tiny arrival

My husband's sister had a baby last week . . . ten weeks early, thanks to Preeclampsia (ie, Toxemia). The typical baby arriving at 30 weeks and 1 day should weigh in around 3 lbs. This sweet girl was 2 lbs 2 oz.

The good news is that the worst seems to be over--she is now being fed 2 cc of breastmilk every three hours, has a fighting personality and appears to be a happy girl from all accounts (her daddy calms her down, her mommy gets her excited, much like their personalities!).

The next two months will be long for my sister-in-law and her husband, and somewhat long for the rest of the family as we bide the time with them; they expect her to be in NICU until close to her due date (which was Aug 11).

My children are so excited to have a "real" cousin...we have distant cousins and "chosen" cousins, but now they have a cousin of their own and my husband is beyond thrilled to be an uncle. I know I'm an aunt, but I suppose it will hit home a bit more when it's my brother who has a baby (this is a man who doesn't even have remotely possible prospect...my hopes are slim for a while yet!).

Welcome little one.

she did it

My bed is kinda my own for now...Baby J is in his crib, "side-car" to the bed, and some nights we get an early morning visitor for a few hours, but none of that really bothers me in the least.

The thing is, Miss C goes to bed better than she ever has in her life. She earned her baby bear. Bear, you ask? Yes, she saw an older Furreal baby bear at a nearby consignment shop for less than half the cost of that duck, and I was happy to let her switch her allegiances. Indeed, I bought it while she was out of site so it would not be gone once she filled out her chart (which only took one week--she never skipped a single night!).

Of course, the day she got her bear, which she lovingly takes everwhere, she told me she'd be sleeping in my bed again (I was ready to put the duck back on the chart and try again if necessary). I very simply said, "Oh, you sleep in your bed now" while she looked at me like someone was trying to trick her. So I continued, "Besides, your baby bear wants to sleep in your bed with you." Okay then, it's never been discussed again. Amazing. If she feels the need to join us around 4am or so, she just makes her way to our room without calling out or crying. So easy...(Little B, however, still calls for us if he needs anything in the night.)

So, at bedtime, Miss C is hittin' the hay when Little B is. You must understand that it has been difficult for a LONG time to get her to go to bed, especially after an unsolicited nap. Now, she likes calling across the hall to her brother, "Good night; don't let the bed bugs bite!" She gets ready fast and easy; she's empowered by being a big girl. I'm empowered by the simplicity that is so new at bedtime.


(Now, to make our days that simple.)

bribery

I am such a believer in bribery.

Miss C has slept in our bed her whole life with the exeption of a few random nights when she was moved by one of us (and ultimately joined us later). These days, I'm feeling a bit ready to have her move on, at least partway. She has a nice bed with a quilt I envy and removable princess stickers on her headboard that officially give her a princess bed. But that was not enough to convince her to do more than randomly nap in it when forced by sheer exhaustion.

And then:

This week her current love affair (a la Target) is the Furreal Baby Duckling:

She has the kitten and the blue and purple bird, but the duck is next on her agenda.

We're about to find out just how deep her love for this "duckie" runs since she has currently got a chart on her door with 2 pictures of the duck and seven (pink) squares. For each night she sleeps in her bed, she gets to put a sticker on a pink square. When the seven squares are full, back to Target we will go and the duckie will come home.

This started Thursday night. She would come out of her room every 3 minutes and ask if she got her duckie yet. Uh...maybe the concept was a bit above her head? She finally fell asleep in Daddy's arms much later than we'd hoped, but did indeed sleep through in her own bed! Tonight, she's out like a light. No fighting, nothing. I think she loves that duck.

I've already decided to find something else for the following week or 10 days after that just to keep it going.

mother's day surprise

Once in a while my brother and I like to surprise my mom on her birthday or Mother's Day. By this, we mean that she is a super low key person and does not care for much ado about days like these, almost preferring the quiet time to herself (well, as much as she can get with Dad around!), then having a good visit with us some other time when it's convenient. She's practical and kind and never presumes upon other's time. Some years, I have enjoyed my own Mother's Day quite fully, with a quick call to her at the end, but this year, we conspired against her.

Mom and Dad live about 45 minutes from us in a tiny town (near great outlet shopping...!). My brother lives a good bit farther out but drove over 2 hours to meet us at the new restaurant a few doors down from my parents' home. My dad arranged to have her there before us. We kept it very simple, with a vase of roses from our yard that Little B carried in. He simply sat next to her and handed them over, wishing her a Happy Mother's Day. She was very pleasantly surprised. My brother, holding his most favorite girl ever, Miss C, snuck around the side and let her kiss Grandma. When mom reached to hug my husband, assuming he held Miss C, she was shocked to see her own son with us.

The rest of the day was peaceful and full of restful visiting (and maybe a small trip to the outlets for a few of us).We got home, put the little ones down, and I managed a (not quite hot enough) bath for myself which in itself is a rare treat these past months. Now? I'm hoping for a good long night's sleep (Baby J might not let it be long enough, but I do forgive him). And when I wake, this awaits me with a brand new Starbucks travel mug boasting shimmery pink flowers. . .
(Okay, okay, I confess. This was a joint gift for my husband's birthday last week as well as Mother's Day...but we're BOTH loving it equally and I can hardly wait for morning! And I do have some new pens and pad of paper to jot down lists which is probably more exciting than you'll ever want to know!)

as promised:

Up to date pictures of my littlest confection . . . he is so sweet I could eat him. :) He is trying out his new Bumbo that accidentally rang up for $11.99 versus $39.99--I got a rockin' good deal is all I can say. (I even went back in the store thinking they rang up something else by accident, but nope, it was the tag on the box!! For the record, I tried to buy another one for a gift, but it was regular price.)

15,000-plus words

They say a pictures is worth a thousand words, so we'll just say this is my largest post ever: 15,000 words plus additional commentary! And now, by popular demand, pictures of the little people in my life:

We had joint a Build-A-Bear birthday for Miss C and Little B; here you see them "waking up" their animal of choice as well as the (undressed but otherwise) finished product.

Dressing up for Dr. Suess' birthday; can you tell?

Oh, the havoc that happens when a seven year old plays doctor with a three year old who has a new "boo boo" every few seconds...haha! And they were on her arms and legs and belly as well. Getting them OFF was not nearly as fun as being doctored, I assure you!

3/4 of my heart. . . need I say more?

I seem to have issues with red-eye, even with the red-eye reduction turned on. Argh!

Bright eyed and bushy tailed in spite of it, though!

Some new artwork for my kitchen in progress. It's hanging up now and I LOVE it.

My little dude.

He's so happy so often!

His favorite "pose", especially on the changing table. Fingers in mouth, hand to hair.
Okay, so this is almost a month old already! I will try to put up a good one really soon, I promise! He's growing WAY too fast...

My kiddos with their "Furreal" birds...Little B used allowance to get his longed-for Macaw at half price!! Miss C had to settle for a baby bird and both have been very happy. Cuties, no? (The kids, not the birds.)

I couldn't resist adding this...it's out my back window during my MOST favorite week of the year. Miss C thought it was snowing. If you look at the picture on my blog header, it's this tree last year. Yup. I take some every spring!

That's all folks...for now.

(virtual roll call:) "here!"

So I’ve had about 2,574 things to post about in the last . . . long . . . while. And I even tried to do a “bulletins” post just to put the thoughts and experiences out there and to avoid being a cyber recluse, but, well, I didn’t get it done. Somehow life seems a tad bit busier. Can’t imagine why: I spend up to 30 minutes after each nursing holding Baby J upright thanks to his reflux (yeah, even in the middle of the night or it’s not pretty). That’s a lot of hours. Not to count the diapers, the playing, the regular meals, the never ending laundry, and the dishes I loathe. You know what I’m talking about. As carbon said, I'm stuck in the real world these days.

In all my silent weeks my little boy turned seven. I am not sure when he grew up so much! He is gradually dropping that little boy look and becoming a big kid and we laugh together over the fact he’s still my “baby boy”. We bought him roller skates for his birthday and I swear he’ll wear out my floors this year. But, it’s worth it and they’re good for him and he does use the back patio sometimes as well. Our driveway is only flat at the top, then it drops off considerably, so I’m not ready for him to try that just yet. Maybe soon, when I park a car at the crest of the hill like we do for other play.

Miss C gets chattier every day. For a baby girl who started life in the 99th percentile for weight, I cracked up when she was barely in the 30th percentile last week—and 2 pounds of that was very recent! (And she was only 20th for height.) Growth spurts abound this time of year, around and after their birthdays, and I’m always a bit in awe of the changes that brings about.

Anyhow.
I’m still here. Still kicking and once in a while I bite. I mean uh never mind. Ahem. I can’t even begin to remember the myriad of things I wanted to post about over the past weeks, but for now, know I’m here. Thanks to those of you checking in on me. I do post often—in my head. It just rarely makes it to the computer these days. I’ll try to do better, really!

Now to find time to return a few emails today. . .hhhmmmm…