Ten pounds!

Oliver had his four month appointment today. His naked weight was 10lbs (and 1/2 ounce), which puts him at the 9th percentile on an adjusted chart and one tenth of one percentile on a non-adjusted chart. His weight is now in the double digits! They said he is 22.5 inches long which puts him at the 20th percentile on an adjusted chart and two tenths of one percentile on a non-adjusted chart. They said his head circumference is 39.75 cm, which puts him at the 40th percentile on an adjusted chart and 2.9 percentile on a non-adjusted chart. He received a couple of shots plus the oral rotavirus vaccine today. The doctor said that the umbilical defect is shrinking. I thought he meant the size of his belly button, but that's not what he meant.

Ian had his three year appointment today. With his clothes on he weighed 32.75lbs, which puts him at the 61st percentile. He weighed 26lbs with only a diaper on 12/15/11. Nadia weighed 36 pounds and was 36 inches tall at her 3 year appointment. He is also 36 inches tall, and that puts him at the 17th percentile. He was 33 inches tall at his 2 year appointment. He was at the 25th percentile for both height and weight at his 2 year appointment.  He hadn't had any immunizations (aside from the flu shot last December) since June 2011. He had one shot today (he keeps showing us the Bugs Bunny band-aid on his leg) and also got the flu mist vaccine in his nose, which he hated as much as the shot in his leg. Now he's set for immunizations until he turns 5. I asked the pediatrician some questions about reintroducing some foods into Ian's diet, but he said we should return to the allergist with those questions. I made an appointment for January 21 because I would like to reintroduce eggs and peanuts into his diet if he's no longer allergic to those two foods. I think he'd enjoy the peanut butter cookies Nadia and I made yesterday (although his would need to be without a chocolate kiss on top since that has milk in it). I am not in a hurry to reintroduce milk or soy. He wasn't able to follow instructions for the vision or hearing screens.

We were at the doctor's office for 7 minutes shy of two hours. Nadia was at Cheri's house, which made the trip easier, although it still wasn't easy to keep Ian out of trouble for 2 hours when most of that time was spent in an examination room. Ian doesn't have to come back for a year. Oliver will be back in a couple of weeks for his next Synagis injection and then in 2 months for his next well baby visit. Since it seems like we're probably not moving in the next few weeks, I scheduled Oliver's first urological appointment for February 13th. When we got home, it was time for lunch and naps. Ian slept for almost 2.5 hours - much longer than usual. Oliver was rather fussy so I asked Paul if he would take Nadia to ballet/tap class. He hasn't seen her dance since the recital in June, and this way I could stay home with my two sleepy/fussy boys. Nadia's next class will be on January 8th. We've been trying to leave him alone so he can get lots of work done, but I really felt that it would be helpful if he took Nadia today.

Oliver has been doing a great job sleeping lately. For the last two weeks he's been sleeping 10 hours straight. Sunday night he slept 10.5 hours straight for the first time, and then he broke that record last night and slept 11 hours straight! He slept from 8:45pm to 7:45am! Wow! Ian was up at 6:05am and although Paul took him back to his room a couple of times he kept coming back. He was in our bed from 6:15-7:00am. I am a little nervous as to what his sleep will be like tonight because he's been very sleepy since he had the shots this morning. He also seems to be a little congested. I am not sure if that's a side effect of the shots or if he's caught the cold Ian has had since Thursday.

Public Tantrum

Not counting the many times Ian has cried when I've dropped him off at the nursery or Sunday School, today was the first time I recall one of my children having a tantrum in a public place. Nadia and Ian had dentist appointments this morning. My mom took them to their appointment earlier this year (in June) because I was on bed rest then. Nadia had her fourth "real" appointment (meaning the fourth time she had a cleaning, flouride treatment, exam by the dentist, etc.). I heard lots of laughter and singing coming from her chair. Ian played with the train table in the waiting room while I nursed Oliver. When I was done nursing him, we went back with a different hygenist so she could do a little exam of Ian's mouth. He asked to wear the special glasses that he had seen Nadia was wearing in the other chair. He enjoyed the "ride" in the chair. The hygenist noted he had gotten more teeth in the past 6 months. He's only missing 3 molars. He did very well during his brief exam. The hygenist said he was ready for a "real" appointment in June.

We then went back to the waiting room while Nadia's appointment continued. The dentist told me she sang "happy birthday" to him (today is his birthday). When Nadia was done, I told the kids to put their jackets on. Ian had a total meltdown. A full blown tantrum. I couldn't get him calmed down so I decided to just pick him up and carry him out (without a jacket on), which was difficult because I was also holding Oliver. I took them out on the porch and then the receptionist and one hygenist came out and helped me get the kids in the car. I was grateful for their help and embarassed at how Ian's behavior. I guess I should be grateful that it was the first time this happened to me, and I've been a mom for 4.5 years. Ian came down with a cold last Thursday, and it hasn't helped his behavior that he hasn't been feeling well. Sunday morning he fell asleep in the van on the way to church at 9am! This morning he came in our room at 6:15am but then after Paul took him back he didn't come back until 7:15am. He had been in bed with us from 5:15am onward on Sunday morning, and I said that wasn't happening again any time soon.

I found todays' tantrum embarassing, but I guess probably every parent has had a child have a tantrum in public at some point or another. I will be thrilled if I can wait another 4.5 years before it happens again. :-) Time will tell, but just based on how the three kids were at the age of 4 months old, Oliver is my easiest baby. He seems to be getting into a pattern of going to bed at night sometime between 8:30-9:15pm and then sleeping until 6:30-7:15am. For example, last night he slept from 8:45pm until 7:15am. Way to go, Oliver! He usually is up for 3-4 hours before he takes a 1-2 hour nap, and then he's up another 3-4 hours before he takes another 1-2 hour nap. Today they were both only 1 hour long. Usually one of them is 1 hour long and the other is 2 hours long.

Paul submitted chapter one to his advisor (electronically) at 2:30 this morning (in our bedroom). There are definitely disadvantages to the computer being in our bedroom now, but I am glad Oliver has his own bedroom. Hopefully his advisor will approve that chapter this week. Today one more tenure track position in PA was posted that Paul plans to apply for, which brings the total to 5 for the spring semester and 12 for the fall semester. We'd appreciate your prayers for a job for Paul! I got paid $50 for my flute gig this weekend, which was my first paycheck since the end of October. I've been the primary breadwinner for the first 11.25 years of our marriage, but that changed last month.

Christmas Traditions

As I mentioned before Thanksgiving, I've been trying to be more purposeful in establishing some traditions for our family for birthdays and holidays. It was easier to think about Thanksgiving traditions because it's a holiday that is focused on one day whereas Christmas lasts about a month. Christmas celebrations include decorating the house, listening to Christmas music, reading Christmas books, watching Christmas dvds, sending Christmas cards, making cookies, giving and receiving gifts, making crafts (for example on Friday night the kids glued mini marshmallows to a paper to make snowmen), and spending time with extended family. I had planned to do the Truth in the Tinsel crafts every day (Dec 1-24), but I've decided to wait until next year. Just as we had a special breakfast on Thanksgiving this year, I want to have a special breakfast on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year. I think one morning I'll serve cinnamon rolls and do pancakes and eggs the other morning. Since we'll be with our extended family on Christmas Day, we're going to do our gift exchange here at home in the morning on Christmas Eve so the kids will have a day to play with their new toys before we drive to Paul's parents' house and then to Maryland.

 

Last year we went to Hershey Park's Christmas Candylane, and we went again yesterday. As long as we live within a reasonable drive of Hershey, I think we'll make this another one of our Christmas traditions. The weather was pretty nice yesterday for December (high of 48). We stayed at the park for 4 hours. We would have stayed longer, but I had a concert last night (flute gig). The kids enjoyed riding rides, seeing real reindeer, spending time with Grandma and Pop Pop, and watching a Christmas show. Ian was laughing his head off on the "Dizzy Drums" ride. We didn't stay long enough to enjoy the many Christmas lights. The cashier was nice and let Ian in for free even though he turned 3 on Wednesday. I was concerned that Oliver was not going to sleep well last night because he slept a bit more than usual during the day yesterday (in the van and a little at Hershey Park), but he did well last night and slept from 9pm to 6:45am. At four months old he's actually sleeping better than Ian is at 3 years old. He was up a few times last night and was in our bed from 5:15 onward.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30-36 Months Times Two

Nadia - 2.5 years old

1. Nadia was wearing underwear 24 hours a day during this whole time span. Ian was wearing diapers at night until he was 34 months old. Nadia was independent by 36 months. Ian still needs help with getting undressed (he likes his pants and underwear to be completely taken off), wiping, and getting dressed at the end.

2. Both took one nap a day and slept well at night. Both of them switched from a crib to a toddler bed during this time span.



Nadia - 3 years old

3. Nadia was pronouncing the "d" in her name by the time she turned 3. Ian hasn't gotten to that point yet.

4. Ian hasn't started memorizing verses yet. Nadia did so during this time span.

5. They both learned how to do a forward tuck roll during this time span.

6. Nadia was much better at following instructions than Ian.




Ian 2.5 years old

7. Ian made far more messes than Nadia, but he doesn't make them as often these days.

8. At 2.5 years they were very different in their eating skills, but the gap isn't nearly as wide at 3 years old as Ian has made HUGE progress the past few months.

9. They both loved reading books, singing, and watching tv.

10. They both requested chocolate cake for their 3rd birthday cake.

11. Nadia became a big sister at 17 months. Ian became a big brother at 31 months.

12. They both could count to about 15 at this age.

13. They both loved riding the whip at Knoebels.

14. Nadia was doing 24 piece jigsaw puzzles. Ian is still doing peg puzzles. He doesn't have enough patience for jigsaw puzzles yet.

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Ian - 3 years old

15. Although he cries a lot less than he used to, he still sometimes cries when I take him to Sunday School. Nadia never cried during this age span over being taken some where. She did her first week of ballet and her first week of VBS the week she turned 3 years old and loved it!

16. Ian is far more aggressive (pushing, grabbing, hitting, etc.) than Nadia has ever been, but he's also more affectionate than she was at this age in terms of asking for hugs and kisses or to be held and also saying "I love you" of his own intiative more than she did.

17. Ian had much stronger opinions about what clothing he wore than Nadia. The only thing she had a very strong opinion about was that she always wanted to wear her princess nightgown to bed.

18. Nadia weighed about 6 lbs more when she turned 3 than Ian did when he turned 3.

19. Ian has far more sensitive skin and also many food allergies. Neither of them had any sick visits to the doctor!

Thankful Thursday

1. My dream of being a stay-at-home mom of three children has come true. Either today or tomorrow I will finish grading my graduate students' last assignment and two final exams. Once I submit the paperwork to change her grade (she took two incompletes this summer), I will be done with my work at the university. I enjoyed being a professor for 10 years, but now I can turn my full attention to taking care of the kids, cooking, cleaning, etc.

2. Oliver has been sleeping so well at night. He was up from 2:15-3:30am yesterday, but it's very rare that he wakes up before 5am these days. He only has one feeding a night. Last night I took him to choir with me. He fell asleep at choir at 7:45 and slept in my arms until 8:30pm. I was concerned about how this late nap would affect his sleep. Sometimes I put him down for the night as early as 7:30pm, but I wasn't sure how this would work since his sleep was interrupted by our drive home. When we got home I fed him a little and then put him back down at 9:10pm. He then slept for 10 hours so he didn't have any feedings last night! Usually he gets up around 5am and then goes back down around 6am and sleeps about two more hours on average. This morning since he slept until 7:10am I didn't put him back down until 10:30am.

3. Oliver takes nice naps in his crib. After experiencing a baby who was a horrible napper (Ian), I definitely don't take naps for granted!!!!!!!!

4. There are now a few meals (ex. homemade pizza or fishsticks) that the four of us can all eat together without any tears or fussing involved (well Paul won't eat fishsticks but I can make him another type of fish).

5. We have all been healthy lately. PTL!

6. Paul's last trip to PSU for 2012 took place on Tuesday. He'll make at least one trip in January. His advisor approved his conclusion today (chapter 6). He's revising chapter 1.



7. Paul has applied for 16 jobs thus far (did two more yesterday and one more today). Five of these were for the spring semester (three were adjuncts of which one is only part-time) and eleven are for the fall semester (of which one is an adjunct position). The schools are located in VA, WV, MD, PA, RI, MA, NJ, and NY. I wasn't able to convince Paul to apply for the chemistry position available in the Bahamas due to the high cost of living there.

3 Years Old!

Ian has grown and changed in many ways over the past year. I am sure that is true for most two-year-olds, but in Ian's case, he learned some things this year (such as chewing) that are typically learned long before one turns two years old, so it seemed like he had more dramatic changes this year than a typcial two-year-old. When he turned two he was wearing diapers, drinking from a sippy cup, only eating pureed food, sleeping in a crib, and unable to go up and down the stairs independently. Now he wears underwear 24 hours a day, drinks from an open cup (or can use a straw), sleeps in a twin size bed, goes up and down the stairs independently, and can chew regular food. It's going to take me awhile to remember I don't have a two-year-old right now. I have a 4 month old, 3 year old, and 4 1/2 year old.

So many parts of a birthday celebration include food - a birthday cake, special meals throughout the day, etc. It was so hard to celebrate his birthday the past two years except for buying him gifts to open. This year was different! He loves his pirate ship chocolate (vegan) birthday cake! He had a bagel and EleCare for breakfast. We then went to gymnastics and the library. Usually we go through the drive thru at Dunkin Donuts on the way home for lunch. Because today was Ian's birthday, I promised the kids a trip to McD's for lunch. It was Oliver's first time inside a McDonald's. Nadia ate 6 nuggets, fries, and a tiny ice cream cone. Ian had a hamburger. They shared an apple juice. They both had a blast in the playland.

 

I was exhausted when we got home from our 4 hour adventure. I am sure one of these days I will think it is a breeze to take the three kids out and about, but I haven't reached that point yet. When we came home, Ian had a glass of EleCare and a homemade sugar cookie. After Ian's nap, I took the kids outside in the backyard and pushed them on the swings. Then I made homemade pizza for dinner so that Ian could eat pizza for the first time. I made one regular pizza on a pizza pan, and then I used large cookie cutters to make shaped pizzas on a cookie sheet (ex. teddy bear, gingerbread man, heart, etc). Some of those I made without cheese so Ian could taste pizza for the first time. He LOVED it. He kept saying "mmmm mmmm this is so good" and other similar comments. It did my heart good first of all to see him readily accept a new food and secondly to know I had succeeded in making his birthday special for him. He had some birthday cake for dessert. I realize his birthday party was on Sunday, but I was still able to make today (his actual birthday) special for him. Yahoo!!! 

1. He has recently learned how to do the forward tuck roll. He can do it all by himself, even on a flat surface (first they learn how to do them on an inclined mat).

2. I can't seem to break him of the habit of using the word "warmy" to describe how he wants his milk (EleCare).

3. Sometimes he gets the words upstairs and downstairs mixed up (ex. we are upstairs and he'll say he wants to go upstairs but obviously he means downstairs).

4. He still doesn't pronounce the "d" in Nadia's name.

5. He says "thank you very much" without prompting many times a day.

6. He rarely remembers to say "please." We're working on that.

7. He's still traumatized by my absences this summer. He talks about it multiple times a day, and he still panics sometimes when I leave the house (ex. to go to choir). For example, he completely flipped out on Thanksgiving morning when Paul took him to go to the bathroom right before we left for Paul's parents' house. I was in the van (waiting for Paul and Ian), but Ian was convinced I was leaving without him. I wonder how many more months it will take for his fears to subside.

8. He loves to eat bagels, and I learned last week I don't need to break them into pieces for him any more. His other favorite foods include cookies, crackers, brownies, chocolate cake, applesauce, pop tarts, jelly toast, bananas, hot dogs, fries, fish sticks, fruit snacks, and cream of wheat.

9. He adores Oliver. He asks to hold him multiple times a day and often reaches over and "pets" Oliver's head.

10. He sleeps facing the foot of his bed with a sheet and his special small blanket over him, a dragon stuffed animal under his left arm, and a LarryBoy stuffed animal under his right arm. His nap ranges from 30 minutes to 2 hours long each day. He usually sleeps at least 10 hours at night (8pm - 6am). We're trying to get him back to 11 hours at night, but usually he ends up in our bed for part of that last hour.

11. When he has to go #2, he likes to sit on the potty for a LONG time after he's done going. He seems to like sitting on the toilet. I have no idea why because it's not like he brings reading material in with him.

12. His favorite DVD at the moment is "Where is God when I'm Scared" (VeggieTales).

13. He has strong opinions about everything he wears -shirt, pants, shoes, underwear, socks, and jacket.

14. We're working on teaching him not to throw things (other than balls), hit, shove, kick, and grab. He has a long way to go in these regards.

15. His favorite cereal is Cocoa Puffs.

16. His favorite way to bounce on the tumble trak at gymnastics is the "doggie bounce" although sometimes he prefers to meow and calls it a cat bounce.

17. He can easily eat a small hamburger at McDonald's.

18. Lately he's been going down the stairs sitting on his bottom. For many months he had been walking down the stairs.

19. His favorite cookie is a lemon cookie (the store bought cookies with lemon creme in the middle).

20. A typcial prayer of Ian's goes something like this: "Dear God, thank you for Mommy, thank you for Daddy, thank you for Uncle Maurice, thank you that Mommy isn't at the doctors, thank you that Oliver isn't at the doctor's, thank you that Nadia can go to Cubbies, and thank you that Daddy can go to school. Amen."

21. He loves to rough house with Daddy. He also loves it if I give him an airplane ride or spin him around or anything like that.

22. He loves to run around the house with Nadia.

23. He is really into pirates. He now sleeps with Captain Hook and has spent many, many hours playing with the Fisher Price pirate ship he received on Sunday.

24. He does NOT like to wear jeans or sweater vests. I hope he gets over both aversions asap!

25. He loves to sing and/or play musical instruments. He recently started operating the CD player. He'd operate the DVD player if we let him (he's tried).

26. A few months ago he decided he didn't want to wear a bib any more.

27. He still has sensory issues, but they are resolving. Sometimes he still has a fit over something like a little water getting on his shirt or his sleeves being rolled up.

28. He enjoys many books and peg puzzles.

29. He expresses an interest in playing games, but 99% of the time he lacks the self control and patience to play a game.

30. Many times he tunes me out. I have the hardest time getting his attention. I have to raise my voice with him, which I never had to do with Nadia, just to get his attention some times.

31. He loves playing with Nadia even though they both have trouble sharing. There are times when he accepts help from her far more readily than he accepts it from me.

32. He desperately wants to go to Cubbies. Paul took him tonight because they were going caroling at a nursing home. I was at choir (with Oliver), but Paul said Ian definitely isn't ready yet. I am thrilled though that he wants to go. Also, it cracked me up that tonight he was upset he didn't have a vest (he's seen Nadia wear a vest to Cubbies for the past 15 months). It cracked me up because he has tantrums if I put a sweater vest on him on a Sunday morning.

33. He's very affectionate. Many times a day he asks for hugs, kisses, or for me to hold him. He also says "I love you Momma" or "I love you, too" many times a day totally of his own intiative.

34. Lately he has been bursting into tears anytime I tell him "no." I cannot wait for that phase to end!

35. His problem solving skills are excellent.

36. He's very good about holding my hand when we're in a parking lot, on a sidwalk, on a street, etc.

23 Years

In a few weeks I will be unemployed for the first time in 23 years. Even though it has always been a dream of mine to be a stay-at-home mom, it does feel unsettling to think of myself as being unemployed, as I've had a job now for 23 years (although the first 3 years I only worked during the summers and when I was home for holidays while I was in college). My career in the field of education has lasted 20 years - four years teaching grades 5-8, seven years as a principal, and nine years as a professor. Every time I have left a job it has been hard for me (with the exception of McDonald's - it was very easy to leave that one). I hate goodbyes. Even though this one was so that I could have my dream job (staying home with my three precious children), it was very hard to sever the ties because this was the first job that involved earning tenure and a promotion (to Associate Professor) and because Paul doesn't have a job yet in his field, and when he does get a job, it will most likely be for less money than I have been making. Staying home with my kids is worth far more to me than the extra money I would be able to make if I kept working. We don't need two incomes to meet our needs, especially when we're not trying to pay for adoption or ivf (except for the FET which is much cheaper).

Maybe at some point in time I will receive a paycheck again. I am not opposed to teaching an evening class or an online class as an adjunct in the future, but for now I am plenty busy taking care of our three kids. Being a stay-at-home mom is far more physically and emotionally exhausting than being a professor! It would have been easier to make this decision after Paul had received a job offer, but I didn't feel it was fair to keep my university hanging any longer. The spring semester starts on January 28, and I wanted them to have time to find replacements to teach the courses I was scheduled to teach next semester. A student had asked me to hood her at the graduate commencement this Friday night. I told her "yes" at first, but then yesterday I emailed her and asked her to ask another professor because I hate goodbyes. I told her I was resigning. Thankfully she was very understanding. I was honored at her request, and if I wasn't resigning I would have followed through, but I really would rather fade off into the sunset quietly than to have to say goodbye in person.

Last night I emailed my department chair and the Provost. The Provost wrote me back late last night (I read her message this morning). She wrote a very nice message. One sentence talked about how my "expertise and commitment to early childhood are well regarded throughout the system" and another spoke of how my work was "genuinely appreciated" by the Office of the Chancellor in Harrisburg. We have a state system of higher education in PA, and my university is one of those schools. That's what she means by "the system." The Chancellor is over the whole system not at our university. Our current Provost used to work in the Chancellor's office before she became our Provost.

 

My department chair wrote me a nice note this morning and offered to write me a letter of reference if I ever need one. One sentence from that was "I want to take this opportunity to share with you how fortunate I feel to have had you as one of my colleagues." He also forwarded the email from the Provost to my colleagues, and several of them have written me messages of congratulations and best wishes. One said "I will miss your work ethic. You were a team player." It's been an emotional day for me.

I am very grateful that Paul supports my desire to stay at home with our children, even though he hasn't yet been offered a job in his field. I am also very thankful to Paul's dad who has agreed to hire Paul and provide us with health insurance until Paul gets a job at a university. I am praying for the Lord to provide Paul with a job. He knows what would be best for Paul and for us as a family. I am trying to be patient as we wait to find out where that will be. Twice we have gotten our hopes up, but thus far he hasn't been asked to interview. First, a school in VA called him on the phone the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. He missed the call and returned their call the next day, and they never called back. Last Thursday a school in WV emailed to tell him the salary and asked if he was still interested. I thought that since he said "yes" that would lead to an interview, but thus far they haven't called for an interview, and it's for a position that starts on January 14. I have to keep repeating to myself 1,000 times a day - "God is in control" as the suspense is really getting to me.

I am ever so grateful that the Lord has blessed us with three precious children (plus one frozen embryo), and I am ever so grateful I get to stay home and spend my days with them.

Speaking of goodbyes, today was Ian's last day of OT. Karen has been coming to our home for 23 months. Nadia has been upset that Karen's visits are coming to an end. She had been doing SO well with eating lately (even carrots, peas, and green beans), and now the past few days have been awful again. Last night I served her a casserole that has macaroni and cheese, tuna, and peas. She didn't eat it last night. She went to bed without having eaten dinner. She was served the same plate for breakfast. She sat at the table for almost 5 hours today before she finally ate her food. Hearing Karen playing with Ian was what finally motivated her to eat. I really hope this was a temporary setback and not that we're starting back at square one. She has to be hungry as it took her three meals to eat what would have been one meal's worth of food, and I only let her drink water. Hopefully dinner will go more smoothly tonight.

A triple celebration!

Friday night after the kids went to bed I baked a chocolate cake in a pirate ship cake pan I had purchased from Amazon. I also made some ginger cookie dough and sugar cookie dough and put them in the refrigerator to chill. Saturday morning we decorated the gingerbread man and the sugar cookies. The ginger cookie recipe I used resulted in VERY yummy cookies, but it didn't work well for making gingerbread men. I will use that recipe again but not for gingerbread.

 

Next year when I make the sugar cookie dough, I'm going to cut the recipe in half because #1 I ended up decorating many of the cookies because their attention span wasn't long enough and #2 neither Paul or I like sugar cookies. Saturday morning Paul took Ian and Nadia to do a little shopping for the party including letting Ian pick out three balloons at the dollar store. He picked a yellow smiley face, a red Elmo face, and a truck. Both kids have been having a blast with the balloons.

My parents arrived around 5pm on Saturday, and about 30 minutes later we were off to our church's Christmas dinner. One of these days I'll remember that these events are not fun with little ones. You think I'd know that from how unpleasant most meals are here at home, but I forgot. Actually they served ham the past few years, and Nadia likes ham. Also, Ian wasn't chewing last December. They served turkey this year, and both Nadia and Ian didn't do well even though I brought a banana for Ian, and normally he easily eats a banana.

I think part of the problem was they ate lunch 4 hours later than usual because of the shopping trip with Daddy and the nap they took in the van after returning home. Lesson learned. Nadia eventually ate some of her meal because she really, really wanted an ice cream sundae (the dessert they had at the dinner). I was really surprised that we had major struggles on Sunday at lunch as well because I let Nadia have a hot dog (instead of the chicken and dumplings everyone else was having) and let Ian have an unfrosted strawberry Pop Tart, since it was his birthday party meal.

 

The whole point of letting them eat a Pop Tart and hot dog was to avoid tears. Go figure. Backing up, Sunday morning we went to Sunday School and church. I have yet to make it there on time since May, but I've only been 5-10 minutes late the past few weeks. Paul's parents, brother, and grandmother met us at the church before the 10:30 service. We brought Nadia and Ian in to the service so they could go up for Oliver's dedication. I prepared a slide show of pictures of Oliver. Paul commented later that many women were in tears. I am so very grateful for Oliver. At the age of 35 I was childless, and now at 40 I am so blessed to have three beautiful children. Thank you, Lord! After the dedication we took Nadia and Ian back to Children's Church, but Ian started crying. He chose to stay with us. He did very well considering he had never sat through a worship service before (and ours last an average of 90 minutes). Nadia's dedication was a few days after she turned 3 months old. Oliver and Ian's were within a few days of when they turned 4 months old.

Oliver wore the same vest, tie, and pants that Ian did for his dedication. He wore a preemie size shirt. The pants were too long. I rolled them at the waist. The suit is size 0-3 month. I'm sure it will fit him properly some time this winter at the rate he's growing, whereas Ian only wore it once because it was time to switch to spring/summer clothing shortly after he wore it in April 2010. Although the boys were almost the same exact weight at 4 months old, I think Ian was longer so it makes Oliver look chubbier even though he has yet to reach the first percentile for his weight. When we came home we switched gears to celebrating Ian's 3rd birthday (Dec 12) and my dad's 69th birthday (Dec 10). I am very grateful that six members of our extended family were here with us to celebrate Ian's birthday and Oliver's dedication. If Ian was in charge of picking the menu we would have had bagels for lunch. I planned the menu based on my dad's preferences instead - chicken and dumplings, creamed corn, applesauce, rolls, and cranberry sauce. I even remembered to get him some Hawaiian Punch to drink.

 

After the meal, Ian (and my dad) opened their presents. The kids both really enjoyed playing with all the new toys today. He got a Thomas the Train Megabloks toy from my parents, farm animal toys from Great Gram, truck memory game from Aunt Wendy, Jake (pirate) tent from Uncle Al, Captain Hook stuffed animal and clothes from Paul's parents, a shirt from Cheri, and a spyglass, pirate ship, pirate puppet, and little plastic pirate figurines from us. Ironically, my mom had bought him the exact same spyglass! Great minds think alike, right? Many pirates and princesses were walking the plank today! He put Captain Hook and the pirate puppet in his bed to sleep with at naps and at night. After the presents were opened it was time to blow out candles! Ian successfully blew out his three candles one at a time. Millie made a delicious mandarin orange cake (my dad loves mandarin oranges), and I made a vegan chocolate cake for Ian. Paul spent HOURS doing the frosting (he said the color black was the hardest to make). He used white icing, food coloring, a spatula, and a knife. I think he did an amazing job!

 

We also had homemade pumpkin raisin, lemon, sugar, and ginger cookies. Two of those were vegan, and two of those were dairy free but had eggs in them. We gave three plates of cookies away as gifts at church yesterday morning to the kids' Sunday School and Children's Church teachers. We're planning to give two plates tomorrow (OT and ballet teacher) and two more on Wednesday (gymanstics teacher and Cubbies leader). I was so happy to see Ian eating cake on his birthday for the very first time. Sigh of relief.

Nadia wanted to help unwrap the presents, but we let Ian unwrap his own presents. My dad did let her help him unwrap his presents. One of Ian's gifts was a set of two figurines - Ariel and Eric because those are his favorites of all of Nadia's, and she very rarely is willing to share. Nadia didn't handle Ian receiving this gift well at all. This put her jealousy over the edge. It's a lesson for young children to learn to truly enjoy celebrating someone else's birthday. All in all it was a very special day celebrating Oliver's baby dedication, Ian's birthday, and my dad's birthday! Even though Nadia is four years old, this was the first birthday cake I made for a child. Since Aunt Millie makes cakes for a living (she owns a bakery), we have depended upon her talents for our birthday cakes. I admit I have felt some "Mommy guilt" when looking at pictures of birthday cakes moms have made their kids on Facebook and blogs. Now I can say we've made a cake for a child's birthday, and I think it turned out very well thanks to Paul's perfectionism.