This kid is going to be give me a real run for my money.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Fearless Finn at Fourteen Months
Here's Finny basically walking off the kitchen counter into Nan's arms or mine--after he does a little spin move and some rump-shaking, of course.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Two and a Half Man
Will tells stories now. He is endlessly entertaining, and I look forward to seeing him in the morning just so I can hear what he's going to say.
The other day, he told me it was time for a "puppet show" (he gets this from My Gym) and proceeded to narrate a story in which a dog named Spot went to an island where "the trains were chugging all around, and the ducks were swimming all around, and one duck got off on the sidewalk and said 'Hi!'" I often eavesdrop as he quietly acts out scenes with his Noah's Ark animals.
The videos I'm trying to post of these story-telling skills are apparently too big to upload, so instead I'll post Dave's interview with Will in which he explains where his favorite plane and truck are going.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Things I've Learned the Hard Way
[Tip: Anyone who's not interested in the minutiae of life with little ones should skip to the bottom of this post and enjoy the photo portion only!]
Having two kids in sixteen months is really an experience unto itself. As Finny approaches the age at which Will became a big brother (he's about six weeks away from that marker), my brain has had a little breathing room--just a little--and I find myself being both intro- and retrospective.
So here are some things I've learned about having two closely-spaced babies. Most of these things I learned the hard way, or at least not without some amount of mental resistance.
1. When you can carry your little baby in a Bjorn or an Ergo (aka, for the first seven or so months of his life), that is THE EASY PART. People made remarks about how easy I made it look, but the reality is that--at least compared to now--it WAS easy. Because Finn was a winter baby, I had to nurse him in the car in those early months--but when the weather was warmer, I nursed him right there on the woodchips while Will caroused on the playground. Fitting in frequent feedings was something I had to think about, but not much. I basically followed Will's schedule, and Finn did too.
My point is not, "Pshaw! Anyone can handle two under two!" My point is: It's going to get trickier logistically, so insofar as it's possible, enjoy the convenience of the baby-as-accessory phase. I'm SO HAPPY that I can look back fondly on those days of Finn sleeping through Will's MyGym classes and playgroups, instead of feeling like I took them for granted.
2. You must use Munchkin straw sippy cups if you don't want milk to spill all over and therefore ruin a $36 lunchbox.
Let me clarify: I didn't mean to purchase a $36 lunchbox in the first place. I was out with the boys one day when it was flurrying, and we were at Legacy Place, and they weren't happy in the stroller, but they were dressed for the weather, and Will was about to start preschool. I grabbed a trendy robot lunchbox whose vinyl looked hardy enough, and I rushed to pay for it, and there was no way I was backing out after she'd rung me up and I was staring at that ridiculous receipt. Neither I nor Will even particularly like robots! And if anything, I go out of my way to avoid looking like a hipster who wants to pay a chunk of change for a trendy lunchbox! But I was stuck!
And then I threw a few of our B-list sippies in there and the milk seeped into the insulation of the lunchbox, and that thing was TOAST. No amount of scrubbing or machine washing could undo that doozy, so I trudged out to LL Bean to buy this lunchbox. I love it--it fits two sippy cups standing right-side-up, and a hard ice pack, and a couple of food containers, and it's not at all trendy.
But the other lesson was, stick with the greatest straw sippy cups ever, which are these Munchkin ones. I know that everyone has a different experience with every cup, but it's so weird to me that one review here says "not for biters," because Will is most definitely a straw-biter, and these are the only ones that have held up in our household. They really also are the most spill-proof we've found, and they're top-rack dishwasher safe, and I trust them. My only complaint is that some of the two-packs have traditional "boy" and "girl" colors mixed in, and I can't always order specific colors.
3. Going to the playground is a workout, and the diaper bag has become all-important again.
I still don't believe the celebrity moms who say they've maintained their figure "chasing after their kids," mostly because I think that since they have people who work for them and help them (which is great!) and many of them still work part- or full-time jobs (also great!), it's hard to buy that they're getting an hour of pure chasing-kid time in per day. But now, I sort of see why they might *think* they are toning their calves on the playground, because one semi-competent mobile kid plus one incompetent and fearless kid equals an epic morning of sprinting in many directions.
In the last two days (our first playground-worthy days of the season!) I have developed a timing strategy for keeping track of both boys without panicking. I've named it (come on, you all know I like to name things) the 5/2 strategy, and it's making me suspect I was a QB coach in a former life.
It's simple: if both boys aren't right next to me, that I need to trail Finny much more closely. The maximum ratio in terms of distance from each is 5:2, so I could be 15 feet from Will but only 6 feet from Finny. You all can do the math.
The more important piece of the 5/2 strategy is the timing, though. I try to keep my attention on Finny for 5 seconds, and then I locate and check in on Will for no more than 2 before returning to my little loose cannon, who thinks that if he just walks off the top step, the next one will magically rise to meet him.
So, the diaper bag. It faded from the spotlight for a while, and now it is back with a vengeance. Here is what seems to be necessary for an hours-long playground visit:
The notable items left off this list are things I brought to the park when Will was this age that fall into one of two categories: So Rarely Used That It's Not Worth Packing and/or Huge Pain to Keep Track of When You Have Two Toddlers.
Extra set of clothes/socks, little toy cars or balls of any size, diaper cream, an entire lunch--these all fall into one or both of those categories.
Now for those playground photos:
Having two kids in sixteen months is really an experience unto itself. As Finny approaches the age at which Will became a big brother (he's about six weeks away from that marker), my brain has had a little breathing room--just a little--and I find myself being both intro- and retrospective.
So here are some things I've learned about having two closely-spaced babies. Most of these things I learned the hard way, or at least not without some amount of mental resistance.
1. When you can carry your little baby in a Bjorn or an Ergo (aka, for the first seven or so months of his life), that is THE EASY PART. People made remarks about how easy I made it look, but the reality is that--at least compared to now--it WAS easy. Because Finn was a winter baby, I had to nurse him in the car in those early months--but when the weather was warmer, I nursed him right there on the woodchips while Will caroused on the playground. Fitting in frequent feedings was something I had to think about, but not much. I basically followed Will's schedule, and Finn did too.
My point is not, "Pshaw! Anyone can handle two under two!" My point is: It's going to get trickier logistically, so insofar as it's possible, enjoy the convenience of the baby-as-accessory phase. I'm SO HAPPY that I can look back fondly on those days of Finn sleeping through Will's MyGym classes and playgroups, instead of feeling like I took them for granted.
2. You must use Munchkin straw sippy cups if you don't want milk to spill all over and therefore ruin a $36 lunchbox.
Let me clarify: I didn't mean to purchase a $36 lunchbox in the first place. I was out with the boys one day when it was flurrying, and we were at Legacy Place, and they weren't happy in the stroller, but they were dressed for the weather, and Will was about to start preschool. I grabbed a trendy robot lunchbox whose vinyl looked hardy enough, and I rushed to pay for it, and there was no way I was backing out after she'd rung me up and I was staring at that ridiculous receipt. Neither I nor Will even particularly like robots! And if anything, I go out of my way to avoid looking like a hipster who wants to pay a chunk of change for a trendy lunchbox! But I was stuck!
And then I threw a few of our B-list sippies in there and the milk seeped into the insulation of the lunchbox, and that thing was TOAST. No amount of scrubbing or machine washing could undo that doozy, so I trudged out to LL Bean to buy this lunchbox. I love it--it fits two sippy cups standing right-side-up, and a hard ice pack, and a couple of food containers, and it's not at all trendy.
But the other lesson was, stick with the greatest straw sippy cups ever, which are these Munchkin ones. I know that everyone has a different experience with every cup, but it's so weird to me that one review here says "not for biters," because Will is most definitely a straw-biter, and these are the only ones that have held up in our household. They really also are the most spill-proof we've found, and they're top-rack dishwasher safe, and I trust them. My only complaint is that some of the two-packs have traditional "boy" and "girl" colors mixed in, and I can't always order specific colors.
3. Going to the playground is a workout, and the diaper bag has become all-important again.
I still don't believe the celebrity moms who say they've maintained their figure "chasing after their kids," mostly because I think that since they have people who work for them and help them (which is great!) and many of them still work part- or full-time jobs (also great!), it's hard to buy that they're getting an hour of pure chasing-kid time in per day. But now, I sort of see why they might *think* they are toning their calves on the playground, because one semi-competent mobile kid plus one incompetent and fearless kid equals an epic morning of sprinting in many directions.
In the last two days (our first playground-worthy days of the season!) I have developed a timing strategy for keeping track of both boys without panicking. I've named it (come on, you all know I like to name things) the 5/2 strategy, and it's making me suspect I was a QB coach in a former life.
It's simple: if both boys aren't right next to me, that I need to trail Finny much more closely. The maximum ratio in terms of distance from each is 5:2, so I could be 15 feet from Will but only 6 feet from Finny. You all can do the math.
The more important piece of the 5/2 strategy is the timing, though. I try to keep my attention on Finny for 5 seconds, and then I locate and check in on Will for no more than 2 before returning to my little loose cannon, who thinks that if he just walks off the top step, the next one will magically rise to meet him.
So, the diaper bag. It faded from the spotlight for a while, and now it is back with a vengeance. Here is what seems to be necessary for an hours-long playground visit:
- Diapers and wipes, of course (Although I try not to change diapers while we're out, if I have to, I do it in the car because I am a totally unabashed MINIVAN WORSHIPER and I CAN.)
- Those Munchkin sippies filled with water or milk for the big boy
- Nuby sippies like these for the non-straw-using little boy (least spillage for a straight-up sippy in our usage history)
- Snacks in little containers or plastic baggies
- A book or two to keep them focused while they're sitting down to snack
- Layers and baseball caps
- Sunscreen stick
- CleanWell hand sanitizing spray
- Vaseline (I used this to get jelly off my hands when I was out of wipes AND to dab on Will's hands when he tripped and scraped up his palms today)
- Tissues, napkins, washcloths
The notable items left off this list are things I brought to the park when Will was this age that fall into one of two categories: So Rarely Used That It's Not Worth Packing and/or Huge Pain to Keep Track of When You Have Two Toddlers.
Extra set of clothes/socks, little toy cars or balls of any size, diaper cream, an entire lunch--these all fall into one or both of those categories.
Now for those playground photos:
Friday, February 25, 2011
Fast Like a Christmas Tree
I found this while I was downloading videos off our Flip, and I had to post it here. It's a video of Will and Uncle Kai from our Christmas in New Jersey, and it basically illustrates why it's so tough to leave after a week of this, all the time:
Monday, February 21, 2011
Catching Up: Will Goes to Preschool!
That's right--my firstborn has started preschool, three mornings a week.
We started by spending an hour and a half there together a few weeks ago. He went by himself the next day, and it was so odd to drive away without him. It had nothing to do with trusting his teachers (I do) or feeling like it wasn't the right decision (I don't); it just felt like the baby monitor was out of range, and instead of toggling the channel switch back and forth to get better reception, I was just...leaving. With no window into my son's life. It was weird, and when it bordered on unsettling, I'd repeat (out loud): It's good for him, and it's good for me. It's good for him, and it's good for me.
On his second Monday, he was unusually cranky, but I chalked it up to tiredness and transition. Then I got an email from the director asking if it was normal that Will had fallen asleep on her floor for a "morning nap." Oh. Not normal, no, so I picked him up early, and soon afterward my mother's intuition detected that he might have an ear infection. HAHA! Just kidding. He clutched the left side of his head and said, "Mommy, my ear isn't feeling better!" We went to the doctor, where I paid fifteen dollars for the (totally wonderful, but still) pediatrician to confirm Will's self-diagnosis, and then we got Baby's First Amoxicillin Rx, and that was that. He was cleared to go for the rest of the week, and he warmed to it and is having a great time.
That's a Toy Story backpack he's sporting--he is officially "into" Buzz, Woody, Jessie and the gang, although his loyalty has recently been tested by what he calls "Cars Movie!" He will sometimes get so excited at the mere idea of it that he'll jump around yelling "CARS MOVIE! I KNOW JUST THE ONE! WHAT IS LIGHTING-DA-QUEEN DOING, DADDY? CARS MOVIE!"
(He also has taken to narrating his toys' actions as if they were characters in a book. For example, the other day he was hopping a little stuffed dog around, and I heard him say, "Ah-choo, the puppy cried." Seriously, like he was reading a story about the dog.)
(Last thing, I promise: Will says "I love you so MUCH, Mommy!" exactly like that. With the emphasis and upward inflection on the MUCH. I really want to capture it on video, but in case I don't, I need it recorded here because it is my favorite thing ever.)
We started by spending an hour and a half there together a few weeks ago. He went by himself the next day, and it was so odd to drive away without him. It had nothing to do with trusting his teachers (I do) or feeling like it wasn't the right decision (I don't); it just felt like the baby monitor was out of range, and instead of toggling the channel switch back and forth to get better reception, I was just...leaving. With no window into my son's life. It was weird, and when it bordered on unsettling, I'd repeat (out loud): It's good for him, and it's good for me. It's good for him, and it's good for me.
On his second Monday, he was unusually cranky, but I chalked it up to tiredness and transition. Then I got an email from the director asking if it was normal that Will had fallen asleep on her floor for a "morning nap." Oh. Not normal, no, so I picked him up early, and soon afterward my mother's intuition detected that he might have an ear infection. HAHA! Just kidding. He clutched the left side of his head and said, "Mommy, my ear isn't feeling better!" We went to the doctor, where I paid fifteen dollars for the (totally wonderful, but still) pediatrician to confirm Will's self-diagnosis, and then we got Baby's First Amoxicillin Rx, and that was that. He was cleared to go for the rest of the week, and he warmed to it and is having a great time.
That's a Toy Story backpack he's sporting--he is officially "into" Buzz, Woody, Jessie and the gang, although his loyalty has recently been tested by what he calls "Cars Movie!" He will sometimes get so excited at the mere idea of it that he'll jump around yelling "CARS MOVIE! I KNOW JUST THE ONE! WHAT IS LIGHTING-DA-QUEEN DOING, DADDY? CARS MOVIE!"
(He also has taken to narrating his toys' actions as if they were characters in a book. For example, the other day he was hopping a little stuffed dog around, and I heard him say, "Ah-choo, the puppy cried." Seriously, like he was reading a story about the dog.)
(Last thing, I promise: Will says "I love you so MUCH, Mommy!" exactly like that. With the emphasis and upward inflection on the MUCH. I really want to capture it on video, but in case I don't, I need it recorded here because it is my favorite thing ever.)
Friday, February 18, 2011
Catching Up: Finn's 1st Birthday Party
This video is courtesy of Auntie Ceci:
We celebrated Finn's birthday (almost a month ago, closer to when his birthday actually HAPPENED) at MyGym, and it was a total blast.
I'll be doing more Catching Up posts as the days go by--it makes me sad when I'm not keeping up here, and it almost invariably means I'm not keeping up with my one-line-a-day books or my kids' baby journals. Things are not getting any less busy, so I need to stop using that as an excuse if I'm ever going to write here regularly again!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Finny Turns One
My Finny turned one today. Although I've been referring to him as a one-year-old for almost a month, it still startles me that now it's real.
I haven't written here for a month. It's been too crazy, and I'm writing in my new one-line-a-day journals for each kid, and I never have time or access to type during the day. Or night. I'm too busy because my boys are SO. BUSY.
My hope was to make this post all about my younger son, but the reality is, Finn won't have the same undivided blog attention that Will enjoyed. So...this is what Finn's been up to (and what his big brother's been doing, too):
I haven't written here for a month. It's been too crazy, and I'm writing in my new one-line-a-day journals for each kid, and I never have time or access to type during the day. Or night. I'm too busy because my boys are SO. BUSY.
My hope was to make this post all about my younger son, but the reality is, Finn won't have the same undivided blog attention that Will enjoyed. So...this is what Finn's been up to (and what his big brother's been doing, too):
We went to Edaville to ride the steam train.
We celebrated Christmas in Boston...
we celebrated Christmas in New Jersey.
Finn dive-bombed cousin Brendan!
He got tickled by Grandmom.
Will went ice skating for the first time!
Back to the birthday boy: we celebrated early in Jersey.
Will triked with Finny on the back, and then:
they switched places.
We survived a two-plus-foot blizzard.
With Nan and Mamp.
And Finny turned one.
ONE.
He's a wonderful boy with a great personality. Easily amused, quickly indignant, rapidly distracted. He's begun to say (versions of) "Up" and "Baby" and "Please." Unlike Will, who sits up after a nap and starts in with the questions, Finn takes thirty minutes to wake up. In that time, he crashes into my chest, nuzzles my neck, rests on me while he regains his land legs. He's constantly working on how to be even more mobile, which can be...inconvenient.
But he's dimpled and chubby and busy and happy and still my little baby--no matter what the calendar says.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)