4 year conceptiversary

4 years ago today, our boys were conceived in a lab at our fertility clinic.  The memories of that time and that day are certainly fading for me- taken over by new memories.  It is hard to remember a time before we had kids, and even a time before our boys were mobile, verbal, real personalities.

4 years ago today, we first became "parents."  What a great anniversary to remember!

3.33 repeating

The boys are 3 years and 4 months old today.  What wonderful little men I have!  Today we went to the playground where we had their birthday party, and I left feeling grateful that I have such respectful young men for sons.  Of course we have our share of whining and temper tantrums, but for the most part, they are easy-going and adaptable.

Here are some things they have said and done recently:

Asher likes to compliment me when I'm dressed up for work.  If I get home and he's still up, he will say something like, "I really like your dress, Mommy."

Benjamin likes to say, "Mahhh-Meeee, Mahhh-Meeee..." to get my attention.  Tonight when I said, "What, Boo?" I got silence.  He didn't really have anything to ask, he just couldn't stop saying "mommy."

The other night Benjamin was upset about Asher wearing his pajamas, and he was overtired and started crying.  He was able to tell me "I angry, Mommy!" and then told me he was angry because he thought of those pajamas as HIS- so even if he didn't want to wear them, that didn't mean Asher could.  He had a very good point- we do tend to make everything both of theirs- so we went out the next day and each boy picked a pair of pj's that is just his. I was so proud of Benjamin for being able to tell me how he was feeling, and for being able to tell me why.  What a long way he's come from having only a few words less than a year ago!

Benjamin has suddenly taken a real interest in Charlotte.  He likes to hold her on his lap or snuggle with her- but he always decides she's too heavy.  One night with Eric, Benjamin held Charlotte and then said, "Her not a baby! Her too heavy!"

I noticed that a lot of Asher's mispronunciations, which I adore, are going away.  He used to say "hub-u-kaka" for helicopter and "zoo-zee-men" for museum, and now he pronounces them correctly.

They know where things are- which road goes to Meema and Papa Nick's, which way to Jane and Ed's, which way to Trader Joe's.  They also know where the Starbucks is, because Papa Nick goes there.

Both boys are undecided on their future careers.  They both want to be garbage men and mail men when they grow up- I suspect because of the super-cool trucks they would be able to drive.  I told them if they're sure they want to be garbage men, then I am going to spend their college savings on renovating our kitchen.  They said that's ok.

Benjamin is doing really well with potty training.  He's in underwear every day and has fewer and fewer accidents.  In the past week or so, he has even gotten consistent with telling us when he needs to poop and making it on to the potty.  He had one poop accident this past week, and that was at camp.  I am so proud of him!  I don't love the panic I feel when we're out and he says, "I need to go pee pee!" and I need to make a mad dash to a public restroom with 3 kids... but that's life.

The boys remain somewhat picky eaters.  Our standbys are peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, pasta with red sauce, grilled cheese, turkey and cheese sandwich for Benjamin, pizza, pancakes, and scrambled eggs.  Neither boy particularly likes meat.  Asher will eat chicken, and Benjamin will eat turkey meatballs and turkey burgers, but that's about it.  They like some vegetables- carrots, broccoli, and peas, mostly.  Benjamin likes cucumber, and Asher doesn't.  Benjamin also likes almost every fruit he eats (just like Mommy!).  He asks for peaches, pear, watermelon, blueberries, bananas, and strawberries. Benjamin also likes oatmeal, which Asher doesn't.  Asher eats clementines and watermelon, and dried fruit so that he doesn't get stopped up. They don't drink milk everyday, but do love cheese and yogurt.  I am not so upset that they don't like milk, since sometimes it seems to upset Asher's stomach.

Both boys have a sweet tooth, but Asher's is bigger.  He is constantly asking for a treat of some kind or another.  We've tried to bribe him with candy to go on the potty, but no luck.

They like to watch "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" (Asher's favorite) on TV.  Benjamin still likes to watch "Cars," and shows about trucks and airplanes.

We read every night before bed, and there is a lot of repetition.  They like books that rhyme, like "The Seven Silly Eaters," and tonight they let me read "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day" because they know I like it.  At the end I asked if they had a good day or a terrible horrible day, and Asher said, "We had a fun day!"  Which we did.

Charlotte: 7 months

Big girl doing big girl things

Height and Weight:  I would guess she is probably about 20 lbs now.  I think her growth has slowed down, although she is still a nicely rounded little lady.

Clothing size: Same as last month- 6-12 months from Gap and Old Navy, and 9 months from other brands.  Finally she's able to wear all her clothes for more than a month!  She is pretty much wearing Size 4 diapers, although we're able to finish out the box of Size 3's.

Charlotte with mommy

Milestones: Charlotte is an expert crawler now!  She goes wherever she wants, whenever she wants.  Generally, "wherever" is where other people are.  She just goes wherever she hears voices.  Although she is all over the place, it isn't as scary as when her brothers were crawling.  So far, Charlotte hasn't tried to get into the same kind of trouble her brothers were always looking for.

She loves to play with toys, and will play with her brother's blocks and trucks more than she will with the toys geared especially for babies.

playing blocks with her big brothers

As previously mentioned (and shown), she is pulling to stand. I can tell that she's working on walking or cruising, which makes me kind of nervous.  Will she be an early walker? On one hand, I am thrilled that I don't have to worry about her physical development.  On the other hand, I am dreading having 3 fully mobile children.

enjoying a waffle for breakfast

She is eating even more.  She doesn't always get 3 meals a day, but she does like to sit with us at the table and eat.  When the boys are sitting in their chairs, and I start carrying food into the dining room from the kitchen, she crawls to her chair to get ready to join us.  She likes pancakes, toast, oatmeal, yogurt, broccoli, zucchini, pasta, carrots, watermelon, peaches, and blueberries.  Charlotte will snack on crackers or pretzel sticks if the boys are eating them.  So far, she has only rejected a taste of fish.  I haven't tried to give her any meat yet, since she isn't chewing, but she is really mastering gumming food and using her tongue to push food around in her mouth.  I can see her shifting food from the middle of her tongue to the sides to gum it.  I love watching her eat, and it seems she loves eating!

Charlotte has taken to the pool like a fish to water (haha).  With all the hot weather we've had, the pools are nice and warm, and she doesn't complain at all.  She hangs out in a tube, or in my arms, and kicks her feet.  She is generally so calm, and when she accidentally dunked her face in the pool today, she didn't complain at all.

Outings and Adventures: We took our summer trip to Maine.  Charlotte was mostly ok with the car ride, and she did have a great time visiting her memere, pepere, cousins, and great-grandparents.  Other than that, I regret to say that we have spent a lot of time indoors over the past month.  It's been so hot!  We have had play dates with friends, and spent a lot of time at Jane and Ed's pool.  Last weekend, Charlotte got to meet her cousins who live in Massachusetts, but had been in Israel for a year.

Routine/Schedule: Well.  Our nighttime (sleep) is not going well.  She's been waking up 2 times a night, and waking up earlier for the morning.  Not only am I not well-rested, she isn't either.  I find myself getting very frustrated and irritated in the middle of the night, and wanting to not nurse her at all.  Eric and I just discussed starting Ferber to change her sleep habits.  We did Ferber right around this time with the boys and were successful, so I am hoping it works again.  She has very good "sleep habits;" I put her down sleepy but awake for every nap and bedtime, and she very rarely has trouble soothing herself to sleep after she's down.  She's able to take pretty good naps, too.  At this point I think it is just habit- at 20+ lbs, she is not starving and needing to eat 2 or more times in a night, and the wakings and feedings aren't doing any of us any favors.

We still have the same general schedule- she has been taking a morning nap almost every morning, especially because she isn't sleeping at night.  After her nap we do something with her brothers, or run an errand if they're at camp, or she plays with Meema or Sarah (her sitter) if I'm at work.  She then takes a 2nd nap.  She could really use a 3rd nap some nights, but there is so much happening that she never really goes down.

Favorite food: Probably still breast milk.  She does seem to love watermelon, but maybe I'm projecting.

Favorite person: Oh, Charlotte.  She loves everyone.  I think I'm still #1, but she adores her daddy and brothers, and gives them huge grins whenever she sees them.  She just has a big smile for everybody, and is a hit whenever we go out in public.  Benjamin has recently taken an interest in her and wants to hug and kiss her all the time.  It is adorable.  He says, "I love her!" and "I want to hold her in my lap," after which he says, "her not a baby! Her HEAVY!"  What a lucky girl to love and be loved like this.

gorgeous

My aunt sent these pictures of the boys, which my uncle took.  In my very unbiased opinion, my little guys are growing into handsome young men!

Asher

Benjamin

slow down, lady!

Mere days after I posted that Charlotte was crawling, I came to get her from nap and found this!  6 months and 3 weeks old, and Eric had to lower her crib.  Good thing she is so cute!

The boys have a new activity, which I love.  They are playing with their wooden blocks and making "cities."  They build towers, drive their cars around, and eventually knock it over and rebuild.  It keeps them busy for a (relatively) long time, and they get along.  I love listening to them talk and play while they do it.

building together

Today Papa Nick and I took the boys to "Touch-a-Truck" which was pretty cool.  There were trucks, buses, bulldozers, fire trucks, etc. to play on.  We had a great time, and the rest of the afternoon, Benjamin kept asking to back and see more trucks.  I guess we'll be going again next year!

on the back of the dump truck

Our time ended after the boys played in the water (there was a fire truck sprinkling water, and an inflatable water slide).  Asher stood up and took off his wet diaper in the middle of the crowd, and I told him, quietly, that it wasn't polite, and that other people didn't want to see his penis.  He then said, loudly, "They DO want to see my penis!"  Annnnd... our time here is over.  Sometimes having boys is quite exciting!

a little bragging about my baby

Charlotte is just doing so well!  In the past couple of weeks she has 100% learned to crawl.  She isn't fast the way she will be soon, but she is all over the place.  Apparently she is already figuring out how to crawl up steps, too.  Oh, boy.  We had just put the coffee table back in our living room about 4 months ago, and now it's gone again.

She's also babbling, which the boys didn't do much of, but which is so much fun.  She says "ba" and "ma," and then has a variety of other mouth noises: raspberries (tongue in or out), clicking her tongue, and now yelling while covering/uncovering her mouth with her fist.  As my mom said, she is very pleased with herself.

I also can't get over how beautiful she is.  In all the time I dreamed about having a daughter, I don't think I ever imagined she would be this beautiful.  Eric and I do good work!

Maine 2013

We are home from our annual vacation to visit Eric's family in Maine.  We were up for about 5 days, which just flew by.

We drove up on the 3rd, and hit tons of traffic, which was disappointing because we had hoped to get ice cream on our way into town.  We went to bed right away when we got to Eric's parents' house, and then they got up with the boys in the morning while Eric and I slept until after 7.

On the 4th we went to the parade in town.  For the first time, the boys were very excited... because I told them there would be candy there.  They did have a great time.

The boys with Memere and Charlotte with Auntie Di

Waving their flags, i.e. waiting for more candy

 We had a pretty quiet day- grilled for lunch, swam in the pool, and played with their cousins.  Charlotte got all suited up:

LOVE those legs!

And took to the pool like a little fish.  When I first put her in the float she scolded me- she has 2 syllables now: ba and ma- so she looked me in the eye and said "Bababa BA BA!" but then adjusted and kicked around.

cool in the pool

On Friday the 5th we went to Eric's grandparents' little house on a pond.  The boys really like it there because they can wade in and play in the sand.  The pond was so warm from all the heat and everyone found it pleasant.

Charlotte with her great-grandparents

On Daddy's shoulders with memere

Digging in the sand

More fun in the sun

Saturday all their cousins came over for the morning.  7 kids in one house is a little nuts, no matter how many capable adults are there.  I took my two nieces to the dollar store to get some arts and crafts stuff to keep us busy, but they were the only ones who really did much with it.  The boys love their big cousins, and my nieces are great with them, making sure they are taken care of and paying attention to them.  I can't find the photo, but Benjamin and Myah were reading together in the recliner and it was adorable.

The things that were wonderful:
We got to see our family, and the boys love their memere and pepere, as well as their cousins.

We got to eat a lot of ice cream.

We had many, many fun and funny moments.  We had a great time in the pool, and we laughed a lot.  One night Asher turned the hose on Memere while she watered her plants... that was pretty funny.  Pepere got a 4-wheeler for the boys to ride in the yard, and they loved it.

The not-so-wonderful:
The boys skimped on sleep and over-indulged in sweets, so their behavior was questionable at times.
Eric got sick- maybe a flu? and then seemed to pass it on to Benjamin, who vomited for only the 2nd time in his life on Sunday afternoon.

We got photos taken by Eric's cousin, Autumn, and she posted a preview:

which I can't stop looking at.  I can't believe that something so beautiful came from me!  It's just crazy.  I love her- and not just because she is delicious.

I'm glad that we have such a great family, and that the boys are growing up loving, and being loved by, their grandparents.  I wish that we could go more often, so that we could spend more time with them (at least in the summer, their winters are pretty yucky).  The boys were sad to leave, but happy to sleep in their own beds, I think.  And now back to real life again- work for Eric and me (I am adding in a 3rd day of work starting this week) and camp for the boys.  I do hate the end of vacation feeling.