Brotherly Love

Lennon discovers Angel

Lennon has just recently discovered Angel.  Angel is being a really good sport.  Lennon has pulled the heck out of his hair and Angel just looks at him and then slowly gets up and walks away.  Lennon is getting so much better at crawling though, Angel is going to be in trouble when Lennon is really moving!

A little science lesson

Shelby used a rubberband and two pens to help illustrate to Mia how tendons, bones and muscles work together to help us move.  She loves science and math.  

Is she MY daughter????

Changes

Sunday night was about one of the worst nights we've had with Lennon so far.  He was up about every two hours all night screaming and didn't want to nurse either.  I couldn't figure out what was going on and was feeling really frustrated and defeated about him not being on as good of a schedule as Mia was when she was that age.  So, I became a woman with a mission.  I came up with a game plan and called the most organized person I know to help encourage and guide me - my lovely sister-in-law LeNan.  So, after talking with her about the amazing schedule Reagan is on I felt like I could definitely do it with Lennon I just had to stick with the plan and not get discouraged.  Now Lennon had been doing pretty well other than that Sunday night.  Most nights for several weeks now he has slept from 6 until 3 or 4 and then gone back down until 6 or 7.  Even though that was leaps and bounds better than Christmas, it still wasn't working for me, or for him for that matter.  We were both lacking proper amounts of sleep and it was really showing in Lennon's disposition during the day.  So, the night after I talked with LeNan I put Lennon to bed determined not to go back in until the morning.  The first morning I went in at about 5 15.  The second morning I went in about 5 30 and last night he went to sleep at 6 and did not make a single sound until 5 45 this morning!  Success!!  He has also transitioned into taking naps in his crib twice a day.  About 8 30 and again around 12 30.  I have to be more flexible with these times because they interfere somewhat with taking Mia to school and picking her up, but at least now I have guidelines.  And the payoff??  The last two days Lennon has been in a much better mood.  Today he even crawled around on the floor and played with toys for about 30 minutes before I went and picked him up and he was still content.  I know this may not sound that astounding.  "A baby?  Playing with toys on the floor?"  But let me assure you.  For the past two weeks I have not been able to set this baby down to go to the bathroom during the day without panicky wails of malcontent.  Today was a good day!  I am glad that I hadn't instituted the new regimen before sunday because as we were playing yesterday I noticed...HIS FIRST TOOTH!  I tried getting a picture, but it is still so tiny and just barely poking through his gums.  Poor guy!  I'm glad I went to him when he kept waking up cause it was because he was in pain from the tooth breaking through.  So having little Lennon on a schedule having his first tooth break through the gums finally has put his little mind at ease for now.  I am so excited to go to bed early tonight and try to get 8 FULL HOURS OF SLEEP!  HEAVEN!  I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in  7 months now.  Thank you LeNan for all your help in this!   

Potty humor

Okay, anyone who is offended easily or just very prim and proper read no further.  This story is a little different than my usual, but it was just too funny to me to not post.  In ten years Mia may be upset with me for telling the world this kind of stuff, but for now, she is too young to protest.  Well, at least to young for me to heed her protests.  So, enough intro...here's what happened.

Tonight as Mia was getting ready for bed she sat down on the toilet for her usual bedtime peepee.  As she was sitting there talking to me she kind of tooted, but it was a little more airy than usual.  I kind of looked at her with a funny, pretend disgusted expression and she laughed and said  "My bottom just snorted!"  I just about died laughing.  And she swore up and down that it was not a toot, but a snort.  Too funny!

Rock concerts and snow storms

Last week was a big week for our kids.  We had a nice fun snow storm and they attended their first ever rock concert.  Well, for Lennon it was his first ever "outside the womb" rock concert.  Technically he has attended two previous concerts - while in utero.  The most important of which was The White Stripes concert that he so kindly allowed us to go to by being a few days late this past summer.  Thanks Lennon!  Anyway...Mia had school vacation all last week and she had a sleepover scheduled for Thursday night with a friend from church named Gwendolyn.  Well unfortunately for her a big snow storm blew through and we had to cancel the sleepover for fear that the roads just weren't safe enough to make the trip out to Cambridge where Gwen lives.  To make up for it she and I rented a movie- Happily Never After- had some snacks and had our own little sleepover.  Whenever she has sleepovers they like to wear eachothers pajamas so she asked if she could wear mine.  I found a nightshirt that she could wear as a nightgown and she was super excited.  She got to fall asleep in our bed and I went ahead and went to bed at the same time as her so that we could giggle and talk like she would at a real sleepover.  We had a lot of fun and she told me I was her best Mommy.  Saturday morning Shelby and Mia went outside and played in the snow while I stayed in with Lennon.  The snow wasn't that great for building snowmen, so they built snow sculptures instead.  They made a mom, dad, Mia, Lennon and a little kitty with a huge tub.  Mia had a lot of fun, she loves spending time with her Daddy!  Then on Sunday our friend Neal Pollack who wrote Alternadad was in town at an event called Rock n Romp Boston.  There were a couple of bands, like real rock n roll bands, but that had lyrics that were appropriate for all ages - think early Beatles.  Then there was Neal who did a couple readings from his book and another author who read his two childrens books.  It was an interesting event and Mia had a blast.  The band asked if any of the kids wanted to get up on stage and dance and she was the first to take them up on the offer.  Later they gave her a tamborine and she happily played along to the music.  She was very impressed with herself for having gotten to be on stage with a band.  Lennon was lulled to sleep by the intensely loud tunes of the band.  Leave it to the son of Shelby to actually be calmed down by loud rock n roll music.   

Mia finally starts "playing" soccer...

So, we are a little more than half way through Mia's second season of Malden Youth Soccer and today - Sunday, February 24 2008 - she finally actually played soccer.  She was chasing after the ball, kicking the ball, running and paying attention to the game.  It was awesome to watch!  She even assisted a goal and made several attempts at goals herself.  Hopefully this is but the beginning for her.  She had a lot of fun too.  She is so weird sometimes though.  Throughout the game she kept intentionally running into the wall of the gym and falling over dramatically.  And sometimes she would just fall down and slide on her knees on purpose, but she always had this look on her face like she was surprised and it was an accident, even though it clearly was not!  I don't know if it's an attempt to get Giovanni's attention or what, but she sure is funny.  All in all it was a great game.  Her coach and a few of the parents commented on how well she did and Shelby finally felt proud from the bleachers.  We were pretty excited.  Of course of all days to not bring my camera I chose this morning when I could have gotten some great video.  Oh well, maybe next week will be as cool.  I will post some pics after next weeks game.  

Steak n' Skate

Lennon had his first taste of steak this week.  I pureed it with carrots, broccoli, and a little butter and he LOVED it.  He slept great that not as well.  It's no surprise he loved it.  It was leftover filet mignon from the night before.  He's such a cutie.  He's getting better and better at crawling.  I can't believe how big he is getting.  Almost 7 months old.  Last night he went twelve hours without a feeding and then he took a two and a half hour nap.  It was awesome!!

Mia is doing great in ice skating.  This week she got promoted to the next level class.  She was really excited.  She is having a lot of fun and is looking forward to when she can do spins and jumps.  She fell toward the end of class and bumped her head, but she recovered really quickly and wanted to go back out and keep practicing.  

This week we also found out that Giovanni, her love from school, is not Italian as she thought, but Brazilian.  She also has decided that maybe she is not in love with him.  She may be in love with Mateus now, but she's not sure.  I asked her if she was sure she was in love with Giovanni and that she didn't just like the way he looked and she said very firmly,  "No, I LOVE the way he looks!"  Ah, young love... 

I've also included a picture of Mia feeding Lennon avocado and one of her freshly painted toes that she was very proud of.  She did it herself and did a great job!  She's such a big girl.  She definitely misses her regular pedi's with Aunt Hill back in Texas.  The pictures of Lennon in the highchair without Mia are him after having the steak.

Mia making Lennon laugh

Papa and Nana's Visit

Papa and Nana came in town for a short visit from Friday morning until Sunday afternoon.  We had soo much fun!  The weather was pretty good for the most part.  It was cold, but no storming or anything.  It snowed some but it all melted away pretty quickly.  On the last day it was bizarre.  It looked like a blizzard was blowing in for about half and hour and then it cleard up and was a beautiful sunny day and then it happened one more time before returning to a sunny nice day about 40 degrees.  We crammed a lot into a short visit.  Mia and Papa started a sea monkey habitat and Nana got to help me feed Lennon some food.  We baked some yummy cookies which disappeared far too fast!  We went to the newly improved Boston Children's Museum and it was awesome!  There was so much to do.  Mia painted, explored things through a microscope and experimented with balls falling from different heights and Lennon got to participate in a research study for MIT.  Nana got Lennon to fall asleep on her in a makeshift baby carrier made out of a blanket and her scarf.  On the last day we went to Mia's soccer game in the morning and then they took us to Target to let Mia and Lennon pick out Valentine's Day gifts.  Mia got a fairy Barbie from the new Barbie Movie, Barbie Mariposa and a Littlest Pet Shop Talent show thing and Lennon got a new pair of soft leather baby shoes with Giraffes on them.  Mia was very sad to see them go.  She cried her eyes out at the airport.  She is such a sweetie!

And the award for Miss Congeniality goes to...

Mia just got her first report card for Kindergarten.  She passed with flying colors and got a wonderful note from the teacher.  It said:

"Mia is a delightful girl.  She pays attention and is eager to learn in school.  Mia has been consistently progressing.  She is beginning to use inventive spelling in her writings.  Mia works and plays well with the other children in the class.  It is a pleasure to have Mia in the class."  Ms. Yau

Other than not knowing what it means to use "inventive spelling" we are of course very pleased with this report card, but not surprised at all.  She has really been enjoying school and has made lots of friends.  She is in love with a little Italian boy named Giovanni Silva.  They are on the same soccer team.  He has been away on vacation for a couple of weeks now and she is missing him.  Whenever we are walking into or away from school almost every kid we pass knows Mia's name.  She has made friends really easily and relates to the kids in her class as well as she does the kids in the second grade  Even with all her new friends, Naomi Brill (who is in the second grade) is still her best friend.  They can barely stand to go two days without seeing each other and when they do, they act like long lost sisters when they are finally reunited.  They play so well together and love each other very much.  They talk often about what they will do when they have to be parted for us to move back to Texas.  I tell them not to worry, that it is still a long ways off before that will happen.  It will be very hard for them though I think when it is time for us to leave.  

Oh yeah, the grades thing in kindergarten is different.  They don't get letter grades and they also do not get pass/fail or anything like that.  The grading system is like this:

S - Secure, the skill has become second nature....

P - Progressing, The child has developed a mid-range level of the specific skill...

H - Having difficulty  (and there are others too, but Mia didn't get anything other than S's and P's)

She mostly got S's, with a few P's in there.  P's were in social things like listening and transitioning from one activity to another which I imagine is difficult for most kindergarteners who have not been in another type of school environment previously.  

We are soo soo proud of her!  I miss her so much now that she is in school all the time.  Above is a picture of her proudly holding her first report card and a picture of her with Naomi from their last sleepover.

You are learning well young grasshopper!

Mia had another ice skating lesson today and she did soo great!  She made a lot of progress.  There were many less falls and she gained a lot of speed too.  Towards the very end she fell right on her bottom and got hurt, but other than that she had a great time.  She pays attention to everything the instructor says and is really good at implementing the techniques.  As I was looking around during practice most of the other kids would fall all over the place, but she would almost always catch herself before she fell by bending her knees and putting her hands on her knees like they told her to do.  When she did fall she usually fell forward onto her hands and knees as they were instructed to do.  She's really looking forward to when she can do spins and go really fast.  I'm glad she is enjoying it so much and I hope she continues to enjoy it and not get discouraged.  She's really hard on herself when things don't come naturally to her.  I think she gets that from her Daddy.  He was up all night working on a school project.  He finally came to bed at 5 30 this morning only to get back up and start working more two hours later.  It looks like this semester is going to be a little more time consuming that last semester.  

Big Baby Lennon

I forgot to post that last tuesday we took Lennon to his 6 month check up.  He weighed in at a whopping 19 lbs and 4 oz!  Not quite as big as his cousin Jackson, who at only 5 months has already past the 20 lb mark, but still in about the 85-90 % for weight and bigger than Reagan his other adorable cousin.  He was 27 inches long and that is in the same percentile.  Our doctor said he looked great and was happy to hear he was sleeping through the night now.  Even though I said recently that I didn't think he was quite ready for food, he has proved me wrong.  Every night now before bed he has some dinner with his nightly nursing.  He has tried green beans, peas, butternut squash, bananas, prunes and avocado.  His favorite is definitely prunes.  And it's actually been so much easier to make my own baby food than I thought it would be.  And definitely much cheaper for us which is nice.  Mia continues to adore her little brother and is always best at getting his most fabulous smiles and deep belly laughs.  Shelby is deeply entrenched in the new semester now and we are missing him.  We usually take him down to the train station in the morning now though after we drop Mia at kindergarten, so we get a few extra minutes with him each morning.  He is great and almost always gets up with the kids when they wake up before the sun comes up and lets me sleep a little longer.  There's a nasty flu going around, but so far we've all been lucky enough not to catch it.  We're all doing great and enjoying our lives up here in chilly Boston, MA.  (Shelby is really excited thinking the Giants are going to win the superbowl and he just jumped up to cheer and accidentally punched himself in the nose. he he) 

The budding artist

Mia got this great set for Christmas from Uncle Kelsey.  It's a barbie learn to draw set.  There is a DVD that gives you step by step instructions on how to draw a bunch of different characters from the many barbie movies.  As with all children's toys you always wonder what will actually get used and what will sit in the closet or toy chest untouched.  Well, she is totally into this.  She uses it all the time and has used some of the tips from the DVD in her everyday art as well.  She really loves it a lot.  Thanks Uncle Kelsey!  Here is a picture of her with one of the drawings she did today.  Enjoy!

My sweet little Valentines

As has been the tradition ever since Tiny Bear joined our family back when Mia was only 7 months old, Vickie AKA Granmommy, sent the kids Valentine's Day gifts.  They were so cute that it inspired us to do a little photoshoot of our own.  Mia picked out the background and the socks and thought of lots of creative poses.  She is really into photography.  In case you can't tell from the pictures, Lennon's giraffe has a little bib on that says Lennon's first Valentine's Day 2008.  Both gifts are super cute.  THANKS GRANMOMMY!!

Lennon's Six Month Pictures

Here's a sampling of Lennon's 6-month photos we had taken last weekend.  

Click Here to see them all!

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