My adventures in pregnancy, motherhood and beyond

Please enjoy the musings and updates and leave me a comment if you'd like!

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Grayson Update

This update has been a work in progress for a few months now.

April 14 G officially turned 2.5. Boy is he a handful. I sincerely hope that he's going through the "threenager" stage early, because I honestly don't see (and don't want to know) how it could get much worse. His favourite word is NO and he likes to deliver it with gusto and volume, frequently. We're working on manners and being nice, and using words like "frustrated," "angry," or "upset" instead of hitting or screaming "no." It's hit or miss, though tonight he said he was frustrated that my show was on instead of his, so that's improvement.

We switched schools shortly after the new year. When we got back from Christmas, he was adamant about not wanting to go to school and pitching fits in the morning. We noticed in the 5 days he was at his old school his vocab and diction dipped. Unsurprising considering he was almost 2.5 and in a 1 year old classroom. They did nothing but sit them in front of the TV and allow independent play. He was bored brainless. We found a great place that put him in the 2.5-3yo room, and he loves it. They teach him letters and numbers, do worksheets, colouring, fingerpainting, play outside every day, provide breakfast, lunch, and snacks, and he has a blast. His vocab and diction improved immediately and he now tells us about what he did at school, and what he learned. He is so much happier. They're even working on potty training him (though he doesn't seem to care if he's wet or dirty, and I'm not sure how to get him to care while taking care of Ms Velcro). He hasn't had a single biting incident since he switched schools because he's in the appropriate level. He's even starting to engage in imaginary play, telling us he's going to the store on his trike, or having a tea party with his play kitchen.

Noises are freaking him out lately. Not all loud noises, but thunder, and garbage trucks. We even waved at a truck driver at a rest stop, and he blew the horn for G, but it just freaked him out. After waking up to him out of his bedroom, screaming at the top of his lungs from the top of the stairs at 3:30 am about the "loud noise garbage truck" we made a few changes. We switched out his door handle for  bathroom one, lock on the outside. It seems mean, but if he gets out of his room without us knowing, he can mess with the gas stove, knows how to turn on the fireplace, reach the knives, etc. I wouldn't put it past him to figure out the gate on the stairs either. So we lock him in at night. He also knows all about the video monitor and that if he gets scared he can call for us to the camera and we'll come up and get him. He's a smart kid, that's for sure, but I do miss the days when he couldn't open his door.

He still loves trucks, trains, and anything else that goes. Dump trucks and garbage trucks are pretty big, though he gets excited about the mix trucks (cement mixers) we see on the way home from school. He also loves water towers. He will yell out "water tower water tower!" whenever he sees one from the car. He was so excited when James took him to one and they got out to touch it and walk around it.

We did have one really super scary incident recently. We were at Sam's, having hot dogs, and he fell off the bench and smacked his head on the concrete floor. James was sitting right next to him, holding Ainsley while I put the carrier back on. I ran around to get him and he actually lost consciousness for a second. He revived immediately, and seemed ok; he wasn't even crying that hard, but it was petrifying. We called his doctor, and when the nurse called back she said to take him to the ER. James took Ainsley and I home, and headed to the ER with G. He said every nurse in there must have asked what happened, and every time would almost accusingly ask where he was. What are you supposed to do to prevent something like this? Have him wear a helmet 24-7? Never let him sit on a bench? By the time the doctor saw them, he was fine, laughing and smiling, and even told the doctor "my head feel much better!" He was mostly concerned with watching Nascar apparently. He did really well for the CT scan, and they found a hairline fracture on his skull. They sent James and G home with an appointment with a pediatric neurosurgeon the next Tuesday. That was probably the scariest part; waiting all weekend knowing that we were referred to a specialist in neurosurgery. But, he was really nice, and very unconcerned. He said any symptoms that G experienced from that point on were unrelated, there was nothing he could do to make it worse (even hitting his head again), and that it would heal on its own in 4-6 weeks. This happened the Saturday after my kidney stone surgery, so it was a busy, busy week. The next weekend he ended up with a horrible fever (it reached 104F) while we were out of town. Since we were in a condo on the beach, he wouldn't slow down, even when he was throwing up. It turns out he had an ear infection, and he's doing much better now. I hope we get a break from doctors for a while.

Overall, he's a happy, healthy, typical toddler. He has the sweetest smile, dotes on his sister and loves to eat cous cous, yogurt, rice, and chicken nuggets. He's intermittently sweet and terrorizing, aggravating and adorable. He's smart as a whip and stubborn to boot. Most of all, I can't imagine my life without my little G man in it. (Especially the heart melting moments when he asks for mommy.)

He has started saying hilarious things, most of which have been shared on facebook. For those without facebook (hi Auntie Van!) here are some gems:
-G: I tired. Me: I'm tired too. G: Mama, me too too!
-Go to chicken nugget store!
-Good job turning into driveway, mom!
-Find hidden treasure! (While chasing after his friend Lilly after church)
-Be be back (be right back)
-We bought him water sandals at Nordstroms. He was so excited, and wanted to wear them immediately. He put them on, walked over to the fish tank and said "need swim fish tank!"
-He now gives kisses when something is hurt. When I said my head was hurting, he came over and gave me a kiss on the forehead
-I miss you gone Daddy (to James, constantly. James likes to say G misses him being gone because he'll say it even if he hasn't been gone recently)
-Sweetheart mama
-Backhoe is good stuff. How cool is that?
-I fwear Daddy (I swear Daddy, delivered like an exasperated teen)
-Go hostal. Get surgy. Go hostal, feel much better. Feel much better, mama.
-Wrinkle...I eat it! I like wrinkle! (re: his wrinkly fingers after a bath)
-G: Knock knock. Me: Who's there? G: I'm here!!
-*sneeze* Me: Bless you. G: I bless you too!

Showing off the eggs he found at church

Cous cous

Take my picture!

Pluto hugs

The face of concentration

Highlight of his life? Bus rides

Loving older brother

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Ainsley Month 7

March 24-April 23

-14 lb, 8 oz, 25" long
-Ditched the swaddle (waaah!)
-Still in the cosleeper next to mommy
-Absolutely adores her big brother. He can always get her to smile (or calm down)
-Her first real giggle from nuzzling her cheek with my nose
-Attempting to crawl!
-Teeth. I forgot how much teething sucks
-Everything she can grab goes in her mouth. Everything
-Loves her jumper! She has a blast jumping up and down and playing with the toys. Gives my arms a break!

Ainsley rolled over swaddled the very day she turned 6 months (3/24). This meant we had to ditch the swaddle, which has resulted in a lot of hit or miss sleep lately. She's sleeping pretty regularly in a sleep sack or her zipadeezip (though that's a bit big and we've only used it for naps). 
She's also becoming way more mobile: she'll get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth, a definite precursor to crawling (which G never did). She also pulled herself to "standing" with her belly supported on the arm of the couch--what?! She definitely gets frustrated when she wants to get somewhere and can't.
Since she's done much better with feeding herself, we're using a modified baby-led weaning approach. and being very inconsistent. Poor second child. Yogurt gets put right on the tray for her to play in, and she has a little silicone feeder musher thing that seems to work pretty well. She's had carrots, yogurt, red bell pepper puree, avocados, cucumber, and some lettuce with balsamic vinaigrette she thieved off my plate one night. You've really got to watch your food, because she'll lunge for it. She'll also just watch you eat if she's not eating; it's kinda creepy. She's got two teeth now, so it's on (it being teething crankiness). 
We're still experimenting with babywearing. She usually ends up in the ergo because it's the fastest and what I'm most proficient with. I love her ring sling, but she's kicking all the time, and manages to pop her butt out of it quickly. I also can't wait to try out the mesh water wrap I got for this summer, so I can take G swimming at camp. I have a woven wrap I borrowed to practice with this month, and I fell in love with a beautiful mei tai I borrowed. For now, I'll just keep drooling over pretty ways to carry her until I make a decision on what "one last thing" (-James) to get.




Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Ainsley Month 6

February 24-March 23

-First bottle; Nuk brand finally worked (like her pacifier)
-Going down awake, but drowsy. Sleep trained halfway through last month to avoid a maternal meltdown
-First food this month: oatmeal. Verdict: ugh
-Loves to talk, smile, and flirt (smile, then hide her face, the look up and smile again)
-Car rides are going much better
-Started shaking her head back and forth
-Food: Baby mum mum, french fry. She does well if she can hold the food and "feed" herself
-First airplane ride
-First trip to Disneyland
-Loves swings!



Monday, April 27, 2015

Ainsley Month 5

January 24-February 23

-13 lb, 8 oz
-Rolled back to tummy
-Reaches for toys
-Laughed/squealed for the first time!!
-Tries to do sit ups when she's lying on her back
-Sat up unassisted for a few seconds
-First double bath with G
-Plays on her playmat for tummy time, but always rolls to her back
-Trying to grab food off our plates
-Felt tooth buds! Eek!