That’s where we’ve been lately. Here at the cabin or there at home and everywhere inbetween. We’re headed home ‘for good’ more or less this weekend, and it’ll be such a relief to not have stuff spread out all over creation. 
We’ve slowly been carrying stuff back as we go for one reason or another, so that’s helpful. My stroller is home, but Qade’s bike is still with us, that’s a good thing! When we went back yesterday, well actually Tuesday evening, we got there to discover that a tree had fallen on the power line. De Ja Vous! So there was no electric, but amazingly enough the power people got out there right away and worked on it till about midnight and got it back up and running! I was so thankful for that! I don’t sleep well at all when my brain is “straining” to hear the lads rather than the comfort of having the monitor right there.
Monday both boys had to have shots. Qade just got one, but Myles had 3, poor boy! I feel SO terrible every time they have to get shots! Myles woke up on Tuesday with a fever and very very sad. He’d just sit on the floor crying. Those little tears just make me feel even more guilty. But I gave him ibuprofen and sure enough once it kicked in he was back to being more happy at least. Tuesday night, the one w/o power, Myles had a very hard time sleeping. I worked and worked with him. Finally I gave him a bottle and just rocked and rocked, which he usually doesn’t go for (well the rocking part) but he eventually fell asleep, and did fine even when I transferred him to his bed. By Wednesday you’d never know that he had shots, it’s just that first day/night that we have to work through. I’m happy though that he won’t need any more shots till 15 months!! We don’t get the chicken pox one, and put off the MMR till 15, so that’s a good 6 months of shot freedom!
I’ve told you before about the spitting that Qade finds so irresistible, right? Well, now Myles is spitting too… raspberries and such, normal baby stuff. The problem is that Qade loves to mimic his brother, and Myles just squeals with delight when he does. So now I’m in a pickle. I don’t know how to get Qade to stop doing it, when I obviously can’t stop Myles. It’s just so “unfair” when I have to discipline Qade for something that his little bro “gets away with.” Ya know?? Car time is the worst. So at this point we’ve decided that if he is mimicing Myles that we will let it go as long as it’s not projectile spitting. I know, it seems like we’re flip-flopping, but we parents have to learn and grow in this process along with our kids. Sometimes we try something and later realize that it’s either not working or not the best thing for that time.
Anyway, Qade is showing more and more signs of being ready to transition to the potty. I’m actually looking forward to it in a way. Being at home will help heaps! Woo-Hoo! Myles is now mr. crawler-man! He has the same “gimp” crawl that Qade had with one knee and one foot. He also “tip-toes” over things that get in his way and it’s hysterical! He’s really trying to pull himself up on things and gets a little frustrated sometimes that he can’t. I’m wondering if he’ll be a walker sooner than Qade was because now that he’s got the moving thing down he seems impatient to “catch up.” We’ll see. It’s fun to have him moving. He likes to come find mommy when I happen to be in a different room. It’s cute to see his little head poke around a corner and then just light up with a huge grin. It’s like we’re playing hide-n-seek and he just “found” me, except I didn’t realize it was a game. Fun!
Well I do have other things to do than write extremely long blog posts, but you wouldn’t know it to look at in now would ya? Hope you have all had fantastic weeks. I’m planning to post some pictures to FB today also if I get a chance so check that out if you’re on. Toodles!
Stuart has been having to leave for work at the property at around 4am, whoa! I don’t care for the early hours, but it’ll be over soon.
Archive for July, 2009
Here and There
07.30
Littlest Buddy
07.20
Recently I got to have some great Myles and Mommy time! One day he and I went to do some errands in a town about an hour and a half away. He was a great little traveler! I got to try out my ring sling with him, and he sat in it wonderfully through the bank AND Wal-Mart!! It was a pretty hot day though, so we were both hot and sweaty by the time shopping was done. Still it was so much fun to get to spend one on one time with him. I miss that sometimes, because with the 2 monkeys in my house there’s always something or someone else competing for attention. When Myles in in the sling and he starts to get sleepy he cuddles, and I love it!!! Myles is not my cuddly child for sure, but is growing more so as he gets bigger, which seems weird.
Anyway, this past weekend he and I had some more quality time as I went to Abq for my cousin’s wedding. Qade got to stay home and do manly work with Daddy, and of course he had the time of his life! Me and Myles had fun too. Anyway, the wedding was beautiful and even though the reception was late, Myles did great! He started to have a melt down part way into things, but actually relaxed while I rocked him enough to go to sleep!! That was special for me too! Myles does not like to be rocked before bed. He wants to be put down and let alone when he decides he’s sleepy, and he won’t “go down” just anywhere. Typically it’s either his bed or his car seat, and nothing else will do. So this Mommy was happy to get to rock her baby boy to sleep for once.
Myles has finally figured out that he really can crawl forward! In our little cabin there’s not much floor space so he hasn’t had to do more than skoot a little to get what he wanted. This weekend however he was in actual houses with cool things to explore, and off he went. He’s still a little “gimpy” in his crawl, but he’s got forward momentum! Qade’s world is changing with this new mile-stone. His precious, perfectly lined up cars are no longer safe from the chomping jaws of little brother. It’s great times!
With new territory comes new boundaries and Myles is learning “no-no’s” with the unwelcome aid of his big bro as well. This morning I was telling Myles no-no to something while I put on Qade’s shoes. Myles did stop and look at me, but Qade thought he needed more “reinforcement” so as soon as he was free he ran over and smacked Myles’ hand! Myles was totally unaffected, but Mommy put a stop to that right away. First born children try to be little parents I’ve noticed. Just never knew it would start so early!
Myles now weighs about 19 and a half pounds!! He’s a whopper! I just realized today that in 3 months our “baby” will be one!! How fast it flies! Makes me kinda sad, but I’m enjoying the journey. I have “plans” for Myles once we get settled in at home again. He needs to start drinking exclusively from a sippy, start off on milk and yogurt, and eating table food with “chunks.” He tried some of this the other day and kind of freaked out at the chunks. I don’t get it because he will munch little finger foods and crackers, but if you put it on a spoon somehow it becomes impossible to mash or swallow. 
Qade reacted that way too, so we’ll work through it. However all of these are future events. I’m not going to start any “growing pains” while we’re still in limbo.
Qade too has some goals, but he doesn’t know it. Potty training will be the biggest one for sure! I’m looking forward and dreading it all at the same time, but it must be done. Eating totally independently is also another goal. This one isn’t that big of a deal because he’s practically there. I’ve just been feeding him more while we’ve been at camp for sake of ease and mess. Soon that will be past and he can make a royal mess while he feeds his own face. He’s usually pretty accurate anyway.
So that’s some of the stuff on my lads. Hope you all are having a swell start to your week. Ta ta
New week, new post
07.13
Happy Monday. I finally know what day it is! This weekend was fun. After we scrubbed the very dirty rooms of our summer staff, which was NOT fun, we packed up our family and spent the night at a hotel! It was great fun just to be in a real bed and away. One thing that didn’t get packed was Qade’s pac-n-play. Oops! Thankfully we had a King sized bed, ahhhhh! When we checked in, I got the boys up on the bed right away. Myles went a little bonkers on all those acres of bed to flop on. He and Qade squealed with delight as the would flop all over the bed and wrestle with the pillows. I got the biggest kick watching them, and reffing of course. 
Had to make sure none of those head dives actually went off the bed! Myles went to bed easily, I was surprised because Qade was still very “up.” Qade slept between Mommy and Daddy on the bed, and if we didn’t sleep as soundly as typical, it was okay. This is the first time Qade has slept in “our bed” since he was just a few months old, so it was special. I think Daddy got kicked a couple of times, and I had to move him over as he seemed determined to push me off the bed, but overall it was fine.
In the morning Qade and I took a trip to the lobby to get us all some breakfast. In the hall an older couple was coming along and Qade looked at the lady and said, “Good morning!” just as friendly as could be. She was so taken by him that they had quite a little chat about breakfast, then when her husband came out Qade said good morning to him as well. They both thought he was quite something with his good manners. It was cute! Qade can be a little social bug when he feels like it. We took the boys to the nursery at church and amazingly Qade didn’t put up a fuss at all when we left. Awwww, our little lad is getting so big and grown up!
Well, that was pretty much our weekend. We came back to camp after church and picked up some chicken from the grocery store which we had with sweet potatoes. Nummy!! Today is “recovery Monday” so I need to get our little abode in order. Last night Myles woke up screaming at 1am, so I lost a bit of sleep. Maybe I can take a nap this afternoon when the boys go down. Ha! Hope you’ve had a fabulous weekend and are ready for a new week!
Saturday
07.11
Well, I’ve been a day off this week. Yesterday I thought it was Thursday all day, and the day before I thought it was Wednesday all day. Imagine my surprise when I found out that today is actually Saturday! Feels like I missed something…
Anyway, today Stu and I are going to clean one of the camp dorms that somehow missed getting clean when camp ended. This property is sub-leased sometimes and there’s a group coming in next week to use it. SOOOO… it needs to be clean. We’ll probably head out to do that while Myles is having a snooze and Qade will be our big-boy helper, as always. It’s fun to work together as a family.
We fixed a gourmet breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast in our little makeshift kitchen this morning. I brought my electric griddle down and it worked pretty well. The bacon was EXTRA crispy, but I like it like that. Qade thought the whole thing was a great idea, but was begging to eat way before it was done. I thin his egg and 2 slices of bacon made up for the wait. He seems to enjoy having non-camp food recently. Yesterday I fixed a crock pot roast and he ate 2 big servings of that.
Okay, so hope you’ve all figured out that it’s Saturday and are thoroughly enjoying your weekend. Ta ta!
Growin’
07.10
That’s what Qade is doing these days. Today he asked me about his friend “Ben-a-min”. I had to explain that Benjamin was on vacation but would be back soon and they could play. Not sure if he got it, but it seemed to work for the time being. Qade’s favorite question to ask lately is “Who’s that?” but it sounds more like “Hose-at” with a larger emphasis on the “hose” part. He asks it about people, but also inanimate objects as well. Guess I should teach him “What’s that?” next. More often these days Qade will call me Mom instead of Mommy. I think it’s kind of cute, but I like being “Mommy” so maybe he’ll grow out of it. Ha ha ha! We’ll see, he thinks of himself as pretty big stuff. We’ve been working on dressing ourselves recently too. Just one more way he’s getting to be a big boy and no more baby. He can pull his shorts up on his own, and once the shirt is over his face he can pretty much do the arms by himself. Now if I could just teach him to change that diaper. No, I’m actually working on potty training…. not with him yet, but with me. I need to make sure I am mentally ready for that hurtle before we get to it. I’ve been given some advice, watched other people’s techniques, read some stuff, so I think I’m getting there, but we will most likely start the process with Qade in September after we’ve been home for a bit. I’ve been dreading it, and that’s why I’m working on my own attitude towards the thing. I don’t want to make it a negative thing in our house. So here’s to happy pooping! Oh, I don’t know if I mentioned it before, but Qade has mastered the art of escaping from his pack-n-play. So these days we’re working on the concept of staying in bed when it’s bed or nap time. He “tests” quite a bit, but I do think we are making progress. More on the bed time side, and less so on the morning side. He figures if he wakes up, he should get up. I’m looking forward to home where he’ll at least be contained in his room if he roams.
Myles is mobile. He doesn’t exactly crawl forward yet, but he skoots all over the place. I never really know where he’s going to wind up. The other day he managed to skoot between the chair and the couch and pull the lamp over. Silly boy! He can get to a sitting position all by himself, and really likes to be sitting up. I think it’s part of why he hasn’t really decided to crawl yet. He’d rather sit! Just like he did with rolling over. He’s such a kamikaze in his pack-n-play now! He thinks it’s great fun to ricochet off the sides and flop all over the bottom. I get the hugest kick out of watching him be silly in there! Myles is my eater! He loves just about everything, including cardboard, foam, and grass. Basically anything that he can get to his mouth. So we have to be careful what he gets to chew on. I’ve been introducing him to some table foods, but he’s pretty much still on baby food with some finger foods thrown in. He’s getting to be so big!! Makes me sad, but glad too. Believe it or not Myles is becoming MORE of a snuggler!! He’s to that stage where he pays attention to his surroundings now and is “insecure” in new places. He is not nearly as bad as Qade was at this stage, but I finally figured out what was bothering him this past weekend. We went home for a night, and poor Myles freaked out when I tried to put him in his normal crib for a nap. Finally I opened his pack-n-play and put him in that and it was a bit better. Then we were at Oma’s house the night after that and he had to sleep in the back room since Qade can escape now. He went down fine, but woke up about 30 min later howling. When I picked him up he just kept turning his head from side to side looking at the room he was in. That’s when it dawned on me. Duh! He snuggled for awhile while I rocked him, totally unusual, and then I put him down and let him cry for a bit. If it had been Qade, he would have screamed at the top of his lungs for hours. Myles fussed for a little while, but probably not more than 10 min and then he slept the rest of the night. I find it interesting that to him, this little cabin we’ve been staying in is home. Kinda cute actually. Myles likes riding in my slings as well. He snuggles then too, I LOVE it!!
Well, one goober is sleeping, and one is begging to go “ah-side” so I’d better wrap up this rather long thing and hie us to the sunshine! Hope you are all have spiffy days!
Ah, the sweet music of nap time!
07.09
Hello friends! Camp in AZ is over. Seems like it went so fast once we got going. Now Stuart is helping at the new property and I am holding down the fort in our “Laura and Mary” cabin. Ha ha! I use my imagination often to make mundane things more fun. One of the families that came as sponsors this summer has 5 kids. They stayed in this cabin before and because there is a loft they dubbed it the “Laura and Mary” cabin after the “Little House on the Prairie” characters. If I imagine that I’m “back then” it helps me to not get irritated over the small inconveniences. For example, I’m trying, as I write, to boil water on a single electric burner to make pasta. I’ve been at it for nearly an hour and no boiling yet! But if I think about having to boil water on the top of a wood burning stove, or even an open fire, it doesn’t seem so bad. Another thing I use my imagination for is when I’m cooking, not just here. I like to pretend that I’m a contestant on “Iron Chef America” and for some reason that makes cooking more fun. So I’m wacky, but at least I enjoy life.
Our plan for this evening is to have a picnic lunch in the park. I will take the boys to meet Stu and we’ll have our pasta salad. (Provided the water ever boils) That is the plan. But the sky is threatening and grumbling right now so I’m not sure if it’ll all work out. We’ll just play it by ear. Speaking of ears, I got my “fiddle method” book in the mail!! Now I can start practicing how to fiddle. Ha! I’m sure you all are happy that I won’t be within hearing range for you. I’m interested to see how the boys react to it.
My sling rings also came in the mail, and I’ve been “practicing” slinging both Qade and Myles in a Lava Lava from Samoa. It makes a great, and only slightly short sling. I don’t really need it to be longer, but I’m going to stitch one end so that I don’t have to think about 2 ends on the rings. I’ll have to post a picture of me using it sometime. Stuart said I look like I’m from Africa. Little too light, I think. Qade will ask to “sit in it” when he sees me putting it on. He thinks it’s a novelty for sure. I practiced first on him and we looked at ourselves in the mirror and he thought he was pretty cool “riding” mommy that way. Fun stuff!
Today I’ve been trying to get resettled in our cabin. The laundry has been put away, dishes done, boys fed and changed oodles, hung a hummer feeder (which they have already found!) and now that the boy-o’s are napping it’s time for me to tidy the living area and the kitchen again. Hope you all are having a fabulous July. I think I’ll be able to post more often these days, but we will see.
Ta!
