Last March when John and I were vacationing in Arizona with Logan, who was only 3 months old, I decided that I needed a Mom group. A couple others new mom's I knew had found one close to their home and really enjoyed it. Knowing that I am internet-search challenged, I asked John to help me and within minutes he found a group in our hometown. I filled out the request form and met a few of the moms for lunch about a week and a half later.
Honestly, I don't know what I would have done without this Mom group. It took some time attending some meetups (with a baby who didn't interact with the older kids) for me to get to know some of the other Moms. One Mom that joined within a month after I did contacted me since her daughter was 3.5 months older than Logan and out of the whole group, there weren't many kids our kids age. We have now become close friends with Kathy and Maddie. :) We started getting together several times a week for walks or hanging out at each other's homes or going to parks to push our non-mobile children in swings. Slowly we got more involved with the group and have started making more friends.
Recently, the organizer stepped down and one of my friends that I just started getting to know took the group over. I had told her that I would help her out; so now I am a co-organizer to the group I started just over a year ago. So now we are trying to think of fun activities for the group to do during the summer - fun kids crafts to partake in. It is pretty exciting! The group has about 50 members, but about 35 of them are active - which is a lot of different people to hang out with. I have gotten to know several of them and it is truly a great group. It has made being a Stay at Home Mom so much more fun. I feel like my kids are getting much more of a social interaction. We attend weekly playgroups and also go to museums, zoo's, parks, mall play areas, splash pads - all kinds of places. We also do Moms Nights Out and go to a restaurant, see a movie or go to one of our houses. We do book clubs and other things with just the moms. It really helps to have adult conversation during the day when I otherwise would not have. I highly recommend finding a Mom group to any new or experienced mom!
Just wanted to share an exciting part of my life!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Short Stories and Exciting Times
Logan was just about to clank the toys above Carter's head again and I stopped him. I said 'shhh, Carter is sleeping'. He tilted his head to the side as if to pretend to sleep. As I kept saying 'shhh', he put his hand to his mouth, so I showed him that 'sh' is one finger. So he did one finger to his lips...but in addition, put the finger up his nose!! (For the recod, that is NOT what I was doing)
I just got Logan a Little Tikes slide for $2 at a garage sale (what a major deal...yay me!). After Logan sits down, I count '1, 2, 3, weeee!!!'. He typically slides his butt backwards down the stair part to help gain momentum, but then holds onto the handles until he has to let go. He kind of looks like he is a luger.
Logan has also taken out his shopping cart or walker toy and zooms it around the house, but tries to go in place that are difficult to maneuver - just for the challenge. Granted, when he gets stuck, he gets very frustrated, but we've been trying to help him problem-solve. Sometimes he figures it out on his own, but when he is tired, it is meltdown city!
Carter enjoys laying under the toy play gym. I think this weekend we will take out the exersaucer, bumbo and Johnny jump up. Ah, I can't believe he is ready for those things!!
In the meantime, the boys are excited to find out if they will have 2 new girl or boy or one of each cousins to play with by the end of the year. On the Battermann side, my sis-in-law Brittany is pregnant with their 1st baby and due mid-November. And on the Madorma side my brother and sis-in-law, Melissa are due Jan. 2011 with their 4th baby! So it is going to be a very busy time of the year celebrating Logan's birthday, my birthday, my Mom's birthday, my father-in-law's birthday, a new baby, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, another baby and Carter's 1st birthday!! All within 3 months!!! I am exhausted just thinking about it - but cannot wait to be an Aunt again and again!!!!
I just got Logan a Little Tikes slide for $2 at a garage sale (what a major deal...yay me!). After Logan sits down, I count '1, 2, 3, weeee!!!'. He typically slides his butt backwards down the stair part to help gain momentum, but then holds onto the handles until he has to let go. He kind of looks like he is a luger.
Logan has also taken out his shopping cart or walker toy and zooms it around the house, but tries to go in place that are difficult to maneuver - just for the challenge. Granted, when he gets stuck, he gets very frustrated, but we've been trying to help him problem-solve. Sometimes he figures it out on his own, but when he is tired, it is meltdown city!
Carter enjoys laying under the toy play gym. I think this weekend we will take out the exersaucer, bumbo and Johnny jump up. Ah, I can't believe he is ready for those things!!
In the meantime, the boys are excited to find out if they will have 2 new girl or boy or one of each cousins to play with by the end of the year. On the Battermann side, my sis-in-law Brittany is pregnant with their 1st baby and due mid-November. And on the Madorma side my brother and sis-in-law, Melissa are due Jan. 2011 with their 4th baby! So it is going to be a very busy time of the year celebrating Logan's birthday, my birthday, my Mom's birthday, my father-in-law's birthday, a new baby, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, another baby and Carter's 1st birthday!! All within 3 months!!! I am exhausted just thinking about it - but cannot wait to be an Aunt again and again!!!!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Short stories...
I just got a hand-me-down awesome tool bench complete with tons of tools from a friend - for FREE. So Logan has been drilling, sawing, screwing, hammering everything! Well, I was holding Carter and he started getting really squirmy, which isn't entirely unusual....but in this particular case I looked down and saw that Logan was testing out his new pliers on Carter's toes. Eeks! Thank heavens he is super strong just yet.
Lately I have been putting Carter under the play gym thingy (a blanket with toys that hang above his head). He looks around, tries soooo hard to roll over and eventually falls asleep. Logan the past two days has seen this - and as soon as Carter falls asleep, he walks over and jiggles the bar so all the toys clank and wake him up. It is hilarious, but I try to keep my cool so he doesn't keep doing it.
I have been getting better at putting Carter in his crib to sleep at night and at times during the day. The other morning Carter was in there and started whining. We told Logan, jokingly, to go in there and take care of his brother. Logan marched right in there. Then all of a sudden I heard the mobile playing a little music. I whipped my head over to the video monitor wondering how on earth it was playing...and saw Logan IN the crib with Carter!!! The little monkey climbed in there. So John and I went in the room and took Logan out and asked him to try it again - and he did with no problem. He had then tried to turn the mobile on for Carter (he can't turn the knob, but touched it just enough so that is played for about 3 seconds. What a good big brother!
Lately I have been putting Carter under the play gym thingy (a blanket with toys that hang above his head). He looks around, tries soooo hard to roll over and eventually falls asleep. Logan the past two days has seen this - and as soon as Carter falls asleep, he walks over and jiggles the bar so all the toys clank and wake him up. It is hilarious, but I try to keep my cool so he doesn't keep doing it.
I have been getting better at putting Carter in his crib to sleep at night and at times during the day. The other morning Carter was in there and started whining. We told Logan, jokingly, to go in there and take care of his brother. Logan marched right in there. Then all of a sudden I heard the mobile playing a little music. I whipped my head over to the video monitor wondering how on earth it was playing...and saw Logan IN the crib with Carter!!! The little monkey climbed in there. So John and I went in the room and took Logan out and asked him to try it again - and he did with no problem. He had then tried to turn the mobile on for Carter (he can't turn the knob, but touched it just enough so that is played for about 3 seconds. What a good big brother!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Gatlinburg, TN Vacation
We just returned from our vacation in Gatlinburg, TN. It was very beautiful and we had a wonderful time...but we came home 2 days early. We found that there is only so much you can do with 2 kids under 2. :) Logan could easily escape the cabin and he would try to call the front desk since the phones are so accessible (they quickly became unplugged). He couldn't roam the few bedrooms without getting in some form of trouble and since we did all the things we came to do...we decide to head home early and allow for a bigger re-adjustment period before John went back to work - just family time at home.
It was a 10 hour car ride, which both boys did surprisingly well. We only stopped twice...well a third time was on the side of the highway changing Carter's diaper. :)
We had a great cabin, which would've been even better had it been closer. Apparently the newbie guy checking us in, thought it was a great idea to put a family with 2 little kids in the last cabin on the hill. We had to park 5 cabins away then proceed to walk up the hill...then up 4 stairs and down 12 stairs to get to our cabin. Yeah....not a problem had it been just John and I...but lugging a sleeping baby in a carseat, motivating a toddler to not explore every second, carrying food and a diaper bag and sometimes a stroller....was not as easy as you may think. ;) Oh and did I mention that it rained the first couple nights?
Anywho, the resort did have a playground so that was great as we did that a couple days. Otherwise, we walked downtown Gatlinburg, went to Ripley's Aquarium, did the waterpark at our resort, at dinner out...and ate dinner in, took some pictures with some birds, drove up into the mountains and as we left, we ate at Logan's Roadhouse. :)
Here are some pictures from the mountains and waterpark:
(John just moved for the picture...don't think we really left him alone in the water)
More pics and stories to come later!!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Logan's 18-month Well Checkup
Logan just turned 18 months!!! Can you believe I have a one and a half year old?!?! I can't. I just reflect on milestones like this one of how many years and emotionally-painful months it took for us to conceive. So to know say I have a 18-month old (and a 3-month old to add icing to the cake) is just amazing words to me.
Well on May 6th I took Logan for his 18-month well visit to the doctor. We allotted for enough time in the waiting room where I proceeded to explain to him everything the doctor was going to check. He half-listened to me and spent the rest of his time flirting with a younger-lady...a 12-month old was in for her well-visit as well. She showed him a couple tricks of making noises with her tongue... I told her father to keep his little girl away from my little man! Just kidding...I SO did not do that.......but I thought it.
The nurse called us back and he walked back like such a big boy. I stripped him down and he was totally fine with everything. Here are his stats:
Another good report! What is funny is that my wonderful mother-in-law pulled out John's baby book (if I haven't mentioned, I am still amazed at how much she documented for her 4th child). John at 18 months was 25 pounds and 32.75 inches...so right on target with Logan's weight, but Logan is already almost 2 inches taller than John was at this point!!! And for those of you that don't know John that well...he is 6'4"!!! So either Logan is just growing faster and will even out as the years go on....or he will be taller than John (which is just hard for me to imagine...with the exception of my friend's husband, John is the tallest guy I know!).
We discussed the developmental questions. He can eat with a spoon, he can say at least 7 words (32 words have been spoken to date, while not used on a daily basis), he can run...I think there was one or two more, but I don't remember. The doctor proceeded to look in his eyes, nose, ears and listen to him breathe. He did well with all of this. He just wasn't a fan of the next part - she wanted him to lay down so she could look in his mouth. I actually had to try to pry his mouth open, which when I started this caused him to cry and he opened his mouth right up! All was well.
He received the Hepatitis A shot - thankfully only one! He laid down fine, but was cautiously looking at the 'supplies' the nurse brought in (needle). She stuck him and yeah, he screamed. It was different this time. I feel like he actually knew that it was what the nurse brought in that hurt him. I felt bad for the little bugger, but he stopped crying almost immediately when I picked him up.
The doctor gave him the tongue depressor and a sticker, separately. He gave it to me and I knew what he wanted. The last doctor that saw Logan and Carter in their last appointments would always put the sticker on the depressor...so that is what Logan wanted. :) Cute that he remembers that. But hey - if he can remember just that and not the shot, that'll be awesome.
Another awesome checkup for my growing boy!
Well on May 6th I took Logan for his 18-month well visit to the doctor. We allotted for enough time in the waiting room where I proceeded to explain to him everything the doctor was going to check. He half-listened to me and spent the rest of his time flirting with a younger-lady...a 12-month old was in for her well-visit as well. She showed him a couple tricks of making noises with her tongue... I told her father to keep his little girl away from my little man! Just kidding...I SO did not do that.......but I thought it.
The nurse called us back and he walked back like such a big boy. I stripped him down and he was totally fine with everything. Here are his stats:
25 pounds 2 ounces (40th percentile)
34.5 inches (96th percentile)
Head: 19cm (50th percentile)
Another good report! What is funny is that my wonderful mother-in-law pulled out John's baby book (if I haven't mentioned, I am still amazed at how much she documented for her 4th child). John at 18 months was 25 pounds and 32.75 inches...so right on target with Logan's weight, but Logan is already almost 2 inches taller than John was at this point!!! And for those of you that don't know John that well...he is 6'4"!!! So either Logan is just growing faster and will even out as the years go on....or he will be taller than John (which is just hard for me to imagine...with the exception of my friend's husband, John is the tallest guy I know!).
We discussed the developmental questions. He can eat with a spoon, he can say at least 7 words (32 words have been spoken to date, while not used on a daily basis), he can run...I think there was one or two more, but I don't remember. The doctor proceeded to look in his eyes, nose, ears and listen to him breathe. He did well with all of this. He just wasn't a fan of the next part - she wanted him to lay down so she could look in his mouth. I actually had to try to pry his mouth open, which when I started this caused him to cry and he opened his mouth right up! All was well.
He received the Hepatitis A shot - thankfully only one! He laid down fine, but was cautiously looking at the 'supplies' the nurse brought in (needle). She stuck him and yeah, he screamed. It was different this time. I feel like he actually knew that it was what the nurse brought in that hurt him. I felt bad for the little bugger, but he stopped crying almost immediately when I picked him up.
The doctor gave him the tongue depressor and a sticker, separately. He gave it to me and I knew what he wanted. The last doctor that saw Logan and Carter in their last appointments would always put the sticker on the depressor...so that is what Logan wanted. :) Cute that he remembers that. But hey - if he can remember just that and not the shot, that'll be awesome.
Another awesome checkup for my growing boy!
Carter Update
Well, Carter hit a big milestone a couple weeks ago...he turned 3 months!
Carter now goes at least 5 hours in between feedings and often enough goes 6-8 hours. We are slowly transitioning him to his bed (he has bunked up with us until recently). We did it for the ease of feeding him in the middle of the night since I am nursing. However, he slowly turns sideways in the middle of the night and when I was suddenly awoken with a big toe in my eye...under the eyelid and all! So, I said...off to your own bed you go!
Carter is talking up a storm!! When he is alert, which is often...you can just stare into his BIG blue eyes and he is likely to tell you quite a story - oh, it is SO cute! It is funny, as I type this he is laying next to me (yes, he just ate and will be going to his own bed in just a bit) and talking...it is as if he knows that I am mentioning it on my blog. :)
He is also growing like crazy. My 3.5 month old is in 6-9 month clothes. There are some brands of clothes that if they are not hand-me-downs he can still do a 3-6 month size...but for the most part he is pushing it... I had him wear the same baptism outfit Logan did, but he got baptized a whole month later....so a week before I tried the outfit on him...it was snug, but fit - I was able to tuck his top in his pants and it would stay as long as he didn't wiggle. The day of his baptism I got him ready and Oh Snap! I had to really tug that shirt down to get it to at least touch the top of his pants!! And the pants were a little shorter. There was NO tucking in the shirt, not even if I tried (and I did). So I threw a plain white onesie underneath and told his Godmother's to try to pull down his top as often as they could...which was tricky over his full belly. :) It was fine, but honestly I think that was thee last weekend he could've squeezed into that outfit. As soon as we got home from Church, we changed him into a more comfy outfit.
Carter is a strong little guy. I have sat him up a few times lately leaning forward and he has stayed sitting for as long as 10 seconds! Go Carter! He also enjoys standing - I hold him purely for balance...he holds himself up for a while with his strong legs.
He smiles often - sometimes all I have to do is look at him and he gives a big grin!! I love this smiley stage.
He still has a lot of hair....in front. The back has thinned in the usual places where his head rests. It looks kinda funny from the back since his hair is sooo dark and there is sooo much of it. I also think his replacement hair is coming in much lighter so it is harder to see.
Let's see....what else...he is still very much a laid-back baby, but when he isn't happy, he lets you know it!
I do my very best to get my cuddle time with him during Logan's naps or while Logan is playing. Carter loves to be held...and the great thing is that many family members and myself love to hold him!
I sooooo love this little guy!
Carter now goes at least 5 hours in between feedings and often enough goes 6-8 hours. We are slowly transitioning him to his bed (he has bunked up with us until recently). We did it for the ease of feeding him in the middle of the night since I am nursing. However, he slowly turns sideways in the middle of the night and when I was suddenly awoken with a big toe in my eye...under the eyelid and all! So, I said...off to your own bed you go!
Carter is talking up a storm!! When he is alert, which is often...you can just stare into his BIG blue eyes and he is likely to tell you quite a story - oh, it is SO cute! It is funny, as I type this he is laying next to me (yes, he just ate and will be going to his own bed in just a bit) and talking...it is as if he knows that I am mentioning it on my blog. :)
He is also growing like crazy. My 3.5 month old is in 6-9 month clothes. There are some brands of clothes that if they are not hand-me-downs he can still do a 3-6 month size...but for the most part he is pushing it... I had him wear the same baptism outfit Logan did, but he got baptized a whole month later....so a week before I tried the outfit on him...it was snug, but fit - I was able to tuck his top in his pants and it would stay as long as he didn't wiggle. The day of his baptism I got him ready and Oh Snap! I had to really tug that shirt down to get it to at least touch the top of his pants!! And the pants were a little shorter. There was NO tucking in the shirt, not even if I tried (and I did). So I threw a plain white onesie underneath and told his Godmother's to try to pull down his top as often as they could...which was tricky over his full belly. :) It was fine, but honestly I think that was thee last weekend he could've squeezed into that outfit. As soon as we got home from Church, we changed him into a more comfy outfit.
Carter is a strong little guy. I have sat him up a few times lately leaning forward and he has stayed sitting for as long as 10 seconds! Go Carter! He also enjoys standing - I hold him purely for balance...he holds himself up for a while with his strong legs.
He smiles often - sometimes all I have to do is look at him and he gives a big grin!! I love this smiley stage.
He still has a lot of hair....in front. The back has thinned in the usual places where his head rests. It looks kinda funny from the back since his hair is sooo dark and there is sooo much of it. I also think his replacement hair is coming in much lighter so it is harder to see.
Let's see....what else...he is still very much a laid-back baby, but when he isn't happy, he lets you know it!
I do my very best to get my cuddle time with him during Logan's naps or while Logan is playing. Carter loves to be held...and the great thing is that many family members and myself love to hold him!
I sooooo love this little guy!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Logan's Vocabulary
Logan can say so many words now! I will not likely continue to update this list as he is bound to know sooooo many words...but thought I'd give an update at 18 months. At this milestone, they should be able to say about 15 to 20 words. According to this list, including words with sign language, he can communicate 32 words!!!!! Go Logan Go! And to think that he was soooo late with his first word Mmmm (Moo) at 14.5 months.
In no particular order, except for the first 3. Also to note that the written word is not exactly how he pronounces it...but we know what he's saying.
Mmm (Moo)
Hot
Yuck
Wow
Papa
Daddy
Flower
Socks
Downstairs
Water
Woof Woof
Go Go Go
Dog
Doggy
More
Tree
Carter
Out
Outside
Touch
Cookie
Toot-Toot
Bird
Cookie
Mama
Cracker
Grandpa
Ball
No
Poo-Poo
Eat (in sign language)
Please (In sign language)
In no particular order, except for the first 3. Also to note that the written word is not exactly how he pronounces it...but we know what he's saying.
Mmm (Moo)
Hot
Yuck
Wow
Papa
Daddy
Flower
Socks
Downstairs
Water
Woof Woof
Go Go Go
Dog
Doggy
More
Tree
Carter
Out
Outside
Touch
Cookie
Toot-Toot
Bird
Cookie
Mama
Cracker
Grandpa
Ball
No
Poo-Poo
Eat (in sign language)
Please (In sign language)
Slacker!
Okay, I admit it...I am a complete and udder slacker!
I plan on doing some heavy duty blogging in the next week to catch up. Here are a few things I will blog about:
- Carter's Baptism
- Carter turning 3 months
- Logan turning 18 months
- Logan's vocabulary expansion
- Paige's 5K race
And probably a few more things...
I plan on doing some heavy duty blogging in the next week to catch up. Here are a few things I will blog about:
- Carter's Baptism
- Carter turning 3 months
- Logan turning 18 months
- Logan's vocabulary expansion
- Paige's 5K race
And probably a few more things...
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