Snippets

The thing that worries me most (that I feel I may have some control over) is that I will forget all of the little things that made Caleb so "Two". So here is an unconventional Ten on Tuesday.

1. Since Grandma Joan's visit, the boy is all about washing dishes. I missed capturing any images on my camera - they are all on my MILs. :( The thing that is really funny about "doing dishes" is that he doesn't actually help too much with the washing, more the sink just becomes a large water table for him to play with. His favourite thing is trying to drink the dish water when no one is looking. I am glad that grandparents have infinite more patience and can let little ones be little ones...


2. The boy is really attached to his Sanka. For those of you that have not been formally introduced, Sanka is Caleb's lovey: a large beanie baby elephant who gets dragged around the house and on every car ride. We no longer bring Sanka to daycare, but I'll explain that in another post.


3. I fear that we are growing out of afternoon naps. The naps themselves are becoming shorter, and the struggle to get him to lie down is longer. Not to mention it takes some firm discipline to get him to be quiet in his room.


4. When he does actually want to go to sleep, Caleb insists on having books. He doesn't necessarily want the books read to him, but he wants them on his bed to sleep with. Have any other mommies encountered this?


5. After many months, Caleb will take a bath again! This was of course, prompted by the fact that Chloe takes a bath. Sunday night I sat in the bathroom with Chloe in the blue baby tub and Caleb in the big tub, trying to share his toys. Every few minutes he would look at me and say "No poop, Mommy." I would reply "I know that you are a big boy now and that you know when you have to poop. I know that you aren't going to poop in the tub Cay-man." "No poop, Mommy," with a big cheesy grin.


6. When taking a shower, he no longer wants Scott or I to help him. "I shower myself."


7. Caleb also loves bubbles - he particularly loves the bubble gun that Stacey Manolio bought him as a big brother gift. The trick is getting him NOT to do it in the house.


8. He really loves daycare, especially his teacher Ms. Tina (who Scott and I think is pretty great too!). On the way home from daycare he will cry that he wants to stay with Tina. While that doesn't do much for my ego, it makes me feel really confident in the childcare that he is receiving.


9. When Grandma Joan left to go home, we tried to explain to Caleb that Papa Murray needed her at home to make him supper. Somehow, in his little mind, this was changed to "soup". Now when we ask him where Grandma is he says "Make Papa soup!" He has also started making soup with Play-Doh. If you ask him what his soup tastes like, the answers varies: lemon juice (his version of lemonade), carrots, or cheese.


10. He is still in love with his sister, and that is the best feeling of all!

A moment of sanity

Things have been a lot more challenging this week than we initially anticipated. Last Saturday, I developed mastitis. (This may be an overshare for some of you out there in blog-land, but I am nothing if not honest!) I felt like I had been hit by a truck, not to mention that I had a fever of 102 while trying to care for Chloe and Caleb while Scott was at work. I called him crying on Saturday morning, begging him to come and help me because I could barely drag myself to the bathroom, let alone chase after my two year old. Oh, and did I mention that my MIL was flying into town that afternoon? Caleb was trying his best to be good, but he had the double whammy of being excited to see Grandma and being two.
I've decided that two isn't so much terrible but torturous: it is just Caleb learning how to emote himself. The biggest problem is that he hasn't learned a happy medium between bouncing off the walls happy and temper tantrum mad. He also has not learned to verbalize when he is frustrated versus physically hurt.
Back to the story - so Saturday night Joan arrives with presents and toys for both grandkids. Caleb happily accepts his new Lightning McQueen pajamas and asks to go to bed. He has been coughing a bit during the day, but Scott and I decide that he is probably just a little tired from being so wound up all day.
Wrong.
The next morning, Caleb wakes up with a fever and his cough has worsened. We spend the day alternating Tylenol and Motrin to keep his temperature down, and trying to keep him away from Chloe. I have to say, there is something really heartbreaking about a big brother who just wants to cuddle his little sister when he is sick. Of course, we couldn't let him too close to her for fear that she start running a temp. We kept him home from daycare on Monday because he still had a temp, but fortunately not a fever again until later that evening. Tuesday, we went to the pediatrician: Caleb, Chloe, Joan and myself all packed into the SUV and taking the 30 minute drive to the doctor's office. We arrived a few minutes early and I had to nurse Chloe. No sooner did I get her latched on and we got called back to the office. I was quite the sight to be seen with my hooter hider, infant underneath and my two year old hanging onto my leg as we walked back to the office. Thank goodness everyone was a medical professional - I fear they may have gotten an eye-full!
Dr. Forti diagnosed Caleb with the Croup and a middle ear infection. I was thankful to hear it was viral because there have been two cases of pneumonia at his daycare - can you imagine that??? Caleb stayed home the rest of the week with Grandma and Mommy which really through his routine out of whack, not to mention that he was sick and dealing with a new sibling.

Ten on Thursday??

I know that the typical format for these posts are 10 on Tuesday, but hey, I finally have more than 5 minutes to myself, so here goes nothing.

1. Chloe is such a sweet baby, and so far, she is a really good sleeper. She has been sleeping about 4 hours at a time during the night, wakes up and eats for about an hour, then back to sleep for another 3-4 hours. Seriously.
2. Scott says that we have to stop buying lottery tickets because we hit the jackpot with her!
3. The most frequent question I get asked is "How is Caleb adjusting?" It hasn't been a completely smooth ride, but he's two and two year olds are bound to have moments of frustration, both on his part and on ours. We keep trying to set boundaries and maintain those boundaries because I am firm believer that children crave limits and rules in order for them to establish their sense of right and wrong.
4. Our most frequent discipline tool with Caleb is to count to five and he knows that at the end of five there is a consequence. He rarely receives a punishment or consequence because it is his choice to change the outcome, however, after a count of five and being warned that if he doesn't change his behaviour, sometimes you just can't reason with a two year old. We are a little worried that one day at school he may be asked to count and will say "One, Two, Three, Four, Spanking, " but right now it is working for us.
   
   
5. Caleb is very concerned about his little sister. He wants to see her first thing in the morning, and the last thing at night. Mom and Dad are of little use to him except as food and toy fetchers. Last night he sat in a chair beside me while I fed Chloe, stroking her hair and saying "Hi Chloe. Love you."
6. He really loves to watch and help with tasks that are "Big Brother" tasks like getting diapers and wipes for Mommy. He also is trying to share his toys with his sister and, in turn, we are trying to find things that she can share - hence, he has a new fascination with sleeping with receiving blankets instead of his quilt on his bed.
   
   
7. Speaking of helping, I was confused our second day at home when Caleb was watching me change a poopy diaper and he said "Mommy! Chloe big poop! Get it, get it, get it!!" After diaper #3, I figured out that he was talking about the umbilical cord stump. Any ideas on how to explain that one?
8. Scott went back to work yesterday and Caleb is attending daycare full-time which leaves Chloe and I on our own. It was a good thing today, because I had a nice little nap while Chloe did and feel ready to handle Cay-man when he gets home.
9. My mother-in-law is coming in two more sleeps!! We are so excited for her that she is taking a vacation for herself after having dealt with a lot of stress with her own MIL. Besides, how exciting is that she'll be here when Chloe is 10 days old?
10. My dad comes on the 29th for one month. At that time we are going to switch Caleb to three days a week at daycare. The structure that he has had over the past four months has been invaluable while I have been on bedrest and while we are all adjusting to this newborn period. But hey, Gunka is a pretty cool cat in Caleb's eyes, and I know that they are going to have a great summer together!

Welcome Baby Girl

One week ago, I was bemoaning my fate about how long this pregnancy had been and wishing to have the baby OUTSIDE of my belly.

Wishes come true!

Welcome Chloe Marie Aikenhead. Born June 3, 2009 at 9:37 AM, 7lb 2.5oz, 19.5 inches and perfect in every little way.

I promise to write a more thorough entry soon!