Don't

Ethan doesn't say the word "don't." So when he eats something he doesn't like, he says, "My like it." You can tell he doesn't like it by the look on his face, the tone of his voice, and his shaking his head back and forth. It's the cutest thing.

One thing I'm trying to work on with the boys is to resolve their issues between themselves. If something is done or said that they don't like, they need to talk it out together, rather than running and telling me every single time. These boys are CONSTANTLY tattling.

Poor Ethan. When I tell him to use his words and tell his brother he doesn't like something, I hear him say, "Please push me. I like it." Of course, what he REALLY meant was "please DON'T push me, I DON'T like it." He's too cute.

And here's proof!

Andrew's Doctor's Visit

As I promised, I would update you on Andrew's doctor's visit. He did really well. He had three shots and one oral vaccine. He enjoyed the oral, didn't so much enjoy the shots. Not that I blame him. But his mellow personality kicked in after I got him dressed and held him for a moment.

Dr. Lo said he was a big baby, but his height and weight are proportional so he was looking good and healthy. Andrew showed off a bit for her with his smiles and he even rolled over for her! She said he was advanced in his social development; normally, he wouldn't be as social as he is until closer to four months. I'm a proud momma!

Andrew was measured at 23 3/4 inch long which puts him in the 95th percentile, weighed 13 pounds 3 ounces which is the 91st percentile; and his head circumference is 41.4 cm putting him in the 97th percentile. Yes, and I blame my husband, all my boys had BIG melons!

After his shots, Andrew has been a bit sleepier and displays a general "icky" feeling. He just isn't his normal happy, mellow self today which is to be expected. I wish I had the opportunity to just cuddle with him all day, but the rest of the family needs my attention as well, so he has to be content in his bed while he's asleep to give me the freedom of taking care of my other duties.

Speaking of which, I have several loads of laundry to fold, so I better get to it.

Two Month Comparisons

November 14, 2010: Andrew is two months old today. Time is going too fast. I know I say that all the time, but I feel in a panic with Andrew since he is our last. I'm not sure I'm ready for this to be our last. Do I really want more children? Do I really want to put my body through another pregnancy? Am I ready to commit to another eighteen years after birth? Not exactly. But I am definitely not ready to give up my dream and deep desire to birth a girl. Is it going to happen? Not likely. In fact, my husband can't wait to make sure I can never have kids again. He just wants to get through my health issue first before he goes "under the knife." If he had his way, he'd throw himself a party, he's that ready.
But, once again, I digress. It is time for the monthly comparison of our boys at two months old. Andrew has his check-up tomorrow, so I will have that information later.

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Here is our Chubba Bubba at two months old.

Nick was sure a stinker with his colic at this age, but still an adorable two month old.

Ethan and those cheeks! This is why his nickname is Chubby. He is finally starting to grow into those things!

And my happy boy, Andrew. I've started calling him Chunky-Monkey. I'll find out tomorrow just how big he is, but he sure has filled out. He started out so tiny, and tomorrow I will have to start putting him 3-6 month size clothing. What a cutie! I love that smile (and I must confess pride in the fact that I'm the one he smiles the most for.)

I'll be back tomorrow with more information on how much Andrew has grown. Have a pleasant evening.

Conversation With Andrew

I tried to get a short clip of conversation with Andrew this morning, but what I got most of was Ethan standing on the bed beside me excited to see the baby on the screen and trying to take the camera from me so he could take the picture!

One For The Road

Just for kicks. What a CUTIE! (He sure is chunkin' up though)

Still Moving In

Yes, the process continues. We, or I should say I, am still in the process of moving in. I must admit that life gets in the way; four kids, three meals, two snacks, homework, dozens of diapers, and hundreds of interruptions a day make it very difficult to accomplish much else. I know I should get more work done when the boys go to bed, but frankly, by then, I just want to have a few moments to myself, and not have to think about being responsible.

But today we got a washer and dryer set so I had a weeks worth of laundry to start (I'll finish tomorrow, three loads was my limit today) and that inspired me to work on unpacking the linen closet boxes. I have found places for most things, even without a linen closet, and once all the boxes are unpacked, I will determine whether or not we need shelves for a "linen closet." Sure, it would be nice, but if we can find places for everything without them, we'll make do.

I still have a couple clothes boxes in our room to unpack and all the books. I think I will work on those tomorrow. Shameful as it is, I am just going to skip going to church. I want to find a church quickly, but I still feel unsettled enough in the house that I want to finish here first. One thing at a time, as it is. Finding and getting established in a new church is never easy for me, and I have a couple churches I can choose from. One church I know nothing about except that one of the pastors is married to my RA from college. So I would at least know somebody there. The other church was recommended to me from several people at my church in Yakima, so although I know nobody there, it came recommended by people I trust. There is also another family that used to go to Stone Church in Yakima that recently moved to Olympia and they go to the church that was recommended. Lori and I were "introduced" on Facebook by Gramma Cherryl from Stone Church, and although we have never met, we have a possible connection. Plus, Lori just had a baby girl a couple weeks after Andrew was born, so we have that in common as well. We'll see. I will make myself go to church next week and just go from there.

I know I said I did three loads of laundry today, but the fact of the matter is that all that laundry is still waiting to be folded, and I am determined to get it done before heading to bed, so, I better get to it.

Growing and Developing

Andrew is seven weeks old today. Seven weeks has gone way too fast, and has made Andrew way too big. He's such a good baby. He does tend to want to be held if he is awake, which makes it very difficult to get anything done. Either I'm holding him not getting anything done, or I am having to stop what I'm trying to do every few minutes to try to calm him down again. Between that and taking care of the needs of the other kids, I feel good at the end of the day if I have managed to end the day with as many kids as I started, let alone having any meals cooked, dishes cleaned, or toys picked up.

But, I'm getting off on a tangent. I was speaking about Andrew growing and developing. Andrew rolled over for the fist time on Sunday 10/24/10. He rolled from tummy to back about four times in a row. He only rolled over that many times because Ethan kept saying, "Mommy, do again." So I would put Andrew on his tummy and do it all over again. Each time, we would all clap exclaim over him.

On Saturday 10/30/10, Andrew really started focusing his vision a lot more. He made actual eye contact with me and smiled for the first time. He has been grinning some, but it was with no intention. I was finally able to see him smile on purpose.
It took awhile, but I was able to capture a smile on camera today.

One Month Comparison

Andrew turned one month old on 10/14/10, which of course means that it is time for another comparison. These pictures are of all the boys at one month old. You can definitely tell they are of the same parentage! Not that anybody doubted.

Joey was a month old just before a couple weeks before Father's Day. This picture was taken on Father's day, but it was a better picture than the one taken of him the day he turned one month old, so I'm using it for the comparison.

Nick at one month old.

Ethan at one month old.

Andrew at one month old.

Even Nick (the adult one) had a hard time deciding which picture was which kid.

Where To Begin?

I can't believe how much has happened in less than two months. My head still feels like it is spinning, although the changes have been made complete. Let me give you a quick run down:
9/14/10 Andrew is born
9/17/10 Head to Mom's for a visit
9/18/10 Mother-in-law gets married
9/22/10 Go back home
9/27/10 Nick gets phone call saying the Boise branch won't be available anytime soon
9/27/10 Nick gets another phone call asking if he is interested in Olympia
9/28/10 Nick applies for Branch Manager position in Olympia
9/30/10 Nick goes to Olympia to meet with boss
10/1/10 Nick gets official offer for job
10/4/10 Nick signs offer letter, taking the job
10/18/10 Nick starts work in Olympia, leaving me to "single-mom" it for the week
10/22/10 Nick heads home for the weekend
10/25/10 Nick heads back to Olympia
10/27/10 Movers come and pack up house in about five hours
10/28/10 Movers come and finish packing and loading the truck. Go to Mom's
10/29/10 Meet the movers at new house to unload truck (only took about four hours)
10/31/10 Left mom's after "trunk"-or-treating to sleep in new house for the first time
11/1/10 Parents and Grandparents come to help set up new house; do an amazing job.

Whew! The kitchen, living room, and boys' bedrooms have been pretty finished. There is no pantry, although there is a space under the stairs where shelves can be placed as a make-shift pantry. So part of the kitchen, the food part, is still in disarray. There is no linen closet and very little storage in the bathrooms, so I haven't figured out what to do with all that stuff yet. (Hoping to get shelves for linens as well as pantry.) And I haven't unpacked Nick's and my bedroom yet. I will be working on the bedroom and bathrooms a bit tonight.

Joey had his first day at his new school today. He seemed to enjoy it and said that his teacher and the kids were really nice. He is starting at a transition time, as next week are parent/teacher conferences. His schedule for the next few weeks is; dismiss at 12:15pm the 8th, 9th, 10th, no school the 11th or 12th, dismiss at 12:15pm the 15th and the 24th, no school the 25th or 26th. It hardly seems he will be in school at all this month!

The other kids are doing well. I had the boys' rooms set up on Friday before we moved, and I think it helped them transition. They were able to see and know that they belonged, that they had a place, that all their things made it in the move and that the men who packed it up and took it away didn't keep it.

The new house is really very nice, and the neighborhood is great. The best part about it is that the landlords (not that I've met them) seem to be really nice and more relaxed than our previous ones. These landlords expect there to be a normal amount of wear and tear on a house rather than expecting the house to be in mint condition upon moving out. I feel more relaxed in this place and am not afraid to let the kids play.

I have a lot of work to do before turning in tonight, and I still want to post a few pictures, so I will say so long for now.