A Walk to the Park

We took advantage of a sunny (not rainy) afternoon, earlier this week, and took a walk around the neighborhood.  Both Eliza and Zaby were excited to be outside, and even more happy when we stopped at the park.

 

After 6 attempts, I gave up trying to get them both looking at the camera. 

"I can't wait to see where we are going"

"This is sooo much Fun!"

What a good looking baby boy

1...2...3... GO!

Resting at the bottom

"First time was a blast!  Here we GO!!"

"If I kick my feet enough, I can slide right off the bottom and sit up.  It sure surprises mommy"

She is getting too brave.  I was amazed that she attempted such a feat, and a bit nervous when she suddenly let go while still in the air.  Luckily, she landed on the slide, albeit a bit forcefully.  I knew she wasn't too shaken up by it when she climbed back up to the top and did it again. 

"Yes Daddy!  Let's do it again"

"That's what I call a fun afternoon!"

Catch up - Zaby 3 months

• So close to rolling over - he gets far enough to bury his face in the carpet
• Loves chewing on his hands
• Is very strong - he holds himself up extremely well, and will move from a reclining position to sitting up.

• Grabs his toes to tries and suck on them 

• Loves his sister.  He smiles at her when she walks in the room.  Watches her every move and giggles when she does.  He has even started giving hugs and kisses back to her. 

•  He likes to be where others are.  If we leave the room (even for a second) he cries the instant he can't see us anymore.
• He likes to be involved, loves to be held, and definitely loves to be fed.

•  Favorite time of the day:  Bath time!  No matter how upset or tired he is; when he hears the bath water running, he perks right up, gets excited and starts kicking up a storm. 
• He loves to splash in the tub - he can splash pretty big.  So much so that we have sometimes have to bathe the kids separately because Eliza doesn't like his splashing.  Zaby doesn't like Eliza's bubbles.

•  He is a HAPPY baby!  Very little makes him upset.  Hunger, people outside of his eyesight, and getting out of the bathtub are the 3 things that make this babooska boy upset.  (As demonstrated in the next picture)

These two shots I took on Easter.  Due to camera issues, they were the only 2 shots I could get the camera to cooperate for.  Cute smile Eliza.  What a sad expression, Zaby!

Happy 3 Months (on March 29) baby Zaby.  I sure love you!



 

Indoor play palace

Back in February, for playgroup, we went to an indoor play palace.  It's actually a dozen or so different outdoor playground equipment they make and sell to consumers.  On Fridays, they have free play.  This place is absolutely crazy and somewhat dangerous.  The slides are extremely steep, so children go flying off the end.  Children swinging high while other children are running around them.  I thought there was too much play equipment in too little of a space.  Imagine dozens of kids running, swinging, sliding, jumping, climbing everywhere.  It was nearly impossible to maneuver my stroller around and even more difficult to make sure Eliza didn't get trampled or flattened by the older, bigger children.  Most of the children were oblivious to what the other children were doing.

Eliza had an absolute ball, despite my pulling my hair out to keep her safe.  I am quite surprised at how well she did walking, or rather running, around with so many obstacles.  Keep in mind that she had only been walking alone for 2 weeks before this outing.   I did manage to snap some cute pictures.

 

She decided to tackle the tallest fort via a rock climbing wall first.  I was floored when she managed to make it 1/4 of the way up completely unassisted.  It didn't take long for my nervousness to take over and help her the rest of the way up. 

Another shocking revelation was how fearless she was with these tall and super fast slides.  8 feet high and flying off the end simply made her want more.  The potential danger made me convince her to take a safer route, the enclosed swing pictured below. 

She probably swung in this for a good 20 minutes. 

Although not coordinated enough to actually jump (once again keep in mind she has only been walking for 2 weeks), she liked being bounced by the other children's jumping. 

She ended the afternoon playing in a small house that had chairs just her size.  I saw a completely different side of my daughter at this play place, but I'm not sure I'm ready to go back quite yet. 

Valentines Day

You're probably thinking that Valentines Day was in February, why are you posting about it in June?  You are correct, Valentines Day was in February.  Better late than never, right??  I've been a bit preoccupied the past couple of months, and blogging has seriously taken the back burner.  I can't get on the computer when the kids are awake, because I have to keep removing too many little fingers to get anything accomplished.  The rare moments when they happen to both be napping at the same time, I have to clean, cook, or do laundry; otherwise it isn't going to happen.  Needless to say, my computer screen time has been dramatically cut!!  Keep this in mind as I back track to document our life.  Without further ado.

 

 My Valentine graced me with these gorgeous yellow roses - my favorite color of rose.  The red one I got from the stake adult dance.  Eliza picked out Tinkerbell bubble bath, and Zaby gave me a Pez dispenser and candy (actually picked out by Eliza).  I'm so grateful for my wonderful family.  They are so good to me and bring me such joy

Really, we should celebrate Valentines Day every day.  It's important to let those we care about how much we love them - on a daily basis. 

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't hug, kiss, smother, and tell my children and husband that I love them. 

I'm grateful for all the beautiful things in my life. 

 

The pixel quality of these stake dance pictures are a bit funky (sorry for the poor quality).  Needless to say, Zaby slept in a corner through most of the dance, Eliza stayed at a friend's house (and fell asleep sitting up), and I let it all loose and cut a rug with the love of my life.  Happy Valentines Day - even in June!

Catch up - Zaby 2 months

 

This boy is growing way too fast.  The end of February brought his 2 month mark.  Although not excessive, he spits up a lot more than Eliza did.  Eliza spit up maybe twice her entire babyhood.  He spits up at least 3 times a day .  It really does a number on the amount of laundry I need to keep up with.  I often make jokes to Bruce that with babies around, I never feel clean. 

 

We started to see the first glimmer of a smile at about 4.5 weeks.  By 6 weeks, he gave away full out smiles.  And what a smile it is - his entire face lights up.  It doesn't take much to get a smile either.  Although he is content to watch others, acknowledgement is all it takes for this handsome smile to appear.  It comes with no surprise that he smiles the most at Eliza.  She doesn't have to do a thing to earn it either.  One of his favorite past times is to watch and smile at his sister.  He is fascinated by her every move, and vise versa.  They make a great team and get along well. 

 

 

Before we left the hospital, the pediatrician told me that he is slightly tongue tied.  Tongue tie affects feeding, speaking, and playing certain musical instruments.  I'm supposed to take him to an ENT to get a second opinion about whether to clip it or not.  Despite this challenge, he does an extremely good job nursing.  He's on and off which drives me crazy, but I don't have near as many problems with him as I did with Eliza; it must be experience.  Playing with his tongue is something he enjoys as well as sucking on his fingers.  He eats every two hours during the day.  At 2 months, he would go 4-5 hours at night.  By 8.5 weeks, he was sleeping through the night (between 9-10 hours).  I don't mind feeding him that often if he sleeps like that at night for me. 

 

 

 At 6 weeks old, Zabien came down with the flu.  The poor boy couldn't breathe out of his nose and would cough and cough until he threw up.  Needless to say, I was relieved when he finally got better after 8 days of miserableness. 

 

 Zabien is the most ticklish baby I've come across.  Simply sliding your fingers across his back, either intentionally or accidentally makes him squirm and chuckle.  It doesn't matter where you touch him (back, armpits, belly, feet, legs), he is ticklish.  His most susceptible spot is of course his neck.  He just can't stop squirming or squealing when you get him there.  Of course, all that giggling makes you want to tickle him even more. 

He has two main loves besides his family of course: getting his diaper changed and taking a bath.  Seriously, sometimes we will put him on the changing table and pretend to change him or lay him on the bathmat and run some water just to help him calm down.  No matter how upset he is, hearing the bath water run instantaneously turns frantic screams into smiles galore. 

This brings me to his 2 month stats:

Weight:  14 lbs 4 oz (79% ile)

Height:  2' (78%ile)

Head Circumference: 15.6" (51% ile)



That is 2 pounds and 2 inches bigger than his sister Eliza was at this age.

He's not a big fan of tummy time, and likes to be held looking out.  Zabien doesn't want to miss a thing - he tends to take a lot of very short naps during the day.  I can rarely get both children to nap at the same time.

One last funny thing about Zabien.  He reminds me a lot of an old grandpa.  He sits on your lap staring out, watching everything.  Soon, he starts to zone out a little bit, and relax his body.  Before you know it, he is sound asleep.  This is actually his preferred method of going to sleep - he doesn't want to be rocked or cuddled to sleep, he wants to be the grandpa at church.  It seriously cracks me up. 

Catch up - Zaby 1 month

Believe it or not, I do take pictures of my children - quite a few of them actually.  You can also believe that I don't get around to posting them as often as I should.  After telling myself everyday I need to update my blog and having numerous prods and pokes from family members, I'll do my best to update before we leave for Utah next week. 

On January 29 (yes, I know it's May), Zabien turned 1 month old.  Zaby has been the perfect addition to our family.  He is the happiest, calmest, snuggliest, and (might I add, hungriest) baby.  His favorite past times are eating, sleeping, eating, snuggling, being cute, and eating.  Unlike his sister at this age, he always wants to be held.  In fact, he only has 3 different cries.  1)  I'm hungry (more of a whimper) 2)  I'm really hungry and a little tired (a harder cry with fists bunched up), and 3) how dare you put me down (clenched fists, head thrown back, body spams, and crying so hard he forgets to breathe).  Seriously, the moment he is back in mama's arms, he's as calm as can be. 

1 week old (first time at church)

Zaby is a calm baby.  He is very laid back and content to sit and observe (he reminds me of his dad in this ability).  He is pretty tolerant of his older sister and her over exuberant expressions of love. 

2 weeks old

 He is a mama's boy to beat.  Although he is getting better now, he used to fuss when others would hold him, and snuggle right in when in my arms. 

Tolerating daddy but preferring mommy is a good way to describe him.  I really don't mind his attachment to me, but it does make getting things like dinner, cleaning, and taking care of Eliza a bit difficult at times. 

3 weeks old

Look at that face.  Who could resist such a cutie!!

A Binky worked to take his mind off feeding 24 hours a day for the first month or so.  Now, he won't take one. His thumb and first two finger (occasionally the entire fist) make for a good substitute. 

Everyone always says that babies grow up too fast, and some grow up faster than others.  Zabien is no exception to this.  He did lose the expected newborn weight before discharge.  However, at 1 week old, he surpasses his birth weight by 3 ounces, and he hasn't stopped growing since then. 

Oh Zabien Babien - I love you!

1 Month old 

You most definitely are a keeper. 

A tribute to g-ma and g-pa

I was browsing through my pictures, trying to figure out where to start to bring this blog up to speed, and came across this video.  It was taken back in the middle of January before Eliza really started walking consistently on her own.  One of the local channels on TV was showing parts of the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show.  Eliza started watching square dancing and decided to join in.


My grandparents are experienced square dancers with the Choo Choo Square Dance club - they would certainly be proud. 

Later that evening premiered tractor square dancing, in which people driving tractor's square dance.  I am not kidding - it was honestly fascinating.  Because you don't believe me..... I have proof.
Crazy!!