Happy Birthday America

Summer finally decided to show up and luckily the 4th of July was clear and sunny. We had delicious food and celebrated with family on our deck. We're trying to take advantage of eating outside before we move. Chances are whatever house we find will not have a deck as awesome as what Mike built.





At dusk we started our fireworks display courtesy of Mary Ann and Jon. Collin's favorite are the sparklers. 



Then the real show began at nightfall. Our neighborhood suddenly turned into Afghanistan with professional looking illegal fireworks lighting up the sky. We watched our drunken neighbors across the street relive the show, "Jackass" while they shot Roman Candles at each other. Hmm some stuff I won't miss about this neighborhood.

It was a pretty awesome free fireworks show. We also watched from the "Pirate Deck" that Mike built adjoined to Collin's room, for the best view.

Finally, we ended the night with the grand finale firework that Papa brought. For a legal firework, it was pretty awesome. It lasted more than a minute with an impressive fountain of colors and sparks that blasted up into the sky. It was pretty surprising that it was actually legal. After that we resumed with watching some more of the neighborhood fireworks show. By 1030, Collin proclaimed he was tired and crawled into bed and fell right to sleep.

One more day...

It's been nearly 12 days since Mike left to Virginia for training and I've been on my own with two kids. This has probably been one of the hardest challenges I've faced as a parent and well, maybe in life!

I have so much respect for single parents/military families/spouses that travel a ton. I know compared to them, I shouldn't complain. But this is my blog so bare with me. Both kiddos are in daycare three days a week and thankfully Mike's parents helped me out. But barely getting sleep, then having to make breakfast, feed Milo, get out the door, work, pick them up, make dinner,  get them to bed and then start the whole process over, is mentally and physically exhausting.

Well let's just say it gets old. On the non-daycare days my sanity is challenged with Collin (aka boundless energy boy). When Mike's home, I can relax when he gets back from work. I don't mind making dinner. When it's just me though, it takes every ounce of energy to compel myself to make a home cooked meal. It's also discouraging when Collin turns up his nose at almost anything that's not a hot dog or a nugget. I'm starting to do the "eat it or starve" mantra because I'm just sick of it and tired. Going out to eat isn't exactly fun with two either.

On top of it, our house has been like a dust storm as the contractor finishes up so we can list our house. Then of course, Milo got sick. Although he's feeling better now, he seems to be in the reverse pattern of waking up several times at night which is making me feel like a zombie again. Collin wakes up when the sun rises (530 am or so), it doesn't matter how dark his room is, or how often I tell him not to get up until there's at least a 6 on his clock.

I'm far from a perfect parent. There have been times I snapped and yelled at Collin ending in lots of tears. There has been way more ipad watching than what is recommended. Pat on the back for not physically hurting him, seriously. The fact that both kids are adorable and Collin gives me cute lines and sloppy kisses helps.

I know Mike is not having a blast in the middle of nowhere, Virginia where his only food options are Applebees or Chili's and he's studying complicated computer forensics with a test for certification. At the same time, I don't hold lots of sympathy for him because compared to being ALONE with two kids, studying and sleeping without being waken at night, doesn't sound so bad.

And now, because why not, I'm feeling crappy and hoping coconut water, vitamin C and zinc do some magic. But there is only one. more. day.

Happy 4 Months

Poor Milo hasn't had it easy the last few weeks. Collin loves his baby brother and with that love comes four year old snot sharing and sloppy kisses. Topping that off with daycare, our little baby has basically had back to back illnesses, including cough, ear infection and impetigo.  I took him in a few days ago to the doctor when he was crying inconsolably and just seemed miserable. Pretty unusual for our happy little guy. The doctor diagnosed it as and, foot and mouth disease which basically means  a nasty virus that causes fever and sores on the hands, feet and most annoying, the mouth. The sores are probably pretty painful and for once Milo refused to eat. There's no treatment except Tylenol to relieve the discomfort. And lucky Mike got to miss out as he's been out of town on training. 

Last night was rough with Milo waking up in pain every couple hours, but  today Milo seems to be feeling much better and the sores don't look nearly as bad. He ate like he was starving and is starting to act like his old self. Tonight, I'm hoping everyone gets more rest and we can avoid more sicknesses for a while! 

At four months, Milo's favorite pastime is to show off his rolling ability. He loves to hang out on the floor on his tummy, pulling at toys and sucking on his fingers. He's rolled from his tummy to his back a few times but it seems accidental. I'm sure he'll figure it out soon. 

He also lunges forward like he's ready to propel (but we're not ready for you to crawl yet Milo!) We don't plan on baby proofing this house again and are hopeful it'll sell before we have to worry about that. 

However now that we're entering the oral fixation-everything-goes-in-the-mouth-stage, it's getting crucial to make sure Collin't tiny toys and legos don't end up near Milo's reach. He also loves to babble and we have quite a lot of conversations going. He gives wide mouth smiles and loves to watch his big brother act crazy. 

He's still a pretty happy, easygoing baby. And for the most part (except for when he's sick!) he's starting to sleep much better, which means I don't feel like a zombie anymore, yay!

Catch ya on the flip side

The other day Milo rolled over from back to tummy.















It's tiring!

He can't flip back the other way around, but I'm sure he'll get there soon.

Three Months!

Milo stop growing up so fast!

At three months, he is ahead of the baby curve and already teething (lucky us). The doctor looked at us skeptically when we told him we thought he was starting to get teeth at the 2 month appointment. But sure enough, little white gems are poking through the bottom gums. He's drooling, irritable, and has tummy issues, which supposedly can be a result from the excessive saliva. This is not helping the night time situation. He has slept in the bassinet for up to five hours at a time but more common he wakes up every three to four times. I'm chugging coffee to make up for the loss of sleep and half the time feel like a zombie! When we move and Milo gets his own room, we'll start sleep training and hopefully that'll help!



Milo started daycare a few weeks ago. It was probably much harder for me than him. I tried to hold it together the first day at drop-off but as soon as I got to the car started sobbing. Since getting back to work I've been slammed which is a good distraction. The teachers he's with are caring and live and breathe baby. "Baby school" is also a small, cozy environment with just a few other babies. He's fine with being handed off to his teacher and doesn't seem to have any abandonment issues! And they have baby hammocks!

Getting into a routine with two kids is an adjustment and a challenge. If I can make it to both places by 9am it's a miracle. Thankfully Collin is old enough to dress himself and is pretty independent. I don't know how parents do this with two in diapers... I forgot how much time it takes to get out the door with a baby. Just when you think your'e ready to go, they're starving or they have a blow-out.

We've also successfully cloth diapered for the last few months. It's much easier than I thought (although taking the pocket out of the diaper is gross), it's worth the money we're saving, not to mention no big plastic piles in the landfill.  The cloth diapers themselves are just like disposables except they're soft and cute with bright colors and they get stuffed with an insert. They also seem to leak less than disposables. Yes you do have to remember to wash them every other day but once you get into a routine it's not so bad.

Now onto his personality. Besides the sleeping situation, this is a pretty easygoing baby. Milo likes to hang out on his floor mat, rock his vibrating chair, or sleep in the swing. We have lots of conversation with coos and smiles. He tries to propel off our chests and I wonder if he'll be an early crawler (although no attempt at rolling over yet). He's starting to discover his hands, grabbing at toys and squeals. He's also gone from being in the 25% on the growth chart to over 75%. Our little chunk loves to eat and has delicious rolls of baby fat. He's nearly outgrown all the 0-3 month clothes. His bright blue eyes love to watch his brother and focus on faces and patterns.

Collin is also a sweet brother. Although he can be too rough and I wouldn't trust him alone with him for more than couple minutes, he loves to try to get Milo to smile. He comforts him when he cries and can even hold him in the bath (with mom and dad standing close by). The "look at me," give me attention thing definitely happens but overall he seems to be adjusting pretty well.

Two Months!

A month makes a huge difference in a newborn life. Milo is much more like a real person now and alert and awake to the world. He loves watching us talk and responds to the conversation with coos and big smiles. The swing is a sanity saver as his nap place where he'll sleep up to four hours in it during the day. He likes watching big brother and also is starting to take swipes at hanging toys. He's got pretty good neck control for such a little guy and acts like he's close to taking off when he's stuck on his tummy. 

Night time is still a struggle. He doesn't want to sleep anywhere but wedged next to us and wakes up every two to three hours (sometimes every hour on particularly fun evenings). At three months Collin slept nine hours straight through the night but I think we lucked out with having a good sleeper the first time around. Hopefully the trade-off is Milo turns out to be more mellow!

But besides the continued sleep deprivation, I really enjoy being home with Milo and know to hold onto these little baby moments that will soon drift away into memory. In less than a month he'll start at daycare for three days a week and I don't think that'll be easy for me. As much as I like work, I'm not looking forward to dropping my little baby off. On the plus side, we love the place he'll be going to (Collin is at the "big house" and Milo will be in the "little house.) It's a small homey atmosphere and he'll be with caregivers that seem really nurturing. I may also drop by to nurse him once during the day for a few weeks. 

Next week Milo has his 2 month doctor appointment where the shots commence! Not looking forward to seeing the look of shock on Milo's face when they stick him with a needle. It is, however better than getting a horrid disease so sorry Milo. 

I've been a parent for four years!

It's hard to believe that four years ago on April Fool's Day, I became a parent. And now four years later, I've got two of them...

Collin woke up to his favorite breakfast: smoothie, scrambled eggs and bacon. He repeated, "It's my birthday right?" several times during breakfast (and then during the day the question became a proclamation to us, to strangers, to his friends). After breakfast he opened up his gift from us which was a cool orange scooter. 

Mike took him outside and they lasted about 15 minutes before Collin got too cold and frustrated with steering. Hopefully he'll have more fun with it as the weather warms up. 

Then it was time to get ready for the pirate party where we would squeeze ten preschoolers (plus parents and grandparents) into our house. Oh and there were the pirates of course. I found them through a quick blurb on urbanmamas.com. The pirates were from the crew of Salacia's Favour and I admit I was a little nervous about their reliability when they asked for cash. 

The pirates were right on time and looked like they walked straight out of a set from Pirates of the Caribbean. The main contact (Captain Jonathan something...) maintained his pirate speak accent throughout the hour. The parents and kids were amazed to see actual pirates had taken over our house as they approached the steps.

Collin was in pirate ecstasy and not shy at all when it came to questioning the pirates. I think they were a little surprised by his knowledge. Collin: "Do you have a main mask and a Jolly Roger? Where's your ship?" (and my personal favorite) "Do you fight zombies?"The pirates vetted questions and stories from the eager preschoolers and did a great job answering all the questions and staying in character. 

After all the kids had arrived the pirates swore them all in as official members of the crew and taught them how to be pirates! They gave out foam swords and battles ensued! The pint sized crew also got ink tattoos and treasure maps to take home.

Alas the pirates had to go back to their pirate ship but it was most definitely a memorable experience. 

Then it was time for pizza and cupcakes! Collin blew out his candle (which because my flash died did not result in the mid-blow picture. Oh well. Then of course there were the gifts. Collin's friends gathered around to "help" him open them and it was basically like a bunch of vultures swarming in on their prey. We tried to compel Collin to slow down so we could track down who gave what but things spiraled out of control pretty fast and presents were ripped open one after another without any time to absorb. 

After that the sugared out kids left with a balloon and a treat bag and hopefully happy memories of pirates. 

And thanks to his friends, Collin now has more fun toys to play with and use his imagination. He hasn't asked to watch the ipad once in the last few days (a miracle).

Happy Birthday to my little pirate!