Playing Outdoors

Now that spring seems to be here to stay, I have been spending a lot of time outside with the boys. The nearby playground is a favorite spot. Justin has really learned to maneuver the playground equipment well since we have been back in Japan. He owes a lot of that to his dad. I hate seeing him climb because that can mean falls! There have been some, but thus far nothing major. See how brave I am letting him go into the treehouse?
Justin really enjoys having other kids out on the playground with him. He has a lot of fun with Sammy, who is about Justin's age. I hope that in Namibia we are able to find some kids for Justin to socialize with. It is good to see him having so much fun doing such simple things.

Sammy's dad was out on the playground the other day and took some pictures. I think this one really captures my Justin. The poor little kid always looks a little bit neglected. I swear he doesn't stay clean and groomed for more than five seconds! Sometimes I take advantage of this and don't put forth much effort. The other day when I told Justin that I needed him to come over so I could comb his hair, he told me that he didn't need to be handsome because he wasn't going to church, he was going to the play park! True indeed, but it would be nice if he didn't look like he was in charge of his own grooming.

Tiny is still a pretty mellow guy. Once he starts crawling I don't know if he will be as content to just sit in the stroller. He loves watching Justin. I admit, Justin is entertaining!

Justin is intrigued by the big kid swings. I should point out that I do NOT push him high, or really very much at all. He is not ready for that and I don't want him to land on his head. He likes to swing with me or in the baby swings though. He can never get as high as he would like.

Tiny still likes things on his head when he sleeps. Don't cover up those arms and legs too much or he gets upset though. What a strange little kid. People look at me like I am a bit weird when I throw a burp rag or lovey over his face when he is screaming. It often means he is tired and needs his face covered. Sometimes he instantly stops crying.

One day when Tiny was asleep, I decided to help Justin with a "big boy" puzzle. Good, quiet activity, right? Not when he gets excited about getting pieces to fit. Needless to say, his enthusiastic cheering woke up the baby. :(

So What Does That Mean?

I bought these postcards for my sister last February. I thought they were very typical of Japanese things written in English (and French). I know the words individually, but I am not sure what meaning is intended. I finally got around to putting them through my scanner (a Fujitsu ScanSnap 9510 which I just love!) so I could put them up on my blog. Since my sister is one of the few people who reads my blog, guess they won't be such a novelty when they arrive in her mailbox. Oh well. She can eagerly anticipate getting mail from me. :) Guess I should send it soon...

Tiny continues to enjoy baby rice cereal. He is my ravenous beast. Now when I put him in the high chair, he starts whining. It used to be a great place to sit him where I could keep an eye on him. Now he expects he will be fed when he is there. When he sees the spoon moving towards his mouth he goes insane! His mouth goes wide open and he squeals while frantically moving his arms and legs. He probably burns off more calories when he eats that he is taking in.

Justin has a cold or allergies or something that is causing him to have what I call pulsating boogies. Yum! He is also drooling since he can't breathe through his mouth. Lovely. My whole house feels what I guess can be described as tacky. It isn't exactly greasy or slimy or sticky, but definitely gross. Guess I should stop typing and start cleaning. :)

Why doesn't Justin sleep?

Sigh. I just finished reading my sister's latest blog entry. I shouldn't do that before I write. It discourages me. It would be fun to be creative and witty with my entries, but I find myself struggling to even put together somewhat coherent sentences. I want to record some of my thoughts and the events of the week because I know otherwise I will forget them all too soon. I am going with the theory that something is better than nothing.

This week I decided to sort through my floppy disks. I mean, do I really need behavior tracking sheets I created for students over ten years ago? What about scoring software for a test that is now obsolete? So many things I found I just didn't need, especially not on floppy. Well, silly me was going to get rid of them. What was I thinking?!? Justin has decided they are the best toy ever. I mean, you can stack them, line them up, act out five monkeys jumping on the bed with them, build them into a birthday cake... The list just goes on and on and on. I think that I should think of a marketing angle and sell the things as the newest and greatest toy.

Justin has also been enjoying the wooden blocks that his grandparents sent him. He builds a lot of towers and animal playgrounds. He was particularly proud of this structure. I am not sure why, but for some reason this one is cool in his mind and he wanted a picture of it.

He has really been getting worn out this week. We have been playing out on the playground for a couple of hours each morning and then coming home for a snack. Justin will then ask to watch something on TV and totally crash within minutes. It isn't his normal nap time, but I won't argue with him sleeping. I will take peace and quiet whenever I can get it. If only Tiny would sleep at the same time so I could have a little nap myself. Not sure that I can complain about Tiny though. Right now I am up with Justin. It is almost 4:40 on Monday morning. Justin has been up since 2:00 AM. He appears to have insomnia. I didn't know toddlers got insomnia. Surprise!

Ryan turned five months old today. Yesterday I thought he turned five months. Evidently I don't know what day it is half the time. I had decided to start solids at five months. I think I started Justin at four months and he wasn't that into it. Tiny was ravenous! I had to make more! I tried nursing him when he still seemed hungry and he refused. He wanted that great flavor of rice cereal. He sure can track that spoon and get his mouth open and ready.

We received a huge box of hand me down clothes from my sister-in-law this week. Justin was quite excited. He loved piling them on the floor and making a cozy nest for himself. He also expressed that he liked to roll around in them. I don't mind too much when he does things like that until he takes clean, folded clothes and does it.

All in all they are good kids. They are so cute together. My favorite sound is the two of them laughing together. I try to remember that when my eyes get heavy and I have trouble focusing.

No Pictures?!?

I just went to look for some pictures to upload for this week. It doesn't appear that I took any. Oops. While a welcome change for you, the poor reader, it is an oversight on my part. I try to take pictures of my sweet boys. They are growing up so fast.

This week I was looking through pictures of Justin when he was 6 months and younger. I can't believe how fast that little baby has changed into a very busy, very opinionated toddler. His growth is incredible. He keeps me busy and is a challenge. I am sure that soon I will look back at pictures of him at this age and be just as amazed at how fast he grew. Hmm... I don't know if that sentence makes sense. I am still not getting enough sleep, thank you very much boys!

Justin received some wooden building blocks from my mother this week. When he saw them (mind you he walked right by them several times without noticing them before he literally sat on them) he was so excited and asked me what they were. I told him they were a present from Grandma and Papa. He exclaimed, "blocks!" and then added, "I can build with them!" We have been doing a lot of building and destroying and rebuilding.

His favorite books for the week include Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss' ABCs, and I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean. He tries to read them on his own and has memorized a lot of them. He gets scared of some parts, like the "scary" alligator for A and has to read it from a distance. He is such a screwy kid that way. He loves things that scare him, but he doesn't like to be too close to them. He pretended he was a dinosaur and then needed me to hold him because he is scared of dinosaurs.

Tiny continues to be a joy. He is a good natured little fellow. He reaches out with one hand and holds on to a crib bar while he sleeps. He is experimenting with his voice and can be quite loud. He laughs at Justin and enjoys watching his big brother. Ryan even laughed when I used the syringe bulb to suck boogers out of his nose. Talk about laid back!

Yesterday it was pouring rain. Justin and I spent almost an hour outside. He loves any chance to put on his raincoat and rainboots to splash in the puddles. I am not quite as enthusiastic, but I do like to see him having such a good time. I also wear my boots so I can splash. I am sure people wondered about us being outside intentionally in that weather.

Hopefully this week I can remember to take some pictures and remember some of the cute things that the boys do. The amount of sleep Justin gets (and therefore the amount that I get) has a lot to do with it. There are some days when it is all I can do to function.

Another Week with Kids

I love the way Tiny sleeps. Just give him a blanket (or burp rag, or hat, or towel, or shirt...) and/or cover his head and face and he sleeps pretty well. Certainly better than Justin did or does. I love it when I am near him when he wakes up. He opens his eyes and is immediately happy if he sees me. Even as I type, he is in the same seat as the picture with one blanket over his head and another clutched in his hand. So precious. Now looking at the next picture and seeing Justin out cold you might jump to the conclusion that he is a great sleeper. WRONG! He has been having night terrors and other funky sleep things going on lately that have made it hard for Rob and me to sleep at night. Evidently even though Justin appears refreshed in the morning, it must take something out of him too.

I know that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under two NOT watch TV, but Ryan disagrees. Look at the way he contorts his body to see the screen. He can roll front to back and back to front now and thinks he is pretty cool. Sometimes his arm gets caught under his body and that ticks him off. He has a set of lungs and knows how to use them. I wish he would use them more often. The other day I caught Justin shoving foil from some candy into Tiny's mouth. Was Tiny screaming? No, he was laughing. He also laughs when Justin sits on him. Hello!?!? Why do you encourage him, Ryan? Ryan thinks that Justin is the best toy ever. I don't know if he is as good as TV though. TV is pretty awesome.
Ryan has also started using his Jumperoo. He likes it better than the swing or the chair. He jumps in it only a little so far. I have to raise it yet again. He is a tall dude and ready for setting three of four. At this rate he will outgrow it by next week!
I continue to be amazed that people have more than two children. My brother and his wife are expecting their fourth. How on earth do they manage? I can't get enough sleep with two of them! I look forward to the day I can smile again instead of clenching my mouth closed to keep from yawning or drooling. I wonder what it is like to NOT have a full laundry hamper. I think there was a time in my life when I didn't have to vacuum at least once a day. Oh well. I have grown rather attached to the little buggers--MOST of the time.

Here is a clip of Tiny making Tiny type noises. I would say that it is pretty boring if you aren't family, but Rob would probably tell me it is boring even if you are family. I am not sure which clip it is. I tried taking several, but the boy just didn't cooperate. I figured it didn't matter which one I uploaded.

Easter

Today was Easter. We had a nice Easter lunch with some friends from church. Justin was in heaven because he knows the kids who were there from his church nursery class. How fun is that? It was nice for me too. A delicious meal without the prep or cleanup. I could get used to that. :)

Justin was excited to look in his Easter basket and enjoyed more candy than he should have. He has been reading books about the Easter bunny with me and has really gotten into it this year. We talked a little about how we think about Jesus at Easter, but didn't go into that much. I figured if it came to Justin choosing between Jesus and the Easter bunny that he wouldn't make the choice I would want him to make. He's two years old. Getting candy from a walking, talking rabbit makes more sense to him than someone dying (not that he knows what that is) and being resurrected. Pretty big concept for adults. Hopefully this year he will get a little bit of the Jesus part at Christmas and be able to carry it over to Easter. For now we will continue to work on Jesus loves Justin and pictures of Jesus with children and other happy pictures.

We dyed eggs this week and he was thrilled to be able to watch the eggs change color. Better yet were the eggs that had his name written on with wax crayon. It was like magic to see the egg come out colored with his name on it! It did make quite the mess. I had the foresight to have us perform the messy task out on the balcony with Justin wearing only a diaper and an art smock. We had the table covered with a trash bag and plenty of wipes and water to keep things under control. Justin and I both ended up with dye on our hands and arms. Ryan was unhappy sitting just inside the doorway, so I moved his chair out with us and he promptly fell asleep. I was a little worried that he would get dye spilled on him and be green or something. Luckily, that didn't happen.

We also went to Nandemo (community center) this week for their mini sports club. Justin had a blast. He got kind of bored listening to some of the directions since they were in Japanese. The people running the activity had a lot of fun things, but they moved through a lot of them too quickly. The childen would have enjoyed doing some things over and over instead of once or twice. Oh well. If they have the time to plan a billion things instead of just a few, more power to them. Towards the end we had to make a less than graceful exit. Justin was not listening to me. It is important that he listens since I have Ryan with us (in our new Ergo baby carrier which is the best). If he doesn't listen, we are done. So I ended up carrying Ryan in the carrier and a screaming, tantruming Justin through the gym, down the hall, and to the stroller. Justin didn't even get his shoes and socks back on. I hope he gets it. I carried him home from the playroom once and ever since he has been so good about listening to me. We'll see. The gym is pretty fun. It has a lot of tempting things like a slide, trampoline, balls, bikes (and trikes and unicycles), balance beams... All that and space to run. So hard to listen to boring Mommy. (You may note that he has had a haircut in these pictures. Yay!)

Please Can We Get Out?

We have such good time at Nandemo, but eventually we do want to go back home.

I Love the Slide!

Justin has refused to go down the green playground slides for some time now. In the dry, winter weather he got a zap thanks to static electricity and decided to shy away from the risk. Well this week he decided to give it another go. Not too suprisingly, he loves it. He tells me that he loves it with the kind of attitude that sounds like he has known all along he would, but that I was the one holding him back. My silly little Justin.

Here he is on the playground with his friend, Ellington. When he first met Ellington he thought his name was Oxygen. That makes no sense. Everyone knows that Oxygen is a girl's name. :) Now he often says it as if it is three separate words. It is so cute. Ellington is such a good natured little boy. He is a bit younger than Justin and Justin sometimes gets overexcited and knocks him over or runs too fast when they are playing scream and chase. Ellington just keeps smiling. (Note how Justin is in DESPERATE need of a haircut!
The cherry blossoms are out and absolutely beautiful. Gentle breezes blow some of them down like soft, fluffy snowflakes. It is pretty and not cold like snow. I was standing out on the playground with Justin and Ryan. We were the only three people there. Ryan was asleep and Justin was actually being quiet. As the blossoms floated up, down, and around in the slight breeze I felt like I was in some sort of artistic foreign movie scene. I didn't see any cameras or hear any music or sound effects, so I am pretty sure it was just a rare, beautiful, quiet moment in my life.

The Glass Is Half ?

Okay, so finish the sentence. Are you a glass half full or half empty type person? I would finish the sentence so it reads

The glass is halfway across the room and Justin needs it with NEW water RIGHT NOW!

I do know that the laundry basket is not half full or half empty. It is constantly FULL. How is that possible? I can't do laundry fast enough some days. When my mom was here she did a million loads for me. Moms are the best. I love my mom. I'm not always so sure how I feel about being a mom though. The sick leave, vacation days, and work hours aren't very good. Maybe we should form a union. Wouldn't that be something?

This week has had its ups and downs. Occasionally I feel like I may actually even have my act together. Five minutes later, Justin will have me wanting to throw him across the room. He can be so stubborn and obnoxious. He acts like he is two years old. I wonder if he will outgrow that phase when he is three. I suppose I can't fault him for acting like a two year old when he is one. He can be such a sweet boy too. I love him so much. He and Tiny can just get going at the same time and often do.

Tiny now rolls from stomach to back intentionally. He thinks he is pretty cool. He is working on blowing raspberries and his constant spit bubbles are a source of entertainment for Justin. I love the times that Ryan and Justin are by each other, blowing bubbles and laughing. They look so cute together laughing and drooling.

Ryan slept all night in his crib this week too. He woke up for a 1:30 AM feeding, but otherwise was on his own. It was hard for me to sleep because I wondered when he would wake up. He has been sleeping in bed with me and Rob. Last night he was sleeping on his own, but when he woke up in the night to be fed I brought him in bed to nurse him and fell asleep before putting him back in bed. Oh well. I figure whatever works so I can get sleep. Tiny insists on having something on his face while he sleeps and I have finally given in. I worry about it, but I am sure that I am not the first mother to let her infant cover his face up.

Ryan is sleeping better than Justin is. Justin talks in his sleep and I hear that on the monitor. Justin gets up and does things in his sleep. Justin has vivid dreams and wakes up disoriented. Sigh. He was up at 4:30 the other morning and it made for a loooooooooooong cranky day. Generally he has been pretty good though, going down at 8:00 PM and up at 6:00 AM or so. I shouldn't complain.

Justin's favorite story of the week is There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly and he loves reading the different versions of the story we have, watching it over and over (and over) on DVD, and acting it out with the manipulatives I gave him. I wish he would cooperate for pictures and video clips. He does such a nice job retelling the story, but the kid is stubborn around the camera.

Tiny's four month check up is tomorrow. I guess I will find out just how big Tiny Baby is getting.

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.

Countdown to Japan!

Today is Monday. Since we are leaving early on Thursday morning for Japan, I was relieved that Ryan's passport has FINALLY arrived. Yes, I went in to apply for it on January 7th. Yes, it went through the special issuance office and should have been done more quickly. Right now I don't care that it took way longer than it should have. I am just happy to have it in my possession. Packing is underway, frequent flyer numbers and special meal requests have been added to the reservations, and things are looking pretty good. Now I am just hoping that we can be relatively healthy. Today Justin was coughing so hard that he threw up on me. A nice compliment to the boogers that he put in my hair and the sour milk smell I share with Tiny Baby. Please just let us be healthy for our flight. The main leg of the trip is already a hellish 10 hours and 45 minutes. At least we should be able to survive the trip since my dear mother is coming along to help me with the darlings.

Once we get to Japan the fun will continue. We have another child and lots more stuff to try to cram into our tiny apartment. It is going to be interesting. I have a feeling that there will be rubbermaid containers out on the balcony We do have a couple of storage rooms in our apartment. Unfortunately some genius thought it was a good idea for the doors to swing into the room, greatly reducing the amount of usable space in the small rooms.

Of late I have not been enjoying Justin. Even my mother has called him a vile, slimey creature. He truly is disgusting. He looks like he has been neglected for quite some time. It doesn't take long to go from tidy and neat to smelly and nasty. Talk about a kid only a mother can love. Love is the key word, he certainly is not very likeable.

I have been enjoying Ryan. He is such a cuddly little sleep buddy. Yes, I do hope to get him sleeping on his own once we adjust to the time change in Japan, but I am going to go with the flow. I stressed so much over Justin and didn't enjoy the cuddle period as much as I could have. Now I try to treasure holding this (not so) tiny baby in my arms. Two months old tomorrow. He is not so little. He has grown and changed so much. I haven't taken as many pictures of him as I did of Justin. I guess now I am dividing time between the two of them. I also am holding Ryan a lot to protect him from his brother's love and also his jealousy. Here is Ryan trying to sleep in the swing. Justin kept sharing balls with him and then wanting them back.

Snotty, screaming, even puking, I love my boys. They bring me joy even when they are not bringing happiness.