Christmas Week Begins...

When Mom Has a Stomach Bug....

Well...I tried.....

Robin and Maggie share a doctor's appointment.

Both kids had a well baby visit today so our ped's were kind enough to book them in the same slot and do it together. Have I mentioned before how much we love our pediatricians? (Still have to pay the two co-pays though..can't get out of that one! ha ha ha).

Lots of progress and updates:

(Disclaimer: Any comparisons between the kids is for fun only. We know and love our children each as individuals and we welcome and enjoy their differences and don't expect them to match up with all of this stuff. Still it's fun to compare...and it's purely for entertainment only)

Maggie:
4 Months Old
Weight: 12 lbs 9 oz (A: 14 lbs 13 oz, R: 10 lbs 14 oz)
Height: 25 1/4" (A: 24 3/4", R: 24 1/4)

So she's really tall! I think they said the height was in the 90th%. I was surprised. Also by her weight. We both thought she weighed a lot more than she does based on our stepping on the scale with her and stepping on alone. But I guess she's right in the middle of the boys.She is holding herself up well and lifts up decently on her tummy. She coos and babbles similarly to Arthur at that age. (Robin wasn't much of a verbal expresser...still isn't). She did have a minor diaper rash that we were given a prescription for because the ped felt it looked like it needed a little something extra. She had one shot, and we'll do the others in a month after we let her process the DTaP alone.

One of the issues brought up with Maggie is that she's got this weird sort of hunch-y thing going on. The fat pad on her neck is thick and while she doesn't have any chromosomal problems normally associated with that, it does make her range of motion just a wee bit smaller. The doctor isn't worried in the slightest but she said an early intervention couldn't hurt so she'll probably have a little bit of physical therapy. It could all just be due to the fact that she was for so long in the breech position before birth.Also she has a pretty badly blocked tear duct. They will wait until she is about nine months old and if it hasn't unblocked, they do a minor surgery to unblock it. That's a bridge we'll cross when we get to it though. Right now they've prescribed her eye goop to just make sure it's not an infection but they are pretty certain it's the duct.

Robin:
18 Months Old
Weight: 18 lbs 4 oz (A: 23 lbs 13 oz)
Height: 31 1/4" (A: 30 3/4")

Yeah, he's still small. He did gain 2 lbs since his last appointment but that curve just isn't budging. He gained 2 pounds in the previous three months too and that was when his pediatrian started asking us to pump up the calories in his liquid...which we did. There really isn't a lot more we can do food wise. He eats...a lot. We're doing what we can to maximize his fat and calorie intake but aside from tying him down so he doesn't burn any calories, I just don't think this is a beast we can control. They will discuss it and give us a call tomorrow and I've told them that we're not really worried about it if they aren't. He looks healthy, his head and brain are growing, and he's behaving developmentally in ways appropriate for a well-nourished child. He also carries some genetics of some tiny people in my family that I was not blessed to inherit as well. If they express concern, we'll have them go ahead and screen him for metabolic issues. I don't honestly think anything will come up, but it will at least rule out that there is anything "wrong" with him.

He's finally starting to open his mouth..YAY and soon I'll wish he hadn't..ha ha ha. His vocabulary range was at about 3 or 4 "possible" words at his 15 month appointment and now he has a steady stream of regular words and phrases. He's definitely got a smaller range than Arthur had, and that is common for second children. But he now regularly says things like "up, please", "sky", "all done", "uh oh", "Arthur", "blastoff", "bye bye", and "li eye eye" (little einsteins..he likes the song). No "mum" yet but we are getting there.

I have to add that while we certainly have had, do have, and will continue to have our own issues and worries with the kids, today I was really counting my blessings. This week I learned of two very little ones with cystic fibrosis...one is the young son of a very dear friend of mine from college that I was just able to recently reconnect with. His mom said something simple but beautiful to me that I carried today "All we can do is love our children and try to give them the best life possible".

Damn right.

A Crafty New Start

Having had multiple requests for conversations around crochet and the like, I've started another parallel blog strictly dedicated to crochet. Hopefully this will make it so my crochet postings won't detract from the adorable photos of my kids!

Look for older posts of crochet from many years ago as well as some new stuff. And of course, if you have patterns to share, please feel free to post some there!

--> Click Here <-- for the crochet blog or:

http://a-crochetmama.blogspot.com/

Robin's Haircut - Before and After

Eggnog popsicles

Maggie being cute

A Small Request for Bread Recipies

I've dug out the bread machine and have been baking a loaf of bread every couple of days. But I haven't really found a recipe that I've been 100% thrilled with for slicing bread. The one I made yesterday was perfect if it were a dinner roll (dense, slightly rich) but I want something I can say "yeah, this will make a good grilled cheese" and will be fluffy enough to not fulfill a whole days carb allotment on once slice alone.

So if you would, please click on "comments" below and post your best bread recipes. My machine can make 1, 1.5, and 2 pound loaves.

Thanks everyone!

Maggie's 3 Month Photos

A fistful of friends...

Notice my attempt at "Caillou" at the very right....passable, I think. :)

The Robin project

I've mentioned a few times now that Arthur and Maggie's big Christmas projects took a lot longer to make that the one I made for Robin (which I made first) and that I now felt I needed to compensate by making him something else of similar time and skill efforts.

I've taken the astronauts from the rocket ship patterns and I've crocheted them down to just about the waist. I added a tighter row at the bottom leaving an opening. I've added arms and head accessories. I've finished three now and I'm happy to say that they're turning out to be quite a nice set of finger puppets. Pictures to follow when I get a chance to take some.

We go to bed, a family full of joy tonight.

For the first time in our short voting history of four presidential elections, instead of choosing the "lesser of the evils" we have voted for (and elected) a president who we believe is going to do great things for our country. With 100% support and joy, we are looking forward to inauguration day. This man has earned great respect from our family, because he has expressed great respect for us. And we know his ideas and values are ones that we, as a family, can get behind and we are so happy and proud to be a part of this day.

And as Arthur said into his Grammy and Gido's answering machine last night... "Go Ackabama!" It's a tough mess to fix and we don't expect miracles overnight. But we know that we are on a better road.

We are a happy family, and this choice keeps us the most protected as a family. That is most important to us and always will be.

Completed Projects

Here's Arthur's completed Rocket. I think I'm all done making him people for now. If he wants some later, I can make some more. Two astronauts with removable helmets, two aliens, and the planet Saturn.

This one is a basket pattern I got out of a magazine. It's not as stiff as I wanted it to be even though I used double strands and the right sized hook. But I'm sure I can do something good with it. I have an idea in mind of who I'd like to give it to and what I want to put in it.

This is Joanne's hat that she asked me to make from a library book pattern. She's already seen it and tried it on but she still has to wait until Christmas!

I also have a few variations of the same project that I don't want to post, because there are a couple of people I've made them for who probably peek at our blog! But they are cute!

Freaky Molar...

Robin had a rough sleeping week about a week and a half ago. There were a couple of nights he woke all night long. I looked for teeth, checked his ears. He had been to the doctor and there wasn't anything wrong with him in terms of being sick.

Today, Joanne discovered a fully grown in molar in the bottom left (his left) of his mouth. He doesn't even have the side teeth yet, and there's this freaky molar already in. And it's not just poking through, it's fully in there. I'm amazed we didn't notice it. It's kind of weird because the only visible teeth he has on the bottom are the two front ones. Usually babies get the six at the bottom before a molar shows up. Well, he's unique. And at least now we know what was probably bugging him.

Halloween (and preceding Halloween related events)

Arthur's Rocket Ship

Sometimes you can find the best crochet patterns just by poking around the internet. I just made this Rocket ship for Arthur by using a pattern from Bizzyboppers at Crochetville. (To see pattern, click here --> Pattern). A big thanks for posting that one!


I added the NASA logo on my own to make it look nice and official and I plan on making more astronauts and aliens as well as some planets. Arthur has been asking for a Rocket ship and I think this will work. It's pretty large, maybe 15" from end to end.


I was silly and took the photos at night though, and the lighting in my house can leave weird shadows sometimes. I'll take some better ones when I've completed the project entirely.

Finishing the Rocket and Maggie's doll leaves me totally convinced that Robin got cheated. His project took a lot less time and isn't nearly as well put together. I'll have to come up with something else to add to it so that the gifts are all fair in terms of time and quality.

A very unthrifty thrift store...

...When it comes to children's clothes that is. Joanne and I took a trip to the shiney new Salvation Army Family Store today in search of inexpensive and quickly-outgrown winter pajamas for the boys. Arthur needs them because he sprouts fast, and Robin needs them because he is six months behind where Arthur was his second winter.

I just wanted something warm and cheap. Design not important. But after picking out a few pairs of pilly and worn pajamas priced 5.99, Joanne and I looked at each other with a "huh?" look. You can get new pairs of the zippy pj's at the children's place in the mall for a buck more.
There were plenty of stray pajama pants priced .99-2.99. But zero tops.

Now the adult clothes have great prices. 2.99 for a blouse. 3.99 for a sweater. But it just wasn't a great bargain over in the children's clothing section. (We did find a few .99 cent wooden toys and a pair of boots for Robin though).

So we drove down the street to a regular retail store and picked up two packages of twin pack fleece pajamas for 9.48. That's 4.74 a brandy-new pair. 1.25 less each than the pilly, used ones at the thrift store.

Maybe that's where they make their big money..on kids clothes. But they are no bargain, I'll tell ya. I'll stick to shoes, books, and toys and skip the kid's clothes.

A familiar visit

Fun Filled Fall

I can't hink of any fall produce activities we didn't do this year!

It started with pumpking picking. We found a local farmstand with a pumpkin field in the back. With lots of options, it was difficult to decide on a pumpkin:



The boys each finally chose a pumpkin:

and we loaded up our wagon. We got a big pumpkin for everyone to share and a small one for Maggie, who was snuggled in her sling.

While Robin had a hard time getting his pumpkin in the wagon:

Arthur had no trouble pulling the wagon through the field and back to the farmstand:

Our next produce adventure was apple picking. We went later in the season then we wanted (too much work, rain, and failed yard sales to go earlier) so the pickings we slim. We needed Arthur's help to get the apples high up in the trees:

Robin found a short cut:While Maggie was again snuggled in her sling, sleeping quietly, the boys fully enjoyed the day out:

And even though they ate many of our findings:

We did get to bring some home:

Our next adventure was a corn maze. The boys got lost in the corn and played with their cousins. The adventure started by investigating the corn:

Maggie (again) slept in her sling, Robin rode in the stroller:

and Arthur walked the entire maze (he was a very tired boy later!):

While we certainly didn't win (in fact we were the last of our group to get to the finish line), Arthur did get to ring the bell:

And then we all played in the corn pit (think sandbox, but filled with corn kernels):

Even Maggie came out of her sling for some fun:

Robin was very happy to see her and couldn't resist a big hug: