True Confessions...

of a mother of two. I know I'm not supposed to compare but...I'm going to!
Two things about Adin that make me do a happy dance:

He can put himself back to sleep. If I'm walking with him and he's getting nice and drowsy, I can set him down in his crib and his eyes may open briefly, then flutter shut. Erik was more of a screamer when he touched the crib which was very stressful.

I can take him to the child care at the YMCA and come back an hour later. To be fair, I joined the Y when Erik was closer to one, and so more of an age of stranger anxiety.

Friday night

We went to playgroup at church today. It's tough because it's just a little too late in the morning for Erik. He almost fell asleep on the way to playgroup! He did ok the first half, but the second half he was acting up, in retrospect because he was tired. I tried to get him to come over and join the group in prayer and he started wailing that he didn't want to, he wanted to play. So that disturbed the group more than if I'd just left him alone!

In other news, I have completely forgotten the middle part of the times tables. I can't for the life of me figure out 40 divided by 7. I blame pregnancy and parenting.

Tummy time

Adin had his most successful tummy time ever this morning. I put him on his tummy in his crib and did an oldies song and dance routine. He stayed on his tummy a long time, lifted up his head a lot (to see his mama) and he even laughed! Plus I got a pre-YMCA workout.

Ditto

I had a little adventure today. Erik doesn't particularly like getting dressed. This morning I got his shirt on, but he was resisting the diaper and asked to go "bare". (We read the comics together this morning and he was quite taken with this one) I told him it would be ok to air out for a while, and let him run off. I turn around and he's run out the front door and onto our step! So I bring him in, 'lock' the screen door (I thought) and he runs out again, this time running down the sidewalk! I was torn between running after him, which would make him run faster and hoping he'd come back on his own. He came back, and it was hilarious. Of course, not only was he almost naked, but his face and hands were also covered in green marker. Boys.

Friday night Erik fun

 

 

 

Friday Joe and Erik went into Minneapolis to play with new friends Sawyer and Tinley. Erik loved going down the slide with them. They took turns, help each other, had lots of fun. Erik got to try his hand at cranking out some ice cream. I'm not sure it ever solidified but he enjoys machines of all kinds!

Sunday morning Adin

 

I went out Friday night with Adin in tow. We met some of my co-workers at a restaurant for over priced dinner and drinks. They enjoyed holding him, but were having a hard time getting him to smile. This is unusual, as he's quite smiley and laughs when anyone looks at him and talks to him. Bonnie and Linda thought he was probably overstimulated in the restaurant. I think they were right, because as soon as we got home, he was his usual self.

I was thrilled this morning to see the beginnings of a roll on his thighs!

Vignettes

This week Erik and I were in the front yard watering and I asked him to do something for me. He said, "I'd be happy to"!

A couple times I've told him we're going somewhere and he's burst into tears and said he didn't want to go. It happened that it wasn't a big deal, so I said, 'ok we'll stay home.' His tears wound down, he asked where we were going, I said, 'nowhere, we're staying home'. He began to cry again and said he wanted to go!

Imagine that!

 

Erik has been showing some imagination the last couple days. Yesterday, I came into the living room and he informed me he was going to a party. "Where?" I asked. "At Nora's". He walked over to the back door and said he was going to the car. He let me know he'd driven to the party and asked if I was going to come. I said, "sure", and he asked what I was going to bring to the party!

He will often now say, "I have an idea" and then take me by the hand to show me what he has in mind. He'll say, "it's a surprise, close your eyes."

Yesterday he wanted to watch a video but I told him I didn't know where the DVD book was. He said he could find it, put a finger up to his chin and said, "let me think".

Adin's Baby Book

 

Warning: this post refers to human waste products.

So I got out Adin's baby book last night and decided to start working on it. I filled in the easy stuff: background info on both his parents and grandparents. Joe picked out this baby book, it's a very cute one designed by Eric Carle with a "Very Hungry Caterpillar" artwork theme. You can tell it was designed by someone who is either a man, or has never had kids. On the page called "Your Birth Story" there's a section for "Mommy's Story" and "Daddy's Story" and they each have three lines! I'd like to see someone go through childbirth and sum it all up in three lines!

There's also a page on what was going on in the world around the time he was born. So I Googled his birthday. As it turns out, April 18, 2008 was "Poop for Peace Day". Wow. I'm happy that Adin did his part for peace. Maybe he will grow up to be a non-hawk moderate or liberal.

Erik's big ideas

 

Erik has all kinds of new tricks, too. We have been talking a lot about Michigan. He kept saying something about "again", which happens a lot. We'll read a story, sing a song or say a funny work and he'll want to hear it again. But this time he was thinking that the word "Michigan" sounds like the word "again". (He's been into rhyming lately.) I was pretty impressed.

Yesterday we had a very long car ride from Michigan to Chicago. He got pretty punchy at the end, but at one point began amusing himself in the car by rubbing a wipe on his fingers and face. He rubbed his ears. Then I suggested he rub his feet as they were actually fairly dirty. He did and held onto each side of the wipe and slung the middle around the bottom of his foot. Then he said he was using it "like a jump rope".

Today we were riding in the car and he was singing "Row row row your boat". He'd sing it fast and then slower, slower and then faster. And after each verse he would describe it: "fast and slow" or "slow and fast". It's so fun to watch his brain figure out the world.

Little Adin

 

Adin's up to some new tricks. A couple of weeks ago, I put him on the changing table, which usually makes him cry, but this time he laughed! It's happened a couple times and I was able to record it once. It's so fun, so cute.

Then yesterday, I set him down on his back on the floor and went to wash my hands. When I came back he was on his tummy with his arm trapped underneath him. This didn't take me too off guard because I have caught him rolling onto his side a few times. He finally made it all the way over!

Our Stimulus Check Summer Trip

 

We took a trip earlier to help stimulate the economy. On the way we saw a ferocious bear. Erik made friends with him so that turned out ok.

 

We stayed in Green Bay Wisconsin and visited the the National Railway Museum. Erik got to crawl around on a bunch of trains. This is the cab of the Big Boy, the largest steam engine ever built.

 

After looking at some real trains that didn't move, we got to ride on a train. It was pretty fun.

 

We took the S.S. Badger across Lake Michigan. After assuring the captain that he would be very careful, Erik was allowed to steer.