A Reality Check

I think I sometimes delude myself into thinking that I am much younger and in shape than I really am. I was a competitive swimmer for a lot of years--and for some reason, I think that I can still jump into the pool, swim 3000 yards and still feel great at the end. Well, I think I have forgotten that my last REAL swim practice was over 11 years ago. Yeah, I swam 1000 yards this morning and I am TIRED! I timed a couple of my laps near then end of my swim--just about sent me into a mid-life crisis. When did I get so SLOW??? (And I do realize that 29 is too young for a mid-life crisis.)
Seriously--very humbling morning for me at the Kroc Center. And I have a LOT of work to do before August!

Not Done Yet

At this point, Nicholas is 9 1/2 months old. And I have been able to feed him with no problems until now. Since we started making him sleep through the night, I'm missing 2 feedings that he used to take. And my milk supply has tanked. :( My goal was to feed Nicholas at least as long as I fed Ryan (10 1/2 months). But, with a month to go, I'm not sure if we are going to make it.
Really, it would be very convenient in a lot of ways to be done. I could go out without worrying about when or where to feed Nicholas. I could leave for more than a few hours; I could drink coffee again.... So, what is my problem?
I think it is the fact that there is no choice here. With Ryan, I had been supplementing for awhile and he decided one day that he was done and quit cold turkey. His choice--and you can't force a baby to eat. I've tried.
This time? Not my choice. Not Nicholas' choice. I'm frustrated.
But, it isn't over until it's over. I'm not down for the count yet.

Adventures of a 3 year old's imagination...

The other night, Ryan wanted some apple juice. Well, he was already in bed at the time and so I said no. Then, he says, "no, I mean pretend apple juice." I'm not sure if there is any rule about pretend juice in bed after your teeth have been brushed, so I said okay. And I really didn't want to go back to his room again, so I had imaginary Madison bring the juice, thinking I was outsmarting him. But, Madison (who only obeys on church days) didn't bring Ryan the juice. Since I can't see the imaginary Madison, I had to take his word for it!
So, I go to Ryan's room and hand him imaginary juice.
He hands it back to me and says, "This isn't juice."

Ryan Quotes...and a Nicholas one too!

Ryan is never at a loss for words and we were sitting at the kitchen table talking while I fed Nicholas the other day. Ryan looks at me and says, "We are chit-chatting Mommy!"

Ryan's imaginary friends all sleep in his bed with him. We have to make their beds every night and cover all four of them up. Ryan came out of his room the other night and said that he needed his blankets fixed. I asked him why and reminded him that I had just made everyone's bed. He tells me, "But we made a slip and slide!" Does he think this is a frat house? Seriously!

Yesterday at WinCo, Ryan told a lady that her child was sitting in the cart the wrong way. He was right--but very embarrassing!

Ryan told me that when we go to grandma's house, we sleep in the guessing room. Sounds like a spot for the Riddler!

Ryan also told me that he was playing "coughs" with the other boys in the gym at school the other day. I was a little confused and asked him how to play. He told me that you have to run and get the bad guys and put them in jail. I think they were playing "cops!"

And the Nicholas quote of the day..."Mama!" First word!!!

Nicholas is on the move!

Nicholas had a big month of milestones in December. He seems to have "graduated" for lack of a better word. He is eight months old and is no longer a little baby--he is definitely on his way out of the baby stage.

This past month, Nicholas:
--learned to move from his stomach to a sitting position
--started waving
--pulled himself up to stand
--started crawling
--got his first tooth
--started cruising around furniture

Big month for a little guy! I really wish I could add sleeping through the night to his list of accomplishments, but we are still working on that one. And he is a busy baby! We love Curious George in our house, and the phrase at the beginning of the book fits Nicholas well. Nicholas is a good little baby, but always very curious. His personality is starting to shine through and we are having so much fun with him!