Rejuvenation

My girlfriends and I go together like peanut butter and jelly, like Ben and Jerry, like Ross and Rachel.... and the list could go on and on.....

I have been blessed with a group of friends that I have met at least 10 years ago. Some I met in Kindergarten, others in grade school, and some in high school. Each year we plan a get away to rejuvenate and turn into the boy crazy, back combed hair, and tight ankle jean wearing teen-aged girls we once were. Now we are wives and mother's with lives full of responsibility. It is so nice to take a break from feeling like a spit up covered new (again) mom and just enjoy being a woman with a room full of other woman going through life at the exact same stage. This year they chose the destination of the yearly trip to be Calgary as I am housebound with a new born.

We shopped, we drank beer and wine, we ate pizza, we reminisced, we talked about the bachelor, and got caught up on celebrity gossip. Literally. The trips have changed over the past 6 years. There is no more bar hopping, no more staying up all night, and no more throwing up at the end of the night when someone got a little out of control. Now, we look forward to going to bed early, arriving at the mall before it is busy, and drinking wine in the comfort of our own homes (or hotel).

Oh how I wish these girls lived closer to me. I am filled with envy when all of my old (not in age... haha) friends get together with their boys and one girl to play. With this being said, I am so fortunate that each and every one of them is a part of my life. When me and my boys are so lucky to get together with the rest of the group and their families it is like we live in the same city and see them as much as they see each other. Now that is friendship.

Best said by Deena, we are better wives and mothers because we take a few days each year to celebrate friendships that have lasted longer than some marriages. After a few days, or even hours, with these friends, I feel ready to tackle the sleepless nights, the tantrums, the explosive diapers, and the messy house more than I did before.

I fully expect that 10 years from now we will still be having yearly getaways, we will still be laughing like crazy teenagers, shopping like mad woman, and just enjoying each others company. I am already looking forward to next year's get together!

A Typical Photo Shoot

At least...

we got...

one decent...

picture!

Gotta love a photo shoot with kids!

Cooper's Sucking Devices

By now, most of you know that our oldest son is a thumb sucker. He started at 11 months and has been a faithful sucker since.

Has our youngest son already learned something from his older brother?

Or... is he going to go to the other side and use a soother?

hmmmm....

Thus far the soother is winning.

Grady is Learning to Share

Notice it is a Mini Cooper that Grady placed directly on Cooper's chest.... Smart boy :)

Bake Time!

Since Cooper was born, baking has become something fun that Grady and I do together on a cold winter afternoon.

First, we gather all the ingredients. Notice that we bake packaged muffins... a baker I am not! We then add a few other ingredients that aren't necessarily included in the directions.

Grady gets in his 'baking chair'...

Cooper gets in his 'baking chair'....

Grady eats the chocolate chips. This is a part of our baking routine regardless of whether the chocolate chips actually go into the recipe. I think this is the biggest reason Grady asks to make muffins.

We throw everything into the bowl and we mix it all up.

I pour the muffin mix into the tin. The first time we baked together Grady helped. I don't recommend this unless you want batter all over the chair, the table, and your child.

Grady eats more chocolate chips.

We add sparkles and eat more chocolate chips.

The finished product.

And of course the taste test!

Yummy!

Toopy and Binoo

This weekend we headed out to Grady's first live performance... Toopy and Binoo! If you have kids you know who they are I am sure!

We dropped Cooper off at Nana's and went on our jolly way with plenty of time or so we thought....

Then we hit a detour. It was not good.

With a few shortcuts we ran into the auditorium just as they were doing a final call to the seats.

This is (again) a less then flattering photo of Grady but shows our seats relative to the stage.

Grady seemed to enjoy the show overall. He was in awe for the first few minutes just watching the larger than life size Toopy and Binoo sing and dance around the stage. He also noticed the glow wands that many other kids had. We didn't exactly have time to hit the souvenir booth on the way in so Grady did not happen.

We may have told Grady on the way to the show that he could pick out a gift for Cooper at the show, so at intermission we headed down to see what there was. Grady had already voiced that he wanted a glow wand.

The line was ridiculous! But a promise is a promise so I headed to the line while Grady and Daddy headed back for the second half of the show, but not before we stopped to take a picture in front of this sign.

This is where my camera died and the pictures stopped :)

The second half of the show was spent playing with the $10 glow wand. All in all I think Grady did really well. We sat on our laps, didn't' cry, and paid attention through a good 50% of the show. As a parent of a 2 year old, that is all you can ask.

The next test will be taking him to the theater. Not sure we are there yet.

Time Out!

If you think that this story will end up with Grady having a time out.. you would be wrong!

Gardy and I were playing in the basement a few days ago. To be precise, Grady was playing and I was cleaning up from the prior day's play date. I was organizing the toys and found a few kitchen toys with the trains, so I threw them over towards the kitchen set to organize next. Bad move.

As I have blogged before, Grady is a thrower. When he gets mad the first thing he does is reach for a toy and throw it. Not to hurt anyone, but to let out frustration I like to think. He has spent many a time on the couch in 'time out' mode for this poor behavior.

Well, Grady sees me toss the potato and cup, he looks over and simply states:

Mommy, no throwing!

I immediately tell him that I am sorry and that I shouldn't have thrown the toys. This is where my 2 year old son shocked me. He marched over to me, took my hand and very politely led me over to the couch.

You sit on the couch Mommy. No throwing!

I was trying so hard not to laugh at this point. My heart was smiling though. With this simple gesture he showed me 2 things.

1. That he does in fact know that he shouldn't be throwing.
2. That he understands the whole 'time out' thing.

I asked him after about half a minute if I could get up and he told me 'No!'

I waited a few more minutes before asking again where he smiled and told me 'Yes!'

If that doesn't make you proud as the parent of a two year old I don't' know what does!

Our New Wheels

The Peg Perego Aria Twin 60-40.

Three months Before Grady was born we bought a Valco Baby. It had all the bells and whistles and we were ready to get our moneys worth in use. Wrong. Grady hated that stroller for the first year of his life. He would not sit in it with out screaming. So that fancy stroller sat in our garage for a year collecting dust while we used the Baby Bjorn religiously to tote around our young man.

Fast forward 2 years and we had to decide whether we wanted to purchase a double stroller. Learning from our past mistake of buying a stroller before meeting your child, we opted to wait. Well it turns out our second son loves the stroller. So for the past 2 months we have been using the Valco baby for Cooper and our $20 umbrella stroller for Grady. Which he loves by the way - go figure!

While this method worked fine, it is rather limiting when there is only one me and 2 strollers to push. So... we made the plunge and purchased a double stroller and I couldn't be happier!

I am no longer a prisoner to my own home and can get out to the mall when the weather is less than desirable. This week we ventured to the mall for the first time just me and the boys and it couldn't have gone better!

Here we are in the parkade. I was quick to take the picture in the event the outing to the mall did not last long. It is a less than flattering picture of Grady... But if his hand in his pants is any indication of how much he likes the stroller we are doing pretty well!



My view while pushing the stroller.

After a very successful trip of playing at KidsPlay, a stop at Old Navy, and some errands we headed to food court for a cheeseburger, fries and chocolate milk. Grady enjoyed lunch the most. Can you tell?

Cooper cooed from his car seat nicely for most of lunch.

After lunch we headed home and I had a sense of satisfaction knowing that with the help of this fab double stroller I was able to get out and about with both kids in tow. I hope all trips are this successful although I am not holding my breath!

Cooper - 2 Months

Dear Cooper,

This month was so special as it included your first Christmas! Christmas is filled with friends, family, food, presents, and all around joy. That joy multiplied this year because you were here to share it with. What else were you up to this month you ask? Well let me fill you in.

• You checked off your first milestone this month when you smiled on (or about) December 17, 2010, just before 6 weeks. At first we had to work very hard for those smiles that may or may not have been gas. Now, you are giving them out freely for all to enjoy! You are especially happy right after nap time when you are well rested and well fed. If we are really lucky you make these sounds when you have a really big smile that almost make me think you are giggling. I know it is too early for that now but just can't wait to hear you laugh.

• You are not short on nicknames. It would not be strange to hear a Coop, Coops, or my favorite, Tooper. Grady has problems saying his 'C's, so he calls you Tooper. It is just so sweet.

• As of Thursday, you weighed a whopping 13 pounds and was 22.5 inches long! You are our little chunky monkey!


• You are now 100% bottle fed. It was a hard decision initially but now that it has been made and we have been at it for a few weeks, I realize it was the best decision for our family.

• You have been a big eater this month and are up to 4 ounce feeds every 2 to 3 hours (but usually closer to 2!). I really don't mind though as you eat less during the night.

• You still have lots of dark hair. Sometimes I think it is lightening up and then sometimes I don't.

• Your eyes are starting to lighten but are still a darker shade of blue than mine and Grady's. We have really started to notice how long your eyelashes are getting which is no surprise as your Daddy and brother have amazing eyelashes.

• You may have a plugged tear duct. Your left eye waters but your right eye still has no tears. After a quick call to health link and our visit to the doctor we have ruled out infection. Your duct should de-plug itself in a few months.

• You wear a size 1 diaper but are quickly growing out of them. I have one more bag left and them bring on size 2!


• You continue to outgrow your 0-3 month clothes and I have started to bring out the 3-6 months. You are going to be a well dressed little dude!


• You love bath time. For the past few weeks you and Grady have been bathing together. Grady gets rowdy in the tub so your bath is often cut short :)


• You spend a lot of time sleeping through the day in you vibrating chair or swing. If we think you are tired we often wrap you up and put you in the swing and you often drift off to sleep on your own.

• You slept in the crib for the first time last night. We put you in shortly after 10pm and you stayed sleeping peacefully until just after 12:30am. I don't think I got even a little sleep during that time as I was just waiting for you to stir. I actually heard you before the monitor picked it up as the sensitivity was set to low. I was more than happy to bring you back into our bed for the rest of the night:)


• You are great little shopper. If I time it right you will sleep through our entire shopping trip!


• You spent 2 evenings away from Mom and Dad this month. One night Mom and Dad went to a work dinner and another we went to Dad's Christmas party in Kananaskis. Both Nana and Grandma reported back that you were such a good little boy. We are glad to have the first outing under our belts!

• You, Grady, and I went on our first outings on our own... just the 3 of us! We walked to Superstore. I wore you in the Bjorn and pushed Grady in the stroller. It had its moments but we survived. We have also been to Coffee and Scream to play. With our new stroller we are getting out more and more.

• You get up between once and twice a night but usually twice. You have been sleeping in Mom and Dad's kings size bed. As much as we love having you in bed with us we know it is nearing the time when you have to start sleeping in the crib.

• You had your first trip to the mountains. Your big brother didn't get to the mountains until he was just over a year so you are one up on him! Both you and Grady slept the whole way there!

It is such a pleasure to watch you grow and change. My favorite moments are seeing you interact with your brother. For now, it is mostly him giving you kisses on the head or tickling your belly. I am so looking for the day that you can play together. Maybe you can play cars and trucks with Grady so I don't have to :)

I am looking forward to see what month 3 brings!

Love,

Mommy

Enjoying Winter!

Over the holidays Grady and Cooper had a chance to enjoy the winter weather.

Grady shovelled.

Cooper slept.

Dad and Grady went tobogganing.

Up....

and down....



Cooper slept.

And I took the pictures :)

Parenting Two

How is life with 2 kids? Busy

Are we managing? Yes

Do we have bad days? Yes!

Are we loving having 2 boys? You betcha!

After not even 2 months with 2 kids I am not expert, but for me, the transition to 2 kids has been much easier than the transition to 1. This is a statement I never expected to make. Looking back, I don't think I adjusted all that well to having my first child. I was used to schedules, organization, and planning. Anyone with kids know all that goes out the window when you go from a couple to a family with a young child.

Adding Cooper to the family didn't really change our family dynamic. We still stay home most evenings, we still go on play dates, we still play cars and trucks, and we still get up early. Life has continued quite similarly for us because we already made our lifestyle changes when Grady was born. The only thing that has changed in the past month is the number of times we get up in the night :)

Don't get me wrong, there are still adjustments but they just aren't the adjustments I expected. Two of the changes I am currently dealing with is discipline and guilt.

A few posts ago, I wrote a little about some behavior changes we have noticed in Grady. He is testing his boundaries and trying to get our attention by acting out. He is throwing toys, destroying train tracks, and just general misbehaving. It doesn't happen every day and is worse on days he is tired. My guess is that he is doing this for attention. After being the center of attention his whole life, he is in the process of learning how to share this attention with Cooper.

My question is this: How do you handle these outbursts? There is a part of me that wants to drop everything and discipline Grady so that he knows what he is doing is wrong. By doing this am I provoking him to continue acting out because it is giving him the attention he wants and rewarding his bad behavior? Or do you try to ignore the behavior and hope he stops and overtime he will stop doing it as he is not getting 'rewarded' for acting out. I have tried both approaches and neither is easy or fun.

For the time being I am alternating the techniques and I struggle with both. No matter which approach I use I feel awful after the fact and am left feeling like a neglectful or mean parent. As a parent I want to provide guidance on what appropriate behavior is and I do not know how to do this. Right now I am relying on my instincts.

That leads me in to my second issue of the constant feeling of guilt. When I feed Cooper I feel guilty that I am not spending time with Grady and that I have put in a movie for the third time that day. When I am playing with Grady I feel guilty that Cooper is sitting in a chair instead of being held like Grady might have been at his age. When I am making supper I feel guilty that I am not giving my attention to the boys. I realize that no Mom can be wonder woman but I was not prepared for the constant feeling of guilt and neglect that you feel when you are tending to the other child.

From talking to some of my friends that have already been through this I realize that these feelings are normal. Knowing that others Moms feel that same way doesn't make dealing with the feelings any easier. I love my boys to pieces and want to do as much for them as possible. At the same time, I am just one woman who isn't capable of doing everything I want to do.

Having James home over Christmas has helped a lot. We did lots of fun activities with Grady and had the opportunity to really focus on him and have one on one time with him. The attention seeking tantrums were few and far between. Now I have to figure out how to keep them to a minimum now that James is back at work! Wish me luck... I think I'll need it!