Because I have a bad memory

You know you have a toddler when you are checking out at the store and find a half-eaten Triscuit in your wallet.  Or when you know all the words to theme songs such as Mighty Machines, Wonder Pets! or Dora the Explorer.  Or if you find yourself eating goldfish, animal crackers and Kix for snacks.

With the weather improving, we have been getting outside more and more.
We are in the process of building a sandbox in our backyard for Eli. When I say we are in the process, I mean, Blaine, and I mean that we are discussing it, we haven't actually started the project.
But have been stocking up on the perfect sandbox trucks and toys.  Yesterday Blaine and Eli were out back playing with the newest truck in the dirt.  Here is how the conversation went down.

Blaine: We really need to get more of these tucks.
Me: Oh really, why, does he love them?
Blaine:  Yeah, and he is hogging on the toys, and not letting me dig.  See watch, he lets me have it for like a second before its his turn again.

Seriously?

Sometimes I feel like we have two toddlers living here...and I mean that in the nicest way possible.  Its a good thing Blaine likes playing with trucks for hours on end, I can already tell Eli has his imagination.  The funny thing is that he was really serious.

Anyway we took our (actual) toddler and our almost 6 month old to the doctor this morning.  We actually just went for their well-checks, but it was a good thing because three out of the four of sound like we have been life-long smokers hacking up our lungs and we needed to get Eli checked out.  Turns out its nothing more than allergies and maybe a little cold. 

Not that I think anyone reading this is honestly interested in these stats, but I want to have them here to look back on.  On the way to the office, Blaine and I were discussing how quickly you forget things about your children--naps schedules, how old they were when they slept through the night, got their first teeth, rolled over....when you are in it, it seems like such a huge deal and how in the world will you every forget that?!?
But you do, or, at least I do. So, here it goes...

Eli
Weight- 25 lbs. (10-20%)
Height- 32 1/2 in (5-10%)

Owen
Weight- 18 lbs. (75-85%)
Height- 26 in (50-75%)

So, yeah, Owen will be beating up Eli in no time.
The one good thing I have found that comes out of getting shots, is the long nap that follows, the only thing allowing me to write this post today.

Just for the record, Owen is sitting up on his own now, playing with lots of toys, he thinks his brother is a rock star and watches every move he makes, literally follows him around the room with his eyes, he is still getting up once a night to eat, but its more because I'm not quite ready to give up that one night feeding.  It is the sweetest time of the day for me when he is calm and cuddly and I enjoy that time with him because I know it wont last too much longer.  I am trying to cherish every moment with him as a baby and not rush things to happen.  He loves solids, and I can tell feeding him will  be a totally different experience than we had with Eli.    He is just sweet, and chunky, and oh so lovable. 

Two Years!

Today is Eli's 2nd birthday. I cant believe it!
When I pictured myself having kids, I always envisioned the baby part, but never really thought about the fact that my babies would grow up to be kids.  Kids that talk and run around, have their own opinions, have their own friends and interests.  Kids that can reach into the junk drawer in the kitchen and reach the sissors (don't worry, I was right there!), or say "I love you" to me and dad just out of the blue, or talk to me an entire car trip asking the same questions over and over again and pointing out every truck by name that we pass, or make me laugh because you are just full of personality and jokes, and laughter and you have a funny little accent.  But here we are. I am learning as we go, and I hope you think I am doing a good job.  Although we have some challenging days, you make having a two year old so much fun!

We celebrated his birthday with a small family gathering at our house on Sunday.  It was great fun, and most importantly, Eli had a blast!  I think he was most excited about having some of his favorite people at his house where he could show them all of his toys and show off. 

We didnt have many decorations this time around, but I did try to give a little personal touch by show-casing some pictures from the last year (thank you Martha Stewart).

 Eli stayed with my parents Saturday night so we could clean the house without a trail of crumbs and toys following us, and Owen stayed home with us and helped me get ready for the party.

 The first guests to arrive were Lolli, Pop and Grandma. I think Eli would have been happy with just them at his party. He insisted they sit outside with him and play trucks.

 Once they got too cold, he convinced Blaine to play until his cousins arrived.

 Im really not creative. At all.  So, this was my attempt to make Eli a cake that I thought he would love for his birthday. And I gotta say, it came out better than I thought.  He loved it, and his cousins loved the 'dirt' and grabbed it in handfuls as soon as the candles were blown out.

 We had been practicing how he would blow out the candles at his birthday, so he was ready!  We had actually been practicing since Hanukah, where he tried to blow out the candles on the menorah every night. I actually think that was his favorite part of Hanukah all together because if you ask him anything about it, all he says is "candles!" with a big smile.

 He liked the cake, and tried to share with Blaine.

 Owen was napping when the guests arrived and never made it into his party outfit.  He sported a diaper and a shirt that says 'Chick Magnet' the whole day-classy.

 The party ended with a dance party in the living room with Eli and cousin Simone

Of course he had to play with some new toys. He opened his new fire truck and a super duper cool tent from Aunt Carol and Uncle Jimmy.

I honestly dont know who was more excited, Eli or Jimmy because Jimmy put together the tent in Eli's room during the party and was like a kid playing with it.  But after opening those two presnents, Eli was content and didnt want to open anymore! We played up until bedtime.

Eli, I can not imagine my life without you in it. You bring such joy and laughter into this house and into our family. 

 You amaze me. To watch you grow and learn, and laugh, and run, and jump, speak in sentences, have your own opinions, and become a big brother. I love you with every beat of my heart.

I can not believe it's been two years, the most fulfilling years or our lives.

Happy birthday my little Love Bug!

Update for today...we sang Happy Birthday to Eli probably at least 12 times today and did cake and candles with just our little family tonight. 
I think Eli liked the cake.

 (notice the cake is half eaten, he replaced the candle and decided it needed to be blown out again)



Here is to a happy new year!

When we were growing up we had a tradition that every Christmas night, we would set up a picnic on the floor of my parents room for dinner and my mom would buy all of our favorite things to eat.  We would have a smorgishborg of different foods. It was so much fun! The three of us kids would make a palate on the floor and have a little slumber party in their room that night.  I am hoping to carry on this tradition, as soon as I get get Eli to sit still to eat, and Owen has a few teeth!
Instead, we spent the night at my parents house while Blaine was at work, and stayed in our PJ's all day just hanging with Lolli and Pop.  Somehow my dad convinced Eli to watch fishing shows with him (boring!!!).  So now, when my dad is not at home, and I tell Eli he is at work, he says "Pop is fishing big fish!"

Getting Eli to eat is still a struggle most days, so I'm not sure a picnic in the house would fare, but I'm still on a quest to find creative ways to get this kid to eat, and eat healthy.

Here is my latest attempt:

It worked!

I only used blueberry muffins this time, but now that I know that he likes them, I may puree some veggies or something and try to sneak in a serving for the day!

Things have been pretty low-key around here. Just trying to get ready to have a TWO year old in the house! I cant believe Eli is about to have another birthday.

We are definately feeling the 2's creeping up on us these days! 

His favorite hobbies these days are playing with cars and trucks, running is a HUGE, very exciting past-time, but only while he is yelling "I'm running! I'm running so fast!"  He loves his brother and likes to think he is going to "Go get him" him in the morning when he wakes up in the morning.  Going downtown and watching all of the buses, police cars, taxis and big trucks is such a thrill for him, not to mention he gets to run around Kruger's and no one tells him to be careful because there is nothing he can break!  His favorite thing to watch is Mighty Machines.  He loves red meat, brisket is the favorite! Oh, and he has perfected the sound of a siren, and we hear it all. day. long.

Owen is almost 5 months now.  He is very interested in real food, and we have started a little bit of rice cereal.  He loves it.  He gives me big hugs and when I hold him, likes to 'stand' and be carried in the Ergo.  I believe he is a good sleeper, but starting to teethe, so are dealing with a very, very drooly baby who sometimes likes to wake up for no apparent reason at night.  He loves hanging out in his crib watching his mobile and laying on his playmat.

(Yes, that is all drool on his shirt)

We brought in the new year by putting the boys to bed, drinking a glass of wine, and heading to bed ourselves. It was crazy! 

I have never been one to do much for new years, but I am very excited about what this year will hold for us.

Resolutions? I make none, but goals, goals I can aspire to.

Make more time for dates with Blaine. As parents, it's easy to lose track of time, and at the end of the week, it's often just easiest to order Chinese, sit on the couch together, watch TV and call that a date. But as nice as nights like that are, I need to make the time and effort to get a babysitter and actually go sit across a table from him and eat real food, have real conversations and have 'us' time.

Get back to my running.  I have slowly been getting back to it, but I want to really make an effort and choose a race to train for, maybe a half marathon.  I'm anxious for Eli and Owen to get involved with sports and show them the importance of physical activity, and I think that starts with setting the example.

I need to remember to take time for me. I already do this by working out and I know that the better I feel about myself, the better parent I will be. The lack of a stress-reliever, or a break from being the responsible one all the time can take its toll. Its obvious by my toe nails that I dont do enough of that for myself!

Organize!  Every closet in this house in an embarrassment!  I need to find the time to clean out every closet and get organized.

Enjoy every moment with my kids.  Even though some of the stages kids go through can seem frustrating (sleeping, teething, terrible 2's, etc.) I don't want to rush through any stage because I will never get that time back.

It has been a remarkable year for us as a family, as we watched Eli grow in leaps and bounds, and welcomed our sweet Owen into our family. And looking back there are a few things that I wish I had done differently and things I could have done better.

I need to remember that Eli may do things that frustrate me, but it’s (usually) not on purpose. And when it is, it’s helpful to remember that he is testing us, and learning from us. The best thing to do in those moments is to remember that they are acting age-appropriately, and that we as the parent must do the same. That moment may be the perfect opportunity to teach them of consequences like time-outs.  Before I react, I should take a deep breathe, step away from the room for a second and remember how I should react.

I will remember to praise more. Children thrive in an environment where they feel loved, and valued. The more positive attention a child gets, the less they act out in other negative ways. My parents took every, single opportunity, and they still do, to tell us how much they love us, and they show us with smiles, hugs, and other ways every time we see and talk to them. I thrive to carry that over to my kids and make sure I tell them every chance I get how proud of them we are, and how much we love them.

I’ll remember to forgive myself. If I have yelled, or gotten frustrated,  or for any others things I wish I did or didn’t do, I will forgive myself. I am human, and not perfect. Too often I beat myself up for every little thing, we judge ourselves, and judge other parents, and feel judged all at the same time.  We are all different; there was no parenting manual given to any of us when we had our kids so we’re all just learning along the way.
Sometimes we have different ideas on how to discipline or treat the boys, but we learn from each other. We’ll make mistakes inevitably.
What’s important is we learn from those too.

So....Here is to a happy, productive new year!!!!

P.S.- As a random side-note, if any moms are reading this who have a baby with cradle cap, I wanted to share that Medicated Selsun Blue, that you can buy at the grocery store works absolute wonders!!!  Owen's cradle cap doesn't even compare to what we went through with Eli and his head, but after two washes, his head is back to looking perfect!