Jon & Kate Plus 8

When I first starting watching Jon & Kate Plus 8, I had a hard time with it. It stressed me out. The last thing I wanted to watch during my precious free time was a show about stressed out parents. I gradually came around and began to enjoy it as a show that I could identify with (even though I have just 1). Now that Austin's a little older, I let him watch it with me and he loves it. It's the only show that we watch together. As I watch Jon & Kate's little ones grow up and my little one is growing up I get all warm & fuzzy inside. It has been so much fun sharing what we like with him as he gets old enough to appreciate new things. I think these stages were a direct reflection of what I was going through. At first I was overwhelmed, no doubt about it. Then, I regained a little spare time. And now I thoroughly enjoy sharing what I like to do with Austin.
When Austin was a newborn, a friend of mine with an 8 year old, said "Now's when it gets fun. You can do things with them" and I was thinking 'I'm having fun now!'. But you probably enjoy your kid at every age and think that every moment is special.

Austin Goes to the Movies!

So it's been snowing for what - a month straight? Although the idea of a white Christmas sounds good, it actually has been somewhat of a pain. I've been excited to enjoy this holiday season with Austin now that he's 2 and is super fun, but we haven't been able to do all the things we've wanted to do because of the weather. Today we were going to go to The Lights of Christmas at Warm Beach (rescheduled from a different snowed-in weekend) but the snow was still on the ground so we decided to go to the movies with Austin for the first time, which is very exciting for us. I got nervous beforehand because I thought of all the ways it could go wrong. However, we had two free passes and Austin was free so we really didn't have anything to lose. Once we got there I realized that I had nothing to worry about. I underestimated Austin's love of watching TV. He sat in my and Brian's lap almost the whole time, captivated by the movies (mostly the dogs and babies). We saw Marley & Me. He loves watching dogs on TV so that was a better bet than a cartoon, and more fun for Brian and me anyway. He did great, better than we could have hoped. When a scene would fade out, in the seconds before a new scene would begin, Austin would say "More?", scared that the movie had ended. He got up and walked around during the last 15 minutes of the movie, but that's fair for a 2 year old. When we left the movies, it was snowing big flakes once again!

Some Cool Things

I'm almost too tired to write, but I feel like I need to document all the cool things that Austin has been doing:

• Making this Christmas the best I've had since I was a kid by enjoying all the fun things we've been doing like cutting down a X-mas tree, decorating, looking at X-mas lights, etc.
• He's saying a lot more words now. So many that I have officially stopped writing every single one down. I am thrilled that I can no longer keep track.
• Here's a big one - he no longer finds getting his shampoo rinsed out traumatic. He is FINALLY over it, at 2 1/2. In the shower, Brian showed him how he rinses his own hair and how even though water gets in his eyes it's OK. Now when I talk to Austin about taking a bath he smiles and says "eyes".
• Today we danced together. Hand in hand, we danced to several X-mas songs. It was very fun.
• Today he played in the snow for the first time. Although, he has no boots or gloves that fit him. And to my dismay the huge selection of sleds at Fred Meyer was picked completely clean. I am mad at myself for not buying one when I saw them there a couple weeks ago. Oh well.
• He's super helpful, which he has been ever since he could be. But now he can do some small chores all by himself and when I ask him to do something, he usually does it. OK, "usually" might be a stretch, but many times even if he complains about it, he'll eventually do what I ask of him.

Thanksgiving Week

This week Brian's brother and his family came to visit. We had a great time hanging out with them. Austin was especially excited to have his two cousins staying with us for a week.

On Thanksgiving, Austin sat and watched his first full movie: Back to the Future, one of our favoite movies. He was most interested in Einstein, the dog, who really only had a bit part, but he kept hoping he would reappear. I must say, that was my favorite part of Thanksgiving, the part that sticks out in my mind the most. Thank goodness the Seahawks were losing, or we would never have had that moment. Here is a photo of the movie watching.



Today we went to the zoo and had a great time, even though it was raining and cold. I've never been to the zoo when it wasn't summer. Austin especially enjoyed the au-taurs (otters).

Not Much

Not much going on. Weekend was fun. Mom's Night Out on Friday night. Had yummy flight of untraditional but exotic wine - loved the rose. Brian worked on Saturday. Austin & I stopped by and had lunch with him, which was a big treat for him, and us too. Austin & I went to the outlet mall today to return some clothes and buy some new ones. He did great. A lot easier to shop with him now than compared to just a few months ago. He's a good boy. New philosophy on buying clothes - stop buying such cheap clothes and start buying clothes that fit me and that I love. I had to return two pants and one shirt that I just didn't like. In exchange I bought two pairs of pants that fit me well. I tried on several other pants that I kind of liked, but then I put them back and felt relieved. All those hours I've spent watching What Not to Wear is paying off. We then skipped nap and went to Grandma & Grampa's house, which was fun. Austin began to get quite loopy by 2:30. I paid for it when, during dinner, Austin had a meltdown because he wanted an apple and that wasn't what I was serving for dinner. He threw his grilled cheese sandwich, which resulted in a time out. He cried "apple, apple, apple!" in the other room for about 15 minutes, which was really funny. Once he was done, he came back and ate every single thing on his plate and even asked for more tofu & red pepper strips, to my delight. I gave him an apple slice for dessert :)

Thank You Extra Hour!

Thanks to "Fall Back"Weekend I felt like I had enough time to indulge Austin's bedtime delay tactics. He tries anything and everything to delay going to bed. Since we had an extra hour this evening, I asked him if he wanted to try sitting on the potty, something that he is usually never interested in doing. He was up for it tonight and sat on the potty for about 20 minutes, totally nude, just talking up a storm. It was very cute. To my surprise, when he finally got up there was pee in the bowl. Of course we made a big deal about it, and even took a picture. I wouldn't normally consider posting this publicly, but I really like this photo because his little feet are in it.

It was a fantastic end to an otherwise frustrating, rather unpleasant day. Austin was not in a very good mood and I had to deal with many loud screams, a couple toy throwing tantrums, and his refusal to eat most everything I offered him.

Happy Halloween!

Here are some pictures from Austin's first real Halloween. As a 3-month old and a 1-year old, Halloween was not very fun for him, or for us really. But this year was great. We went dancing at Baby Loves Disco last week, which was crazy!! I loved it. Austin had a great time too. Tonight we went trick or treating at Mill Creek Town Center. I knew he would love it because he really enjoys collecting things in containers. He was so cute going up to each person to get candy. He can't say "Thank you" yet; he still signs it and when he signs it, it looks like he's waving. So a lot of people said "Bye!" after he signed Thank You to them. What was even funnier was that Austin expects to hear "You're Welcome" after he signs Thank You, so if someone didn't say "You're Welcome", he just stood there staring at them, doing his little wave sign until I shuffled him away and said "You're Welcome" for them. He's so polite.

BOO

I was reading Austin a Monsters Inc. book tonight and he was reading along. As I've mentioned before he's a great reader. He was saying each letter in the title: "MONSTERS INC" and this specific book was called "BOO", which he spelled "B, O, More O." He's so cute.

Red Robin & Agri-tourism

Went to Red Robin tonight and it was totally fun. That was a total surprise to me. Austin loved it and clapped along with all of the birthday singing. I think it may have been the first meal out where he didn't fuss once.
We also went to the pumpkin patch today with our playgroup, or as I prefer to say 'We experienced Agri-tourism'. Much more fun than last year, when Austin couldn't walk and it was much colder. We had a great time and my hot apple cider was just perfect.

Catching Up

It's been a while since I last wrote. I don't know where to start. As usual, I'd like to share a funny Austin story. Tonight he was having a bit of a difficult time due to a big day of preschool and other Daddy time, and basically no nap. When it was time for bed he started crying. As a result, his nose started running and of course tears were running down his cheeks. He got all upset, demanding "Nose!" so I would wipe his nose and "Eye!" so I would wipe his eyes. But what was funny was that his nose and eyes running would get him even more upset and cause more tears and it was a vicious cycle for him. Very comical to me though. Then he just wanted to cuddle, which was very sweet. It's been a long time since I just rocked him at bedtime.



A couple weeks ago we took a 4-night Celebrity cruise up to Canada and back. Brian & I are big cruisers, having been on about 8 since we got married. B & I always agree on the big issues, vacations included. We wanted to hold off on cruising until Austin was around 5 so he could enjoy it more and take advantage of the ship's kid programs, but we couldn't wait any longer. Our friends Alcena & Jonathan came too with their 14 month old daughter, Lillian. Despite The Most Incompetant Travel Agent in The World, we managed to get ocean view cabins side by side. So each night two of us were able to go out at a time, while two people stayed back and babysat and either hung out together in the hallway or got caught up on sleep. Austin had a great time. And for us, it was nice to be on a ship again, although it was difficult to get any sleep. We all three slept in the same bed, most of the time in a H: B & I on the edges of the bed and Austin sprawled out across the bed hitting and kicking us all night. It was all very exhausting. There was even a day when most of us were seasick, a first for me and totally unexpected. I mean it's a cruise ship; more like a floating city than a boat! Most of all, it was nice to do something different with Austin and also really nice to hang out with friends, especially while the kids are 1 and 2. Very special. In this picture, Lillian was practicing walking and also cracking Austin up to the point where he'd bury his face in his hands and exclaim "Baby!" (that's what he calls her since he can't say Lillian.)


The pictures below are of HugFest 2008, a playgroup at my house a couple weeks ago where all the kids starting hugging and kissing. They're so sweet.

ABC's and Dirty Knees

Last week Austin had a bout of Roseola, which I had never heard of, but resulted in a fever and blotches all over his body. A little scary, but we took him to the doctor right away and it was really nothing to worry about. His sleeping was a little off track and he was rather cranky, but now that it's over he's back to normal and super fun again. We are trying to pack in the fun during the last few weekends of summer. Over the past week we've been to the Evergreen State Fair (rather smelly and overrated), blueberry picking (one of Austin's favorite pastimes) and to the "beach" today (Lake Washington.) We had a great time at the beach; Austin loved tossing rocks into the waves. He didn't, however, love getting dirty. As many already know, Austin has a major preoccupation with being dirty. Many toddlers do, but I'm starting to suspect he's a bit more intense about it than most. He could not relax at the beach because the rocks were dirty and his hands were getting dirty. Then Brian showed him how to rinse off his hands in the water, but in getting close to the water his shoes and pants got a little wet/dirty. He was not happy about that at all. I took off his shoes and he about flipped out because he didn't want his feet to touch the ground and/or the water. It was all very OCD and I hope he grows out of it.
In developmental news, I've recently learned he can say his ABC's, which is amazing to me because I had no idea he could say nearly as many letters as he can. He doesn't know them by heart, we have to prompt him. And some letters he can't say so he says "da" for those, but he tries to say every letter. Especially cute to me is his pronounciation of L ("elf") and I, M, & N because I've never heard him make those sounds before at all. What really impresses me though is that he recognizes the letters so when we're reading books, etc. he picks out specific letters and says them, leading me to burst with pride at his "reading" skills.

Something About Me (for a change)

I've spent the past two weekends and a couple of weekdays out in the world having fun, without my child. I've put the guilt aside and done it. And it's been awesome! I am so happy to have found a little piece of myself that has been dormant. Nothing to feel guilty about anyway, because Mommy is happier and able to feel more balanced.
Last Friday night I went out with a couple coworkers and had a crazy time. Spend time at 4 different restaurants and bars including Kells and the Alibi Room. Hungover for two days. It feels good to be bad again.
Before that, Brian and I went "away" to the Willows Lodge in Woodinville in celebration of our 10 year anniversary. We dined out several times, spent some time lounging in the hotel bar, saw Dark Knight, and SLEPT IN! The kind of sleeping in where you wake up and go back to sleep a few times. It was so great. I don't think I've truly slept in for almost 3 years now. True, we took a childless vacation together in Italy, but we did not sleep in once. It was a hectic, unrelaxing vaca. Not a bad vaca, but not relaxing like this was.
The weekend before that, I went to a show with friends at Marymoor Park featuring Brandi Carlile. It was so great and I didn't realize it prior, but it was the first time since we had kids that my friend Alcena & I have hung out together without the kids. Not cool - too long! It was a great night, topped off by unexpected back stage passes and an invite by Brandi to join the after party. The connection there is that her bandmates are friends of mine that I haven't seen in two years. It was really great to see them and like I said, I felt like I reclaimed a piece of me I didn't even realize was missing.
Next stop: karaoke with coworkers in a couple weeks!

"Catch"

I don't know many (any?) lullabys. I don't know many lyrics to songs in general. When Austin was a newborn I instinctively sang him Cure songs because I knew the lyrics. From the time he was just a few days old I would sing him "Catch" by the Cure. It is the perfect little lullaby. I sang him that song every single night until a few month ago when he started cutting me off and pointing to his crib. At first I thought it was great that he wanted to sleep, until I realized he was serious; he didn't want me singing to him anymore. How sad is that? He would even start crying when I attempted to sing it. So imagine my delight when I decided to try it again after several months and he loved it. I was changing him into his jammies and I started singing it and he started smiling and kept saying "Mom." If I stopped he'd say "More?" It was so great.
When he was 7 or 8 months old, I played him the actual song for the first time and as soon as he heard it he froze in his tracks. He looked at me and threw his arms around me. It was our song and it invoked a special feeling in him. So sweet.
He said his first four word sentence yesterday. When offered more fish sticks by Grandma, he told her "No fish, more tortillas" (which he pronounces deedledeedledee.)

Super Polite Boy Turns 2

What a fun birthday weekend! Lil' A turned 2 on Thursday, on Friday his Auntie Susan came to visit, on Saturday family & friends came to celebrate his birthday, and on Sunday we spent the day with Susan and others shopping. He did WAY better at b-day #2 than b-day #1. He even handed out hugs. And man was he polite this weekend. He can't say "thank you" yet so he signs it. He was signing it like crazy today. Sometimes using two hands when it's a one hand sign. So very polite. I couldn't have asked for a better little boy.

"Mom"

Austin calls me "Mom" now. Not Mommy or Mama, but Mom. Sometimes it sounds more like Mum. I do have some English in my blood, perhaps that's where it's coming from :) I'm pretty happy about it because for months now he's been all about Daddy; he walks around the house saying Daddy, Daddy, Daddy... Now he likes saying Mom and pointing to me, my stuff, pictures of me, etc.
Yesterday was the 4th of July - his favorite holiday. As most of you know he LOVES flags and stars, like OBSESSED with them. We went to a BBQ and he had a good time. He actually slept all night long, dispite all the fireworks, which was a nice surprise. We have gotten used to him waking up any night that he is not in bed exactly on time and/or we're doing anything social in the evening, as I've mentioned before. He was falling apart by 7:30, but we got him to bed as soon as we could and he slept great! BBQ #2 is tonight at my dad's for a belated Father's Day visit. We have a bunch of fun stuff to do this month so he better get used to all the social activity. Next week is his b-day and Auntie Susan is visiting. The week after that is Baby Lillian's 1st b-day and Brian & my 10-Year Anniversary! The week after that we're having a party here. Fun July!

Fun Sunday

Today was super fun. Austin & I hung out together all day and I am amazed at how smart and fun he is. It was just one of those days that seemed like a turning point in his development. Nothing major, just little things like telling me the cat needed water, blowing his own nose (well) while I was driving and couldn't reach him, swaying to the music we were listening to and saying "More?" before the song even ended, and when I gave him my phone to talk to Brian he said "hi daddy" to start the conversation and "bye daddy" to end it. I know how cute he sounds on the phone (heavy breathing and sweet little voice) and Brian must have been just dying at how sweet that was.
He took a 2 1/2 hour nap for me today. It was so great; I actually ran out of things to do. I found myself on the floor doing stretching exercises. It feels completely weird to have spare time. I LOVE the long naps, mostly because I know he needs it, but the spare time is the cherry on top - a big fat cherry.
It's over 90 degrees today and my house is 86. We're dying here. Austin was confused as to why he didn't have a shirt on, especially when he was going to bed. I also removed some of the bedding in his crib and he was confused about that as well. I put a fan in his room and I hope he doesn't wake up freaked about having that right by him. These days we can communicate well about many things, but I'm not totally sure he understands about the heat and why his routine was a little different this evening.

Sleep Solutions

My friend and fellow toddler mom, Kirsten, mentioned that I haven't written anything in awhile. People actually read this?? So here I am. For several weeks Austin wasn't sleeping well and when that happens the whole household is stressful and I don't feel like doing anything "extracurricular" like blogging, washing my face, combing my hair, etc. He's now doing much better so I have a small amount of energy to spend doing things for myself. Right now I feel like listing what I did to help little A sleep better so if, in the future, someone asks me what worked for us, here it is documented.
1.) Started talking up his crib and crib buddies, as in "Your crib is so nice & comfy!"
2.) Rewarded (bribed) him with sleep stickers. It started out that he would get a sticker if he slept through the night or napped for at least one hour. That morphed into putting a "night-night" or "nappie" sticker on his sleeve for him to see all night/nap long.
3.) Figured out we were putting him down for naps too late. In retrospect, this was the most obvious one. I think it is also the most important piece of the solution. Good naps equal good nighttime sleep and vice versa.
4.) Started putting a swim diaper cover on him at night. He was waking up soaked all the time! Sounds crazy but it works.
5.) If he does wake up during the night, I have given myself permission to just pick him up and take him to bed with me. We both fall right back to sleep instead of fighting with him for 2 or 3 hours. And no lights on if I do get him up. This is also from the duh! category, but Austin used to bully me into turning on the lights. I finally asserted myself for his own (and my) benefit.
6.) I try my damndest to get him to bed by his regular bedtime 7:30. This is key as well.
7.) I try to get him outside to play everyday.

He's been doing really well. He only seems to wake up if he has stimulation in the evening in the form of a playgroup or a birthday party. There's really nothing I can do about this because I'm not going to pass on all social activities. It's too important for both of us to have friends.

Why Won't He Sleep?

These days Austin will not go to sleep without freaking out. He wakes up during the night flipping out as well. In the morning he will not sleep in at all. He's averaging about 9 hours sleep per night and often will only napfor about a half hour or 45 minutes. It's totally draining; it's like I have an infant again. Listening to his screams and constant crying is just torture. I don't know what is going on with him. I know it's just a stage, but the past week has drug on like it's been a month.

The Fake Fingernail

Austin does many funny things. Today, however, he had me cracking up so hard I was crying. I was busy running from room to room doing housework. Austin was rummaging around in our spare bedroom. The room is a mess and he finds interesting things in there. When I went in to check on him he smiled really big and showed me his hand. He had found a fake fingertip, complete with a long red fingernail and put it on his finger. It looked so weird! It took me a moment to figure out what I was looking at. Why this item was in my house, I have no idea, but I'm so glad he found it, because it gave me a really good laugh.

Snow, Summersaults, & Artichokes

Austin is so super fun at this age. Tonight it is snowing - hard. And it's the middle of April. Very weird. Austin refused to sit in his high chair tonight. Also weird. So he sat on my lap for most of dinner. I had an artichoke, which I dipped in lemon butter sauce. He also chose to dip his meal in the butter sauce (his crackers, cheese, etc.) After I had pulled off all of the artichoke leaves, the heart remained. I had to eat it with one hand, ice cream cone style, since he was on my lap. Austin wanted some too so we sat and ate a yummy artichoke heart with as much enthusiasum as two people sharing an ice cream cone. (Austin does not actually eat ice cream because it is too cold.) We are two crazy vegetarians.
When it was time for bed he exercised his usual delay tactics, but tonight he was especially creative. Whenever I said it was time for bed he would do a summersault. In a rather urgent manner, like it was a pressing piece of business that had to get done before retiring for the night. We read Baby Signs for Bedtime before bed. He was doing the signs all exaggeratedly and cracking up.
He is so fun! I didn't want to put him to bed.

More Squirrel Please

This is my first time blogging ever. I've fought it for a long time, but now I have a story to share. Last weekend, Brian and I got food poisioning. It was HORRIBLE. We were sick ALL night long. The next day we took turns taking care of Austin and it was challenging to say the least. We were still very weak and nauseous. Of course Austin would not take a nap...all day long. But the thing that I remember most about that day is not that it was one of the worst days of my life, but one little thing that Austin did.
Austin has recently been signing "more" for things other than food; this is new. He'll use it when he wants his book read to him again, etc. He also has started signing "more" and "please" together, which pleases me as well.
That morning, he noticed a squirrel in our backyard. He laughed and squealed as he watched it run around our yard. When it ran out of his sight he quickly turned to me and signed, "More please." I had to laugh out loud and explain to him that I had no control over the squirrel.
I loved this moment and revel the fact that, overall, this moment was more powerful than a baterium of salonella.