Lots of fun

Nana (Grandma Olson) came to town yesterday afternoon, during naptime. Sydney found this to be a GREAT SURPRISE!

She put him to bed last night. She got him from his bed this morning. She entertained him with TONS of laughter and giggles all day long.

We went to the library and picked out new books. (Our probation period ends tomorrow, but they were nice enough to wave that for today so, we upgrade from a 3-book limit to 100 books!) We had lunch, read books and had naptime. We went shopping. We read more books and Nana is attempting to put Sydney to bed again.

Sydney insisted that Mommy stay in the room during some bedtime stories. "Momma, sit please." he insisted. After a few books, I snuck from the room. Then, I sat quietly in the office. It breaks my heart to hear him BEG for his mommy, but I know that he will be without me at bedtime tomorrow night, as well as the next few thereafter.

I'm not sure who is enjoying it more... Sydney or Grandma; There sure are A LOT of giggles in this house!

Quiet day in utero, not so quiet outside

My uterus was rather calm and quiet today. Silas was reasonably still as well. (I'm thinking that he his busy resting up for his BIG DEBUT into the world!) Our doctor was on call until 5:30pm tonight so, we've missed that window of opportunity. Now, she's not on call again until Sunday night, when we are invited to go in for our induction.

Mucous plug seems to be gone now for most of the day. All quiet on the uterine front. Hopefully, that continues until Sunday afternoon/evening (since Mike works all weekend).

Sydney, who had returned to his normal self for most of the past week turned a little WILD again for us today. (Actually, he bit mommy at bedtime last night so, perhaps the naughty button was activated late in the day yesterday.) He was also quite a chatterbox today.

Grandma Olson came to town this afternoon. Sydney was SO EXCITED, as we've prepped him a little bit - foreshadowing that Grandma Olson and Grandpa Lowell will come to stay at our house while Mommy goes to the hospital to get our baby. To a 23-month old, this is a hard concept to grasp, being that we aren't indicating TIMEFRAMES. (It is much easier to explain that Grandpa will be here after his nap than to say in a few days time.) So, we've got some back-up in case things happen quickly.

While Mike worked tonight, we went out to eat at Olive Garden. While dining, we heard a shrieking scream clear across the restaurant. To Sydney, this was interesting. Sadly, he felt the need to try it as well. We tried to SSSShhhh him, but he found it funny. Despite my embarrassment and encouragement NOT to, he yelled on more than one occasion. (He also demonstrated throwing some items at the table - such as a partially eaten breadstick and his crayons.) Little stinker. I was NOT pleased with his behavior and apologized to the couple sitting directly behind us for his obnoxious behavior.

Hopefully, the "naughty button" will be out of commission again for the next week or so, since we had such a good run as of late. (I guess I will plan on bringing my library/parenting books with me to the hospital so that I can continue to read them while enjoying my relaxing spa-like experience.)

• • • • • •

PREDICTIONS:

Aunt Betty is predicting that Silas will make his appearance Friday or Saturday.

Water leak from new toilet, not water breaking

Mike installed new flooring in our half bath, as well as a brand new toilet. This morning, we woke to a large puddle on the floor. I guess a gasket needed to be tightened somewhere... So, our water on the floor was from the new toilet and NOT from my water breaking.

On the baby front, we do have SOME continued movement in the right direction: I am obviously dilated or effaced enough for my mucous plug to start falling out. (I don't remember this happening at all with Sydney so, this is new to me.) It started falling out yesterday afternoon and has continued throughout the day today, as I notice it only when I go to the bathroom and wipe.

Now, if only my water would break... doctor is on-call until 5:30pm on Friday (and then not again until Sunday night at 5:30pm.)

042811 New blog header

That WOULD BE interesting...

My mom remains hopeful that Silas will hang out in utero until Sunday as well, but IF he DOES decide to come on his own, she pointed out that she hopes he comes on Thursday evening. That way, our doctor is on call AND if he is born on Thursday, our household will keep consistent birthday numbers...

Mike and Sarah: both born on the 12th of the month

Sydney and Silas: could both be born on the 28th of the month.

YES, that WOULD be interesting...

I guess we'll see...

Moving in the right direction

We had an appointment this morning and are pleased to report that we are "moving in the right direction".

No protein or sugar in my urine. My blood pressure is nice and low. Baby's heart rate was 130, which is QUITE HAPPY, we're told. Mommy's weight is the same as last week (and is down 2 pounds from the week before... when I had an ultrasound so, was likely some water weight).

Baby IS head down. Doctor stated "Actually, it is quite low." (This did NOT surprise me at all... as late in the afternoon yesterday and all throughout the night, I had noticed aches & pains in my hips, caused from an unusual pressure in the sockets. Making my way to the bathroom around 3am caused me to take "baby steps" because of the pressure and leaning to the side to wipe felt uncomfortable on my hips. It seems better today - with some Tylenol helping out. I also have a throbbing, achey veined left leg and A LOT of pelvic floor pressure so, I'll be sporting my maternity support hose and SITTING. Doctor suggested walking to speed things up, but my body doesn't think standing is nearly as comfortable as sitting right now.)

Dilated 3cm. Effaced 70%. (She said she did scrape around a little bit inside to see if she can't get some prostaglandins moving things along naturally for us.)

Doctor informed us that she is on call on Thursday night and that if I have contractions 5 minutes apart, that we should come on in... she won't turn us away. Otherwise, she plans to see us on Sunday night at 5:30pm.

I was given permission to eat something LIGHT before we head over to the hospital on Sunday.

I also informed Mike that I look forward to enjoying an egg fried over-easy as well as a Jimmy John's sub following the birth, since under-cooked egg and cold lunchmeat have been NOT RECOMMENDED throughout pregnancy.... Mmmmm! #12 BEACH CLUB®

Fresh baked turkey breast, provolone cheese, avocado spread, sliced cucumber, sprouts, lettuce, tomato, and mayo! )

I asked how quickly Doc foresees things to happen if/when we go in for our invited stay at the hospital on Sunday. She assured me that my body moved things along very quickly last time and she thinks that Silas would be born sometime ON SUNDAY, meaning that he will share a May 1st birthday with his first cousin, Alder. Otherwise, if he holds out past midnight, he will share a May 2nd birthday with his second cousin, Shelly.

Looking forward to meeting our little man within the next few days! (Sydney still has a few more days to perfect his pronunciation of SILAS, which now sounds more like his toddler version of the word APPLESAUCE.) For now, Silas will probably think his name is BETTA-BUTTAH (belly button).

YAY... Number 2 is coming soon!

Ploy to stall naps and bedtime

Sydney has been attempting a new ploy to stall naps and bedtime... on more than one occasion, he has decided to announce "POOP!" and INSISTS upon using the potty chair or the toilet. (This, of course, fuels QUITE a protest if I ignore the announcement and proceed with diapering.)

We sit. We play. We read the potty training book. We hop up to see if anything has magically happened. We sit back down. On and off. On and off. On and off...

Tonight, he signed ALL DONE. We washed his hands. I diapered him.

As soon as he got back to his room, he yelled "POOP!" and ran back to the bathroom for us to attempt it all over again. After a few minutes, that felt like an eternity as I balanced my pregnant body on the edge of the bathtub, he hopped up and decided he wanted to play in the sink instead of going to the bathroom.

No luck tonight. He managed to wet his night diaper during the few brief minutes he wore it, so perhaps THAT was his urge to go to the bathroom and we had missed our window of opportunity.

Today, I was also blessed with his sudden urge to HELP in diapering. He has now decided to grab at his butt. Lovely. Hoping THAT new trend dies off quickly. Diapering an octopus is hard enough as it is...

38 week belly pics (with basketball comparison)

Sydney wanted to sit ON the ball, while I held it for a comparison photo.

Sydney tries to get it away from mommy.

38 weeks 1 day... BIG BELLY!

So tired... tired of waiting...

Mike keeps telling me that I need some PATIENCE.

I REALLY wished that Baby Silas could be born on a day that our doctor is on-call so that Mike gets his WISH to "catch" both of our children.

We had regular contractions - falling 1o minutes apart - and creeping closer - to 7 minutes apart - a few nights ago. (We were told that we need them to be 5 minutes apart, consistently, for an hour before we can head towards the hospital.) And then... all quiet on the uterine front again...

Had some consistency for a while yesterday afternoon again. Went to bed... and next-to-NOTHING!

I'm still feeling PLENTY of pressure on my pelvic floor so, I believe that his head is down and creeping a little lower all the time.

Baby Silas has been SUPER ACTIVE (closer to the uterine contractions and very QUIET/CALM during the quiet periods.) I did manage to get some great video footage of his excessive movements last night. (I don't remember Sydney moving around that much near the end and I wonder HOW he's finding that much space to move around in there, too!)

Excessive hunger and stiffness has woken me up in the middle of the night. I "should" be resting up... knowing that in the reasonably near-future, I will look forward to so-called-treasured SLEEP when our house converts from one child to TWO.

I should be sleeping. I should relax... and have a little patience.

Back to bed, I guess...

Signs of intelligence

Sydney demonstrates signs of intelligence. We checked out some new books from the library a few days ago. One of the books, we read to him THREE TIMES. Last night, he brought the book to me, opened to a specific page and announced "Hush, Hush, SSssshhhh!" which were the words on the page. Then, he flipped to another page and announced "Zip. Pocket." when the page indicated "zip it, lock it, put it in your pocket".

Seriously... we read it THREE TIMES and he already had some of it memorized.

We also checked out an alphabet book that had lowercase letters that same day. Mike didn't like it (that book) because we have been teaching him uppercase letters and Mike thought lowercase would confuse him. Turns out, Sydney keeps opening to random pages of that book as well and is announcing a bunch of letters already.

Interesting...

Now, if only we could get the smartie pants to grasp the concept of time-outs... he still finds them comical and fun. Yesterday, he had 4 in a row and I even started increasing the time limit to get his attention. Finally, he quit the offending behavior and found something else to do. After dinner, however, he had it out for Eddy-the-cat and thought it would be fun to hit him, pull his hair and torment him. That landed Sydney in immediate timeout... another four sessions-worth! (When the timer went off, he would immediately run straight back to the poor cat to do it again. After the 4th T.O., he ran to the cat as I held my breath.... seriously he can't be THAT SILLY, can he? Thankfully, he ran to Eddy and pet him gently and then kissed him. (I was SO RELIEVED!)

I am pleased to report that today, we had NO TIME-OUTS at all!

Sydney wanted to dress himself this morning. He put his pants on all by himself. He put his arms into his shirt, but put them into the sleeve end instead of the correct way so, Mike had to help him.

We had been having a lovely lunch when Sydney had suddenly decided to sky-rocket his cup across the table. (He did it yesterday, landing on Mike's dinner plate. We're pretending NOT to notice because if he knows that it upsets us, he tends to continue and enhance the behavior.) Soon, the fork followed. I calmly reached over and grabbed his plate (before that could be projected).

The little stinker reached over and grabbed my hand. He pulled one of my fingers towards his mouth and attempted to bite me. Instead, I moved my hand in a way that he almost bit HIMSELF instead. He seemed surprised and soon, tried again. Remaining emotionless, I continued to move my hand in various positions so that he was not able to bite me. Soon, he decided to let go of my hand and stop biting. I felt as if VICTORY was mine!

Eddy-the-cat was also an object of affection today. He got a lot of hugs, kisses and gentle pets from Sydney. It was a good day!

Patty, our Parents as Teachers representative, came today to work with Sydney at our house. Today, she brought a textured puzzle and a giant bag of goodies for him to explore and play with. They also read three books together because it is hard to turn down a sweet request for "MORE BOOKS PLEASE (peace)".

This afternoon, when we went to visit Daddy at work for dinner, Sydney insisted upon putting his shoes on himself. Proudly, he got his feet into both shoes, but he was unable to get his heel down into the shoes so, despite walking oddly around the dining room, his feet did NOT slip into position. It was funny to witness that as soon as I had the closet door open to get the diaper bag, Sydney announced "SHOES" (oosh) and grabbed an adult pair of shoes, which are MUCH BIGGER and easier to put on. He was pretty convinced that I was going to take him out wearing size 11 women's Merrell sandals. (Eventually, I pushed the issue and offered assistance so that he could wear his toddler Nike tennis shoes instead... a much better fit!) It did make for some great laughs for me and some photo opportunities though!

Showing signs of progress... fingers crossed

HOPING that Baby can hold out until the weekend!

Showing signs of progress...

Dilated 3cm.

Cervix thinned out 50%.

Great heart tone and fetal movements from baby.

Doctor reminded us that it could be any time now... we're almost 38 weeks and ultrasound has confirmed that baby is BIG enough to thrive. She also reminded us that she's "on call" this weekend. (We clarified with her... Friday night through Sunday night, but she "HOPES" to see us on Friday or Saturday so that she can spend Easter Sunday with her family.)

Mike laughed. He assures us that Baby isn't coming until May and thinks that Doc and I are BOTH being impatient. Speaking to two women who HAVE given birth, we assured him that it is NOT impatience at this point. (I look forward to some bladder relief and the opportunity to lay on my stomach in the reasonably near future.)

I assured Mike that we DO WANT IT TO HAPPEN when our doctor is on call; she confirmed again that not all of her colleagues will likely permit him to "catch" because some of them are rather "up-tight". She said "You can TRY; tell them that he did it last time." (I decided to throw in an old birth announcement into my hospital bag so that they can see that he is gowned up and that he "got his wish to catch" as visual proof.)

I asked doctor what steps we should take to encourage that we'll get to see her this weekend. Comically, she suggests: oh, you know... a little "boom-chicka-wa-wa"-action, some spicy food, and walking. (We like that our doctor is NOT up-tight and is easy to talk to.)

As she left the room, she announced "Well, I'll hope to see you guys this weekend!"

ME TOO!!!!

Conditions are nearly perfect:

• Doctor is on call Friday pm through Sunday pm.
• Mike is OFF this weekend Friday pm through Sunday pm.
• Best friend Kerri will be in nearby Galena this weekend and has agreed to take pics for us if labor happens.
• Grandma Olson is having ear surgery on Friday morning and has been directed to take ONE WEEK OFF OF WORK to reside in quarantine.... if he comes this weekend, we'd have a new baby who also won't want to be exposed to germs so, she can just hang out with US for the week and not have to take extra vacation days the following week to help us out.

Coloring Contest for Sydney

Click on image to view it larger.

The Parents as Teachers program gave us an entry form for a coloring contest. Sydney needed to draw a picture of his family. Because Mike has BROWN eyes, we gave Sydney a brown crayon and told him to draw a circle for daddy. Mommy has GREEN eyes. Sydney has BLUE eyes. We gave him a BLACK crayon and asked him if mommy, daddy and Sydney have arms so, he added some of those. He also added some eyes.

He is getting VERY GOOD at drawing balls and he announces "round and round". He learned that at the library storytime... how to make circles.

When we are coloring, he still has us draw LOTS of fish for him. If we leave off the eye, he calls us on it and often we can convince HIM to draw on an eye.

He's getting to be QUITE the little Picasso. We scanned his artwork... in case he is a winner... and in case he is famous someday...

What a difference a year makes (he was SO LITTLE)

What a difference a year makes! I was just working on my computer and ran across this video clip from a year ago. I found it AMAZING to watch to see what a difference a year makes... Sydney looks SO LITTLE!!!

At this point, he had been walking for 2 months and he was QUITE PROUD (and excited) to show off his skills of dismounting the bed. Granted, as you can see in the video, he wasn't so good at sticking the landing, but he kept getting back up and wanting to try again.

He has that same desire to succeed at everything he does a year later. (And now, looks MUCH MORE like a little boy than the baby he was last year at this time.)

BIG BOY went potty on the toilet!!!

Sydney witnessed 24-month-old friend Lucy use the toilet at our house yesterday. Not only did he get to watch, but they let him FLUSH, too!

Today, after lunch, he announced "POOP!" and started making his way to the bathroom so, I went along with it.

He grimmaced, pushed and made lots of dramatic noises. He had to keep hopping off so that he could SEE if there was anything in there. We had to try the tiny toilet seat-mounted version, as well as the potty chair on the floor - both multiple times.

Turns out, he decided to stand on the seat of the potty chair (as a stool) and suddenly, squatted down. At that point, I wondered what was going on and quickly noticed that he was peeing so, I put him on the toilet seat. The second that I picked him up, he stopped going, but within seconds, he started to go potty into the toilet and he found it FASCINATING to watch it come out!

While he was going, I grabbed some T.P. and wiped the small puddle. Then, when he was done, we put the t.p. into the toilet and he was SO EXCITED to be able to wave BYE-BYE to it.

Mommy immediately celebrated!

"Big Boy-a!" Sydney announced.

"YES! You ARE a big boy! Good Job! Sydney went potty in the toilet!!!"

When we went downstairs to put a diaper on him, I informed him "Mommy is SO PROUD of you!"

Sydney smiled, held out his hand and announced "FIVE!" (I had to give him a HIGH FIVE to celebrate!)

We called Daddy at work and Sydney announced into the phone "Big Boy!" What a proud moment!

Toddler's Terrible Two's... the beginning

After viewing all of the rain in the 7-day forecast, we decided to see if friend Lucy and mom Kate wanted to go to the P-A-R-K to play. After Lucy's next trip to the potty, they ventured to our house and we made our way to the park to play, wondering all the while if it would be LESS WINDY there; turns out, it was NOT.

With chattering teeth and bright red hands, Lucy announced that she was cold. Sydney didn't appear to notice the cold and wind - as he enjoys going down the slides at the park, announcing "WEEEEEE!" down the short slide and "BYE!" from the top of the curly slide as he slides down out of sight feet-first on his belly button. BUT since Lucy wanted to leave, Sydney followed without too much fuss.

We came back home to play with toys instead.

Lucy, who normally has been the aggressive one seemed AFRAID of the "new Sydney". Kate commented on his behavior as well, wondering "what happened to Sydney... he was always so quiet, calm and laid back."

Sydney was WILD. Sydney was LOUD. Sydney was.... well, rather obnoxious. He found humor in waving toys in Lucy's face, while she CLEARLY thought it was an invasion of personal space, yelling "NO! No, Sydney, No." and running to Kate's arms for protection from this "wild man".

When he couldn't get close enough to wave things in her face, he thought he would WOO HER by throwing toys AT HER. "No! No, Sydney, No!"

Needless to say, he got a few cool down periods where we talked about his behavior and I clarified that we have to be nice to our friends or else they wont want to come play anymore.

Sydney was SUPER EXCITED when Lucy got to sit on the toilet - using our potty chair insert. Sydney got to look into the toilet and they let HIM FLUSH! That, my friends, was SUPER COOL for him to witness. (After they left, he informed me POOP and ventured to the potty himself where we successfully sat and pushed out.... a bunch of GAS! It's a start, right? We celebrated the GAS, of course and he seemed slightly disappointed to discover NOTHING inside the toilet to flush.)

Sydney woke from his nap in a state of emotional melt-down. He cried and whined and fussed over EVERYTHING!!!! Mike arrived home from work a few minutes later, but by then, despite multiple attempts to calm Sydney and "put out all of the fires so-to-speak", I had already felt the urge to take up drinking.

Once he woke up better (and calmed down) , he turned into the new WILD CHILD once again. Mike and I discussed our plans to interview a local college student on Friday afternoon for a potential babysitter, as well as my embarrassment for her to meet this (now) unruly terror. Then, since Mike's truck had been getting new brakes, etc ($420), I had been without a car so, we were missing at least one ingredient for any of the recipes I was hoping to make for dinner so, I decided to redeem a date coupon from Mike for dinner instead.

"You REALLY THINK we should try to take him to a restaurant when he's acting LIKE THIS?" Mike asked with extreme hesitation.

We went to Olive Garden. Sydney ate VERY WELL, but soon got bored with sitting in the booth's booster seat. So, Mike got him down to go do some PR-work. He immediately started smiling and blowing kisses to a cute college-aged girl two tables away. She returned the air kiss and he caught it, planting it on his cheeks with both hands. "Awwwwww, heart melting into a giant puddle, he caught my kiss!" I heard her announce. He later went over to give her a high five, announcing "FIVE!" On my way out, she commented "He IS ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!!!!"

I thanked her and teased "Yeah, he's pretty shy!" (I had a hard time not saying "You should have seen him an hour ago...")

Somehow, like his daddy, he has a radar for flirting with pretty girls and at 22 months, he seems to REALLY know how to turn on the charm!

After dinner, we picked up the truck, drove to the grocery store for a handful of items and then made our way to the Thursday night STORY TIME at the library since we missed Monday morning this week. We ventured home, put away our groceries and attempted to get our WILD CHILD ready for bed.

Sydney was quickly becoming a monster. He was being sassy. He was mocking what I told him. He was climbing on the babygates and the baby's crib. Then, he started hitting. I firmly informed him "NO, we don't hit! We give hugs and kisses!" (He gave me a GIANT HUG.) As soon as my guard was down, he slapped me across the face. I grabbed his arm, making him try to do it more and more. I restrained him and... well, he laughed hysterically at me, thinking this was all some kind of a joke or fun, new game. (Obviously, he does NOT read emotion well.... as I was actually growing QUITE ANGRY.) After a few minutes, I couldn't take any more. Like a baby hog, I picked him up by his hands & feet and put him in his crib and I left the room.

By then, Mike was getting out of the shower and I announced "I am done. I had to walk away."

Mike dressed and went in to talk to Sydney, asking him "Why are you in your crib? Why is mommy upset?" (Sydney indicated that he was hitting mommy.)

By then, I had dressed in my pajamas and was sitting in our bedroom with tears rolling down my cheeks. It's not that his slap) or uncontrolled laughter HURT me, I couldn't believe how DEFEATED this 22-month old could make me feel. Within a few days, his behavior made me feel as if I was doing EVERYTHING wrong as a parent. I felt like I was somehow just adding FUEL to the fire, despite every attempt to discipline and make things better. I, sadly, recalled the sweet little boy who lived in our house for the past 22 months, 2 weeks and 3 days and wondered WHO this little monster was! I also feared the warnings of "just wait until you have a new baby, too..." knowing good and well that I will be OUTNUMBERED and HOPING DESPERATELY that my MS does NOT flare up post-baby.

At afternoon naptime, I enjoyed a few moments of calm - as I stroked his soft, blonde hair and gazed warmly at Sydney's cute sleeping face as it rested peacefully on my chest. We've been through SO MUCH already... learning (together) how to BE parent and child. Being in my current state of upset and emotional despair, I tried to go back to that "happy place" from earlier in the day, but tears STILL rolled uncontrollably down my cheeks. Mike brought Sydney into our room to see me crying. He explained (to him) that we don't hit, it hurt mommy and he needs to give mommy a hug. With a sad face, Sydney gave me a big hug and patted my shoulders.

After he was in bed, I was anxious to go look at two of the "adult books" I had JUST checked out from the library tonight. One of them is about raising a smart child, which OBVIOUSLY we have one of those on our hands already. (The Parents-As-Teachers representative that comes to our house twice a month indicated that his new behavior may simply indicate that he is BORED when I mentioned his "new" behavioral challenges with the hitting and biting.) The other book is "Stop Second Guessing Yourself: The Toddler Years - a field-tested guide to confident parenting" that I had heard about on the internet.

I probably would have pulled an all-nighter and read them both cover-to-cover if I hadn't felt so emotionally drained from this week's worth of parenting. What an incredible journey...

Big baby, small belly = counting down

My blood pressure was good. My weight gain was acceptable. There was no protein in my urine. Some fluid retention in both of my legs and feet, but at least I have been wearing my support hose! (Doc walked in on me attempting to get out of them, which is hard to do standing on one leg!)

Height of uterus measured at almost 33 weeks - even though I am almost 37 weeks pregnant. Ultrasound DID confirm that I hide my large babies well.

Baby is head down and weighs over 7 pounds already. Boy parts confirmed again. They had a hard time taking head measurements on ultrasound because of the position of his head being at a difficult angle and wedged low into my pelvic cavity. Baby looks healthy... measuring only ONE WEEK LARGE (vs 2 weeks large at last u/s in early March.) Appears to have big feet and a pudgy belly. Plenty of fluids remain for baby to swim in... more fluids than last month, which COULD be affected by my diet.

(Warned to lay off the Reece's peanut butter eggs and dark chocolate raisinets.... grrrr! That COULD cause higher amniotic fluid levels, I'm told, if I am consuming too much sugar. Mike, at least, stood up for me and announced that we REALLY DO NOT eat that much sugar at all.)

We could see baby's mouth moving on the regular ultrasound, as if he was sucking on something. When she switched over to the 3D ultrasound mode, we could see that he was busy sucking on his pudgy fingers. (So, we never did get a very clear shot of what his face looks like... mostly because of his angle in my pelvis and his hand blocking his face.)

Agreed upon a day/time to check into the hospital for induction (if baby doesn't decide to naturally come sooner.)

She asked if she could check me, being that I have plenty of contractions... most likely just PRACTICE ones; I gave her my blessing to do whatever she wants/needs to do. I am currently dilated 1cm and cervix is thinned out 25%. She predicts that THIS WEEK is NOT the week that I would go into spontaneous labor. Saturday is my 37week mark, when baby is officially considered FULL TERM so, doctor has given her blessing that he can decide to come any time after that. Mike keeps pushing for "he's going to wait until NEXT MONTH". She assured me that if I am in labor on my own, they won't turn me away.

No matter what, I am hoping that we'll be able to make things work so that we have someone to watch Sydney, our doctor will be ON CALL when I go into labor and that Mike has coverage at the store so that he'll be able to attend (and help deliver).

Sydney and Mommy toured the hospital birthing unit this morning and there was only ONE BABY in the hospital NICU for us to peek at through the window. He was given some stickers to proudly wear that say "I AM A BIG BROTHER!" as well as some cookies and a box of crayons. (The cookies were his favorite part, as I did not show him the new crayons; I had already purchased a new box of crayons and a new Sesame Street coloring book to give him as a special treat when he visits mommy at the hospital, which is packed in my hospital bag.)

I'm feeling like I am ALMOST prepared/ready for this to happen...

Planting with Daddy

On Monday, Sydney helped Daddy plant some flowers around the shepherd's hook and bird feeders.

On Tuesday, Sydney helped Daddy plant a new blueberry bush in the backyard.

Sydney is QUITE a good little helper (and is a PERFECT shadow for Daddy)!

(Click on image to view larger.)

Little stinker HIT (and later BIT) me!

Today was NOT an ordinary day. Sydney was WOUND UP! He was wild. He was loud.

He threw a handful of food across the table at lunch. (This is NOT his nature.)

He motioned with his foot that he was going to try to kick the neighbor's dog. (This is ALSO - NOT his nature. I am not sure WHAT got into him today?!?!?)

All we can think is that he drank too much juice and was hopped up on sugar. (He has had a fever the past 2 nights and has had very little in lines of wet diapers so, we had pushed juice the past few days so that we could guarantee that he was drinking SOMETHING... enough to not be dehydrated.)

At naptime today, he suddenly slapped my face while we sat in the recliner. It took me by surprise because we DO NOT HIT AT ALL... EVER and I am unsure where he learned this behavior!!! I grabbed his arm and firmly announced "NO! We do NOT hit! We give hugs and kisses!" Of course, being that he seems to have an extra dose of feisty in him today, he gave me a hug and then, quickly hit me across the chest to try it again. I grabbed his arm, firmly reminding him WE DO NOT HIT! I restrained the use of his arms and held him tightly in the chair until it seemed he had calmed down. When he attempted to do it yet again, I put him in his crib for his nap; No more stories, no more snuggling.

His nap was slightly shorter than average today.

He got plenty of fresh air and sunshine today and his meals/snacks were NOT out of the ordinary. So, I am having a difficult time explaining these bad antics.

He became upset when I FORBID him from climbing the fence in the sideyard this afternoon. (He had started climbing it on Sunday when he was playing with Grandpa Lowell before Mommy intervened, indicating that we do NOT want him climbing the fence. The short fence backs up to a drop-off to our lower yard and is not the most secure of fencing. We want Sydney to learn that the fence is there as a boundary and for HIS PROTECTION.) He attempted to hit me when I removed him from the fence after he ignored my warning.

Later, he attempted to climb the fence again and was removed from the area and instructed by Mike "We do NOT climb on the fence!"

At this point, I am still wondering where this all of this HITTING (and other naughtiness) is coming from.

Tonight, while Mike was cooking dinner, Sydney ran up behind me, hugged my left leg as tight as he could and suddenly BIT ME! I screamed and grabbed him, holding him close and tight to me - yelling "NO! We don't bite people! You hurt mommy!" At first, he laughed, but soon, his laughter changed to crying because he does NOT like to be restrained and I held him tightly in "the naughty corner".

"We bite food. We do NOT bite people!" I sternly explained.

As soon as I let go of him and set him back on his own feet again, he came to me and gave me a kiss. Still crying, he ran into the kitchen - closing the baby gate behind him - in search of sympathy from Mike.

"Feel free to talk about it." I informed Mike. (He had witnessed what happened and was pleased that my reaction was NOT wishy-washy at all; without a doubt, I had let Sydney know that this was NOT acceptable behavior!)

Mike ignored Syd's crying for a minute or so before crouching down to "talk" to him.

"What happened?" Mike asked.

Sydney pointed into his mouth at his teeth and motioned a biting movement then, pointed to mommy.

"You bit mommy?"

Sydney nodded.

"And you hurt mommy, didn't you?"

Sydney nodded.

"We don't bite! Don't you think you should go give mommy a hug and tell her you are sorry?" (Sydney came over to hug me.)

After Sydney left the room to go play, I lowered my pants and showed Mike the back of my left leg. Thankfully, Sydney had JUST MISSED my line of bulging varicose veins by less than an inch. The little stinker.... THAT REALLY HURT... he left teeth marks on the back of my leg! (I got REALLY LUCKY that he missed my bulging veins... I'm not sure WHAT would have happened had he bit there... besides a VERY LARGE colorful bruise and significant pain!)

A few minutes later, he came into the kitchen and pretended he was going to bite my leg again. Immediately, I announced "NO! We don't bite people!"

Mike instructed me to punish him. I clarified "He didn't bite me, he just pretended he was going to."

"Doesn't matter. He was GOING TO do it." Needless to say, Sydney and Mommy went to sit in the "naughty corner".... AGAIN!

After dinner, he motioned that he was going to hit me on the arm. Mike and I both yelled "STOP! We don't hit!"

Mike went on to explain "Mommy is upset that you are hitting. We should NOT hit and I have to agree with Mommy. WE DO NOT HIT!"

After dinner, he was rough-housing with Mike on the floor and he had hit Mike in the head. I announced "Sydney, do NOT hit daddy. It is NOT NICE to hit! We DON'T HIT PEOPLE!"

Sadly, for the rest of the night, whenever he ran over to hug my leg, I flinched and feared that he would attempt to bite again.

After multiple melt-downs near bedtime... perhaps after the sugar rush was over... we FINALLY got our crabby little man to bed. We hope for a good night of sleep and a better day tomorrow.

I wonder if my developmental email update - that is coming soon - will address behavioral problems like this... as time and time again, he seems to be within DAYS of these email updates vs. his behavior/development. One thing is for certain... I hope this phase is OVER soon! (I do NOT want him hitting and biting, especially with a new baby coming soon!)

I also wonder about this: Grandpa mentioned that this week, near the end of their visit to the park, Sydney had been PUSHED DOWN THE SLIDE by a kid (bigger than Sydney), leaving me to wonder what other kind of (bad) behavior he was exposed to by kids at the park. (Maybe THIS explains the hitting, too?) Perhaps that is NOT a good place for a one-year-old... nearly two years old... to hang out; afterall, he IS still much of a baby himself and quite impressionable.

I would like my sweet little boy back!!!

YAY... Happiness Project complete!

Just finished reading Gretchen Rubin's "Happiness Project" this morning and came away with A LOT of good insight to make my own life happier.

YAY for the Happiness Project!

Fever is NO FUN!

Sydney showered with Mike last night before bed and I had noticed as I was putting his jammies onto him, that he felt rather warm. During the night, he woke a handful of times - always requesting a drink of water. Each time, I confirmed that his skin felt VERY WARM, but I did not decide to medicate him if he wasn't really complaining of anything.

By 3:30am, I had unzipped his jammies in an attempt to cool him off. Then, I decided to change his diaper and officially take his temperature. (I didn't really NEED TO... his bright red cheeks and fire-hot skin spoke more than words!)

After a few brief seconds, it had soared to 101.3°F while he squirmed and cried, protesting the rectal thermometer. I decided that was all the proof I needed so, we stopped before time was up and proceeded with the diaper change. At that point, I gave him some tylenol to help his fever and he opted to sleep in bed with mommy & daddy.

He woke up happy and refreshed. His cheeks are still flush, but do not feel warm to the touch at all. He has been in good spirits all day long, but has not had a full appetite yet today.

Non-medical diagnosis: Part of me wondered if he had gotten hand, foot and mouth disease again... as he had a rash on his butt a few nights ago as well. He has been seen drinking cups of water out of the bathtub (GROSS!) and eating sand (on purpose) from the sandbox, as well as putting rocks in his mouth.

I look forward to getting a price quote from a local contractor for redoing our bathroom. We hope to level the floor and replace the tub that had a HUGE hidden crack in it from the previous owners. That tub, grossly enough, always has a small puddle of funky water standing in the bottom of it so, for Sydney to drink bath water REALLY grosses me out! A new tub, surround, toilet and leveled floor will be SO NICE!!! (If only we can get it done before the baby comes... when I know that I will need to soak a few times a day...)

36 weeks down

Thirty-six weeks.

INCREDIBLE!

It has gone by SO FAST! Although, near the end, it seems like time stands still. Or perhaps that is because I feel as if I struggle to keep up with my toddler who LOVES to be chased. (Mike has also commented on how fast Sydney is so, I know it is NOT just my pregnancy-slowed-perception of movement.)

My developmental email update indicates that Baby Silas will be putting on an ounce each day now. It also indicated that NEXT WEEK, at 37 weeks, he is considered to be "full term".

We go to the doctor on Wednesday. I also have to have a full bladder since they are doing an ultrasound at that appointment. Perhaps we will get a good peek at him once again... it seems that he is fattening up nicely with "baby fat", per the last time we saw him - compared to the first peek at 20 weeks when he looked VERY much like a bony little chicken. I'm anxious to see him again and keep wondering WHAT he will look like when he is born. (They already forecasted a head of hair so, we'll see about that...)

Every day, we are getting a little bit closer...

Neighborhood excitement for everyone... FIRE!

Yesterday, we heard sirens and as I glanced out the window, I announced "Firetruck" to Sydney. We kept hearing more and more sirens and soon, I noticed that I could see flashing lights bouncing off of our living room walls so, Sydney and I went to the window to investigate.

We found COUNTLESS rescue personnel on out street... a police car, an ambulance and FIVE firetrucks lining the street. It was QUITE EXCITING for an almost-2-year-old and his mother to watch. We went outside in the driveway and counted all of the vehicles with flashing lights as we saw a truckload of firemen walk into a neighbor's house.

We went back inside. (Sydney was still wearing his jammies.) Soon, I saw two firemen come to our door. I didn't know exactly WHAT was going on... were they coming to tell us that there was a gas leak and that we needed to evacuate? So, we went to the door to discover that the one fireman had a gift for Sydney.

"We saw you outside a few minutes ago. We were watching you, watching all of us and thought you might enjoy this teddy bear." (It wears a red Dubuque Fire Department tshirt.) Sydney accepted the bear and signed THANK YOU. I explained that he has a puzzle with police cars, firetrucks and an ambulance and that he has a new fascination for vehicles with sirens.

When I asked what was going on, I was informed "One of your neighbors thought they might have a fire, but it turned out to be nothing, which IS good."

As the firemen got to the street, Sydney calls out "BYE!" but the outfitted firemen didn't hear him.

After most of the trucks had gone back to the firehouses, Sydney and I brought the puzzle outside to match the trucks to the puzzle pieces... police car, ambulance and firetruck. It was VERY EXCITING for him.

When Mike came home from work, we showed him the puzzle pieces - in order to tell him what Sydney saw and WHERE they were parked. Sydney proudly showed his bear, announcing BEAR.

"Who gave it to you?" Mike asked.

"MAN." replied Sydney, pointing out to the street with loads of excitement!

I thought it was a VERY NICE GESTURE. They made quite an impression on us.

• • • • • • •

EDITED: added pics.

Sydney was excited to compare his puzzle pieces to the actual vehicles that we saw in front of our house and lining our street. Here is the BEAR that "man" gave him.

Here, Sydney is photographed holding his fire truck puzzle piece and the bear that the fireman gave him. I had taken him outside in his jammies to watch all of the excitement in the neighborhood.

Pressing my buttons

Sydney has been pressing my buttons A LOT lately:

Lately, when "helping" to feed the cats, Sydney has started to SEVERELY MISS the bowl and getting food ALL OVER THE FLOOR. He also likes to fling it all over the office or dump it into the water bowl. Days ago, I SHOWED Sydney "we're going to be careful scooping the food - like this - and get it ALL in the bowl."

Nodding his head in affirmation, he says "Me. Me!" and takes the scoop from my hand.

Carefully, he scoops food into both catfood bowls. (I was VERY PLEASED and praised him for a job well done.) HOWEVER, less than 30-seconds later, Sydney announces "Mama, MAMA..."

"Yeah, Sydney?" I reply.

Like a flash, he quickly picks both (now filled) bowls of food into the air and dumps them ALL OVER THE FLOOR - announcing "No. No. No!" with a HUGE GRIN on his face.

Grrrrr!

• • • • • • • • • •

A very big piece of paper lays on the kitchen floor and Sydney proudly colors with his crayons. Soon, I notice, he is starting to put the crayons in his mouth, signaling that he has started to hit "his naughty zone" and needs a new activity so, I discreetly start picking up crayons and putting them back into his cigar box.

Little stinker quickly picks the cigar box up and dumps them out all over the kitchen floor.

"Let's pick them up!" I say with (false) excitement.

Immediately, he starts kicking the crayons with his feet all over the kitchen.

"STOP!" I announce firmly, but he continues. I grab his hand and drag him out of the kitchen, putting the babygate up behind him. "No, we DON'T do that! You need to go find something else to do." He decides to stand by the gate, whining, and watching me pick up and put away crayons. Afterwards, when the gate is opened, he comes into the kitchen, crawls over to the washing machine and pulls a few crayons out from underneath. Staring at me, he throws them on the floor and kicks them across the kitchen - as if saying "HA! HA! You missed these and I'm going to do it anyways!"

Grrrrr!

• • • • • • • • • • •

Sydney KNOWS that his should NOT be standing on top of his Sesame Street car. He has been warned MULTIPLE TIMES and has it taken away for not listening.

Every so often, though, he will call out "Mama?" and then quickly climbs on top of it with a HUGE GRIN on his face, knowing all-the-while that he IS being naughty.

"No. No. No!" he calls out to me, taunting me.

"Get down or mommy will put it away!" I say firmly.

"Down. Down. Down." he repeats, like a mocking bird. He bends both of his legs at the knee, pretending to get down and hops back up like a jack-in-the-box, laughing.

"Down!" I repeat, walking towards him.

By the time I get to him, his feet are off of the car, but he is holding onto the steering wheel with all of his might, hoping that I wont be able to take it away from him. (I wasn't born yesterday... he carries on and on and on as I put the car out onto the sunporch.)

Grrrr!

• • • • • • • • • •

When out in public places - like parking lots, library, stores, etc. - we remind Sydney that he needs to hold our hand. For some reason, he LOVES to get away and be chased, making for a "really fun" game of cat & mouse. (Sense the sarcasm, PLEASE!)

While visiting Mike at work the other day, Sydney attempts to pull his hand away from me. "You NEED to hold Mommy's hand." I remind him.

"OW!" he yells loudly.

"Nice try." I laugh to myself, reminding myself that he isn't YET 2 years old and wondering where/how he learned to try THAT. "I'm not hurting you." (Mike overheard this and also laughed to himself.)

When that doesn't work, he attempts to throw himself on the floor - having suffered from an attack of "Sudden Broken Leg Syndrome". (Needless to say, because his legs were NO LONGER IN WORKING ORDER, I picked him up and carried him, with him yelling "Up. Up! UP!", but meaning "Down, down, down!")

• • • • • • • • • • •

In the bathtub, Sydney first gets my attention and then, takes a cup of water and starts to pour it over the side of the tub, announcing proudly "No, no, NO!"

I grab a towel and start wiping it up. "No, is right! Let's NOT do that!"

Grinning, he grabs a cup in each hand and quickly attempts to dump TWO cups of water onto the floor. I take the cups (and ALL TOYS) from the tub. He stands up and uses both hands to splash water over the edge of the tub and onto the floor.

I remove HIM from the tub and bundle him in his towel. He looks down at all of the water on the floor. "Uh-Oh." he announces.

"I know. Look at that mess that we have to clean up now."

Grrrrrr!!!!!

• • • • • • • • • •

Smearing food all over his hands (or the table), as well as grabbing handfuls of food and throwing them across the table has been a new BAD HABIT that I could certainly LIVE WITHOUT.

Grrrrr!!!!!

Skilled negotiator

Sydney may just learn to be a skilled negotiator someday.

Begging to watch television = Dragging me by the hand into the living room, pointing to the chair, patting the seat to encourage me to sit, placing the remote in my lap, picking up my hand to rest it on the remote buttons, physically moving my fingers to TOUCH the buttons on the remote and then sweetly asking "Lions?"

ah-Lee-I-ons?

"Lions?" I question, knowing good and well WHAT he wants.

ah-Lee-I-ons, peace?

"Lions, please?" He smiles and nods his head in affirmation, signing the word PLEASE over and over again.

"OK. We can watch ONE LIONS." I state. (I hold up my hand, motioning the number ONE. )

"Two." Sydney quickly replies, already sitting in my lap.

Doo.

"One." Mommy clarifies, again holding out ONE FINGER.

Sydney reaches out, grabs my middle finger and raises it into proper position - making my hand form the number TWO. "Two." he persuasively states.

Doo.

"You little smartie pants. That IS two!" He smiled proudly.

While I agreed to let him watch ONLY ONE episode of PBS' "Between the Lions", he seemed QUITE SATISFIED with the outcome that "ONE is better than NONE". 

I did, however, allow him to watch a second episode of "lions" a little while later, but MOMMY was in charge and leading the negotiations. (I didn't want to let him know how CUTE I thought he was... or let him think that HE is somehow "in control".)

What a kid!

Prenatal Massage was DELIGHTFUL!

This morning started out on the rough side; I woke around 5:30am for some unknown reason and did a little surfing on the internet until Sydney woke around 7am. HE, unfortunately, woke up on the WRONG SIDE OF THE BED because he started out VERY, VERY, VERY CRABBY! (This is NOT like him AT ALL!!!!)

To clarify for the following story: FREAK OUT = whining, crying, sobbing uncontrollably with actual TEARS rolling down his cheeks and no apparent reason to fuss. (Not typical behavior or reaction for Sydney.... EVER!)

When I got Sydney out of his crib, he indicated that he wanted to eat. When asking him what he wanted, he pointed to the cabinet where we keep oatmeal. After I got it out, he started freaking out and pointing to the cereal cabinet instead. So, we switched modes to cold cereal. After I got him seated and eating the cereal flavor of his choice (Kix... our newest trial with breakfast cereals) he freaked out that he wanted to drink some milk. After I got him some milk, he took a few drinks and freaked out indicating that he wanted JUICE. So, I got him some juice... then, he was freaking out that he wanted UP and that he wanted oatmeal afterall. When making oatmeal, he decided he wanted a banana, but had to cut it with a butterknife himself because he is a big boy. Quickly, however, he changed his mind... deciding he wanted some raisins instead. With a full pile of raisins on his plate, he freaked out that I had put the raisins back into the cupboard; I reminded him that he had LOTS of raisins on his plate already AND he has some in his oatmeal. I took him in to change his night diaper. He pulled off his socks. After the new diaper was on, I started to re-dress him into his jammies and he freaked out over the socks that he had JUST taken off. I tried to put his socks on him and he screamed "NO, ME!" so, I backed off and announced "OK, YOU do it!" to which he screamed and cried "MAMA HELP!" He freaked out again, kicked his feet and threw yet another major temper tantrum. I stood him up and gave him a hug. Soon, he decided that he DID want his socks on and he wanted MOMMY to put them onto his feet. By then, the oatmeal had cooled enough to eat, I attempted to sit him back in his booster seat. He freaked out again... demanding to go watch tv now. I stood my ground and informed him that we are eating breakfast NOW. He pushed the plate of oatmeal away and indicated ALL DONE before he had even eaten a bite. I informed him that he isn't able to blow off 2 different breakfast selections and that we ARE GOING TO EAT BREAKFAST RIGHT NOW! Thankfully, for a few minutes, he complied and ate a little bit of oatmeal before opting to smear it all over his hands, the table and into his hair.

He attempted to throw another fit after breakfast - again, wanting tv. As I started cleaning up all of his breakfast mess (and throwing away all of the food that he wanted, but did NOT want to consume) he carried on and on. "That's enough now." I calmly stated. He, turned off the fussing and tears like a light switch. "You need to go find something to do... go read some books, go find some puzzles or go play with some toys." (And he did - JUST THAT!)

I made myself something to eat and then started prepping some things for dinner tonight. Soon, Sydney came into the kitchen - as calm as can be - to help. We got him a chair to stand on and he played at the kitchen counter for a really long time. We had almost NO MELT-DOWNS for the rest of the day. Whatever had been bothering him had worked itself out. (Sadly, by that point, I had felt overly stressed and quite anxious for my scheduled 3pm massage to come; it is difficult... wearing on your nerves... to have a day start out like this!)

Using a $20 remaining gift certificate credit from Grandma Carol (from my baby shower during Sydney's pregnancy) and a $50 gift certificate credit from Mike (as a thank you for keeping the house clean last month), I enjoyed an hour massage - specific for pregnant women: The best part is that they have a special pillow - with a hollowed out middle - so that I could lay ON MY STOMACH for an hour!!! It was ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL!!!!

I don't anticipate relaxation like this again until after Silas is born and I am free to enjoy the spa-like qualities of the hospital birthing suite... going to the bathroom without a toddler pushing my butt off the toilet to see inside, without someone randomly wiping my leg with toilet paper, without someone turning the bathroom light on & off, without the shower curtain flying open and a friendly "HI MOM!" coming in with a blast of cold air, without having company in my bathtub with me while I bathe... YES, that one hour massage was delightfully relaxing and I left there feeling GREAT!!!

Thank you Carol, Mike AND Body & Soul Wellness Center & Spa... YOU made my day a great one!!!

Complimented by a complete stranger

35week belly

Here's what 35 weeks looks like:

Baby feels as if he has dropped - as I have (finally) NOT been having problems with indigestion at all. I am, however, noticing more pressure and pain in my hips and low back again, most likely caused from the weight of him lowering into my pelvic region. 

I still sleep rather upright... propped up by a pile of pillows: This seems to help the hip/back pain that I had been previously having (from sleeping on my side and from the pregnancy hormones causing my spine/hips to slip out of whack). It also seems to help some of the sinus congestion that I had been having (also from sleeping on my side). Although, my right sinus feels congested almost round-the-clock... thanks to my wisdom tooth being impacted in that sinus cavity.

Mike would beg to differ on the sinus congestion being better with upright sleeping, as he claims that he's been sleeping with Darth Vador. (A few nights he has slept in the other room because my snoring was keeping him awake.) Thankfully, when I am NOT PREGNANT, I only snore when I have a cold.

Earlier today, Mike informed me: I think you snore when you are close to falling asleep or close to waking up. (I reminded him that I must be snoring an awful lot - since I feel as if I am awake and looking at the clock every 60-90 minutes throughout the night and have been taking frequent bathroom breaks as well.)

I look forward to welcoming Baby Silas... it will be SO NICE to be rid of all of these extra hormones that are relaxing my veins, my joints, my nasal passageways, etc AND it will be nice to be able to sleep on a horizontal plane again.

Having a child brings SO MUCH JOY into my life... the toll it takes on my body is TOTALLY WORTH IT!

Wonderful weather changed to hailstorm (pic)

Started this morning with temps near 50 degrees. Talked to my parents (at their cabin) and it was snowing so hard that they could NOT see across the lake. We had a forecast of 68 by 3pm and that it would be stormy and windy this afternoon. 

Turns out, we topped out at 74 degrees and I didn't really notice wind. It was much nicer OUTSIDE the house, than inside!

Mike had laughed because when he looked at our weather widgets on the computer, around Sydney's bedtime, our current temperature in Dubuque was warmer than Burlington, WI / Corvallis, OR / SanFrancisco, CA / Springfield, SC and Daytona Beach, FL!

Around Sydney's bedtime, we noticed that the sky was lighting up from lightening. All of a sudden, while reading a story to him, it sounded like golfballs hitting the house. Mike looked out the window and reported "reasonably large hail". When I peeked out the window a few minutes later, the stuff in the driveway looked like it was between the size of rock salt and ice cubes.

Otto, our less friendly cat, was FREAKING OUT!!! He didn't know what was going on (or where to hide). It WAS very loud bouncing off our roof upstairs. He hid under the dining room table and cried very loudly. He no longer felt safe hiding under the bed.

A little while ago, I saw the Weather Channel reporting 3-3.5" hail outside of Dubuque. A few minutes later, I saw that our neighbors (across the street) had posted this pic on Facebook:

Kate Cooper/Will Hoyer photo: Dubuque hail - in relation to a quarter. (4/3/11)

Stringing words together, working on listening

Sydney's recent WORD EXPLOSION over the past month has brought MANY spoken words into our life. It seems that he adds a handful of more words every day. Just recently, he has also started stringing a few words together.

For example... I have a VERY HARD TIME resisting a sweet little voice that requests "More Cookies Please?" and "More Books Please?"

"Click Clack Moo" is another request - for an episode of Between the Lions on PBS television or for reading the library book "Click, Clack, Splish, Splash" - based on characters from the story "Click, Clack, Moo". 

"Book. Mommy. Me." is a request to read the library book "Two to Cuddle" which is about all the fun that mommy has with the little kid all day long.

"Papa. Way. Fish. Me." is a request to read the library book "That's Papa's Way" about a kid that goes out looking for earthworms and later fishing with Papa. 

Earlier today, he stood in front of the bowl holder for the cats food and water. "No. Up. Me." (I feel as if I am constantly reminding him "THAT is not for you to stand on.")

We have also struggled with keeping him out of Baby Silas' crib. Ever since he has discovered that he can climb the side of the crib, lean over and flip inside headfirst, it has been a game of great fun. Mike and I have both reminded him that "that crib is for the baby, NOT for Sydney." We've also used the "didn't daddy/mommy talk to you about this already?" When he climbed it, I have started to put him into his own crib instead, which often makes him REALLY MAD! We've tried to catch him in the act and instruct him to STOP or GET DOWN; sometimes, that works, but it still remains a fun game. (The crib tent has been brought out of storage and seems to have slowed him down considerably now.) The little stinker... stands at the side of the crib, puts his foot on it and announces "Me. No. No. No!"

I have been stressing "Mommy needs Sydney to be a good listener." (I figure that this will be more and more important once the new baby comes.) He's starting to figure out that if he stands on top of his Sesame Street car (which he KNOWS he is NOT supposed to be doing) and is told to GET DOWN, that Mommy will put it on the sunporch and he isn't able to play with it anymore. He, somehow, thinks that if he keeps tempting fate, that eventually, we will find it funny or he will get away with it. So far, though, not the case. This is another instance where he will call out "Mamma... Me. No. No. No." as he purposely stands on top of it."

When in a parking lot, we stress that Sydney must hold our hands because there are cars. In the store, we want him to hold our hands as well. Today, when visiting Mike for lunch at work, Sydney got away and wanted to play a game of cat & mouse with me chasing him throughout the patio furniture area. After his pregnant mommy got ahold of him, he lost his privileges to walk on his own and had to be carried - yelling "Up! Up! Up!" (and meaning DOWN, DOWN, DOWN.) Eventually, he will learn to respect the boundaries... RIGHT?!?!?

Nesting: eagle's nest

Since Thursday, we have been watching an American Eagle's nest webcam on the internet - broadcasting LIVE from Decorah, IA. We've discovered that Mommy and Sydney like to watch "BIRD". (Daddy thinks it is rather interesting as well.)

At one point this earlier today, Sydney said "Bird" and started making kissing sounds with his lips. I was puzzled at first, but soon realized after he kept doing it over and over - while pointing at the computer - that he wanted to give the bird a kiss, like he does when we use Skype. (So, 22 month old Sydney thinks that he kissed the eagle today and he was happy.)

At naptime and bedtime, he peeks into the office, waves at the computer and announces "BYE BIRD!" (He's said the word BYE just a handful of times now... it is new this past week or so!)

What a kid!

I especially like when the parents "trade places" to sit on the nest or when they will stand up to nuzzle the three eggs with their beak. I like that you can hear a faint "cheap, cheap" chirping sound coming from the eggs. (The first of the three eggs is forecasted to hatch any day now.)

It is VERY COOL to watch! Check it out:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel-popup/decorah-eagles

Bedtime Ritual: he KNOWS the drill!

Last night, Daddy and Sydney went into Sydney's room at bedtime. They sat in the recliner and Sydney brought Daddy a collection of books from the library to read. Daddy, who is normally rather quick to shut off the light and proceed with snuggle/bed time, attempted to do JUST THAT and Sydney had an ABSOLUTE FIT!!!

From the closed doorway, among the crying, I hear "I guess Sydney wants his Mommy." so, I went into the darkened room and sat down on the floor.

Sydney runs over to me and says "teeth". (Immediately, I notice that he is wearing JUST a long-sleeved onesie.)

"Did you brush his teeth?" I asked. "He just told you he wants to brush his teeth. Can you please turn the light back on? Sydney KNOWS the drill, you know."

Mike turns on the lamp to discover the Elmo toothbrush, sitting on the nightstand ready to go. Mike hands Sydney the toothbrush. "Thank you." Sydney replies.

Sydney returns to my lap to brush his teeth. His jammies are laid out on the armrest of the chair.

"Did you notice that he didn't have his jammies on yet or were you planning on putting him to bed without them tonight?" I questioned. "He needs his diaper changed into a night diaper yet, too."

"No, but I probably would have noticed it when I went to out him in his bed after he was asleep." (We laughed.)

After Sydney was diapered and dressed, we read a couple of books – repeats, I'm sure – and THEN, we turned out the lamp light. He snuggled with me - placing his head on my belly - for a minute or so before questioning "Dada?" as if checking to see that Daddy was still in the room. (Mike had most likely been sleeping during the stories... as he tends to cover his eyes from the light and tune out the distractions.)

"Yeah, Sydney?" Mike replied.

"Do you want to go snuggle with Daddy?" I asked.

Sydney ran over into the corner of the room and snuggled with Mike on the floor. 

"Ni-night! I love you!" I announced as I turned off the ceiling projector clock light and made sure the "white noise" radio was turned on at the right level of loudness. I snuck out of the room, leaving Daddy and Sydney snuggling together for a few more minutes in the corner.

The weeks that Mike closes are hard(er) for us because Sydney LIKES having both of us participating in bedtime. With Mike being gone for most nights during his 2-week closing shift(s), Sydney misses Daddy at bedtime and REALLY ENJOYS the 2-week opening shift(s) that follows.

I'm not sure HOW exactly we'll handle bedtime once Silas is with us and Mike is closing. I guess I can be thankful for an overnight remodel where Mike will most likely be "STUCK" opening for most of the month of July. THAT will be nice for our bedtime routine.