Sunday Night

Sam is asleep.
The new sleeping schedule continues to work wonders for him (and us).
Caroline continues to skillfully attempt to evade bedtime. She has come in and read us a couple of stories. She has even volunteered to do housework! I can't tell her that she can stay up as late as she wants if she scrubs the bathtub, can I?
I can't complain at all about sleeping. In the past week, we have had two interrupted nights of sleep. Yes, you read right - two nights where everyone in the house was asleep between the hours of nine pm and five am. And we've had two other nights where Nate has woken up at four thirty (this is the kicker because by the time he's done nursing it's five o'clock and I really should get up and moving anyways).
I'm probably jinxing everything by writing this down - but I could most definitely get used to this! =-)
We carved pumpkins today. We plopped Nate in the Saucer and he entertained himself for a bit. I don't remember being able to put Sam or Caroline in the Exersaucer by this point, but I'm not complaining!





Our neighbor was nice enough to take a family picture:

Nate was plum tuckered out after the experience!

Since the kids have been obsessed about listening to an audiotape version of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" lately, this has been their preferred position after dinner. They can be here for twenty minutes or so - just singing and playing ("No, I'm Pharaoh - You have to be Joseph."). It's too funny. Nate gets in on the action sometimes when we're trying to do tummytime.

You Know...

...God makes babies cute for a reason. Here is an example why.

Sam, Nate and I were in the exam room at our pediatrician's office. Dr Harding usually runs a bit late, but it doesn't bother us because it's such a good practice. In fact, it almost makes me feel better that he's late because I know he's taking extra time to help someone that really needs it. And I KNOW he has spent that extra time with us in the past when we've needed it.
But he was later than usual on Thursday. We were there for Nate's two month check-up, I had called and they said to bring Sam in for a follow up from the croup. The three of us had been in the room for almost forty five minutes. We were doing okay - we had read books, played basketball, played trains, Nate had nursed and Sam was in the midst of pretending he was a puppy.
Nate just had a dirty diaper. We changed him up, even though the poo was minimal (the sound effects were rather impressive, though - that child is the KING of the five octave, ten second fart). So while Nate is sitting in my lap, I'm petting Sam-the-Puppy. I notice that Nate is getting a little fidgety. No big deal - right?
WRONG.
This kid let loose the biggest, wettest, juiciest crap known to mankind.
"No big deal," I thought, "I just changed him - they're plenty of room in there."
WRONG AGAIN.
As I'm getting up to change him, I hear dripping on the floor.
Not good.
Then I feel dampness.
Within seconds, feeling damp progresses to feeling soaked.
He's sitting on my lap, mind you.
I look down and I am covered with yellow poo.
You could measure it in cubic yards.
And then it hit me how much my life had changed in the past five years. Here I was covered in poop (soaked through my jeans to my underwear!) and it didn't phase me a bit. I wasn't angry or disgusted or grossed out. I just was.
Funny how having little urchins around changes your perspective on everything. =-)
I think I might slip a pair of pants in the baby bag for me, though. Just in case.

We had Nate's picture taken the other day and I noticed something very interesting. I knew that Sam and Nate looked alike, but can you tell who is who?

House of Ill(ness) Repute

It has been a long week.
Not a terrible week, mind you - just a long one.
It started off innocently enough - the kids were extremely well behaved in church and really enjoyed themselves in the Children's Liturgy. But then we noticed that Sam was flushed as we were driving home. He was feverish and the fever soon blossomed into a full fledged case of croup. It really wasn't a surprise, both Nate and Caroline were in various stages of having a cold - but Sam definitely took the brunt of this one.
After having a very wheezy and coughy Sunday night (even with alternating sessions of stooping in the frosty air and running the steamy shower until the hot water ran out), I took Sam to the pediatrician on Monday. He was wheezy, but we decided to try to run the conservative route and avoid steroids. WRONG-O. After hearing stridor Monday night like I have never heard before (and hope to never hear again) we were off the the ER. A little Decadron did the boy wonders and we were on our way in a matter of hours. When we took the bugger back for a follow up later in the week everything had settled in his ears - so we're dealing with an ear infection now. But at least he can breathe.
I think the mid-week visit from Grandpa helped him mend more quickly, too.
I know he's feeling better because I caught him trying to feed Nate yesterday. And I don't mean feeding him food. He had the collar of his shirt pulled down (sorry Sara - he was wearing Brayden's Spiderman jammies) and had grabbed his nipple. He was pulling it and stretching it as far as he could (his skin was purple) trying to get it near Nate's mouth. It took a little convincing, but I did get him to at least lift up his shirt if he was going to try to nurse (HAD to save the pjs).
He is so sweet - he wants to help so much. We were worried about how he would react when Nate finally came around - Sam does not do well with transitions. So far he has adjusted to the role of Big Brother much better than we could have imagined.
Sam and I had a special day today and got to go to Caroline's school to do some reading.
Let's clarify.
I did the reading and he played with the train table to his heart's content. We didn't hear a peep out of him for almost forty five minutes!
Caroline and I read two books to her class today. We picked two of our favorites, "How I Became a Pirate" and "The Gruffalo's Child". The class seemed to enjoy them, too.
On any given day with my children, there usually is at least one moment where I have to fight to keep a straight face (or bite my tongue to produce a straight answer or suppress a laugh so I don't pee my pants from hysteria). Today was no different.
The class was in a circle as we were reading. Caroline was standing next to me holding the book so all the children could see it and I was sitting in a kiddie chair. The reading was going great. Caroline was doing well - you could tell she was so proud of herself that she was reading to her friends. I read my sections of the book to the class like I read it to my own kids - I admit, I get into it and can get pretty animated. The kids were getting into it, too. I could see the mass of pre-schoolers edging closer to my feet and by the end of the book almost everyone was sitting right in front of us. At the pinnacle of the book, where the Gruffalo's Child meets the Big Bad Mouse, I was yelling in mock terror, "THE BIG BAD MOUSE!!!". I noticed Caroline was gently tapping me on the shoulder. I stopped reading and looked at her. Caroline then pointed at the classroom rules (posted right behind me) and said, "Mommy - there is no shouting in this classroom. You're going to have to speak more softly."
Her teachers were giggling so hard I thought they were going to lose it. And I knew if I made eye contact with one of them that I would dissolve into giggles, too.
I was able to finish the book after that without incident.
Sheesh - I get busted by a four year old while doing volunteer work.
That's what I get for trying to raise my kids to follow the rules...

Here's my little man (that spent the five nights prior to croup sleeping in his own bed ALL night without crying!!!!) with P-jaffe:

Caroline arranged for Angela to hang out with Nate as everyone was getting ready for bed tonight...


I hope to post pics that we got of Nate later. I think I could re-post the ones of Sam when he was nine weeks old and I don't think anyone could tell the difference. =-)

Wow.

It's seven thirty and all the kids are in bed.
Well, all but Nate, who is gassy because of trouble with nursing since he's so stuffy. He's back to doing his Darth Vader imitation thing. No fever, though. So far, so good. Except that Sam and Caroline both have the same cold. But Nate got sick first this time, so there goes my theory about his older siblings wiping buggers on him. I'll have to come up with a new theory, I suppose.
We have found a surefire way to get Nathanael to smile. It involves the SugarHill Gang. It's too funny. All the kids love this clip from The Jimmy Fallon Show - but it literally cracks Nate up! Both Sam and Caroline are familiar with the Barry Gibb Talk show, but I'm not sure how I feel about Sam knowing some of the (and I emphasize SOME) words to "Gold Digger."

We're listening to the pregame show on XM for the Texas / Tampa game. Gotta pull for Tampa on this one, folks. Not that I can't root for managers on cocaine or outfielders that go wild in Tempe - I just like cowbells and plaid.

Since I have had multiple requests (all from the same person, but multiple never-the-less) to post pictures from this weekend, I'll do that. =-)
I blogged about the farm we went to in Ballston Spa, NY in the last post. It was ideal for kids and I would highly recommend it for anyone in (or within a three hour radius) of that area. My parents got some great pictures. This is a good thing because Jim and I were chasing the kids, so our camera never even came out of the bag. We all had a wonderful time. =-)
Here's the proof:



There was a "jumping pillow". Caroline loved it:
But after a little bit, Sam came off saying, "It's too rough for me up there."

Much to our amazement, both Sam and Caroline got on the kiddie zip-line. Sam didn't seem a bit intimidated. I fear what may be in store for our banister after these rides. Sam did crash and burn once, but it was when he was delivering the rope back. He bounced right back up saying, "I am fine."





The kids liked the Corn Box so much that we had to physically remove them...



...So we could do things like the slides - and YES, I did take Nate out of the pouch before I slid.


The Moomoo-Choochoo. Hands down - this was Sam's favorite...




We also had a picnic and managed to take a few other random pictures...












And the pictures from the pumpkin patch will have to wait until tomorrow...I'm bleary eyed.
Lots of pictures, I know. But they were so good that I couldn't NOT put them up.

This Past Weekend.

We had an awesome time on Sunday. We went met Nina and Pops at Ellm's Family Farm in Ballston Spa. Gorgeous weather. Beautiful scenery. Good times with family. Who could ask for anything more?
We spent exactly the right amount of time there because the kids were exhausted and entering and/or mid-way through the meltdown stage as we were getting ready for the three hour drive home. Nina and Pop's timing was perfect.
I asked Caroline and Sam what their favorite part of the day was. I think Sam was so overwhelmed he couldn't verbalize what he liked the best (though I would think it would be the Moomoo-Choochoo). Caroline's reply was "everything."
We're looking forward to going back next year.
Looking at all the leaves and the scenery even made me think I would like to try camping at some point (and this coming from a girl who thinks that hot showers should be a human right!).

Everyone under the age of five is sleeping right now. After having some pretty horrible nights with Sam over the past few weeks, Jim and I decided on a radical strategy. Wanna hear?
PUT THE KIDS TO BED EARLIER.
Yup, that's it.
We've adjusted the whole family schedule to accommodate for this and so far it has been working like a charm. Minimal fussing (I have a very low fussing tolerance) and we've seen amazing results. Sam actually asked to go to bed the other night. After sitting on the potty. And sleeping through the night the day before. You can probably count the amount of times that Sam has slept through the night since birth on two hands - so that itself is remarkable.
All Mama and Daddy need now is the where-with-all to remain consistent.
I do have to say, though, it feels like there are two extra hours in the day now with the kids down earlier. I love hanging out with my husband! I think of all the things I could be doing (ironing, laundry, cleaning, making lunches) and then I feel so liberated when I decide that spending time with my husband is a much better option.

Nate is also battling another cold. Ugh. Not again. I took him to the pediatrician today and his lungs and ears are clear, thank goodness. We just have to continue to watch him. So we're back to sleeping in the bouncy seat and forty minute long nursing sessions (it's hard to nurse if you can't breathe). But the good news is that the urchin is growing. AND HOW. He weighs 14 pounds! That's two pounds more than both Sam and Caroline weighed at the same age. So even though he's stuffy, we can't say that nursing isn't doing anything for him!
Oh - we decided that Nate looks like the Johnny character from Senor Wences. The resemblance is remarkable...

I will put up the pictures from the past weekend very soon. We (okay - Pops and Nina) got some great shots...but I have to get to bed. These marathon nursing sessions with Nate (though I do enjoy listening to the BBC during the wee hours and hope that the Braves can pull this one out) leave me a bit bleary eyed...
But here's a sneak peak -