Sunday, August 29, 2010

so yeah, this is our first family picture

[slideshow]

It only took a school project to finally prompt us to take a picture of all 6 of us together, our first ever family picture. It's an impromptu one at that. We had just gotten home from church so some of us had already dressed down. I think Little M had no idea what everyone was doing, but he did great keeping up.

I love the shots of the kids. We told the girls to kiss Big M on the cheeks so they had fun at that.

(J is in Pink, K is in blue)

Friday, August 27, 2010

"mini me"

Daddy and  I were looking through pictures of the kids and found Big M and Little M look pretty much exactly alike, except Big M was a chubbier as a baby. I need to get pictures together and put them side by side. They can be twins.

Yesterday I tried sitting Little M up on our bed and he did pretty well. He can sit up for about 10 seconds unassisted and he's not even 5 months. I am both excited and sad. My little baby is growing up very fast.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

another big monkey

Little M had his 4 month visit on Monday. While there, he charmed both the nurse and the doctor with his sideways grin and giggles.

Stats:
Head: 16 1/2 in. (50th percentile)
Length: 25 3/4 in. (80th percentile)
Weight: 17 lb 2 oz  (90th percentile)

He is big just like his brother.

Big M's 4 mos stats:
Head: 17 in.
Length: 26 3/4 in.
Weight: 20 lbs 5 oz

The first thing any new pediatrician we see asks is "how tall is Mom? and how tall is Dad?" We're just oh so slightly above average for height, and I guess together we just make big kids. I can't say I've overfed all 4 kids, because I've breastfed them all up to a year (planning on doing the same with Little M). Some women I've met say they're big because I breastfeed. Must be some good crack. :)

Little M has some issues with eczema, and in fact he has scratch marks all over his forehead. I've resorted to making him wear mittens at night to protect his face. The pediatrician said it may be worth stopping milk, cheese and yogurt for a couple of months and see if this improves. I am willing to try, especially that the twins are allergic to milk so it is entirely possible that Little M just has issues with it.

He continues to roll around and pull himself up from a sitting position. One day while driving, I saw him in the baby mirror with his head up and now rested on the car seat. He grabs at toys, he grabs at whatever I'm eating, he likes to hold faces when you're close enough to him, and he is smitten with his big brother.

First Day of Kindergarten

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="Putting stuff away in the locker."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="604" caption="Settling down in his assigned seat."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="604" caption="Ms Shane's Kindergarten class and some classmates."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="604" caption="Going to the flagpole for flag raising ceremony."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="604" caption="Heading back to their room after the ceremony."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="604" caption="Flag raising ceremony at the elementary. Grades K through 5 all outside. There are a lot of kids!"][/caption]

Kindergarten started yesterday. I guess it's a testament to our (parents and preschool) success that this momentous day seemed not such a big deal to Big M. He was excited about school and being a big boy, but he only had minor jitters (if that). I walked him to class, he put away his backpack, and set down where he was supposed to. He didn't bring lunch as I wanted him to learn how to eat at the school cafeteria on his first day, so we practiced what he to order. Then we hugged, kissed, nose kissed and I left to go to the "Boo Hoo" breakfast by the PTA. No tears from me. But that's because I shed a couple while we were still in the house. :)

I hung around for their flag-raising ceremony. He saw me, hugged me, and then I told him to stay with his class and so he did. Aaaah. Where has time gone?

After waiting half an hour at the carpool lane at pickup, the first thing he said to me when he hopped in the car was, "MOMMY, KINDERGARTEN IS FUN!" I wanted to know everything he did, but though still excited he was tired. Getting information from him was like pulling teeth. I did get the fact that he ordered what he wanted, but he was made to get carrots and said he wasn't going to eat that. He said that a teacher told him where to sit and that he sat with big kids. Thankfully my not-so-little-man is social and confident enough that this didn't bother him one bit. If anything, sitting with big kids is something he really like, thanks to our time spent with his older cousins in NC. He also told me the color squares where kids were to line up at the end of the day; different colors for walkers, for bus riders, and for carpool.

Today was definitely more momentous for me than it was for him. There are tons of emotions that can't even be put into words. But all in all, Big M's Dad and I are very proud of him. The day has gone much easier on me that he didn't think this day is such a big deal.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

a year older and a few less brain cells

I am truly hoping that this is just me, but I think I'm more forgetful now than ever. I did a final walk-through of the rental house the other day and had to hold on to the check the landlord gave me (full refund of deposit, yeah!) while we chatted a little bit. When I got in the car before I left, I had a frantic moment of searching for that check. I remembered as I was holding onto it, Don't lose it! I didn't lose it, but there was that moment when I thought I did. And then there's a daily look out for my cell phone, and I do mean daily, as in several times a day. ARGH!

My birthday started great, full of songs and laughter from the kids. Then I went to Wal-Mart to do some school supply shopping and then I got hit from behind by a woman as I was leaving my parking space. I got out of the car, looked at the damage and saw my rear right corner bumper was caved in. "I want your insurance information," I said as I went back in my car to get my pen, cell phone and insurance card. When I came out she asked, "Why were you so slow?" With the adrenaline running through my body, it took a bit of restraint not to say, "DUH! So I don't hit other unsuspecting cars or people." As I was taking a picture of the damage to my car, she came over and said, "I didn't do that." "Yes, you did. I have never been in an accident in a long time, and not with this car." Thankfully, to that she seemed to accept the fact and said, "It doesn't look so bad."

So I came home, called the police, called the insurance company and then went off to lunch with Daddy and Little M. By this time, I'm thankful that I was no longer shaking from the adrenaline and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the day.

Two days later (yesterday), I ran over a nail 2 minutes from Big M's school as I was picking him up. It punctured the tire, so I had to call my knight in shining armor (Daddy) to come rescue me. I can count 3 times in the past 6 years this had happened to me. I think it's fate telling me I really should go ahead and pay attention to how to change my own tire. Daddy has explained it to me as many times, but I couldn't really get into the lesson. It's one of those things that it's better to do yourself in order to learn it. So as I was waiting for Daddy in the school parking lot, I went ahead and started. I read the car manual and got moving. I had already gotten the spare tire down by the time Daddy came. And what's up with the other parents at school (even the men!) not even stopping to ask if I needed help!?

Anyway, that's in the past. I'm ok, my family is Ok. Our AC finally has a new compressor and is working, just in time for the 115 heat index. All is well. All is especially well when I bought a yummy little cake from Wal-mart. We all gobbled it up, I had to send Daddy to get another one. :)

Saturday, August 7, 2010

our summer so far

[slideshow]

Little M has had a lot of firsts lately; first time on the high-chair and first time on the exersaucer. He loves being on the table when everyone is eating. He doesn't eat solids yet though. I'm not prepared for that just yet. Soon.

The petting zoo pictures are from a party of a friend. It was a lot of fun and it was surprisingly cooler in the country!

Friday, August 6, 2010

One-on-one time with the kids

We have planned to do this a while, and we're finally putting it into action. Each month, a child has a special day with either me or Daddy. Within a year, each of the 4 kids should have time alone with either me or Daddy 3 times. To start with Daddy and Big M are going to have a special time together. Big M has been into knights and castle lately, so Daddy is going to take him to Medieval Times! I'm sure Big M will have a blast. Next month is K's turn with me. I've been looking for things to do with her. Thankfully, the city parks and recreation offers activities year round!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Monday, August 2, 2010

the amazing, Little M!

Little M rolled over from back to tummy about 3 days ago. And now, he does it all the time. The really amazing thing, is that he seems to do it with pure tummy/back muscles. Big M, J and K all rolled over by pushing off with the legs when they are on their side, not Big M. :)