I regret that we weren't doctors, so maybe he will be gently steered into that direction.

Sweet Sweet Baby

Here is a beautiful slideshow that I made of my sweet sweet baby. Tina at www.zelephoto.com took all the black and white/studio type shots and Melissa at www.peekaboophotographyforkids.com (but she just moved out of town...sniff sniff) took all the outdoor shots. If you can't tell, I LOVE pictures! The song is Sweet Sweet Baby from Michelle Featherstone if anyone was wondering.

Enjoy!!

I will be ordering photos soon for all you relatives, but if there are any special requests let me know. There are more photos too, but these ones are my favorites. I will put all the photos on the smugmug site: www.jlbphotos.smugmug.com

A little about my sweet baby: Alex is my cuddly baby. I was hoping for a snuggly bug since Mason never (and still doesn't) wanted to be held. I love that my arms comfort him; it makes me feel so special. He is a great baby (as long as you are holding him); He follows my drill sergeant schedule I put him on perfectly. He gets extra special kudos today because he slept all night, from 8 pm to 4 am last night. I am really trying to treasure this time I have before I go back to work. Come mid August our lives will be super hectic again with work and daycare. But by then I am sure that I will be READY to get back to work.

Visions of future parent-teacher conferences...

Today's soccer practice was better than the previous ones, but I think that had more to do with this one only having 4 kids. Mason does not follow direction very well at all. If he doesn't have a ball directly in front of his foot to kick he would just lay down in the middle of the field. Even if he did have a ball he enjoyed kicking the cones more than the ball.

If you want to see all the videos I will put them on my smugmug site: www.jlbphotos.smugmug.com

I am glad we are doing this soccer thing to introduce him to new people and such. I think the most important thing at this age is for him to learn to listen to other adults. Every week is getting a little better.

He is already asking to play teeball, but you have to be 4 to play. I tell him that he has to be 4 and he asks, "after I wake up, I"ll be 4?" When do they understand time?