Category Archives: Update

Spotlight on Caroline, Age 9 Months

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While we were in Nauvoo, Caroline turned 9 months old!

Caroline loves people. She can be surrounded by toys but if there is not a person nearby, she will not be happy. She wants to be with people. Most of the time, it doesn’t matter who it is. If the person is smiling, Caroline is too. When she sees someone new, she’ll stop what she’s doing and wave “hi.” It even sounds like she says “hi” to them! Her big brother is one of her favorite people to watch. Even when she’s just waking up, if she hears her brother’s voice she is very excited and looks around for him. Caroline is a social creature. There is an exception: if Mama is in the room, she wants Mama and no one else! Not even Daddy is desired if she is sleepy: she wants her mama.

Caroline loves music. Caroline laughs and cheers and claps her hands when music begins. I’m begining to notice that she really does want that lullaby before bedtime. She loves to “sing” along during hymns at church, she loves to listen to Paul’s creative songs just for her, and she loves to hear Daddy play the piano. This is child who will treasure music in her life, even more so that Paul did as a baby and now as a child.

Caroline loves moving. Whether she is clapping her hands or army crawling to an attractive item or squirming and dancing to a song, Caroline likes to be a part of things. If she is down on the floor, she wants to stand. If she’s standing, she wants to move around the table and grab that shiny thing over there.

Caroline is petite. She’s in the 30th percentile for height and still 15th-20th percentile for weight. She’s 16 lbs and some odd ounces, and she’s rounding out like a baby should. But she is definitely not a fat baby. She is perfect sized, and I love that she still loves to cuddle. She fits in the corner of my arm just right.

Caroline is awake. She does not want to nap, and never has. But she’s getting better at letting herself fall asleep. Somehow we spoiled her and for a while she would not sleep without being held. She’d scream if she was put down! She wanted to nurse if she woke in the night and it was quite exhausting because she’d scream otherwise. If something was going on around her, she would not fall asleep. She’d stare at the moving TV screen til past 10 p.m., but she would not go to sleep. It was exhausting just watching her droopy eyes.

Caroline likes bling. Glasses, belt buckles, earrings, necklaces, shiny stickers, shiny keys: if an object is shiny or bright, Caroline makes a bee-line for it! It will probably end up in her mouth. The other day at a restaurant, Daddy handed her a few dollar bills. Caroline, amazingly, did not put it in her mouth. She had this look of amazement as she looked at Daddy and looked at the money and turned it over and over, amazed that she was able to hold it. She did the same with his credit card. But that did end up in her mouth. Dangerous! Let’s not love bling and money too much, dear little girl.

Caroline loves to nurse, and food is okay sometimes too. Some days, Caroline could not care less about food. She just wants to nurse. And now she does not even want a bottle anymore. But she is starting to expect food more and more. Yesterday she was very excited to eat food.

I love my darling girl. I can’t believe she’s nearly a year old already. I hope we can treasure these baby days a little longer … and that she does not start walking quite yet! She’s so cuddly and adorable, I love her.

Note: all videos recorded by big brother Paul during our Thanksgiving road trip.

Thoughts on Four Years and Four Months

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Today was Caroline’s four-month doctor’s visit. She is 11 pounds, 7 ounces, and is 23 inches long. That’s the 10th percentile. She’s gained exactly 4 pounds and grown 4 inches since she was born. She’s petite but in normal ranges.

She is, for the most part, a very happy girl. Today is an exception. She was okay for the two hours after her immunizations this morning, but now she’s crying pretty constantly, wondering why she’s in pain. Paul is walking around with his hands over his ears. “Can you tell Caroline to be quiet?” he recently asked.

On a normal day, Caroline loves to see happy faces. She delights in being with others and demands that she be up in her high chair where she can see us eating our dinner and so forth. If she’s away from the action, she’ll cry very vigorously, demanding attention.

Right now, I’m in the midst of a de-spoiling process. This means that I’m letting her cry herself to sleep at night when I know she’s ready to go to sleep, and I’m trying to not feel guilty when I put her down to clear the dinner dishes or go to the bathroom(!) or otherwise let her be by herself for a few minutes. She’s a very social little girl so she doesn’t like being alone. It’s hard to let her cry, but she must learn, right?

Caroline loves to smile and laugh, and Paul is a central part of her daily joy. She loves to watch him walking around the room, to smile at his songs, and to listen to what he has to say and the stories he likes to read. I can already see her adoration of her big brother as she brightens when he approaches her with his love and attention.

The love and attention is not one sided. Paul loves to be near his sister. He loves to help her be happy, to tell her stories, and to read her books. He remembers to include her in every game and he cannot wait until she is a “kid”. Even as a baby, though, he’s tender and loving to her, giving her big hugs and kisses.

I love to watch these two special spirits interact. I know there will be plenty of times when they are tired of each other. As I mentioned, Paul does not like the loud crying and when she’s finally old enough to play, I suspect he’ll be a bit annoyed at her destroying his Lego creations or what not. But in general, I see love and adoration coming from both of them. Caroline will love her brother as she gets older: she doesn’t know life without him. And Paul, who did “long long ago before Caroline was born” (his words) live a life without a little sister, will certainly care for his little sister and protect her as much as he can. He will teach her important things and he will make her laugh throughout her life. He will find such joy in his role as big brother.

I look forward to the coming months as I watch these two special spirits interacting and learning from each other! I am so grateful that Paul can have a sibling to learn from and to serve! I’m so grateful that Caroline has joined our family. I wouldn’t have our family any different.

The Last Day of Preschool

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Before we went out of town, Paul had his last day of preschool. He got a goodie bag with candy and things to make sure his summer is fun, like yet more sidewalk chalk (I think we have about two dozen pieces of that now). Here are some pictures of the happy boy with his class mates and his teachers, Mrs. Polit and Miss Emily. Paul told me the week before school ended that Liam was his “new best friend.” So I got a picture with him too.

The last two pictures are Caroline, aged 3 months, hanging out in her crib. She’s wearing a boyish outfit that Paul wore when he was her age. Compare this picture to Paul wearing the outfit. Of course, the comparison doesn’t really work since Caroline is three months here and Paul was only one month in that picture, but anyway. Does Caroline’s face look feminine enough to pull it off? What do you think?

 

Update: 2 Months Old and 4.5 Years

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I cannot believe how quickly time is passing this spring. I treasure this newborn baby stage and very rapidly, Caroline is becoming an infant, not a newborn.

Last Monday, we had her two month check up. She’s right on track developmentally. She coo’s and goo’s all the time. She smiles when she sees a face. She loves watching her mobile going around and cries when it stops. Other times, she cries when we turn it on because she’s figured out that means we are going to leave her and she’d rather look at us and be held. She’s adamant about eating Right Now when she wants to be. She’s strong and eager to try standing and laying on her belly (most of the time).

She was 9 lbs. 8 oz., 22.5 inches long, so in one month she gained a full pound. That still leaves her in between the 10th and 20th percentile. The doctor isn’t concerned “She’s just petite,” he said.

Caroline did not like her first round of shots. She got three shots with a total of five or six immunizations. She had been starting to have a schedule but that really threw it off! I still can’t figure out when she expects naps so she’s not really on a schedule: some days, she sleeps 7 hours at night and then naps for a long three hour stretch, with cat naps through the day. Other times like last night she is up every 2-3 hours at night and doesn’t sleep more than 30 minutes at a time all day.

This no sleeping at night might be somehow related to her growing up and changing body systems: now she no longer poops 10 times a day, but goes two or three days between huge explosion poops, like Paul did when he was an infant. The downside is that I’ve noticed wakes frequently the nights when she has not had a poop for a few days. Personally, I’d really like the 7 hours of sleep at a time to continue. That is very nice when that happens. I feel like a human!

Paul is still very much an attentive big brother. He loves that she is now responding to him, smiling and otherwise excited to see him. She definitely recognizes and loves him already! Paul doesn’t try to take over her care (thank goodness) but simply tells me what she needs as best as he can guess. He occasionally has his own “newborn baby” to take care of, an imaginary one. He pulls the stool over the changing mat to “change” his baby; he lifts his shirt and pretends to feed his baby. His baby is not always around, but appears a few times a week.

Paul has been going through a painful transition phase. Ever since Caroline joined our family, he’s regressed in a number of emotional ways. Things he’d been doing by himself for months (getting dressed, putting on shoes, floating on his back at swim lessons, buckling his belt in the car, carrying the family-sized Book of Mormon) suddenly became “too hard,” inducing tears. He’s also developed a sense of entitlement that results in tantrums when he is does not get what he wants.

This has been trying for me, since I’ve had a newborn to deal with. It’s also a bit worrisome in general, simply because we’d like him to develop into an emotionally mature person, of course. I just reread Awakening Children’s Minds about helping children learn by reaching them at their emotional level, and I’m planning on reading Raising Your Spirited Child next.

Paul also has some speech issues right now. Ryan has mentioned he’s getting harder to understand. Many times I need him to rephrase what he’s saying because I simply can’t understand him. “I’m sart, Mommy!” (Short? No, I’m Smart.) When the preschool teacher also mentioned it to me last week, I decided it’s time to look into intervention. I’m not sure how it will work, but I’m talking to the school district about next year.

Beyond that, he’s still an impressively smart boy, a cheerful boy most of the time, and a very creative individual. We’re still doing some fun “school at home” and I’ve decided to begin doing some kindergarten work with him next year and not send him to preschool. I’m signing him up for a kindergarten class at a local homeschool co-op, and I’m looking forward to getting more one-on-one time with him. It’s exciting to think of all the time we’ll get together. It will be incredibly exhausting to homeschool with a young baby who will be learning to crawl and walk, but I can’t think of anything more exciting and rewarding than watching my son blossom into a critically thinking individual.

Here’s to the next few months of parenting! Right now, I’m loving this journey.

April pictures to come as soon as I get a moment….

Two-Week Checkup

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Caroline had her two-week check up yesterday. (Already!) Since her five-day appointment, she gained a full half a pound! So her stats yesterday were as follows:

Weight: 7 lbs 8.5 oz (She was 7 lbs 0.5 oz last Monday, eight days previous)

Head circumference: 35 cm

Height: 20.25 inches (she grew a quarter inch)

In other, less statistical, updates, she’s given me at least one night of very good sleep: she woke every three hours to eat and otherwise slept soundly! That was just one night, however. Other nights she’s remained awake after feeding, or awaken every hour, or pretty much just wanted to be held. The doctor reminds me that a newborn cannot be spoiled: it’s only after a month or so that a baby has the ability to self-comfort. She needs interaction at this point.

Paul seems a bit bored by Caroline, as well as a little jealous at the amount of time I spend holding her. “She has eyes!” he says when they are actually open. And “you need to put her back in her crib now” has also been said at least once. He suddenly finds himself bored with playing by himself. I think he was expecting Caroline to be a bit more interactive, or at least smile at him. Soon enough, dear. Too soon, from my perspective.

All this is a wonderful reminder to keep cuddling her some more! I’m off to do that before she gets too big too soon!

 

Things Paul Says

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I realize I have not discussed or posted pictures of Thanksgiving in Utah with Daddy’s family, Christmas with Mommy’s family, or any of the many happenings in between. Paul has grown up a lot since last time I posted.

Nonetheless, here is a simple “Things Paul Says” post to get something up at least. He’s always surprising me with cute things he says.

“I found a pay-o-click!”

A paperclip, of course.

“I want purple-berry yoghurt.”

I agree, blueberry yoghurt looks more purple than blue. Smart thinking, Paul!

“Please bless the people that don’t have things to get things.”

We had a family home evening about tithing and fast offerings on Sunday night. He said this in Monday morning’s breakfast prayer. He apparently heard me! And remembered it overnight!

“Mommy’s bum is sticking out!”

He happened to walk in on me when I was changing my clothes. My back was to the door (thankfully), and well, he thought it was very funny.

“Don’t let it bite me!”

I was safety pinning his pants so they wouldn’t fall down. Very clever boy. I assured him the safety pin wouldn’t “bite.”

Cute Things From Paul

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Underwear

Paul’s fully toilet trained and surprises me with his ability to get dressed all by himself. But. For some reason, the creators of toddler underwear decided to put Elmo’s (and Thomas’ and James’) face on the back of the underpants. Paul sometimes insists on wearing his underpants backwards so he can see Elmo (or Thomas or James).

Time

Paul loves clocks. Last week, I noticed that whenever I said, “ten minutes” or “what time is it?” Paul would look at his (naked) wrist and say “no, 12 minutes!” or  “it’s 1-0-2-3” or “it’s 5-8-9-7”. He likes to tell time and know the time. Since neither Mom nor Dad wear watches, I think he learned that people wear clocks on their wrists from his preschool teachers, both of whom wear watches.

Preschool

Paul loves preschool. When he was looking at his watch (see story above), I said, “Paul, did you learn that at preschool?” Ever since, everything he “learned at preschool.”

“How did you know how to put on your own shoes?”

“From preschool!”

“How did you learn to get the milk out of the fridge all by yourself?”

“I learned at preschool!”

“How did you get so good at putting that puzzle together?”

“At preschool!”

You name it, he learned it at preschool, even when I know he didn’t really.

McDonald’s

Since Ryan has been traveling the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to make our dinner times exciting so it won’t feel so lonely. One night, we were having Chicken Nuggets so I made Paul a menu to “order” from. I wrote a big golden arch on the front for our “McReid’s” restaurant. He saw the yellow M and said, “M is for french fries!”

We’ve only been there about twice in his lifetime (once when he was newborn in Australia) and we never watch television with commercials, so I was quite puzzled at this. I finally decided that a Halloween costume we saw (french fries in a red McDonald’s container) was memorable for him.

Christmas

There are Christmas decorations in the store and I’m working on a Christmas project. (Yes, it’s way too early, but there you go.) Each morning, Paul wakes up to ask if it is Christmas yet. This is going to be a long month.

Cheese

Paul says I should write about cheese. At preschool, they sometimes have cheese for snack. Paul leaves preschool saying, “yummy yummy cheese!” when I pick him up. Then we get home and I offer him a little sliver of cheese. “Yucky! I don’t like cheese.” So I asked him why he likes it at preschool and not at home:

“I like cheese at preschool only!”

Okay then.

Singing and Talking

Paul regularly likes singing songs as we drive in the car. But I started singing a primary song in the car the other day, and he was quite annoyed.

“No, Mommy! No singing in the car! Singing at home only! That’s the new rule.”

I asked him about singing at preschool, or singing at church, so he changed the rule.

“Number 1, home. Number 2, church, Number 3, preschool. That’s the only places you can sing. That’s the rule. Number 1, number 2, number 3. Three places.”

He also made a “no talking in the car rule” a little later. I think he was over tired and a bit cranky, though, so I don’t take it personally. He also started singing himself a little later, so apparently, it’s only a rule for me… And I find it funny that he sees it necessary to establish “rules.” Do I do that too often?

Right Now

I told Paul I was writing the cute things he says and does. He said I should write:

“Grandma. Grandpa. Great Grandma [we’ll see all three of them tomorrow]. I love them!”

Yes, Paul, those are very cute things to say!

Binkies Anonymous

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Hi. I am a Binkie Addict. I’ve been binkie free now for five days and five nights now, and it’s still rather painful. Here’s my story.

Mommy and Daddy brought the binkie addiction to my attention on Sunday night, after I played with my binkie in the middle of a fireside at church and wouldn’t put it away. I resisted the title of “binkie addict” and I cried when Mommy said it was about time I stopped using the binkie. I kept my binkie that night and didn’t let go of it.

In the morning, Mommy told me it was time to stop using because I’m a big boy now and should not continue to cater to this addiction. She gave me the responsibility to throw my two binkies away when I felt I was ready to be a big boy. She said when I did, we’d call Grandma Peggy and tell her that I’m a big boy. I thought about it for a few minutes and decided that yes, I wanted to be a big boy, and I wanted to tell Grandma Peggy I was a big boy. I threw away both of my binkies.

Mommy was really excited. Apparently, it was only 7:30 a.m. and she didn’t think I’d be so eager to be a big boy so early in the morning! She didn’t realize that that is the easiest time to be a big boy. I’m awake and happy, and I certainly don’t feel a binkie craving when I’m happy. I don’t need my binkie when I’m not tired. I watched Mommy take out all the garbage in the house and I stood by the window for a while, hoping that the garbage man would come so I could see his truck. (He didn’t come.) We had to wait another hour or so to call Grandma because it was just too early still. I was excited and couldn’t wait to tell Grandma my big boy news. She was excited for me too.

I had a fun morning playing with toys. But I bumped my head on something about 10:30 and that’s when I realized what being a big boy meant: I asked Mommy if I could have my binkie, and she said there was no more binkie. Wow, that was hard.

At about 1 or 2, I wanted my rest time in my room. But once again, there was no binkie. Oh, the withdrawl was so painful that first day! I cried and cried. I searched in every garbage in the house looking for my binkies. But the garbage cans were all empty. I remembered watching Mommy take out the trash and felt very sad.

In the afternoon, Mommy said we were going on a road trip in the car. (I’ll tell you about our trip later.) We would be driving to a big hotel with a big big bed just for me! I was so excited, and I helped Mommy pack the bags. Daddy started driving the car and it took about 20 minutes to realize that when I asked for my binkie, Mommy wouldn’t give it to me. I screamed for hours, and I would only calm down when Mommy was telling me stories. I can’t tell you how sad it made me to know I would not have my binkie. I think I fell asleep in sheer exhaustion.

Tuesday was a busy, busy day. I didn’t bother to ask for my binkie because I knew Mommy didn’t have it. Besides there was so much to see. There were barns full of cows and roosters and horses and lions, and I liked to make all their noises. I saw old houses with interesting things to look at. I played games. I saw pictures of Joseph Smith and Jesus. I looked around at everything new. It was only when the sun went down that I thought of the binkie again. Mommy and I were walking around the Temple — it was so pretty — and Daddy was taking pictures. Mommy said we’d be going back to the big hotel with the big big bed and we’d get some sleep. I was sleepy! I asked Mommy then, but I knew the answer: “But my binkie?” She said, again, that there was no binkie. I suppose it didn’t matter. I was so sleepy. I fell asleep in the car again.

Wednesday was another busy busy day with lots of new things. It was when were driving home and I could tell the sun was going down that I started asking for my binkie again. I knew it wasn’t coming, but I was so bored and so sleepy, I couldn’t help asking. Mommy did not feed my addiction.

Thursday was a hard night. The day was fine; I never mentioned my binkie because there was no point. But when Mommy put me in bed at 7:30, I could not sleep. I was in my own room and in my own bed, and the binkie is such a part of my routine that it was hard to do without it.  I kept bouncing down to talk to Mommy and Daddy who were watching a movie. I didn’t go to sleep until after 10.

Last night was the same. I cried and cried and cried. I pleaded. I whined. I pulled Mommy’s hand. It was probably 9:30 before I got to sleep. I was just so uncomfortable and sad. I know Mommy’s insistence that there is no more binkie is true, but it doesn’t make the withdrawl any less painful. My question now is: how long will it be before I can go to sleep without feeling so sad, without the craving for the binkie?

I know I am a big boy, but I’m glad I can tell you all the hardships of being a big boy. Habits are hard to break, and this addiction, particularly, has been hard since I’m nearly three years old. Three years is a long time to have a bad habit!

From the Mouth of Babes…

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(1)

The other day, as I drove to deliver cookies to my friend for her birthday, I saw my reflection in the rearview mirror.

“Oh,” I said aloud. “I forgot to put on makeup this morning.”

Paul’s response: “Uh oh, Mommy! Go home and get makeup! Uh oh!”

(2)

As I lead Paul upstairs for bed, Paul likes to bid farewell to everything he says.

Paul: “Bye bye cars! Bye bye books! Bye bye fridge! Bye bye flowers! Bye bye stairs! Bye bye Jesus [in a picture]! “

(3)

If my prayer gets too long, Paul helps me out.

Paul: “In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. AMEN! AMEN!”

(4)

Paul has a new favorite word. From the sample conversations below, see me if you can figure out what it is.

Mommy: “Do you want to sit on the toilet?”

Paul: “Icky toilet!”

Later: “Let’s change your diaper!”

Paul: “Icky poop!”

Later: “Daddy might come home tomorrow!”

Paul: “Icky Daddy!”

Later: “Do you want some goldfish for your snack?”

Paul: “Icky Goldfish!”

(5)

Paul is a very compassionate two-year-old. If I bump my arm against something (for example) and exclaim “ouch,” he runs to me and kisses it better. When he sees the picture in his book of Cookie Monster crying (because the onions made his eyes water), he gives him a hug and a kiss. Paul has compassion on everyone and everything. When his cars crash against each other, he kisses them better.

An In-Between Stage

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Paul is caught in between ages this month.

One day he wants to sit on the toilet every hour. (He’s usually successful.) The next day, he won’t go near the toilet without crying.

One day he wants to sit at the table in a regular chair. The next day he cries unless I open up his high chair for him.

One day he wants to go down the stairs ALL BY HIMSELF walking on two feet like a big person. The next day he cries for someone to come take his hand or he slithers down on his hands and knees.

One day he wants to sit and cuddle for ten minutes after his nap. The next day he won’t come near me and cries if I try to hold him.

And then there are the signs that he’s figured out the system. He slipped on the floor and sat down and fake cried for a few seconds. I was taking something to a different room and as soon as I was out of his sight, he stopped crying. As soon as I walked back in, he started up again. He wouldn’t stop until I’d picked him up and given him a “feel better; I love you” hug.

I love the baby stage, but it is exciting to see the “I’m getting older” stage too!