Poopin' Monkeys

Poopin' Monkey #1

Poopin' Monkey #2

Warning...the following entry is about poop. If poop in any way disgusts you, gives you the eebie-jeebies, or in any way offends you, I recommend you skipping today's blog entry.

Okay. So, is poop one of those things that is taboo in the world? Should I not talk about it? I don't know. But what I DO know, is that until I had kids, I never knew that poop would be so important. Yes. That's right. I said important. You can tell a lot about poop when it comes to babies and kids. Shoot, there is actually a chart in the "What to Expect the First Year" book that gives you a color/consistency chart when it comes to the gross little biohazards. Apparently, it is such an important subject that it requires it's own section in books. Three years ago, I wouldn't have expected to be happy to see the transition of poop from tarry black to pasty yellow. So on to my poopin' monkeys. As you probably know, babies do three things initially. Sleep, eat, and poop. And believe me...that is the honest truth. At first, it's every time you change a diaper. And if you breastfeed, which I am naturally doing, they get to a wierd place in diaper land where they just stop going. At first you think, "Is she constipated?" No...she's not constipated. It's natural to only go once every 3 to 7 days if they are breastfed. But in between those poops, it starts getting crazy. You know that they gotta go and that the plumbing is getting backed up in there. I mean, the intestines can only hold so much, ya know? So here I am at this point in the life of an infant. Abby is four months old and as of yesterday she had not had a poopy diaper in 5 days. I found myself eagerly changing her morning diaper in hopes of finding the minor explosion that was bound to happen. I fully expected to be woken up by the thunderous rocket blast coming from the crib. But after day five, I'd almost given up hope of finding the little...um...surprise in the diaper. So last night, I went to bed and was woken up at 4:40 in the morning to the sound of the crib bumping into the wall. I peeked into the crib to find my little girl who was so full of energy and so incredibly wide awake that she was lying on her back literally running. Her legs were super-speed and eyes were WIDE awake and a smile on her face to boot! She was rip-roarin' ready to go. I looked down at those bright eyes and knew she was ready to eat which of course only meant one thing. The poop fairy had visited us at last! The diaper was brim-top full and to be honest, i'm quite surprised that the sheer force of that explosion didn't blow a hole straight through her onsie! 15 wet wipes later, she ate...and ate...and ate...and finally decided to burp her gratitude. She was still wide awake of course and I gazed into her bright eyes and said, "Heck no! You are goin' back to sleep." She disagreed and so I kissed her, placed her in the crib and said, "Mama's goin' back to bed. Wake me when you get angry." I went back to sleep so I figure she must have too, because at 8:00 she was starting to wake back up. What a little monkey. But now that the big poop is over, I suppose we will start the countdown for the next explosion. Bring it on!

Of course Abby is at that beautiful age when she WANTS to have a clean butt. Believe it or not, they do eventually grow out of that. Or at least, mine did. Alex...poopin' monkey number 2...has a completely opposite response to the poop fairy. When he goes, he he will take off running at warp speed across the house. He hides under whatever object he can so as to avoid the dreaded diaper change. I can't imagine why though. The odor that follows him around is like sticky glue. It attatches itself to the walls. I'm not kidding either. You walk into a room where he is an hour after he's been changed and the smell is still in the walls. But still, I'm happy that he goes. Better out than in!

Welcome Home Jeremy!

WELCOME HOME UNCLE JEREMY!!

My brother is back from Iraq and we are all happy to hear from him! It's great to know he is back just in time for his baby boy to be born. How exciting! I can't wait to see the little kiddo when he gets here. So welcome home, bro! I'm so proud of you!

This is Feist on Sesame Street.

So Josh is gone again for work and we are already missing him. It gets pretty crazy around here sometimes, but we seem to do pretty well all things considered. I get dinner invites from my mom and my friend Mandy. It's nice of them to accomodate us. But the week is bound to be even grander now that Sesame Street is new. That's right...you heard me. I base my week on the joy of Sesame Street. Since Alex has been interested in Elmo and Sesame Street, we have seen nothing but constant reruns. And today was the joyous day when they started thier new season. Big deal, right? Well, it sure was to Alex. Abby of course couldn't care less. But up until now, we get our viewing entertainment from YouTube and last week, they posted the new musical number from Sesame Street on there. It is Feist singing a kid-friendly version of her song "1-2-3-4" If you dont' know who she is, you might remember it from a cell phone commercial. Otherwise, you can go to YouTube and search for it. It was the first song he ever loved and now that she was a guest on sesame street, that made his day. The look on his face when he saw it come on this morning was priceless. He is used to seeing it very tiny on YouTube and this morning it was on the big TV screen. Woo-hoo! As you can see, he was beyond thrilled. This is him dancing along.

This is the happy-happy-joy-joy Sesame Street dance.

Abby has a new found joy of scootin along the floor on her belly as best as she can. She is still awful small to be getting mobile, but bless her heart. She sure tries her hardest to get moving. She just turned four months old today. So as I reflect on the last four months, I can't believe how much she is changing and how I feel that she is growing so fast. She has almost hit her 6 month fun zone. That's the month that I truely believe that babies become 'fun'. Not that they aren't fun before, but they get thier big jump into personality land at six months. That's the magic month for Josh. The kiddos dont' seem too happy with him until that age. I think it's boobie thing. Mommy is the best for a long time until the magic age and then Daddy is dandy-fine with them.

Time for a Breather

Before Abby came along, I remember going every week to do my normal grocery shopping with just one kiddo. I remember thinking it was just crazy. I couldn't even fathom going out with multiple children. Well, Abby naturally came along and at first it was almost more than I could believe. But seeing as how I go do my shopping once a week (diapers, diapers, diapers), well...it has sort of become second nature having two kiddos with me. Heck, I've even dragged my friend Mandy and here kiddo Wesley with us a couple of times. It may be hectic, but it's all in a stay-at-home mom's day. So today, I decided Alex might enjoy a playdate with Wesley. I packed him a lunch, a bag, and dropped him off with his Aunt Mandy to play for a couple of hours while I went to do the shopping. For the first time in...well...I don't know how long, it was just me and Abby. One kid. And WOW! What a difference that was! It was like a breath of fresh air. I didn't have to divide my focus in two places this time so I think the trip was actually faster and smoother than it has been in months. Don't get me wrong, I love takin' the little guy with me. He is a hoot when we go out. But I usually end up forgetting something I meant to buy or paying for something extra, that I didn't realize he pulled into the cart. Like last week, when a bag of oreos mysteriously ended up in the cart. I didn't even realize we bought them until we got home. I was so focused on attending to Abby that I put them on the conveyor belt without even realizing it. Not a problem seeing as how they are milk free and oh so tasty! So a big thanks to Mandy for watching my little tornado while I went out today. I gotta do this more often! If you'd like to see pictures of Alex's playdate with Wesley, check it out at Mandy's blog. http://misterwesley.blogspot.com/

Pee Pee in the Potty!

Hooray! We have our first pee pee in the potty! We are doing the reward program for mister Alex when it comes to potty training. We aren't in full force with the training at the moment. He is ready for it and all, but not willing. He has great bladder control and can do all the basic things it takes to train, but he thinks it is more of a game than anything else. So we are taking it slow. Tonight though, he decided he wanted to sit on the potty and sure enough...he did a number one in the potty. It is so cute to see how excited he gets about these new things. He got a smartie candy for going and BOY was he happy about that. I'm thrilled at the idea of getting him out of diapers one day. But for now I'm just happy that he is showing interest in the whole potty world. I think I'm going to go buy the Elmo Potty Time DVD when I can. He saw a preview for it and got pretty excited about it. It's entertaining to watch really. I'm gonna try to put it up on the blog here so you can see it if you want. Nothin' like watchin' muppets sing about poopin' on the potty!

Next up we will talk about Abby. Talk about the polar opposite of Alex. She is the best little sleeper and waker-upper. I keep telling my hubby about how it is amazing what God blesses mothers with. I don't think Abby has ever woke up to eat in a fit of rage. She almost never cries when she wakes up. So God has blessed me with the ability to hear her slightest movement. I know when she is up to eat because I wake up to hear her snorting around and kicking her legs joyfully. I go over to peek in the crib, and there she is smiling up at me with those big, cow eyes and ready to have a new diaper and a meal. What a perfect little girl. On a side note, she is trying so hard to move forward on the floor. She gets herself up on those hands and fights to get her knees moving as she does so. I keep trying to explain to her that she is much too young for mobility, but I get the feeling she doesnt' want to listen. I'm perfectly happy with a stationary baby for the moment, but I think she is already itchin' to follow her big brother around. Too cute!

Look how great she holds herself now.

To Eat or Not to Eat

To eat or not to eat, that is the question. Will he eat it or won't he? I am talking about Alex of course. I feel helpless at times when it comes to feeding my son. Why you ask? Well, he is a picky eater. This wouldn't be a problem under normal circumstances. But in our case, his milk allergy has posed it to be a bigger burden than it is meant to be. And to top off the allergy, everything under the sun has milk in it these days...from fishsticks to soup. Now I totally understand that kids won't always eat what you give them. But he goes one step further and won't eat almost ANYTHING I give him. There is but one small exception to this rule. Fruit. He LOVES fruit. He could eat his weight in fruit if given the opportunity. But alas...too much fruit will cause raging diarrhea. And seeing as how we already battle bouts of this from time to time for unknown reasons, we would rather keep him from eating all the fruit he wants. So you probably are wondering what he eats. Cereal and a banana for breakfast. I've tried waffles, pancakes, eggs, french toast, oatmeal, toast, sausage, and bacon. He gives me the dirty look and throws it on the floor or pushes it away and cries. For lunch, soynutbutter and jelly sandwich and fruit. He can't have nuts until he is 2 in hopes of preventing a peanut allergy. I've tried grilled soycheese sandwich, all lunch meat from bologna to fresh cut turkey, hot and cold. Nope. I've tried tortillas too. nope...still no luck. And guess what? Lately he wont' even eat his soynutbutter. So he starves himself. For dinner it's tyson chicken fingers and green beans and lately those are not ringing his bell either. Have I tried everything under the sun? yes...I believe so. Ham, turkey, chicken, beef, pork....fried, boiled, baked, grilled, seasoned, unseasoned, ground, shaped, smothered in ketchup, in happy face shapes, and even with gravy...peas, carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, corn....beans of all shapes and sizes....pasta of all shapes and sizes from plain to salted and spaghetti sauce. The kid even hates spaghetti! What normal child hates spaghetti!?! My child. So if anyone out there has any suggestions on how to feed a kid who just won't eat and who has limited options, i'd be glad to know. *sigh* Until then, I guess it's fruit or bust. Pass the wet wipes please...this is gonna be a messy ride.

Fleas, Mosquitoes, and Bees...Oh My!

Ugh...bugs, bugs, and more bugs! I know that summer comes with a rise in the insect population, but sometimes they do more than just bug me. Pun intended. The spring blossomed here nicely. Unfortunately, so did our flea infestation. We had a flea infestation last summer and I thought we remedied that. Apparently, they lie dormant over the months and pop up when the weather is right. Not a problem though because we have it back under control through the insane process of vaccuming over and over and over again. Then of course we developed the dreaded ant infestation. Those little buggers could smell a drop of koolaid on the counter a block away! No idea how they do it. But they eventually disappeared. And let's not even mention the nasty spiders that rear thier ugly little heads. Lucky for us, we have five spider killers residing in the house. Our cats nearly never let us down. Every morning there is either a twitching or dead spider carcass on the kitchen floor or leftover legs from one being eaten. Good kitties!

But this is not the end of our bothersome bug issues. If your home is anything like ours, mosquitoes are as thick as they can be. Poor little kiddos can't seem to go outside without being bit. I get bit too, but I also have the ability to control my itching. Alex itches himself raw and it often wakes him up at night. Drives me batty. So I have resorted to spraying him down everytime we go outside. And as if this weren't enough of a bug problem, the honey bees are thicker than I remember them ever being. We have a lot of clover and they are attracted to the flower on it. Not too big of a problem, but we have now officially gotten our first bee sting. Alex was minding his own business in his tiny pool and a bee bombarded him. I thought I rescued him in time, but later at dinner I noticed a strange looking bite on him. A closer look and sure enough, there was a tiny black stinger pumping it's poison into his hand. I have no idea how the kid didn't scream bloody murder when he was stung, but he wasn't phased by it at all. One good pluck and some baking soda later, and the spot was gone. Phew...crisis averted! Summer is great but I sure could do without the bugs. Oh, and here are a couple of photos of my monkeys!

Mmm...tasty toes!

Nothin' like dancin' on a laundry basket!

Nap Wars Episode VI: Return of the Beddy-Bye

This is my favorite photo of the monkey-duo.

Transitions are fun. And by fun, I mean fun like getting-kicked-in-the-head fun. This battle of the crib is a joyous occasion. Alex went from crib to bed and back again for awhile, but now I think we have a winner. He loves to sleep in his bed. The only problem with it, is that he now realizes that he can jump out and play at any given moment. Overall, he does fairly well. He will stay in it and lie down for the majority of the time he is 'trying' to sleep. I don't mind him getting up. He just wants to stay awake. He has always been like that though. Avoiding sleep like the plague. But we are still hoping that the crib days are over. I think it may have a couple of comeback nights, but all in all I believe we are done. So ends the Nap Wars trilogy. I know it's not nearly as exciting as the Star Wars trilogy (though it's not really a trilogy any more, now is it?). Next up, Harry Potty and the Ivory Throne (that's a play on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for all you non-Potter heads). Now here are some exciting new pictures of the monkey duo.

Yo Ho Ho, and a bottle of...um...Orange Juice? Alex is sporting our new garage sale find. And what cute a little pirate he makes in that pirate hat!

"Good Morning! What's that Mom? You don't want to be awake at 5:45 in the morning. Now that's just silly!"
That is probably what she was thinking. See those arms? They are blurry because she was moving them at warp speed. That is how awake she was. And for all you out there who don't know, I'm NOT a morning person. Ugh.

Cheese! What can I say about this...such a cheese-ball!