Wednesday, October 31, 2007

What are we going to do when Nascar is finished?

Do you know who this is?

Do you know that my son knows exactly who this is without anyone telling him? Now, I have to admit, that I could have picked out Jeff Gordon out of a crowd, but not this guy. I still probably wouldn't be able to. Along with most of the other drivers. But Trevor has learned a lot this season. We are going to be really sad (and don't know how he's going to make it being told that Nascar isn't on for a few months) although we do have a few races on our DVR that we can watch until he memorizes them.

So today is Halloween. I had thought that he would like to be a Nascar driver. But no, we are going to be Lightning McQueen (as pictured in the preschool Halloween party). Although I will say that Lightning McQueen has turned into a Nascar a few times around the house.

As seen in this picture, he also loves to play Nascar in the backyard. My mom is the announcer. Alexander is the other driver on the track. He has developed such an imagination around Nascar, I hope it continues. Although the outdoor part of it is going to have to be put on hold for a while. He does drive around the kitchen table as a Nascar though, so it can still be fun if the weather isn't all that nice out.

So that's it from Motor Speedway. Oh, and if you care...the picture is Jimmy Johnson.

Friday, October 26, 2007

A Halloween Party and Memories of Halloweens Past


How much fun does this look? This is Trevor's preschool class Costume Party. All the kids got to show off their costume and answer questions about who they were. I'm pretty sure like 90% of the parents were there snapping pictures. Both parents. I'll be sure to update you all on future pumpkin carving activities and the Trick-or-Treating event.

Now, one of my blogging friends was reading and remembering about her past Halloweens and it got me to thinking how many of mine I remember, and what was I each Halloween? I discovered I'm not all that great at the memories.

Here are the costumes I remember: Clown, Witch with a green face and black warts, Punky Brewster, Punk (spray painted hair), 50's girl, and a can of Coke. Hmmm...I think there were a few more in there, but I cannot remember them. Sidenote: I just asked Russ if he could remember his, and he said that the only one he remembered was in 1987 when the Twins won the world series, he went as a Twins player.

So....I'm happy to replace these memories with ones of my kids. With Gwen being born so close to Halloween this year, I knew I wasn't going to be able to make a costume for Trevor. But I do remember ones of the past. I think it helps to make them. He has been Tigger, a Panda bear, and Zelda (using a Peter Pan pattern).

I'll be back later to update with progress on other Halloween activities.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Bill Bixby, meet Alexander

For those of you that don't know, when I was young....maybe even Trevor's age....I had an imaginary friend named Bill Bixby. How I came up with Bill Bixby, I have no idea. I did watch The Incredible Hulk, but Bill Bixby was the actor's name. He played Dr. David Banner. Ahhhhhh....good memories. Anyway, he was my imaginary friend.

Last night I learned that Trevor has an imaginary friend, who I assume evolved from his Children's Theater experience "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Day. I didn't pick up on it for a while...obviously. Since it has been 3 weeks since he saw the show. And Trevor also likes to play games where he pretends he is a character. Buzz Lightyear, Zelda, etc.... But last night, I was talking to him about playing football, and he was saying Alexander was playing with him. I clarified by asking if he WAS Alexander, and Trevor said, "No, he is right here." Pointing to next to him. And now I'm remembering back to the times he does mention Alexander, and it is when he is playing with him.

Although I think it is pretty cute, I do feel a little guilty. I'm guessing part of this "friend" is due to the fact that Gwen is here and takes up so much of my time. Trevor has to have someone to play with. Granted, I will take that over an angry expression of his feelings.

And on a Gwendolyn update note: She has always been a smiley girl, right away since birth. She was smiling in her sleep. But this weekend, she has been smiling with her eyes open, and I even think she might have smiled at me. Boy does that make those tired days worth it.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

A little boy's simple pleasure

I don't know if I've mentioned Trevor's love of cleaning. If not, it's that simple. I'm not a HUGE cleaner, although I do have to do weekly maintenance of dishes, vacuuming, picking up, etc. I think we bought Trevor a vacuum that looked just like ours when he turned 1 year old. Since that time, he STILL gets it out and vacuums with me to help out. He even brings it upstairs if I'm vacuuming up there. He loves to wipe things down....either a sponge or wipe of some sort. If someone is cleaning the kitchen counter tops, he is over on his kitchen wiping his down.

I would not say that cleaning is his FAVORITE activity. Although it was very interesting today to see how high it did rank. What's even more interesting is that he definitely does not qualify as a "Danny Tanner" cleaner because he sure doesn't pick up after himself unless asked, he knows when there is a mess around.

A few days ago, Trevor pulled a bunch of feather-like things out of a book and they got all over his carpet. Cleaning his room is about mid-way down on my priority list. Plus, I was not to vacuum for 2 weeks after having a baby. But today, my mom graciously offered to come over and help clean/organize the house a little bit. (THANK YOU MOM!!!) Today was also the day that Grandma and Aunt Amy came over to take Trevor to an indoor play park. Before they left, Trevor asked what my mom was going to do while she was here. She explained that she was going to help clean the house. She also mentioned that she was going to clean his room.

Unfortunately, we ran out of time to clean his room, so when he got back and had to go upstairs to his room for his nap, he thought his room was going to be clean. He quickly noticed it wasn't and asked about it. He almost seemed sad. Like he was looking forward to having a clean room. I'm very curious to see how this trait progresses as he gets older. Maybe he'll convince his sister that cleaning isn't so bad. I can only assume I won't be blessed with two clean-crazy kids. But I guess we will see.

As for an update with Gwen....things are going well. She is still in the eat, sleep, repeat cycle. About every other day we get a good night's sleep. Right now that is a big win for us!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

I forgot how loud he can be

I guess I also forgot how babies can sleep through very loud noises. As long as they aren't sudden. Last night, Trevor was REALLY getting into pretending he was a football player. He kept shouting things like, "I'm going to get the high score" and "Tackle him". And we aren't talking like a loud indoor voice, I mean all out screaming. All the while Gwen was sound asleep in her bouncy chair in the same room.

I wonder if he feels the need to get out the loudness when during the day he has to listen to Gwen scream too. He has gotten used to it now. At first he used to look at me with those big eyes and say something like "can she stop crying?" Now he's pretty oblivious to it all. And no, he still doesn't do things and run away from me when I'm tending to Gwen. There haven't been that many times where it is just the three of us and he does something "bad". I can't believe how well he is adjusting to it all.

I do know in a few weeks, we will be able to get a little alone time and until then I'm just going to have to wait. In the mean time family and friends can keep coming over to give him a little extra attention. Thank you again to everyone for their help!

Monday, October 15, 2007

What a weekend

Well, lots has happened since the last post. Gwen had her doctor visit on Friday. Stupid mommy forgot that if you feed the baby just prior to the appointment, you can pack on a few extra oz. So when they weighed her, she was on a completely empty stomach, and just barely made the cut-off for acceptable weight gain since the last weigh-in.

So far she has weighed: 8lbs 12oz at birth, 8lbs 4oz at hospital discharge, 8lbs even for the home visit, and she weighed 8lbs 2oz at the doctor visit. They let me feed her, and after the feeding she weighed 8lbs 3oz which means she is getting food when she eats. Thank goodness. However, they wanted me to come back on Tuesday to make sure she is gaining enough weight.

And then that night, she had a big fit. I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner, as it happened with Trevor too. They go through growth spurts, and I can't quite keep up with them. So Saturday night, we bought some formula and gave her some this weekend, to make sure she was getting enough to eat. She didn't sleep much better last night or Saturday night, but I feel better that I could catch up and still feed her today.

So today was the first day all by myself. I was very nervous, but I did what I wanted - trying to keep myself busy. I was able to do 3 loads of laundry, make breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and even get a half hour of quiet time for myself to lay down on the couch. Gwen could have slept better, but I also know that that time will come. She will eventually grow into a nap schedule, and a feeding schedule. For now I'm just happy with the mini-victory I had today where she did not scream for more than 20 seconds and usually when it was time to eat.

I was able to play with Trevor for a few minutes. Not enough time in my book, but given everything that is going on in our family, he is doing AWESOME. I know that preschool has come at the perfect time to distract him and give him something that we can talk about.

So anyway, that was the weekend and day in a nutshell. I'm not expecting anything like today again for at least a few weeks. But I also know that in the next few days I'll have some help with family stopping by too. So if it does get crazy again, I can still have a few minutes break somewhere in there.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

I knew it....

I forgot the #1 rule of talking about parenting. Unless you want to jinx the good stuff that is going on, you NEVER talk about what you think is a wonderful routine or event. If you do so, it is destined to reverse or even never happen again.


That is what has happened with Gwen. After sleeping really well for the first 4 nights of her life, the last 3 have been much more difficult. Granted, we are still learning, and I think a lot of it is gas-related and not bad sleeping habits but I knew better.


Actually today, she has slept a lot, and a lot like she had previously but that for sure will not be depended on transferring to the nighttime. But I'm hoping that even if it happens again, it is just one of those cyclical things that kids go through. Still to this day, Trevor has on-again, off-again periods where he sleeps a lot, or not enough.

So anyway, that's what we are dealing with right now. Trying to get everyone enough sleep. So far, the only one not affected by it, of course would be Trevor. Lucky guy.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Our Home

1. When you walk in your front door, which room do you enter? The entry-way? It's a little area with a rug and rooms go off of this "room"

2. Do you have a dishwasher? Oh heck yes

3. Is your family room carpeted or does it have hardwood floors? Carpeted

4. Do you keep your kitchen knives on the counter or in a drawer? the sharp ones are on the counter

5. House, apartment, duplex or trailer? house

6. How many bedrooms is it? 4

7. Gas stove or electric? Electric

8. Do you have a yard? Just barely. But it helps to not have to take care of a huge yard

9. What size TV is in the family room? I think it's 48"? Just got it a few months ago

10. Are your plates in the same cupboard as your cups? Not the ones we frequently use

11. Is there a coffee maker sitting on your kitchen counter? No - it was recently broken ;-)

12. What color is your home painted?? Siding is grey, shutters are blue

13. What room is your computer in? Well, we have traveling laptops, but our desktop is in the basement

14. Are there pictures hanging in your family room?? Nothing "hanging" but on the fireplace mantel are photographs of the family

15. Are there any themes found in your home?? Ha ha....if I had any idea about decorating, maybe but I don't

16. What kind of laundry detergent do you use?? Tide coldwater or with Downy

17. Do you use dryer sheets?? Yep

18. Do you have any curtains in your home?? Yes, in the nursery and in our bedroom.

19. What color is your fridge?? White

20. Is your house clean?? Another laughable question - There are times when some of the rooms are acceptable, but mostly not

21. What room is the most neglected?? I would guess maybe the bathrooms?

22. Are the dishes in your sink/dishwasher clean or dirty?? Dirty - I take out the clean ones in the morning

23. How long have you lived in your home? 6 1/2 years

24. Where did you live before?? An apartment nearby

25. Do you have one of those fluffy toilet lid covers on your toilet?? I do have a toilet cover on a few, but none that are fluffy

26. Do you have a scale anywhere in your home?? Yep, in our bathroom

27. How many mirrors are in your house?? about 8 or so

28. Do you have a garage?? Yes

29. Do you have ceiling fans? Oh yes. We've replaced just about every ceiling with them

30. Are you planning on moving anytime soon?? No way. We have a good mortgage rate, love the location, and moving does NOT sound fun right now. Especially with the housing market what it is.

Monday, October 8, 2007

MANY things to be thankful for

Oh my goodness. Looking back over the past few days, I have many, many people and things to be thankful for. I was so so nervous about the upcoming birth of the baby, mainly because I really like having a "schedule" and knowing when things are going to happen. Leaving it up to chance doesn't sit very well with me.

With Trevor's birth, I was completely caught off guard. He came early, and the labor was fast. However, I wasn't sure if I would be blessed a second time. I THOUGHT that it was one thing I could count on, in terms of comparisons between the two pregnancies, but that would be the ONLY thing that was similar between the two of them. So I was starting to wonder if the labors would be similar. And if it wasn't, would I still be able to go without any pain medication? The decision was taken out of my hands with Trevor, but if it was given to me, would I still say "no thanks?"

Well, anyway....no problems there. I'm very thankful, that while I did cut it WAY too close, I still did not have to decide for or against pain medication. They were even joking with me in the L&D room afterwards that they had to ask me all these questions like "do you have any allergies?" after the birth because there wasn't enough time beforehand.

Now, I need to take a few moments to be EXTRA EXTRA thankful for the wonderful husband and new daddy that accompanied me through this pregnancy and delivery. Now I don't want to make it sound like he wasn't helpful with Trevor - oh he was. But I think he did a much better job of preparing for this one than I did. That or the fact that it wasn't in the middle of a sleepless night when I delivered Gwen that he was much more well rested and on top of everything that needed to be done. He has and continues to change almost all diapers, be a "baby walker" although Gwen needs it MUCH less than Trevor did, plus taking care of household duties and just is so attentive to making sure that I can take care of Gwen like she needs to be. It makes me wonder how single moms do it. I don't even like thinking of it.

We had a home care nurse visit today, and she mentioned that I am not to do any vacuuming, laundry, or grocery shopping for 2 weeks. (Truth be told I'd already done laundry...oops...I did fess up though) Yikes! And how would I be able to accomplish this without both Russ and my family stopping by, making sure everything is going smoothly. Next on this list are all the people that have already or are planning on stopping over to help keep me sane and relaxed. I remember last time being very out-of-it. I'm sure a lot of it was because it was my first baby, not knowing what to expect and getting little-to-no sleep. But I sure missed the adult interaction. This time around, I'm getting a lot more sleep, and able to accept a lot more help from anyone that offers it. THANK YOU to all my friends and family for helping me through this transition. I am so lucky to have all of you, and so near by as well.

Russ and I were already able to have a dinner conversation after Trevor was done with his food. I never would have thought it possible within a week of the new baby, but I'll take it! Looking back over how we got to where we are today, although maybe a year ago, I was so frustrated by how things were not turning out how I thought they should, I now have the ability to look back and say that everything really has turned out how it should. We have a beautiful, healthy baby girl and an almost-4 year-old that is the perfect age to take it all in, and help us out without being a danger to his baby sister. Plus, although Gwen's pregnancy was much more worrisome for me, everything since then has made me so thankful that I had Trevor first. And funny thing was, he was a pretty easy baby. He didn't cry a lot, but he was a lot tougher to put to sleep, and he ate all the time. Even now, he is a very laid back child. As long as he is given advance warning, he adjusts well. Although compared to how Gwen is already acting, Trevor probably would be seen as a kid that doesn't adjust well. This girl is SO easy-going. I'm looking forward to seeing what she is capable of doing when she gets out of the sleeping-all-the-time phase.

Oh, and I think we saw glimmers of dimples on both cheeks today. We were wondering if we were going to have a child with dimples given that both parents have them. But when Trevor only has one, I guess anything is possible. We'll keep you updated on the "dimple" watch. In the mean time, enjoy a few more pictures we snapped the other day.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Introducing Gwendolyn Caroline

I'm not sure when I'm going to get on and make a more quality posts, but I at least have to get to the point of introducing our newest family member.
Gwendolyn Caroline was born on 3:33pm Wednesday, October 3rd. It was a very fast labor, and she has been a very laid back baby. Very different from Trevor as a newborn. All of us are adjusting to this new life, and Trevor has already become a very protective big brother. He loves to talk to her as long as she isn't crying. He already wants to play with her - especially Nascar.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Trevor and Alexander


So Trevor was able to have a new experience this weekend. My mom took him to his first Children's Theater production of the book called, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". We've been reading the book for a few weeks in preparation for the play, and talking about going to see the "show". (Side note, I tried saying that he was going to see a play, but he took it to mean that he was going to play something. So we called it a show instead.)


He has always been a bit apprehensive about doing things that he has never seen or heard of. Plus this was going to be something that was done without either mom or dad.


The show was yesterday at 5pm. Only lasted about 70 minutes, no intermission. But when it came time to go, he was saying he didn't want to. Part of the issue was probably that we built it up so much that when the time finally was here, he was so unsure of if it was going to be a good or bad thing that was happening, he decided he didn't want to do it.


So....I waited for my mom to call saying that the show was done, and we would meet them for dinner. We went up and met them at TGIFridays.


There are two versions of the story, the adult perspective and Trevor's perspective. I'll start with the adult's. The show was advertised for ages 5+. For an almost 4 year old, he did very well. I had the feeling he wouldn't make it the full 70 minutes of the show, seeing as how he still doesn't usually make it through a whole movie without getting up and running around. Actually, what happened was more that the whole experience was a bit of a sensory overload for him. They had musical numbers as well as audience participation that included screaming. Having never experienced something quite like this, I'm sure he had enough and started to melt down. At that point there was only like 5 minutes left in the show, so they ducked out a little early.


Now, you may think that he didn't have a good time but talking to him you would NEVER get that idea. He doesn't go 5 minutes without talking about Alexander, pretending to be him, remembering a scene from the show, or asking about something that he has in the playbill. It is pretty cute. I'm glad he had a good experience, and the next time he goes, in December to see "A Year with Frog and Toad" he'll at least remember what to expect. It will probably go much smoother.