Just Two

Since two is the recognized age when preemies stop using an adjusted age (the age he would have been if he had been born on his due date), Max is now just plain old two any way you slice it! Max had a very nice birthday. He got up early and Mom made him pancakes (his favorite) for breakfast. After he had gobbled up two and a half pancakes, Max played and got to watch a Baby Einstein. It's the only TV he watches and he doesn't watch one every day, so he was very happy and excited by the treat. If you ask him if he wants to watch a "'Stein," he claps and squeals and dances around while saying, "Peese!" every couple of minutes.

Max was less than thrilled about taking his nap and he didn't end up sleeping very long. We just had a small family party, but he enjoyed himself thoroughly. We had pizza and breadsticks (another favorite) before we started in on the present opening. Max did have an unexpected party guest -- Coyote came to dinner! While we were eating, we looked int he back yard and were surprised to see a coyote walking along our back fence. Since we live in a residential area, it was a big surprise to see a coyote in our back yard! I guess Max can skip the spirit quest, since it looks like he already has his animal guide. ;)

After his present unwrapping practice at Christmas, Max was pretty enthusiastic about tearing off the wrapping paper. But, as might be expected, he opened the first present and just wanted to play with his new toy instead of opening any more presents. If two year olds had their way, it would take about a day and a half for them to open all their gifts! We did manage to coax him into opening a couple more presents, until he unwrapped the stack of books from Mom and Dad. All he wanted to do was read his new books (that's my boy!) and it took a lot of persuasion (and some slight of hand) to convince him to open some more presents. He got a lot of neat presents -- some favorites being the Playskool Busy Gears toy from his great aunt and uncle, a wooden xylophone from his grandma and grandpa, and the Press N Go Inchworm from his other grandma and grandpa. Max was delighted to discover that a xylophone "concert" earned him lots of applause, so the little ham would bang away at the xylophone, stand up and turn around, and wait for the clapping to being (grinning all the way). Now we just need to teach him how to take a bow ... ;)

Once again, Max was a big fan of the birthday cake. Mom made him a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (you can't go wrong with chocolate on chocolate) and he happily devoured his portion of cake and ice cream. We were a little worried when Max stopped shoveling sweets into his face and started yelling, until we realized that he'd tried to eat too much ice cream at once and was having an attack of freeze face. His cake eating skills have much improved since last year, since he managed to eat his dessert without getting a single spot on his outfit.

Max is having a good time playing with all of his new toys, although Mom and Dad are trying to figure out where to put them all! I think it's about time to pack up some of his older toys and stash them in a basement for a month or so. Then we can rotate his toys around so he can have "new" things to play with on a regular basis. One bad thing about having a birthday right after Christmas is that you get all your new toys in one fell swoop. I did tell Max that he might get a "birthday" tricycle this summer. Molly, as you might expect, was less than impressed with all the fuss being made over her big brother (since all attention rightfully belongs to her).

Two Years Ago Today

As I'm working on your birthday cake and happily preparing for your little family party, I can't help but think back to what I was doing two years ago today. Two years ago today I was lying in a hospital operating room -- horribly frightened for the tiny little baby that had just been hurried away by the NICU team. I don't have any "first" pictures of you -- we didn't have a camera with us and even if we had, that would have been the last thing on our mind. Instead of thinking of baby announcements or coming home outfits, I was thinking of statistics -- the doctors told us you had an 80% chance of survival, which I tried to focus on to drown out that unimaginable other 20%. Two years ago today there was small cause for celebration, there was only fear and uncertainty and shock.

Today we are celebrating. Your birthdays will always be filled with a little extra cheer, to make up for day of your birth, when we could not celebrate. What a wonderful year this has been -- you learned to walk and talk and drive us crazy. :) You turned into your own little person -- loving, determined, and busy. You developed a good sense of humor and love to laugh. You became a big brother and take good care of your baby sister. You decided that vegetables are for babies and that big boys should eat cookies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You learned to point out your bellybutton. You grew tall enough to get into all the cupboards and drawers. You made your parents' lives infinitely more joyful. Happy birthday my little boy!

Today, as you are celebrating another birthday, I am so thankful that you are happy and healthy and here. Our prayers were answered, so I'll continue to pray for all the preemies who are fighting their battles now and all the people who love them. I wish them all strength and courage. I wish them all serenity and peace. I wish them all good things. I wish them all a birthday cake with two candles on it.

Christmas!

Christmas has come and gone once again, leaving lots of happy kiddies and some tired parents in its wake (not to mention the mess in the living room). It appears that everyone was very good this year, since Santa filled the stockings and left lots of presents under the tree.

It's always fun to uphold old traditions and start up new ones. Max and Molly were lucky enough to have their aunt spend Christmas Eve with them. Much baking was done earlier (and later) in the day -- after making one tart, one pie, and one cake, the supply of butter and sugar in the house was sorely depleted. As we do every year, we made my grandpa's Christmas Eve clam chowder for dinner (although Max snubbed the chowder in favor of the rolls). Max (and now Molly) gets a new "Christmas" book every year to read on Christmas Eve. This year they got The Snowman -- of course, last year's book had to be the classic 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. When bedtime rolled around, both babies were having a major fit of the crabbies. So, we set out the Santa cookie plate (and then forgot to put anything on it) and then attempted to wrestle Max and Molly into their matching red-and-white-striped pjs (there was howling all around). I settled them both down in the reading chair, although sections of both books were drowned out by one or the other of them crying. So, although Dad managed to snap a few shots, my vision of a sweet Christmas Even photo op pretty much crashed and burned. I decided I'd try to get pictures of them in their pjs first thing in the morning.

Unfortunately, the pj shot was doubly foiled -- when I went in to get Max out of his crib, I discovered that he had totally peed through his diaper, soaking his onesie, his pjs, and the sheets. I momentarily entertained thoughts of leaving him in his soggy clothes, until I went to get Molly out of her bassinet and discovered that she was a pee baby as well! So the cute striped pjs were stripped off and thrown in the hamper and everybody got dressed. Max had his breakfast and played a while before he discovered the stockings. He was interested in them, but didn't try to pull them down (which surprised me).

Molly, after having her breakfast and letting Mom dress her up in a silly outfit, did the sensible thing and went back to sleep (but not before attempt to escape said outfit with a half dozen rounds of spit up and an audible diaper load). So, Molly slept through the first half of the present opening, but she didn't seem to mind that we started without her.

Everyone got lots of fun stuff. Max was delighted to find a clementine in the toe of his stocking (we always got clementines in our stockings when I was little, so I'm carrying on the tradition). Unfortunately (but understandably), he thought it was a fun new ball and proceeded to throw it around the house. Needless to say, that is now one very juicy clementine! It took a little coaxing, but Max enjoyed opening his presents (and some of Molly's) this year. Max got the Little People Garage and an Aquadoodle, along with a nice pile of new books. The Aquadoodle is very neat and I'm so glad I was able to find one of the original mats (the newer ones all play music and make noise). Now Max can draw with no mess, no cleanup, and no "uh ohs." The latter benefit is particularly important, since after I set out the mat and gave Max the water pen, the first thing he did after scribbling on the mat for a couple of minutes was to try to color on his face. Then he stuck the pen in his mouth, colored on his sister's face, and colored on the couch. Hooray for Aquadoodles!

Since Molly and I had many discussions about the dolly she wanted for Christmas, Molly was so happy to find not one, but THREE dollies under the tree. She must have been a very good girl this year. She loves to hold on to the dollies, although Max likes to take them away from her and throw them on the floor. Max is pretty sure that all of Molly's new toys are really his toys and plays with them accordingly (Molly says that she doesn't mind ... much). Grandma and Grandpa got us a portable DVD player, so hopefully my next solo baby car trip will go much more smoothly than the first one (I had to rethink my previous anti-car DVD stance after being stuck in the car with an unhappy toddler for three hours).

After all the present opening was finished and Christmas brunch was eaten, big brother and sister went to help Grandma and Grandpa get ready for dinner and the babies gave Mom and Dad the best Christmas gift of all -- a nice long nap! After we all got up and the final dessert and present preparations was finished, it was off to dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Max and Molly were dressed in matching outfits, but my "I'll get a shot of them together later, since we're running late" plan never happened (but they are both getting their portraits taken in the same outfits later this week, so I suppose that will have to do). We had a wonderful dinner and the kids all got to open MORE presents. Everyone had a good time and ended up going to bed late. On the drive home, Max was asked if he had a fun Christmas -- he smiled and said, "More!" I'll take that as a yes.

Of course, even though they went to bed late, the babies woke up at their regular (early) time. Mom groggily made her way downstairs to get Max his breakfast, only to discover that the refrigerator was on the fritz and everything in the freezer was starting to thaw. No rest for the wicked! Thankfully we were able to get a repairman to come out right away and $250 later we have a working fridge again (grumble). To add to my morning woes, when I was copying the Christmas picture files over to the computer, I discovered that I had forgotten to change my ISO setting back after I cranked it up the previous night to take photos of the tree. So, all of my Christmas photos are grainy -- bah! Then, to finish off the morning, we had to laugh when the big kids got up, made their way through the piles of yet-untouched presents, and came in to ask us if they could play a video game that they've had for over a year. Next year we're just getting all the kids large cardboard boxes and bubble wrap (since we KNOW those always get used!). ;)

Under the Wire

For those of you keeping score at home, I'm happy to report that Molly's stocking was completed early Christmas Eve afternoon. Although this may seem a little last minute, it's actually a good 15 hours earlier than I ever finished any of the other family stockings. I do have to say that I'm really looking forward to next year, when I won't have to make _any_ stockings. Hmm, although I never did make that tree skirt I was contemplating ...

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

The Best Present

Molly gave me the best early Christmas present today -- a great, big belly laugh! She's been "talking" and squealing for weeks, but this was the first time I heard her actually laugh. I was holding her up and saying silly things to her and she smiled her great big smile and then started giggling away. It was one of those totally infectious baby laughs, so I started laughing, which made Molly laugh even more. Thankfully, both Dad and the video camera were handy, so we caught some of it on tape. Santa would wholeheartedly approve of Molly's newfound skill, since HER chubby baby belly also shakes like a bowl full of jelly when she laughs. ;)

O Christmas Tree

You can be having the Grinch-iest, Scrooge-iest day, but when you see the wonder and fascination on a baby's face as she looks at her first Christmas tree, all the joy and fun and celebration of Christmas comes back to you.

We (finally) decorated our tree last night with the kids. We started out feeling tired and grumbly, but ended up having fun in spite of ourselves. Max had to go to bed, but Molly stayed up for the tree decorating and then watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas" with us. The tree looks pretty and makes me feel so much more Christmas-y than I have been feeling (I'm missing the Christmas cold and snow -- and here I thought the promise of a white Christmas was one of the big selling points for Michigan). I'm looking forward to Christmas morning -- not because I'm excited about any present that I might be getting, but because I'm excited to watch the kids open their presents!

Snot-Nosed Kids

Whenever I'm worrying that I'm being a little too overprotective and germophobic, I'll remember how miserable it is when babies are sick! Thankfully, the bug we had wasn't anything worse than an unpleasant head cold, but it was enough to make for a couple of pathetic babies and one tired mom! Max and I have pretty much recovered and Molly is on the mend. The little girl does NOT like having a stuffy nose and has had a hard time sleeping. She's mostly been sleeping in the swing and I've been sleeping next to her on the couch. One night she felt extra yucky and wanted to be held, so I snoozed while propped up in a sitting position on the couch with Molly sleeping on my chest (much to the dismay of my poor back).

Max actually slept pretty well, in spite of the cold. The humidifier we had for his room gave out on us, so we ran out and bought a fancy one that really kicks out the mist. We've been running it in Max's room at night and in other parts of the house during the day and that seems to help. We used a humidifier in his room all last winter, to give his lungs a little extra help -- we'll probably do the same thing this year. One upside to the whole cold thing was that it gave Max a chance to expand his vocabulary -- the boy can now say "boogers" and show you where they are.

Of course, getting sick during the thick of the Christmas preparations doesn't do much for one's productivity. I braved the crowds (ugh) and did a marathon shop on Saturday, so we've pretty much wrapped up our gift buying for the year. We did the smart thing this time around and wrapped all our presents up over the weekend -- no 3 a.m. Christmas morning wrapping session this year! We only just got our tree this weekend and are still working on that whole "getting it decorated" problem -- when you come visit us in January and our tree is still up, you'll know why (after all, we have to get our money's worth out of it). Tomorrow we're scheduled to attend the big kids' Christmas program and make eight pounds of fudge (but not at the same time). I have actually started on Molly's stocking, so I really do plan on having that finished before Christmas Eve this year. This is my last week of work and then I'm off until after New Year's -- I'm really looking forward to having a little time off to spend with the family. And, of course, Max has some birthday in his hair ...

And, speaking of hair, Dad took Max out to get his second haircut last week, since Max was starting to look a little shaggy. Unfortunately, a different person cut his hair this time and didn't do a particularly good job. Maybe she's a closet Trekkie, because his hair now bears a disturbing resemblance to that of Mr. Spock (thank goodness he doesn't have the eyebrows to match). Of course, he would have to get a bum haircut a mere week and a half before I'm taking him and Molly to get their photos taken.

Ugh!

Max was kind enough to share, so now Molly and I have colds too. Sick babies are no fun! Thankfully, it seems to be a fairly mild cold (*knock on wood*) and Max already seems to be feeling better. If only I were so lucky ...

Don't Speak Too Soon

Drat, I jinxed myself -- Molly's rash is back with a vengeance! She's been extra spitty and drooly and fussy this last week, so at least I know what is causing it this time. She's having a really bad bout of reflux, although I'm not sure why. I initially thought it was my minuscule caffeine intake, but I totally cut that out over a week ago and she's still spitting away. She's been drooling a lot more (possibly some pre-teething drool) and I'm wondering if that has something to do with it. I seem to remember that Max's reflux got worse for a bit when he started producing mass quantities of drool in the months before his teeth surfaced. At this rate, we're going to need to invest in some more bibs!

Molly did manage to develop a nice, painful knot on one of her legs after her shots last week. She was pretty crabby about that for a couple of days, but the lump is mostly gone now. She has also transformed from the "spectacular sleeping baby" to the "I-don't-need-to-sleep-I-want-you-to-hold-me-all-the-time baby." To make things even more difficult, Molly has decided that she'd much rather suck her thumb or nurse than take the paci -- which would be fine and dandy except that she seems to want to suck on something all the time lately. I let her nurse for over an hour last night and as soon as I unlatched her and tried to put her to bed, she threw a baby fit until I let her comfort nurse again.

And, as a less-than-promising start to this week, Max seems to be coming down with a cold. The poor little guy has a running/stuffy nose and obviously isn't feeling his best. He doesn't have a fever, but he keeps coming up and leaning his head against me, which he usually only does when he's very tired or doesn't feel well. I'm hoping he'll shake it fast and it won't progress -- if he starts sounding "chesty" at all we'll have to trek on in to the pediatrician's office and see how his lungs are doing. I was hoping that we wouldn't have to pull the nebulizer out of the closet this year, so we'll see how it goes.

And, since it never rains but it pours, I came home from work on Friday and had to make a quick call to the vet, since one whole side of our dog Cider's face had swollen up like a balloon. I rushed her right over the vet, waited around for ages (they squeezed us in and they were running behind), and was relieved to discover that the swelling was probably just an allergic reaction to a bug bite (I was afraid it was a nasty tooth issue or worse). So, a few doses of benedryl and antibiotics later, Cider appears to be totally recovered.

On a less woeful note, Max did learn to "jump" last week. If you say "boing boing" to him he'll push up on his tip toes and alternate lifting his feet off of the ground in an attempt to jump. It's pretty funny to watch, especially because he's very proud of his new accomplishment. He's also learned to say cookie ("c'gee"), which we've discovered might not be a good thing after all -- he's taken to asking for cookies constantly. "Good morning Max, do you want to eat?" "Mama, Hi! C'gee!!!" He doesn't seem overly impressed with the argument that you can't have cookies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Hey, but Fig Newmans have fruit in them, so they're kind of healthy ... right? ;)

Needless to say, we're a little behind on all things Christmas. About 3/4s of the shopping is done (online, of course), the Christmas cards have been ordered (but not delivered or sent out), and our Secret Santa items are well begun (but not done). We haven't gone to get our tree yet (this weekend, honest!) and I'm debating whether or not to brave the lines and germs to take the babies to see Santa. I'm trying not to think about the pounds and pounds of Christmas fudge that we need to make or the stocking that needs to be finished. But, the scary thing is, we've actually hit our personal best this year as far as the Christmas timeline goes. We'll get there!

Fat Sister

Molly is four months old and had her well-baby checkup today. The little chunk weighed in at 15 lbs, 8 oz and measured 24 1/2 inches tall. She's following her own little growth curve nicely -- she's now 85% for weight and 50% for height and head circumference on the growth charts for her actual age. Since Max has spent so long hanging out in the lower third of the growth charts, it still amazes me that Molly is bigger than a goodly percentage of babies her age, even though she was born earlier and was smaller than most of them. It must be all those good eats at Mom's. ;) Unfortunately, Molly was due for another round of vaccinations, so the visit ended with three pokes and a very unhappy baby. The girl has a really good set of lungs on her and made sure that everyone knew about her extreme displeasure. Aside from not wanting to settle down and go to bed tonight, she seems to be recovering just fine.

Happily, the rash on Molly's face has cleared up nicely. After trying a number of creams that have served us well for other purposes (California Baby, Weleda, A+D, Eucerin), the Aveeno Baby cream was the only one that did the trick -- everything else just seemed to make it worse. I'm glad we found something that worked and that Molly's pretty little cheeks are back to their normal baby-soft condition. I don't think it was really eczema, however, I think it was just some type of irritation caused by rubbing her face in drool, spit, and burp cloths. Max, however, does seem to have some true eczema, so the helpful treatment tips won't go to waste!

Molly has been a little spittier as of late, even with the newly adjusted Zantac dose. I had allowed a tiny bit of caffeine to creep into my diet, so I had to let it creep right back out again (*sigh*). Molly seems to be following in her big brother's footsteps in that respect -- with Max there was always a direct correlation with any caffeine consumption on my part and an increase in the 'gurge. I'm definitely not in any hurry to wean Molly and it won't be happening any time soon, but there's definitely a part of me that is looking forward to being able to drink coffee, eat peanut butter, and have a couple of glasses of wine on occasion! Of course, there's a bigger part of me that will be terribly sad when Molly is finished with nursing, since it'll mean that my baby isn't much of a baby any more.

In other Molly news (since we're all about Molly tonight ... sorry Max), she's getting more and more vocal and a little more mobile. She's able to hold her head up well and is starting to scoot around in her Pack and Play. She loves it when you talk to her (and she usually smiles and squeals and talks right back) and likes to be in the center of the action, where she can see everything that is happening. Her hands are her best new discovery -- she likes to clasp them together, suck her thumb, play with her fingers, and grab on to everything and try to eat it. We're getting ready for her first Christmas, which should be a lot of fun (at least for us, since she'll be oblivious ;).

Making a List

After my last post, it appears that the weather has decided to get with the program -- it's now cold and blustery and I've actually seen snow, so let the countdown to Christmas begin! Since my idea of a successful Black Friday consists of wearing pjs all day, eating Thanksgiving leftovers, and not leaving the house for any reason whatsoever (mission accomplished!), Christmas shopping doesn't usually begin until the first week of December.

So, we're poring over catalogs, surfing the Net, and trying to figure out what "Santa" can possibly get for four kids who already have everything. We asked the big kids to write up their wish lists and were rewarded with scribbled laundry lists of "must have" items (i.e. everything in every toy catalog they could find). Filled with items like a "robot raindeer" [sic] and "build and program robots that do what you want" (heck, I want one of those), the lists tend to be slightly less than helpful for actual shopping purposes (but awfully fun to read!). To help narrow down the choices and facilitate the gift-purchasing process, we've come up with a checklist of things to avoid when purchasing Christmas gifts:

• Oversized items - Our closets, basement, and garage are already filled to overflowing.


• Toys that play music or have sound effects -- They'll be cute and fun for about 24 hours, until the ear-piercing version of "The Wheels on the Bus" becomes permanently lodged in your head.


• Items that require mass quantities of batteries -- The only thing worse than hearing "The Wheels on the Bus" 2,401 times in a single day is hearing it 2,401 times in scary, slurred "the batteries are dying" voice.


• Toys involving living creatures -- After the Sea Monkey Debacle of 2005, we've instituted a ban on all ant farms, butterfly houses, aquariums, etc.


• Toys with a million tiny pieces -- You never fully appreciate this rule until you're trying to maneuver the play room in your bare feet at night.


• Toys the require massive amounts of parental supervison -- Sure, the ship in a bottle kit sounds like a good idea ... until you realize that YOU will be the one building it.


• Poorly-designed board games -- Never buy any game that you don't want to play yourself ... at least 1,000 times (because you will!).


• Anything having to do with Barney, Teletubbies, Barbie, or Spongebob Squarepants -- Do I have to even explain this one?


• Really messy toys -- The splatter paint kit, the pottery wheel, and the glitter crafts all sound like good ideas at the time ...
  

Hmmm, after cross referencing the wish lists with the checklist above, the pool of acceptable items has shrunk significantly. It appears that everyone is getting a sack of potatoes for Christmas. ;)