First Surf Lesson

Matt and Ollie have been heating up the spa for the last few nights so they can go take a swim. Tonight I was so proud of Ollie- he went and put on his swimsuit all by himself and even had both legs in the right holes and it wasn't backwards. The only problem was it wasn't his swimsuit it was some basketball shorts but Oh Well! It was still his first time successfully dressing himself by himself in anything and we can celebrate that. He was pretty motivated to do it because neither one of us were making a move to go swimming but once he got himself all ready how could Daddee resist?

I for whatever reason haven't felt inclined to get into a swimsuit and join them, and I was feeding Jed when Ollie got himself ready so I opted out. Although tonight I did come close and they looked like they were having so much fun. A little while after they were out there splashing around Matt showed up at the bedroom door insisting that I hand over Jed for his first swim. Ollie started taking swims with Matt at 3 months old and when he was 4 months he flew to Kauai to touch the ocean for the first time, so I guess at 5 months old Jed was a bit overdue! Enough was enough I had no more excuses so tonight goes down as his first official time in the pool. Here is his very first dip in the water...

He loved it!

 

Ollie was already excited to jump in and splash him

Watching Daddee teach him tricks!

My happy boys

Learning to float

The first time Matt did this to Ollie it freaked me out but I've gotten over that fear, Jed went under water and held his breath perfectly, not even a cough coming up!

 

Love that smile :))

Favorite pic of the night, little surfer already stretching his arm out to catch a wave!

 

First surf lessons

 

This was a special night for us, not just because we're here with the boys enjoying the simple moments, but because seeing Jed on a surfboard (well ok it's a paddle board) reminds me of his first parents. It's funny the things that connect or draw birth parents to the family they place with, but it's so special sharing some of the same likes, hopes and dreams. Sarah and Dallin were both doing their own searching for Jed's family and all along we were simply praying that if he was meant to be with us that they would both have their own confirmation of that. Sarah shared with me that she finally decided to contact me after Dallin told her that he found the family. She asked who they were and he said something to the effect of "I don't remember their names but they have a picture of their baby on a surfboard in their profile" and Sarah of course knew exactly who he was talking about :) So tonight Dallin this post is for you, little Jed's way of thanking you for helping him find his surfboard!

 

California Dreamin'

Went in to check on Jed this morning to see if he was awake yet and found him still sound asleep- couldn't help but laugh at his pose- like he was laying out on the beach relaxing while he listened to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. How did he even get his hands under his head? Must have been having some good dreams! (Maybe this was the benefit of getting to sleep on beach towels? Yep that is what we are resorting to these days, they are the best way to absorb his spit up!)

Twenty One Weeks Old- Baby Jed

At twenty one weeks old Baby Jed is still a skinny little guy. Change in formula and adding rice cereal to his formula hasn't really stopped the spit up. I was hopeful that it had decreased at least and some times I think it is getting better but then he will let it fly again soaking himself and usually me as well. He did go most of the day today in the same outfit so I guess there is hope that it is getting better. But spit up aside he is still the sweetest little guy, Matt and I comment on it every day. I love going in to see him in the morning only to find him awake and playing with his feet in his bed, he lights up and starts kicking around as soon as he realizes I am there. His little personality is emerging, and his infectious laugh fills the whole house. I can't get enough of his chunky cheeks, they are irresistible and he laughs when I nibble on them or on his chin, but no one makes him laugh like his brother and I finally got it on video...

Jed has started being a bit more demanding when it comes to holding him. He doesn't like it when I put him in his chair anymore and pushes his tummy up and tries to wiggle out and whines in protest, but as soon as I pick him up and have him in my arms he is perfectly happy. A lady at church gave me a wrap this week and Jed loves it, he gets to hang out right next to me and be a part of everything. And I love that he can lay his head back in the sling and look up at me, he likes to do that with those big eyes and long eye lashes. And my very favorite little thing that he did in the sling was while he was staring up at me he reached for my face and was fascinated with touching it. It reminded me of Sarah and his first breaths of life and how he reached out to touch her face, such a precious moment and such a precious little guy. Sometimes when I'm holding him now he will take both hands and grab my face and try to eat my nose or my chin. It makes me laugh because I'm pretty sure he is copying what I do to him all day long!

And then there is Ollie, he is still my first little angel and I am still soaking up all the sweet moments with him. Despite getting him his own bed he still sleeps with us every night, but I have to admit that his cuddles make it hard to want to put him in his own bed. But this week we have been making an effort. Tonight we went to his room and put on a movie for him, he like to watch "Shark." He wanted to be in his bed but he also insisted that I lay down with him. He really melted my heart though because as soon as I laid down next to him he put his little arm around my neck and pulled me close snuggling right into me. Can I just freeze time and let these days never end? I have always loved that he is such a cuddler. Someone once told me that when they start crawling they loose their affection- lucky for me that has been far, far from the case with Ollie. Even when I'm holding Jed he likes to snuggle up right next to me. It has definitely been a balancing act though, making sure that I am giving both the boys my love and attention. But the fun thing to realize is how much love and attention they give each other, fulfilling their lives in a way I never could.

Outside of his sweetness, there is this whole other side of Ollie emerging now called independence. He wants to do everything himself and likes to think that he is in charge. "No" is one of his favorite words and if he is tired or hungry he can quickly start to fall apart. Screaming and running away are some of his tactics and it is useless to try and reason with him when he is seemingly out of control- that moment where I stop and wonder what happened to my sweet boy! We've had our stand offs at times, me wanting to make sure he knows he isn't the boss, and him not wanting to give in. He is good at pouring out big crocodile tears and I have come accustom to seeing the veins pooping out of his neck when he tries crying at the top of his lungs. He has his own time out chair and when he is having a tantrum he hates to go in it, but it is honestly the strangest thing in the world because there are times when everything is normal and we are having fun and he will look at me and tell me he wants to go to time out. Has any kid on earth ever asked to go to time out? It hasn't happened just once either. I have to wonder if I have somehow missed the boat on teaching him the purpose of time out? I do chuckle at times though because I over hear him talking to himself and saying things to his toys like "1, 2, 3 Timeout!" I guess he likes to be the boss of them too! He still makes us laugh every day with all the witty little things he says, such a talker.

Last night I held Jed until he fell asleep on my chest and had Ollie snuggled up right next to me and I couldn't help but think how in my wildest dreams I couldn't have imagined how sweet it would be to have two boys and how I couldn't imagine them being anyone other than Ollie and Jed. Nor could I imagine Jess and Sarah not being a part of all of our lives- feeling so blessed!

Potty Training Continued

Ollie basically taught himself to go poo poo in the potty, since I wasn't really ready to train him early December I just told him if he could have a candy every time he went poo poo in the potty and I guess that was motivation enough because he has with very few exceptions done it ever since. The only problem is he has eaten way too much candy, he likes to pick the candy out himself and tries to sneak two nearly every time. When I tell him he has to put one back he reaches his arms out and with a big smile says "hug!" thinking if he gives me some good loves I will forget that he has taken two! When I get the other one back from him he will finish his piece and then moments later tell me he has to go again. He's too smart, so we have had to change his motivation. Grandma was wise enough to pick up some Mickey Mouse stickers (Mickey Mouse Club House is his favorite show) and now we are working on making sure he isn't just going poo poo but that he goes pee pee. He can do it, it's just a matter of staying on top of him and making sure he does do it. There have definitely have been moments where we have struggled with each other but he is so close and I pretty much blame it on myself because I haven't fully committed the time, it's still too easy to keep him in a pull up. Saturday I decided to concentrate on getting him over this last hump and even with going out of the house for 5 hours he had a perfect day- not one accident and he he used the toilet every time. But then there was Sunday, I wasn't quite ready to let him go to church in undies so he decided to pee in his pull ups instead of telling me, and today we are back to keeping him naked all day so he can move onto undies and we can be done with all this! Here is my sweet boy showing off all his stickers he has earned today, and that nose of his that for the last few weeks won't stop running!

20 Weeks Old- Baby Jed

After naps we tried again and finally got Jed's 20 week old pictures...

Any chance he gets he is grabbing those feet...

His other favorite is pushing his belly up in the air and squirming around...

Ollie gets a bit jealous when Jed has his bear, he immediately wants his and wants to get a picture but he's at this funny stage where he tells me he wants something and then when I try and fulfill his request he protests and tells me "No!" and when I say okay and start to walk away he cries because I'm not giving him what he asked for, and if I attempt to give him his request again he tells me "No!" again and we repeat the whole process- terrible twos! Here he is pouting after telling me "No!" two seconds after he told me he wanted a picture with his bear...

And then he had to peak to see if I was leaving...

Silly boy, good thing the tantrums pass and he forgets he was even mad when gets to join in and play with his baby brother who thinks he is the greatest, funniest thing in the world!

Sometimes he cries...

Baby Jed is usually pretty chill, but today he just wanted to be held. I put him in his play jungle thing- not sure what you call it, so he could watch Ollie jumping around in his bounce. But after a few minutes he was already tired of it...

Those are really fake cries, more like a whine really, as soon as I lifted him up out of that thing he was over them, just looking around like nothing was going on- silly boy!

I tried to get his 20 week pictures today, while Ollie was settling down for a nap I had a date with Baby J and his teddy. I got the blanket up, but Jed was fussy so I stopped and snuggled him instead and he quickly fell asleep on my chest. After a bit I thought if I carefully rolled over and put him on the blanket that he might stay asleep, but he woke up as soon as I rolled over. I watched him for a second and he was full of smiles and started playing with his feet so I grabbed the camera and started shooting away...(I love it when he plays with his feet!)

And then he was done...

Look at those crocodile tears, poor baby...Time to put down the camera!

Nineteen Weeks Old- Baby Jed

I love this angelic little boy, he really is so sweet. Matt and I say it to each other all the time. He loves attention but he doesn't demand it. When he wakes up he lays in bed just kicking around and looking around but doesn't hardly make a peep and when you peek into the crib to find him laying there wide awake he just lights up with a big smile. It's the cutest thing. Ollie loves to go in with me to get him out of bed. He like to have me put him in the crib with him so he can talk to him and pat him on his tummy and make him laugh and smile. Nothing warms my heart more than seeing those two lovin' every moment with each other!

This past week we've been battling sickness. I had a work retreat last Thursday and Friday and on Wednesday night I was in the boys room changing Jed's diaper when I heard Ollie start crying in my room. I put Jed in his bed, he wasn't really ready to go down so after I left the room he started crying but I couldn't stop and grab him because when I walked into my room I found Ollie sitting in the middle of my bed in a pile of puke- yep all over my comforter, but you overlook that when your baby is crying. I grabbed Ollie and took him to the shower. I got him in and then grabbed Jed who hadn't stopped crying and headed for the shower so I could take care of both of them. It's always a balancing act. I then called Matt to see when he might be able to come home, he thought he could be home in 10 minutes so I prepared myself mentally to hang on for at least 10 more minutes till help could arrive...40 minutes later I was still juggling both boys and poor Ollie kept crying for Daddee- that's when I told him he was never, never coming home! I had been calm up to that moment but with juggling two boys that both needed my attention and knowing I still had a bed to clean up and dinner to make, etc. I just needed Matt and luckily he walked in at that moment...only to tell me he had 15 minutes to get changed and out the door again to meet up with the stake president to go on visits to ward members. I have never felt this way before, but at that moment I felt like I needed him more- luckily he did help me enough to get things mildly under control before he left.

Ollie never got a fever but he did wake up a few more times in the night and Matt was right there to rush him to the sink. Why are they so so sweet when they are sick? I think Jed might have gotten it because he woke up at 4:30am Saturday morning and was fussy and spitting up- but he always spits up so it is hard to tell if he was sick or not because he had no fever, but Ollie never got one either. Matt took care of Ollie on Thursday and since he seemed to be doing better he left him with Mom so he could meet up with me for the retreat. Pretty much Matt got spoiled on Friday while I worked but we had fun at the night time activities and Saturday we got to go on a hike with everyone. It felt good to be outside enjoying the weather and stretching our legs. Our welcome home on Saturday night was Ollie was throwing up all over again. Oh the joys! It really is amazing though how things I never thought I would have ever been able to handle- like throw up- are somehow manageable when it's your sweet little innocent child that is totally dependent on you to take care of them. Not that it's my favorite thing, it's just kind of astonishing that you can love someone so much that you can just deal with it. Those were my lessons for the week.

Back to sweet baby Jed, thought I would share a few shots of his funny little faces...

Love that boy!