A Thin Line

Fun and torture have a thin line drawn between them when you're a parent. Sometimes you have to carefully weigh your options before and ask yourself, "will we have fun or is this going to be more trouble than it's worth?" That's what we ask ourselves every time before venturing out.

This past weekend we went to our annual church retreat. After throwing half of our worldly belongings into the car and driving a little ways, we ended up on a local university campus unpacking into a dorm room. We ate meals in a cafeteria, crowded with people from other on-campus events, and spent most of our time walking from one place to another to make sure we made it to events mostly on time.

With two small kids in tow we made sure to come prepared. Naps were short or non-existent, mealtimes were chaotic making sure all were fed properly, and my mind was racing with lists making sure we were appropriately ready for all things.

Sometimes there were meltdowns and bouts of inconsolable crying. We witnessed falls and spills that resulted in bruises and bumps. There was separation anxiety, rebelling against the unfamiliar and constant complaining and whining.

So was it worth it?

Absolutely.

Although the moment we came home we were cleaning up oodles of poop that the kids stored up over the course of the weekend, we had a weekend of wonderful memories...the great conversations we had with old friends and new friends, the smile on Bear's marker covered face as she showed us the picture she created, the wiggling excitement of Chipmunk as we ventured from one place to another, learning and reflecting and being refreshed...

There's just something about coming home and realizing that we actually made it through the weekend. Even when you're standing over the sink oxy-cleaning playdough stains from shorts and pondering how to put sleeping schedules back in order, you have to smile and be thankful for the joys that outweigh the trouble.

4 and a half months

Chipmunk still amazes me with his massiveness...

17 pounds 13 ounces (95%ile)
26 inches long (90%ile)
2 teeth (and 2 more on the way)



Whoa.

Bear's Latest Antics

...roaming around our home flapping her arms yelling, "Cockle Doo!"

...singing medleys of all her favorite sings..."Twinkle, twinkle, little dar, how I know my ABCs, Itsy pie-der falling down, Where thumb-pin, here am, E-I-Ooooooh..."

...purposely pushing her brother while he is propped up in a sitting position on the couch and then innocently asking, "oh what happened? Brudder fell down?"

...pointing to the moles on my arms, saying, "mommy hurts" and running to get a wipe to apparently try to wipe the spots off.

...when asked where Chipmunk's chin is she says, "here, here, here...three chins!"

...coming out to the livingroom after her nap and poignantly announcing, "I woke up" (Yup, it took her a whole month before she figured she could get out of bed herself).

...sitting at the dinner table and roaring like a dinosaur, laughing her head off and saying, "oh no, dino-door (dinosaur) table!"

...running up to Chipmunk speaking in a high squeaky voice, "Hello Baby [Chipmunk]...good boy you! Eat milk! Pay(play) toys!"

...while climbing stairs, "Yook mommy, I up-ping da stairs!"

...spinning, spinning, spinning until she runs into something, laughs and says, "whoa diz-zee."

Thoughtless

Tonight I was blessed to escape for a few hours and spend some time sans kids, sans husband. It was girl night. We ate, chatted, and ate some more. We caught up, we laughed, we enjoyed each other's company and I lapped up every precious minute.

I had a problem though: my words were rather incohesive. There I was, my first real adult conversation after giving birth to Chipmunk, and it was like my thoughts and my words weren't coordinating. Plus my thoughts were going every which way. It was like I didn't know how to think properly either (which may be true since I haven't had a good think session in ages). So I would say something, but realize that it wasn't what I was trying to convey...or I would have trouble piecing together words to match the thoughts in my head.

They say you lose brain cells with every pregnancy...I think I lost the ones connecting thought and speech...or I'm just out of practice since I've been in baby/toddler world.

But thanks...to you ladies who forbeared through my stammerings and brain farts. Not only did I get to laugh again but I got to feel normal again...and I know that will refresh me for days to come. (Thanks to Matt, too, for putting the kids to bed)

The Early Bird

Or should I say Early Chipmunk?

I'm beginning to settle with the fact that Chipmunk is just an early riser. Because of that, he's also early to bed. I hear that's normal. I just didn't know that.

Bear is apparently a late bird. I thought that was normal. She used to wake up at 9 am in the morning. Before Chipmunk was born, she started waking up around 8 am. I thought that was early.

Then Chipmunk comes along and wakes up at 6 am. Everyday. 6 am. I have to put him to bed around 7:30 at night...and only that late because I want him to at least see his dad for 5 minutes before we put him to bed.

6 am. I can't get over it. I know it's normal for most kids...It's just so weird that I have to entertain him for an hour and put him down for his first nap before Bear even gets up for the first time.

Speaking of which, perhaps I should be going to bed sooner, too. Time to log off.

Trains, Red Eggs, and Fathers...

We went out of town again this past weekend... It was a visit to the grandparents, yes, but we had a full agenda this weekend.

We took the kids to the train museum...



Bear was loving every moment. She was running around yelling, "Wow! Choo Choo Chain!"



Chipmunk enjoyed the train museum, too, in his own little way.

Saturday was Chipmunk's Red Egg and Ginger Party.



Our little man all dressed up for his shindig.



Red Eggs with Ginger



Bear eating...again.



Chipmunk had fun, but got all tuckered out after a while.

And Father's Day...Bear made sure to wish her dad and grandpa "Happy Dodders Day!" while Chipmunk decided to have a super cranky day (of which he sprouted another tooth).

Then we made the trip home...which in some ways was more daunting than the rest of the weekend...but we made it back...home sweet home.

Stunned!

Chipmunk surprised me this morning when he bit me and it felt sharp. After a few minutes of trying to convince an almost 4-month old to "open wide" I stuck my finger in there and felt it...his first tooth breaking through his gummy surface. I was stunned! I'm still stunned! Bear got her first tooth early, but not this early. I guess he's just trying to one-up his sister. Argh.

Wordless

I don't know what to write about these days. I've been suffering from writer's block.

I'm also suffering from mommy brain (wait! whose diaper did I just change?), butterfingers (broke two dishes this week!) and just general lack of common sense (let's take this out of the oven without an oven mitt!).

So I'll end here, before I hurt myself with the keyboard somehow.

White

After my shower this morning, I mentioned to Matt that I'm losing all my hair. All that hair that the pregnancy hormones helped me retain are now falling out. It's a verifiable mess since my hair has reached super lengths

In the car Matt pointed out that I had two white hairs and said. "too bad the white ones didn't fall out."

White hairs. Ever since I turned thirty, I've been finding white hairs. I think they're stress related. Or I should say that I hope they're stress related.

Of course I know one day that may not be the case...So this time I'm going to ignore that old adage about plucking out white hairs and hope beyond hope that they don't come back.