Mother’s Day 2012

Mother’s Day 2012 was the best one yet. I started by sleeping in and waking up to my three boys standing in the doorway.

• Brad smiling.
• Eldyn smiling from ear to ear.
• Hiram smiling and holding a bowl full of muffins that was at least 4 times bigger than his head.

It only got better from there. The weather was beautiful and, controlling for Eldyn’s ear infection and Hiram’s finger getting pinched in the storm door, everyone was in a great mood the whole weekend. My favorite things were our annual Mother’s Day trip to the Farmer’s Market and this card, which Hiram signed by himself.

Here are a few photos from our Farmer’s Market trip too.

No room for plants!

Hiram saw me reading the tags and started doing it too.

Having hot dogs for lunch. Good idea Sir Hiram!

Eldyn: 5 Months

I was just checking the 4 month update and can’t believe all the new stuff we have to report this month.

School’s In: Since our last monthly update, Eldyn started going to daycare with his big brother. I am not exaggerating when I say that every single day I pick him up, he’s lounging in some sort of mechanical chair (or lap) with his peach fuzz sticking straight up and a grin that goes from ear to ear (see above). Based on this data, I’d say he likes it there.

Roll Tootsie!  This month, Eldyn’s mastered the art of rolling over. While he’s shown us he can roll both directions he’s a little more proficient at going from his back to his front. This means sometimes he ends up with a few minutes of (highly annoying!) tummy time. Overall though, Eldyn loves having this new skill and has become the cutest little side-sleeper at night.

Up? Down? At diaper changing time, Eldyn lifts his legs up when I need them down and puts them down when I need them up. When I ask him if he’s being a troublemaker, he gets a mischievous glint in his eye and laughs hysterically. He does this almost every time. If I didn’t know any better, I’d guess he knows exactly what he’s up to.

Actual Conversation

Luckily I’m happy with the fitness progress I’ve been making or this actual conversation with a stranger at Walgreens would have been much more upsetting.

Stranger: Are you having a boy or a girl?

Me: Oh, I just had a baby.

Stranger: Yes, but you’re having another one right?

Me: No, I have a four-month old. Maybe that’s why I look pregnant to you.

Stranger: Oh…I thought you were supposed to lose weight after having a baby?

Me: You do. I guess it just takes time.

Stranger: Maybe you got shorter? When my sister was pregnant, she got shorter. That’s why she looks bigger now.

Me: Yeah. That’s probably it.

Sigh.

Kind of makes me wish I would have just said, “A boy.”

Kumbaya

Before Hiram goes to bed, I’ve started singing Kumbaya to him. I know. This is a little bit cheesy. But, my mom used to sing it to me and I like the message. Especially just before I leave my sweet baby alone in his bed all night.

As part of the process, I try to insert what some might call a “win,” as a way to reflect on the day. Something like, “someone’s running fast, my Lord.” Or, “Someone’s holding the candle, my Lord.” Hiram especially likes this and points out that the “someone” is him.

If I don’t nail his top accomplishment though, he’ll suggest enhancements. Like, “Someone is running really fast at the lake and then sees Giki and Bumpa!” Or “Someone’s holding the candle while we get e-Lew some baptized.” The longer, the better, really.

Lately, he’s also started suggesting the things he’s gotten in trouble for.

At first, this was hard for us to encourage, but then I realized it’s actually perfect.  It’s a way to clear the air on some of the more heated issues we had during the day and sends the message that we love him no matter what. So, now we try not to laugh while we sing the naughty ones too: “Someone’s not listening and being sassy.” and “Someone’s putting noodles in his milk.”

e-Lew Weekly: 5/9/12

Twenty-one Weeks

Thursday

Friday

Sunday: Baptism

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Me vs. 20 lbs: May Update

Yahoo! With our canoe race last Saturday, Brad and I officially finished the first/purple phase of our 2012 workout plan. We finished the 15 mile paddle in a rented aluminum canoe with a time of 3 hours and 15 minutes. We both missed how light and easy Loonacy is to ride, until we got ourselves beached on a big ol’ rock. Then we were glad she was tucked safely away at home.

Here’s my progress report as of May 1.

In Phase 2/The Green Phase, our focus will be on building mileage (up to 25 miles a week), speed work and belly strengthening. Since the bike race comes up right after the run, we’ll also start riding a bit during this phase. The variety should keep us entertained!

Eldyn’s Baptism

As Hiram said last night, this past weekend “we got e-Lew some baptized!”

Oh man, e-Lew was a cutie. So was Hiram.

Of course I totally forgot to take photos, but here are a few…er, two. I am especially sad to be missing one of Hiram’s “sharp” hair. I’ll try to add more as they come in from my other sources.

My angel

With Godmother Dottie

Hiram: 2 Years + 11 Months

I think there are times in a kid’s life when more learning happens on the parent side of the equation. This last month was one of those for us.

I’m grumpy: Nothing makes this guy grumpier than someone trying to foil his foul mood. “I’m grumpy,” he’ll say with as big a pout as he can muster. Key Learning: This does not necessarily mean he’s grumpy. It means he has reasonable cause for grumpiness but could be convinced to budge if you can think of something more entertaining to do.  Games that fit the bill:

1. Your shoes are eating your feet!
2. Does a sock go on your head?
3. Spin 10 times fast without falling.
4. And of course, hockey puck.

Head to Toe: Hiram can dress himself. Head to toe. Key Learning: Hiram should dress himself head to toe. The post-dress audit (shoes on the right feet? Pants on? Forwards?) goes a lot more smoothly once he’s had a chance to show us what he can do. Which, as Hiram likes to say, is “a lot, lot, lot.”

Bedtime: He’s had his big-boy bed for almost a year, but this month Hiram’s started to feel free to roam the rooms upstairs when he wakes up. I’ve been waiting for this to happen but still had a few reservations (actual reservation: will he drown in the toilet while I’m sleeping?) Key Learning: No. I still know exactly when he wakes up and he doesn’t seem too interested in drowning in the toilet (yet). Instead, I get to open my eyes some mornings to see his pretty brown ones looking earnestly at me. Wake up time? Oh yes.

Swamplandia!

Oh man you guys. Read Swamplandia!

But.

Don’t do it because you want to feel any kind of happy for a while. As Brad noticed, the swampy depths of this novel put my complete disposition into the able hands of Karen Russell. When she wanted me happy, I was happy. When she wanted me suspicious, I sniffed a rat. When she wanted me to feel complete despair about everything in the entire world…

But a few hours of despair is totally worth it because this woman can write like nothing else. She’s got such command of language and such a powerful voice. She literally takes your breath away. Or, her sweet characters and their view on the world take your breath away. I bookmarked about 18 thousand places in this book, but here’s just a little thing her 11-year-old character had to say about her parents:

“You know, my father trained himself to be my mother’s sun, electrically speaking.” That was exactly how my dad described the job of love.

Oh man, I’m breathless again. This book is a treat. A deep, dark, treat.

e-Lew Weekly: 5/2/12

Twenty Weeks!

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday: Hanging with his little buddy– these guys were born less than 10 hours apart!

Tuesday