Life Lately

We've been busy just enjoying life lately.  This time of year is always fun for us and the kids both love being outside.  We are so excited about all of the adventures we will have this summer!

Mother's Day 2015

Mother’s Day this year was memorable for a variety of reasons.  Pat and I got to spend some quality time with our moms.  It was so nice to see and spend time with each of them.  

Often life can crazy and busy and our visits feel rushed.  It was wonderful to spend time just sitting and talking to them and enjoying their company.  In addition to our own Moms, we got to spend time with all the other mothers that make lives extra special with their kindness and generosity.  Our family, both immediate and extended, has grown and changed so much in the past few years and we really realize how fortunate we are when we have the chance to get together with everyone.

As we went through the Mother’s Day festivities both this weekend and last, I found myself thinking about how my definition of motherhood has changed in the 3 years since I became a mom.  Many of the things I thought about motherhood still ring true, but I've grown, changed and learned a lot in the past few years and continue to learn more every day.

I've learned that you can give your child a plate full of eggs, toast and sausage, and they will refuse it in favor of the raisin bran you are eating.

I've learned that keeping the car clean is a near impossible feat. 

I've learned that keeping our house clean is even more impossible.

I've learned to care less about things being clean to keep myself sane.

I've learned that the moment you settle down to watch a movie at the end of a long, hard day, one (or both) of your children will need a drink, another snuggle, and 10 more renditions of “I love you, you love me”.

I’ve learned that you don’t need to sign your kids up for lessons or take them to a million story times for them to be happy (although those things are great).  Sometimes all you need to do is a build a fort, make popcorn and snuggle up with your kids form them to tell you that they are having the best night ever.

I've learned that that most times your kids will act like they can’t hear you when you talk…unless you’re saying something you don’t want them to hear, and then they’re all ears.

I've learned the sleep is a precious luxury.

I’ve learned that some days are hard and exhausting and I can’t wait to put the kids to bed.  But I miss them a little when they are sleeping.

I’ve learned to always carry baby wipes – in the car, in my purse, wherever.  You can always use them.

I’ve learned that I’m constantly wondering if I’m doing this parenting thing wrong.  But then my little girl comes over to me and says “I love you” or my baby boys falls asleep in my arms, totally content with the world, and I know I must be doing some things right.

I’ve learned that I’m not a perfect parent and I make a lot of mistakes.  But tomorrow is another day and I can try harder.

I’ve learned that it really does take village to raise kids and that’s ok. 

I've learned that it’s ok to ask for help.  It’s something that I want my children to be comfortable doing so I've tried to be ok with asking for help myself.

I've learned that I really do need my husband in this parenting journey.

I’ve learned that mothering doesn’t stop when your kids are grown.  If I didn’t know that before, breaking my foot really showed that to me.   Pat and I have some amazing moms (and our children have some amazing grandmas!) in our lives.  Moms that took off work to help me for a few days and cleaned our house.  Moms that picked me up from work and the kids up from the sitter countless times.  Moms that helped me with the kids while Pat was at work.  Moms that made and brought meals so we wouldn’t have to cook.  Moms that babysat our children so Pat and I could have a few hours to ourselves.  We would not have gotten through this time without them!

I've learned that I've got a lot to learn.  As soon as I think I've got it figured out, it changes and I have to figure it out all over again.

I've learned that even though my kids can make me crazy, that make me happy beyond belief.

11 months and growing!

11 months already?!  What?!  I can hardly believe that we will be celebrating our little guy’s 1^st birthday in a month.  Time is flying and I wish I could find a way to hit the pause button for just a minute. 

The past month with Mitchell has been both difficult and wonderful.  It was difficult because he spent a great deal of time cutting teeth and fighting a cold.  Poor little man was a little bit miserable for a while.  We made it through and, with the aid of Motrin and lots of snuggles, Mitch is now sporting two new teeth (for a total of 4) and his cold is finally going away.  We've spent a lot of time at home lately due to my broken foot and Mitch being under the weather.  As a result, we've been able to slowly get Mitch into a better sleep pattern.  He’s a little bit of an insomniac sometimes and he’s not a fan of his crib.  Up to now, we've not been able to get him to take regular naps.  He would basically just go, go, go and then fight sleep before finally giving into exhaustion and taking a 15 minute cat nap.  I know that I didn't help the situation at all because I love to just sit and rock him in the evening after Evie has gone to bed.  We both enjoyed that quiet time together, but it got us into a pattern that was hard to break.  We realized something had to change and, with some perseverance and routine changes, Mitch is now taking two naps a day and sleeping in his crib the majority of the time.  He’s not sleeping through the night in long stretches, but he will sometimes sleep 4-5 hours at night which is an improvement.  We’re still getting up with him at least once a night, but we can usually get him back to sleep pretty quickly.  I am trying to pause before I go into his room and see if he will get himself back to sleep.  It’s worked a few times, but he usually stands in his crib and cries until I go and get him. 

Outside of sleep, Mitch has also made strides with walking.  He’s a full-fledged walker now and is starting to crawl less and less.  Pat and I have been amazed at how quickly he’s advanced.  We were out talking to the neighbors the other day and Mitchell decided to just walk down the driveway.  He made it almost to the next house before he stumbled.  But even then, he just got back up and kept going.  He’s got good balance and can crouch down to pick stuff up and walk across the room carrying his cup or a toy. 

He never stops moving!

Verbally, Mitchell still isn't saying too much other than Mama and Dada.  He will also say ‘uh oh’ and ‘hi’ (although this sounds more like ‘die’ to me).  We’re trying to get him to say ‘bye-bye’, but so far he will just say ‘ba’.  He likes to babble to himself and he is learning to make his requests known.  This is especially evident at meal time.  Mitchell loves to eat and he has not trouble letting us know when he’s hungry.  He’s isn't eating much baby food these days.  We still give him a jar of fruit in the morning and maybe a Gerber yogurt cup with some baby oatmeal mixed in it, but mostly, he just eats what we are eating.  If I can cut it up small enough, he will eat it.  I’m thankful that I haven’t seen any evidence of food allergies.  He’s had eggs, dairy and wheat with no reaction.  We try and keep his diet very healthy and I’m not really a fan of giving him refined sugar, but he does get the occasional taste of a cookie or ice cream.  He’s still nursing or having a bottle every 4 hours or so.  We introduced the sippy cup and he’s getting pretty good at drinking his water.  I’m hoping to wean him off the bottle and nursing around a year, but I’m anticipating a little bit more of a struggle with him than I had with Evie.  Let’s just say he’s very attached to his mama.

Speaking of attachment, Mitchell is getting more social.  He’s still timid in new situations and crowds, but he’s starting to gain some confidence, especially now that he can walk.  He’s seems fascinated by new things and, as long as he knows we are nearby, he likes to explore.  That said, there are times when he only wants to be held by his mama.  This can be a challenge, especially if he’s like this first thing in the morning when I am trying to get ready for work.  He’ll hang off my leg, sucking his thumb and chanting “Ma ma ma ma” until I pick him up.  I’ve gotten pretty good at putting on makeup while holding him.  Pat tries to help, but Mitch will just struggle to get down and then make a beeline back to me.  It’s frustrating for everyone…he’s definitely a Mama’s boy!

Overall, Mitchell is doing fantastic.  He’s an absolute joy and such a good baby!

Happy 11 Months Big Boy!

Dining out with the kiddos

We took our kids out to eat the other night.  I think that any parent will tell you that dining out with children is an interesting experience to say the least.   Pat and I try to eat at home as much as possible, but we do enjoy the occasional restaurant meal.  That said, I think we often wonder why we thought it was a good idea to take our children out in public to eat.

 It is often not a relaxing experience for us.  We spend the majority of the time bribing, threatening and pleading with Evie to stay in her seat, while simultaneously shoving handfuls of Cheerios at Mitchell.   

We are both hyper aware of our children’s behavior when we are out, but Pat even more so because of his restaurant background.  His thoughts are always on other patrons and on making sure that our children do not negativity affect their dining experience.  It’s sounds kind of silly to say that we are worried about other people’s ‘dining experience’ when we are eating at places like Wendy’s or LaRosa’s since those places are family-friendly and usually full of commotion.  But even in non-fancy places, we want to teach our children proper etiquette for eating out.  It’s not that we don’t expect meltdowns, spilled cups and too loud voices.  We definitely do.  That’s why we usually go to dinner extremely early when taking the kids – so that we disturb the least amount of people.   

But you have to start somewhere so, even in places like McDonald’s, we tell Evie that she needs to stay in her seat and eat her meal.  It doesn’t always work and these days we are usually repeating ourselves 2 or 300 times.  And it’s obviously a little bit tougher with Mitch because he’s still so young and you can’t reason with a baby (hence, tons and tons of Cheerios).   We do the best we can, and if all else fails, we remove the kid(s) from the restaurant if necessary.  Luckily, the threat of having to go sit in the car while everyone else eats is usually enough to make Evie sit down and behave (at least for a little while).

The other night we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and, for the most part, it went ok.  This was in part due to the fact that they have a game system for trivia and other games so Evie was entertained most of the meal.  We normally don’t let her play on our phones or IPad at restaurants (although after seeing how good she was at BWW we may have to reconsider this).  Truthfully though, even when they are well-behaved, it’s still exhausting to take them out to eat.  Between 10 bathroom breaks (including one that, inevitably, needed to be taken as soon as our food came), three straws (to replace those dropped on the floor), a bubble mountain in Evie’s cup of milk, Mitchell flinging cereal everywhere, reaching for everything, and trying to climb out of the high chair, we went home more tired than when we came.  But at least we didn’t have to do any dishes!!

Just for fun...part deux

We've been busy enjoying this fantastic weather so I'll let the pictures do the talking!

Kiki (and IPads) are the best!

Just for fun...

 

 

 

Last, but certainly not least, I had to post a picture of our sweet nephew Avi.  Isn't he precious?!