Halloween Preparations

 Dear Nathan,
Just looking at all the pictures that I took, we've had a busy week! But before I start the reacap, I'd like to tell you that I am so proud of how gentle you have become with Hannah. The following pictures really portray how you are with her now.

 A week ago, I would not have trusted you to be in the same room with her if I wasn't close by. After some talking, practice and episodes of Ni Hao Kai Lan about being gentle, you have learned to be more gentle with Hannah. Yay!

So, I think you are ready for a more intense version of potty training. By "intense" I mean with bribes. A few days ago, we went to Target and you got to pick out your special undies. You were torn between a pack of Hello Kitty and Thomas undies, but ultimately, you picked the Thomas ones. On our way home you told me you wanted to look at them, so I gave the pack to you and when I opened the door once we were home to get you out, this is what I find...

A little boy covered in Thomas undies. 

 After washing them, you got to wear them the next day. To up the hype, I employed you as an underwear model for the afternoon. This may be one of my favorite shots.

 You came up with this one on your own.

 I'm pretty sure you are sick and tired of me asking you "Are your undies still dry?" It seems like in the morning, you are better at keeping the undies dry. But some days you go through 4-5 pairs in a couple of hours. I've been setting a timer for 20-30 minutes and making you go, but sometimes you have an accident 5 minutes after you get off of the potty. That can be frustrating. So I'm going to take a new approach. Gummy bears. I just bought a brand new bag and we will start after you get up from your nap.

Halloween is coming up in a few days. It's actually one of my favorite times of the year because you get to dress up and I love looking at all the adorable kids in costume running around. I was inspired by Pinterest to paint pumpkins. So, one fine afternoon, we went out on the back porch and painted pumpkins.

 Hannah was such a good girl and just quietly watched us create our masterpieces.

 And you decided that your pumpkins needed some glitter.

 Of course, more glitter ended up on your tummy than on the pumpkin...

 The final products.

On Saturday we attended our church's annual BBQ where you really fell in love with the accordion music that was playing. You threw a temper tantrum because we had to leave and you couldn't dance to polka music anymore. Who knew? (By the way, you are really into "The Gummy Bear Song" and "Gangnam Style." We had so much fun dancing last night that I think we are going to start a new tradition: post-dinner dance party...meanwhile, Hannah was looking at all of us like we were crazy!)

In the afternoon we went back to church and attended the fall festival. It's gotten huge this year, but other than it being hot, we actually had a great time because there were surprisingly almost no lines for the activities. You got to wear your Yoda had that your grandmother knit for you a few years ago. This is what it looked like on you when you received it.

 And look at it now.

Your shirt was made from a thrifted pillowcase, and the light saber is a glow stick inside a bubble wand. Hannah's costume is made from another pillowcase and the ears were made from a thrifted glove. I spent no more than $10 to make our costumes.

At the fall festival, there was a fire truck.

 And legos to play with...

 For a little while, Hannah was awake, but she was asleep for most of it.

 And then there were really cool trunks to get treats from.

 And then you and Daddy caught the last hayride of the day.

 For October, it was a little on the hot side, but we had lots of fun.

Oh, Nathan, I don't know why sometimes you get super hyper and crazy. This happened this weekend at our Chinese class. You got super active, played rough and cranky all at the same time. Poor daddy had to try to keep you from hurting the other kids and hold Hannah at the same time. I hope it was just a phase, but you need to start playing gently with other kids. There are times for rough play and times for gentle.

But most of the time you are pretty calm. You still love playing with your train set.

 And we still play games with our food.

 And this week you helped me make popcorn. You've asked for it 2 days in a row since then and I love how you imitate cookie monster when you eat it. I'm glad Teddy likes popcorn, otherwise we'd have a huge mess.

 Have I mentioned what a great helper you still are? When you want to help, you say "Help me." You really should be saying "Can I help you?"

Look at those strong muscles! 

Mommy went a bit overboard with the TP. 

 Well, that' about it for you this week. Oh yeah, I think your 2 year molars are coming in. A few days ago you were rubbing your gums with your fingers and you are drooling a lot more than usual. Let's see when they will officially pop through your gums.
****
Dear Hannah,
I can't believe how fast you continue to grow.

September 2014

October 2014

Your eyes are starting to turn more brown. They are still this gorgeous grayish brown color, but I'm sure in a few more weeks, they will look more like my dark brown eyes. 

 As far as sleep goes, you are going to bed for the night earlier each week. This week you have drifted off around 8-8:30. You wake for a dream feed around 11 and sleep till 2:30am; then you nurse, and sleep until around 5:30; nurse some more, and wake up for the day around 8 - 8:30. Morning naps are still sporadic, and then you take a 3 hour afternoon nap starting at around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Afterwards, you are pretty much awake until 8, but you are pretty fussy and are nursing for about half of that time.

I'm still glad that most of the time I can put you down drowsy and you will fall asleep on your own.

So cute!

I know I'm breaking so many rules as far as sleep set-up goes...no pillows or blankets are supposed to be in with the baby, but while she is wearing a harness, I can't swaddle her, so to keep her warm we put blankets on her, which she can't kick off anyways because of the harness. And the sleep positioner is actually a bath mat that I used to keep Nathan's head slightly elevated to keep him from getting too congested when he was sick. I find that Hannah sleeps better with it, so I'm keeping it. When she starts to become more mobile, I will take it out, but until then, it makes her feel cozy and secure.

We are getting more smiles out of you, especially when we make funny faces. You are liking tummy time a bit more than Nathan did when he was your age and you handle car rides like a pro. Thank you for being such a chill baby.

I'm getting through the day without having to take a nap, but I am pretty exhausted by the end of the day. I've also started to go to the gym. On Monday I went to a weight lifting class and am still sore from it. Today I went to a Zumba class. I have forgotten how much I enjoyed dancing.  I felt parts of me jiggle that I have never felt before, but I'm ok with that because that just comes with being a mom of 2 and I'm sure that in time those jiggles will become less noticeable.

Ok, this post has become quite long, but I'm happy that Grandparents come this weekend and I'm sure we will have lots of fun.

Until next week,
Mommy

Nathanisms and Hannah Smiles

Dear Nathan, 

You are starting to use your words pretty well. For the most part, you say things correctly, but here are a few word pronunciations that we want to document for you right now. Most words with the "ck" sound is replaced with "t." You can say the "ck" sound, but you just can't blend it with the rest of the word. We are not worried, you'll fix it in time. 

This is also for the family and friends who will be seeing you soon. I want them to know that when you ask for a beer, you're really not. 

“A Beer” = Gummy Bear 

“A Yute” = Yogurt

“A-B” = HEB (local supermarket)

“Andea” = Andrea (Neighbor)

“Appa” = Grandpa

“Ch-Ch” [claps hands with serious, but eager face] = Kai Lan

“Daddy or Mommy Lie” = Come, Mommy, Daddy.

“Dart” = Dark

“Doo Dee” = Dorothy (Elmo's fish) or Birthday (when accompanied with finger dance)
"Doe" = Go

“E – G” = airplain

“Eddy” = Teddy

“Eight Piece” = Yes, Please, Percy, or this piece. (We're not sure)

“Fuffy” = Fluffy

“Gay” = Gray

“Geeng” = Green

“Mart” = Mark

“Nye” = Milk

“Nit” = Nick (Neighbor)

“Oatmeal” = Naomi (Teacher)

“Pa Pa” = I'm Scared

“Peas” = Please

“Poy” = Pour

“Pway” = Pray, Play and Spray

“Sashi” = Sorry

“Shoot” = Shirt

“Tot” = Hot

“Uddie” = Undies

“Wee Wee” = Woody

We've had a busy week with school and birthday parties. Next week will be even busier and then Halloween followed by a visit from your grandparents. 

I really think you are ready for potty training. One of these days we will go out and you will pick out your own undies. I think if we can encourage you to go to the bathroom, with some external reward like a chocolate chip, or a stamp on the hand, you will be able  to stop playing with whatever fun thing you are doing and go to the potty. Life is too much fun to stop to sit on the potty.

 Right now, you are able to go pee pee on command and poop when we set you down at the right time. It's been over 2 weeks since you've pooped in a diaper. You've done a good job. 

Before I leave, I need to let you know that we are working on being gentle this week. Your hugs have turned into tackles and your pats and rubs have been closer to smacks. I also discovered that you tend to hit people when they are crying. I realized that you didn't know what to do so you hit them. All it took was a quick talk about how if we see someone crying, we rub their backs and ask them if they are OK. Gentleness. 

*** 
Dear Hannah, 
You continue to grow so fast. It's actually so much less stressful to have a child who is falling in the average / above average percentile as far as baby stats go. You had your 2 month appointment and you were 10 pounds 10 ounces and 22.5 inches long. It's pretty exciting to see you develop and change. You are now able to hold your head up, smile, and hold onto something when I hand it to you. 

I am trying to document your growth through monthly pictures at the same location. Sometimes it is not so easy especially when you are not very stable. 

So we try different positions. Some turn out well, 

 Some just turn out awkward. 

 And finally, you get one that will work. 

 I am loving your smiles and all the cute girly outfits that I can dress you up in. 

As your sleep schedule evolves even more I find that we've gotten into a pretty good routine. This week I tried dream feeding and I've been able to sneak in an extra hour of sleep each night. Here's the breakdown of a day. 

AM

8:00 Daddy wakes up first and takes care of Nathan's breakfast. 

8:30 Mommy wakes up with Hannah and nurses. 

8:50 On Tuesday/Thursday Daddy takes Nathan to School

9:00 Playtime with Nathan or walking outside without Nathan. 

10:30 - noonish Hannah takes a nap. 

PM

12:00 Lunch and nurse Hannah 

1:00 Pick Nathan up from school or play for a bit at home.

1:30 Nathan goes down for his nap and Hannah nurses. 

2:00 Hannah goes down for a nap. 

***mommy free time (prep dinner, chores, rest, fun stuff)

3:30 Nathan wakes up from nap and we play. 

4:30ish Hannah wakes up from nap and nurses while Nathan watches a 30 minute TV show. 

5:00ish we go out on a walk to get the mail and play. 

5:45 Daddy gets home and mommy cooks dinner. 

6:00 Quick nursing session with Hannah

6:30 Family dinner time while Hannah takes a 30 minute catnap. 

7:15 Mommy goes on walk with Hannah while Nathan gets ready to take bath with Daddy. 

8:00 Nathan bedtime and Hannah bathtime. 

8:15 Hannah Nurses and is in bed by 9:00. 

11:00 Dreamfeed

AM

2:00 Hannah wakes for a feeding. Usually about 40-50 minutes. 

5:50 Hannah wakes up again for a feeding. Usually about 20-30 minutes. 

7:30 Hannah wakes up again for a feeding. Mommy usually takes Hannah into bed with her to nurse and cuddle. 

You are still wearing your brace for about 12 hours at night. You usually will protest a bit when I put it on after your bath at night. I'm curious to see if you will sleep better with it off. Two more weeks and we'll find out for sure. 

Yesterday, you received your first round of shots. I wish I could say that you handled it like a champ, but you didn't . After enduring 3 shots, you cried and cried and cried. I was able to eventually calm you down with a bit of nursing, but it was tough to get you settled. One of your legs was super sore that afternoon: you would cry when I touched it.  But it seemed to not bother you anymore after I took off the band aid at bath time and now you are back to your normal happy self. 

Nathan was pretty colicky at 2-4 months and I'm pretty happy that you are not a colicky baby. I think you are what the books call an "angel" baby. I've been blessed to have 2 kids with such amazing temperaments. 

I feel pretty well rested and can manage to get through a day without caffeine or a nap. I am starting to lose my hair and I'm constantly craving sweets. I think I am addicted.

Well, that's all for now.  

Love, 

Mommy

Pumpkin Patch Pictures