4 months

Two days ago the boys turned 4 months but today was our appointment. Thank god my sister came with me so she could help while the boys got shots and witness the way the pedi is.

So first the boys got weighed and measured. Owen is 13lbs 11oz(25th %) and 24.5in long (25th %). Ethan is 15lbs (50th %) and 24 in long(25th %).

Then came the fun part... the pedi came in. Her and I have clashed before and I think I need to start trying to find a new one. Owen is where the pedi and I got into it. She was just going to ignore everything. She didn't even notice his head til I said something (which I have brought up as a concern before). Then I once again asked for the meds to make Owen not fight the bottle. Once again she said she doesnt give them unless there is no weight gain. Um excuse me you are not the one having to try to feed him. She once again told me to feed him less more often. He is still hungry though and cries when the bottle is empty and cries while eating because it hurts. His weight has also slowed as a result. So she ordered an upper GI (I really think she only did because I threw a fit and she doesnt believe me). He is also showing signs of torticollis. She told me to flip him in his crib and only play with him on his left and told me all kinds of stuff I am already doing. He also needs a roll under his neck to keep him off his head. Ethan was no problem though he has eczema and a flattening head (though his isnt that bad). So now I have to put a rolled blanket under his neck while he sleeps too. He also got a new formula (Soy) because of the eczema. That makes the 5th formula he has been on.

So things the boys are doing these days.... holding hands, chewing fingers, babbling, drooling, rolling, and holding rattles that are put in their hands.

Now for what you have been waiting for...pics!

rollie pollie

As you know Owen has rolled a few times. Well last week Ethan rolled a few times. Yesterday Ethan rolled repeatedly. Today Owen rolled every time I put him on his belly. He would look shocked then smile. So its official I am the mom of two boys who can roll belly to back.

Both are working really hard on back to belly. They arch and get on their sides but cant get over all the way. Owen now sleeps on his side most of the night.

I would post video or pics of the but both boys have taken to freezing and going straight faced when the camera comes out.

How not to beat the heat

It has been 2 days of the high 90's here. My boys have started a new phase at the same time. Can you guess what that is. Yep they only want to nap if I will hold them and let them drool down me. FUN TIMES

Happy 4-20 to me

I know what you are thinking "isn't that a pot smokers holiday"? Well... not for me its not. Last year on 4-20 I was sad and pouting about how my first medicated cycle (50 mg clomid) failed so miserably. Little did I know what cycle two had in store for us.

Easter and more

For Easter we went down to Salinas. It totally messed with the boys. First off being in the car on the drive there made the boys nap later then they normally do. When we got to the house they were just waking up. They knew it was time to shower and eat (we hit traffic and the drive took a little longer than normal). So I go to bathe them and they are not happy. They want to eat. This task is not made easy by people that want to make sure all is well and see the babies. Finally I get them bathed, dressed and downstairs to eat. I had the bottles made before we left the house and in a cool case but that meant I was offering cold bottles. That didn't go over well but they didn't want to wait for warm ones. To add to it when we are at home we don't have company during baths and bottles well you cant help that when you are the company. So while feeding the boys we had eager grandparents wanting to ooo ahh and fawn. Which is fine but distracting. Once we got the boys fed and down (took almost 45 min longer than normal). WE got to eat. Once we got to bed we were in for it. Ethan woke up at midnight screaming we would just get him down and he would do it again. This went on every 45 min from midnight to 7 when they got up. We hadnt had a night like that sense maybe week 3.

Saturday we went to visit Erick's grandma. She was excited to see the boys and we hung out and watched the Giants game with Erick's dad. When we got back to Erick's moms we were informed that more company was coming tonight. In my head I am envisioning a repeat of the night before. See our boys know the schedule and the bath, butts, books, bottles and bed pattern isnt something we EVER mess with. Im sure I wasnt as nice as i should have been when I found that out and was trying to get the boys routine done but we did bring them down for family to see. Then we had pizza and played cards. Erick won. Then bed.

Sunday.... slow morning then lunch at Erick's grandmas. The boys got a chance to meet family they had not yet met and i got a chance to show off a little. Erick's family was impressed that I could tell the difference in my boys cries and what the cry was for. hehehe that was fun showing off. I am with the boys all day every day of course I know what each cry means and who is doing it. When we left there we headed to Erick's best friend's house. He had a little boy the month after our boys were born. This was our first meeting. He was so small compared to my behemoths. From there we headed home. We made a quick stop at my mom's so she could see the boys on Easter. Ahhhhh Home!

Monday... Nothing interesting.

Tuesday...ahhh another busy day. The boys and I were out of the house by 8 am. Why you ask because we wanted to have some fun. We were to meet my MoMs group at the Oakland zoo. First we had a little stop to make. My friend Ariel (from wishing for my miracle link on the side) need some adult interaction too. I went a little out of my way to pick her and her son R (20 days older then the boys) up. We had a great tiring hot cold day at the zoo. Then went back to Ariel's house and learned some moves and took some pics.


The boys and R on the floor

On the way home I had even more fun. I hit traffic. Why did I hit traffic? Well for one I left late and it was rush hour. But the biggest thing that made my drive home taxing is that people are afraid to drive in hail. Yes you read that right there was hail.

Wednesday...One of the coolest things happened. Erick came home from work and I was showing him some of the new baby yoga that I learned (from a book Ariel suggested). Well the boys, Erick and I were on the floor and Owen laughed. I mean a real honest to god laugh. I am so happy Owen did that for the first time with Erick home and he got to witness that first with me. It was the best sound. He did it for about 3 min and now refuses to do it again (little stinker).

Decisions

There comes a time in every one's life where a big decision has to be made. Some decisions are trivial and only effect the now. Others send out little ripples that change the future only slightly. Still others send tsunamis out that not only effect your life but the lives of those around you. They not only effect it but they change it. They make an impact so deep it can take years to see all that changed based on this one singular decision. We all have these decisions to make. We make them all the time. Still some are difficult.

I spent six years getting my bachelors and masters degrees. Six years is not a little amount of time. Not to mention the money involved. I spent two years trying to get the boys. That too is not a little amount of time. Not to mention the money and emotion involved. Doing these things required BIG decisions. They were not things I entered into lightly.

This week I had another BIG decision to make. A very good friend talked to her school about me. They will be hiring next year. I could have possibly had my own classroom. That is something I worked hard for, something I wanted for a long time. BUT now I have the boys. So what to do? The money would be nice but that would put the boys in daycare and I would miss out on a lot. So to make this long story a little shorter after tears and much math. Erick and I decided that the majority of our long term goals could be put off. That Owen and Ethan need me more than we need the money. I am putting off teaching for one more year in order to stay home with the people who matter most to me in the world. I think the boys will understand why they didn't always get the biggest and the best toys. BUT I don't think I could understand why I put money over my children.

Before this post offends anyone let me end by saying that in these tough economic times there are many families that need the second income in order to survive. I am so grateful that in this is not us and Erick is secure enough in his position that I am able to take this time off.

They noticed

Yesterday the boys were on the floor just a smiling. That is when I noticed it wasnt at me but at each other. For the rest of the day and all day today when I set one down he instantly looked for the other. it is the cutest thing

Daddy's day off

Erick had yesterday off and he asked me what I wanted to do. So I decided it was time the boys visit the city. Erick was a little hesitant but then he saw that we got out state refund and it was going to be clear and 74* in San Francisco. He agreed that it would be nice and Monday night I packed the bags after putting the boys to bed at 7.

The boys decided that Erick and I needed an even better treat then the zoo and they slept til 7:20 am without a peep. We fed the boys, ourselves and then got ready. By 930 we were in the car.

Before getting to go to the zoo there were a few things we needed to do. My mom left something she needed in m car so we needed to drop that off. I had made a few returns and "needed" to pick up a few things at the Carters outlet. By the time I finished shopping the boys needed to eat again. We fed them in this really nice little relaxation lounge at the outlets. By that time it was 11 and we were hungry. We ate and got of the road again.

The boys slept the whole way to the zoo and only shifted a little when we got out of the car. We were really happy to find that the news didnt lie to us and SF really was beautiful. The zoo was almost empty. Im not just talking about no people there. The staff was missing too. The whole time at the zoo we never passes a snack cart that had anyone working it. but enough of that. We walked the whole zoo. We even saw the tigers with their fixed habitat. We got to see the new baby giraffe. The boys ate again, we talked to a few MoMs, and finished our walk around the zoo. (we should have set up our own exhibit with the amount of attention we were drawing.)

When we left the zoo and got on the freeway traffic was almost stopped. It was then we looked at the clock...almost 430. Crap rush hour going out of SF not going to happen. Our plans changed and we decided to take the boys to Pier 39. We walked the Pier, fed them again, changed them and pointed out Alcatraz. Then we decided to have dinner at Bubba Gumps. It was so good. I dont know how I ate that much shrimp. By that time Owen had decided that was enough excitement it was after 730 and the wind was picking up. So we headed home. I wont bore you with tales of Erick changing a poopy diaper on the bed of the van or my acrobatic moves to get into the third row to soothe a crying baby while Erick was driving but lets just say the trip home was interesting.

A few things I learned:

-Owen is A LOT more effected by change than Ethan
-If Ethan is tired he doesnt care where he is
-Thank god Pam gave us jackets because the boys needed them (Pam look how cute they are in the pics below)
-Never leave the bag with the extra blankets in the car
-Dont bother asking Erick which thing the boys should get to "remember" the trip (BTW they got hats and monkeys that hang on)
-Dont forget yourself when packing water for a day away

Now for the pics: