Abram - 5 Months

At five months Abram has found a new hobby in self-worship.  He loves looking at the handsome baby in the mirror.  Sometimes we just pass by a mirror for a quick second and I catch him flashing himself a giant smile.  More notably, Abram has started his life-long relationship relationship with - what else? - his penis.  His favorite time of the day is bath time.  Although, I like to recognize it for what it really is: personal penis squeezing time.  I am not joking about this.  The second I put that little naked baby in the tub his hand goes south and he laughs and laughs.  Abram loves his bath so much that every night at 7:00 p.m. he starts fussing.  It is like he can't go without touching his penis for more than 24 hours!  Joking aside, I love giving Abram a bath.  He is just so happy chilling in the tub.  He would stay there as long as I let him just cooing and smiling up at me.  Bath time has done wonders for his skin, too.  I have been using Eucerin body wash followed by Eucerin body cream immediately after the bath.  His skin has completely cleared up and is now soft and smooth.  No more itchies! 

Abram's favorite person is Chloe.  She gave him his first belly laugh and she makes him belly laugh on a daily basis.  All she has to do is walk in the room and he smiles.  To get him to laugh she just jumps in a circle or says "googoo, gaga."  She is pretty funny, but he thinks she is hysterical.  He also happens to think that I am very funny.  I can get him laughing by just saying "hi" or by laughing myself.  Paul gets him laughing by tickling him, but he laughs so hard then that he ends up doing a laugh/squeal that ends in the hiccups. 

Abram's favorite place to hang is in the Baby Bjorn.  I picked it up at a garage sale for $40 and I don't know where we would be without it.  He loves to face out in it and smile at people whenever he can.  People are always saying how cute he is, because he is always grinning from ear to ear. 

Abram rolled from back to front on May 21.  He rolled from front to back a few days later, but catching him in the act is rare.  This is mainly because he rarely flips over on to his tummy since he realized that he hates it.  When he rolls over he ends up just lying there complaining about it.  There are no signs of him crawling anywhere any time soon.  He does love bouncing in his jumparoo and sitting up in his pink Bumbo seat.  He also loves trying to bounce himself out of his pink chair.

Chloe never seemed ready for solid food, and she choked on it for a good month or two before she was able to get the hang of it.  Abram, on the other hand, has been competing with Griffin for the longest steak stare-down at dinner time.  Abram just couldn't wait to get his hands on some real food.  I've been saying that his first food was organic rice cereal mixed with (super far from organic) breastmilk.  We gave that to him right at five months; however, about a week before that Chloe, Paul, and I were enjoying a round of red, white, and blue Country Fresh popsicles on a hot summer night right in front of Abram when it dawned on me that we were being awfully rude.  You could see that he could practically taste our delicious treat!  I surprised myself when I gave Paul the go-ahead to give Abram a taste.  My, how my nerves have calmed with baby #2!  The crazy books I read with Chloe would have had me convinced that Abram would turn into a giant hive within seconds of slurping the devil's candy!! 

Abram is still breastfed and I'm fortunate that I haven't yet had the need to supplement with formula.  He takes the bottle or breast and has started holding his bottle when he eats.  He never usually eats more than 5 ounces.  He can get his pacifier into his mouth and can reach for his toys.  It is funny to watch him experiment with depth perception.  Sometimes you see him grabbing for something and he is off by about six inches. 

With regard to sleeping, he takes two naps a day - one shorter and one longer.  I breastfeed him at night and let him fall asleep doing it.  I haven't even thought once to Google how this is going to mess him up in the future.  I don't even care at all this time!  Once he is asleep I pop his paci in his mouth, take him up to his crib, and swaddle him up in a soft blanket my Mom made for him.  Yes, I wrap him in a blanket.  Past Cassie says, "GASP!  A blanket?!"  He loves his blanket, and I'm certain it is going to be with him until he goes to summer camp and is forced to leave it at home in fear of what his friends will think.  We have had him wrapped in that blanket from day one, because his arms and legs are always moving and he can't sleep without being partially constrained.  But there is something magical about that soft, cozy blanket.  We've tried to go without, but there is just no way.

Chloe slept on her tummy at nap and bedtime from the minute she could roll over on her tummy until she was about 18 months old.  There was just no stopping her.  Every time I put her in her crib she would roll over and I would pat her butt.  You always had to pat her butt.  I think it is a colicy baby thing.  Anyway, I would pat her butt lighter and ligher, slower and slower until I could tip-toe out of the room.  Abram, on the other hand, I lie him down on his back, wrap up his body and legs really tightly in his blanket and then hold his crazy arms down against his chest.  It takes him a few seconds to fall asleep and then I gently release his arms and tip-toe out of the room.  Funny kids.

I think that is a decent update for now.  I failed to take Abram's official 5 month pictures.  Sorry, bud.

Abram - 4 Months

At four months Abram still isn't rolling over!  While he is a little behind his sister in that department he makes up for it in size!  At his four month appointment Abram weighed in at 15 lbs 13 oz (55th percentile), was 26.5 inches long (90th percentile), and had a head circumference of 17 inches (75% percentile).  He is super close to rolling over, but he just can't get over his arm.  He doesn't really love being on his tummy anyway, so I can see why he wouldn't want to roll over.  Chloe, on the other hand, spent the first four months of her life trying to get to her tummy.  Once she was able to roll over I don't think she slept on her back again until she was two.  That is what happens when you have a gassy belly. 

Abram still has a terrible case of eczema.  He has it all over the backs of his legs and arms and on the back of his head.  Abram's skin is so sensitive that last week Paul held him after using shaving cream and Abram got huge, raised finger-print rashes all over his body.  Sometimes when Abram is sleeping he will trash his head back and forth really quickly.  I was so worried about him at first, but then I noticed that he had huge scabs on the back of his head from the eczema.  He was trying to scratch them!  I feel so bad for the little guy.  I always thought that fewer baths were better for people with sensitive skin, but the doctor told us that the new opinion is to bath often and slather body cream all over the body.  So at four months our new routine will consist of a nightly bath and unscented body cream - the kind that leaves you feeling all greasy, because it is nearly impossible to rub in. 

This is called a "Boppy Bottle" and it is Dada's method of giving Abram a bottle.  It knocks him out every time!

Abram still has a goober eye from his plugged tear duct.  The doc still advises to wait it out until he is a year old.  I sounded like a first time parent at Abram's appointment.  I have been really worried about Abram's sporadic arm and leg movements.  I feel like Chloe had more control of her body at this age.  The doctor said he is totally fine and is just trying to figure out how to work his arms and legs.  I don't know if I totally trust her, but I'm going to keep myself from Googling anything in the near future.  Anyway, he had two more shots and the doctor said he looks great!

Abram is starting to show signs of being afraid of strangers.  He loves mostly everyone, but then once in a blue moon a stranger will startle him and he will scream bloody murder.  It is crazy!!  He is such a happy little guy, but some people just rub him the wrong way.  Also, he gets very startled by loud noises.  I have some experience with this since I'm often yelling at Chloe while she climbs all over me as I attempt to feed Abram.  Every time I yell at her Abram freaks out.  He also cries when he hears the lawn mower or if a pan were to crash to the floor.

At four months Abram is smiling, giggling (so cute!), cooing, trying to roll over, holding his head up like a champ, sitting in his Bumbo, showing the first signs at an attempt to crawl, and drooling all over the place.  He still breastfeeds, but sometimes prefers the bottle.  I'm not sure if I will be able to feed him strictly breast milk until he is a year old since he is getting really hungry lately, but I'm going to try.  We'll start solids at six months, so that should help.

That Peaceful Moment of Clarity

Some evenings I swear Chloe and Abram call a meeting to discuss how best to torment me.  Chloe, first you take an entire 24 pack of Popsicles into the living room.  I'll shit all the way up my back and stick my hands in it.  That should buy you enough time to eat two before she catches you.  Then, when she takes the box away, you throw a temper-tantrum.  Cry for so long that you forget what you are crying about.  Stick your bottom lip out as far as it will go and ask for a hug when you are done so that she forgets she was mad.  Ask her sweetly if you can watch an episode of Sponge Bob Pear Pear, your favorite show.  I'll be hungry by then so I'll start crying right when you ask.  This will help her decide against her better judgement.  While you watch Pear Pear I'll be extra cute while I eat my food.  I'll hold my mouth open like a bird and then pretend to chew.  It'll practically kill her.  God, I'm cute.  Mom will probably turn the TV off after one episode, because Pear Pear puts you in a foul mood.  Throw a huge temper-tantrum even if you aren't mad about it.  You've set a precedent, and now you have to stick to it.  When you are done you'll probably have to poop.  But don't tell Mama.  Do that thing where you sneak into the bathroom and take a huge dump in less than three seconds.  Don't wipe.  You never do.  Put your underwear back on inside-out and backwards and leave poopy-tracks on Dora's face.  That's hilarious.  Or,  you can just leave them off and run around the house with poop on your butt until she catches you.  That's funny, too.  Either way, you can't lose.  I won't tell on you as long as you come over and jump in circles in front of me.  Stop every now and then and say "goo goo, ga ga," and boy will I laugh.  I'll laugh so hard I'll get the hiccups, which will really piss me off... and it goes on and on.

These are the nights I check the clock about seventeen times.  I often find myself taking the kids up an hour early for a bath at 6:30 p.m.  After I yell at Chloe 15 times for drinking the bath water that her brother peed in, after Chloe screams bloody murder because she got a drop of water in her eyes and, "my eyes, my eyes, MY EYEEEEES!!!," and after Abram squeezes his own penis so hard he makes himself cry, it happens.  I have this amazing moment.  After all of that chaos and crying and laughing I have this peaceful moment of clarity. 

It starts when I cuddle Abram up to me for his final feeding of the day.  I wipe the little crusties from his eye.  He stops eating to look up at me.  He smiles.  He goes back to eating and I smile as he blissfully falls asleep.  I don't even care this time around that breastfeeding him to sleep is a bad habit.  We won't have this time for long.  I know this time to appreciate it.  I put him in his crib where, like an angel, he will sleep the remainder of the night.  I move on to Chloe. 

If she has her way I've taken her to bed.  Brush your teeth, go potty, two stories, a song, and a prayer are Daddy's rules, but she knows she can hold me hostage for much longer.  Two books always turns into four, six, eight.  I lose count.  I read her a story and then she reads one to me.  I love to just lie there with her in her big girl bed.  It is there that I notice her special characteristics.  Sometimes I see something new, and it's like God is letting me in on a little secret.  I love the way her hair falls in her face.  It tickles, so she sticks out her lips and wriggles her nose a bit.  Then, in a grand gesture, she sweeps her hair behind her shoulder with her hand.  She does it over and over again, because the fan keeps blowing her hair in her face.  I'd stop it if I weren't so damn mesmerized.  I love her soft voice.  It's always been soft, and sometimes you have to be completely still to hear what she is saying.  My favorite sound in the entire world is the sound of her reading books.  She flips the pages so carefully, deliberately.  She looks at every detail on the page and then quietly, thoughtfully, tells the story she sees.

Sometimes she sees me lying there nearly comatose.  She'll reach out, pat my face, and say, "Shhh, Mama.  Close your eyes."  Then she starts singing, "Twinkle, twinkle little star..."  Just like I do to her.  She'll ask me to sleep with her in her bed.  Or maybe we can go sleep in Mama's bed?  "You.  And me?  You.  And me?" she'll ask.  She knows I'm a sucker for pronouns.  I consider it, too, except going to sleep on her own - in her own bed - and staying put the entire night seems like the one thing we are doing totally right as parents.  And even that is up for discussion. 

So, I break free from my two-year-old hypnotist.  We say our prayers and I always, every night, give my most genuine and sincere thanks to God, though it seems futile.  For my blessings are too many to count.     

Our First Conversation

Last weekend I took the kids home to meet their newest baby cousin.  On Saturday night Chloe wanted my Dad to take her up to bed.  Of course, he obliged.  He is wrapped so tightly around Chloe's finger that there was no other choice. 

After reading her about five more books than I ever would have he nearly had her asleep when all of a sudden there was a loud BOOM outside.  It scared Chloe, and she jumped into my Dad's arms.  He brought her downstairs to see what made the noise.  It turns out that a car had backfired and broke down outside of our house.  We explained to her that it was just a car making noise. 

Later that night she woke up, wandered into the bathroom, and started crying.  I was feeding Abram, so I couldn't immediately come to her rescue.  My Dad heard her crying, came upstairs, helped her go to the bathroom, and then took her back to bed.  He slept with her the rest of the night.  Fast forward to last night.

I sat on the couch in the basement and Chloe sat on the end table.  She was kicking her legs, alternating from left to right.  She had helped herself to an Izze sparkling juice just moments before having a seat.  I sat there watching her slurp on her "pop," put it down, slurp, down, slurp, down, when she started telling me a story. 

Chloe: I was crying in Papa's bathroom.  Slurp.

Me: Why were you crying?

Chloe: I was crying in Papa's bathroom.  I said "Waaaaah!"  Slurp.

Me: I remember.  Why were you crying?  Were you scared?

Chloe: Yeah.  I was scared.  Car made a loud noise.  Went BOOM!  Slurp.

Me: That's right.  Then Papa came upstairs.

Chloe:  Papa slept with Chloe.  All better.  I want to see Papa! 

Slurp, down, slurp, down, slurp, down.

I just sat there staring at her.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  I couldn't believe my ears.  I didn't know why she was crying in the middle of the night.  She didn't tell us.  But here she was a few days later just telling me all about it.  Like we were old friends.   

I wanted to dive across the couch and scoop her up, but I didn't want our conversation to end.  I know it was just a conversation about a loud noise that made her cry.  It was hardly a conversation at all.  But it was our first real conversation.  One that I didn't have to initiate.  One that wasn't about Dora or Knuffle Bunny.  It was about something that actually happened to her - a few days ago, even - that made a lasting impression on her memory.  Not only did it make an impression, but she was able to communicate her thoughts to me.  Is it just my post-pregnancy hormones, or is that just so cool?

Fredrick Meijer Gardens

We went to the Fredrick Meijer Gardens for the first time ever last weekend if you can believe it.  The butterfly exhibit is still going on through the end of the month, and since Chloe is totally obsessed with bugs right now we thought it would be right up her alley.  The butterflies did not disappoint.  Chloe was thrilled to see them flying around everywhere.  I, however, had a hard time fighting my human urge to swat at the insects swarming my head.  Chloe found a bench next to a little girl her age, and the two of them just sat there staring at the vegetation for about fifteen minutes.   

Chloe loved this waterfall sculpture at the entrance of the gardens.  She loved every single sculpture we came across now that I think about it.  It was nearly impossible to get her past the first 30 feet of the gardens.  At one point we came across a gang of pigeons.  I said, "Chloe, look at those birdies," to which she replied, "Mommy, those are pigeons."  Next year she will correct my classification of a "gang" of pigeons.  "Mommy, it is called a flock, flight or kit."  Duh.

Chloe loved the mini gate entrance to the children's garden.

Chloe playing in the "Great Lakes."

Abram & Dada

Here we are under the giant horse of which you can really see only the giant hooves and giant *ahem* balls.

Chloe loved rolling down the big hill with Daddy!

Guess Whose Kid

A popular game I like to play is Guess Whose Kid.  At a minimum it requires me, Chloe, another adult, and another kid, but there is no maximum number of players, and the results are always the same.  The rules are simple.  All of the players enter the same room, and I, the playee if you will, must sit in the next room over.  Every time I hear a child being corrected I have to guess which child is up to no good.  In the Guess Whose Kid game I typically score a point on behalf of Chloe every time I hear the following phrases:

Stop eating the sand!

This is an old photo, obviously, but at 27 months of age - you guys - this is still happening.

We don't eat playdough.

How did you get up there?

Stop biting Griffin!

No drinking the bubbles!

There are bubbles on her lips in this picture.  And also she just got done exclaiming "I drink bubbles!"

Don't pick your nose.

Don't eat your boogers!

Put your underwear back on.

What is in your mouth?

Don't color the walls/your hands/on Griffin.

Blue washable marker that has been smeared by tears.

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.