A few of my favorite things

For some reason the song from The Sound of Music was going through my head today. I thought I'd list a few of my favorites:

1. Oliver smiling

2. Nadia, Paul, and/or Ian laughing
3. Walking to the playground with my kids
4. Being outside when the weather is nice (like today!)
5. Singing in my church's choir (hoping to rejoin ASAP)
6. Looking at pictures of my kids
7. Listening to my kids sing
8. Holding a sleeping baby in my arms at church (like today!)
9. Seeing my kids learn a new skill
10. Hugging Nadia, Ian, or Paul
11. Kissing my kids' cheeks

12. Nursing Oliver (I'll enjoy it even more when he gets off the shield)
13. Hearing Ian or Nadia tell me they love me (Ian says it more often)
14. Dressing my kids up (I'm so glad Nadia loves dresses!)
15. Watching my Steelers win a game
16. Listening to Nadia and Ian pray
17. Taking Nadia and Ian to the circus, Disney on Ice, Sea World, Knoebels, etc.
18. Reading to my kids (except when I have a sore throat)
19. Reading comments friends and family have left for me on the blog or Facebook (I have very little interaction with anyone over the age of 4 most days; so emails and comments mean a lot to me)
20. Playing the flute (would you believe I'm going to have my first paid "gig" next month - although honestly I'd do it for free)
21.Sharing a treat with Nadia at the mall (ice cream or a pretzel from Auntie Anne's)

22. Having people (wherever we go) gush over how cute (and tiny) Oliver is

23. Playing Boggle with my Dad, Wendy, and Drayton
24. Getting a good bargain (at CVS, clearance rack, yard sale, etc.)
25. Planning and going on vacations (loved them all with the exception of the cruise and the 2010 Florida trip)
26. Getting 8-9 hours of sleep at night (Oliver is going in the right direction)
27.Seeing my kids show love for and enjoying each other
28. Having spritiual discussions with Nadia
29. Going on a date with Paul
30. Going to a concert
31. Eating homemade cookies or brownies
32. Spending time with our extended families
33. Playing Words with Friends (I've gotten a lot better at it over the past 5 months)
34. Going to a ladies Bible study (especially if the author is Beth Moore)
35. Having Oliver squeeze my finger tight
36. Seeing Oliver gain weight
37. Seeing Ian enjoy eating a few things like bagels

The Gimmees

In the past when I've asked Nadia what she wanted for Christmas or her birthday, I haven't gotten much of a response. Her wish list was filled with my ideas rather than hers. This Christmas she definitely understands the concept of a wish list. It has gone from being helpful to an obsession. I don't want her to be greedy. The first thing I thought of was to have her start thinking about what she wants to give others for Christmas. The first three years she didn't give anyone any gifts. Last year she did select gifts at Cubbies for herself, Ian, Paul, and I. That was the first time I opened a gift from her, and it truly was a surprise. She wants to use her money to buy gifts for her family. She has been separating her money into three categories, and she knows one category is for buying gifts for her family.

 

I do want her to learn the value of money and how much things cost, but since I haven't yet started to give her an allowance, she can't be expected to pay for the gifts this year. I told her that I'd take her shopping for gifts for Oliver, Ian, and Daddy and that she and Daddy would get her gift for me. She told me she wants to buy Oliver a new gym, Ian a bike, a pink ring for me, and a big shirt for Daddy. I'll let her pick a shirt for Daddy, but the other items are too expensive. Yesterday she saw me looking online at a necklace and said she wanted to buy it for me. Since it cost less than $20 and I liked it also, I ordered it. I'll give it to Paul so he can have Nadia wrap it. Hopefully she won't find out I ordered it. I finished packing our two shoeboxes today. I wanted to do three, but I only had two shoeboxes. I'll do three next year. Nadia really didn't like seeing me pack toys and things for someone else. Ugh. I tried to explain that this would likely be the only Christmas present this child would receive whereas she's going to receive many gifts. As Christmas draws closer I'll help her make things for people also - crafts as well as baked goods. I want her to learn that it is better to give than to receive, and I'll also emphasize that the best gift of all is Jesus. I definitely want my children to know the true meaning of Christmas! If anyone else has suggestions on how to tame the never ending Christmas wish list, I'm all ears!

 

I have to say today was an exhausting day. Oliver only took one nap (at 9am). I tried many times throughout the afternoon and early evening, but every time he'd wake up within a couple of minutes of me putting him down in his crib. He cried on the way to and from the grocery store as well as while I shopped. I went during Ian's nap and Nadia's room time so that I could only take Oliver since Paul was home. It was very challenging to cook dinner with a fussy baby who wanted to be held All The Time. Even the Weego didn't work. Ian had a royal fit over dinner, and it turns out Nadia doesn't like canned peas (she greatly prefers frozen ones). Her dinner took almost 3 hours, and she still didn't finish the hamburger noodle bake or peas. I have had a very sore throat the past two days. It really hurts to talk, which makes reading to the kids torturous, but I just can't say no. Ian peed and pooped in his underwear/pjs this morning in bed, and the list could go on. I think you get the idea. It definitely wasn't a pleasant day, but I'll take an unpleasant, exhausting day with three kiddos over one without any kids any day of the week! I'm really nervous that Oliver isn't going to sleep tonight. In the past if he's had a bad day as far as naps, then that has led to a really awful night.  I hope that doesn't prove true tonight. Mommy really, really needs some sleep! All of these pictures were from yesterday. I took the top and bottom ones. It's fun to take pictures of Oliver's smiles!!

Foto Friday

On October 20 we went to Walmart for what I hoped would be Oliver's first portrait session. We succeeded at getting our family photo (2 poses turned out nicely), and we got a decent one of the three kids. Oliver cried almost every time I put him down for the photographer to take a picture of him. This morning I took Cheri and the kids to Sears for attempt #2. I had Oliver wear a suit for the first time; it was the same outfit that Ian wore for his first pictures at Sears (white dress shirt, vest, tie, and black pants). I also dressed Nadia and Ian up so there could be some pictures of them with Oliver. Oliver was to be the focus.

Since Oliver doesn't like being in the car seat, he was crying when we walked into Sears. While I was trying to settle him down, the photographer took some pictures of Nadia and Ian. Then we attempted to have pictures of Nadia, Ian, and Oliver. Nadia is usually the easiest to photograph, but ironically her expression was the reason I didn't purchase the pose that included all three of them. I actually only bought one picture that included Nadia (one of her and Ian). The photographer was very patient. It took many attempts to get a few none screaming shots. I wasn't planning to be included in any of the photos. I wasn't wearing any makeup and hadn't given any thought to what clothes I was wearing.

My favorite pose from today's shoot was the one of Oliver on his belly. Ironically he had been crying and she said to put him on his belly for a picture of his feet (it wouldn't matter if he was crying during that shot). She was amazed that he stopped crying when we put him on his belly so after taking the feet shot she took a couple of him on his belly. The whole process took almost 2 hours because I had to wait 45 minutes to see our proofs on the computer. I am very grateful that Sheri was with us as she took Nadia and Ian other places in the mall while Oliver and I waited. The next time I'll take Oliver will be when he's able to sit up. We shall see if I pick Sears or PictureMe. This was my first time trying Sears in more than a year. Maybe at some point I'll stop going to photographers (except for our family photo) and just rely on my own pictures. I'm going to make that my goal!

Cheri had two treats for the kids today - a bag of animal crackers and a bag of cotton candy. Nadia and Ian got to taste cotton candy for the first time today. Nadia didn't like it. I am so glad I didn't spend $12 to get her some at the circus. Ian did like the taste of it, but he didn't like to touch it. He enjoyed eating it if I would put it directly in his mouth for him. I'm glad they got to taste it since they've read about it in a carnival book that they love, but I don't think I'll be buying it for them. If I had known my wait would be so long, I would have done some shopping. I did buy myself one top - my first non maternity clothing purchase in more than a year. I'd like to buy some more tops because I feel like all I ever wear are solid turtlenecks. Variety is the spice of life!

P.S. This last pose certainly wasn't my idea. When she suggested it (since I was giving him some milk to try to calm him down), I thought of saying "no thank you" but I just let her take the photo knowing I wouldn't buy any of that pose. She had no idea that the bottle is an emotional landmine for me.

Home Sweet Home

Last night was a better night for Oliver. His first stretch was 6.5 hours long - his longest ever! He was up from 4:15-5:30am. Unfortunately for me Paul decided to get up at 5:30; his shaving, showering, etc. in the master bathroom kept me up. In hindsight I should have gone back downstairs and slept on a couch. I got back to sleep and then a few minutes later Ian came in and woke me up at 6:30am. I've been up since 4:15am, but at least I got 6 hours of sleep. He nursed so long during that one feeding that I didn't need to give him a bottle during the night. Today we stayed home ALL day, which felt great. It enabled me to take Oliver's 3 month pics, I stayed in my pjs all day, Oliver was able to take 2 naps in his crib, and I was able to read many books to the kids and spend a lot of time working with Nadia on the beginning sounds of words. She's getting very good at identifying the letter that words start with. A couple of days ago we were working on word families, and she actually read her first word (by sounding it out rather than by sight). It was "gap." Good job, Nadia!

Paul has been coming home each night again. The downside is that means the news was on tv this evening (I'd really prefer the ignorance is bliss mode at the moment). I was surprised that he thought he had time to watch it. He's been working on finalizing his journal article so he can submit that. He has so many things to juggle. I assume the dissertation will rise to top priority again in the very near future. He has about one month until he needs to submit the final draft to his 4 committee members, and his advisor wants to see a complete rough draft long before then. He did submit one more application today (#3). His perfectionism means he spends HOURS on each cover letter. I'm hoping he'll submit three more ASAP. There are a total of 7 more letters to be written. Even with him deciding not to apply to Lehigh, Villanova, Lafayette, and Binghamton, there are still a total of 10 places he has applied or is planning to apply. Three start in January (one tenure track and two adjuncts), and the other seven are tenure track positions that start next fall. We shall see what the Lord has in store!

 

 

3 Months Old

My little doll turned 3 months old this morning. He decided to celebrate by staying up all night. It wasn't quite that bad, but it wasn't a good night. He slept from 9:45pm-1:30am, 3:15am-5:05am, and 5:50am-8:00am. I got up at 6:50 to shower. Thankfully it was the first morning since the time change that Ian and Nadia slept until 7:00am. Nadia actually got up before Ian. I could technically have gotten 6.5 hours of sleep last night, but I got far less than that because Paul woke me up when he came to bed at 11:30pm, and then I had a really, really hard time going back to sleep when I laid back down at 3:15am. I was awake for almost an hour. Paul and I both would have slept a lot better last night if he had waited until this morning to find out the results of the election. Paul watched the coverage on tv for 3.5 hours yesterday evening after Nadia and Ian were in bed. That surprised me given his lengthy to do list which includes finishing the rough draft of his dissertation, writing cover letters for job applications, and submitting an article to Analytical Chemistry. Not including last night, Oliver has been giving me one 5 or 6 hour stretch each night lately. Sometimes this means only one feeding during the night. Usually it takes an average of 75 minutes to get him back down (45 minutes is the shortest amount and 120 minutes is the longest). If we aren't out and about too much in a day, then he usually takes two naps in his crib - one long one and one short one. I'm very pleased with his naps! Neither Nadia or Ian took a long nap at this age.

We're celebrating him turning 3 months old by going out to dinner tonight. Just kidding. We're going out to celebrate Paul's mom's birthday, which is today. They told me last week there wouldn't be any Cubbies tonight, and I haven't been able to resume choir rehearsals due to Paul's schedule so we are able to take Paul's parents out to dinner on her actual birthday. It will be my first time eating a meal in a sit down restaurant since we were in Grand Cayman in May. Typically we eat out at a sit down restaurant about once a month. Paul has been going out to eat more than usual in light of all the time he's been spending at PSU lately. He goes out to eat with a former roommate who is a strength coach at PSU. I'd have to go back many years (probably decades) to find the last time I went 6 months without doing so. I had thought we'd go out in September for a belated anniversary date (our anniversary was 8/11), but Paul said we can't go on a date until he defends his dissertation. I had thought that meant a date in early December, but now it's looking like I'll have waited a full 8 months for a date with my hubby (our last was in May) since he's planning to defend in January. I actually was surprised he was planning to join us for Paul's mom's birthday dinner since he's been skipping things (like our trip to the circus last Saturday). I noticed early on when dating him that he treated his mother and Nan well. I viewed that as a good thing.

Oliver now weighs 7lbs 1.5oz! I am very happy with his weight gain. He's gained 24 ounces over the past 21 days! The only thing that would make me happier would be if all that weight gain was from my milk. Ian got off the shield a few days after he turned 4 months old. I am going to buy some Fenugreek and make another attempt sometime in the next month to wean him off the bottles and also off the shield. I haven't had to buy any formula yet. We're just using the free samples we received. I can tell by his poopy diapers that he's no longer only consuming my milk. Although he's now doubled his lowest weight (he weighed 3.5 pounds when I first held him), to most people he still looks REALLY small. In the past week I have had soo many people (at CVS, the library, etc.) mistake him for a doll or a teddy bear. They think I'm carrying Nadia's doll or teddy bear! He's outgrown most of the preemie clothing. He's still wearing a few preemie size clothes, but mostly he's wearing newborn size now. Most of the newborn sleepers fit him. All of the newborn onesies fit him. Almost none of the newborn pants fit him. His waist is just too small. The pants won't stay on him. I rarely left Nadia in a sleeper during the day. I sometimes left Ian in a sleeper during the day when he was in newborn size clothes. I have to admit I have left Oliver in a sleeper most days. This is due in part to the fact that I don't have many clothes that fit him that aren't sleepers, but it's also because he's the third. Sorry about that, Oliver! I tried really hard to take lots of pictures of Ian just as I had done with Nadia, but this third time around I've definitely taken fewer pictures. I think a contributing factor is that I've gotten much pickier. I am far more prone to delete pictures these days. Maybe that's not altogether a good thing.

He started smiling socially, and I think he'll be cooing any day now. His siblings were cooing and laughing before they turned 3 months old. I LOVE his smiles, and I can't wait to hear his laughter. He will sometimes last for a few minutes in the gym. Most of the time if he's awake he's in my arms - in part because otherwise he cries and in part because I don't have any baby gear to put him in (with the other kids I had things like a bouncer, Bumbo, swing, etc.). I am so grateful to just be able to hold HIM and not also an apnea monitor and oxygen tank. PTL! His eyes are still blue and his hair is still brown. His siblings hair didn't fall out (and turn blonde) until they were 4 months old. We shall see what happens with Oliver's hair and eyes. We love him oh so very much and look forward to getting to know him more and more in the coming weeks, months, and years!

I had planned to take Oliver's 3 month pictures today. I gave him a bath and dressed him with his 3 month sticker in mind, but there wasn't time. I'm usually a purist about this, but I'll have to fudge this time and take his 3 month pictures tomorrow. There will be time tomorrow because we have nothing on our agenda. Oliver will love the fact we won't be getting in the van tomorrow. He prefers to stay at home!

Synagis #1

This morning we headed out in two vehicles to the polls. Aside from getting up at 4am to take out the garbage and eat breakfast, Paul was in bed for 14 hours. Wow. I'd love to be in bed for 8 hours straight. I haven't experienced that in months, but Oliver is worth it!!! Paul left for PSU after he voted, and we drove to a campsite to give a couple from church (who don't have a car) a ride to their polling place. Altogether it took one hour - 15 minutes for us to vote (longer than usual) and 45 minutes to drive to their camper, their polling place, their camper, and back home. It felt good to be able to help someone out after being on the receiving end of such help lately. Yvonne (the wife) was one of the ones who painted Oliver's room in August.

 

This afternoon I took Nadia to Cheri's house en route to taking Oliver for his first Synagis injection. I scheduled it for 3:35pm as I thought we'd be in and out in a few minutes. I was wrong. We were there for about 15 minutes before they called us back, and then they had to take his temperature and weigh him before stabbing his leg. The same nurse who weighed him at his 2 month appointment weighed him today, but this time she asked me to take off his diaper. Go figure. Totally nude with an empty belly he weighed 6lb 15.5 oz. I feel quite certain that when I weigh him tomorrow (he'll be 3 months old tomorrow) wearing only a dry diaper that he'll weigh at least 7 pounds.  The picture (above) is of Oliver's belly button. Both Nadia and Ian had umbilical hernia's but neither of theirs was anywhere near as bad as Oliver's, and believe it or not, his belly button was bigger a month ago. Was Bailey's that bad, Regina? The bad part about having been out and about both this morning and this afternoon is that he only took one (one hour) nap in his crib today.

 

 Last night Oliver went down at 8:45, which really encouraged me, but then he was up again from 9:45-10:45pm. The good news was that he then slept until 4:45am, which means he had a 6 hour stretch two nights in a row! He was up until 6:15 and then slept 2 more hours. I didn't get any sleep during that stretch because Ian was up before I got Oliver down and Nadia was up shortly after Ian. Those two used to get up between 7-8am, and now they're getting up between 6:00-6:15. I hope they adjust to the time change ASAP because it means I've been up since 4:45am. I did go down at 8:45 right after Oliver so I did get almost 7 hours of sleep. As you can see I finally got some pics of Oliver smiling today. Tomorrow I'm going to use the kit lens. I usually use the 50mm lens, and for Nadia and Ian that works well, but I seem to get blurry pics with that lens with Oliver. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get some great 3 month pics of him! I'm determined to start doing a better job of taking more pics of him. I haven't done well with that thus far. I also scheduled an appointment for him at Sears on Friday. Sheri is going with us.

 

We were 10 minutes late for ballet/tap class. I had succeeded in getting her there early or on time every week this session until today (because of Oliver's shot taking longer than expected). At least she had her shoes. A few weeks ago we left her bag (ballet/tap shoes) on the kitchen table. To prevent that from every happening again, I now keep that bag in the van all the time. She was the only one in her class to show up in a costume. Last year ALL of them did, and all the girls coming at 4:45 were wearing costumes. I think if class hadn't been cancelled last week more would have been in costume. I would rather have NOT had her in costume today as it was parent visitation day, and I would have rather taken pictures of her in her usual leotard, skirt, and tights. After ballet I picked up some pizza (it was easier since Ian was at Cheri's house). When I picked Ian up I also brought Cheri back to our house to join us for dinner. The kids really love her. She has been such a blessing, especially since our neighbors moved in June.

SIX Hours!

Last night started out the same as Saturday night in that I had a hard time getting him to go down. I succeeded a little after 10pm (which would have been 11pm before the time change). However, he then slept until 4am! This was the first time he ever slept for 6 hours. He was up for an hour and then slept two more hours. I only slept one of those because Ian came in my room at 6:15am. He hasn't made the DST shift yet. Nadia and Oliver got up at 7:15am. Oliver seems to be shifting from 3 naps to 2 naps already. He's doing this MUCH sooner than his siblings. He seems to want his first nap to start between 10-11 am and his second nap starts between 5-6 pm. His first nap is often 3 hours long (ex. today from 11 am - 2 pm), and his second nap is much shorter. The long nap is a big help to me when it's taken in his crib as during that time I can get some housework done and also focus more on Nadia and Ian. Today I did one load of laundry, one load of dishes, worked with Nadia on some pre-reading skills, and read lots of books to Nadia and Ian, including I started reading Socks to Nadia.

Paul came home this afternoon and went to bed after eating dinner with us as he had been up for more than 24 hours. He talked with his advisor today, and she said there's no way he can have the final draft done by the 12th as there won't be enough time to polish it. She wants him to reschedule his defense for mid January. Hopefully he can find a date that will work for all four of his committee members so he can just have one defense. He needs to complete the rough draft by the end of this week, and he needs to complete the final draft by early December. His trips to PSU will end at that time aside from the day of his defense in January. Delaying his defense also means he'll have more opportunities to do a practice defense with his advisor. Paul is very relieved with the postponement. For several months the plan had been for him to graduate in December. A few weeks ago the plan changed to defend by the end of this semester and graduate in May. Now the plan is to defend in January and graduate in May. I have to admit that I am a bit bummed about this postponement because it means the craziness has been lengthened for about 6 additional weeks. I know in the grand scheme of life that's not a big deal, but I kept telling myself that life would calm down on Nov 27, and that's no longer the case. I'm praying for the strength and endurance needed between now and the middle of January, and also I'm still praying for Paul to get a job that starts in January (which to me was another benefit of finishing the end of this month because he might be trying to prepare for his first semester of teaching at the same time as he is preparing for his oral defense). I have to keep reminding myself that although the end has been postponed, the end is still in sight. It's about 10 weeks from now. We can do this.

Who told him?

Oliver's bedtime has gradually been creeping earlier. He had been going down around 9:30pm, and then it was 9pm for awhile. Some nights recently he's gone down as early as 8:30pm. Last night I put Nadia and Ian down at their usual time (8pm) even though we were gaining an hour of sleep. Someone must have told Oliver that we were gaining an hour of sleep because he would NOT go to sleep last night until a little after 11pm. I figured it was wishful thinking to think I'd get an extra hour of sleep, but I truly wasn't expecting to get less sleep. I've been averaging 7 hours lately, but I only got 6 hours last night because Ian and Nadia got up at what was 6am after the time change. Hopefully it won't take them too long to shift toward 7am, which is usually the earliest I like for them to get up. In Oliver's defense, at least his first stretch was 5 hours long. I'm still hoping for more sleep tonight. Paul is planning an all-nighter. He came home this morning from PSU right as the kids and I were heading out the door for Sunday School.

We *almost* made it on time. We were only 5 minutes late! That's a big improvement over being 30 minutes late most of the time lately. Nadia, Ian, and I were dressed and had finished breakfast before 8am. If it weren't for the fact that Oliver slept until 8am, we would have been early or at least on time. I had to nurse him and give him a bottle first. In light of my difficulties with getting there on time, I told someone today that I'm going to need a substitute for at least the month of December. I am scheduled to teach a SS class from December - February, but I just don't think I can handle that right now although I do miss it. I also REALLY miss the choir. As soon as Paul is home on a Wednesday night, I am going to choir rehearsal.

 

Paul watched the first half of the Giants/Steelers football game, which surprised me given his long to do list. Then he drove back to campus during the second half of the game. His goal is to give his advisor a complete draft first thing tomorrow morning. Then after he gives that to her he said he'd switch gears and write some more cover letters so he can submit some more applications. He does plan to come home tomorrow night. I took advantage of him being home today. While he was working on the computer during Ian's nap and Nadia's room time, I took Oliver to CVS and the grocery store. In both stores someone asked me if I was carrying a doll or a baby. Yes, he still looks like a doll even though he's almost 3 months old. I've had to cut back on my couponing, but I am still trying to do it a little at CVS. I usually go every other Saturday night, and last night was my night to go, but I was too exhausted to want to take three little ones to CVS.

 

It was really strange watching the Steelers play the Giants today. I've cheered for the Steelers for more than 30 years, but I've now also cheered for the Giants for 15 years. My #1 loyalty is definitely still the Steelers, but I'm used to also wanting to see the Giants win. It was hard to root against them today. The Steelers needed the win far more than the Giants as they are at the top of their division, and we are behind Baltimore. I was glad the Steelers won, but more than that I was glad the game was over. The Steelers won in 2004, the Giants won in 2008, and I told Paul the Giants could have their turn and win in 2016.

 

 

Melts my heart

Oliver has smiled in his sleep for many weeks. Yesterday (11/2) was the first time I saw a definitive "social smile," and let me tell you it totally melted my heart. The first thing that popped into my head was all the trauma we went through this summer, and my thought was "it was worth it to see that smile." Today he very purposefully smiled at me again. What a gorgeous sight to behold! Cheri was the second recipient of a purposeful smile from Oliver. She held him for a little while at the circus while I took Ian to the bathroom, and he smiled for her as well. I've had such trouble just getting a non-crying photo of Oliver lately, but my mission now is to capture a smile so I can enjoy that sight for months and years to come. Ian was 8 weeks old when he started smiling on purpose.

Paul asked me to find someone else to use his ticket to the circus. He did submit a partial (80 page) draft to his advisor yesterday afternoon, but he went back to PSU this morning and plans to come home tomorrow night. After he submitted the partial draft to her, he worked on submitting one more application. He needs to finish the introduction and write the conclusion. It was nice having him home last night. As of tonight he will have been home 3 out of the last 12 nights. The first person I called about using Paul's ticket was Cheri (the great grandmother from church who lives near us), and she agreed to go with us.

Last night during her bedtime prayers, one of Nadia's requests was for cotton candy. In her prayer she stated that she hoped they had cotton candy at the circus "because I've never had any before." What a hoot! I would have bought some for her today, but it was $12! What?!? So she has to wait a bit longer to taste it for the first time. Surely it doesn't always cost that much, right? The kids were really excited about going even though Ian sometimes mentioned things he thought would be there that weren't such as: a ferris wheel, cow, and dinosaur.

We got there early because they had said from 12-1pm was a pre-circus "bash" in which you could go backstage to see the camels, elephants, etc up close. Well it turned out you really needed to show up at 12pm because we showed up at 12:15, and at that moment they were announcing that the backstage was now closed. Bummer! The kids still did enjoy 30 minutes of special activities on the circus floor before we went to our seats such as sitting on a motorcycle, getting close to an elephant who was making a footprint with paint on paper, trying on costumes, dancing with a clown, etc. They also enjoyed the 2 hour show. I got misty eyed at the beginning when Ian was clapping his little hands together in sheer delight. His paid attention during the entire show. Nadia at times was turned around not watching. She really enjoyed the trapeeze artists. At the end Ian was crying because he didn't want to leave and because he wanted to ride an elephant.

I hadn't been to "the greatest show on earth" for more than 20 years. It has changed! When I was a child I remember it being a 3 ring circus. There was just 1 ring today, which was fine by me as I remember as a child struggling to know which ring I should be watching at a given moment. There wasn't one "ringmaster" per se this time. There were three women who sometimes shared that role, and at other times it was accomplished by the orchestra conducter and the clown. There weren't any lions, and I always remember a "lion tamer" part of the show. There were many familiar parts though- horses, camels, dogs, and elephants although no one was riding the horses, and I was used to stunts being done by people riding horses. No one was shot out of a cannon, but there were three motorcycles driving around in the steel ball. There was only one clown so they didn't have the "how many clowns can you fit in a car" stunt. All in all we had a great time.  Hopefully the next time we go Paul will be able to join us.

Way to go, Oliver!

For the second time in the last two weeks, Oliver only had ONE feeding between the hours of 9pm and 6am. He slept from 9:15pm to 2:00am and then from 3:20am to 6:40am. Woohoo! Proof that I have been getting more sleep lately would be that I stayed up for a little bit (maybe 30 minutes) after I put him down. Over the past 2 months (he's been home exactly 2 months) I've been going to bed right after I put him down. The only exception was that sometimes I stayed up a few minutes to pump. Time will tell, but I can say at almost 3 months of my three kids, he's definitely my best sleeper.

Ian didn't have as great a night because he woke up soaked and also with a very messy pair of underwear. It was such a disgusting endeavor getting him cleaned up. Poop ended up on his arms and legs, the bathroom floor, etc. Ugh. Hopefully it will be a long time before that happens again. The previous five nights he had done much better. Thus far he's woken up dry 4 times, damp 1 time, and soaked with poop 1 time. Breakfast went pretty smoothly. He had a cinnamon raisin bagel. We've learned that his cinnamon allergy is just a skin allergy. As long as the food is one that won't touch his skin (ex. Apple Jacks) he can have it, but messier food (ex. applesauce) needs to be without cinnamon because that gets on his face and gives him a rash. Lunch didn't go very well. He pitched a royal fit over his applesauce and then later in the meal spilled a glass of EleCare all over the floor and my chair cushion. It's a bit confusing for me now that there are two cans of "formula" on the counter (albeit Ian's is technically considered to be "medical food" not formula). Once today I accidently put a scoop of EleCare in Oliver's bottle instead of Enfacare. Thankfully I realized it before I gave it to him and dumped it out. Once we go through the remaining cans of EleCare I plan on switching Ian to almond milk or rice drink.

Paul came home at about 7:15 this morning and went straight to bed. I woke him up at 10am, and he said he wasn't ready to get up yet. I woke him up again at 11:00am, and that time he did get up. Hopefully he'll finish the rough draft this afternoon and send it to his advisor. I'm hoping she's not too upset about him missing the deadline, especially since her letters of recommendation are the most important. Hopefully we'll start the job application process today as well. Those deadlines and coming and going also.

Today we've been reading books about elephants and the circus. I checked some out from the library on Wednesday in preparation for our trip to THE circus tomorrow (as in Barnum & Bailey). I'm really excited. The kids are really excited. Hopefully they'll have a blast (those tickets weren't cheap!).

Yesterday's highlights included a costume shopping trip and the man from the medical supply company coming and picking up Oliver's oxygen tanks, apnea monitor, etc. Oh it is so nice to have him off the oxygen! The biggest advantage is that burping him now takes less than 5 minutes whereas it often took an hour or longer before. I had no idea the oxygen was the culprit! We went to Walmart to pick up the PictureMe pictures and also to shop the 75% off Halloween sale. I got Ian some nice costumes for the future - Buzz Lightyear, Batman, Luigi (from Mario), and a fancy pirate costume. Nadia didn't like any of the ones they had left over for girls. So I went inside a Halloween Spirit store for the first time, and it will likely be the last time because wow are their costumes overpriced! They had some of the identical costumes that we had bought at Walmart, but the original prices were MUCH higher than Walmart, and they only had things marked down 50%. They had a much bigger selection though and Nadia saw several that she REALLY wanted. Because they were still rather pricey even after the 50% off, I let her pick one (Jasmine). I got Ian two accessories there - a red cowboy hat and a sword. Our little pirate is loving his cutlass! He has been warned that it will disappear if he hits anyone with it. Unfortunately Nadia ripped the Jasmie costume today. She wore it yesterday and cried because I wouldn't let her wear it to bed last night. I'm going to see if Paul's mom can repair it on her sewing machine. I will stick with yard sales and consignment shops for Nadia's costumes because she isn't exactly gentle with them. I had already bought a Belle costume for her for Christmas. I'm glad they didn't have any of those at the store yesterday as it would have been hard to explain why I wouldn't let her have one if that's what she had picked. I was glad she was picking between a green Tiana dress (Princess and the Frog) and a purple Jasmine outfit (Aladdin).

I apologize for the lack of pictures. I am determined to get some pictures of Oliver today or this weekend after Paul has submitted his draft. I feel badly that so many days have passed without me taking a picture of him because they change so quickly at this age! I was very pleased with the pictures we got at PictureMe yesterday. I had fun putting some in frames, and I need to buy some more frames so I can get more of them on display throughout the house! Thank you, Lord, for these three precious children you have given me. I love them dearly!!!