Poor Peanut

Our sweet little Peanut has his first ear infection in his left ear.  Last week there was a night that he had trouble sleeping in his crib for the first few hours and I wondered if he had an ear infection.  However, come Friday he seemed fine (and Saturday and Sunday as well) so I didn’t think anything of it.  Monday he seemed puny and was a little more fussy and sad than usual.  Tuesday morning when Jeff was downstairs with him for a bit he thought Crews was still not acting like himself so I called the doctor as soon as they opened.  I was able to get Crews an appointment that morning at 9:30.  He weighed 17 pounds, 13 ounces, so hasn’t gained much since his six month appointment (only 5 ounces).  Dr.  Greenhouse looked in his left ear and said “Wow! He should not be acting this happy for how bad his ear looks.  He must have a high pain tolerance.”  Thankfully his right ear looked fine.  The runny nose and cough he has she thinks is viral and will go away in time.  She started him on antibiotics (amoxicillin) twice a day for ten days and told us to come back in 2-3 weeks to re-check because she didn’t “trust him” to show us that it wasn’t cleared up.  We are hoping the medicine is doing its work.  We are thankful for Crews’s sweet and happy disposition, and really are amazed at how smiley he is, even when he isn’t feeling that great.  He is such a blessing.  Big brother has been extremely caring and concerned and has told his little brother often “I’m sorry you don’t feel good Bear.”  The picture was taking Tuesday morning.  When Ford woke up he asked if Crews could be next to him in his bed.  The two spent some time cuddling together before starting the day.  Melts my heart.

Good-bye to the Three’s…

Wednesday May 16 was Ford’s last day of school.  His last day in Mrs. Frannie’s 3′s class.  The last day with his current class of Isabel, Hayes, Harris, Marett, Rebecca Ann, Charlie W., Jay, Bo and Ella.  This year has been a fabulous one.  Ford has grown up in Mrs. Frannie’s class.  There is no “baby” ot “toddler” left.  He is all little boy.  He has learned so very, very much.  He has learned things like knowing his rights verses his left, counting beyond ten, being able to count actual objects, knowing the days of the week and the order of the days, identifying letters, learning some letter sounds, recognizing printed numbers, rhyming, cutting, and much more.  I am so thankful for this year at Kilbourne Park.  We continue to be so pleased with the school and are so thankful to be a part of it.  We are very thankful for Mrs. Frannie and not only what she has taught Ford, but how she has loved and enouraged him as well.  She is a special lady and we are so blessed Ford was placed in her class.  This time of year is hard.  On one hand I am so proud of and thankful for how much our Bean has grown and learned, how much he has changed and matured.  But on the other hand, I am sad.  Our four-year old is growing up and so fast.  We are one school year away from kindergarten.  And as I already said, there is no “baby” or “toddler” left in him.  Our days of “preschool” are more than half over.  So, as last year, I did shed a few tears.  Even though they are sad tears, they are also thankful ones too.  KPS has provided such a loving environment for Ford and has taught him so much in the last two and a half years.  I am extremely grateful.  And I am so very proud of Ford.  He is a smart boy who listens and obeys his teacher and truly enjoys being at school learning and playing.  I have loved seeing what he has learned and how his friendships have grown this year.  It has truly amazed me.  I know next year will hold wonderful things as well.  So, good-bye to the sweet, amazing three’s class, and hello to summer!

Monday

Back:  Mrs. Frannie, Harris, Ella, Ford, Rebecca Ann, Jay, Isabel                                                      Front:  Marett, Hayes, Charlie, Bo

Tuesday before the school picnic

Henry, Ford and Bo

Rebecca Ann, Ford, Bo, Ella

Last day!

Isabel’s Recital

Yesterday evening Ford and I were able to go to Isabel’s first ballet recital at the Koger Center.  Earlier in the day we went to the store and Ford picked out some pink flowers to give his friend after her performance because “Isabel loves pink.”  We loved watching Isabel’s dance and were happy to be able to go.  We were able to see her afterwards and although Ford got a bit shy, he handed the pink flowers to his friend to congratulate her.  We also saw some other friends perform too which was fun.  The performances were all to  different Disney songs and definitely kept Ford’s attention.

Mother’s Day 2012

Yesterday was a very special Mother’s Day.  Throughout the day I couldn’t help but feel extremely blessed to have Jeff, Ford and Crews as my family.  The three boys made my day wonderful and were very thoughtful.  I was able to sleep in a bit while Jeff played with the boys.  They brought me doughnuts and bagels on our special red plate, and a Starbucks, that we all enjoyed together in our bed.  Ford asked Jeff if they could decorate with streamers, and they did before I came downstairs (both blue in the entry way to the family room and red in the dining room).  We went to church.  They gave me a beautiful picture frame with their hand prints that they had made.  Ford made a picture for me that they hung by the streamers, and also made a purple paint picture at church.  At school he had made me a flower pot with fish and bubbles made from his finger prints.  He also made a card that said “My mom is special because she lets me have a treat and plays princess with me” (Ford likes to be the king and made a castle out of pillows).  Ford also made a coupon book for me at school.  He asked me when we could cash in the “make a batch of cookies” coupon.  We played some.  I was able to read by myself for a short bit.  We ran an errand together, and we ate Rush’s for dinner at home together.  After Crews went to bed Ford, Jeff and I watched a little bit of the movie “Rio” that we started a few nights back. 

All in all it was just a great day with my boys.  I am so thankful God made me a Momma to two such incredibly precious little boys.  I am also so thankful for my incredible mother and that Jeff had such a wonderful mother as well.  Both of us have and had such awesome examples of selfless, loving, supportive moms.  I am so blessed to now be living my “dream job” of being a Momma.  And am thankful for all they did to make Mother’s Day special for me! 

Sleeping Babes

There is something precious about a sleeping little one.  Something that makes you smile and your heart melt.  We don’t go in to check on our kiddos much.  Ford was too light of a sleeper as a baby to go in to just look at our sweet boy and the feeling of being nervous that we will wake a sleeping baby has continued with Crews.  I do get to see him sleeping when he falls asleep nursing and is so tired that he remains asleep when I place him in his crib.  The other time I get to watch him sleep is on the rare occasion he falls asleep in my arms for a nap.  With Ford we are now able to go in a little more.  Sometimes he will “wake” for a minute and then go right back to sleep and other times he doesn’t even stir.  Whenever I do get the chance to see either of our boys sleeping and my phone is around, I try to snap a picture.  I don’t think seeing them sleep will ever get old. 

January 20

April 12

 April 18

April 28

May 1

Seven Months Old!

Crews turned 7 months old on Saturday!  Our sweet Peanut is so precious and we all enjoy him so much.  It seems like he has learned a lot this past month, and his personality continues to emerge and we absolutely love it.  Crews continues to be such a joyful, happy baby.  He has the most infectious smile and he really does smile with his whole face.  He also makes lots of facial expressions and his eyebrows do the funniest things with all of his expressions.  In fact one of his Bible study teachers commented to me the other day about how expressive he is with his facial expressions and that they all just adore him.  At a birthday party this week I passed him from mom to mom who wanted to hold him and who commented on not only how happy and sweet he is, but how easy-going he seemed, going from one person to the next, unphased.  Crewsie is definitely a happy boy.  And we love his laugh.  It is almost a cackle at times.  It is so fun, and easy to make him laugh.    

At seven months Crews is in size 3 Pampers.  He is wearing clothes that are marked 6-9 months, or 9 months, or 6-12 months for most brands. 

Crews has been nursing 5 times a day, rather than six, for the last week or so.  The great thing is that he has been going from 6:30 or 7 pm till around 4 am or later without getting up.  Some mornings he has had trouble going back to sleep in his crib after being fed and I have held him in the glider, but other mornings he has gone back to sleep in his bed smoothly.  I am hopeful this long stretch will continue, but you never know.  He usually gets up for the morning around 7 am.  He is still going to bed at 7 pm.  His night-time routine is still the same.  Start out with a bath, then jammies, nurse, prayers and sometimes singing and then in his bed awake but very sleepy usually.   

This month Crews has tried quite a few fruits and vegetables and has liked them all.  I try to give him “real food” two to three times a day.  Usually after I nurse him around 8 am, around lunch time after he nurses at 11:30 (usually at 12:30 when Ford is eating his lunch) and then around 5 pm an hour plus before I nurse him at bedtime.  He often makes a funny face with the first bite of food and takes awhile swallowing before opening up for more.  But after the first bite or so he opens his mouth quicker and usually doesn’t make the funny face.  Here is what he has had and in the order he has had them:  avocado, sweet potatoes, pears, carrots, apples, peas, bananas, squash, zucchini, apricots, and green beans.  He has also recently eaten Puffs (sweet potato flavor).  I have been making his food which I didn’t do with Ford.  A friend has let me borrow her baby food maker which steams and purees in one container and it’s been working great.  I have bought a few things too, like the pears and sweet potatoes (but will definitely make sweet potatoes for him next) and will buy what I need when I am not able to make it myself.  We have a stash of frozen home-made food though for him in our freezer that we can pull out as we need.  This month Crews was also introduced to a sippy cup.  Crews likes chewing on the sippy cup spout but isn’t drinking the water inside.  He does tend to get quite wet during his sippy cup time and loves when he gets the chance to chew on his cup.  

His naps in his crib have also seemed to improved this last week as well.  He has had some great one hour and 15 minute naps!  There have also been the 30 minute naps, but more and more that are longer.  The only thing in his bed in terms of “toys” or “loveys” is Sammie the singing sea horse.  Ford had his Sammie in his bed early on and Crews has had his in his bed lately.  I often will turn him on when he is going down for a nap.  The other day I heard Sammie through the monitor.  Not sure how Crews turned him on, but he did.  Ford used to turn his Sammie on with his forehead.  Maybe little brother will do the same. 

Crews is rolling more from his tummy to his back and gets a huge proud grin once he finally makes it over.  He doesn’t do it often and it still doesn’t seem as effortless as rolling from his back to his tummy.  He rolls with his arm by his side rather than up by his head but he gets over eventually.  I am still rolling him over though quite a bit when he gets frustrated.  Crews will also pivot on his tummy and can go in an entire circle.  He moves himself all over his crib now and on the floor when playing.  Crews is also sitting up a lot better and for longer periods of time.  I still need to be next to him as he will all of a sudden lean back and topple.  He seems to like playing sitting up and if he is fussing while playing in the floor either on his back or tummy if I sit him up his mood greatly improves a lot of times.  He definitely prefers certain things and knows what he wants and doesn’t want.  And we are starting to hear about things he doesn’t like or when he is not happy.  He really does not cry much and his fussing isn’t bad either.  But on Monday he was on the bed while I was getting Ford dressed for school.  Crews was playing with  telescope Ford had made at school.  When I took it away from him he started crying so hard and was very mad.  I gave it back and the crying stopped immediately.  Took it away again and the crying started back up.  I love seeing his ability to make choices and have preferences develop. 

This month he started making raspberry sounds.  One afternoon while we were in the car Ford and Crews were making raspberry sounds to each other and it was so fun to hear them and watch them in the rear view mirror.

Another big first this month is that his first tooth broke through!  It is his lower right tooth and the first time I felt it/noticed it slightly poking through his gum was on April 21.  Since then it has come out even more and is sharp, sharp!  Our bear still wants to chew on our hands, face etc and now with that sharp tooth it sometimes hurts.  I actually noticed his second tooth, the bottom left tooth, on Monday, April 30.   

Crews is not on any medicine and the amount of spit up has decreased quite a bit.  I find he goes with out a bib more often than not lately which is a nice change.

Crews loves swinging at the park both in the baby swing and sitting on my lap.  He kicks his legs, grins and talks while swinging.  He thinks it is great fun.  He still loves his exersaucer as well.  When he is in the bouncy seat he gets frustrated if we don’t have the sound on.  He will kick and kick and then fuss like he is mad that the sounds and lights aren’t being activated.  He does not like to be in the bouncy seat very long these days.  He still loves toys to chew on.  His bug chew ring, Sophie the Giraffe, his Jungle Tails book, and his wooden dog rattle are among his favorites lately.  Crews loves to be lifted up in the air.  He laughs and smiles as he gets raised up and then lowered down.  He also loves to “fly” in the air too.   

Crews loves his family very much.  He thinks Ford is the funniest person around.  Jeff and I can make Crews laugh, but not like Ford.  Ford can do anything and Crews thinks it is hilarious.  He eggs his big brother on with his laughter at times.  I also love that if we are in his room he will stop eating, stain his neck to stare at the door, and wait for Ford or Jeff (whoever he has heard) to come in to see him.  Then when they leave he stares at the door to see if they will come back in to him. And of course when they come in he gets the biggest smile on his face. 

Something we think is funny is that he loves the song “Hello Everybody” that we sing in music class.  We play the CD at home and in the car and on three occasions when Crews has been crying in the car I have played the song and he stopped crying.  When the song was over he started crying again, but when I started “Hello Everybody” over again, the crying stopped again.  Magic. 

Things I love that I know will all too soon be gone…

-His huge toothless smile.  Even now when he smiles big you can see the white tooth peeking out.
-The dimples on his knuckles and elbows
-The rolls on his chunky thighs
-The way he grins and smiles around the fingers he has stuffed in his mouth chewing on
-The way he giggles every time I say and sign ” all done”
-The way he opens his mouth frantically at times to get another bite of real food
-The way he studies an object and furrows his brow as his eyes narrow in
-His air swimming and how he will “swim” and then quickly pop himself up tall on his hands with his elbows locked, pushing himself up as much as he can and then just as quickly have his tummy and chest back on the floor “swimming” again
-How he turns on his right side and clasps his hands on top of each other in order to fall asleep, especially at night. 
-How he pushes his belly up, making himself slide down in his bath tub so he is lying as flat as he can in his bath tub
-I love how talkative and loud he is, especially after music class.
-I love how he plays  with his voice.  His growls/grunts, the loud and deep “ahh” we have been hearing lately and the sweet tired humming sounds he makes as he nurses when he is exhausted, all make me smile.
-I love that when I change his diaper and put my left hand across his tummy to hold down the tabs, he always grabs my wrist and most often crunches up trying to put  my arm in his mouth.

I love everything about this boy we have been blessed with.  I am so thankful to be his Momma and thankful for the amazing, wonderful and precious gift he is. 

 

To see some recent videos go to:

http://youtu.be/xcV1a3kC4lE

http://youtu.be/iHydbUirtkQ

on our way home from music:  http://youtu.be/sLETGCPfjow

on our way to Wilmington:  http://youtu.be/dPWTaj6AIqc

a tiny bit of the cackle laugh: http://youtu.be/qUQEeXG_jOk

Hhmmmm

Hhmmm…what is this?

Yesterday morning when I got Crews up I noticed that his jammies had a thin spot on his big right toe.  I wondered how much longer they would make it.  By the time we went to change him into his church clothes, Crews’s big toe had popped through his jams.  While he was sitting on Jeff’s lap he noticed it and was quite intrigued by the toy popping through his jammies.  The jammies will sadly be retired.  They are one of the softest pairs of pjs he has and have always been a favorite of mine because of how they feel.  I loved when Ford would wear them too and have enjoyed having Crews wear them as well.

Strawberry Picking!

On Friday after school we went strawberry picking with Holley, Isabel and Ava, at Cottle Strawberry Farm.  The kids did a great job filling their buckets full of ripe red strawberries!  Ava was a sweet friend and basically entertained Crews most of the time giving him his different toys while he was in his stroller, which he loved.  We enjoyed our time picking (and then eating) our strawberries and hope to go back again next year.

Wilmington

Last weekend our family headed to Wilmington, North Carolina, for a short getaway.  Ford was so excited to be heading to the beach (Wrightsville Beach) and to stay at a hotel.  He talked about it all week.  Not only was he excited about our hotel stay, he was super excited that our hotel had a tennis court, basketball court, swimming pool and hot tub.  On our drive up (about 3.5 hours) Ford took a nap in his car seat.  Naps are extremely rare for him these days so we were surprised when we looked back and saw him sacked out.  Meanwhile, Crews was in his car seat talking/singing/being loud.  Ford didn’t stir with all of his brother’s noise, and Crews eventually took a short nap himself.  Both boys did extremely good on both of our drives.  Although the nap was nice for Ford on our drive, it proved to be a big mistake come bed time.  He seemed tired when we put him to bed, but at 9:00 he called for us, waking Crews up.  I got Crews back to sleep, Ford ended up in the bed with me, and at 10:00 he was still stirring and not able to sleep.  Needless to say it was a late night for us all.  Ford slept in on Saturday though which helped and he was happy as could be when he woke up.  After breakfast he and Jeff played tennis and basketball while Crews took a nap.  We headed to the beach after Crews woke up.  It was a beautiful day and the beach was gorgeous.  We were by a big pier and the water was a greenish blue.  Crews seemed to like the beach (his first trip!) and smiled as he watched and listened to the waves.  He wasn’t a huge fan of the cold water coming on his feet though so his time in the water was limited this trip.  Ford and Jeff played in the sand while Crews played in his stroller and also was in my arms.  Ford also played football with his Dada.  On our way home we stopped for a Rita’s Italian Ice which was a fun surprise.  Ford and Jeff went swimming (in the hot tub because the pool was freezing) for a short bit while I put Crews down for a nap.  Then Ford and I were able to go in the hot tub together for quite a while while Jeff and Crews played once Crews woke up.  Ford liked “swimming” to me and also throwing the frisbee to each other.  After swimming we all headed out for a very late lunch at Sweet N Savory, a bakery recommended to us.  All of our food was amazing and we took home some desserts from the dessert cases.  I took Ford in the hot tub again and then we headed up for a bath.  I kept my suit on and we ended up taking Crews in the big bath with us.  Crews thought it was such fun to be in the water with Ford. 

 

On Sunday Ford and Jeff played tennis again after breakfast.  We asked Ford if he would rather go back to the beach or go to the aquarium.  He chose the beach so we headed back.  It had rained Saturday night and was overcast, but it actually made for a great time on the beach.  It felt like we had the beach basically to ourselves.  Crews smiled as he watched the waves and had fun playing while Ford and Jeff played next to us in the sand.  When we headed back to the hotel Ford and Jeff went in the hot tub one last time while Crews napped and I packed up.  When Crews woke up we headed out to drive home. 

We had such a great time.  We didn’t see much of Wilmington, but enjoyed getting away and experiencing another beach.  We would love to go back next spring and hit the beach again, see the aquarium, the battleship there and the children’s museum.  I am very thankful for the time our family was able to have together away from home/work/chores etc., and to be able to introduce Crews to the beach!

The Swing

It’s been three weeks since Crews has slept in his beloved swing.  Three weeks of only sleeping in his crib.  Some naps are short (30 minutes), some naps are longer (45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes maybe).  And I can never predict which ones will be short or long.  But, he is in his crib and rarely cries much when I put him in there now.  For awhile the afternoon naps especially would start out with crying before he would finally fall asleep.  However, now he might fuss (but not really cry) some when he rolls on his tummy and needs me to come in to flip him over to his back, but other than that he is going down smoothly now.  I will admit there is part of me that misses him in his swing.  I loved seeing him on the video monitor, sleeping so peacefully, swinging back and forth.  And knowing how long his naps were going to be was pretty nice as well.  But, I don’t miss having to change the batteries all of the time, or having Crews wake up because the swing ran out of batteries and stopped, therefore waking him up.  I also don’t miss having to worry about him tumping over to the side which he was doing almost every nap the last week or so he was sleeping in his swing.  He was strapped in and the toy bar on as well, but I still worried about him.  It is funny to me how much our Peanut truly loved his swing.  Ford really did not like the swing at all, so it was barely used when Crews was born.  We definitely got great use out of it with him though.  I remember the nurses in the hospital telling us that Crews really liked motion and that they had put him in the swing in the nursery during the night and it quieted him right down and he fell fast asleep.  Little did we know how much we would rely on the swing and for how long!  Or how thankful we would be that it helped Crews sleep!  I remember when we got home from the hospital and put him in the swing and he looked like such a small Peanut.  And how we worried that the swing was going to catapult him out!  Even on the lowest speed it went super fast at first.  And slowly over the six months we had to increase the speed until we finally reached the highest speed.  And at the highest speed we had to give the swing a pushing start to get it going.  Amazing how much Crews has grown and changed.  I am very thankful for this swing, yet thankful that our sweet Bear is now in his bed.  Here are some pictures I was able to get before Crews moved to his bed full time.

March 8

March 20

March 27

April 2…last day to sleep in his swing (and he somehow knocked off his toy bar!)

April 3 waking up from his morning nap

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