Another Week Down

This week the weather decided it wasn't going to be spring yet. It wouldn't have been so bad, except the previous week was so nice. That meant more time indoors and more time for Justin to drive me crazy. He is just so jealous of Ryan sometimes. He will do anything for attention, even negative attention. It can be trying. Poor sweet boy, feeling a bit displaced. The thing that really gets me though is when Ryan is actually asleep and I could spend time with Justin one on one if only he didn't do everything in his power to wake Tiny up. Then I have a grumpy baby and an upset toddler. Great. Ryan continues to like to have things over his head (preferably including his face) when he sleeps. Once he wakes up I move the blanket off of his mouth and nose at least. It ticks him off when he wakes up if it isn't still there. He can really scream too. I try to vary which blanket/burp rag/lovey I let him use so he doesn't get too attached to any single item. For now that is working. We will see if it lasts.Tiny is moving more and more, though still not rolling intentionally. He loves his feet. I know most babies do, but in Ryan's case I think it might be because that is the one toy Justin hasn't figured out how to take away from him yet. Amazing how interesting baby toys can become to a two year old when someone else has them. Justin still loves books. He likes to be read to and to read on his own. Evidently he now also likes to read to his "green anaconda." I don't know how long that will last. Many things he once loved are now feared. Even pictures in books can be scary and he will run away before the offending page can be seen. As soon as it is turned, he returns back for the rest of the story.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

I wish I had a better way to keep track of the cute things that Justin and Ryan were doing. I just haven't found a way that works well for me. I am going to make a goal to try to update the blog once a week.

Justin was challenging in church today. When he was removed to the hall he kept asking to go to the bathroom. Since he is in diapers and we aren't working on toilet training it seemed a bit odd for him to request the bathroom. I asked if he wanted his diaper change. Justin HATES getting his diaper changed, so I was surprised when he said that he did. I changed his diaper without any complaint from him. When finished, he said, "Mommy, nursery class!" He had remembered that I try to change his diaper before taking him to nursery, so if he got me to change him it MUST be time for nursery, right? I explained that the nursery was still closed and that Sister Brown, his teacher, was still in sacrament meeting. Ever the problem solver, Justin told me, "go get Sister Brown." Of course. Why hadn't I thought of that?

Tiny is getting bigger and bigger everyday. I haven't seen him roll from back to stomach, but I have left him on his back and returned to find him on his stomach. I don't know how intentional it is. He really likes his side. Ryan is starting to coo and laugh more and more every day. He is amused by Justin (who isn't?) and almost anything that silly Mommy does. I am enjoying him so much. He is happier than Justin was when he was this age. I also have more confidence and am not so stressed about what others will think about how I am parenting. Tiny makes such cute cooing and gurgling sounds. He also has a little whine that lets you know he wants attention.

Justin loves reading and being read to. Of course that doesn't mean that he can stay by you when you are reading to him. There are "scary" parts in books. Did you know that in Are You My Mother? they call a steam shovel a snort? Pretty scary stuff! Justin remembers when the "scary" parts are coming and retreats to a safe distance for those parts. It cracks us up when he will ask for a DVD or a book and then hide behind something for protection.

I am being brave and allowing Justin more and more freedom on the playground. It is hard not to be overprotective. He trips over his own shadow and has many boo boos that he feels are serious. One of these days he will have a serious boo boo. For now Ryan spends his time at the playground napping. It works out well. Ryan gets in a good nap without interruptions from Justin and Justin gets some energy out.

I wonder why I chose WASHABLE ink for Justin. Oh my! I try to let him experiment with different art materials. He can make such a mess though.

I love this picture of Tiny in the tub. It makes me laugh. I swear I didn't photoshop his head on another body. That's what it looks like though, doesn't it! He wasn't cooperating for pictures at all. I kept trying to keep him somewhat covered up and he wanted nothing to do with the washcloth on his body. Why be in the tub if you can't be completely naked and free? Tiny really loves the tub. Even better is being in the tub with Mommy (the real tub, not the little blue one) so he can enjoy the deep water. That is a rare occurence though because Justin would be so jealous if he found out.

I noted on Tiny's blue tub that it has several specific warnings. You know the obvious like don't leave your baby unattended, but one I wasn't expecting. It says not to use the infant tub in an adult sink or bathtub. Where exactly am I supposed to use it then? I hope the tub police don't come get me.

Justin was SUPER cute in the tub. He was singing along and did a Justin original. Then he went on to do his version of "Dem Bones" which included his penis being connected to his be-bo and his thigh. Rob says that must be some penis! Justin sure thinks so. He ran off naked

It's Been Awhile

It has been awhile since I have written. It has been nice to be back home in Tokyo, but taken awhile to get back into the groove of things and come up with a routine. With two small boys the routine isn't always set as well as I would like either. My boys do keep me busy. I am not sure how people deal with multiple small children. I do not do well.

Justin continues to make me smile and laugh while testing my patience at the same time. He has tried kicking me out of the house in the morning by commanding, "Mommy go work, Daddy sit on floor play!" Little does he know that there are days Mommy would like to leave and go to work (or go anywhere). Now that my mom has gone home and isn't here to help with the boys I don't even get to go to the bathroom by myself very often. Can't leave my boys alone together or who knows what would happen. Justin has a love/hate relationship with Ryan. When he is jealous he gets a bit rough intentionally. Other times he just loves him to death with too tight hugs, overly enthusiastic tickles and pats, or by sharing toys--especially stuffed animals on the face. He seems to enjoy waking the sleeping baby and then complaining about the crying. Sigh! Tiny, bless his heart, is pretty good natured. Now that he is more alert and smiles, coos, kicks, and reaches for things, Justin is more interested in him. That is good and bad. Tiny is definitely more interested in Justin. Whether he just likes watching his brother's antics or watches in dread and fear is anyone's guess. He has such cute smiles and laughs. He has expressive eyes too. Even Rob has noticed and mentioned it a few times. There are times when Ryan looks and me and we just connect with each other.

Justin has a doll named Bobby. I tried catching him being gentle and loving with Bobby, but as soon as the camera came out, Justin started beating the poor thing. Guess he doesn't want me to think I can expect him to be sweet with Ryan.

Ryan loves having a blanket on his head. If he had his way it would cover his face completely. I think he is going to be a sleeper who needs a blanket. The SIDS police will probably come and take me away. I don't mean to make light of SIDS and feel for people who have lost a child to SIDS, but I am getting really tired of hearing all the contributers. Pacifiers reduce the risk. Being premature increases the risk. Blankets increase the risk. Sleeping on stomach increases the risk. Increased altitude increases the risk. Co-sleeping increases the risk. The list goes on and on. I wonder how they know this. Is it antedotal? Could it be that babies with blankets or those who sleep on their stomach actually sleep without being held and therefore are more at risk? If a baby is constantly held by an awake and alert individual, wouldn't that be the best way to prevent it? There are just too many rules for me! I know, sleeping in the swing is bad too.

Justin and the concept of time out are getting to know each other pretty well. Justin generally hates time out, but he does like playing time out. He will plop his body on the time out bench and say, "Time out 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes..." He often chooses 18 minutes. Eighteen is still his favorite number for some reason. After giving himself a time out, he laughs. He says, "ha ha ha," just like that by saying it instead of actual laughing. He will call my name repeatedly and make sure to get my attention before he refuses to comply with his own time out. Sometimes I admit I am tempted to enforce them. :)

Ryan is often in Justin's thoughts. The other night when Rob asked Justin if he wanted to say the prayer Justin said that he did. Rob asked Justin who he wanted to help him. Justin paused for a minute and then shouted out, "I want Tiny Baby help!" He was rather pleased that he came up with this. From now on we will be more specific with his options.