Oh, the marathon!!!

I love love love the Chicago marathon. I'm not a runner, but there is nothing more moving to me than watching people run a marathon. I started going years back when my friend Rhessa ran her first. I got up early, took the el downtown, got a venti something or other from Starbucks, and elbowed my way to the fence near the finish line. Then I stood there and cried for two hours. I thought I was going to cheer her on, which I did. But I wasn't at all prepared for the emotion that swept over me--again and again--as I watched people run the last stretch of the marathon. Runners were laughing, crying, walking, limping. Even falling down. And then someone else, who didn't appear to know them, would stop running, give up their time, and help the person up, then accompany them to the finish line. I know i'm sentimental, but does it get any better than that?
This past Sunday was the marathon. The halfway point was half a block from our place, so we loaded up the boys and headed over. There were (before these pics were taken) tons of folks lined up, cheering, holding signs, ringing cow bells (love that). The cops that were there to provide security were clapping and yelling and cheering everyone on. Seth and I stood and watched and yelled. Brice clapped and waved and even got to give a high five to one of the runners. Harry was calm and happy and sucked on the Bjorn for an hour. Everytime I watch a marathon, I always entertain the thought of running, say, a 5k. Maybe this will be the year!!

Colic (and family) Update

I think it's over. I really do. It's been lessening the past week and haven't had any raging for the past few days. Ahhh.... AND, he's no longer sleeping in his carseat. He's a big boy now, sleeping in his pack and play (inside his changing pad; keeps him cozy). He's still swaddled, but that's not a big deal. We can even put him down drowsy and he'll fall asleep. This may not seem like a big deal, but believe me. It is. Today, he's napping on a schedule. Wow.
I originally started this blog thinking it would be primarily a place to keep family updated on the boys. And it is. But I also thought i'd write about what was going on with ME and SETH. What we were doing, thinking, eating, reading. It's not that i've not had the time, it's that we've not done anything for the past four months. We've gone out to eat once without the boys (thanks Christa!!). I've not read a single book. I've cooked, like, three meals. I've cried 5 out of 7 days a week. We've not been back to housegroup yet. We have started back to church. But that's it, really. If we'd known how HARD this would have been, and we could have gotten a guarantee we'd still have Harry, we would have waited to have the second. Brice is a strong-willed child who did not take well to sharing me. We've been negotiating tantrums, flailing about trying to discipline him in ways that would not break his spirit, all while listening to Harry rage in the background. It's been a hard four months. But I think things are turning. I do. I feel it. Brice isn't changing; he's becoming harder, in fact. But I have more energy for him now. More patience. And Harry is getting so much easier (and quieter!!). I think we made it.

CIO, baby, CIO

If you know what CIO means, you feel my pain. CIO is short hand for "cry it out" a much maligned version of sleep training--you know, when you teach your baby to fall asleep without being fed, bounced, rocked, etc. Basically, you get the child all gussied up for bed, fed, kissed and then set him down and wave good bye. I've heard parents say that this version rips their hearts out. I suggest they move further away from the door. Kidding. But seriously. We waited until Brice was four months old to start with him and he took to it like a dream. He slept in his bassinet instead of his carseat. A few days of crying and he was out. He was on a regular schedule immediately, didn't need to be swaddled; he turned into a dream child. It also coincided with his colic ending. Needless to say, the sun rose on my world right around four months.
We are nearing the four month mark with Harry. I planned on waiting until four months to start sleep training, but I sense i'll be moving it up. Mainly b/c my back cannot take the endless bending over, picking up the car seat, bouncing the car seat, bending over to swaddle, etc. I've been trying to get him to sleep for the past two hours. Four times i've had to go in, get him, feed him, rewrap him, bounce him, and do it again. Oi!!! So he started screaming AGAIN and I left him. I just let him cry. There must be a reason they don't have memories that go this far back. And miraculously, he fell asleep. This is good. Naps are the hardest to manage. Oh, this is good. I'll keep you posted. But for now, my new mantra is: CIO baby!! ( mommy loves you)

Major 'tude

The boy has always been strong-willed. I knew that within the first few weeks. But lately, he's developing a bit of a 'tude. And temper. Oh my gosh. It's hard to capture in words, but, oh, what the heck. I'll give it a shot. Ornery. Foul. Vindictive. You can't even look sideways at the kid without getting a nasty scowl from him, and usually he'll reach out and swat you just to get his point across. Charming. It'd be kind of funny if it wasn't so exhausting and maddening. We're disciplining him only to stay in the game. We've given up on the idea that it will actually change his behavior. Disciplining him just ticks him off and makes him up his game. It doesn't actually change his behavior. Brice entered the terrible twos around 11 months. I remember trying to redirect him and he scowled at me and tried to hit me. I called my mom and asked if it was too early for him to have a temper and she just laughed. Great. I hear things start to even out around three years old. So, we're halfway to normal. Wish us luck!!

Smiling and sitting up (sorta)

The Pink Streak

Today, after I cleaned Brice up from lunch (no small feat), I set him on the floor in only his cow diaper and let him roam free while I did the dishes. He popped behind the couch for a second, but that didn't raise any red flags. I just figured he was taking care of business and I wanted to give him a little privacy. No less than 30 seconds later, I hear him laughing hysterically and turn around in time to see a little pink streak fly through the kitchen, bounce off the wall and run down the hallway. I ran after him and saw his little pink tush and in his hand? His cow diaper. Uh-oh. What to do? The majority of his diapers are velcro and all disposables are velcro. I have 5 diapers with snaps. This is not good. I thanked my lucky stars the diaper was only a, shall we say, #1 diaper. But what happens if he gets out of #2 diapers? What then? I'm beginning to understand why old cloth diapers had pins.
[side note: this is an old pic of Brice; just used it to show the aforementioned cow diaper]

Train don't run outta Witchita...

In homage to one of my favourite lines from one of my favourite movies, I shall blog that my husband is gone tonight. His first night away, abandoning me with the two rotten children he has saddled me with (just kidding; and apologies for the poor grammar), he is, as the title suggests, in Witchita (no idea of the correct spelling and who really cares, anyway?). So, perhaps the trains don't run outta Witchita, but apparently the planes do. The boyz and I managed to make it through the evening, each throwing a tantrum of their own, but I survived. My trusty friend/sitter Heather came over to help man the ship and she danced with Brice and kept him generally entertained. I took Harry to Target to get a new mop and learned how fast you could empty an aisle when you had a SCREAMING infant with you (less than 1.5 minutes). Harry took his first non-raging bath tonight. Lovely. Now I am dead tired and thinking of turning in to face the morning. I bought a new NYT crossword puzzle book that i'm tempted to crack, though. I think I will. I know i'll hit a wall (what's up with the Peer Gynt clue that's in almost every NYT puzzle?) and throw my pen across the room within 15 minutes, so what the heck... Ok, here goes the first night alone. Me, Brice, Harry, and Will Shortz...