Owen Turns 4 Months and Gets Sick

Samantha: 80 Months, Week 1
Aedan: 45 Months, Week 3
Owen: 4 Months, Week 1 (Week 18)

Sunday, January 14 was just an average day with church and hanging out at home. The kids were doing well. We had a good weekend together and enjoyed Daddy being back home. Everyone was feeling well, and with all the sickness I've heard going around in various places, I counted ourselves lucky and hoped that we would stay healthy. (Little did I know what the week would have in store.)

Samantha has really been enjoying her desk and new creativity kit. I had to take a picture of what she was working on on Sunday afternoon because it was so beautiful. She said it was only half done, but I love her patterns and the stencils she used. Samantha will spend hours working on things like this, and I love to see what she comes up with.

Sunday night we gave the kids baths and then just hung out and played together before a new week started. Owen has been enjoying playing with toys a lot more. He can reach for things and grab on to things that he wants, bringing them to his mouth so he can chew on them. Here he is chewing on this o-ball toy.

After bath time, as I was putting lotion on Owen and getting ready to put his pajamas on, Samantha was playing with him, blowing raspberries on his back and making him smile and giggle. He couldn't wait for her to keep going. It was close to bedtime, so he was getting slap happy, but he was loving all the attention from his big sister. I love that I was able to capture it on video. Baby laughs are the greatest. And his dimples. Man, he is an adorable little guy.

Monday was a pretty typical day of grocery shopping in the morning. It went pretty well. Both boys do a good job at the store for me, and Owen always sleeps happily in the Ergo. It's especially nice having the new RooCoat that I got for Christmas because I can put that over Owen and I and keep us both warm as we go in and out of the store. It even has a handy hood that helps keep the cold out and also block out the lights and distractions from the store, giving him a better napping environment. I get a lot of comments from people on my coat, remarking how cool it is with a built-in place for Owen's head. Both boys took good naps for me that afternoon, which is always nice.

Since we had bath time on Sunday night, we had more of a free evening on Monday. Samantha and Aedan love playing dress up together and lately they have been superheroes or going on rescue missions together. Aedan decided he wanted to wear Samantha's old Wonder Woman costume, as long as she promised not to call him a girl. Samantha was wearing her Rapunzel dress, and I think she was pretending to have some super powers as well. It's fun to watch them play and pretend together. And even though Owen can't join in yet, he loves to watch his big sister and brother play together. He loves watching them run around, and he loves just being in the same room as them. Samantha really enjoys holding Owen, too. She's very gentle with, and she's old enough that I can trust her to hold on to him and not let him go. Here they all are sitting on the couch watching some show together.

Tuesday morning the boys and I just hung out at home before going to McDonald's to play with some other moms and their kids and have lunch. I tried to get Owen to take a morning nap, but he just wasn't interested in sleeping very long. He had been frustrating to me lately. I felt like I didn't know what to do to take care of him. He was not sleeping very long and was not eating very well either. Even that afternoon I had a hard time getting him to sleep. He would fall asleep fine, but then be awake crying in thirty to forty-five minutes. I texted Ben to express my frustration. I hope this phase with him not sleeping well passes soon. I knew he needed to nap, but there wasn't anything I could do to make him stay asleep, and I was getting tired of spending my whole afternoon getting him to sleep just so he could wake up again so soon. Sometimes I wished he was old enough to cry in his bed and eventually fall asleep or even take a pacifier or something like that to help soothe him. Even at one point I got Owen to fall asleep in my lap and I planned on just letting him sleep on my lap for awhile, at least allowing him to get some nap in, but then five minutes later he was awake again. He wouldn't even stay asleep in my lap. I didn't know what what going on, but he was definitely not acting or sleeping like he normally does. Even Tuesday night was rough trying to get him to sleep. He woke up crying a couple times between when I laid him down and when Ben and I went to sleep ourselves. Now looking back I can see that this must have been the start of him not feeling well, as he got pretty sick towards the end of the week.

After not having small group on Tuesday night due to other families being sick, Aedan was having a better morning and wasn't as tired out on Wednesday. We decided to follow our normal routine of going to the library for story time. Owen usually does a good job of falling asleep in the car, and then as long as I keep the car seat moving, he will take a good forty-five minute nap, which is pretty good for the morning. Aedan enjoys listening to the stories and does a great job sitting still and quiet, making the craft, and then playing for awhile. It's a simple outing, but one that is good for us to do together. I enjoy doing things like this with Aedan, and while Owen sleeps I am able to give him some one-on-one attention, too.

That afternoon Owen went down fine for his nap again, but then forty-five minutes into it, he started fussing again. I thought maybe he would go back to sleep, but he started crying after a little while. This is the face I saw when I went down to check on him. I sent Ben a message saying, "I don't think he's gonna go back to sleep." It was almost 3:00, and I decided I would just have to put him down for a good nap before leaving for AWANA/Bible Study that night. He was cute and happy, even though he could have used a longer nap.

I took advantage of Owen being awake early and Aedan still being in his room for nap time to take Owen's four month pictures. It was January 17th, so he was officially 4 months old. He cooperated pretty well for the pictures for me, and jingling a toy by my phone helped me to get his attention and get some cute, dimpled smiles. :)

I included the following picture just because I think it's a funny face that he's making. He's a pretty expressive little guy.

Look at that smile! I just love it. He is such a happy boy most of the time. He loves to smile and laugh when you talk to him and play with him.

And here's how I was getting him to smile, surprising him and tickling him with these little tweeting birdies.

In this video you can see how he grabs on to the toy and brings it to his mouth. He has much more control over his hands now. I was trying to tickle him and get him to laugh more, but he had the hiccups so he was distracted by that.  You can also see another of his favorite activities at the end of the video: blowing spit bubbles.

Owen isn't the biggest fan of tummy time. He just kind of flops and moves his arms and legs like he is a fish out of water. However, he does seem to like being propped up on the Boppy pillow and looking around. His neck muscles are definitely strong and he has much more control over his head. Even when I carry him around, I have started holding him on my hip, supporting his lower back a little, and he does pretty well keeping his head and body upright. Now we just need to encourage him to work on pushing up with his arms more.

Owen loves laying on his floor gym and playing with all the toys that hang down. He bats them, grabs them, chews on them, and has even figured out how to use them in conjunction with his feet pushing off the toy bars, to spin himself around on his floor gym, giving him access to any toy he wants. He will kind of roll up onto his side sometimes, but he hasn't figured out how to roll over yet, and I think I'm okay with that. Once he rolls over, he won't be as safe because he may not stay where I lay him down.

I caught him mid-yawn. :)

I tried to capture how active he is on his floor gym, but he was too distracted by me recording him to act like he normally does. It's cute, regardless. I like being able to look back and just watch how they were at different ages and stages. He is getting so big, so fast, which is exciting and sad at the same time. It's a bittersweet feeling to watch your kids grow up. Babies change so much in the first year of their life too, going from newborns that can't even hold up their own heads, to rolling over, to sitting up, to crawling, and pulling up and walking. Sometimes I just want time to slow down. I still remember Samantha and Aedan being this small, and although I am thrilled with each and every new milestone, the nostalgia brings a wave of sadness for things that I will never have or experience again. Anyways, happy four months of life my little guy. You are such a precious, long-awaited gift from God.

Wednesday evening I was supposed to have my Bible study, but it was cancelled because there were enough people that couldn't make it. So Ben took the kids to AWANA before going to his Bible study. Owen and I just stayed home and hung out. I put laundry away and talked to Christy on the phone for awhile. As I watched Owen playing in his bouncy seat that evening I noticed his cheeks looked pretty red. He hadn't slept well that day, so I started putting him to bed a little after 7:00. His back also felt a little warm, so I took his temperature. It was only 99.3, but I gave him medicine to help bring his temperature down and help him sleep more comfortably.

Here is what I saw when I got upstairs after putting Owen to bed. Izzy laid on the floor by the door to the garage pretty much the whole time everyone was gone. She sure misses her family when they are gone.

I was hoping that the night would go better with Owen since he had such a rough day of napping, but he was already awake and crying at 8:30. I so hoped that we would be able to get him to sleep more than an hour at a time that night. Ben offered to go down to his room and help him back to sleep. He held him on his shoulder, Owen did a big burp, and then fell back asleep. But then he was up crying again a few minutes after that. Then just before 10:00 he woke up crying again. I went in his room and rocked him back to sleep. He was just really stuffy. Our next step would be to prop his mattress up to help him breathe better. Also, we decided if he kept waking up every hour that we might try the swing at some point to keep him propped up and moving. He hadn't slept in the swing in a long time though, so we didn't know if that would work. It was a bad start to the night, and both Ben and I hoped he wouldn't keep waking up all night long. It was very unlike him, and I could tell he was not feeling very well.

Luckily, the night wasn't as bad as we expected with how it started. Owen was still up several times. Twice I fed him and he went back to sleep, and once Ben went in and got him back to sleep for me because I knew he wasn't hungry. However, we were both tired that morning. I decided to call and get him an appointment with the doctor so she could check his ears and throat and just make sure there wasn't something going on that was bothering him and preventing him from sleeping well. I was able to get an appointment for 8:45, so the boys and I headed out to the doctor.  She checked him all over and said his ears looked great. He had a temperature of 99.6 again and his eyes were red around the rims, making her think he might have RSV. They did a nose swab to test to see if had the flu or RSV and they would let me know once they got the results. However, overall he just was really congested, had a temperature, and was just not feeling well. She said to keep doing what we were doing with saline spray and cleaning out his nose, a cool mist vaporizer going in his room, elevating the head of his bed, and giving him Tylenol as needed for his temperature. I was glad there was nothing seriously wrong with him, but I knew we would just have to wait it out until the symptoms got better. Having a sick baby is no fun at all because they don't understand, and it's so difficult when being sick impacts their ability, and in turn your ability, to get sleep.

He wasn't sleeping much again on Thursday during the day. In fact, I tried to give him Tylenol before putting him down for his nap because he still had a temperature, but he was not a fan of the medicine. It kept making him gag, and it was very difficult to get him to swallow it. Then, as I was trying to get him to sleep that afternoon, I had him upright on my shoulder and he spit up/threw up all over me. It was the most I had ever seen come out of this little guy's stomach. I then spent quite awhile getting both of us cleaned up and changed, even having to clean the floor under where I was standing. It was quite gross. Finally, I got him back to sleep again only to have him awake again after only being asleep for thirty minutes. It was definitely not a good afternoon. All my usual tricks to get him to sleep were not working. He usually nurses to sleep, but has just been waking up as soon as I lay him down. It was like he couldn't sleep past the end of a sleep cycle, only making it thirty to forty-five minutes each time, after quite a bit of work getting him to fall asleep in the first place. Here's a picture of my little sick Owen during one of the times I was actually able to get him to stay asleep after laying down.

Here are some sad pictures of my sick little baby from that evening. You can just tell by looking at his face that he didn't feel well at all. I felt so bad for him. I knew he was tired, but it was hard for him to sleep. I knew it was hard for him to nurse properly because of all the congestion he had. He was definitely not acting like himself. It was difficult to get any smiles or laughs out of the little guy.

Friday night started out much like the beginning of Thursday night. I nursed Owen and put him down like I usually do, but we could not get him to stay asleep. By 10:15 Ben had already been down three times and I was down twice. We had an extremely rough night. We were pretty much up all night. Owen would not stay asleep or stay happy if we laid him down. Ben and I tried taking turns: me taking my turn when we thought he might be hungry, he took his turn other times. However, with Owen's room being attached to ours, even when we took turns we could still hear Owen crying and fussing in the other room. I honestly have no idea how much sleep we actually got that night. We tried everything: the swing, letting him sleep on our laps in the rocking chair, propping his mattress up so his head was elevated, and nothing worked. If he did fall asleep, it didn't last for very long and he was up crying again. We didn't understand what was bothering him so much, and as the night went on, he slept less and less.

Once it reached about 4:00 a.m., I was so extremely tired. Owen just kept crying and nothing we were doing was helping him calm down or fall asleep, so Ben lovingly offered to take Owen out in the car and drove around for awhile. I was worried about him driving in the middle of the night after not sleeping much himself, but I was so grateful for the chance to get some rest, knowing that Owen was being taken care of. Ben ended up driving around with Owen for close to two hours, driving all the way down to Pickford and over to Kinross, even stopping at Meijer and pushing him around in the stroller for awhile. It was the best sleep Owen had all night, sleeping for most of those two hours he was out. (Poor Ben.) We just hoped it was a weird thing because he had never done anything like that before. In fact, we have never had a night like that with any of our kids. Morning came, and Samantha and Aedan were up at their usual time with Samantha needing to get ready for school, while Ben and I were extremely exhausted.

Even though I was so tired that morning, I decided to take Aedan to the open gym at the Big Bear. I figured Owen might sleep better out of the house either in the car seat or in the Ergo than if we were at home and I tried to lay him down in his crib again. Plus, I figured it would give Aedan a chance to get out and run around for awhile. I hoped there would be other kids there for him to play with, but there was only one other mom with her two kids. At first Aedan was acting very shy and didn't want to go in the room. He was a bit clingy to me, and it took me awhile to get him to warm up to the idea of playing. We played with hula hoops, kicked balls around, and had fun together while I kept Owen moving in the car seat in the stroller. He took a good nap while we were out that morning, for which I was extremely grateful.

Owen continued to feel pretty lousy the rest of the day, but he actually had a lot more snot coming out of his nose when he would sneeze, so I hoped that might help him feel better and less congested when sleeping that night. I was actually able to lay him down for a little bit of a nap that afternoon, so that was a good sign as well. Ben worked from home that day, and he offered to go downstairs with Owen when he woke up during his afternoon nap. He decided to just hold him on his lap and let him sleep for awhile. He sent me this cute picture of our sleeping baby.

The doctor called back and said the nose swab came back negative for the flu and RSV, so Owen just had a really bad cold. We hoped that Friday night would be better, but we were preparing for the worst again. We brought the blue chair downstairs as another option for him to sleep in because the vibration might make him feel good, but it would also keep him more upright than laying in his crib. I also decided we would try holding him in the steamy bathroom for awhile before bed to help clear out his nose with the steam. I wanted to try anything that could possibly help him sleep better. That evening before bed I took Owen out to Meijer to help him take a little evening nap and to also get a Nose Frida thing to help clear more snot out of his nose than just the bulb syringe. He didn't really like us using the snot sucker, as I like to call it, but it was very effective.

I was so tired by that night after not sleeping much the night before, that I didn't know how I would handle another sleepless night. I don't do well without sleep, especially when dealing with a fussy baby. Friday night started out rough again. Owen was fussy when nursing, and I just felt done. I just wanted to run away, and I knew it was just because I was tired and emotional, but I was not handling things well. Plus, Owen was overtired as well, which doesn't help. Ben was able to be much more calm and rational than me. I just desperately wanted him to sleep. Ben tried to help calm him down, but he was still hungry, so I had to go back down to feed him. But then shortly after I got him to sleep, he was up crying again. Ben went down that time and was able to get him back to sleep quickly. At 10:30 when Ben and I were going to bed, we hadn't heard anything for about an hour and a half, so that was good sign. I hoped the rest of the night would go better. I didn't even care if he woke up more frequently as long as he would nurse and go back to sleep after that. Once we finally got him settled at the beginning of the night, he did well. He woke up at 1:30 and 6:15, just to nurse and went back to sleep easily. I was so glad, and I was so thankful to actually get some sleep.

On Saturday Owen was acting much more like normal. He took several naps and was just overall a happier boy. The Nose Frida thing really seemed to really help get a lot of snot out, too. The weather was warmer that day, in the mid-30s, so Samantha and Aedan enjoyed playing outside in the snow for awhile that morning. Izzy loved frolicking around in the snow with them, too. It was so nice to be able to enjoy the warmer weather, and Aedan loved having his big sister home to play with.

Here are Samantha and Owen playing together before nap time that Saturday afternoon. She loves interacting with her little brother lately, and he loves her attention.

JennySaturday, January 

Since Owen was acting a lot more like normal that day and took a good afternoon nap, we decided to go to Northwoods Christian Camp for a Winter Family Fun Day they had. Samantha went to this camp over the summer for Camp Good News, but the rest of us had never been down there before. They had snowshoeing and cross-country skiing that you could do, food to eat, a band playing, and a lighted trail you could walk along. I didn't know how much we could do with our kids, but since the weather was so mild, I wanted to take advantage of the chance to do some outdoor activities. Owen was actually happy playing in the car on the way down there and then fell asleep after a little while. We decided to eat dinner first, then we got everyone bundled up and we went for a walk along the candlelit trail. The kids had fun looking for animal tracks and following the lights, running down the trail together. I carried Owen in the baby carrier and put my new RooCoat over both of us to keep us warm. He enjoyed looking around as we walked and was pretty happy all bundled up with me. After our evening walk, we went back to the main building for hot chocolate and cookies. It was a fun evening, and I'm glad we decided to come out for it. They have this event once a month, so maybe we will come back again another time. I was glad that Owen was feeling a little better so we could go out and do this together as a family.

(Blog about January 14-20, 2018)

Baby Snuggles & Ben Out of Town

Samantha: 79 Months, Week 4
Aedan: 45 Months, Week 2
Owen: 3 Months, Week 4 (Week 17)

Going into this week, I knew it was going to be busy. Ben was going to be out of town Wednesday morning through Friday night, and my dad planned on coming up Tuesday afternoon through Saturday morning to help me out.

Sunday morning was a church day. With being out of town over two Sundays, it felt like a long time since we'd been at church. The other big news of the day was that we decided to drop Owen off at the nursery for the first time. He had nursed before church, so I knew he would be okay. Plus, church only lasts a little over an hour. He's old enough now to start going to the nursery, and it's nice for Ben and I to be in church together. Owen would do fine during the music, but I think he would be a little too chatty during the sermon. He did great in the nursery that day and was ready to come back home for a little morning nap.

Owen never stays asleep for very long in his car seat, which is unfortunate sometimes, but it just made it so that he was very ready for his afternoon nap after lunch that day. I usually nurse him before his afternoon nap, as an attempt to help keep his tummy full longer and give him a better nap. I did this with Samantha and Aedan as well, and I always enjoy this time I have to just sit and hold my baby while he sleeps. It was bright enough in the room that afternoon that I got these cute little sleeping pictures of him, so peaceful and relaxed.

After having two days of cancelled school last week, Monday came with school back in session and a full week ahead. Ben went to campus to get ready for the start of the semester, and the boys and I did our weekly grocery shopping. It was a pretty typical Monday. The only new thing that started happening this week was that Owen would go down just fine for his afternoon nap, but then he would wake up after forty-five minutes to an hour crying. I usually was able to get him to go back to sleep by just picking him up and holding him against my shoulder to rock him back to sleep. I know there is something called a 45 minute intruder that happens around this age, where they experience the end of a sleep cycle and that transition wakes them up sometimes. I think that happened every day but one this entire week, so I came to expect it. Basically, by the time I got him down and then came upstairs, did a few things around the house, and sat down, he would be up crying again. Not exactly the most relaxing nap times for me.

I put Samantha to bed that Monday night, and she was pretty insistent on cuddling up with Owen on her pillow. She loved having him lay there next to her, and he was glad to be held and kissed. :) So sweet.

Looking back on this week, I don't remember many details, especially with Ben being out of town, it was all about just taking care of things and surviving. Tuesday morning was MOPS and then I did a little touch-up cleaning around the house before my dad arrived that afternoon. The kids were super excited to see him, and I was very glad he sacrificed his time to come up and spend some days with us so that I could have some help with the kids. He even got to come to our small group with us on Tuesday night. I brought milk for a bottle with me, as I've started to do lately, and Owen actually did a fairly good job drinking most of the milk I put in the bottle. At one point I looked over at Ben with an excited look and thinking, "He's actually drinking it!" I want him to get used to drinking from a bottle not only for the occasional time that I want to go out over a time when he's hungry, but also because Ben got us tickets to see Les Miserables in Indianapolis on St. Patrick's Day. (Have I mentioned this already? Also, have I mentioned how excited I am about this?! What a wonderful, thoughtful gift. My husband knows me well.) However, in order to do that in a couple months, Owen needs to be able to take a bottle, particularly taking one at night to go to sleep since I won't be back at his bedtime. Ben and I need to be more intentional about getting him used to it so that it isn't difficult for Ema and Papa to care for him while we're gone.

Wednesday morning Ben left on his trip. I so wished I could have gone with him, but it wouldn't have made any sense for me all of us to tag-along, making the drive much more difficult and the whole trip much more stressful for him. I miss him a lot when he's gone. We make a pretty good team. We have a pretty good system worked out for taking care of things around the house and the kids. Plus, I look forward to our time together in the evenings to talk, hang out, watch TV, and talk and cuddle in bed. (I think that's one of the strangest parts about him being gone, sleeping alone in bed. In fact, I actually moved his pillow under the covers lengthwise so that it felt like someone was laying in the bed next to me.) I was glad for Ben to have this opportunity, and I prayed for him whenever I thought about him, but he was dearly missed by everyone in the house, and we couldn't wait for Friday night when he would come back to us.

On Wednesday morning Grandpa came with us to the library for story time. At first Aedan was being grumpy and didn't want to go, but I kind of made us go to get him out of the house, and especially since it was the first story time. He is in the mood lately where he doesn't want to leave to go anywhere, but then he has a great time while he's there and doesn't want to leave there to come back home.

My dad was a huge help at those difficult times of day, like lunch time and nap time when Owen is getting tired and grumpy, but I still have to get lunch served and get Aedan to bed. Grandpa even helped put Aedan to bed for me when Owen was needing me, so that way he didn't have to wait as long for me to be done. Owen didn't sleep for very long on Wednesday afternoon, even though I tried to get him back to sleep after he woke up. I spent almost 50 minutes trying to get him back to sleep before I finally gave up. Luckily, Aedan took a nice long nap which was good. He was tired from being out late at small group, and he needed a nap if he was going to make it through AWANA that night. His napping is hit or miss lately, even though he could use one every day and still wakes up way too early in the morning.

On Thursday we didn't really have any plans, so we just hung out at the house. Grandpa dropped Samantha off at school (with Aedan and Izzy tagging along). Then, once Owen started showing signs of being tired, I put him down for a nap, Aedan played and did puzzles with Grandpa, and I attempted to start cleaning the house. I figured I'd take advantage of the fact that I had another person at home with me. It had been about a month since I really cleaned, and the dust and stinky toilets were more than bothering me.

Once Owen woke up from his nap, we decided to go over to school to have lunch with Samantha. I figured she would like that surprise, and Grandpa would enjoy being able to see her school and her classroom. I have also wanted to come and eat with her, but it's harder to do that now with Aedan and Owen to bring along. We got to eat at a table off to the side with her, and Aedan was so excited to sit next to Sissy, even though neither of them ate very much of their food. I know we surprised her, and she was delighted to share her lunch time with all of us.

Again, my dad was super helpful when I didn't have enough hands to do everything. For example, on Thursday night he actually made dinner while I nursed Owen. Samantha and Aedan just kept asking for snacks, so I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to just have an early dinner. Then, after dinner Owen was getting tired and fussy, but I also had to give the kids baths. Grandpa offered to hold his youngest grandchild with I bathed Samantha and Aedan. A few minutes later, Owen had fallen asleep on Grandpa's shoulder. He took a nice little evening nap all snuggled up. It was so cute that I just had to take a picture.

Samantha had been busy in her room making something that evening. For Christmas, my Grandma gave her this wonderful craft box full of stickers, cards, envelopes, fancy scissors, craft paper, and lots of fun things to use to make crafts. Later that evening, I saw this card laying out on the counter, already sealed up, so I don't know what it said. Isn't is beautifully decorated? I especially love how symmetrical it is. Samantha loves to spend time on things like this. She loves to be creative and make things, and she is getting good use out of her desk.

I had to take a picture of it, not only to remember what it looked like, but also to notice who it was for. Luke is a boy in her class at school. Even though we don't encourage boyfriend/girlfriend talk, Samantha will say that she wants to marry Luke some day. We try to just talk to her about being a good friend, even pointing out that one of Daddy's best friends growing up was a girl. So you can be friends with a boy without having to call yourselves boyfriend and girlfriend. Especially only being six years old, we don't want Samantha thinking that way yet. She will have plenty of time to have crushes on boys when she gets older.

The days with Ben gone went okay, but I sure was glad when Friday finally arrived, knowing that he would be home late that night. Owen woke up twice a night, like normal, and did a good job going back to sleep for me. I made sure I was up and ready by 7:00 so that I could help the big kids and make sure Samantha got ready for school okay. I was glad for my dad coming up not only for the help, but also for the company. Sometimes I get a little scared being in the house by myself, especially overnight.

Here is a picture of my little guy and me on Friday morning when he woke up for the day. Even though I look pretty tired, he looks cute, happy, and well-rested. 

That Friday we did not have any plans to go anywhere or do anything, so I decided to take advantage of the fact that Grandpa was there to be an extra set of eyes and hands for me. I decided to finish cleaning the house, while Owen napped happily in his bed for his morning nap, and Aedan had Grandpa's full attention for reading books and playing. Here's a cute picture of Aedan cuddled up with my dad on the couch, listening to a book. Aedan loved having Grandpa here and having a built-in playmate. This little boy is so sweet and loves spending time with people. It's fun to see him interact and play with people. His play has become much more imaginative and creative. My time home with him is going by way too quickly.

Lately I have been wondering whether or not I should stop using the swaddle sleep sack for Owen because he is becoming more of a mover. He will turn himself around on his floor gym, and although he hasn't rolled over yet, I'm sure it's only a matter of time. With Samantha and Aedan, we stopped swaddling them when they consistently busted out of their swaddles every time they slept. However, with them we had smaller swaddles. With Owen, we have these larger ones that will accommodate him for much longer. I'm always so hesitant to do anything that will mess with their sleep, especially with how he's been waking up after forty-five minutes to an hour during his nap every day. But I also don't want to wait too long and have it be a difficult transition for him either. I have tried leaving his hands out a few times or using a sleep sack with his arms free, and he still seems to have the startle reflex and will sometimes wake himself up with his hands. Access to his hands doesn't seem to have a soothing effect on him yet. We will see. For now he is happy being swaddled, so until we get past this new sleeping problem, I think I will continue to swaddle him. On Friday afternoon I had to take a picture of him in his bed because I definitely laid him down straight up and down, and when I came down to get him when he woke up, he was turned at an angle like this, so he is definitely learning how to move around, even when swaddled.

Ben got back at about 10:00 p.m. on Friday, and I was so glad that weather cooperated enough for him to make it home. Izzy was also super excited to see him. My dad planned on leaving Saturday morning, and I even took advantage of my chance to sleep in a little bit. We then spent the morning together at home as a family. We worked together to put away our Christmas decorations and take down our Christmas tree. (The only thing that has to stay up are our icicle lights because there's no way we can get a ladder out in the snow to get them down right now.) I love decorating for Christmas, but it's also nice getting everything put away and having more space again, although it isn't as bad in this house. The kids helped take ornaments off the tree and find the boxes that they belonged in. It was a successful morning of getting things done.

Saturday evening we decided to go to a free magic show that was advertised through a note sent home from Samantha's school. We got there a little early so we could get seats, and Owen fell asleep in his car seat for a little evening nap in the car and the beginning of the show while Samantha and Aedan just ran around the gym and played before the show started. We got the kids juice and Skittles to munch on while watching the show. The magician had a pretty dry sense of humor and most of the jokes were over the kids' heads. His tricks were fairly basic, but they were interesting, and the kids were flabbergasted at how a cut rope when back together, a bird and coins appeared out of nowhere, and a ripped up newspaper went right back together. The kids really enjoyed the show, and it was free, so there really was nothing to lose in the first place. There aren't too many family friendly events like this around our town, so I figured we should take advantage of them when we can. It was a fun evening out together as a family.

(Blog about January 7-13, 2017)

Cold and Snowy Days

Samantha: 79 Months, Week 3
Aedan: 45 Months, Week 1
Owen: 3 Months, Week 3 (Week 16)

Sunday, December 31 was another travel day for us. Since Owen was sleeping in our bathroom at the hotel, we just waited for Samantha and Aedan to get up for the day before getting ready ourselves. We didn't mind having a more relaxed morning anyways. In fact, even though Samantha woke up just slightly after 7:00 (since she doesn't know how to sleep in), Aedan slept for quite awhile longer. He must have been one tired boy because he slept until close to 8:30, giving Ben and I both a chance to shower and get ready. Owen also had a good night, sleeping from when I put him down at 10:20 all the way to 4:50, and then going back to sleep until close to 9:00 when we decided to wake him up so we could eat breakfast and get on the road. I felt like a new woman after all that uninterrupted sleep.

We had about four hours of driving left to do on that Sunday which worked out well for driving for a couple hours and then stopping for lunch. Owen did okay in the car, sleeping for a little while during each segment, but you could tell he was just done with traveling and riding in the car. The last half an hour was particularly brutal. Everyone was so ready to get home. It was nice to get home in the middle of the afternoon, giving us the chance to get everything unpacked, relatively put away, and then get started on our mountain of laundry. After going all morning not nursing, Owen seemed to know that we were back home. He took a little evening nap and nursed twice, which I was glad for.

Everyone was tired and needed to catch up on sleep, so everyone slept in on that Monday morning. I was glad for a couple more days to be at home together before Samantha went back to school and Ben went back to working on campus in preparation for the upcoming semester. Even Owen only woke up once that first night back home. He also slept in his room all night that night because our neighbors had a bright light on outside on their garage that was shining in our room, so after I fed him in the middle of the night, I laid him back down in his crib for the rest of the night and he ended up sleeping until 8:30. I was anxious to see how Owen would do once we were back home since it seemed like his schedule with sleeping and eating had gotten progressively worse as our time traveling went on. He didn't nurse very well right when he got up that morning, only eating for about five minutes even though it had been over five hours since he had eaten last. However, he did fine the rest of the day with nursing, took a two hour nap in his crib that afternoon, and nursed for almost an hour before bed that night. I was so glad that he seemed to be returning to his normal self.

When I had Owen on his floor gym playing that morning, I noticed him scooting himself around. He rotated himself almost all the way around while he was laying and playing, so then I wondered if maybe that was why his eating and sleeping has been so messed up, because maybe he's learning to move more and maybe he will roll over soon. I know Samantha learned how to roll over at about 17 weeks, and Aedan was more like 24 weeks, so I imagine it could be anytime now. It's fun to see him moving around, reaching for things that interest him, and using his feet to push and kick.

Here are Samantha and Aedan (or should I say Spider-Man) playing Mouse Trap that morning together. They were happy to be back home and playing with all their toys again.

Jenny

That morning and into the afternoon, Ben worked on putting Samantha's new desk together. She couldn't wait to get it in her room, so she finished her job of cleaning up the Barbie house in record time because she knew we couldn't put the desk in her room until the Barbie house was moved out. I helped her move things around a little bit, and we decided to put the desk under her window, giving her more floor space and a little corner for Kit's bed and wardrobes. Then, she spent the rest of the afternoon organizing her desk, moving these pictures on the back of it, and decorating the wall with all her artwork. She thought it was pretty cool to have her CD player on her desk so she could listen to her new Moana soundtrack. Once she had everything organized how she liked it, I took this picture of her. She looks so cute and so happy sitting at her desk. She looks so grown-up, too. When we asked what she wanted for Christmas she said a trash can and a desk for her room, so now she can sit and create in her own space without having to sit on the floor. Her room looks so much bigger now, and this is all just a sign of her growing up and her preferences changing. There's no point in having a dollhouse in her room taking up space when she never plays with it, and she will get years of use out of this desk. (Thank you Chicago Grandpa for getting it for her for Christmas!)

This video is my attempt at trying to get Owen's laugh recorded as I was getting him ready for bed that night. I was making him laugh hysterically right before I got my phone out to take the video. You can kind of hear his laugh right at the beginning of the video. He seems to be pretty ticklish up at the top of his chest and under his chin. Regardless, you can see his cute little gummy grin, his dimples on his baby soft cheeks, and how much he loves having his fingers and fists in his mouth.

Since Tuesday was our last day of Christmas break, we decided to take a trip over to Canada to go swimming before coming back home for a late lunch and nap time. They weren't going to have the slide open, but we still had the two pools to play in, and we all love hanging out and playing in the warm water. We were excited to be able to take Owen in the water more as well because the last time we came he hadn't gotten his two month shots yet, so we were trying to be more careful. This time I decided to come prepared with a bottle for when he started to get hungry. There's way too much going on at the pool to try and nurse him there. Plus, it would be hard to do wearing a swimsuit anyways. And we also want to get him used to taking a bottle anyways, so it's a good time to practice. The kids had a fantastic time swimming in the water, being silly with Daddy, going down the smaller blue slide, and jumping in off the side of the pool. Owen was happy just hanging out in the water, looking around, and splashing his hands and feet in the warm pool water. Towards the end of our time there, Owen was acting hungry, so I got out of the water, got our towels and his bottle, and then sat on the edge of the pool with my legs dangling in the hot tub while I gave him his bottle. He actually drank it pretty well and got a pretty good sucking rhythm going for awhile. I think he enjoyed being able to look around while he ate, and I was glad I was able to give him a bottle successfully. He didn't drink all the milk, but it was enough to make him happy and satisfied until we got back home and I put him down for his afternoon nap.

While the boys napped that afternoon, Samantha and I started working on her sewing project that she got from Ema for Christmas. There were several different animals to choose from, and Samantha picked the toucan. The outline of the animal already had pre-punched holes, and each animal came with individual directions with pictures to help children learn the basics of sewing, how to make different stitches, and how to make the starting and ending knots. It was fun having this time with my little girl, and it was great to see her focused on a task and enjoying learning a new skill. It's so fun to see her interests broaden as she gets older. She looks so grown-up in this picture. Sometimes I miss the little girl that would sit on my lap so I could read her books. Now she can read books all by herself. I have loved this time having Samantha home over Christmas break, and I am really going to miss her when she goes back to being in school every day.

I have to admit that Wednesday was kind of a weird day. It's always and adjustment period getting back into school life again. It was weird having Ben and Samantha gone, and going back to just me and the boys. Aedan was super sad that Samantha was going to school that morning. In fact, he threw a little mini temper tantrum that morning as she was getting ready to leave. He loves having her at home to play and didn't want her to leave. The rest of the morning Aedan was pretty aimless after having so much time with people to play with him while we were gone visiting family. Our breaks always go by way too fast. I look forward to them for so long, and they just go so quickly. We were having some super cold weather as well, making it even more difficult because I felt like we were just trapped in our house. I was not feeling ready for the beginning of another crazy semester. This time of year is always hard for me because there's not as much of a break like you get with Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plus, I go through a bit of a withdrawal period as well with not being around people as much, and feeling more isolated and alone.

On Wednesday morning I invited our neighbors from the street over to play. Owen was getting really tired before they got here, so I put him down for a nap so that way I could have my hands free to play with Aedan and talk with the mom.  However, Aedan was just super tired that morning, probably still recovering from our busy break, and he was not a very good friend. The little girl was playing in his room with his Legos, and he played with her for awhile, but then he went into the living room to play and wouldn't come back in the room no matter how much I asked him to. Then, as it got closer to lunch, Aedan started becoming more and more whiny and emotional. It seems like he isn't very good at playing with others when they come over to our house, but Ben reminded me that Samantha was like that as well at this age.

Owen had been doing pretty well since we got home from our traveling. He only woke up once during the night again from Tuesday into Wednesday, waking up just before 2:00, nursing and going back to sleep until about 8:30. We also have been having him sleep in his crib the whole night, rather than moving him to the pack and play after he wakes up the first time. However, sometimes I feel sad not having him sleeping next to my bed anymore. I miss hearing his little grunting sounds and his deep breathing while he sleeps. I am glad to have our room back, and I know that he is just right through the doorway in the room connected to ours. We don't even use a monitor because we can hear him when he wakes up, but still, it is just another milestone. I am happy that he is growing and becoming more independent, of course, but I think I feel a bit more sad about it because Owen is most likely my last baby, meaning I will never have a baby sleeping in a bed next to me again. It's like the closing of a chapter that I will never go back to. Exciting, but sad at the same time.

For however well Owen slept overnight, the afternoon was a different story. Some days Owen will nap for two hours in the afternoon, but on Wednesday afternoon it took me a long time to get him to sleep and then he woke up after sleeping less than an hour. I kept going down to his room to try and get him back to sleep, but as soon as I would lay him down, his eyes would pop open. I was hoping for a little bit of time to myself that afternoon, but it was not meant to be that day.

Aedan was so excited when Samantha came home from school that afternoon. One of their favorite activities lately is to go into Samantha's room and listen to the Moana soundtrack. Aedan's song is the Maui song, "You're Welcome." His face lights up every time it comes on, and he likes to pretend to be Maui, especially with his new hook that he got for Christmas. Well, I heard them running around and dancing to "You're Welcome," and I just had to catch it on video. The two of them are just so cute together. They were having a great time singing and dancing. :)

Samantha has been much more interested in Owen lately, now that he is more interactive and she can actually get him to smile and laugh. She asks to hold him quite often. Wednesday evening before leaving for AWANA, she held him in a different way, tipping him backwards (with Ben's hand there for extra support) and beaming with delight every time she got him to smile and giggle. She loves both of her little brothers so much, and they will always look up to her.

On Wednesday night, Ben had his Bible study and the kids had AWANA, but my Bible study didn't start back up yet, so I was home with just Owen. It was quiet, but strange. I forget what it's like just having a baby around. He and I hung out and played with toys for awhile, but he was pretty fussy from not napping that long that afternoon. I did all I could to hold him off until 7:00 to start putting him to bed. By 7:45 he was in his bed sleeping, and I was able to relax for a few minutes before Samantha and Aedan got home.

Samantha actually ended up having school cancelled on Thursday because it was going to be negative temperatures with the windchill. Samantha and Aedan were doing pretty well playing together that morning, but I decided it would be good for them to get out of the house for awhile and burn off some energy. Some MOPS moms met up at McDonald's for a play date, and Samantha was excited to be able to go because she normally cannot go on these play dates with being in school. They were having a great time running around and playing in the play place. Owen fell asleep in his car seat on the way there and even stayed asleep for awhile despite the loudness of the play area. It was a good way to spend the morning, and I had some time to talk with other moms for awhile.

My goal for when we got back from Christmas break travels was to start Owen in cloth diapers. I got our stash washed and ready to be used. It had been long enough since I used them that I had to reacquaint myself with them, but I was excited to get back into using cloth because they are really so simple and save us so much money. Here is Owen in his first cloth diaper.

Here are some cute pictures of my kiddos that afternoon. Samantha loves holding Owen now that he can hold his own head up better. And she loves being able to play with toys with him now and give him things to hold in his little hands.

I even got Aedan to get in on the pictures, as long as he was allowed to hold his Maui hook, too. Ben and I make cute kids, don't you think? Man, do I love them all so much.

Look at all the teeth missing from this little girl's mouth! It's so funny to see how her smile keeps changing as she loses teeth and has her adult teeth coming in.

Owen sure is lucky to have the two of them to grow up with. These are three great kiddos right here. I am one lucky mama.

Friday was another super cold day, colder than Thursday actually, so Samantha's school was cancelled again. Aedan was THRILLED to have another day at home with Sissy. Not too bad to go to school for one day and then have two days off of school again. It felt like a nice, extended break, and it was so nice to have this time just to play at home together.

Ben tried to work from home that day, but the kids wouldn't leave him alone, so he ended up having to go to campus so he could actually get something done. Once I got Owen down for his morning nap, I went into Aedan's room to be with the big kids as they played. They were building and being very creative with Aedan's new Lego set, and it was fun to watch them play with each other. These days off from school were an extra blessing for Samantha and Aedan. I don't think either of them got out of their pajamas on this Friday. (Aedan has his Batman pajamas under his Spider-Man costume.)

That morning Owen did not take that long of a nap, even though he was tired. He got his hand out of his sleep sack again, which seems to bother him and make him mad. I felt bad because I was just about to sit down and actually have time to play with Samantha and Aedan without having to worry about taking care of or entertaining Owen at the same time. I felt frustrated and had forgotten how hard it is to feel like I can get much done or play with Aedan during the day, when trying to take care of Owen, too. There is always something I am not doing well enough, either shirking my household responsibilities to play with Aedan, or ignoring Aedan so I can get things done. I know things will get easier as Owen gets bigger, especially as he can roll or sit up and play with toys, but this is certainly a difficult phase.

That Friday night we decided to try out the new pizza place down the street from our house. It was supposed to be Chicago style pizza which made Ben and I very excited. Ben called ahead to order our food and got there shortly after 5:00 to pick it up. However, it was 5:15 and they still hadn't even put it in the oven. We debated just cancelling our order and going to Superior Pizza in Brimley instead, but then the next time he talked to them, they said it was in the oven and would ready in fifteen minutes, so Samantha and he decided to wait for it. However, another hour passed and the pizza still was not done. It was crazy, and I know he was tired of standing and waiting there for so long. When our pizza finally came out of the oven, it was burnt, so they ended up just giving us someone else's order who got a refund and decided to leave. The pizza was not what we expected. It was crust on the bottom, toppings in the middle, very little if any cheese, another layer of crust, and then a thin layer of sauce spread over the top. It tasted pretty good, but it was a little too much crust for my liking and not at all like the cheesy Chicago style pizza that I love so much. Maybe we will try it again when it isn't their opening day and are super busy.

While Samantha and Daddy were gone waiting for the pizza, Owen, Aedan, and I hung out at home. We played together, had some snacks to tide us over, and just waited for them to finally get home with our dinner. Here is Owen getting some tummy time that evening.

It's not very often that we eat dinner at 7:00 at night, so the kids didn't have very long to play before it was time for bed. Owen was getting pretty tired and slap happy, so we decided to have some fun looking in the mirror downstairs before heading to bed. He loved being bounced up and down and was just giggling away. I think he really enjoyed being able to see himself in the mirror, too, even though he doesn't know that is actually his reflection. I love seeing him smile and hearing him coo and laugh.

Saturday was another super cold day, but we were tired of being stuck in the house, so we decided to take a family trip to Meijer to get a few things and just walk around for awhile. Then, we went to the library because Samantha requested that we go, and she doesn't ever get to go to the library since Aedan, Owen, and I always go during the week. Daddy and Aedan had a hair cut appointment at 11:00, so once they left, Samantha, Owen, and I stayed at the library together. She enjoyed just sitting down and reading books. It was such a different experience than when I am at the library with Aedan. We were also able to find and check out "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." We had finished reading the book aloud to Samantha, and we told her that we'd let her watch the movie sometime. She was so excited that the library had it and couldn't wait to watch it.

Saturday afternoon meant nap time for Aedan and Owen. Samantha played in her room for a little while before going over to Canada with Daddy so he could look for a new suit coat. I put Owen down for his nap in the pack and play in our bedroom so that way I could work on switching the 3 month clothes out of his closet and hanging up all the 3-6 month clothes I had washed and ready. It was a big job, and one that I needed time for when he wasn't in his room sleeping. Here is a picture of Owen all wrapped up, sleeping in the pack and play. He doesn't sleep in the pack and play very often anymore since we have pretty much transitioned him to sleeping in his crib. He took a nice, long nap that afternoon, and I was able to accomplish everything I wanted to while he slept soundly in the next room.

When I came upstairs from finishing putting the clothes away, this is what I saw. Izzy was laying on the bench by the garage door, patiently waiting for Daddy and Samantha to come back home. She's so cute and sure does love her family.

And here is Samantha holding Owen that evening before dinner. She has really enjoyed holding him lately, and he loves the attention of his big sister (even though he doesn't look that thrilled in the picture.) She is a proud big sister.

(Blog about December 31, 2017-January 6, 2018)