Leo is Five Months

As of tomorrow, our little (big) baby is five months old.  Five months ago this very minute, I was probably choking down some castor oil and Diet Mountain Dew in hopes that he would be born soon.  It worked.  (There is more to that story, but I'll spare the details.  I figured labor was impending.  I just wanted to be sure.) 

In case I don't get a chance tomorrow, here is where Leo stands as of today:

1.)  Still teething.  I can't see any more teeth besides the bottom two, but he's still drooling and chewing on everything.  Perhaps those top teeth are starting to make their way through.

2.)  Has survived his first ear infection.  He was very sad about it.  Very sad.  Very, very sad...several times a night. 

3.) Is consistently getting up and rocking on his knees.  So far, he only moves backwards in this position, but I give him 4-6 weeks before he's crawling. 

4.)  Is scooting in some stealth-like manner that I never seem to catch.  He can move several feet in no time...I just have no idea how he's doing it.

5.)  Rolls front to back and back to front with ease.

6.)  Is still growing his hair back, and it looks to be a medium auburn.  I may see some hope for little curls?  It's a little early still.

7.)  Has beautiful dark blue eyes, sweet dimples, and a huge, warm smile.

8.)  Gives big, wet, open mouthed kisses when he can get close enough to a face to do it.

9.)  Loves his big brother and thinks he's hilarious, even when his own safety is put at risk because of Patrick's intensity of play.

10.) Alternates between nursing and bottle-feedings pretty easily.  Sometimes he prefers one over the other, but not with any consistency.

11.)  Is growing out of his clothes faster than he can wear them.  Right now, he wears mostly 6-9 months, with a couple of 9-12mo. outfits thrown in.

12.) Still likes nothing more than snuggling, especially curled up facing me while getting little butt-pats.  Puts him to sleep every time. 

Here he is.  This sweet little face gets me every time:

Leo, 4 months and 27 days, courtesy of Katie M's handy iPhone.

Tuesday, Schmuesday

Check that.  Sweet Leo has TWO teeth.  Two teeth!  Patrick had his first tooth at 5.5 months, and here is Leo, a whole month younger, with two little white teeth.  He hates them, but there is not much we can do about that.  The poor little guy is so congested and is a slobbery, drooly mess.  He's happy as long as someone is with him, though.  He's just not going down for naps as easily as he once did.  Overall, it's not too bad.  Tolerable.  We just feel a little bad for him.  His little watery eyes are just...so...sad.  Teething doesn't last forever, I realize, and if Leo is anything like his brother, he'll have all of his teeth in in by 18 months or so.  I'm bracing myself.  It's a rocky ride.

On top of that, Patrick, who is very high on my good list today, has decided that diapers are for babies.  He's all about being a big kid and using a toilet.  Finally.  Truthfully, I did bribe him a little by promising Spiderman underwear and I told him that he couldn't have his Spiderman costume back until he used the toilet all day, but he's doing it, and happily.  He's had five (FIVE!) successful trips to the toilet and absolutely not a single accident.  He even made a bathroom trip on his own (a major one, if you can pick up with I'm putting down...) as I was busy feeding Leo.  Hooray for Patrick!  Colleen drove the point home by showing up with some M & M's and candy pumpkins as rewards for him, and he's thrilled.  He had to call everyone today to tell them all about his bathroom trips (when did I ever think that was appropriate before now?).  It makes me so proud to see him so proud of himself.  Today, he tells me, he really is big like Peter Parker, and he is right on there.  Bribery gets you everywhere with kids.  If you don't agree, don't come and visit. 

On a different note:

I forgot to add, on a very positive note, that Sweet Leo (will that nickname ever tire?) went for his 4 month well baby visit yesterday.  To be fair, he is actually 4.5 months old.  However, our little brut tipped the scales at 18 pounds and is 27.5 inches long, making him in the 96th and 97th percentiles, respectively.  Adam is holding his breath that Leo has inherited a bit of the abundance of height that comes from my mother's side of the family.  Patrick started out pretty tall, too, but is now in the 60th percentile, at least as of several months ago.  Either way, he's a pretty big kid.  Abnormally strong (he can do a sit-up--I can barely do a sit-up), smiley, cute-as-all-get-out, quiet, happy, and a good sleeper.  I'll keep him.

I stole this from a friend's Facebook page (sorry, Danielle!), but I had to.  As a chronic optimist, losing sight of the light at the end of the tunnel is frustrating.  I'm working on seeking it out.  Sometimes, things get hard.  To be clear, I still believe that it's not life that is hard, it's that times can be hard.  Balancing school and the kids and my husband and the cooking/cleaning/grocery shopping/laundry...I have found myself losing focus and giving about 1/2 of an effort in all fields.  As a moderate over-achiever, with a competitive nature and mild control issue, well, I'm in the process of pulling it together.  After a somewhat frustrating and stinging what-for from Adam last night (where would I be without Adam?), I realized that I have to.  It's not for my sake completely, it is for our entire family unit.  Happy wife, happy life, right?  I wish that I meditated.  Sometimes, it just helps to have some kind of affirmation (whether it's true or not) that everything works out how it should.  It lightens the load and allows the worries to dissipate.  Deep breaths...

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

09.14.10

Sweet Leo Walden has a tooth!! 

Finally...a Patrick and Leo Comparison

Here we are.  Our Hilton Head vacation happened just after Leo's 1/4 birthday, so Katie had a great idea to do his 3 month shots there.  Gorgeous!  Here is a comparison of the two boys:

Patrick J.E., 4 months old

Leo A., 3 months old

Patrick J.E., 4 Months

         

Leo A., 3 months

 

           

Here are a few more of the little one, just because Katie did such a great job, as always.  Should I do another plug?  Katie Marsh, photographer extraordinaire!  (Check out http://www.photosbykatiemarsh.shutterfly.com/ or http://www.grins-and-giggles.blogspot.com/)



Patrick Walden

Not one to leave one child out, I had to google Patrick's name, too.  Brace yourself.

Here he is:

I am so serious.  This Patrick Walden was apparently a guitarist in a band called "Babyshambles."  I'm sure he's great, but just doesn't look so...nice.

So then I found this Patrick Walden:

A step in the right direction, and probably not far off.  Strange hat?  Check.  Costume apparel?  Double check.

Finally, I came across this.  Who knows who this kid is, or if he's even real.  His picture showed up in the image searches, and while it's not indicative whatsoever of our little Pjew, the meltdown face is vaguely familiar.  (Anyone who has seen Patrick's meltdown face would probably agree.) 

Leo Walden

This is absolutely unnecessary, but it is no matter.

Meet Leo Walden:

Handsome, isn't he?  I googled Leo's name tonight and found http://www.waldentree.com/, a website dedicated to Leo Walden (1918-1991) and who appears to be his sister, Cleo Walden (coincidental, because Cleo was also on our list for "girl" names. We have since removed it, but perhaps it needs to make a return?)   

My heart has just been sad this weekend. Well, maybe not sad, entirely. More like discouraged. I'm feeling a little beat down. As an assignment, I was to write a short paper about my five- and ten-year goals. No big deal, right? I started on it tonight...and I froze. I have nothing. Not a single thing. Graduate? Check. Get a job? Check. Then what? I have no idea what kind of nurse I want to be, only what kind of nurse I DON'T want to be. I feel like I'm falling behind a little, at least from where I want be. My confidence has been bruised. Our first exam was on Thursday. I felt pretty good about it, almost cocky. Then I was let down to find out that I didn't do as well as I had thought, and by a long shot. I'm just frustrated. On a high note, I finally got my feedback for my Patient Care Plan last week and it was glowing. I basked in that for a while, and then it faded. What am I going to do? I am starting to second-guess everything and my general optism is fading. I need a refresher, a pick-me-up, if you will. Today will be spent studying, in an attempt to redeem myself. I finished my Goals paper, and it's not bad. That's a step in the right direction.

I told Patrick this morning that my heart was sad. He told me he would fix it, put his hand over my heart (good memory), and said he could feel it, but that he needed to hear it. "Hold a minute. I need my telescope (stethoscope)," he said, and he was off. He got distracted by chalk and the chalkboard wall, though, so here I sit, with a heart that is still a little sad, but with brand new pictures on the wall of things that are "very dangerous and sharp, Mommy." I have no idea where his mind goes sometimes, but I give him an A+ for creativity.

I. Am. Tired. Beyond the normal mom-tired, I am I-feel-like-I-may-have-been-roofied kind of tired. Do you know who doesn't care? Every person in this house, myself included. The boys don't notice and Daddy's too tired himself. Bless Adam's heart, he did cover me up with a blanket on the way to bed last night, as I apparently passed out on the couch right after Leo went to bed.

So this little agreement we had, the one in which we were both going to work like crazy for the next two years so that we wouldn't have to work like crazy for our entire lives, seems to be in full swing. Oh, does it. Wow, it's harder than I thought. The Boy Scout Popcorn Sale starts pretty soon, which means I'll probably see Adam in January, and between school and the kids, we are really only passing in the mornings and on our way to bed anyway. I've said it before and I'll say it again; it's a good thing we're happy. We couldn't pull this off if we weren't.

But enough of the griping. At least the kids don't notice. They are none-the-wiser, which is what we wanted. And they are happy. They have a good life. In the end, this will all pay off...or at least it better. So help me, it better. Today is my day off. It's 9:30 and I'm still in my pj's. Patrick dressed himself in a t-shirt (backwards), boxer briefs, sunglasses, a watch, a wristband, and a bike helmet. I watched him do it. He is semi-color-coordinated, so I give him credit for that. Leo is good. He's dressed in real clothes (an outfit, I mean) and napping quietly, so at least 1/3 of those of us at home are off to a good start. That's better than nothing, so I'll take it. Cripes. I feel like that's a family motto now.

Rug?

Seven years ago, as a college graduation present, I received a giant, vibrant, Oriental rug from my parents. At the time, I thought, I am going to have this forever...and then I had kids. How on earth do I clean a rug like this and not put myself out hundreds of dollars? Can I just Resolve a couple of square feet at a time? It needs help. Our spills are out of control.

Labor Day Weekend

How do holiday weekends possess the unique ability to pass even faster than regular weekends, despite the additional day(s)? I am not a fan.

I had an exceptionally long weekend, having started last Thursday and ending tonight, just in time to get up at 4am tomorrow and start on a long day of clinicals. Have I mentioned I do not like clinicals? If not, let's be clear on this: I. Do. Not. Like. Clinicals. Don't get me wrong, I understand the reasoning behind them. I do not protest going and try not to complain. In short, however, it's a very long day of feeling overwhelmingly unsure of oneself, constantly second-guessing every word that comes out of your mouth or every action that you are expected to take. It wears me out. I have just over a year left of clinicals, though, so at least I know they don't last forever. Or I hope not. I hear that a "real job" in the field is quite different. Here is to hoping.

I had every intention of spending the weekend studying, and I did get a fair amount of work done. Adam and Patrick left for our friend's lakehouse on Friday night, but I missed them, so I packed up Saturday night and took off to join them. Sadly, by the time I got there, Patrick was already in bed and Adam was on his way, so Katie and I stayed up far past our bedtime with a bottle of wine (which was at that point fairly unnecessary) and set forth to catch up on the past few weeks that we have been apart. It took some time. Apparently, a lot of time. Just now, two days later, I feel rested again. I am not as young as I used to be. It was a good way to spend the night, though, and although I am a little backed up on work today, I'm plowing through, catching up so as not to be behind this week. Thankfully, the kids are cooperating and everyone is happy and clean today. That's a good way to start off a week, even if it is Tuesday.