Aedan: 46 Months, Week 1
Owen: 4 Months, Week 3 (Week 20)
Some weekends we have very little that we do, and we just hang out home. This past weekend had been pretty busy with a hockey game on Friday night and milder weather that we took advantage of by going over to campus on Saturday morning to let the kids play on the huge snow piles. I carried Owen in the Ergo inside my Roocoat, and he took a nice nap while Samantha and Aedan climbed and slid down the snow piles. Ben and I even had a chance to stand and talk to each other for awhile, thinking about our future living in Sault Ste. Marie, the updates we want to make to our house, and the trips we would like to take with the extra money Ben makes from teaching overloads and over the summer. Then, as I talked about in my last blog post, we went to the Winter Ice Festival Saturday night. So because of all those things that kept us busy, on Sunday we had a more relaxed day just going to church, getting caught up on laundry, and playing at home. Here is a cute video of Samantha and Aedan playing that morning.
With Owen getting much stronger and really liking to stand up and look around, I decided to put the exersaucer together for him. Even though it was almost nap time, he was enjoying checking out all the little toys and being able to stand up and look around without being held. (Do you like the cute preppy sweater Ben dressed him in for church that morning?)
Here are Samantha and Aedan looking at a book together later that afternoon. I walked by Aedan's room and noticed them sitting together in the rocking chair, so I had to go back and take a picture of them. They love this time on the weekend that they get to spend together.
Samantha and Aedan were kind of tired and cranky that evening, so we had them come downstairs and help us put clothes away in Owen's room. Then, Samantha saw this book called Owen and wanted to read it to Owen and Aedan. Here are all three of my wonderful kiddos. They are crazy sometimes, but it's great seeing all three of them together.
Samantha and Aedan love to play a "monster/jail" game downstairs with Ben. I'm not even exactly sure what it entails, but they try to lock him up and he keeps escaping. All I hear are lots of screams and roaring. However, if Izzy is downstairs with them, she gets a little too crazy chasing after them and jumping on them, so on Sunday night it was my job to keep Izzy upstairs so they could play downstairs uninhibited. While upstairs, I entertained Owen for awhile, giving him some tummy time and showing him some toys that kept his attention for awhile. I try to give this boy tummy time whenever I have the chance, but sometimes it's difficult because I need to be sitting right next to him. He's getting stronger though!
Monday was back to our typical routine of grocery shopping and hanging out. As we were eating lunch, Aedan wanted me to take his picture, so here is the big guy I get to hang out with every day. He makes it fun to be home every day. He has lots of energy and lots of excitement for life. I am also very glad for his help with Owen. He is a great big brother and is always willing to talk to him and play with him.
Since we didn't have MOPS on Tuesday, we actually went over to a friend's house so that Aedan could play with their son, and us moms could have time to talk. The boys had fun playing together, playing with play-doh, eating snack, and even watching a little bit of a show. It's fun being able to get together, and the boys get along pretty well.
That afternoon I had a dentist appointment, so Ben came home to sit with the boys while I went to my appointment. I tried to get both of them to sleep before I left, but neither boy was acting like normal that day. Owen normally falls asleep while nursing, but he didn't that day, and neither were asleep at 1:30. I ended up being a little late for my appointment because I was trying to get Owen to sleep. He slept fine while I was gone, but once I got back, literally the minute Ben walked out the door, he woke up crying. I was so tired, so tired of him waking up in the middle of his nap all the time. I just wanted him to sleep, and Aedan was also awake before 3:00. It was a tiring afternoon, with no break for me. We had small group at our house that night because the Hills were still dealing with sickness going through their house. Since Owen didn't nap well, I knew he was going to need to nap that evening. It was a bit tricky getting him to nap as people arrived and the kids were being very loud downstairs, but I was able to lay him down for a little bit of an evening nap.
Wednesday, January 31 we got quite a bit of snow. It is pretty to watch the snow fall, but it's starting to get to the point of the winter where I am ready for the snow to stop, even though I know it will take quite awhile for it to all melt away. Here is what it looked like out in our front yard that morning.
Aedan loves dressing up like a super hero, sometimes Spider-Man and on this day he was Super Why. He is very into super heroes right now and going on rescue missions.
Wednesday afternoon went much better with both boys taking good naps, which was better than the last couple of days. While they napped, I went through old pictures on my computer to make a new calendar. I started the tradition of making a picture calendar for each year, and then when that year is done I put the calendar in clear sleeves in a binder, so I am also making my own family photo book at the same time. I enjoy choosing pictures and making the calendar, but sometimes it's hard to find the time. I think it took me three days to complete it during my "spare" time. Looking at the old pictures made me sad sometimes, seeing how small Samantha and Aedan were, and missing some of our friends and experiences from Oxford.
After being up with Owen three times Sunday night and two times on Monday night, I was pleasantly surprised when Owen only woke up once on Tuesday night around 2:15, then going back to sleep until about 6:20. It was the first time in what felt like a long time that I wasn't up three times a night. I know this lack of sleep is taking a toll on me and has an effect on how well I can handle things during the day, especially when Owen doesn't nap very well some days.
As I was getting Owen ready for bed that night, I took this little video of some of his movements lately. He's been slapping his hands hard down at his sides and has recently started shaking his head back and forth, almost like he is saying no. I love watching the way his movements change over time, and it's great to see him become more active.
On Thursday we didn't have any plans, so we just had a day at home. In fact, I think Aedan stayed in his pajamas all day. It was snowy and cold outside, a perfect day to spend inside doing things together.
Once I got Owen down for his morning nap, Aedan really wanted to paint on the easel, so I brought it upstairs and got the paint ready for him. He was super excited about painting. In fact, it was one of his rewards for taking a good nap the day before. He made this painting for Ema, and he wanted me to take his picture and record a video to send to her. I love his little squinty "cheese" face when I take his picture.
Watching this video below always makes me laugh. Aedan is such a boy; saying poopies is just so funny. He has been cracking himself up a lot lately.
And here is Aedan's message for Ema.
Aedan was being really cute playing with Owen that morning. He was playing peek-a-boo with him and tickling him under the chin, making him smile and laugh over and over again. I got my phone out to take a video and then Owen was too interested in watching me to keep laughing at Aedan. It's cute nonetheless.
And here is Owen enjoying playing with the toys and looking around on from the vantage point of his exersaucer.
Aedan was doing a great job entertaining Owen while dancing to the ABC song and then falling down at the end, as an attempt to get a laugh from his little brother. (And of course he wanted to see himself at the end of each video I took.)
And here's some more dancing from Aedan. He was very interested in me taking videos of him this week.
Other than our normal routine that we follow during the week, the week was also marked with so much trouble getting Owen to nap. He just kept waking up crying. I would get him back to sleep and then he would wake up crying again a few minutes later. For example, on Thursday I had gone down three times, each time spending quite awhile getting him to sleep, and he kept getting his hands out of his wrap and making himself mad. It made me think: how is he every going to sleep without being swaddled, especially with no pacifier and no way to soothe himself. It made me wish he took a pacifier. There was one day he napped well, but most days he was up after forty-five minutes, screaming and crying. I always try to get him to go back to sleep. This has been going on for several weeks now, and it used to be easy to just get him to go back to sleep and he would stay asleep for another hour or so. But lately, it's been hard to get him back to sleep once he wakes up. Sometimes I just don't know what I'm supposed to do when he's clearly tired, but won't stay asleep. I know this is all just a phase, but it doesn't make it any easier in the meantime.
On Friday morning Aedan had a dentist appointment. Owen fell asleep in the car on the way there and stayed asleep in his car seat for the entire appointment, which worked out well. Aedan did a really good job, but he was pretty nervous about it, especially when he had to go back for x-rays. The assistant took him back, and even though he was where I could still see him, he called me and wanted me to come over by him. He was very nervous about standing in the machine with his chin on the chin rest and his head inside this machine that would turn around and take pictures of his teeth. He tried hiding behind me for awhile, but we were able to convince him to stand on the stool and just try it, and he ended up being brave enough to do it. From there he went back to the chair for his teeth to be checked and cleaned. They painted his teeth purple to check for any plaque build-up, and everything looked good except for just a little along his gum line that I need to make sure I brush a little better. Aedan wasn't too big of a fan of the water and suction tools in his mouth, and the fluoride paste at the end was sticky and didn't taste very good, but he did such a good job, and he was really excited to pick out his new toothbrush and his prize from the prize box.
From the dentist, I decided to go through the Biggby drive-thru and get some coffee for Ben and I before going to campus to drop it off and say hi to Daddy and Miss Sheri for awhile. Aedan loves going over to campus, getting some candy from Miss Sheri, and just seeing Daddy as a surprise in the middle of the day. This semester he has class at noon, so we aren't able to talk to him or see him at lunch as maybe we could otherwise.
Since I thought maybe the problem with Owen napping so poorly on Thursday was because I waited too long to put him down, I decided that I would try putting him down first on Friday, before Aedan. However, he still woke up in less than an hour, so it didn't seem to make much difference. In fact, I actually ended up feeding him again and putting him back down. I am always hesitant to feed him in the middle of a nap because I don't want to always do that or have him only be able to fall asleep while nursing or get used to waking up in the middle of his nap to eat. However, I know that he is still little and he is growing, and he very well may be hungry, so I don't want to ignore his needs just because I feel like I have to do things in a certain way. Sometimes it's so hard to know what to do with babies, and I have been doing way too much scouring the internet looking at schedules and advice in getting your baby to sleep, rather than just trusting my own instincts and following Owen's lead.
On Friday morning Aedan had a dentist appointment. Owen fell asleep in the car on the way there and stayed asleep in his car seat for the entire appointment, which worked out well. Aedan did a really good job, but he was pretty nervous about it, especially when he had to go back for x-rays. The assistant took him back, and even though he was where I could still see him, he called me and wanted me to come over by him. He was very nervous about standing in the machine with his chin on the chin rest and his head inside this machine that would turn around and take pictures of his teeth. He tried hiding behind me for awhile, but we were able to convince him to stand on the stool and just try it, and he ended up being brave enough to do it. From there he went back to the chair for his teeth to be checked and cleaned. They painted his teeth purple to check for any plaque build-up, and everything looked good except for just a little along his gum line that I need to make sure I brush a little better. Aedan wasn't too big of a fan of the water and suction tools in his mouth, and the fluoride paste at the end was sticky and didn't taste very good, but he did such a good job, and he was really excited to pick out his new toothbrush and his prize from the prize box.
From the dentist, I decided to go through the Biggby drive-thru and get some coffee for Ben and I before going to campus to drop it off and say hi to Daddy and Miss Sheri for awhile. Aedan loves going over to campus, getting some candy from Miss Sheri, and just seeing Daddy as a surprise in the middle of the day. This semester he has class at noon, so we aren't able to talk to him or see him at lunch as maybe we could otherwise.
Since I thought maybe the problem with Owen napping so poorly on Thursday was because I waited too long to put him down, I decided that I would try putting him down first on Friday, before Aedan. However, he still woke up in less than an hour, so it didn't seem to make much difference. In fact, I actually ended up feeding him again and putting him back down. I am always hesitant to feed him in the middle of a nap because I don't want to always do that or have him only be able to fall asleep while nursing or get used to waking up in the middle of his nap to eat. However, I know that he is still little and he is growing, and he very well may be hungry, so I don't want to ignore his needs just because I feel like I have to do things in a certain way. Sometimes it's so hard to know what to do with babies, and I have been doing way too much scouring the internet looking at schedules and advice in getting your baby to sleep, rather than just trusting my own instincts and following Owen's lead.
Saturday mornings at our house are pretty relaxed. Ben had gotten up early to go to a men's breakfast, and I stayed in bed until the kids woke up. It's nice to take advantage of not having anywhere to be. Then, he actually volunteered to take the kids out to run a few errands while I stayed home and started my job of cleaning the house. It was nice being able to just focus on cleaning in a quiet house.
And to end this post, here are some pictures and a video of Owen sitting on Daddy's shoulders, eating his hair, and making his very loud squawks. He was having a blast up there. :)
(Blog about January 28-February 3, 2018)
No comments:
Post a Comment