Your thoughts, exactly.

Several weeks ago, I had a conversation with my 6-year-old nephew, Mason, about the fact that I am a vegetarian and that I'm raising Jacob to be a vegetarian, as well. After a lot of "why" questions, typical of his age, Mason looked at me quizzically and asked, "Why are you doing that to him?" Hilarious!!!

9/29/09=2 months old!

I had every intention of getting this post in sooner but I seem to continue to have computer issues. First, my computer becomes kaput and then Brian's power cord runs amok. So, here I am, several weeks later with this, my first of the monthly Andrew stats and updates.

Have I mentioned what a wonderfully sweet baby Andrew is? It's very hard not to compare your children to other children, much less your own children. I say this because Andrew, so far, couldn't be more different than his brother. Where Jacob required lots of bouncing on a red exercise ball to calm his crying, Andrew just needs to sleep or be fed. Where Jacob demanded constant attention and movement, Andrew is content to sit in his little rocker or swing and watch the world go by.

Where Jacob was difficult, Andrew is easy. And that's ok. I don't begrudge Jacob his intensity. I do enjoy it. He reminds me of an unrefined, unpolished Brian. And I like that. Andrew, though, has made what could be a very frustrating situation (a toddler and an infant) actually very pleasant. He's been an absolute joy.

So, here's my little mellow yellow on his 2-month birthday.

--He weighs a whopping 15lbs 6oz, placing him in the 95% for his weight. (Only weighed 10lbs 12oz 6 weeks earlier!)

--He measures 24 1/2 inches, placing him in the 90-95% for height. (Grew 2 3/4 inches in 6 weeks.)

--He's in size 2 diapers and will go up to size 3 by the next diaper buy. He wears 3-6 month clothing and has slept for up to 8 hours on a couple of occasions. Mainly, though, he sleeps in 6 hour increments. He smiles and coos and gurgles all the time, except for when he's being recorded.

--He still isn't photographing well, a trait he inherited from his father, but he is so adorable!

Here's his 1-month post:

Andrew gained over 2lbs in 2 weeks, up from 8lbs 11oz to 10lbs 12oz. His height is 21 3/4 inches.

--He's wearing size 2 diapers and is sleeping well...between 4-5 hours at night. He enjoys being held and rocked but doesn't demand these comforts. The best way to describe him at this point is content.

--Jacob enjoys giving him kwess (kisses) and hugs and will tell me how nice he's being to Andrew. So far, so good between the brothers.

I intend to continue on with these monthly posts. I find it hard to believe that it's closing in on a 3-month post. Times a'flyin'.

Whatta Weekend!

Lots to blog about from the weekend, so let's get started.

The weekend kicked off with a trip to the Transportation Museum to spend "A Day Out With Thomas." For those of you who don't have a train-obsessed 2-year-old, Thomas is the "Very Useful Engine" of Thomas the Train. The "Day Out With Thomas" consisted of a not-worth-the -money train ride,a tantrum-y toddler and a sweaty conductor who kept touching my 8-week-old's hands. The trip was educational, though, in that I've learned not to participate in another "A Day Out With Thomas" event.

The trip was worth it for Brian, though, because we stopped in Lexington, NC to dine at some po-dunk BBQ restaurant. He dined on BBQ, of course, and some slaw that had the appearance of raw hamburger meat. We spent much of that visit conversing with the waitress who was all-too forthcoming about her kid with apraxia (google it). Anyway, this woman had been ridden hard and put up wet, for she was only 2 years older than Brian and me but appeared to be in her early to mid-40's. But don't worry...per Brian, it was some good eatin'! Yee-Haw! Can't wait to head back to Lexington, NC at the end of October for the BBQ festival. Just can't wait!!

When we returned home, who should be waiting for us but Grandad and GrandPaula! Our days were spent running up and down the stairs, taking walks, rockin' in the recliner and playing with the trains on Jacob's train table. And, most importantly, Andrew chose to be a little bit more photogenic this weekend. Way-to-go, Andrew!

Jacob went to the movies for the first time this weekend. Can you guess the flick? Freakin' Thomas the Train. He was transfixed for the first 20 minutes of the movies; refused all offers of canny (candy), popcen (popcorn) and lemonyade (Sprite--you were thinking Lemonade, weren't ya? Fooled you! Anything other than milk and water is "lemonyade"). After that, he spent time waving at Grandad and GrandPaula, walking up and down our aisle, squealing and drinking his Sprite. He even pulled out the big guns and did his loud, fake laughing. Fortunately, there was only 1 other family in the theatre. Their kid made several loud sounds during the movie, too. It got to be kinda annoying so I shushed him and gave his parents dirty looks. Kid's gotta learn.So, that was our fun-filled weekend....We've got much to see and do in October...stay tuned!

Beach

We packed up the car and headed for the coast this past weekend. Don't most kids sleep in the car? Not mine. Both didn't fall asleep until we were 10 minutes away from our destination. Seriously. It's a 3 1/2 hour trip and they fell asleep after 3 hours and 20 minutes. So, it didn't make for a very pleasant arrival for Jacob. He said his tearful, tired hello's and then headed off to bed. Andrew's lack of a nap paid off for me, though. He slept from 9:30 that night until 6 the next morning! Woo-Hoo. 8 1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep...glorious!


We celebrated Bart's birthday. He turned the big 5-1. Brian got to gorge himself on deep-fried seafood and Jacob got to enjoy carrot cake, doughnuts and mint chocolate ice cream. Neither of them gets these delectables very often so needless to say they ate enough to last them for some time. I learned that Texas Pete Chili doesn't have meat in it, so I had two awesome chili dogs. Yum! Andrew? He didn't get anything special to dine on this time...but soon enough.....Oh, upon seeing Andrew, my Grandmother described him as "thick." I suppose that's a pretty accurate description.
Jacob enjoyed himself playing with truck, cars and trains. Big surprise, huh? We planned to surprise him with the electric train set that Grandma and Grandpa had. It blows smoke and makes noises. I tell you, I expected the kid's heart to burst out of his chest.It didn't. Why? Because after Brian and Bart finally got the thing put together, complete with a hurried trip to the store for some C batteries, the thing went around the track once and then broke. Yep. It broke. Wouldn't go no mo. So, Jacob spent the rest of the weekend manually moving the train around the track. How devastating!
Jacob still isn't sure about the beach. He was more amenable to it this trip than in previous trips but he still isn't ready for the all out sand-in-your-pants romp in the ocean. Someday.


The trip home? More of the same. I swear these 2 didn't fall asleep until we were in Greensboro. Weird. Oh, well. Jacob and I did have fun goofing off in the backseat while Andrew squawked. Good times.

Happy Children?

I was recently asked by a family member if I had any happy children, in light of the recent pics of my children crying. The answer is an unequivocal maybe.

I say "maybe" because Andrew is only beginning to express pleasure. Mostly, he still has the deer-in-the-headlights look about him when I attempt to photo him.

This is a pic of Jacob on his first day of school:

Who's cryin' now??

2 years old!!

I guess every parent laments their child's maturation...maturation in the sense that they're no longer a baby, or toddler, or school age, or living at home. I suppose it's natural to experience this odd grieving process. And, so, Brian and I comment regularly that Dolly is growing up too fast, that he is losing his baby look, that he's too smart for his own good, that he looks nothing like he did a year ago, that his vocabularly is amazing.

Jacob had his 2-year checkup a week or so ago. He continues to grow, grow, grow, weighing over 30lbs and standing tall at 35 3/4 inches. Not only was the Dr. impressed with his growth, she was impressed, too, with his language ability. He would just jabber on to Brian and me throughout the exam and she'd say, "Wow! That's impressive!" His new thing now is to ask Brian and me if we remember things. The "things" that he usually asks us about are typically things that are are near and dear to his heart. Like.....tunnels. He LOVES tunnels. So, frequently, he'll ask, "Remember...tunnel?" Or, "Remember...bridge?" I love this line of questioning because you never really know what he's going to ask you about. So, yeah, we've got the new Dr. wrapped around our fingers.

We moved into our new house the weekend of Jacob's birthday (8/15/07), so we didn't get to have the proper celebration. All that changed on the evening of the 29th.

For his birthday, Grammy called in a few favors and was able to borrow for the party a Jupiter Jump!! Our backyard is the pride of the cul de sac as it is, for we have a pretty elaborate swing set. That being said, we frequently have the neighbor kids in our backyard living it up on the fancy dancy set. We knew that a Jupiter Jump would garner much interest, so we were proactive and invited all the neighbor kids over pre-party. Once that thing was inflated, it was party time! Jacob was tentative but seemed to enjoy his 5 or 6 bounces. The older kids enjoyed themselves. Jacob enjoyed his cupcakes and presents....it seems that everyone knows this kid pretty well....all the presents had wheels.

So, the 2nd birthday has come and gone. I foresee many exciting challenges ahead for the 3rd year: potty training, big-boy-bed, dressing self. It will be an interesting year, no doubt.

And, so, to my sweet 2-year-old son, I ask you, "Remember.......:...your first bath.......your first Halloween......your first trip to the beach......your first day of daycare......your first Christmas......your first Easter (and ear infection)......your first birthday...

...your first love......and your many crying fits...?"I do. I was right there for all of them. And I look forward to many more memories with you.