Abram's Baptism

Abram was baptised on April 15, 2012 at St. Michael Catholic Church.  We asked Kendra and Chad to be his Godparents.  They were gracious enough to accept and host the celebration lunch following the baptism.  Since we held the baptism so close to our hometown we had a great turnout.  I think there must have been 50 friends and family members there to witness Abram's big day!  Since St. Michael's typically only allows baptisms on the first Sunday of the month during mass, we had to have the baptism after mass.  Things started off a little rocky since we had to rush the ceremony to accommodate choir practice.  I didn't have the camera or video camera ready so I spent the first two minutes of the baptism frantically looking around at my relatives making crazy charade-like movements in an effort to get someone to pick up a camera!  Finally, my Aunt Lisa caught on and told my Dad and Paul's Dad to get on camera duty.

Uncle Chad lighting Abram's candle.

Even my chill baby cried during his baptism.

Kendra, Me, Fr. TJ & Abram, Paul, & Chad

Chloe, Paul, Mom, Dad, Fr. TJ & Abram, & Me

Doug, Bobby Kay, Fr. TJ & Abram, Me, Chloe, & Paul

Family Pic.  Abram has had ENOUGH!

My Grandma Sally made this BEAUTIFUL cake.  She said she was going to "make a cake," but I didn't expect such a magnificent, giant cake.

This is the cake I had made at Frank's.  It wasn't supposed to have those giant flowers on it, but you win some, you lose some.

Doug, Paul's Grandma T (Mildred), & Paul

Paul, Dad, Mom, Grandma Sally & Abram, Me, & Grandpa Frank

Chloe had such a fun day.  Papa had to work really hard to keep up with her.  Both of them took a little nap during the party.

Abram - 3 Months

Wow!  Abram is three months old, and let me just say he is a perfect angel.  These days Abram sleeps through the night - usually in 8 to 10 hour stretches.  He typically takes one long 2-3+ hour nap in the afternoon, and takes multiple mini naps throughout the day.  He sleeps in his crib and rarely ever cries when we put him to bed. 

Abram loves having a clean diaper, and actually really loves having his diaper changed.  He loves to be spoken to, and he really loves cooing back at you.  He coos so much now that sometimes we have to ask him to pipe down a bit.  I really love his sweet voice, and I forgot how sweet it is to hear a baby coo.  He has a really high-pitched squeak that I am partial to.  Abram thinks that Chloe is hilarious (because she is), and whenever she sticks her face in his face he gives her a grin from ear to ear.  Chloe loves giving Abram big hugs.  I have even caught her trying to pick him up from time to time.  Stinker.  He doesn't mind at all!

My little man is growing so fast.  He is wearing size 6-9 (or bigger) clothing these days.  He is in Size 2 diapers, but I'm pretty sure that Size 3 would be fine, too.  Most of his baby hair fell out this month, but it is starting to grow back.  It is pretty light, but I would say it is darker than Chloe's was at this age.  Abram's baby acne is completely gone, but he does have some serious eczema on his legs and elbows.  His eye still boogers every now and then, but the plugged duct seems less serious as he gets older. 

For the most part Abram doesn't cry unless he gets really startled or hurt (by big sis mostly).  He is also likely to have a fit when he is really hungry.  When he has a poopy diaper sometimes he will complain a little, but he never cries about it.  Abram really prefers his milk in a bottle.  I joke that he will have a preference for bottled beer over draft beer.  I'm not sure if it is because he takes a bottle all day, but he just doesn't love breastfeeding as much as he did when he was newborn.  And I'm not sure what it is about me, but I'm not devastated about it like I would have been with Chloe.  I really don't mind pumping him bottles, though I'm grateful that he still breastfeeds at night like a champ in the event that he does wake up for a feeding.  I would really hate to have to get up and make him a bottle.  I've never been a big fan of breastfeeding in public, so I just bring him a bottle when we go out.  I don't know why I never did that with Chloe. 

Abram isn't really trying to roll over, but then maybe that is my fault.  I don't really work with him on tummy time, and I haven't been teaching him to roll over.  Call me crazy, but I just want him to stay little for as long as possible.  He is already so big, and I'm just not ready for my little baby to be rolling over and attempting to crawl. 

Abram still doesn't really love his bath, but he doesn't cry about it anymore either.  He still loves his pacifier, and I get the distinct feeling that bottles and pacifiers are going to be hard habits to break, whereas Chloe couldn't have cared less. 

Here is a pic from the beginning of the month when he really hated his bath.

Abram isn't super cuddly.  He really likes to just chill in his bouncy seat and watch us.  It is funny, because we bought Chloe a pink bouncy seat, but she HATED it.  Abram LOVES the bouncy seat.  Poor guy... stuck in pink everything.  Overall, Abram is doing well.  When he isn't sleeping he is smiling and cooing.  He is my sweet boy!  I took his three month photos a couple weeks late.  Oops!

OMG! I'm My Mother...

Me:  I really want to get Abram this little outfit from Babies R Us for Easter, but it is $40.  I have a coupon for 25% off, though.

Paul:  So, $30?

Me:  Well, 10% of $40 is $4.  And 4+4+4+2 is $14... er, wait, that is 35%.  Umm... okay, so 4+4+2 is $10.  So, $30!

Paul:  Yes, like I said.

Me:  Oh.  Right.  Because you just did $40 divided by 4.  Yes... well, once you run the numbers, ahem... so anyway, $30 still seems like a lot.

Somehow I graduated with highest honors with a degree in finance, but that is not the point.  You want to know where I get that 10% of X crap?  Where else?  My MOM.  I expect to make the complete transformation into my mother over the next two years here.  Another great example...

Me:  How old is my Dad?

Paul:  I'm not sure.  He was turning 50 at our wedding... no, at your brother's wedding.

Me:  Right.  We got married in 2007.  Right?

Paul:  I think so.  So Drew and Shantel were married in 2008.  That was three years ago.  So he is 53.

Me:  Oh. My. God.  Do you realize how old we are?  My parents used to do this shit all of the time, and we would get so mad.  I would say something like, 'Mom, how old is my cat?'  Simple enough question, right?  But no.  This started a whirlwind of dialogue between my Mom and herself.  'Well... let's see.  Tim and Lisa were married in '78.  Two years later the barn burned down.  Your cousin was born in '82.  Eight years later we bought the cabin.  We had the cat for two years before we bought the cabin.  So, that makes the cat 6 years old.'  'Oh, thanks for that, Mom.  There's two minutes of my life I'm never going to get back.'

Work Out!

I realize I made a very public promise to myself that I wouldn't start working out until late summer, but recently I decided to modify the promise a little.  Looking back I realize that after I had Chloe I was in no condition physically or emotionally to be working out.  It was just so hard for me to go back to work.  It's not like it isn't hard for me this time around.  It is just that this time around I'm used to it.  It is what I have been doing for two years, and, if I'm being honest with myself, it is a heck of a lot easier for me than staying home. 

I think the real problem is that after I had Chloe I thought that working out for a few weeks was going to transform my body right back to its old self.  I whipped out my old wardrobe and tried on every pair of pants on a daily basis.  It was just so damn depressing.  What I didn't realize is that it is difficult to lose weight when you are breastfeeding since your body needs to hold onto extra fat.  I know they say you lose weight when you breastfeed, but that isn't entirely true; you just burn more calories.  The downside is that you also eat more calories, because you are ravenously hungry.  Always.

I realize, though, that I need to start working out if I'm going to have the energy to keep up with my kids.  This time I'm not working out to lose weight.  That would be a great side effect, sure, but my main goal here is to just get to a healthy place both physically and emotionally.  I don't want to feel as though I don't have any energy in the evenings even though I have been sitting in a chair all day.  Also, I don't want to mope around complaining about how fat I am while I sit and eat my third piece of pizza.  Cookies anyone?

So a few weeks ago I decided I would train to run the 5/3 River Bank Run 5K.  After running a few days I decided to ask my great friend and fellow mopey mother, Mo, if she'd like to do the same.  To keep things fun we decided to meet once per week for a TRX class at Allegro Coaching.  The class is great for strength-training, and we leave feeling so sore that it is the perfect motivation to keep working out all week.  I can't wait to see the muscles lying under those layers of fat.  I can feel them after every work out!  It is really fun, and I can already feel a change in my attitude.  I'm still wearing my trusty maternity pants, and I don't even care.  I'll get there, and I'm not worried about when. 

Abram - 2 Months

At his two month appointment Abram weighed in at 13 pounds 3 ounces.  He was 23 and 3/4 inches.  That put him in the 80% percentile for height and 80% percentile for weight.  His head circumference was 16 inches, or 60% percentile.  He is one big boy! 

Abram received his first round of shots, including his first Hepatitis B vaccine since we opted out of this in the hospital at birth.  We completely opted out of the Rotavirus vaccine for a variety of reasons.  First, the vaccine has a bad track record with several brands of the vaccine being recalled for various reasons over the past ten years.  Second, Rotavirus is typically more serious for low-income families with a lack of knowledge and lack of good healthcare.  Rotavirus primarily causes diarrhea and dehydration, and since we have good health insurance and since we live less than five minutes from the children's hospital, I'm not particularly worried. 

At his appointment we discussed Abram's plugged tear tuct.  His right eye has been oozy and watery since he was born.  Now that he has gained limited control of his hands I often catch him itching his eye.  Unfortunately, there is nothing much we can do about it.  Most kids grow out of it by one year.  The doctor recommended using a warm wash cloth on the eye, massaging the duct, and vaseline around the eye to keep it from getting too raw.  Other than his eye, everything checked out.  The doctor said Abram looked great!

Abram started smiling a little at 5 weeks and was all smiles by 6 weeks.  He started cooing a little between 6 and 7 weeks, and he will sit and have a whole conversation with you by 8 weeks.  He has the sweetest little voice.  I forgot how much I loved to hear Chloe's coos.  He mostly says "agoo" and "gaaa."  A few days ago he got really excited and exlaimed "WOW."  Chloe and I looked at one another and started cracking up.  I asked Chloe what he said and she said, "Baby Brother said WOW!" 

We are trying to squeeze Abram into the last of his size 1 diapers, but he is starting to pee through them and they are getting really, really, really tight.  He has yet to pee on me when I change his diaper.  Good boy!  He is wearing size 3-6 month clothing.

Abram loves his pacifier.  If he ever attempts to cry (which is rare) we just jam that paci in his mouth and he stops.  He likes to suck on it as he is falling asleep.  Abram hates getting a bath.  This is a baby who rarely cries, but if you stick him in the bath tub he WAILS.  This all started about a week ago.  Prior to that he really didn't seem to have a preference. 

Abram's bedtime routine for the past month has been for us to swaddle him up in a cozy blanket and sit him in his bouncy seat with his pacifier in his mouth.  We do this while we are downstairs watching television.  He falls asleep downstairs, and then we bring him up to our bedroom and put the chair in the Pack n' Play, which is sitting next to our bed.  Typically, we put him to bed at 8 or 9 and he wakes up to eat at 2 or 3.  The big change this month is that he falls back asleep right after he eats.  He sleeps until 6 or 7 after that.  Also, I am back sleeping in our bed, which has been really nice. 

During the day Abram mostly just eats, sleeps, and hangs out.  He is such a good boy.  He only cries when he is hungry or when Chloe is trying to smother him (and even then sometimes he doesn't cry).  He doesn't cry when I change his diaper.

Potty Training: Update

Day 7:  Today Chloe woke up dry at 6:00 a.m. and ran to the bathroom.  She peed on the potty right away.  She was home with me and the new nanny all day, and every time she had to use the bathroom she would say, "I have to go poop!"  I would run her to the bathroom and she would either pee or poop.  She didn't have a single accident all day.  It was amazing.  Now we just have to teach her how to take down her own pants and get on the toilet herself.  I just can't believe she was potty trained in less than a week.  I'm so proud!!

Day 14:  For the past few days Chloe has been making a beeline for the bathroom whenever she senses nature's call.  She doesn't even tell us what she is doing anymore.  It is so crazy to peek in on her and see her propped up on the toilet going all by herself.  The problem now is that we don't always know when she is going, and I fear that it is going to take a while before she masters the art of the wipe.  She only wet the bed once since we started potty training, and that was because she refused to go potty before bed. 

Chloe got to use a public restroom over the weekend.  She thought she was so cool and she wanted to go again once she was finished.  It is a little stressful to bring her out of the house now that she is potty trained.  We were at Hobby Lobby and we asked her maybe four times if she had to go potty, but she kept saying no.  We were in the car for maybe three minutes after we left when she said she had to go potty.  Of course.  We pulled into Home Depot.  When I walked in with her I asked where the bathrooms were located.  The greeter said, "Aaaaall the way down to the end and then aaaaall the way back."  So, pretty much the furthest they could possibly be.  Super convenient.  I ran/walk frantically all the way to the back of the store.  Chloe talked about how she had to go "poop" (pee and poop are both "poop") the whole time.  When we finally go to the toilet she peed for probably 20 seconds.  Phew!!  As Chloe would say, "Yaaaaay Towie!"  She is really an all star. 

Of course, this whole process has not been without its hiccups.  We were letting Chloe choose the big potty or her small potty at first.  That all ended last weekend when Paul decided it would be a good idea to "give her some privacy" while she pooped.  When he walked in he caught her red handed (or should I say brown handed) with a friggen terd in her hand!!  She was taking it from the small potty to put in the big potty.  He brought her upstairs to me where I was taking a shower.  I said, "Please tell me that is chocolate on her fingers!!"  No such luck.  Later that day she peed on the little potty, and before I could even bend down to grab the chair, she had picked up the chair and was attempting to dump the pee in the toilet.  Since she is two, however, she missed completely and slung pee all over the bathroom and all over my legs.  I was SOOOO furious that I grabbed that little toilet and banished it to the back of my car in case of emergencies only.  You served your purpose, little potty, but it is time to move on!

Potty Training

Last week I thought it would be a grand idea to meet my friends at the library for a play date.  As I chased Chloe through bookshelves, up the stairs, down the stairs, and past the vending machines, I quickly realized that leaving the house was a terrible idea.  Chloe wanted to play with anything that wasn't a toy.  It wouldn't have been so bad, but I had to chase her around with a baby in tow. 

About 20 minutes into the play date Chloe made herself a very poopy diaper.  Worst.  Possible.  Scenario.  Chloe hates having her diaper changed - especially poopy ones.  Most poopy diapers end with both of us in tears, because the whole event is just so horrible.  Sometimes I manage to talk her through it with a game or a song, but most of the time poopy diapers mean kicking, thrashing, screaming, and crying.  For me, it meant leaving the room to recharge my patience, and questioning whether 9:30 a.m. was too early to pour myself a heaping glass of red wine.  Anyway, so after 15 minutes of chasing my poopy pants toddler around I was sweating, nearly crying, and feeling defeated.  The other parents were giving me the stink eye or the oh-dear-I-have-been-there-and-I'm-so-glad-it-is-you-and-not-me look.  Assholes.

When I finally managed to get Chloe and Abram into the bathroom I realized I had grabbed Abram's diaper instead of Chloe's.  I sprinted to get Chloe's diaper.  The second I got the dirty diaper off, Chloe popped up and flipped over, effectively smearing poop all over the changing table and wall.  This is why we never touch anything in a public restroom.  She proceeded to throw the world's greatest temper-tantrum.  I strapped her down to the table and changed her diaper with fury.  When we were done we both needed a hug, but not from one another.  I told my friends I had to go.  I'm not cut out for this stay at home mom business.  I don't know how they do it. 

That day I told Chloe that was the last poopy diaper of hers I was ever going to change.  And I meant it.

Day 1:  Epic fail.  The day started out at 5:00 a.m. since this is the time Chloe is waking up again these days.  Paul kindly woke up with her and let me sleep in another hour.  We decided on going cold turkey with the potty training.  Maybe it isn't the best method, maybe it is.  But it is certainly our style.  Just take it away.  No remorse.  Except there was remorse.  The day was full of remorse.  First thing in the morning Paul had Chloe throw her diapers away.  She was really excited to throw them out and wear big girl underwear.  He gave her a "potty watch" to wear, and she was thrilled.  A potty watch is an as seen on tv thing.  The watch is shaped like a little toilet and plays music and lights every 30, 60, or 90 minutes to remind her to try to go potty.  We set the watch to 30 minutes.  When I came downstairs at 6:30 with Abram the first thing Chloe did was run over to us, squat down, and pee on the rug.  Fail.  We brought her upstairs to take a bath.  Now if there is one thing Chloe knows is that you are NOT to poop in the tub.  Paul and I were both in Abram's room, which is right next to the bathroom (our house is really small so you can pretty safely walk to the next room and still hear everything that is going on) and were checking in on Chloe intermittently.  Maybe 30 seconds had passed before Chloe fell quiet.  When I walked in the bathroom the bathtub water was brown with poop.  Fail.  After that Chloe peed on our bed.  Fail.  Later she peed in Abram's jumpy seat.  Fail.  She peed her pants another six to eight times.  Fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail.  There was a whole two or three hours where she just screamed bloody murder from the toilet.  It was the serious hyperventilating type of crying.  I told Paul I feared we might scar her for life.

Chloe on Day 1 of potty training.  If she could give me the middle finger, she would.  She chose to wear her potty watch/tether on her ankle Lindsay Lohan style. 

The only victories of the day happened after her nap and before bed.  After her nap I banished her to the toilet where she screamed and cried.  She wanted to get off the toilet, because she had to pee.  I realized that this process would go a lot better if she were given a choice.  I had Paul bring down her little potty chair and let her choose to go on that or go on the big potty.  She chose her little chair and said "Chloe potty."  She pointed to the big potty and said "Mommy potty."  Two seconds later she peed.  YAAAYY!!!!!  Later that day I bought some jelly beans for a reward.  She saw them just before bed and threw a temper tantrum because she wanted them.  I told her to go on the potty and she could have them.  Sure enough, she whipped down her pants and peed on demand.  Then she pushed out two more little pees before bed because she was so excited about peeing on the potty.  We decided it was all or nothing and put her to bed in underwear.  The Pull-Ups just look too much like diapers, and we thought it would be confusing.

Day 2:  Chloe woke up at 5:15 a.m.  I practically flew out of bed to intercept her.  I was amazed to see her pants were dry.  I practically threw her on her potty.  She sat there all sleepy-eyed, and we read a book.  About five minutes later she peed on the potty.  She was super excited, and so was Mommy!!!  I did feel sad for Chloe shortly after when she ran over to the wipes on the floor and said "I want my diaper now."  I told her we threw them away, but she said "NO!"  She cried a little.  I asked her if she needed a hug and she said yes.  I told her I understood that she missed her diapers.  I called in the reinforcements (my Mom) for Day 2.  We spent most of the day in the bathroom with Chloe sitting on the potty and me and my Mom thinking of different ways to entertain/bribe her.  Despite our watchful eyes, she somehow managed to pee her pants in the ten combined seconds of the day that she wasn't being watched.  Both times, however, we caught her mid-pee and stuck her on the potty to finish.  Later that night our friends, The Klassens, brought us dinner.  Chloe loved playing with Harper, and she even stopped playing once to go potty.  Unfortunately, as the night progressed Chloe drew out one pee over several "accidents."  I think she peed herself five times in a row while playing with Harper.  Later that night she went potty on the toilet and we put her to bed.

Day 3:  Chloe woke up at 5:00 a.m.  She came in my room.  Again, I flew out of bed, but it was too late.  She was peeing while standing up, which is better than peeing the bed.  Despite a rough start to the day, peeing on the potty seemed much easier. We only had a couple of accidents and we didn't have too many full-on temper tantrums about using the toilet.  We took a two hour car ride back home and Chloe peed on the potty before we left and when we got there.  By the evening Chloe was peeing on demand (yes, just like a dog). 

Day 4:  Chloe woke up dry at 6:00 a.m. and told Paul she needed to go potty.  Chloe had a big day playing with her Papa and Grammy and her cousin, Andrew.  She didn't have any accidents.  Later that day she went to her Aunt Kendra and Uncle Chad's house.  She had a great time playing with her cousins Oli, Avery, and Tay.  Paul and I went out to dinner with our friends, Kellie and Jeff and Ryan and Kylee, and Chloe and Abram stayed with Kendra and Chad.  Over that time Chloe pooped on the potty.  Kendra said she started to pee her pants a little on two occasions, but quickly ran to the potty to finish.  She slept all night with Oli and Tay in a twin bed, because she is a big girl.

Day 5:  Chloe woke up dry at 5:00 a.m. and told Paul she needed to go potty.  We went to church that morning and then went to spend the day at Doug and Bob's house.  Chloe had only one accident that day where she started peeing her pants.  We caught her and she ran to finish on the toilet.  The biggest victory came when Chloe ran up to me and said, "I need to go poop!  I need to go poop!"  We ran to the potty and, sure enough, Chloe went poop!  I don't think I have ever been more excited about poop in my whole life!

Day 6:  Chloe woke up dry at 6:00 a.m. and told me she needed to go poop.  She still has a hard time distinguishing between pooping and farting.  So she tooted on the toilet and peed.  Big girl.  I took her to daycare today so that the other kids could cheer for her when she went pee on the potty.  This is going to be her last day at daycare.  Sad face.  More on that later.

For the most part we are just taking Chloe to the toilet every 2-3 hours.  Sometimes she doesn't go, but most of the time she does.  If she really doesn't have to go she gets pissed.  Yesterday she told Paul she didn't have to go then she said, "I'm not a baby, Dada."  We still have to pull her pants down and sit her on the potty, because she is kind of little to be doing that.  She has yet to tell us she has to go pee herself, but we hardly let her get to that point. 

When Chloe is peeing on the potty she gets the most hilarious look on her face, because she is really concentrating and listening for the pee to tinkle in the toilet.  She gets a huge grin on her face and exclaims "Yaaaaay Chloe!!"  She also says "Yaaaaay ____" to whomever is peeing on the potty.  She gives "knuckles" then "five" then some sort of chicken wing maneuver that the kids must have taught her.  It is so cute.  She flushes by herself and runs to go play.  No more horrific and embarrassing diaper changes.  THANK GOD!!

I am so so so proud of Chloe for being such a big girl.  I feel so happy to have accomplished potty training before I have to go back to work, but I also feel so sad to know that my little baby is getting so big.  I felt so sad for her knowing that she missed her diapers, but now she seems really happy to be done with them.  She is always talking about how she is a big girl.  And she is a big girl... but I think she'll always be my sweet baby.