He calls me 'WEET-HEART

Following a shower with Daddy, we did the pass-off so that I could get Sydney dried off and diapered. I laid him onto our bed and he quickly wrapped his arms around my neck, giving me a kiss.

"'weet-heart" he says as he kisses me again.

"Thank you for the kiss, Sydney."

Another kiss. "'weet-heart"

"What?"

"'Weet-heart"

"What?"

"'Weet-heart!"

"What did you say?" I question one final time.

"'Weet-heart!"

And then, the light-bulb finally clicked on... "Did you just call me SWEETHEART?"

Sydney smiles a HUGE GRIN and nods his head in affirmation. "Lub you, mommy!"

"I love you too, Sydney!"

Comparison: 27 months vs 4 months

Sydney is 27 months. Silas is (almost) 4 months.

Not trusting a two year old with markers

Each time we color with markers, Sydney pushes the envelope to see what he can get away with, while being reminded "only on the paper". Every time, he walks away needing a bath to remove all of the extra ink from his skin. (You'd like to believe that it is an accident, but it is purely entertaining to watch him color on himself, thinking that no one can see him do it.)

This time, our session ended when I saw him with the marker tip in his mouth. (He couldn't figure out how I knew he was licking the markers; he thought he was being sneaky.) Thankfully, the box says they are non-toxic. (Also, I am thankful that they are Crayola washable markers!!)

The adult-thing to do

Back in early June, we met with a lawyer to set up a living will, as well as power of attorney. This afternoon, we finally got around to going back in to sign them.

We went through them with the lawyer and then it came time to sign them.

"I feel so responsible now." I stated.

When we were finished, he slid our thick envelopes across the desk for us to take home, assuring us that they can be changed at any time. And then, it suddenly occurred to me that he never mentioned where our kids would go - in the event of our death. That WAS, in fact, the main reason why we wanted to set up our wills in the first place.

He flipped through our wills and then buried his nose in the notes from our initial visit.

"Ah, yes.... here it is. Not to worry, I can change it." he assured.

Now, we're nearly complete... they will create an addendum for us to come back to sign. Mike teased that we wanted a discount - since we also caught a few typos (their fault, as well). With the amount of money that lawyers charge, you'd think they/staff would be careful to enter the spelling of names correctly. (My divorce lawyer also had a problem with this when dealing with my past-life... having changed my name incorrectly a handful of times before finally getting it right. Sadly, THEY charged ME for all of THEIR mistakes.)

Our kids won't complain that we have to come back... that just means an additional trip to Grandpa Lowell's house!

Toothbrush will never be the same

This afternoon, Sydney found my toothbrush from my cosmetic bag and immediately inserted it into his mouth. Within a few seconds, he decided to go brush his teeth. (I didn't see the harm in that.) While I sat at the computer - just six feet away - I suddenly heard him scrubbing something and discovered that he was using my toothbrush to scrub the bathroom walls. (I was thankful that he was not scrubbing the sink or toilet, but convinced myself that it was probably time for a new toothbrush anyways.)

The baby started to cry - having just woke from his nap. As I tended to the baby, I could hear toothbrush scrubbing again. This time, he had taken the pump bottle of liquid hand soap from the bathroom, had squirted some on the wood stairs and was busy scrubbing it with my toothbrush.

I convinced him that it really was NOT the best idea and cleaned up the mess.

I guess I can't complain that no one ever helps me with any of the cleaning and housework now. Thanks little buddy... you make me laugh!

Weigh-in results, feeling good!

Last week, Wednesday, Silas weighed in at 17 pounds exactly. I did a before/after weight to see how much he takes in a feeding... 8 OUNCES! YIKES! (Hoping to leave enough breastmilk for him when Mike and I take our FIRST EVER romantic getaway next month.)

Today, I went to the doctor for a physical and to be established as a new patient. (At this time, we're not planning on having more kids so the relationship with my OB-GYN doesn't count as a primary care physician.) I weighed in a HALF POUND heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight... fully clothed and lactating. (I'd say that's pretty darned good... it took me TEN MONTHS to lose my pregnancy weight after Sydney was born!)

I feel good.

And with Silas starting to figure our sleeping through the night 4 out of the last 7 nights, I am feeling better all around. YAY!

Weekend review of family reunion

Sydney LOVED bringing Papa Olson a pile of library books to read at bedtime - while we were in town visiting. MOUSE PAINT was one of their favorite books to read together.

Sydney liked reading MOUSE PAINT with Nana Olson, too!

Saturday morning, we were greeted by thunderstorms. Sydney normally sits out on our sunporch and listens to storms with his Daddy, but since we weren't home - and Daddy wasn't traveling with us - Papa Olson sat on the front porch with Sydney (until they started getting wet).

Sydney was SO EXCITED to go to the family reunion picnic because we told him that Uncle Mike would go swimming with him in the pool there. As soon as he saw it, he dragged me by the hand to show me, asking "Nih-knee 'wim-uit on please. Nih-knee 'wim Uncle Mike." (Thanks, Uncle Mike!)

Teacher Patty AND Messy Art in the Park

Teacher Patty (Parents as Teachers) came to our house this morning (in her bright blue car).

She brought a painted coffee can with colored polka dots. Then, she had matching dots for Sydney to velcro onto the can in the appropriate place. Sydney was asked to identify all of the colors. He had only been awake for 20 minutes or so and was messing up his colors (we're pretty sure - on purpose - since he normally knows all of the ones she was asking).

Her next activity was a pile of plates... each one colored a different color. He was asked to identify all of the colors. Then, she pulled out a bag of trinkets and treasures for Sydney to match the item to the appropriate color of plate. We had to hide the lego blocks because whenever she asked "Sydney, where does THIS go?" he would proudly snap it to another one. (We also had to hide the plastic eggs because he insisted upon opening/closing them while hiding things inside of them.) Once he got the hang of the color sorting, he did very well and was eager to please.

Afterwards, it was Teacher Patty's turn to play with Silas. She had some baby toys and was trying to get him to grasp toys and reach for them. Sydney kept wanting whatever Patty was offering Silas. When Patty read a book to Silas, Sydney wanted to join them.

After Silas' turn, Patty read Sydney a cool book about RAINBOWS. (What makes a rainbow?) Sydney easily pointed to the colored ribbons inside the book and named them all: red - orange - yellow - green - blue - purple.

Teacher Patty reported that Sydney is VERY ADVANCED in his language skills. He speaks WAY MORE WORDS than is expected for his age. (Hard to believe that, at 18 months, we were worried because he wasn't talking much at all.) In fact, he rarely ever STOPS talking now.

Tonight, Parents as Teachers sponsored "Messy Art in the Park":

Turkey Baster art

Making a person in a boat

Floating the boat

Making a visor out of a paper plate, elastic string, markers and stickers. (Sydney was most interested in markers and was hoarding them all for himself... showing that we don't use markers at home real often. He left with some marker ink on his hand and across his face.)

After putting his hat on, Sydney leaned over into this little boy's face and announced "__ook" (The "L" is silent when Sydney speaks the word LOOK.) The little boy told him his hat was NICE.

"__ook, Papa! Hat!" ("L" is silent in the word LOOK.)

After the Parents as Teachers event (Messy Art in the Park) we came home to finish eating supper/have a bedtime snack. After nursing, Silas sat with Papa Lowell and watched Sydney eat avocado and kiwi fruit. (Silas kept smiling at Sydney.... it is SO CUTE to watch them interact!!!)

It's official... THUMB SUCKER!

It's official... we have a THUMB-SUCKER on our hands! Silas has found a preference for sucking on his fingers, which is working out great... all of a sudden, two nights in a row, we all slept through the night! YAY! (Did THAT feel good!!! My milk supply, however, is still trying to adjust.)

15 weeks bring LOTS of smiles

Hard to believe that Silas is now 15 weeks old. He has been SUCH a HAPPY BABY!!! (Countless people had forewarned us that if a first-born child was a good baby, that the second often is a fussy baby... NOT THE CASE HERE! We got lucky and have TWO WONDERFUL little boys!!!)

At last check, two weeks ago, Silas weighed 16 pounds 2 ounces. We just upgraded him to size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothes this past week. Sydney and Silas share the same waist size and thigh dimension right now.

Silas spends LOTS of time on his side(s). He enjoys laying on the floor and looking around, but he often turns himself onto his side. For a while, he seemed to prefer his right side, but Mike encouraged me to push for the opposite side so that his head doesn't get flat. (Sydney had a perfectly rounded head while the shape of Silas' head is a little more elongated.)

Silas continues to lose hair; what's left is thin and reddish-brown. His eyes are bright blue and he has an incredible smile! Lately, he started to suck his thumb (or other fingers, for that matter). We have to keep his nails trimmed every few days or else he claws and scratches his face in an attempt to find his fingers.

He sleeps for 4-5 hours at night, nurses and goes back to sleep. He is a GREAT napper! He is very good about putting himself to sleep. He is becoming more and more alert all the time and is staying awake for longer stretches during the day now.

Silas LOVES to watch his big brother!!! His face lights up with delight whenever he can see Sydney. We just brought out the Baby Einstein toy and discovered that Silas LIKES to sit upright and look around. Sydney, however, doesn't understand that it isn't his turn to sit in it. (He tries and gets stuck in it often. His newest phrase is: Nih-knee's turn now please.) Silas blinks a lot when Sydney starts playing too rough with the Baby Einstein toy or when his hugs and kisses become too unpredictable. These two boys both seem to ADORE each other! (Sydney constantly wants to wake the baby, kiss the baby, hug the baby and now Peek-A-Boo baby!)

Silas has got a sweet little voice that coos and an adorable little laugh, too! He's a keeper, for sure!

New diapers all around

Last week, we used a tape measure - out of curiosity's sake - to see how large Silas is compared to Sydney. We measured the widest part of their thighs, as well as their waistline. Turns out, they were about THE SAME.

Reminder: Silas was 95th percentile for weight at his last appointment while Sydney was only at 10% for weight.

Lately, we have noticed that Silas' diapers seem to be digging into his thigh/hip and left-to-right coverage seemed to be getting smaller.

For a few days, we had both boys wearing Pampers size 3 diapers. However, Sydney's diaper was ill-fitting and mis-shapen today so, I dug out a box of Pampers Size 4 for him to try. They appeared to be a much more comfortable fit for him.

For some odd reason, prior to the larger size diaper, Sydney kept tugging at his diaper. He has recently taken up lying... always claiming "just gas, no poop".

Size 3 for Silas and Size 4 for Sydney look MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE all around. Our boys are getting bigger!

As for potty-training, we continue to ask Sydney if he ever wants to go on the potty or on the toilet. He continues to decline our invitation(s). Within the past few days, I informed Sydney that he is "a baby" because he still wears diapers, like Silas. I used incentive that friends Lise and Lucy (one and two months older than Sydney, respectably) don't wear diapers anymore and are both wearing big girl pants and that they are NOT BABIES anymore. Sydney proudly announced "Sydney is baby still." (Personally, I think that is how he justifies being able to climb inside of the Baby Einstein toy that is now meant for Silas' enjoyment.)

Spoken from Sydney 081211

These are some of the things Sydney (26 months) said while we had lunch today:

"Cute baby, mommy! Nice brother."

"Yummy chips. Yummy ah-koh-cah-toe (avocado) mommy!"

"Cheers!" (pronounced like TEEahz... similar to tears, as in Tears of a Clown)

"Done eating. Full. Belly ache, mommy!"

Helper says: Heavy Cream is... HEAVY!

After naps and snacks, we ventured to the grocery store for a much-overdue trip. To keep Sydney's attention (and keep him seated in the basket part of the cart) I had to give him jobs - such as keeping his eyes open for the next item to put in our cart, as well as placing the items into our cart.

I would ask him "Where's the.... eggs, bananas, yogurt, etc." and he would proudly point and exclaim "Right there, mama!"

We also talk about what we're looking for. At one point, I told Sydney that we needed to find some Heavy Cream so that we can make something delicious. When I pulled it out of the refrigerated case, I handed it to him and said "Here you go, buddy... here's the heavy cream. Can you put it into our cart please?"

Sydney took it from me and announced "Whoa, heavy mom!" - acting as if I had just handed him a solid gold bar. "Heavy cream IS heavy!" he stated while showing off his BIG MUSCLES. (Needless to say, we got a few smiles from the other shoppers that were within earshot.)

Good-bye VW, hello new family car

One morning, I liked the way that the neighbor's house was reflecting off of the back window of my car. We had purchased the VW Passat before moving from MN to IA, thinking that a station wagon would give us more room for our growing family. Turns out, we could easily fill it up with cargo, stroller, etc. AND with the addition of another carseat, we discovered that we did not have room for an additional passenger to sit comfortably.

I had liked my VW a lot and had not been interested in looking for a new vehicle. And then, Mike sucked me in... turns out, I really, Really, REALLY liked this GMC Acadia (as well as a Buick Enclave) and was disappointed that a test-drive made me like my car less and less. Mike and I had debated which of our vehicles to trade in; the Passat was the one to go.

Welcome our "new-to-us" car... a SUV cross-over... GMC Acadia - with a third row of seats, if needed.

Did I mention how much I really, Really, REALLY like our new car and how nice it is to ride so high off the ground? And I'm not one who normally admires cars, but "isn't she pretty?"

Shaving Cream Memory (w pics)

Teacher Patty (from Parents-As-Teachers) brought a messy activity today. She had some home-made placemats, an apron and a bottle of shaving cream. The activity was to look at the placemat, cover it with shaving cream, spread it around and then, try to remember what was pictured where.

Sydney was VERY APPREHENSIVE about touching the shaving cream at first.

After a messy "high-5", he seemed to lighten up a bit.

Apprehensive at first.

High-5 brings smiles!

Sydney did VERY WELL playing the memory game. Plus, he demonstrated how well he knows his animals, their sounds and shapes. He's a pretty smart kid!

Silas' activity was to track a moving toy. He did just fine with that, but really prefers to be talked to more than anything.

Breakfast Date AND Pizza Maker (w pics)

Silas woke our house early today so, we were able to join Mike for breakfast after his overnight remodel. We went to the Village Inn, which we were both pleasantly surprised by.

I love watching the interactions between the boys.... I love to watch Daddy with his boys. I also love watching Silas... he ADORES his big brother, Sydney.

Using the self-timer, I tried to set the camera on the booth next to us, but - as you can see - it didn't turn out the way we had hoped. Still, it is a memory of our breakfast together.

I am rarely in photos so, I was glad when Daddy grabbed the camera and took a few pictures. Sydney and Mommy are like salt & pepper... we go really well together!

For dinner tonight, Sydney was SUPER EXCITED to help make "baby pizza". He snacked all the while we were making them so, by the time they were baked, he wasn't really all that hungry anymore. He was very helpful in making our english muffin pizzas. He's going to be an excellent cook someday - just like his daddy!