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Love blogging!
Six hours after I posted my last entry, everything was different! Imagine what I would have missed had I not made a conscious effort to note what was going on! Declan was able to lift his head on his hands and knees THAT NIGHT! He's still only making tentative forward motion with his knees before his arms collapse, but I imagine it's tough losing that fifth anchor of the head! He's SO cute! He'll just go up on hands and knees and rock there and giggle. He's also really working on making sounds. His big one now is this weird coughing bark, which sounds terrible, but it's super cute! Gavi loves Declan so much that we have to watch him! But one sweet thing was a couple of days ago, Gavi and Dex and I were reading an animal book while Caleb watched tv. (I don't let my kids watch a lot of tv, but Gavi isn't interested at all. My mom is like "yay!" while I'm like "dang it, I need a smidge o' time to myself to get some STUFF done! WATCH THE MAGIC BOX!") Anyway, we were reading books when Gavi got up and grabbed a sheet off of Caleb's bed, placed it gently over Declan's back, then brought up all the edges so Declan was completely covered about four times with the sheet. And we generally have a rule that Gavi can't put anything on him because I'm so scared of him covering his head, but he didn't even go CLOSE to his head! Sweet boy. Anyway, the sweetest part was when he then patted Declan's back, said, "Otay, sweet bay-bee. You doe to sweep. I here. I here." My mom heart just about melted! We're working on a puzzle now, I got a break to blog while Caleb went potty. But we've had a great morning with Caleb's creativity. We built a lego racetrack this morning! It could have been far more impressive had we had another package of legos!
Happy Febs!
So much of my time is spent out of my house ~ making my kids run around and keeping them from being shut up in our tiny place ~ that when I do have some time at home, I’ve got so much to do that I’m not up for blogging. BUT! It’s time to get back on the wagon so that I remember these years! First off, Declan. He is fifteen whole pounds! HOORAY! That puts him in about the fifteenth percentile, which is significantly better than the fifth he was in three weeks ago! I never had such a teeny baby. Caleb was in six month clothes by two months, and twelve month clothes by four. HA! He’s also really, really working on crawling – he’s up on his hands and knees, but can’t get his head up, so he kind of scootches with his noggin on the floor. It’s adorable. He’s still just the most precious peach I ever saw! Gavi Z: Also precious, with a healthy dose of TWO thrown in! His vocabulary is amazing. He has language for everything that he wants to say. My biggest problem comes in his contrariness. “I want applesauce!” “How do you ask for applesauce?” “Pwease may I have some applesauce?” I put it in front of him. “NO! NO NO NO NO NO NO! I don’t want applesauce!” It’s like, seriously! You JUST asked for it! I can have it on the table when he asks and we still have this situation! But he’s precious, too. He just told me a few days ago that I’m his best friend. Then today, Dex was. Boo. Caleb Z: Ohmigoodness, what a sweet little boy! His heart is so wonderful. He loves his little brothers, and still takes time to cuddle with his mommy. (Still loves daddy best, though!) He is passionate about reading the bible, which of course, makes me pretty happy! Loves fire trucks, tractors, and other fun stuff. He’s also ALL BOY. Today at the zoo, he was obsessed with “bottoms and poops.” Oy. I suspect that the gals I was with questioned my parenting a smidge. What are you gonna do?! He really wants to start school, so I try not to talk about it too often. (He won’t be old enough for kindergarten this year. Boo, too.) Things also go well for us as a family! Jonny Fashbaugh is my favorite boy in a house of great boys, and we have the BEST friends! Life is pretty awesome for the Fashbaugh clan, to be honest!
Happy Tuesday Indeed!
I gave the big boys haircuts yesterday. Let’s just say it’s a good thing they’re two and four and don’t care about how they look. I just wanted them to look a little neater for our family pictures on Saturday without having a buzzcut – my signature hairstyle. But soon everyone will see the results of my labor. Luckily, the majority of the damage on Gavi is in the back where you won’t see. Caleb's is around his ears, which I’m hoping we’ll be far enough back to avoid! I’m so excited to get family pictures done! I wasn’t pleased with Declan’s first pictures because he looked like such a little frog. Now we’ll get a picture of ALL of us! Of course, I’m not all that psyched to get mine taken. Just crossing my fingers that my pride can take a backseat that day so that I can choose a picture based on how cute my boys look rather than how wonky I look! Declan has gone completely to bottles. *sob, sigh, sob* I’m chalking it up to a profound lack of sleep, but I’ve got nothing for him. He’s such a little peach, though! We still cuddle while I feed him, but I don’t have to feed him as often! HOORAY! My favorite time of the day with him is at night when the big boys have gone to bed. He’ll just sit there and grin and crack up with me. It’s my happy time. Of course, part of that is that Jonny is home and gets to spend time with him. I love my boys! Today is a red letter day, to quote Robin Hood. I was showered and dressed by the time the boys got up. Then we had breakfast, got dressed, teeth and (mangled) hair brushed, shoes and socks on, room cleaned and ALL our daily chores done by eight o’clock. Dex slept through it all, but still – two of them completely ready and my entire list of daily chores done by eight? Praise the Lord! There’s a reason God’s mercies are new every morning – that’s when we need it the most! (And thankfully, his grace extends throughout the afternoon!)
Many Thoughts
When I was three/four, I dumped all the fish food into my aunt's tank. She said, "Thanks a lot, Mandy." And being unfamiliar with the great idea of sarcasm, I responded enthusiastically, "You're welcome, Aunt Beth!" Gavi did the same thing a month ago. It was after Caleb's Christmas program, and Declan's cradle had been relocated to the kitchen, his normal spot being usurped by our Christmas tree. Unfortunately, the relocation meant it was close enough to the fish tank for Gavi to crawl into it and feed those poor, hungry fish. It meant a complete water change was necessary. To Jonathan's credit, he didn't even get angry. I just had to ask Gavi to be quiet for a while because his constant chatter was about to send Jonny's patience down the drain along with all the food-filled fish water. Caleb is so pleasant. Sometimes he gets a little whiny, but other times he really surprises me with a great attitude. He will not leave the table without being excused ~ even if it means screaming his head off to request permission. (Yes, sometimes I DO go to the bathroom, and mealtime is the only time I can have a little privacy. Sorry for the TMI. Moms, you understand.) Sometimes, when he asks to do something and I deny, he's well trained in saying, "Okay, mommy. {pause} Why?" Which is SO much more pleasant than Gavi's favorite phrase, "Why, Mommy, WHY?!" Which he uses for anything and everything, even when a question is not implicit. Or when I haven't asked him to do anything. No, no, it's just his favorite thing to say. He just walks around the house saying it. Our Declan actually lost a pound and a half last month, so he's being supplemented with formula, rice, and the milk our friend gave us. And he got SO much happier right away. Poor baby, I guess he was really hungry! It's pretty easy to beat myself down for not recognizing the hunger cues, but I'm trying not to dwell on it! It's just so wonderful for him to be pleasant and well fed again. What else? OH! I'm going to be a table leader at MOPS! It's something that terrifies me because I hate meeting new people - I hear you scoff, J - but I believe God is going to give me the ability to be an encouragement to these women like MY leaders have been to me! My big boys are beating each other down on the couch. Gotta go regulate. When is it okay to just let them fight it out?
Getting Brief!
A couple days ago, we went to the Cherry Creek Rez to run around since the weather is getting brutal around here. (Nothing like MN - in the twenties below. Insanity!) Anyway, we call it our "exploring park," and the boys take turns leading us along paths and trails. I hadn't accounted for the amount of snow on the ground, so I was pushing a stroller along paths and trails covered in two to three inches of snow, then Gavi got whooped after only a mile, so I was carrying him on my shoulders, too. Caleb was leading at that point, and I said, "How much farther?" "Only four more miles," replied he. "(unintelligible groaning)," says I, brilliantly. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's five now." That's what you get for complaining. Didn't I learn ANYTHING from the Israelites?!
Almost caught up!
My wonderful neighbor took my two older monkeys for an hour and a half this morning while Declan was taking his nap. During that time, I accomplished the following: - two batches of cookies baked - one bathroom cleaned (except for the floor, which I had to wait on because Dex woke up) - two loads of laundry washed, dried, folded and PUT AWAY - one dishwasher loaded and washed Seriously, if I can get away with not working when my kids go to school, I'm going to be the best housewife EVER! So since one of my resolves this year is to cut stress out of my life by getting things done quickly - read: no procrastinating - so that I don't constantly beat myself up over what needs to be done, I'm feeling pretty good! I've also vowed to give myself a little slack, and not make unreasonable lists of things to be done. In that spirit, I'm writing one to two thank you notes a day. I've written a list of all of them that need to be written and what day they will be done. It will take me almost all the way through January, but at least they'll get done. When Dex was born, my birthday was shortly after, followed immediately by Gavi's, then Caleb's - and I still have thank you notes from DECLAN'S birth that I haven't sent out. I'm tired of feeling guilty about stuff, so I'm going to get it DONE. Slowly, maybe, but at least I won't be so overwhelmed by everything that it never gets done. HA! Declan went in the johnny jumper for the first time this morning. Ohmigoodness, he LOVES it! I should have put him in a while back. That baby is teething, and having a rough time with life right now, but he smiled for a full half hour bouncing around in that thing! Hooray! Now I just need to get an exersaucer so he can stand up in other places around the house. The jumper only works on ONE doorway in my house. Silly random doorways! We've been doing a lot of painting, puzzle put-togethering and piano playing lately! (Letter of the day is not P!) I'm trying really hard to cut daytime television time out so I have it in case of emergencies. Or when Jonny and I want to play cribbage in the evenings. I love cribbage! I just need to learn to add! My other goals for the year, other than slow stress through realistically achieved lists are: (in parenting) - get more veggies in the boys. We finally broke down and bought vitamins because I realized that I'm not getting nearly enough of those mini-minerals into them. Spinach smoothies are tasty when you throw enough berries in there! - send more of the boys' artwork to grandparents, great-grandpa, and other assorted relatives that might appreciate them, however briefly. I'm just stockpiling then pitching EVERYTHING right now! And with church and MOPS crafts, too, well, let's just say that I've destroyed more potential masterpieces than I'd like to admit. (just for me) - communicate with my loved ones more. I've let myself get so frazzled this past year what with a lousy pregnancy and then the adjustment to three kids that I've lost touch with some of my favorite people. Facebook is awesome for keeping in contact, but sometimes it makes me forget that I haven't actually TALKED with my friends in a long time. - quit putting myself last. My family is not going to fall apart if I take time to put lotion on my legs, or heaven forbid, SHAVE those legs. It doesn't make me a bad mom to take my kids to the gym a couple times a week so I can have some time to take care of me. And my kids are not going to turn into cannibalistic weirdos if I ask them to play by themselves for a while because I need to clean up so that I can rest when they do. - blog more. Just so I can remember these years! Reading through some of my blogs from when Caleb was born, I can't even remember writing that stuff let alone the things that actually happened! Not altogether unrealistic goals, are they? If you know me and love me, help remind me of them when I start frizzing out on the world, okay?
Quickies
Caleb: "Can I play monster trucks?" (a wii driving game) me: "No, sweetie, you already watched two shows this morning." (our rule is an hour of screen time a day between tv, games and computer.) Caleb: "Mo-om! That was a hundred million years away!" (can you tell that's my kid? Hyperbole is the BEST THING EVER!) Declan is teething like a madman. It's the only time he's ever been cranky in his short life. I love that boy! Gavi is on a "why, mommy, why?" kick. I'm trying really, REALLY hard to keep from yelling on a minute-ly basis. I just took a Zumba class. I think I prefer Body Pump. We'll see after I do a couple more of both of them.
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