3 month Gavin

This is a few days late, but...

Happy 3 Month Birthday, Gavin!

The littlest Maddex is becoming not so little anymore.  He is wearing 3-6 month clothes, smiling all the time (except when he is very, very serious), and coos and trills like he is on a roller coaster (the ride of his life...?)

He is still nursing, although Chase has tried to introduce him to banana, chocolate chip cookie, Frosted Mini-Wheats, and God knows what else while I wasn't watching...

His fingers are constantly in his mouth, and I think I see two little tooth-bumps hiding there.  Maybe he will get his teeth early like Ian.  Maybe he will have more teeth than Chase this time next year...!?

He is still the sweetest baby EVER, and patient!  He is going to grow up tough, sensitive, and willing to wait at the back of the line for everything.

Most interesting happenings this month:

*The evolution of his Whole Body Smile

*The time he didn't poop for 13 days and then unloaded into the Bumbo seat.

*How he just rolled from back to belly today for the first time :)

Pics to come.  Not enough time to upload them now...

Ian and Porter...and Potty Words

You have GOT to check out Tiffany's blog today.  It's about Ian and her son, Porter.  

It needs to be read and LOL'ed.

Reminder for all you procrastinators out there...

Just a friendly reminder...our Buddy Walk is coming up in 1 1/2 weeks!  (btw, that means it is almost OCTOBER.  How did that happen?!)

If you'd like to join our team and support Chase on Sunday October 4th, go to this link and sign up for heaven's sake.  I promise to have some sort of Chase memorabilia to go on your shirt, but I need your final numbers, people!

AND...if you can't walk with us, but would like to make a donation to a great cause, click here.  Many many thanks to our friends and family who have already contributed!

So What's It To Ya?

All is well. Pretty much.

Sorry about that last post.  I didn't mean to get so whiny.  

Anyhoo.  Things are getting back to normal here.  

Not much news to post, except that last night another family came over last night and adopted our cat, Frodo.  It was sad.  But it needed to be done.  I think he is peeing on the carpet because no one pays attention to him.  He is truly at the bottom of the deck when it comes to face time.  This family seems to be a PET family.  They told me all about every pet they have ever owned.  Frodo is in good hands, and we are welcome to visit him whenever we want.

Which is especially good, because Ian is really upset that I gave him away.  And Chase sat next to the cat carrier and said, "gitty?" over and over again.  Gah!  I took away one of the only clear words that he speaks!!!  

Another great mom moment.

Speaking of which, yesterday Chase tumbled down the stairs when I wasn't looking.  He is just good enough at them to give me a false sense of security.  And the time that I don't wait for him and let him do it on his own, is the time that he takes a dive.  *sigh*  He's ok, don't worry.   I think that chromosomal flexy-bendy-ness helped him out.

Oh, well.  It was a rough night.  All the kids were up at least once.  I think I spent a total of 1 hour in my own bed, and I even had to call in reinforcements (Bryan) to help keep Chase in bed.  I am off in search of coffee before everyone wakes up...

*sigh*

It's been really crazy here.  Not in a bad way, I just feel like I haven't had time to breathe lately.  Bryan has been out of town the last 2 weeks (well, Tuesday-Friday) and it is just monumentally hard to find any time to be anything but Mommy.

So hard, in fact, that I've taken to getting up at 5am so that I have an hour or so to take a shower, drink a cup of coffee, and read in solitude.  Frankly, if I could get to bed before midnight, I'd wake up earlier than that.  The chaos begins at 6:15 when everyone starts getting up, the daycare kids get here before 7, therapies for 2 hours twice a week in the mornings...everyone is on a different schedule, so if you THINK that everyone sleeps at the same time here, you are sadly sadly mistaken...pick up the kids from preschool at noon (Ian and Chase go, but my 2 daycare kids and Gavin don't), lunch, cleaning, entertaining, diapers, daycare pick-up, piano lessons, grocery shopping, church, dinner, playing outside, baths, teeth brushing, bedtimes, cleaning up the kitchen/entire house, random waking up at night...oh, and nursing an infant.

I imagine this is what someone strung out on crack must feel like as the high is wearing off.  Deflated.  Tired.  Out of breath.  A little fuzzy on the details of everything.

I also feel like my conversational skills are severely lacking.  If I'm not talking about who is using what potty words, or hollering "No, Chasey!", then honestly, I don't think I could hold my end of the conversation up at this point.  I kind of wish I could record what I say all day long, because I am pretty sure I repeat the same 5 things constantly throughout the day...Do you have to go potty?  Are you listening to me?  Chasey, no climbing!  Stop swinging Blue Dog!  Gentle with Gavin!

The kids are good.  I just miss Bryan.  And I think I need to recharge a little bit.

Can't a Girl Catch a Break...?

Gavin slept through the night last night.  Well, from 11:30 until now (it's 5:48am and I am enjoying some coffee before everyone wakes up).  So that is awesome.

Chase woke up 3 times though.  Gah!

The Final Boot

It was kind of before I was ready to do it, but Gavin was booted out of our room this week.  He's been sleeping in the pack-n-play next to my bed for the last 11 weeks, but he is so flipping long and recently learned how to pushed himself around with his legs, that he always ends up sideways in there with his head and his feet pushed up against the sides.  It can't be comfortable.

So Gavin has his own room now, his own full size crib, and I'm feeling a little lonely.

Don't get me wrong.  It is nice to have some space to walk in my room again...it's just he's the last one.  I'll never sleep next to those sweet baby noises again.  Secretly, if I wake up at night and everyone is still asleep, I peek into his room and just look at him.  Although, if we are really being honest here, I do that with all my guys.  It's just smaller and sweeter with Gavin :)

Another milestone.  Wow.  Life happens fast.

 

See how his hand is in his hair?  He lays like that a LOT.  Everyone else gets to play with his hair, why shouldn't he?

Here are photos of his almost finished room.  All that is left is to put the mirror on the dresser (ahem, Honey?).  

Here is the blanket that Bryan's mom crocheted for him.  She picked out the colors long-distance, and they match perfectly!

How Much I Love Chase's New Class

Chase's lead teacher in his new 2 yr old class is Ms. Angie.  I love her.  And here is why:

Every Thursday is "Messy Thursday".  She told us to expect play doh, paint, etc, etc.  So I got to school a few minutes early today and went in to observe for a little bit, and the kids were finishing their messy project.  They were making bird feeders by smearing peanut butter on toilet paper tubes and sticking oatmeal and Chex mix on them.  All the kids were covered in peanut butter.  Chase had it in his hair.  Some kids were licking it off their paper tubes, like eating corn on the cob.  They were all disgustingly messy and happy.  It was awesome.

And it wasn't in my kitchen!  And although Chase still smells faintly like a sandwich and will definitely need a bath tonight, I don't have to do any clean up.  Sweet!

Ianisms

I have a few (I posted 2 on FB, but I want them here so I can remember them later!):

1- Ian to Leah in the car, pointing at the carseat she is sitting in:  I know that's my old carseat because I wiped boogers on the side of it.

2- Ian to Leah, defending himself in an argument with her over what Gavin does when he sleeps (Ian swore he just grew, and Leah insisted that he is resting and growing):  Well, I know that I am right because I watched some shows about it.

3- I'm sure I'm not getting this one exactly right, but...We were at Tiff's for dinner last night, and  before the kids started eating, Ian said, "You need to say a blessing before you eat, you know."  Tiff said that they do that at their house, and then told everyone to fold their arms.  Ian folds his hands and says, "I do it like this."  Then he launches into prayer for the kids, and it goes something like this:  Father, please bless this food that we are going to eat.  And keep  me and my brothers safe.  And thank you for Gavin and Daddy's bees and our fish.  But not for bugs, because we don't really like bugs.  Amen.

Georgia Aquarium Vacay

You know how sometimes you just gotta get away?  Yeah.  We packed up with Papa and Gaga over Labor Day weekend and drove 4 1/2 hours (that is 6 hours in kids-in-a-van time) and went to the world's largest aquarium in Atlanta.Along with a million other people with the same idea.  It was a bit crowded.  Not so much that we didn't enjoy it, but enough so that when we go back again, it will be on a weekday, not a holiday, and not while there are two major college football games.

Happy family :)

Outtake from the Happy Family picture.  If this was a video, you would see Bryan trying to lift a boneless 4 year old, while containing a very antsy Chase, and me saying through clenched teeth, "Ian!  IAN!  Just sit up and smile for one family picture, PLEASE!" (Why, yes, that sentence does have an implied dammit at the end.)

I think the boys enjoyed it.  Ian spent the whole time looking for the "big big sharks!" and Chasey loved wandering around with Gaga.  I suspect his favorite thing was the dining room where he befriended an elderly gentleman.  Gavin slept and nursed (and fussed because he didn't get enough uninterrupted sleep, I think...) the whole time.  He was not all that thrilled with marine life.  

In front of the parking garage exhibit:

Gaga pinched Gavin or something.  See how she's laughing as he cries hysterically?

A very cool tunnel that we walked through.  I happened to catch the giant Manta ray, the Whale-Shark, and a Great White all at the same time.  Ian loved this part.

A very tired Chasey-doodle.

This is not a plant.  It is a sea dragon.  Very weird and beautiful.

Both boys watch the Belugas (not pictured...!)

Homework

Ian had homework this weekend.  I know.  Preschool homework.

He was chosen to bring the class pet (CC the Bear) home and to write and draw about their adventures.  Lucky us, it was the weekend we went to Georgia, so we got to haul him around with us.  Like my stroller isn't already filled to the brim.

We also had to find a word that starts with the letter L in our environment (I had to cut our Fruit Loops box apart), and write an All About Me page.  

If this is the preschool workload, whatever will we do when he hits Kindergarten next year?!

In all actuality, though, it was fun to have projects to do with him, even though the last 15 minutes of it was torture because when he asked me for help, I drew CC's head in the wrong place (behind Ian's hand) and I "ruined the whole picture because you didn't do it the way I wanted you to."  Nice.

Here is the said ruined picture.  I think it came out rather well.  Except, of course, for the misplaced head.  Ian did everything else.  I think it's the first picture he's drawn for me that wasn't a stick figure.  Oh, he was also a tad upset that "my arms are coming out of my hips instead of by my shoulders," but he was able to laugh that one off because he did it, I guess.  *sigh*

Upon further inspection of the picture, we wouldn't have had the bear-head argument if someone had put the arms in the correct place.  I'm just sayin'.

Piedmont Park

We stopped at Piedmont Park in Atlanta Sunday morning before the trek home.  It was gorgeous out, the boys had lots o'fun on the playground, and we had a picnic lunch.  

We hit up a Publix before going- Papa, Gaga, and Bryan opted for Cubans.  Ian and I had sushi.  Chase threw bits and pieces of his lunchable on the ground.

Here are my favorite photos of the boys:

I love Ian's dimple in this one.  He also looks like such a boy here.  He really is growing up- it is so exciting to watch.

Chase spent 2 seconds in this fire truck before he found something WAY more interesting across the play ground.  *gasp* "DIS?!?!"

Gavin, smiling away in his patch of shade.  Love those big gummy smiles :)

Ianism

In the car on the way home from preschool:

Mom?  Is recess what you call playing outside at school?

Good Book

Sometimes, no matter how captivating the book, you just can't keep your eyes open.

First Day of Not School 2009

Chase just looks absolutely thrilled, right?  Where am I...and what am I doing in this handbasket...?

They actually both had really good days :)  Yay for September!!