Nelson visit

Motoring

This little guy has started walking!! He took a couple of single steps about 3-4 weeks ago but hasn't really made any other attempts since then. Instead he has been able to stand independently waving his arms and lower down into a crouch and then stand again. I've been amazed that he has shown this much strength and stability without actually walking as well.

Yesterday, he walked 5 steps across the room to get a balloon, bent down to pick up and then stood again. No fuss. No fanfare. No attention. Just walked across the room to get what he wanted. I suppose this means he's a toddler now and no longer my baby...even when I'm watching they still grow up too fast!

We start them young at our house! 
(Actually I think the bat is wedge into his belly and is
helping him to stay standing!)

Vacation pictures

Zach and Great-Grammy enjoying the deck

Eli discovered this spot and loved to climb into the space every chance he got!!

Not sure what was said but it looks serious.

Eli and Grrrrrreat Aunt M

Wii Mario Kart.  I'm so ashamed.

A very merry un-birthday

The Birthday Boy

Way back on June 26th we celebrated Zach's birthday! My mother and sister made an awesome tractor trailer truck cake!!! Steve and I aren't sure how 3 1/2 years have passed so quickly but somehow our tiny baby boy has become a preschooler with his own personality and sense of humor. It is a joy to watch him change and grow every day!

Red Sox vs. Orioles

Eli went to his first Red Sox game last week and although he wasn't that impressed by the baseball game his big brother had a wonderful time!  We met up with some friends that we haven't seen since we lived in Boston and we all enjoyed watching the Sox beat the Orioles!!  Steve was disappointed that he didn't catch a foul ball like he did at Zach's first game but we did have all-you-can-eat hot dogs, nachos, ice cream and popcorn which was definitely a close 'second' to catching a ball! 

On the move

I have been extremely behind in my blogging and have yet to post any pictures of our very mobile Eli! He has been crawling since the middle of May and started pulling to stand one week later. I'm not sure why these skills have surprised me since a lot of babies crawl by 8 months but I guess it's because they change so quickly and go from little round babies who can't sit up to standing in 2 months time! All of sudden we are scrambling to remove small objects and Zach is less than impressed by Eli coming and trying to take all of his toys...the refereeing has begun already! Thankfully with the increased movement Eli's weight gain is starting to drop off for which my arms are very grateful.

Death is nothing

This was read at my cousin's funeral last week and I wanted to remember it.
’Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Nothing has happened. Everything remains exactly as it was. I am I, and you are you, and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still. Call me by the old familiar name. Speak of me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference into your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was. There is absolute and unbroken continuity. What is this death but a negligible accident? Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost. One brief moment and all will be as it was before. How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!’

excerpt from 'The King of Terrors'
Henry Scott Holland
May 15, 1910

Jogging

This spring I have endeavored to run two times a week. (Please don't fall over laughing!) It is one form of exercise that doesn't require a babysitter or a gym membership and therefore makes it ideal....except for the fact that it involves running of course. I won't bore you with the details about how much I hate it and about just how out of shape I am, but....well....they're both true.

Anyway, as a distraction while I run I like to peek at the boys sitting side by side in the jogger. And without fail Zach always reaches over to hold Eli's hand! This affectionate act is so precious to me and always causes me to smile (despite the fact that I'm running) and rejoice for Zach's tender heart.

"C" is for cookie

Here's a recent conversation with Zach while getting dressed for the day:

Zach: "No more diapers, I don't wear diapers anymore." (Can we take a brief moment for me to jump up and down with joy over the truth of this statement!)

Steve: "That's right. Now you wear underpants just like daddy!"

Zach: "Oh." (He pauses and adds with a quizzical expression)
"You have cookie monster underpants?"

An egg hunt

On Palm Sunday we decided to take Zach to a Easter egg hunt that the county was hosting. The whole event was really more of an egg gather because all the eggs were laid out on the grass in plain view. The children were suppose to gather the colorful eggs and then bring them to one of the workers to receive a piece of candy for each of their eggs.

So we lined up with Zach's age category, they said 'start' and all the toddlers and their parents spread out on the grass and started feverishly grabbing eggs. I watched Zach stoop over to try to pick up eggs and repeatedly it was snatched out from under his hand. At the end of the rush, Zach had managed to gather two eggs. Initially I assumed that there were just too many kids for the number of eggs but when we went to line up for our candy all the other children were handing in 20-30 eggs each!!! Zach was very content with his two eggs and was innocent to the injustice of the whole event. I was not innocent and I experienced a great deal of anger at the other greedy children and parents. The final kick was that once the 20-eggs-a-piece children received their candy, all that was left for Zach was gob stoppers and taffy (neither of which I could let him have). I don't think we'll be attending this event next year.

Wouldn't you share an egg with this handsome boy?

Sweet baby!

Eli continues to use any excuse to smile. Even while he has been sick with a cold he is just waiting to smile in delight at anyone.


He also LOVES his big brother!



And...
his brother loves him too!

Bikes

For Christmas this year Zach received his first bicycle with training wheels. After the snow filled winter that we have had it isn't that surprising that he has only had a few brief bike rides, which consisted of us not only steering the bike but also holding his foot onto the pedal as we pushed it around and around...basically it was very slow going and hard on our backs.


Two weeks ago, I pulled the bike out again and proceeded to do the hunchback stagger down the sidewalk as I tried to teach Zach how to ride. I didn't really make any progress. By the next afternoon Zach had the idea but would frequently get stuck pedaling.
Another 24 hours later he was steering and pedaling independently! I swear he has aged 2 years as I've watched him ride his bike around and around the driveway. We still have occasional spills when he tries to turn too sharply but so far he has gotten back on the bike every time. It has been such a fun way to spend these early spring days!

Terms of Endearment

Steve has always been very affectionate to both of our boys but the other day he was overflowing with joy towards them...

He has since started calling Eli his "little tax break!"

Woof

Last week while we were at my parent's, Zach went over to the door and let their dog inside. Upon walking back into the living room he said,

"I let Toula inside because she was ruffing at the door."

Enough's enough.

I distinctly remember our last winter in Boston when we received snow upon snow upon snow. One storm, as we were shoveling our driveway in the middle of receiving 20 inches, I said that I couldn't wait to move further south where they don't get nearly as much snow....

What happened? We live in a place where 1 inch of snow shuts the city down and we have received 18 inches last weekend and another 6-12 inches this week, and of course don't forget the 12 inches we got a week and a half ago which hadn't melted yet! We are just not prepared to actually have winter here. Unfortunately for Steve I am no longer a help shoveling wise since someone needs to stay indoors with Eli and I seem to be the natural choice.

So while stuck indoors we have baked and cooked and been oh-so-grateful for every moment that we have power! Here are a few pictures of my sweet baby Eli showing off his impressive chunkiness and some of Zach outside walking on top of the snow!

You be Zachary

This week Zach put a clever a spin on playing pretend and I was the naive mommy who fell for it! Let me explain...

One day I was trying to finish reading a book during one of Eli's brief naps. Zach was playing on the floor with his trucks and he kept asking me if I wanted to play trucks with him. I was repeatedly saying that, "No, I didn't want to play trucks right now I wanted to read my book." (I know, I'm a terrible mommy!) After a while he came up to me and said, "Mommy you be Zachary and I'll be mommy." (This is a frequent 'pretend' game in our house.) I was feeling badly for ignoring him so I agreed. He picked up my book and sat reading it and I sat on the floor with his trucks. I got into character and said, "Mommy will you play trucks with me?" to which he respond, "Sure! I'd love to play trucks with you!"

Fair warning

A few nights ago as Zach was heading off to bed he cheerfully announced,

"Good night everybody! I'll be back when it's daytime."

We can't say he didn't warn us!

4 Months

I find it hard to believe that Eli is already 4 months old. He is a really sweet little guy and spends most of his day smiling at anyone who will talk to him. I say "little" guy but he is actually quite a moose! For his 4 month check up he weighed in at 18 pounds,1 ounce!!! No wonder my arms ache.

Eli is grasping toys and trying very hard to sit up, although he still ends up with his head between his feet when he tries. Elijah is starting to enjoy big brother entertaining him but only before brother starts shaking the chair or squeezing his hands or pushing on his belly! I started back to work this month treating about 5 patients a week. It has been a struggle trying to squeeze visits into Steve's time at home but thankfully my work can be very flexible. Which is good because Eli does not like to be a part from me for more than 2 hours, even if he's not hungry!

Confession

I have a 3 year 1 month old boy who, as of Tuesday, was totally and completely NOT potty trained! For those of you wonderful parents who accomplish this task long before your child's third birthday I commend you. But for us....

I have heard over the years, both as a parent and when I worked with children, that when your child is ready potty training is very easy, no struggle. So I have been plugging along waiting for Zach to be ready.

He's not.

He continues to poop and pee in diapers (both disposable and cloth) and then he hates to be changed. So on Wednesday when Zach awakened there were no more diapers.

We are now on day 3 of potty training and I hate to brag but MY training is coming along nicely. Wednesday we had lots of accidents because I didn't realize I should set a timer to make sure we are trying often. But yesterday I learned this little trick and Zach only had 2 accidents all day. I went to bed thinking that perhaps I'm not accomplishing anything because Zach is only going to the bathroom because I bring him every 15-30 minutes. This morning I have continued to set the timer but today I am only asking him if he has to go potty when the timer goes off. So far he has said, "no" every time, however, one time after I walked away from asking he ran into the bathroom and started pulling down his pants! Perhaps all my dancing, chanting and candy giving is working after all?!? If it does I will kick myself for not trying it sooner.

Cornerest Farm

This weekend we traveled up to see our friends who own a dairy farm. They have 4 boys and the youngest is only 1 month older than Eli. Becky and I were overwhelmed by boys, being outnumbered 8 to 2. Zach was introduced to true rough housing because these farm boys are tough. Steve played basketball with them in the morning and he said it was a combination of basketball, rugby and ultimate fighting. Zach watched with wide eyes and tried to "take some shoots" without getting mugged!

On Sunday afternoon we went sledding. It was Zach's first time and he was very cautious about it. Pete's kids were diving down the hill and bailing out of the sleds without fear. Zach preferred sliding down on his bottom. The next day while Steve and Pete went skiing, I took the boys back to sled and this time Zach was ready to tackle the hill. He went down by himself a few times with me running alongside to stop him from going in the ditch or hitting a tree. (Pete suggested that I let him go completely and he would learn to bail out before hitting these things but I wasn't quite ready for that! It does make you question whether our children learn their cautiousness and fear from us or if it's there naturally.) Zach never did warm up to climbing the hill, but then again who does?