Samantha: 37 Months, Week 2
Aedan: Week 9
Tuesday, June 24, we decided to take a family trip to the Children's Museum. We wanted to go sometime before Ben's surgery, and it was supposed to be a cloudy, rainy day, perfect for a day at the Children's Museum. Samantha started off the day acting pretty tired, making us rethink or decision to go to the museum for a little while, but we decided today was as good a day as any. We packed lunches in the cooler and hit the road. I got Aedan to fall asleep in the car with a little bit of work with the pacifier. Samantha sort of looked at books in the back, but mostly just spaced out, ate her snack, and talked to us.
When we got to the museum, Aedan was ready to eat again, so we made a stop at the bathrooms for a potty break and diaper change before heading upstairs. I found a bench in a deserted area where I could comfortably nurse Aedan while at the same time watch Samantha and Daddy ride down "The Great Wall of China slide." They usually have this slide up at Christmas time, but apparently they wanted to bust it out again for a different use. Samantha was so excited to go down it and race her Daddy.
After finishing up at the slide, I was still nursing Aedan, so they continued on to the dinosaurs and trains without me. Aedan and I met back up with them, and I informed Ben about the fact that I did not check the diaper bag as carefully as I should have before we left, and we only had two diapers left for the rest of the day, which is a little risky with an 8 week old baby. Samantha was having a good time playing with the trains and digging, while Daddy pushed Aedan around in the stroller. (He wasn't the happiest camper, even though he wasn't buckled in. Apparently he still doesn't like being in his car seat.)
We then went over to the "plastic" glass exhibit where we met back up with Daddy. Apparently Aedan had a blow out diaper, had to have his outfit changed, and was very upset. Daddy was trying to soothe him with in the Ergo, but it seems like this baby carrier just does not fit him very well, and it looked uncomfortable for both of them. So, I offered to wear Aedan in the Ergo, and while Ben and I were trying to do this transfer, we looked over and noticed Samantha standing on top of the middle of the bench that slowly spins around in the middle of the glass room. You obviously are not supposed to stand on this, and she knows it. We told her to get down, and she wouldn't, so I had to go over and get her off of it. She of course got really upset and was crying, so we brought her over to a bench so we could talk to her and get Aedan situated. It was all a bit overwhelming for a few minutes when both kids were upset and crying at the same time, in the middle of a public place. Once I got Aedan comfortably in the Ergo, he was pretty happy and calmed down quickly. But then Samantha was still crying and carrying on and threw something that Daddy asked her to pick up, so we gave her a time out on the bench. We walked away from her just a little bit while she was in her time out, and then I looked back once and there was another mom talking to Samantha, asking her if she was okay and where her Mommy was, thinking she was lost. So, I quickly walked up and told the mom that it was okay because she was just having a time out. The mom said, "Oh, I understand. We've been there," and gave me a knowing smile. We then talked with Samantha about how she needed to be a better listener or we would just go home because it's too hard to deal with her when she's not listening and Aedan at the same time, emphasizing that she needed to be the big girl. It was also close to lunchtime, and Samantha can get pretty cranky when she's tired, so we decided to take a break and go eat our lunch in the food court.
After the brief time out episode in the morning, the rest of the day went fine and Samantha was being very respectful. We went on the carousel and played for a long time in that area.
One of her favorite things about the carousel is the ride operator that plays with puppets during the ride. They stand by the music organ and make the puppets dance. Samantha gets excited every time they go around, looking for the puppets and laughing hysterically. Ben could even hear her on the other side of the room. I got a little video of Samantha riding that day. This was also Aedan's first carousel ride, as I had him in the Ergo, but he didn't seem to impressed, he just slept through the whole thing.
Then we went to the Playscape where Samantha went fishing in the water, climbed in "The Pond," played with the sand table, and played instruments and danced in the music room.
It was getting fairly late in the afternoon, and we decided it was time for us to head back home soon. Aedan was still fast asleep in the Ergo, sleeping through all the noise and commotion around him. However, I knew he would want to nurse before we left, and I discovered that the Playscape room had a special area for nursing mothers, so I took him in there to nurse while Daddy took Samantha on the slide again. I figured this might be our last time at the Children's Museum because who knows if we will be able to arrange another time before we move, so I wanted to go on the slide with Samantha, too. Daddy took Aedan and pushed him around in the stroller while Samantha and I waited in line. As we were waiting, the sky was getting darker and people around us started talking about the bad storms that were about to hit Indianapolis. Right when we got to the front of the line and it was our turn, they made everyone move into safe zones because there was a tornado spotted on the ground in the Indianapolis area. We met up with Daddy and went into the safe zone that was actually in the new Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit. They were charging people to see this exhibit so it was kind of funny that we got to see it for free. Samantha had fun playing with some clay sculpting while we waited for the tornado warning to pass. We then had to get back in line for the slide again because Samantha would not have been a happy camper if she was unable to go down the slide again, especially since we were next in line. I got to ride down the slide with Samantha this time, and we had a great time racing each other. Then, it was time for us to head home. There was quite a lot of traffic so we ended up taking a different way where we wouldn't be in stop and go traffic with two sleeping kiddos in the back of the car. Both kids took good naps on the way home, and we counted it a successful family trip to the Children's Museum.
On Wednesday Samantha and Daddy had a Daddy-Daughter day, going to Storyhour Extravaganza at the library, while I went to my 6 week follow-up appointment with Dr. Crooke. I took Aedan with me because I didn't want Daddy to have to do deal with two children at the library, but he was not too happy at the doctor's office with me. Like in the past, he does not care for his car seat, so he does not fall asleep in the car. When we got to the doctor's office, he was very tired but still wide awake. I tried giving him his pacifier and rocking his car seat back and forth, but he was not wanting to fall asleep, making for an interesting office visit since I couldn't take him out of his car seat. Aedan just kept getting more and more angry, making it difficult for my exam. Eventually, the nurse came back in and offered to hold Aedan for me. It was much appreciated, as his crying was getting louder and louder, and once he reaches that point there's not much settling him down until he is taken out of his car seat and held.
Daddy and Samantha had a wonderful time at the library. They were the first ones in the room because they got there early, and she just wanted to wait in line. Samantha just sat there quietly watching all the videos and songs and stories. She didn't sing any of the words, but sat there mouthing the words the entire time. Daddy even helped her pick out some new books since we've had to return so many lately. It was great for some Daddy-Daughter bonding time before Ben's surgery next week.
After the nap time craziness of a few weeks earlier, we were pleasantly surprised with Samantha doing an awesome job with naps this week. She didn't scream or carry on. Sometimes she would fall asleep with me in the room with her or she would fall asleep all on her own after I left the room. It was such a wonderful change and made our evenings so much better. Samantha was able to watch a show, and she even got to go to the pool a few times with her Daddy in the evenings. Here she is watching a show. When she watches shows, she sits there frozen, sometimes with her hand in mid-air like in this picture.
Wednesday afternoon while Samantha was napping, I took this picture of Aedan and me together. It's not the greatest, but it was my best attempt.
And what did Samantha do with her afternoon when she woke up from her nap and Aedan was still sleeping downstairs in his swing? She hid in the laundry basket while I put laundry away. She said she felt like a canary in a cage.
Here's our little guy sleeping away in his swing. He LOVES his swing. Sometimes I almost feel guilty leaving him in his swing for so long when he sleeps, but he is just so happy there and sleeps so well there during the day. He sleeps just fine in his bassinet at night, so I'm not too worried about him becoming dependent on it. I think it's almost like his little place where he can have his own space and some quiet time. I can see how swinging back and forth would be pretty relaxing. Isn't he just so cute?
Thursday morning we had a park play date with our Mom's REST Stop group. Samantha played pretty well for awhile, but she was really more interested in sitting on the blanket with Meagan, James, Aedan, and me. She just loves interacting with little babies. She is so good with them and loves to talk to them, making them smile and laugh. I'm always amazed at how well she interacts with Aedan even though he is still so little and doesn't interact with her very much. She doesn't care. She will dote on him, sing to him, read to him, and play with him. I know I say this a lot, but she is such a wonderful big sister.
Aedan has started to be a lot more interactive and will give you great smiles, especially when you are changing his diaper or talking to him while he rocks in his swing. He has started to talk and coo, making cute little baby noises. It is so wonderful to see his personality coming out and to find new ways to make him smile and laugh.
Aedan and I get some pretty good bonding time in the afternoons before Samantha wakes up from her nap, so after a diaper changing session full of smiles, I decided it was time for some tummy time. I am always amazed at how strong our little guy is. He holds his head up so well and enjoys looking out around him, even when you're holding him, he would prefer to face out so that he can see better. His legs are also really strong and he is always pushing up with his feet, preferring for his body to be straight rather than bent up when you're holding him.
Friday we just stayed home in the morning since we had been out every morning that week. I took advantage of our relaxed morning to get the house cleaned. It was a bit crazy trying to get everything done while still balancing taking care of both kids, but I was able to do it and felt pretty proud of myself. Samantha had a good morning playing fairly independently, getting to watch a show, and helping me clean a little bit.
Friday night after dinner we had the Held family over for a dessert and game night. We had a great time with our friends. Samantha brought down some special baby toys for James to play with. We enjoyed some yummy chocolate bread pudding dessert that Meagan brought and cherry cheesecake that Ben made. Around 8:00 we put all three kids to bed. James slept in the Aedan's crib and went to sleep really well. Then, the adults were able to sit and talk, play a game together, and enjoy each other's company without children interrupting us. It was really nice and reminded me of our days of game nights with the Brashers when we'd put Samantha down at their house and stay up late playing games, talking, and laughing together. We love having people over in our home like this and will definitely have to do this more in the future.
Saturday morning Samantha wanted to hold her little brother, and we got some ADORABLE pictures of her holding him and giving him sweet little kisses.
We decided that we would make a family trip to our local farmer's market to pick up some fresh produce. It had turned into a beautiful day once the rain of the morning passed away. Samantha helped us pick out a cucumber, and we got some cherry tomatoes and green beans. Farmers' markets are so great, and what's even better is our checks got doubled so we will be able to get a lot of good produce in the next few weeks before we leave Bloomington. The other good thing is that Oxford also has a farmers' market, so we will be able to continue our tradition in our new home as well.
There is a fountain right near the farmers' market which up until this visit had not been turned on for the season. At first we weren't going to let Samantha get in it because we had a couple other errands to run that day, but she was having so much fun, we decided it was more important to stay and let her play, then to drag both Samantha and Aedan to the grocery store with us. The fountain comes out of a pinecone looking statue at the top of a small hill and then flows down in a curvy pattern in a path made down the hill. This is a very popular attraction for kids and especially since the fountain was actually turned on, there were lots of kids enjoying the water on this beautiful day. I was carrying Aedan in the Ergo and he was taking a nap. Ben and I stood there talking to each other and watching our daughter happily play in the water. It was wonderful. Then, Samantha took a step into the deeper water, lost her balance, and pretty much fell in, getting her clothes very wet. She got pretty upset at first, probably because she was shocked and also worried about whether we'd be upset that she got all wet. We went up and talked to her, telling her that since she was already soaking wet, she might as well keep playing around in the water and not worry about it. So, she had a good old time getting totally soaked, walking around and around in circles in the deep part, letting the water from the fountain pour on her head.
She got SO wet, and we didn't have a change of clothes for her, so we decided to just let her ride back home in her car seat naked. She thought it was pretty hilarious sitting naked in the car.
Saturday afternoon, after putting Aedan down for his afternoon nap, I got to go out by myself to my friend Andrea's baby shower. Daddy gave Aedan a bottle and held down the fort just fine without me, although Aedan had a little trouble taking the bottle, getting rather upset for about ten minutes until he realized that there was milk in the bottle and that Daddy was trying to feed him. It was nice for me to be able to get out by myself for awhile, too, to be around other adults and not have to worry about taking care of kids.
Here are some cute pictures from that evening. Daddy was reading to Samantha and Aedan was getting fussy, so he brought him over as well. They were reading an Eric Carle book, one of Samantha's favorite authors, and Aedan was really interested in the book, especially the colorful illustrations.
Sunday was a fairly normal day of going to church and spending some good, quality time as a family. Ben had his surgery scheduled for Monday morning and had to be there at 6:00 am, so we knew this would be his last day for awhile that he was going to be feeling like himself. Upland Grandpa and Grandma were on their way down to spend time at our place while Ben was in the hospital, so Samantha played with Aedan quite a bit. He has really been enjoying his play gym a lot more lately. A couple weeks ago I would lay him on it and within a couple minutes he would start fussing, but now he enjoys batting at the toys hanging from the bar and looking at the blinking star. He will coo, laugh, and giggle, and he even likes it when Samantha lays on it with him. He will just lie there and stare at her while she talks to him in her little "baby talk" voice, like she is the most fascinating thing in the world.
Then, a little bit later, I attempted to take some "2 Month" pictures of Aedan; however, I waited a little bit too long and he wasn't quite so happy anymore because he was getting sleepy, so I was unable to get any smiling pictures of him with the sign, despite all our attempts at making funny faces. I can't believe my little boy is already 2 months old. It seems like time has just flown by, and I can't imagine our life without our little man.
After Grandpa and Grandma arrived and we hung out and played with them for awhile, it was time for Samantha to head to bed, and I decided to give Aedan a bath. For all the smiles I didn't get earlier, I got plenty in the bath because he had taken a bit of a cat nap and so far seems to really enjoy bath time. He will just lay in the bath tub and stare straight up at my face, laughing and cooing. Bath time is such a precious time together. I love how his personality is developing more and more every day. Happy 2 Months my little man!
I normally have been doing blog posts from a Tuesday to the following Monday, but I am going to end this one on Sunday night because the next week was consumed with Ben's surgery, time at the hospital, and recovery period. I want to end this post on a high note, with these adorable pictures of Aedan in the bath and this funny story about Samantha from our vacation that I forgot to tell. Every once in awhile when Samantha trips and falls or hurts herself, Daddy will ask her if she hurt her pride. So the other day in the car Samantha said, "Is your pride by your private parts? They kind of sound the same." Our little girl says the funniest things sometimes. Ben and I laughed so hard when she said this. Our little family is so wonderful!
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