Random stuff from February

February started out with Aaron getting surgery. He has been sick so much this winter that he finally got tubes in his ears. Sure enough, the surgeon found evidence of another ear infection beginning when he went in there. The surgery took about 15 minutes, and the only bad part was the recovery afterward. The nurses were like "get the mom!" because he was screaming his head off as soon as he woke up until I got a bottle to him, and then when it was empty he freaked out again. After a nap he was just fine, although he was kind of tipsy and goofy from the anesthesia for a while. So far it's working--although he did get another virus of some kind this week, at least we haven't had to go to the doctor recently (we were going every week for a long time; they know us well). It also happened to be on John's (and my mother's) birthday. Here is Aaron that evening having birthday cake:

In addition to all of Aaron's issues, we have been busy with Genevieve's gymnastics schedule. Here she is in her pretty team costume: She has been to her first two meets now, both in the Buffalo area. The first one she was so nervous that she forgot parts of her routines (which she normally can do in her sleep). She ended up with poor scores as a result and was very upset when she saw all the other girls getting awards and she got "a handful of nothing". I felt so bad for her. She just sobbed and sobbed. The next time, though, she did much better on those two routines and ended up winning 3rd place for her level/age bracket in bars and 5th place all-around. Man, was she proud! She has showed off that medal and trophy to everyone who has been to the house since, as well as anyone she talks to on Skype.

The kids really get along quite well...most of the time. Aaron has gotten to the age where he gets into everything and so is starting to become an annoyance to Genevieve at times. He would much rather investigate her stuff or go through the kitchen cabinets than play with his own toys. A couple of weeks ago Genevieve wrote a journal entry about how she hates her brother. And then a day or so later she relented and wrote that she really does love him. Sometimes I hear her muttering nasty things about him and then other times she giggles about how cute he is. Ah, siblings!Well, of course it's winter in Rochester, which means lots of snow. It's been a long, cold winter, and we can't wait to see the end of it. At least it's not dark as much as it was in December. Yesterday John gave Genevieve a lesson in making and throwing snowballs. They even made a snowman but haven't given it a face yet (distracted by hot chocolate, I think). My little bear got into the act for a while too. He seemed to prefer watching from the window, though. A boy after my own heart.This picture is from this afternoon. I just thought it was funny. He fell asleep in the middle of eating a cookie. He didn't even drop it when I brought him upstairs and put him to bed.

Aaron has been busy

Lots of news for Aaron lately. He's been sick a lot this fall/winter. The most recent double ear infection was discovered the day after Christmas (my birthday present). We are very fortunate that he is part of a research study where they tap his ear and culture the bacteria whenever he has an incident. This allowed them to determine within two or three days that he had a Superbug! We had to special order the antibiotic while in Florida and it took two tries to get it right. Since this was his 4th episode in his first year, we are now scheduled to get tubes in his ears. The poor guy is also teething. Lately either he's fussing or he's wildly happy. He cracks us all up when he's in one of those moods.

Here's an example of him shrieking with joy:

He loves to play peek-a-boo:



He's been crawling and pulling himself up for a long time. He has his own special style we call the crab crawl:


And best of all, now he is starting to walk!


Now I have to start planning a birthday party!

Bouncing baby boy

Genevieve is not the only jumping bean in this family. Will Aaron be a gymnast too? Only time will tell...



He's also getting pretty good at moving around (scooting rather than crawling) and is strong as a bull. His teacher calls him "block baby" because he refuses to bend--he wants to stand up all the time, not sit.


Here he is on the other end of the activity spectrum...sleeping like an angel.


After two bad nights last week, I have become successful at putting him down to sleep at night in his crib with very little fuss. Now I need to teach him to "self soothe" when he wakes up in the middle of the night. He still gets up around 4 am most nights, and I always bring him into my bed at that point. I keep hearing that babies are supposed to sleep through the night by 6 months old, and he's almost 8 months, so it's time. Otherwise I'll end up with another Genevieve --who didn't sleep through the night until she was 3 1/2 years old!

Kickin' Back in the 'Dacks

John and I always like to have something to look forward to. I think it was during our trip to Cape Cod last summer (if not before) that he started talking about where we could go on vacation this summer. Considering the baby and not knowing how well he would travel, we figured it should be somewhere within New York State (a 3 hour drive max). And he even suggested that it should be somewhere not too far from Syracuse so that the grandparents could join us for part of the time if they liked.

So he started checking out places on the web as soon as we got back. It was probably April when he started getting serious about it. When he got transferred to open a new Target store this summer, we were worried for a while that we wouldn't be able to go anywhere. But he cobbled together 5 days in a row (cleverly needing only 2 vacation days to do it) and booked Camp Garoga on the edge of the Adirondacks. The place was perfect: cute, cozy, charming and comfortable. The location was just about at Aaron's limit for a driving trip, and it was close enough to a fair number of activities to keep us occupied.

We had some good family bonding time. The first two days, before John got there, my parents came up. We went to Howe Caverns, which was the first time I'd been there in about 20 years. It's exactly the same of course, but according to the tour guides they are planning on extending it soon. Genevieve was suitably impressed.

One day we went to the Adirondack Animal Land, which is basically a zoo with a lot of animal interaction and other kid-friendly stuff. Another day we went to Saratoga Springs, and as I already mentioned, we spent a day at Six Flags. We took turns going on lots of rides with Genevieve of course. Even Aaron got to take his first amusement park ride--the Big Red Car in Wiggle World. :-)

I had never been to a real racecourse before, so I thought Saratoga was interesting. When we were on our way there, Genevieve asked if you HAD TO bet--because she wasn't going to lose HER four dollars! (Incidentally she "earned" that $4 by getting change of a $5 bill I gave her to buy a cookie.) Of course, when you don't bet it's not very exciting so we didn't stay long. Plus it was pouring rain much of the time. The horses were really beautiful, though. Oh, and Aaron got his first taste of cotton candy.

Despite the rain we did sneak in a campfire with s'mores and a little bit of hiking in the woods behind the cabin. On the way home we stopped by to see Grandma and Grandpa.

And John started planning next year's trip...

It's fun to feed a kid who likes to eat.

Aaron loves his veggies...and just about everything else. What a pleasure compared to my ultra-picky 7-year old. (To be fair, she wasn't picky at this age either.)
We did discover one thing he doesn't like, though. I have been supplementing a little with formula practically ever since he was born. He always had Enfamil and accepted it just fine. Last week I bought some Similac, and coincidentally around the same time stopped pumping at work so he was relying more on formula. Boy, was that a mistake. By Monday he was refusing his bottle entirely and getting pretty cranky. It finally dawned on me that evening that the fussiness correlated with the brand switch. I picked up more Enfamil at Wegmans the next morning, and sure enough, he's a happy guy again. I felt bad that it took me almost a week to figure it out. The problem was that I usually just breastfeed him, and various other people (father, grandparents, daycare) give him bottles, so I didn't realize for a while. I must admit I'm surprised that he cares and that the stuff tastes different. There is such an array of different types of formula these days, it's dizzying.

The Amazing Aaron

Aaron has suddenly become quite accomplished at sitting up on his own!



And at pushing buttons.



And at getting most anything into his mouth for a good chew (no, there's no sound on the video below).

Solid Food

We celebrated July 4th by giving Aaron solid food for the first time. Well, you know, formula with a little rice cereal mixed in so it's a hair thicker. And served with a spoon instead of a bottle. He did pretty well for a first attempt and I think we might have even gotten more down his throat than on his face.

Since then he has become a cereal fiend. He just loves it! We have tried both rice cereal and oatmeal, and he seems to love them both. We make it fairly thick now, and he eats a respectable amount at one time. Sometimes he even cries when you take the spoon away for a moment. Sometimes he also tries to get a hand in his mouth and sing at the same time, which is kind of funny. Look at my happy guy!

Yesterday I tried to feed him mashed bananas. He made the most horrible faces (contrast pix above and below). Same thing when Genevieve offered him applesauce this evening. I guess he's not a fan of fruit yet.

He always manages to smear it all over his face. Those long eyelashes can get pretty gunky. We are stepping up the frequency of baths.

Aaron's first camping trip

As soon as school let out, John wanted to take Genevieve camping. At first it was just going to be the two of them, but she very sweetly entreated me to come too. I wasn't sure how Aaron would do but I figured I'd give it a shot. The first time we took Genevieve camping, she was 2 years old and cried all night. John ended up driving her around until dawn. Aaron did great, though. He seemed to really enjoy the outdoors, and at night he curled up with me in my sleeping bag.

So we had a great time. We went to Stony Brook State Park, which is only a little more than an hour away, and the park was beautiful. It's near Letchworth, which is bigger and more well known, but this was just as pretty and much less crowded. We even managed to avoid the rain for the most part (it's been raining nearly constantly all summer so far).

We did all the usual stuff: cooked over the campfire, made s'mores, read Harry Potter...

The next day we went hiking. The trail runs right along the river with numerous waterfalls and bridges. It was great. It reminded me of Watkins Glen, or Taughannock. They even have a section dammed up for a pool (it was freezing, though) and a marvelous playground.

Luckily Aaron enjoyed the backpack carrier. He spent at least half the hike dozing on John's back, and the rest of the time he just looked around and sucked on his hand happily.

The rain started just when we were ready to leave. If only we had packed up the tent earlier, it would have been perfect. As it was, we ended up stuffing a wet tent in the car as usual. At home we pitched it in the backyard to dry out, but of course it has rained practically every day since, so I'm still waiting...

Make me proud

A couple of months ago school sent home a picture to color as part of a bike safety awareness campaign. We sent it in, never expecting to hear about it again, but then one day we got a letter in the mail saying Genevieve had won second place for her grade. The prize was a personally fitted bike helmet. Wow, how cool is that? She was SO amazed and proud of herself.


Aaron hit a big milestone yesterday. Lately he's been trying really hard to roll over from back to front but hasn't had too much interest in the other direction. But yesterday he was lying on his tummy in the crib crying and was holding himself way up on his arms, so I was like "come on, you can do it!" and all of a sudden he flipped himself over. He looked stunned for a minute, then broke out into a huge grin.

Of course this means I can't leave him anywhere he could roll off anymore. So starts the "mobile baby" phase... They grow up so fast!

Baby pictures

I already established that Aaron looks like Genevieve. Now let's see how they compare to their parents:

Twins born 6 years apart

I swear he looks more like her every day...

Can you tell which is Aaron and which is Genevieve? (hint: you've seen one of these photos recently)

Hallelujah!

A miracle happened last night. After an unusually fussy day, Aaron slept through the night.

Lately he has been taking longer naps and enjoys watching his mobile, sitting in the swing, etc. But yesterday he couldn't be distracted and only took a couple of catnaps. By the end of the day I was very frustrated. Out of my long list of things I wanted to get done, I only accomplished one--taking Aaron to get his 3 month portrait taken. (John, on the other hand, was quite satisfied. He had pulled down the remains of our broken fence and cleared out all the branches and debris.)

Aaron fell asleep several times nursing that evening, but he always woke up within minutes after I put him down. He finally fell asleep for real around 10:30 pm on the couch. About an hour later John put him in his crib, and (miracle of miracles) he stayed asleep. When the cat woke me at 5:30 am, I realized that we had made it through the entire night! When I came back upstairs after putting the cat out, Aaron was stirring, so I took him back to bed with me and fed him. We then went back to sleep until Genevieve woke us up at 7:15.

So it goes in the baby book: first slept through the night at 12 weeks old. We'll see if it's just a fluke. Genevieve actually slept through the night at 9 weeks and did so for the next 6 weeks. Not again for the next 3 years...

Aaron's first day of "school"

Aaron started daycare today. I knew he would be fine since he's such an easygoing, happy little guy. We're pretty lucky, too, since there are only a maximum of 4 other babies in his room right now. I already knew one of his teachers from back when Genevieve went there. She is super nice and reassuring. They said he did really well today. He ate well, slept well and seemed happy. When I came to pick him up he was sitting in a bumbo chair watching a cool toy that plays music and has all sorts of moving parts that start at a baby's kick. It hadn't even occurred to me to try the bumbo chair or the exersaucer, but they pointed out that he holds his head up so well that it's no problem.

I'm a strong believer in the positive effects of a good daycare center. Even though it's hard on mom to let go, it's best to start them early. This way they don't know enough to be scared, and when they get old enough to experience stranger anxiety, the staff are no longer strangers!

Here is an exerpt from Aaron's very first care note.

Aaron's First Playdate

My friend Kate had a baby last week, so Aaron and I went to visit. He and Oliver are going to be in the same daycare, so we're sure they will become great friends.

The amazing thing about this picture is that you can see how much babies change in the first couple of months (Aaron is 11 weeks old). They were the same size at birth, so you can really see how much Aaron has grown and filled out, and you can really see the difference in muscle tone and facial features. Wow, he's not a newborn anymore!

Appreciating my good fortune

One of my friends lost her 4-1/2 year old son this week. He had a rare genetic disorder and had a host of medical and developmental issues. She and her husband were great parents, though, and their lives revolved around caring for this poor kid. I can hardly imagine what they have gone through and what they are going through now.

John said today was the first time he had been to a funeral for someone under 60. It was my second experience of a friend losing a child, and I hope I never have another one. What a horrible thing!

It really makes you appreciate what you have. I have two such happy, healthy, beautiful, practically perfect children!

If I were religious I would say I was blessed. I believe I'm just lucky. And so glad to be...

Happy and Healthy

Look who found his thumb!

I took Aaron to the doctor yesterday for his "2 month" checkup. He's actually only 7 weeks, but who's counting? He's up to 10 lbs, 7 oz and 22 inches. Height, weight and head circumference are all 25th %ile. Seems huge to me, though, after Genevieve. The doctor was very impressed with his muscles--she says he will be turning over soon. He was very good for her--quite alert, smiley and talkative. Have I mentioned how he "talks" constantly? He's the noisiest little thing. Constantly cooing, gurgling, grunting, squeaking...

Here's an example of him trying to communicate:

And here's my first ever photo of him smiling. (He's been responding to people for a long time and smiles a lot now, but it's hard to get on camera.)

Of course, he doesn't always smile. After the checkup he got his immunizations. I hadn't heard about the new rotovirus vaccine. What a great thing! Rotovirus is that awful stomach virus that causes 2 weeks of absolute misery. Plus it's an oral vaccine that apparently tasted great. The 3 shots were not so popular. The worst thing was the look on his face when he got stabbed for the first time. He's almost never been hurt before in his life, so this was a shock! And then he turned red and screamed silently for a minute before remembering to breathe. So sad.

Here's approximately what that face looked like. I love the contrast between the two kids in this picture:

This week we finally got some decent weather and I was able to take Aaron outside more than just running between the car and a building. We went to the park with Genevieve one afternoon:And another day we took a walk on the Erie Canal path.

Like a good baby he slept through the majority of these experiences.

Milestones

Aaron is one month old today. He's around 9 pounds now, and we're transitioning from the newborn clothes to the 0-3 months size. In addition to getting bigger, I think his look has changed a bit. He still has the blue eyes and lots of dark hair, though. These days he is awake and alert much of the time. He seems to react to noises, such as music and looks at things, especially people and light/dark contrasts. Sometimes I swear he laughs when we talk to him.

Genevieve lost her first two teeth in the past couple of weeks. She is so excited about it. Most of her friends and classmates had lost teeth long before, so she was feeling left out, and now she feels grown up. Both teeth were plucked by her teacher, whom I hear is "the best" at it. Definitely a good skill to have when you teach 1st grade. Both teeth made it home safely thanks to little plastic tooth holders that they gave her, but amazingly she managed to lose them somewhere in the house before bedtime BOTH times. It's a good thing she doesn't believe in the Tooth Fairy, or I might have had quite a situation on my hands.

John had a major milestone himself at the beginning of the month when he turned 40. It was less than a week after Aaron was born, though, so we didn't do much to celebrate other than make a cake (which was surprisingly difficult). I feel bad about it...I always thought I'd throw him a big party or go somewhere really cool for his 40th birthday. I will have to come up with some way to make it up to him!