Escaping, Reading, and Exercising

Yesterday Ian and Nadia were playing in the backyard. Nadia came in, and I thought Ian was still in the backyard, but he had escaped to the front yard. I was not happy about this because the fence was expensive. The whole point of spending thousands of dollars on the fence in December 2009 was to keep the kids in the backyard if I wasn't outside with them. I asked Ian how he got into the front yard, and he showed me that he could crawl under the gate. Lovely. I am hoping we can figure out a way to make it so he can't crawl under the gate as otherwise the kids can't go outside unless I am with them. Oliver woke up at 2:30 this morning (just like he did yesterday), and I noticed that we had gotten a few inches of snow while we were sleeping. Because all the schools around here had a two hour delay this morning, I decided not to go to gymnastics and the library. I am a chicken when it comes to driving in snow or ice. After I put Oliver down for his morning nap, I took the kids outside so they could play in the four inches of snow we got while I shoveled the driveway.

Oliver took two long naps on Saturday. It was the most he ever slept during the day. I should have woke him up, but since I kept him up until 9:30 that night it didn't bother me that he only slept 8 hours that night. However on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday none of his naps were more than one hour long, and most of them were only 45 minutes, which is unusual for Oliver. On Monday he had a feeding at 4am, and he had a feeding at 2am yesterday and today. Since he slept through the night almost every night for a little more than 2 months, I haven't been too thrilled with these middle of the night feedings, and his 45 minute naps weren't great either. His first nap today was short, but thankfully he's taking a long nap right now. I am hopeful that this will lead to a better night's sleep tonight. Usually he sleeps 10-11 hours straight, and the last few nights he's only slept 8-9 hours total (and that includes being up for an hour in the middle of the night).

Yesterday I got out an exercise dvd for the first time in a year. I didn't last very long because #1 I wanted to go to bed and #2 I am really out of shape. I had been planning on waiting until spring to get back into shape, but seeing that Jo is already exercising (and she had a baby less than 2 months ago) motivated me to start now, especially in light of our trip to Florida in early May. I want to lose 18 pounds before then. I'm not going to exercise tonight since I shovelved the driveway this morning. Once I start seeing some progress on the scale, I know that will motivate me to keep exercising even though I really don't enjoy exercise that is just done JUST for the sake of exercise, especially at the end of the day, but it will be wonderful to be able to fit into ALL of my clothes again! As you can see from the video above, Nadia's big accomplishment is that she can read some words in the "at" family. I've started using BOB books to teach her to sound words out.

We're going to Disney World!

In 2011 we spent a week near Orlando with my parents, my sister, and her family. When I say "we" I mean Nadia, Ian, and myself. Because Paul wasn't with us, we didn't go to Disney because Paul wanted to be with the kids when they experienced the Magic Kingdom for the first time. I took the kids to Sea World one day, but most of the time we hung out at the resort, which had many water slides and such. Since Nadia has been SO obsessed with every Disney princess and Ian still enjoys them as well (at some point I'm sure he'll decide that boys aren't "supposed" to like princesses), I thought we should make our first trip to Disney World this year. The kids are too young (in my opinion) for MGM or Epcot, but I think they'd love to spend a day at the Magic Kingdom as well as return to Sea World.

Paul and I traveled to China in 2006, and the frequent flyer miles we accumulated on that lengthy flight were going to expire in November. Usually for domestic flights we prefer to use Southwest since they don't charge for luggage, but our last trip (to Grand Cayman) just pushed us over the edge so that we had enough for a short round-trip flight. We couldn't fly from Baltimore (our preference) to Orlando. We didn't have enough miles for that, but I found that we had just enough miles for a round trip flight from Dulles to Jacksonville. So yesterday I used our miles to purchase two round trip tickets. I just had to pay $10 total for taxes. Then I used credit card points to purchase two more round trip tickets. We'll have to pay for luggage as these flights are on United, but not including baggage fees we're just paying $10 for the five of us to fly to Florida! My parents can take us to and from the airport so we won't have to pay for parking at the airport either. Since we're flying in and out of Jacksonville, we extended our trip for two extra nights. I have a friend in Jacksonville, and we each have an aunt who lives near Jacksonville. My aunt (Tina) has never met any of my kids so I'm hoping she will get to meet them in May! I'm thinking we'll spend some time at the beach and maybe go to the zoo. I also booked our rental car through the credit card. In addition to using some points, I paid $84.41 to rent a vehicle for 9 days. I'm also planning to use credit card points to get our tickets to Sea World. So the trip won't be expensive at all. The biggest splurge will be the tickets to Magic Kingdom.

Today I'm going to book a resort in Orlando through my time share, and we're hoping to stay in people's homes for the two nights in Jacksonville. Paul's parents will be joining us. Picking the resort was the hardest decision thus far. We considered returning to the same one we stayed at in 2011, then I was leaning toward a different one in Kissimmee, and then I ended up picking one in Orlando that has a pool area featuring a pirate ship with waterslides and water cannons. I'm excited! Four months from today we will Lord willing be in Florida! Our whole trip will be about 12 days long because we're also going to spend a couple of days in Maryland with my parents after Paul's graduation and before we fly to Florida.

I love you, Ian!

Ian has now been three for one whole month. I am still adjusting to the notion that I have a three-year-old. I still tend to think of him as a two-year-old. Not counting the time in the womb (Oliver wins that prize), Ian has been the most challenging child to parent of our three munchkins (thus far). Some things have been very painful for him - two urological surgeries, two endoscopies, having eosinophilic esophagitis, being allergic to many foods, overcoming sensory issues, and my extended absences this summer. With other things I'm not exactly sure why they have been so difficult for him - such as sleeping and following directions. No matter what, we love him oh so very, very much.

I love...

1. your zest for life. You attack almost everything with a great deal of enthusiasm, energy, and laughter. Your gymnastics teachers really enjoy your smiles.

2. how affectionate you are. You give the best hugs! I love that you ask for hugs or kisses or to be held at various times throughout the day. Some day you won't ask for these things so I'm soaking it up for as long as I can. I think your love language is physical touch.

3. seeing how much you love Oliver. You ask to pet him (although I keep telling you we don't "pet" babies) many times a day.

4. seeing how much you love Daddy.  You prefer Daddy to put you to bed, brush your teeth, etc. If you see him, you ask him to play with you. You love to tackle him!

5. watching you play with Nadia when you two are getting along nicely. You two have a long way to go in learning to share, but there are sweet moments as well.

6. your blonde hair. I realize it will most likely turn brown at some time, but for now I enjoy having a little towheaded boy.

7. your beautiful blue eyes, which you got from Daddy.

8. the way you stroke your belly button. It cracks me up, and you don't suck your thumb (which is proving to be a hard habit to break with your older sister).

9. your grateful spirit. So many times a day you say "thank you" of your own initiative, and at many moments at times I wouldn't even think to encourage you to say thanks. At least two times a day you tell me you are thankful I'm not at the doctors (hospital), and you often make the statement about Oliver also. I am so sorry that my absence was so traumatic for you, but I really appreciate that you don't take my presence for granted. I am so glad to be at home with you, Ian. I missed you soooooooo much this summer. It broke my heart to see you so little for so many weeks.

10. your ability to play by yourself for extended periods of time. Your sister could learn some lessons from you! You play with such a wide variety of toys over the span of a week. Yesterday you were playing with one of Nadia's castles (you play with it more than she does), and I saw that a Little People Noah, a Little People Superman, and a Little People kangaroo were all in the castle together. It cracked me up!

11. your imagination. I love to hear what you are drawing or making with Play-Doh.

12. the way you march around the room with the green rhythm sticks during music time. Your favorite songs at the moment include "Do your ears hang low" and "Tararabundaray."

13. your sweet voice. I know your voice will change, and I will miss it. I must take more videos!

14. hearing you burst into song all throughout the day. Again, I must take more videos!

15. that there are now a few foods that you really enjoy eating. It does a momms's heart good.

16. that you haven't had an accident in a couple of months. There are plenty of 37 month old boys who don't wear underwear 24 hours a day. I'm thankful, and I can't wait until you learn to undress and dress yourself (and get up on the toilet yourself) so that you could be a tad bit more independent in terms of going to the bathroom.

17. how you spontaneously tell me "I love you too" several times each day. I love you SO much!!

Three Bees

Last night I had Oliver wear the bumblebee sleeper I got for Nadia in October 2008 when she was 4 months old. It's still a little big for Oliver. I'll wait a bit before I have him wear it again, but I think he looks adorable, as did our previous two bumblebees! Ian was 8 months old when he wore it. I had used Picnik to make the collage in 2010. That site doesn't exist anymore. Does anyone know of a free website for making photo collages (without a download)? The consignment shop closest to us is having a sale 40% off everything tomorrow, and Paul's parents are coming up to visit us tomorrow while Paul is at PSU (a week from today there should be TWO Dr. Kennedys in this house!). I'm hoping to get Oliver some clothing in size 3-6 month as he's a growing boy and won't be in 0-3 month clothes for too many more weeks!

This week I've been working on several things with Nadia - syllables, putting a period at the end of a sentence, writing, sounding words out, etc. Next month I want to start using a curriculum with her. I'll decide in the next couple of weeks whether I'll use Sonlight or My Father's World first (I already purchased both of them). I told her I wanted her to write a story today. One one paper she wrote "Jona ran awa from God." Jona sald on a bot." (translation: Jonah ran away from God. Jonah sailed on a boat.) On the second she wrote "Noa bilt a arc. A flud cam evrewar." (translation: Noah built a ark. A flood came everywhere.)

 

 

Nadia at 4 months old (10/31/08)

Thank you Thursday

I've had Nadia color or paint a "thank you card" many times before, but today was the first time that Nadia wrote the words "thank you." I told her how to spell "thank you for" on the first card, and she copied those words on two other cards. I then let her sound out and spell the other words. The first card for Grandma and Pop Pop said "thank you for pinc castle" (castle is on the back side of the page, and I forgot my plan to let her spell those words herself and told her there was a silent "e" at the end of "castle"). The card for Grandma and Grandpa said "thank you for Tangld" as they gave her a Rapunzel doll (that she calls Tangled) as well as the "Tangled" dvd. The last card is for Great Gram, and it read "thank you for Sindrala" (Cinderella). I thought she did a great job with her invented spelling!

Yesterday I noticed that Oliver's overalls (size 0-3 month) didn't reach his ankles. I thought it was time to get out the box of 3-6 month clothing to see if some of it fit him yet. I discovered I have very little clothing in that size for him because a lot of what I had from Ian in that size are short sleeve shirts and shorts. I did buy a few outfits at a yard sale in May. I have only ONE sleeper for him in that size - the bumblebee one that I got for Nadia in October 2008. The first outfit I tried on him was WAY too big. The second one fit him perfectly. In fact, it seems like it either shrunk or was missized as it seems the same size as the 0-3 month clothing he's been wearing lately. I wish I had known as he could have worn it at Christmas! I'm glad I went through that box before he outgrew it. Ian really liked the hat that went with the outfit. If I took the hat off Oliver's head, Ian was quick to notice and asked me to put the hat back on Oliver. I need to go to some consignment shops or clearance racks in the next week or two and pick up some 3-6 month outfits and pjs for Oliver! I have plenty of 3-6 month short sleeved onesies to put under his outfits, but that's about it.

I am happy to say that today I finally started to feel better after feeling really lousy for 6 days. I am not saying I feel back to normal, but I do feel myself returning to "the land of the living" as my mom used to say. This is a big relief because moms don't get sick days! I'm also grateful that Oliver slept 10 hours straight last night and took two nice naps in his crib today. Bless you, my child!

 

 

Pizza, Socks, and more

Yesterday life started to return back to normal. We'd had a break for a few weeks from ballet, gymnastics, Cubbies, library time, etc. On Monday none of us left the house aside from walking to the mailbox to get the mail. Nadia has fully recovered from the bug. She ate house and home on Monday after not having much of an appetite for a few days. Paul and I still feel lousy. My throat has been very sore, which wouldn't be so bad except most of the time I have to use my voice with the kids (reading to them, singing with them, etc.). In the last few days I finished reading Socks to them. They both really enjoyed that one. Ian kept asking me questions about the baby (Charles William) and cat (Socks). I read a few chapters of Sarah, Plain, and Tall  but Nadia objected that it didn't have ANY pictures. I switched to The Courage of Sarah Noble which we finished today. My goal of reading at least 24 chapter books this year will be easily met. I think I could have made it at least 50. Today we started reading Ramona the Pest. I also continue to read many picture books to the kids each day, but we are really enjoying the new habit of reading chapter books at lunch. I wish I had started this sooner. Better late than never! Ian hasn't been as interested in the others as he was in Socks. I'm mostly doing this for Nadia's benefit, but I'll try to pick some in February that he'll also enjoy. I checked out The Hundred Dresses at the library today. I also checked out several books on CD's for Nadia to listen to in her room. I will definitely continue to do this because otherwise she doesn't stay in her room very long during room time (when Ian is napping). Today I brought home CD's of Beezus and Ramona, a Mrs. Piggle Wiggle book, and one that included the Sarah, Plain and Tall trilogy.

After ballet yesterday I picked up some pizza. I decided to just take the cheese off of Ian's slice. As you can see, he loved it! I know this wouldn't be a big deal for most kids, but seeing Ian hold a piece of pizza and feed it to himself is a HUGE deal for us. This morning they were the only kids in their gymnastics class so I decided not to assist Ian as much. I figured the teacher should be able to handle the two of them without as much of my assistance, especially since Nadia is very independent. There is one other girl signed up for the class, but she wasn't there today. Our outings yesterday afternoon and this morning messed up Oliver's nap schedule. Yesterday he had a feeding at 4:30am, and this morning he had one at 1:30am. They were hard on me since I have been feeling terrible as it is, but baby comes first! I am grateful that usually he sleeps 10-11 hours straight at night. Paul hasn't gone to PSU this week since he's sick. He did get good news today that his article (that he resubmitted a few days ago) will be published in the ACS journal Analytical Chemistry! Woohoo! This was great news, as it will help him with his dissertation defense in nine days.

I love you, Oliver!

I decided this month to write a list of things I love about each child. Since Oliver turned 5 months old at 4:22am, I'm posting his list today.

I love...

1. how your face lights up when you see me if we've been separated a little while (such as when I'm changing your diaper after your nap)

2. your smiles  - just a kiss from Mommy can cause you to smile. You've been smiling for Nadia and Daddy for a a few months, and you started smiling for Ian a few weeks ago.

3. your laughter - usually I hear you laugh after I tickle you such as with my nose in your cheek, "eating" your belly, etc. Three days ago you laughed your little head off at something Ian was doing while they two of you were in the bathtub. I wish I had a video of that moment. Priceless.

4. your coos - I recorded a little video today to have a record of those sweet sounds. I love talking with you!

5. when you sleep in my arms at church on Sundays - pure bliss. If I didn't have other children or  housework to do, I'd let you take all your naps in my arms.

6. when you sleep in your crib - I am extremely grateful that you have been such a good sleeper the past two months. You take two naps most days. Every once in a while (like today) you take only one nap that lasts three hours. At the very least your naps put together total 2.25 hours, and sometimes they total 4 hours. The norm is about 3 hours altogether. At night you sleep an average of 10 hours straight. The least is usually 9 hours, and the longest (like last night) has been 11 hours straight. Thank you, thank you, thank you! As I've said to many people, my hardest pregnancy produced my easiest baby.

7. when you play in your gym - I am also grateful that you are getting better at playing in there a little bit each day so that I can do things like take a shower or cook dinner. I'm also starting to work more on you spending a little time in the high chair and exersaucer each day.

8. that you are gaining weight so nicely. You hit 11lbs three days ago, which put you at 2 tenths of one percentile (you'd been at 1 tenth of one percentile for a couple of months).

9. nursing you. I wish that I was able to nurse your exclusively, but I am grateful that the bottles haven't caused you to go on strike with nursing. The best nursing session each day is the first one in the morning. I love it.

10. seeing how many smiles you bring about in other people. You are a little magnet. Strangers can't walk past you without smiling at you or making some nice comment about how cute you are. Even though you fit size 0-3 month clothing very nicely these days, I still get comments (even within the last week) from people that at first they thought you were a doll, but then you blink or something and they are surprised to find out you are a baby. When Pop Pop carries you around, he says you are a "chick magnet." Ha ha!

11. kissing your chubby little cheeks. Your cheeks are irresistable. I kiss them dozens of times a day.

12. your beautiful blue eyes. I'm the only one in the family who doesn't have blue eyes.

13. that I am number one in your life. I know it won't stay that way, but I'm enjoying it for now.

14. your soft skin. I also find your skin to be irresistable. I love to stroke your cheeks.

15. holding you. My arms feel so empty when you're not in them.

16. your cute little feet. You think it is oh so very funny when I stretch your leg so your foot touches your nose. I've been known to kiss your little toes, which your Daddy thinks is revolting.

17. your cute little hands. Even in the NICU you would grab the collar of my shirt with your left hand when I was holding you. You did that for a few months. Recently you've switched to hanging on to my hair instead. Also, when I'm nursing you or giving you a bottle, we hold hands (again with your left hand). If I don't hold your hand, you clench it very tightly. You've done that since the first time you were fed orally (when you were 2 weeks old). You want to hold hands far more than your siblings ever did at this age. I love holding your sweet hand in mine!

To quote the book that Nadia has asked me to read many, many times, "I'll love you forever. I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be." As your big sister says, "I love you to the moon and back, Oliver!". Your Mommy, Daddy, big sister, and big brother love you dearly. We are ever so grateful that you joined our family!

On Time!

Today was the first time since Oliver was born that the kids and I made it to Sunday School on time! I was trying to get there early because I was teaching the 3rd-5th grade class. We weren't early, but we were on time. The downside of teaching was I put Oliver to sleep in a pack 'n play in the nursery. He got more sleep than he would have in my arms, but I missed holding him. I almost didn't go to church. Nadia came down with something on Thursday (cough, fever, etc.). Her fever lasted less than 12 hours. I came down with it on Friday, and I still have a fever more than 48 hours later. I ache all over, am very congested, have a sore nose from blowing it so often, etc. Paul came down with it last night. The reason I taught with a fever was because I missed last Sunday due to pink eye. I couldn't bring myself to call a substitute two weeks in a row, and also that would have meant my kids would have missed church two weeks in a row.

We got home around 12:45pm, and by 1:45pm all three kids had been fed and put in their beds for naps (room time for Nadia). I also crawled into bed. When Ian woke up about an hour later, I asked him to join me in bed, and he fell back asleep as you can see by the picture Paul took while we were sleeping. Ian and I got up when Oliver woke up at 4:15pm. I hadn't had a nap in a very long time. It was greatly appreciated in light of how lousy I feel and also the fact that Paul is about to go in "overtime" mode again for the next 11 days (meaning we'll hardly see him...he won't be coming home many nights during this time span even though his advisor is in Florida). All I can say is I can't wait for this to be over. I am so ready for him to be done with graduate school.

 

 

The Home Stretch

Paul turned in his dissertation to all four members of his committee yesterday. His defense is just 13 days from today. The end is definitely in sight. He went into school two days this week because he received the article back from Analytical Chemistry. One reviewer said to publish it "as is" and the second said he needed to revise and resumbit. Unfortunately, the editor went with the second reviewer. Paul's advisor said he needed to resubmit before his defense. Neither Paul or his two co-authors agreed with the second reviewer. Paul had to figure out which revisions to make and write an explanation as to why he didn't make the other revisions. His advisor (one of the co-authors) thought he was right on target with his explanation. Paul will start working for his dad beginning on the 21st. Please keep praying for a teaching job for Paul for next fall.

On January 19 I want to go mattress shopping. I've always had trouble sleeping on our mattress while pregnant, but this time I'm still having trouble 5 months after giving birth. I rarely get any sleep after 5am because my back hurts so much. The pain has gotten so bad that I'm willing to splurge on a Tempurpedic matrress. It seems the wrong time for a big expenditure considering my employment is ending on January 27 and Paul doesn't have a permanent job yet, but sleep is very important. I can't catch up on my sleep because I can't get more than 7 hours of sleep due to the pain. Considering this mattress (that we've had for 12 years) has been doused with amniotic fluid twice and blood once (still can see the stains from May 30), I think it's time for a new one. I fell in love with the Tempurpedic ones at the Ronald McDonald House in Hershey in April. Those were comfortable even while pregnant! Of course our mattress is far better than the ones I slept on in the hospital. The labor beds (when I was on the 8th floor) were the worst. Oi vey. Those were not made to be slept on for multiple consecutive nights by an antepartum patient. If Paul had the time to spare, I'd go shopping asap, but I know he doesn't have the time to spare as this is the first year in our marriage that we didn't go on a date the week of his birthday. I was starting to line up a babysitter, and he told me not to bother. :(

We brought the high chair from the basement and had Oliver sit in it for the first time at dinner tonight. He was slumping over to one side or the other, but he was content. I want him to get used to sitting in that while we eat our meals as in four weeks I'll be introducing solid foods. I'm also hoping this might help him improve his sitting skills.

Another goal I had for Ian for 2013 (that wasn't on the list) was that he could wake up in a better mood. He always cries when he wakes up - whether he has a short or a long nap. Usually I'd hold him and comfort him and try to calm him down, but I decided enough was enough. As of yesterday he has to stop crying if he wants to come downstairs after his nap. I'm hoping that if I keep enforcing this that in the near future he'll break the habit of automatically bursting into tears when he wakes up from his nap although he's had this habit for more than a year so it might take a little while to break it.

All of these pictures were taken on Thursday. Nadia wrote "Happy Birthday Daddy" all by herself! This week she learned her last two letters - R and S. She can now write all 26 capital letters! She usually does a better job with "B" than she did for his card. The hardest one for her to learn was definitely "S."

Thankful Thursday

1. The kids have really enjoyed the snow. It snowed last Wednesday here in PA while we were in MD. The kids obviously missed that snow, but it snowed again on Saturday (6 inches), and they've been enjoying that snow the past few days. Ian says to me "I want to go snowing" which means he wants to play in the snow. Ha ha! I'm also grateful that Paul helped them build two snowmen on Tuesday. If I had been in charge of that activity, they wouldn't have turned out as nice. I was only responsible for helping the kids decorate the snowmen (eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons). I don't actually enjoy being out in the snow (except if I'm skiing) so I am grateful when Paul goes out as then I can stay in the warm house with Oliver. I'm also thankful for the fence, which means Nadia and Ian can play in the snow in the backyard while I'm inside.

2. We received so many nice gifts last week! My three favorite gifts were my telephoto lens, video camera, and Steeler pj pants. The pj pants will get the most use of all the gifts I received! I also was given two necklaces, and I wore one today, and I think it looked very nice!

3. We were able to spend time with our extended family last week. We probably won't see my sister and her family again until next Christmas. I wish we could see each other more often, but I am grateful for the 3 days we did have together.

4. Neither of our teams made the playoffs this year. Bummer. The upside is that I called and cancelled our cable tv yesterday. Having a shortened football season saved us some money. We'll sign up for cable tv again next September. Paul got to see EVERY single Giants game even though we didn't have the NFL Sunday Ticket this year like we did the last two years. All but one of my games was aired.

5. Cheri watched Ian yesterday while I took Oliver for his Synagis appointment. Nadia went with me as we also stopped at Walmart to select something in place of the duplicate Tangled dvd she got for Christmas. I am very grateful for Cheri's help!

6. Today is Paul's 43rd birthday! I am very, very thankful for him! I invited Paul's parents to join us for dinner. Paul picked spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread, green beans with almonds, and Heath cookies for his birthday meal. The kids both made cards for Daddy. I am very blessed to have a husband who loves me very much and is a wonderful father to our three children.

7. Last week when I was balancing the checkbook, I discovered I had been paid once in December! I thought my last paycheck was in October, but I was paid on December 14 for 3 days (Thanksgiving). Half of that paycheck went toward health insurance as they deducted 8 weeks worth of health insurance premiums. I had assumed we'd be getting a bill in the mail for that. It was a pleasant surprise to have it covered already. Now I'm curious to see if I'll get any paychecks in January.