She Moves, She moves!

Oh Ricky Martin, you are so right.

Nora started rolling the other day!  I put it on Facebook, but I need to get better about keeping up here - as this is "permanent". 

You can see her in action here

She can scoot around on her back pretty well, too apparently.  I put her under her baby gym - and this is where she was when I looked back a few minutes later:

Also note sock and toy placement. :)

After I uploaded the pic she'd made it all the way to the hardwoods.  Crazy girl.

Her 4mo appointment is coming up on Friday - get excited!  Ha!

Funny Kiddos

This week, Nora began blowing raspberries.  It's pretty funny, and Joseph likes it.  Today he said that Nora was blowing... "blueberries".  Pretty close!  Nora is kind of laughing, now.  It is coming out more like a whine/cry, but I'm sure belly laughs are around the corner!

As for Joseph, I'm pretty sure we can cross "doctor" off the list of probable careers as he gags every time he sees a little milk on her chin.  I think he's a bit weak in the stomach.  Ha!

Our first "conversation"

Yesterday, Joseph woke up from his nap and Nora was still asleep.  Joseph has been waking up pretty grouchy lately, and likes to snuggle for a while, so I took him into my bed.  We snuggled and I started asking him about school.  He never really says much about it, but this time I took a "what happened next" tactic starting from when he took his coat off.  He told me about several things that he did in his day that way!  It was the first "conversation" I think we've ever had.  Sure, he talks a lot and we say things to each other, but this was back-and-forth sustained talking.  It made me so happy!

Oh, and Nora is *almost* laughing now - I took her to her first baby storytime during preschool yesterday morning which she seemed to enjoy well enough, and we read a book together and did some songs last night while T.J. and Joseph played upstairs.  It was fun to be in the "baby" stage again for that short while.

I'm feeling very lucky lately!

Mini-Me

Auntie Debbie put this together for us... I always laugh when people say Nora looks like Joseph!

Nora is 3 months old!

Well, 4 days ago.  Never fear, dear readers - I did in fact get pictures of her on the exact day!

Notable things about this time of Nora's life:

- She's got a loose "bedtime" around 9:30 I've been putting her in her cosleeper upstairs with mixed success (about 50/50 now).  She usually tanks up before then (nursing up to 2-3 hours straight) and then sleeps until 4am.  Best.baby.ever.  It probably helps that the girl has to live on catnaps between errands and Joseph's banshee-like behavior when he's awake and not at school!

- Reaching for objects.  She can grab, hold, and put things into her mouth, now!  On her actual 3mo "birthday" she started grabbing for toys and holding them for a second.  Over the last four days the skill has exploded and today she grabbed, held, and then brought a toy to her mouth for exploration!  (Video to come - check out smugmug.)

- She also often leads with her mouth, though.  It's so hilarious to watch her try to suck whatever she sees in without her hands!  Today it was her hat.

- Interacting with Joseph: Goodness those two already love each other dearly!  Joseph tries (and succeeds) to make her smile all the time.  They love to look at each other.  I cannot wait for her to become more interactive with him!

- Strong preference for Mama.  Unfortunately for me!  I did get a double-electric pump, and I'm trying to get committed to using it so that I could... you know... go somewhere ALONE (or even with my husband) for more than 1.5 hours.  But right now she cries for about an hour of that time anyway, so I'm trying to accept my lot.  At least I know it's not forever this time, since Joseph is a blooming independent!

- Super slobber.  I don't see any sign of teeth (how could we be talking about teeth already?!?  Where does the time go?) but goodness she's a drool machine.

Without further adieu, here's Nora!

Get in There!

Just a reminder to get in the shot sometimes.  Sure, you may not have combed your hair after you washed it.  You may not have a lick of makeup on.  You may be 30 pounds heavier than you wish you were.  But your kids won't care when they look back at photos in 5, 10, 20,  or 30 years.  They'll just be happy to have pictures of their mom. 

So get in the photo!

Sometimes, no news is good news

Even the first born milestones take a back seat if they don't make a big show about it...

Joseph got all of his molars!  I did notice several months ago that one was starting to come in, but after that I'd only sort of half-heartedly look for them (it's not that easy to peek that far back in a toddler's mouth - and I'd hate to waste the cooperative time without a toothbrush in there!).  Well, tonight I asked Daddy to count, and he has all 20 teeth!  Either they came in easy, or we attributed the problems to something else.  I do remember him having a fever once (maybe right after Nora was born?)... but that's about it!

We're done with baby teeth for a month or so, and then we can start the process again! Ha!

There is nothing funnier

Than getting cheered on when you're sitting on the toilet by your almost 3-year old. 

Joseph gets just as excited when "I make it" as when he does.  Haha!  He's my little cheerleader.

We're giving potty training (for Joseph) a real try this weekend.  Wish us luck!

Toddler Theory of Relativity

"Every action has an equal and opposite reaction"

It's not just physics, apparently.  As wonderful as Joseph's morning was, I sat through 15 solid minutes of sobbing - by BOTH children - on the way home. 

Nora regularly cries a bit in the car.  It's NORMAL.  Sometimes, Joseph could care less.  Sometimes, he cries, too.  Today, he had a full-blown meltdown.  She stopped crying, he kept crying.  So then she'd cry more, and then he'd cry louder and longer - as if it were a competition.  On it went for the entire car ride, unloading, diaper changes, etc...  I sent him to his room to calm down, which sort of worked, but it took nearly the whole time I was getting Nora changed and settled.

Advice on this behavior?  In the past I try to empathize to get him to stop (mostly so it'll allow Nora a chance to calm down).  Today I opted for silence vs. screaming at him to shut the ^*#& up, since that's not the parent I want to be, and would have been unlikely to work anyway. 

He tells me that he "feels sad" and I try to suggest things that will cheer him up, but mostly I think he "feels sad" because it's likely to get an empathetic response.  I don't want to be mean and unresponsive and teach him that it's not ok to share his feelings, but I would like to help him get out of these funks more quickly.

Did I mention that I'm sick, too?  My fuse is a little on the short side today.

The Great Diaper De-Stash

After nearly 3 years of cloth diapering, I'm ready to streamline my stash for ease of use.  That means getting rid of a LOT of diapers that we've either outgrown or just don't reach for in the pile.  All of my diapers have had a purpose, and I've liked almost every one at one time or another, but now that I'm diapering two kids, I just want my diapers to feel "decluttered".

So, I'm getting rid of everything but my pockets.  Whoa!

Before I post them on diaperswappers.com (great place to buy used diapers, by the way), I figured I'd post them here in case anyone is interested.  I will probably try and sun them before I take photos... but I don't know when we might get a sunny day next here in the great (muddy) North.

Here's my list, if you'd like more info on them, email me jenmonn at gmail dot com and I'll take pics and such.  Prices include shipping so long as you're getting at least $20 worth of diapers.