Abel-isms

Seeing the snow: "I need my snowman-suit."

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Me: Do you want to get down, little man?

A: No, I not a man.

M: That's right, you're an Abel.

A: No, I not an Abel. I Sam Flynn.
(He's a little obsessed with "Tron Legacy.")

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Abel's latest thing when he wants something someone else has is to claim, "He took it from me." Today he said this about a toy his brother had, even though I had been in the room and knew that Buster had it first. I replied, "No, Buster had it first."

"But I had it first, too!"

Sweet Afternoon

This afternoon I didn't go to work because Missy had stayed home with a stomach ache. (I detest stomach aches--it's such a non-specific symptom!) Anyway, as I was tucking the boys in for their nap, Abel said "I love you" for the first time. Both boys were sleeping on the floor so much that we took out the crib and toddler bed, laying their mattresses side by side on the floor. Buster asked me to snuggle with him. I laid down between them.

"Mommy," Buster said, "did you take your shoes off?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because my feet will be cold."

"Use a blanket."

"I don't have a blanket."

"You can use my car blanket!"

I obligingly kicked off my shoes and snuggled my legs in his car blanket. He was not willing to share his pillow, however, so I went and grabbed my own.

We chatted for a few minutes about random things, and then one by one, we drifted off to sleep. Well, Abel and I did! When my timer went off 20 minutes later, Buster was still awake. I left him, though, to go accomplish things in the quiet house.

I could have not have better spent that half hour, though. I love snuggling my little people, and it is always a miracle the first time they say "I love you!"

Lost

My mom always said that when you lose something, you should back-track to see where you left it. It usually works. The problem is when something is mislaid, and you subconsciously keep assuming it will turn up. By the time you realize it's really lost, you can't remember the last time you had it and it was lost. It's pretty impossible to track at this point.

Before Abel was born, I crocheted an edge around a blanket for him. It folded up so nice and small that whenever I took him to places where he would be having a nap, I took this blanket. A few months ago, I realized that it had been a while since I had seen the blanket. I'm sure I thought the first time I looked for it that it had just been put in the wrong place. I became certain that it was lost. Through facebook, I asked several friends at whose house he had napped if they had seen it, but they had not. It made me sad, but as usual, time helped me forget.

This morning Abel found the matching burp cloth, and he started asking for his blankie. Even at his age, he remembers.

I wanted to post this so I keep remembering this blanket I made for him. I also wanted to do it just in case any of you who read this blog remember seeing this blanket around your house!

The biggest irony is that I often have an almost super power to find stuff that my kids and husband leave in strange places in the house, but I can't find my own!

Permission Denied

Missy: "Mom, Abel was making himself dirty outside by dumping dirt in his hair."

Me: "Well, I'm going to bathe him in a few minutes, so don't worry about it. Take him back outside."

Missy: "Can we make him dirtier? 'Cause it's lots of fun!"

Me: "No!"

Fantastic Christmas

Well, this week has been tough with a cold going around. It's not so much that the cold has been miserable, but it has prevented playing with friends and cousins. In fact, we didn't even go to my parents' house for the Christmas Eve program last night. We dropped by long enough to pick up the traditional pajamas and trade wrapped gifts to open today.

Today was really wonderful, though. Here are a few pictures from last night and this morning.

New jammies from Bama!

The girls' Santa stuff

Buster's stuff

Kandy has her new American Girl Doll in the cradle I fixed up. She has been asking for an American Girl Doll for 3 years.

And Sunny did get her Baby Alive doll.
Abel got a cool ride-on/push toy. I didn't get a good picture of it, though. He really likes Sunny's doll. I missed the picture of him snuggling it.

Buster and his "cute choo-choo."

We took things really slowly. We looked at stuff from Santa and unwrapped a few things. We played with cool toys from cousins.Then we unwrapped some more things.

Missy got "How to Train your Dragon" and a diary from Santa. This book is from Kandy.

If you're interested, there are tons more pictures in my Picasa album, Christmas 2010.

We managed to make Christmas morning excitement last about 5 hours. The kids have had a great time playing with all their new stuff. Now if we can just get over our sniffles and go play with cousins! I think it's one of our best Christmases ever.

Halloween 2010 (Finally)

Woo-hoo! I finally got the pictures offloaded from Halloween. Enjoy!

Kandy as Jeannie

We loved the skin color insert. "So I can still be modest," said Kandy. Notice her classic Jeannie pose!

Missy as a witch

Sunny as a flapper

Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger strike again! I think someone has been Winnie-the-Pooh every year. I'll have to check my pictures.
(Abel and Buster)

A few days after Halloween, I realized we hadn't photographed our jack-o-lanterns. They were a group effort this year. Everyone got to pick one feature to carve.

Buster. "Take a picture of me with the pumpkins!"

More Communication

Abel is really amazing me. The other day we were eating cookies, and he was trying really hard to say it. "Cuh-cuh," and "ki-ki," were among the variations. The next day, he tried to call my mom "Bama." This morning he started dropping food off his tray. I asked, "Do you want to get down?" He grinned at me, said, "Yay ," or "Yeah," and started clapping his hands. So cute!

Wunch at da Pahk and Other News

Today I asked Buster what he wanted to do. He promptly responded, "Wunch at da pahk!" I thought for a second and decided it sounded like fun. Naturally, he wanted to leave right then, but I explained that in order to eat lunch at the park, I had to make lunch.

We live half a block from a small park. We are not too far from Jordan Park. I thought I understood that he wanted to go to Jordan Park. So assuming, I started to load Abel into the car. (It was close enough to naptime that we didn't have time to walk.) Apparently, he really wanted to walk to the park, so I got Abel and the stroller out. We walked to the small park, and he said, "No! Dat pahk!" He was pointing toward Jordan Park. It was getting even closer to naptime to change at that point, so I managed to get him to eat at the small park.

We sat down and got out the lunch. He drank his juice, but he ate only 3 or 4 bites of sandwich before going to play.

When it was time for Abel's nap, I bundled him into the stroller and started to head home. He had been under the impression that we would go to Jordan Park immediately after the small park instead of another time. He cried the whole way home, continuing with the refrain: "No! Dat pahk!"

We got home, and when he finally stopped crying, I tried to give him his pacifier and lovey on my bed so I could put Abel down. He insisted on his bed. I decided to give the same-time nap in the same room another try. Well, they were certainly happy enough. I heard lots of laughter! I went in to tell them they had 10 minutes to go to sleep, and Buster decided to get out of bed. I gave him the choice between napping on my bed or finishing his lunch.

He's eating his squished sandwich at the dining room table.

And all this at a time that I decided the reason Abel is waking up at night is because there is too much flexibility in his routine. Abel cried for a while after he left.

5 minutes later: The sandwich is almost gone, and Abel is quiet after I tucked him in again.

Sometimes getting out of the routine works, like when we went to the zoo last week. Today I wasn't so lucky. Well, I need to enjoy it while I can. Our Green Beast didn't pass inspection, and the quote to fix it was $1,500. Ben thinks he can do some of the work himself for a little cheaper, so we brought it back home. With his campaign and his calling, I doubt he'll have time until November. We also need a new furnace. Ours is a fire hazard and is releasing small amounts of carbon monoxide through the vents. That trumps the car.

Abel Speaks

Abel is now 10 months old. He has been babbling a good deal. Ma-ma-ma and ba-ba-ba are some his favorite sounds. We have thought he was trying to say the dog's name or doggie, but we weren't sure. Today I was holding him on the couch, and the cat jumped up. Abel pointed right at him and said, "Kee."

He also took a step yesterday without holding onto anything. Yikes!

Why I Stay Home

No, this is not about why I stay home as opposed to going to work, so don't look forward to a feel-good entry. In fact, if you don't want to read about toddler drama and mother venting, I suggest you stop now. ;)

Buster really needed some new shoes. Ben just got paid, so I decided today was a good day to go to the shoe store. We got there, and Buster started throwing a tantrum because we forgot to bring his water bottle. I tried to give him a cup leftover from dinner last night, but he wouldn't take it. I managed to settle him down, and as we strolled across the parking lot, I was feeling pretty good about myself. "Wow," I thought, "two kids isn't so hard. Hey, they both fit in the stroller! I've learned a lot this summer about just getting out and doing stuff. Crazy that it took me 5 kids to get to this point."

We got to the store. Buster didn't want his shoes off. He wasn't sure about the whole foot-measuring process, and he liked the pink girl shoes. The salesman came out with some cool new red and black shoes with velcro (yay!) . He didn't want to put them on. Then we got them on him, and liked them. He liked them so much that he wanted to wear them outside. Off he ran, right out the front door. I stuck him back in the stroller and bought the shoes.

As we left the store, he wanted to walk in his new shoes. We were in the middle of a big parking lot, though, so I wouldn't let him. The tears began again. We got to the car, and Abel cried about getting into his carseat. I realized he had a stinky diaper, so I pulled him out to change him. (One of my laments about my big green van is that it doesn't have a great place for changing diapers on the go.) I started to change him and realized he needed new clothes, too. Meanwhile, Buster found the cup I had offered him earlier. He finished it off and started begging for more water repeatedly. He even dripped a few drops of water onto his brother. Abel was wriggling like crazy during the whole change, and Buster kept begging. I finally got Abel dressed, and Buster dropped his straw and lid right onto the dirty changing pad. Grrrr... I got Abel back in his carseat, and he started to cry. I strapped Buster in, already crying and still begging for a drink. I put the stroller in the car. At this point, I saw the mother in the car behind me. "This is why I stay home, " I said.

"Do you have twins in there?" she asked.

"No, just a 9-month-old and a 2-year-old, and they're both crying."

"That's almost the same thing," the sympathetic mother responded.

Anyway, I got in the car and gave Abel his pacifier. He, at least, settled down. I then told Buster I was going to Wendy's. "Would you like ice cream or a drink?" I asked. He replied that he would like a drink. I went and bought myself a Frosty and got a free water for him. He was very content. We drove home, and I marveled at how stubborn a toddler can be. He was so stuck on the drink that he didn't even consider ice cream. We got home, and I asked what he wanted for lunch. Can you guess? "Ice cream," came the response.

We were only gone for about 45 minutes, but it seemed a lot longer. As I told that other mother: Now I remember why I stay home almost every day.

Abel 4 months!

Abel is 4 months old! Here are several pictures of him on the momentous day.

At his doctor appointment a week later, he was about 14 lbs. and 25 1/2 inches long. I don't remember the specifics because Buster, Kandy, and Missy all had their birthday well-checks on the same day. (Sunny went to a friend's house so she wouldn't feel left out!) With all the chaos, they forgot to write it on the form for me.
Anyway, he is about 50th percentile in height and weight, and about 25th percentile in head circumference. This bears out my feelings! He is smaller than his siblings were at this age, and he does have a narrow head. The cheeks sure have filled out in the last week or so!

He is also sleeping through the night, and he moved into the crib in the room with Buster this week, too. He is still napping in my room, though. He can roll both ways, and he loves to coo, gurgle, and giggle. He is also mastering the art of blowing raspberries and loves to take out his pacifier so he can shove his fists in his mouth.

Abel Rolled!

As I posted earlier today, Abel is 3 months old. I just set him on his stomach, and he lifted up his head really well. I looked away for a minute, and when I looked again, he was on his back! I put him back on his stomach, and he rolled over again. And again!

Abel 3 months

Abel is 3 months old today!

Family Picture

I use Picasa to organize my photos. The latest version has basic photo recognition software and enables you to label the faces in your photos. Then you can search your photos by who is in them. In doing this, I was astonished to discover that the only pictures with Ben, me, and our first 4 children were huge family photos at the Smith Reunion last summer! In an attempt to rectify this, we sat last night for my dad to take some pictures of us. They're not professional, but they are fun to have! The one above is my favorite, but the rest are fun. I'm amazed we got that many of us to look that good in one picture!

Abel laughed!

Abel 2 months

Abel had his 2 month appointment on January 20th, but it has taken me a while to post it!

Weight: 11 lbs, 12 oz.; 50th percentile
Height: 23 1/2 inches; 75th percentile
Head: 39 cm; 25th percentile

He is growing and developing so well! He loves to smile and coo. Now if I can just get him to sleep through the night.

Mom's Pay Day!

Today Abel woke up and greeted me with a smile instead of a cry. He is also starting to sleep about 6 hours in a row at night. Hallelujah!

2 Week Doctor Visit

Abel went to the doctor today. He is 8 pounds! She is pleased with his weight gain, and so are we! He is healthy in every other way, too.

Running to Stand Still

Yes, it's long and musing. There is a point at the end, though, I promise!

"Abel" did not gain very much weight before his 2-day visit, so the doctor decreed that he should eat every 2 hours. Abel is also a lazy nurser. He generally likes to eat about 20 minutes per side. This means that out of every 2 hours, I have been spending roughly 50 minutes in the process of feeding, burping, and changing him. Luckily, with the Thanksgiving break, Ben and the older girls have been around much of the time to help. My mom has also been amazing. I have sometimes lamented the fact that she doesn't just come to stay for a whole week after the birth of a baby, but I think it's better this way. She didn't come for an entire week, but she can still come when I need her past the first week.

Anyway, I think Abel is putting on weight nicely now. I don't have a scale, but his cheeks sure seem chubbier to me! The past couple of days I have sometimes let him stretch 2 1/2 to 3 hours between feedings. This morning, he ate around 9am. Then he actually stayed awake after, which is unusual for him. (He mostly likes to be awake from 11pm to 1am and not much else.) I then tried to put him down for a nap. I laid down with him, and naturally, we both fell asleep. Buster came in when the TV came to a break, which is good because it woke me up. I realized I should make some lunch for Sunny and Buster. I was hoping Abel would continue to sleep for a while, but as I chivvied Buster and Sunny downstairs so they wouldn't be underfoot while cooking, Abel started crying.

I must confess that I often use the television to keep the kids out from underfoot. Sometimes it goes beyond use to abuse, unfortunately. Such was the case this morning. The TV had been on for most of the time from 7am until 11am, except for breakfast. Neither Sunny nor Buster was there the WHOLE time, but they had each watched about 3 hours. So here I am, trying to make lunch. Buster started opening all the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen, and Sunny was whining. After they went downstairs, Sunny was pouting (she wanted me to play with her) and Buster was amusing himself by hitting her and pulling her hair. Abel was crying in his bed. I decided that he could keep crying for a few minutes while I got lunch started.

I served lunch and fed the baby. After lunch, Sunny said she was tired and went downstairs. Buster finished, and I put him down for a nap. Abel, exhausted after his crying spell and waiting for his lunch, zonked out while eating and remained so after I put him in bed.

At about 12:15, I looked around the house. An hour before, three kids had been adamant about needing something! Crying, whining, misbehaving... Now, peace and quiet. I almost didn't know what to do with myself. Now I have had a delightful hour and a half. I put dinner in the Crock-Pot (yay!), did some dishes, and still had time for a peaceful lunch and leisure time in front of the computer. It's about time to get Abel up and feed him again, but now I'm recharged and ready.

I have learned that in parenting, it's often not so much bad days as bad hours. Sometimes it's just a very bad 10 minutes. And sometimes, yes, there are so many bad periods that the whole day seems bad. If I can take a minute to regroup and tell myself it can't last much longer, I somehow survive. Today it was a quick prayer as Abel started crying, and I knew that to cope, he would just have to wait a minute. I'm grateful for the inspiration I receive in this challenging job. And it is crazy to go from insanity to near-boredom in 10 minutes flat. Oh, and now I hear Abel.

Have a great day!

A's Early Days

November 19, 2009 marked the birth of our fifth child. His web-name is under consideration, but it starts with an "A!" He was born at 7:17am. He weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 21 inches long. Labor stalled for a little until a very helpful nurse suggested I change position. He didn't wait long after that!!!

I was going to put some pictures, but there were so many! Click on the link below to see the whole web album of his early days.

A's early days

We stayed in the hospital for about 36 hours. I wanted to sleep in my own bed the second night, and there was also snow forecast for Saturday morning. He had bilirubin levels that caused some concern. I had to take him back for blood tests on Saturday and Sunday. At home, I found our bed was a sunny place to nap, so he has been taking morning naps stripped to his diaper on our bed. He is doing just fine now!

The older girls are thrilled to have a new baby. Buster doesn't quite get it yet. He has learned that when I'm nursing he can't shove the baby off my lap. This is progress! I'm still trying to catch up from missing so much sleep while in labor. My mom has been a great help, and Ben's first day of work back was today.