New This Week...

New this week for The Duchess:
- She has officially made the switch from liking when she makes people laugh to not liking it when people laugh at her. She told me this morning at the breakfast table, with her eyes cast down and in a tiny little voice, Mommy, I don't like it when you laugh at me." Me: When did I laugh at you? Duch: Yesterday at lunch with Miss Erin. I don't even remember but obviously she did so we'll have to be more careful.
- Her drawings are looking more like what she says they are. She drew a robot that actually looked like a robot. And she can write a letter M.
- She is connecting what she watches on TV with her books. While watching Snow White, she had her story book of Snow White in her lap and turned the pages to match the picture with the movie.
- She cannot wait for her birthday! She has decided to have a Barbie party this year. We hear about her birthday plans every time she looks a the family calendar on the wall and sees pictures from last year's birthday.





New this week for Bubba:
- He lost another tooth! The tooth fairy came again last night. This one is right next to the other so he is missing the two middle bottom teeth. He was in the other room when he pulled it out. He came walking out to the family room and said "Uh,
Guys...look." And he smiled a bloody smile at us :-)
- He is swimming like a fish now. He is doing somersaults with help and is trying to do them alone. He swims underwater, jumps in by himself and is working on floating on his back without help. What a difference a few weeks make!





New this week for Huck:
- He rolled over from back to tummy for the first time on Sat July 2nd! And does it every time you put him down on his back. He's not crazy about being on his tummy but if you turn him over he rolls right back again.
- He has discovered his hands and feet and studies them quite intently. I've seen him hit himself in the face a few times when he was bringing them in for a closer look :-)
- He has been reaching for toys! It is not very coordinated yet, but he is getting better at it.
- He can sit in his Bumbo chair for short periods of time. His head control is getting better and better.
- He is definitely getting chunky! I have not weighed him since his 2 month visit, but you can see it on him. He has cute little chubby cheeks and big 'ol rolls on his thighs. The cloth diapers are getting a little small around the thighs. So good to see him filling out!






The whole family has been swimming a lot lately. We have been checking out various city pools in search of the best. So far the City of Richardson pools are the best. We went to a Dallas pool yesterday because it is close to us and and cheaper than the others. I was hopeful because it is at the rec center that is very nice and it has a very nice Sprayground/park. It was not as well maintained, there were not many chairs and I was very unimpressed by the lifeguards. I would not trust them to keep my kids safe at all. One sat in a lifeguard chair, one in the entrance booth and 5 sat in the shade talking to each other leaving 2 other lifeguard chairs empty. I think we'll stick with the Richardson pools where the lifeguards seem to be on top of things- I see them checking the pool water every hour, there are at least 2 lifeguards watching the pool at all times and they require a swim test for kids under 10 to go in the deep water, on the slide or off the diving board. Even though I am with them all the time they are in the water I just feel safer there.
I got my water sling and love it! Huck seems to like the water. As soon as I took him in the water yesterday I was surrounded by little Hispanic girls cooing over him and telling me about the babies at their house. He was not very impressed by the attention.






We had a family trip to the movies to see Cars 2. It was cute, but not as good as the first. About 20 minutes in Duchess turned to me and said she was ready to go home. I kept covering Huck's ears with a burp cloth- why do they have to have kids movies so loud???

On Friday we had a Child Life playdate. So much fun to have all of us "old" child lifers together again. We had 20 kids (and 1 on the way) between the 10 of us. We even managed to get some pictures of everyone- amazing!

Grandparents

The kiddos got lots of love from Grandparents this past weekend. Mom Mom came to town for a long weekend and we were finally able to do some fun things! The past three times she had been here we were pretty much house-bound due to sickness, bedrest and a newborn. So this time we got to have fun- the girls went to the nail salon, Mom Mom and I had a day of shopping and a crab cake lunch at Nordstrom's Bistro and we got to search for some pretty house decorations at HomeGoods and a few consignment shops. Mom Mom couldn't believe how much little Huck has grown! He is getting some pretty good rolls on him these days... I had to teach one day while she was here and Huck missed his Mommy :-) I guess he was not a happy guy while I was gone.
On Sunday Grandpa and Grandma Nancy (not to be confused with Grandma with the spiky hair)stopped for the night on their way to Iowa. It was Father's Day, so the Hubby made fish and I made scalloped potatoes, squash and salad and we had a nice dinner. The next morning we went out to breakfast and had some yummy beer biscuits before they had to get on the road again. The kids were thrilled to have so much attention and the grandparents were thrilled to meet Huck.
I promised the kids we could go swimming tomorrow. A friend made me an awesome sling that I can wear in the water and I can't wait to try it out. We are taking a break from swimming lessons this session and I want the kids to continue to practice. Bubba will move up to the next level and become a Guppy but Duchess will repeat the Pike class. Until she can jump off the side of the pool without holding onto the teacher's hand she will stay a the same level. Bubba has taken to wearing his goggles in the tub :-) There is a slide at the community pool that Bubba really wants to go down, but he'll have to pass a swim test with a lifeguard first. To pass he'll have to swim across the deep end twice! He hopes to be brave enough to try by the end of the summer. I did take Huck swimming once. He seemed pretty confused by the whole thing and made his serious face the whole time. We'll see what he thinks of the water sling.

A First, a Last, and Once Again

Big week for Bubba!
He lost his first tooth! For months (a year?) he has been asking when he would loose a tooth. I got the message that it was loose while I was in Chicago and thankfully it did not fall out until I got home. I'd have hated to miss that milestone! It was very un-dramatic. He bit his spoon at dinner and it hurt quite a bit. I looked at it, said it looked pretty loose to me and he reached in and pulled it out. Just like that! I'm not sure his feet touched the floor for the rest of the night. The Tooth Fairy came and left a $2 bill. There were lots of questions about her- How does she get in the house? Down the chimney? Through the front door? How does she carry all those teeth? Is "it" really a girl or could "it" be a boy? Luckily an "I don't know" was a good enough answer.





That First came just before the Last Day of School, so he was able to get his name up on the Tooth Chart. Apparently this is a Very Important Part of Kindergarten. He had a great year and has already mentioned several times that he "misses that old place." His words, seriously. He made some good friends and we met some great families. He got to celebrate his birthday at school along with all the other summer birthday kiddos. Another Very Important Part of Kindergarten.



We celebrated his 6th birthday by going to the new Legoland Discovery Center in Grapevine Mills Mall. I think he could live there and never get bored. Then, Once Again, we had his birthday party at the splash park. It was his choice and I am happy to do it. It is easy for me- just buy cupcakes, drinks, watermelon and sunblock and show up at he park. The kids run around, the grown-ups chat (and sweat), we sing Happy Birthday and have one happy little boy.




This week both kiddos started swimming lessons, Once Again, at the Y. It is almost like starting over since it has been 9 months since they have been in a pool. Bubba is doing well. Duchess, well, that remains to be seen. She would be happy to play on the steps, but I am not paying for her to play on the steps. There were many tears today, but she did well despite the wailing. She swam from one teacher to the other underwater for about 4 feet. She said she is ready to go back tomorrow.

Huck is doing great. He has little rolls and dimples on his arms and legs. He is sleeping well (knock on wood). He is often a bit fussy in the evening, but sitting on the front porch calms him quickly. Too bad for the stinking mosquitoes!

Chicago!

Huck and I went to Chicago last week for the Child Life Conference. We went because I was presenting about working in the Emergency Department. We went with a group of 6 others from the department, all of whom were presenting except our director. We left Thurs morning and because we took Southwest we had to stop over in Kansas City. Huck did great on the plane, either slept or just looked around and smiled at the girls. We all went out to lunch/dinner since it was almost 4 by the time we ate and walked on Michigan Avenue a bit. The weather was not great- cold and rainy- but Huck was happy and cozy in the Moby wrap.






Friday the conference started. Huck went with me to my sessions. He did good- it was fine when he was asleep- but I had to leave one session because he was happy "talking." All over conference people were smiling at me and I wasn't sure if it was just because of Huck in the wrap or if I was supposed to know them! Over my almost 12 years at Children's I've had lots of interns and I know I wouldn't recognize them all!




Saturday Grandma took the train in to the city to help me watch Huck and to get some snuggles in. It was nice to go to sessions without worrying about Huck bothering anyone. Huck welcomed Grandma within 30 minutes with a great big blow-out diaper! He must have been impressed with her diaper changing skills because 20 minutes after I left after lunch he did it again! Thanks, Grandma! Our presentation went well. It was based on a presentation I did 8 years ago. We had somewhere between 170-200 people there. It is hard to judge how it went with that large of a crowd but we didn't see anyone sleeping :-) We have heard from several people that they really enjoyed it and we'll get official comments from the Child Life Council sometime in the next few months. We are talking about submitting another proposal for next year that will take it to the next level. Saturday night we went to Navy Pier and had dinner at Harry Karry's restaurant. It was good but we waited forever! Huck slept through it all like a champ.



We headed home on Sunday after one more session in the morning. Huck slept and/or nursed through it all and didn't make a peep. Our flight was delayed because of weather and we sat on the ground for almost 1 1/2 hours in Chicago. Huck and I slept for a bit and once again he did great the whole way.
The rest of my family had a great adventure in Waco so stay tuned for more on that!

Week of Fun

Monday- Duchess had her end of the year sing-along. Her class is mostly boys- 8 boys and 4 girls. They are not very enthusiastic about preforming. The other 3 year-old class is mostly girls and they are VERY enthusiastic about singing. Duchess sang a little, blew a lot of kisses and played with her sunglasses. After school she had her last ballet class.




Tuesday- I got my haircut, yay! Duchess, Huck and I had lunch on the patio at La Madeline, I got a new pair of shoes and Duchess and I had pedicures. She had a smile on her face a mile-wide when the lady painted flowers on her big toes.

Wednesday- Back to work for me. I was not thrilled to go but it was not a bad day. My sweet nurses brought me Starbucks in the morning and had a chocolate cake to belatedly celebrate my birthday. In the afternoon I popped in to a baby shower for a coworker and got to catch up with several friends I had not seen since Huck was born. Everyone at home fared well.

Thursday- The not-so fun day. I spent hours at the mall trying to find something to wear when I present at conference next week. Apparently my criteria are too strict- professional looking but still wearable for everyday work and not that expensive since it probably won't fit in a few months (when I hopefully lose the last 5 lbs of baby weight). After buying a pair of pants at J Crew that were OK, I ended up finding something in my closet to wear instead. So the pants are going back as I'd rather have something that is better than just okay. I'll save the money for the H&M that is opening Memorial Day weekend. Duch and Huck were with me and did great. The cleaning people came so having a clean house when I didn't have to do it is fun. And teaching the last class in the Natural Birth series was fun.

Friday- Back to work again and lots of work on my conference presentation. Pretty fun since we accomplished a lot. Rushing to get to Duchess's dress rehearsal- not so fun. Watching 3 and 4 year-olds dancing on a real stage for the first time- fun. Two kids fighting in the car the whole way home- not so fun. Listening to the two of them laughing hysterically in bed when they were supposed to be sleeping- fun!

Saturday- Wallace Elementary Carnival! Bounce houses, games, food, running around with friends- what could be more fun? Jackson got thrown in jail twice and we had to bail him out. A friend pays 2 tickets to throw someone in jail and then the jailbird has to be bailed out with two more tickets. I certainly hope that is the only time we have to come up with his bail!








The big ballet recital! Big maybe, but definitely short. So short in fact that Daddy missed it because he was standing in line buying flowers for the prima dona. Her dance lasted maybe 3 minutes and the whole show was maybe 20 minutes. She seemed to enjoy it but didn't really think it was very special. I, however, got a little teary.

Meet Pam

Duchess-
Duchess: Mom, Kennedy and I changed our names at school today.
Mom: Oh really? What are your new names?
Duchess: Kennedy changed her name to Mickey Mouse.
Mom: And what is your new name?
Duchess: Pam
Huh? We don't know anyone named Pam as far as I know.

Duchess got to get a gumball after lunch for having good behavior in the restaurant. It is never really a good idea because they are too big for her mouth. She whined all the way to the car but it was impossible to understand what she was saying because she refused to swallow the spit or to open her mouth to speak. Once at the car I gave her a napkin and she spit out the gumball, but when I tried to throw it away she screamed "no!" I asked what she wanted me to do with it. Her reply? "I want you to chew it up so it is not hard and then give it back to me." Once again,HUH???

Big dance recital this coming weekend, pics to come!


Huck
No more SNS!!!!! We have not used the supplement for more than a week. We saw the lactation consultant last Monday and she thought he was doing great. The pediatrician agreed when we went in for his 2 month check up. Just in time as I go back to Children's tomorrow. He was almost 12 lbs and had grown 2 1/2 inches since birth. He continues to be a serious little guy. He often has a furrowed brow, BUT, he is smiling a bunch too. He smiles at me a lot and will smile at Bubba and Dad as long as he is not overstimulated. Smiling at the Duchess is less frequent as most of the time he sees her she is 2 inches away from his face. He is doing well at holding his head up as well. Last night he went 7 hours between feedings. Yeah for me!





Bubba
Bubba has just 12 more days of school. He read me a book this morning and I still can't believe it sometimes. In just a few short weeks he is going to be 6! Sometimes I look at him and can't believe how big he is. But then I see him at school surrounded by the "big kids" and he still looks like my little guy. He was buying a toy (with Grandma dollars) at the store the other day. He had 10 ones and the total came to $8.54. I told him he needed to give the lady 9 dollars and he looked up at me and said with a twinkle in his eye, "That means I just have to take away one dollar." He is doing subtraction without even trying :-)






Mom
I am headed back to Children's tomorrow. The Hubby has done okay with Huck while I have been teaching but tomorrow will be the real test. The big kids both have school. I can't decide if that is a good thing or not. It is good because for most of the day he will only have Huck to worry about, but potentially bad because he will have to coordinate drop-offs and pick-ups and can't just hang around the house all day. Next week Huck and I will be going to Chicago. I am presenting at the Child Life conference. Grandma is coming up for one day to be smiled at by Huck and watch him while I present.

Back to Work

Last week I went back to teaching for the first time since I was put on bedrest. I am teaching a natural birth series of 4 classes. Gotta admit I'm gonna have to fake advocating for unmedicated births a bit :-) My head can speak to it well but my body still remembers the intensity a little too well right now! The class is a good group and I am enjoying it. The Hubby seems to have fared fine being in charge of the 3 kiddos as well. I guess we can consider it a warm up for my return to Children's in 2 weeks. Huck did okay last week but last night he was fussy most of the time I was gone.



Speaking of Huck, he is doing well. I weighed him this week and he has gained 2 1/2 lbs in a month and is now 11.2 lbs. The expected weight gain at this age is 4-7 oz a week, so he exceeded that by gaining 10 oz a week! I can tell that he is nursing better, his latch is more consistent and I am much more comfortable. I don't want to jump out of my skin each time he latches on. I have been able to feed him several times a day without the suplimenter and am only pumping 1-2 times a day. I can finally see the end of the SNS in sight, although I'll save the celebration until it is retired for good. I have a love-hate relationship with the thing.



I hate the additional work, the difficulty of getting it placed correctly in his mouth, the cleaning... but I am grateful for it's existence because it allowed me to continue breastfeeding. For me, breastfeedingis about so much more than just feeding. Outside of the nutritional and health benifits, not to mention financially, it is about an emotional connection. I love that time when it is just the two of us- me stroking his soft hair, snuggling him close, kissing the top of his head... him reaching his hand up to my chest, grabbing onto my finger, looking up at me... With the other two I especially enjoyed coming home from work and cuddling up together to reconnect. So while nursing is going better, poor baby has had a cold this week. It started last weekend with lots of congestion and a cough. It is a deep, junky chest cough too. You just know it hurts hom sometimes. In the beginning he was so confussed by it all- the look on his face was so pitiful. He just wanted to be held all day. Now the congestion has improved some so I don't need to suction his nose as much and the cough is mostly at night. (By the way, he is sleeping pretty well- I'll usually get a 5-6 hour stretch between feedings at night.) I got the cold early this week. The two of us sound pretty pathetic at night! I'm pretty sure it came from a certain big sister who thinks she needs to be 2 inches away from his face when she speaks to him...

One of the things I love about preschoolers is their rapidly expanding vocabulary and the way they make things up if they don't have a word for what they want to say. The Duchess likes to change the part of speech to suite her needs- two of my favorites right now are: sharp (v) to sharpen a pencil. "Can you sharp this pencil for me?" and inside-out (v) to turn right-side out, "Can you inside-out my pants for me?" She is also know to use some mature sounding phrases. The other day her Dad asked her if it was cold outside and she answered "It is starting to warm up out there." She has just a few weeks left of school. I know she is going to miss her friends, Chloe, Kennedy and Bethel. The 4 girls have really bonded this year.



Bubba has had a fun month at school with feild trips. The older kids have done standardized testing so they have sent the Kindergartners out of the building. They went to the zoo, a farm and today they are walking to a nearby plant nursery. Coming up they also have a carnival, Buddy Fun Day, Splash Day and a last day of school party. Whew! It is pretty amazing to see how much he has learned this year. He is reading independently, writing sentences and doing math. We are so lucky that he had such a great teacher. Not because of the acedemic acheviements but because of the balanced approach she has to teaching. She really seems to understand what these 5-6 year-olds need- and it is NOT sitting at a desk for most of the day, it is NOT doing homework everyday, and it is NOT having perfect behavior all the time :-)



The Hubby got a new car yesterday! It is a Buick Enclave. It is pretty and fancy and is the first New Car he has ever had. The Caddilac was going to need more maintanence and it just wasn't worth putting more money into it. If I can figure out how to upload a picture from my phone to Blogger I will post it.



The other manager at his work quit so he has had more responsibility handed over to him. It is not a bad thing because the other girl didn't really do a very good job, but it does require more time from him.