friend visit – Page 5 – Myriad & Sundry

Eleventh Week

June 4, 2013 No Comments

We are done with formal weekly photos since I am returning to work soon (don’t worry about second child syndrome; Jameson only had 10 weekly photos too), but I will document these weeks where I have time.

We just loved having the family home for our 4 day holiday weekend. Dad took off work on Friday for the Thomas the Train outing, and Coraline was just an angel the entire time. Saturday we enjoyed a visit from Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Melissa for Dad’s birthday, and it is always nice to have another pair of arms holding and occupying her for a little while.

Sunday of course was our visit with JP & Lisa and Jonathan and Coraline enjoyed being outside on the cool day. I’m sad that she won’t be able to spend as much time outside once she starts daycare.

Coraline is still taking 30 minute naps but is happy between so I try not to worry about it much. About once a day I try to take her out for errands long enough for her to sleep a little more.

I washed her 6 month clothes, which was weird because she’s not even 3 months old yet. I have a lot of sleepers that we’re not using yet because she still likes being swaddled, so at night she’s typically just in a onesie and swaddled that she throws her arms out of.

Bottle feeding is still unsuccessful. She no longer screams since we found that she is okay with the latex nipples on Playtex bottles. She particularly likes the fast flow though and doesn’t suck much, maybe a half ounce per bottle.

Coraline loves bath time until we have to get her out and she’s cold. She has a little cradle cap and dry skin but baby acne is mostly gone.

The other day after bath Jameson spontaneously did “this little piggy” on her toes and hands which was so cute. They are getting along so well and she enjoys watching him.

children

Memorial Day Friends

June 3, 2013 No Comments

We took Jameson to see the doctor on Saturday over the holiday weekend and found out he had strep throat and an ear infection, but thankfully he wasn’t contagious 24 hours later, so we still were able to get together with JP, Lisa & Jonathan on Sunday in celebration of Memorial Day and Brian’s birthday. (Mmm another ice cream cake!)

I love this close up of Jameson; he was hamming it up for the camera, which is rare for him. He still moves very fast so I took about 20 of these hoping one would be in focus. To get his natural smile, I made him laugh a little by asking him to show his teeth (that’s what this pose is below)

He may have had strep, but that didn’t stop me from getting one of the two of them together. It was still on the cool side so everyone was in long sleeves but I loved the opportunity to get Coraline next to Jameson outside. She’s getting ever sturdier and is a little less intimidating for him. He was willing to put his arm around her.

When I laid Coraline down in the yard in our limited shade with her blanket, Jameson had to get his and join in as well.

We enjoyed bratwurst and burgers with JP and Lisa’s pasta salad and corn on the cob. Jameson is an expert at eating corn this year, but he did lose his first piece on the patio. Oops! Good thing we made extra.

The boys only sat at the table for about 5 minutes before they joined us at the adult table; luckily there were plenty of chairs.

After dinner, we all played outside for a while. Coraline got a little antsy and over tired though. It didn’t stop the party though!

Jameson and Jonathan decided it would be great fun to go down the slides head first… Clearly a lot of fun! The slides aren’t too high and they don’t get much speed so we all enjoyed watching the boys find this new way to play.

I love seeing Jonathan and Jameson play together. Jameson was so excited for him to come over and kept saying “Jonathan play with me?”, and even though by the end of the day he was exhausted and cranky, undoubtedly in part because of being ill, it was so much fun.

general life

Playdates and Friends

May 15, 2013 1 Comment

The weekend before last, Jonathan came over for a visit on Saturday afternoon, followed by a beautiful Sunday with neighbors and even the grandchildren of our other next door neighbors popping over to play before my celebratory birthday dinner.

After exhausting themselves outside, they came in and JP and Lisa offered to help try Coraline on the bottle (relatively unsuccessfully again…). Jonathan and Jameson watched a little tv, mesmerized.

Brian brought out the Elmo Telephone app on the ipad which is always a hit, and then a little cookie monster. No one wanted to leave!

Sunday, we brought out the bounce house again for Jameson and Lily. It is nice to have it in the backyard this year now that we have a yard again!

Brian’s parents and sister came over to celebrate my birthday over dinner. Coraline just loved being outside enjoying the evening air before dinner time.

Both neighbors came over. The older couple on the other side of us had their adult children and grandkids over, and it was wonderful to see the swing set fully in use!

After our dinner, it was time to sing! When Brian said we didn’t have any candles, Jameson ran to get a regular yellow candle on the entryway table. He was so excited to be helpful! So we lit that candle and Jameson helped me blow it out.

Another year gone!

general life

Zoo Trip with Aunt Carol

May 9, 2013 1 Comment

The animal Jameson told us he wanted to see this time was a polar bear (last time was a zebra). We did see the polar bear, but not until the very end!

First we saw the elephants, and for the first time we happened to be there exactly when they were doing the Elephant Crossing (rotating the elephants from one side of the exhibit to the other, crossing close in front of us!)

The elephants lift up their trunks and open their mouths for a treat when they are finished, which was pretty cool to see.

It was nice that it wasn’t too hot; many of the animals were active. It did get warmer than I originally expected though since the rain held off and the sun came out!

We went with my Aunt Carol which was great since I don’t have a double stroller. It would’ve been ~~hard~~ impossible to push two strollers by myself!

Jameson was very into climbing onto the fences. We would stop, he was request to get out of the stroller and climb up; and when we went to move on, he wanted to buckle himself in by himself.

We stopped here underneath flowering trees for me to feed Coraline, and Jameson was great while we waited. He had an applesauce snack. We also heard the wolves suddenly start howling like crazy, so Aunt Carol took him to go look at them. We usually can’t see them, but apparently they were visible and calling out!

The sloth bear was great. He got up and rotated himself, slinging his head over the log like that as we were watching.

And finally we got to see the polar bear!

We stopped and ate subs at a picnic area which was surprisingly calm since there were schools at the zoo this weekday. It’s so nice to pack up a little lunch so we don’t have to buy anything and just stop when we’re hungry.

After the zoo visit, we played outside with Lily for a while. Coraline slept most of the day this way in her stroller, so later in the afternoon I made her get up and stretch out and play inside for a bit. Aunt Melissa came over in the evening to help with bedtime since Brian had a work dinner. It was such a lovely day to have Jameson home and play.

life with baby

5 Weeks Old

April 20, 2013 No Comments

Five weeks old! Coraline went from no expressions to some smiles this week.

She also got to meet Lisa and not-so-baby anymore Vivenne. We actually saw them twice this week, again when we went to the playground, though Coraline slept through that!

Over the weekend at one month old, she seemed to give us some first really focused smiles. Since then, I’ve seen about one a day. It’s always so wonderful to see that delighted reaction from them after caring for them without gratification so long.

Also note the baby acne began this week suddenly. It doesn’t seem too bad, but I also minimize it is pictures 😉 you may be able to tell another photo where I did some editing on her tongue. She may have thrush, so we decided yesterday to to treat it as if she does. There are no other symptoms, and she’s had it for a couple weeks already with no change.

Jameson also seems to note that she’s gotten heavier. After putting her in his lap for a moment, he requested instead that she should sit next to him!

Brian’s childhood friend Hollie came to visit on Saturday with her three girls. Coraline slept while Jameson played Mr. potato head with the girls. He loved that they were willing to zoom him around in his bilibo; he event threw himself around in it after the game was over.

Sunday, my parents came up to visit, so our weekend was kept busy again!

Five weeks gone; next week, we will be halfway done with maternity leave and hopefully well into consistent spring weather!

children, life with baby

Spring Weekend

April 9, 2013 No Comments

Finally, spring weather seems to be here to stay!

This weekend, we got out a lot, even with a newborn and toddler. Saturday, we went to the meat market to stock up on fresh chicken and beef, and then stopped at the farmers market on the way back to pick up some apples for Jameson to take to school during the week.

We played outside, and it is so fun watching Jameson be able to run to through the backyard which is finally drying out a little as well.

It was even warmer on Sunday, and we went to the zoo! We met JP, Lisa and Jonathan there (and we were only about 10 minutes late, haha)

Jameson told us on the way that he was going to see zebahs (we were a little surprised at his choice of animals that he was intending to see, since lions and elephants are in more of the shows that we watch!). We did get to see zebras, but first we saw elephants and the lion, which was on his back, sunbathing.

The trip for Coraline was a bit anticlimactic, since she isn’t observing much yet! But I did breastfeed her, in public (with a drape), which I thought was an accomplishment. Much more convenient than bringing bottles, that’s for sure.

She napped most of the time, and was a little angel for the entire trip. I forgot how much easier newborns really are sometimes.

The toddlers went stroller-free, which was great. Of course, we couldn’t have done it without the two strong husbands to carry them when needed. It was so different, looking at Coraline bundled in her stroller and Jameson walking around and thinking that’s only two years away for her. I am regularly reminded of how fast the time goes, and perhaps more appreciative of that fact with her than I was with Jameson.

After some snacks and about an hour and a half at the zoo, we decided to get some lunch.

Lunch was wild! We went to Aladdin’s, and the boys did great with veggies and hummus and pitas, but Jameson clearly needed to go potty and kept refusing. We tried at the zoo at every restroom, and tried again at Aladdins another 3 times. When we spoke logically to him, he said he needed to go potty, but as soon as he saw the restroom, he refused. I am not sure where this fear of public restrooms came from, though I think it’s related to the automatic flushers; Aladdin’s didn’t have them though. Regardless, he started telling us he wanted to go home, and we quickly wrapped it up.

We tried at the public rest area off the highway with similar results. Somehow… he managed to hold it until we got home. I am still not sure how he managed that. This is the first time I have thought that being potty trained has its inconveniences. Not sure how to get him over this fear except to continue trying. Unfortunately, we only have opportunities on the weekends sometimes to get him to go at other restrooms.

Looking for any advice!

children

A New Year

January 18, 2013 No Comments

I’m finally nearly caught up with all our holiday events! Here we are at New Year, and for the record, I did stay up until about 12:07 and then collapsed into bed. Last year, we stayed over at JP & Lisa’s house. This year, recent sleep troubles and changes (oh, I can’t wait to share details about that!) caused us to decide to make our way home well before midnight for Jameson’s sake.

It took us a while to drive there; the snow that evening was a little unexpected and the roads weren’t great. Luckily, everything was pretty clear by the time we left that night.

Jameson and Jonathan played with Jonathan’s new Christmas gifts, which included a grill. They both were partial to the hotdog.

They exchanged gifts, and Jameson loved his Elmo hat! For two seconds anyway before he took it off. It’s big enough we should be able to use it for a year or two to come as well!

We enjoyed an excellent, kid friendly spaghetti and meatball/sausage dish for dinner, and Brian and I brought over our gingerbread, a favorite go-to dessert.

The boys loved the ice cream part!

Then? It was playtime! The boys ran around with cars, slid down hallways with the dads and otherwise made mischief.

We did have a car injury, which Brian and JP were happy to fix!

Later we enjoyed some celebratory champagne, and Jameson and Jonathan had sparkling grape juice. Jonathan gulped his right down while Jameson lingered sipping. They both wanted more though we thought more sugar that evening would be a bad idea!

We had Jameson and Jonathan give each other hugs goodbye, and while most of them ended up with the two of them in a heap on the floor, we did capture a few cute moments. Jameson actually did a good job hugging back!

Jameson, as per usual now, didn’t sleep in the car even though it was 10:30 and well past his bed time. We had him home and in bed before the ball drop, so we were able to see the New Year just Brian and I before heading to bed ourselves, exhausted.

Exhausted will probably be one of my words to describe this year, I’m sure!

children

Elmo Birthday Party

December 19, 2012 No Comments

We weren’t originally going to have a party for Jameson, but I got it in my head to make some invitations and it was all over after that.

We did tone it down quite a bit as compared to last year, and banners and party favors were purchased at a party store. They make it so easy! We also invited quite a few less people so the house wasn’t so crowded.

The other Elmo touches were brought in by our cupcakes and fruit tray, inspiration courtesy of Pinterest.

The cupcakes themselves were a box mix (had to make something easy!); the mouths are Oreos which were tough to cut right. The eyes are large marshmallows, cut in half, and topped with store-bought brownie icing pupils. The noses are candy orange slices.

The icing was the hardest part. I borrowed a fancy icing tool from a friend and used a star tip to get the fur effect, and by the end my thumb was numb for a day or so! We used the red food dye in a tube from the bakery aisle to get the very red color, and used the majority of the small tube for it.

We thought we would half left-over fruit for sure, but as it turns out, young kids love fruit! And parents love giving it to them. We had no fruit left! Brian also made little hot dogs, buffalo chicken dip and a jarlsberg cheese dip. We didn’t actually have that much food left over this time.

And that was about it for Elmo decor! From there, it was all about Jameson, his friends, gifts, blowing out the candle and capturing all those moments on camera.

Jameson’s cousin Griffin loved playing with the boys. He played fort, ball, and assisted wherever he could! Jameson and Jonathan loved him.

Lily, another one of the older kids of the bunch (though only by about 6 months or s0!), also wanted to be a helper! Jameson didn’t mind at all. He’s pretty expert at opening gifts now, but extra hands never hurt!

I had dad help with most of the unwrapping so I could capture the moments on camera. Jameson was very serious about his gift opening, rarely pausing to relax. This was one of the photos where I actually caught a reaction from him.

Jameson got some new books from mom and dad!

One of the other big hits was the tools. Brian said yesterday Jameson was playing with his toy tape measure and wrapping it around his head (like they did at the doctor’s office just last week!)

Brian’s Uncle Mike and cousins Gabrielle and Griffin gave Jameson extra large gifts!

Perfect for his current love of the Lion King and wild animals! Jameson got a couple wild animal playsets. We can’t wait to get these set up for him!

We followed gift opening with dessert!

Jameson actually blew out his own candle! Way to go Jameson!

He knew they were Elmo cupcakes! Jameson’s friend Jonathan also knew it was Elmo and got very upset when his dad pulled off one of the eyeballs, it was too funny!

After dessert, it was play time again!

Included in the party favors (which I may or may not have forgotten to mention to the first party-leavers, oops!) were whistles, which I’m sure all the parents loved. Jameson’s doesn’t leave his mouth!

We had been telling Jameson “Happy Birthday” all day long, with his response occasionally being “happy day”. Without prompting, at bed time and after goodnights, he told me “happy day!” so sweetly. Yes it was Mr. Jameson!

life with baby

Santa Parade!

November 27, 2012 No Comments

The weekend prior to Thanksgiving, we went to our friends JP, Lisa and Jonathan’s house for dinner and their local parade, which ends in Santa waving hello to all the kids!

First of all, Jonathan was ready for a dance party in the living room! Jameson wasn’t so sure about it though and didn’t want to dance. That’s okay, Jonathan was awesome enough for the two of them!

They enjoyed snacks before dinner (and I enjoyed a mocktail).

Then there was a minor scuffle over the broom. Both boys wanted to clean up. I am not sure how long this stage lasts, but I am pretty happy that Jameson wants to be involved in everything we do, which includes chores.

Luckily, there were two different brooms for the kids.

Dinner was excellent. JP and Lisa made an outrageously good macaroni and cheese, rich and creamy with winter greens, bacon and premium cheeses. Mmmmm…

For dessert, we enjoyed pumpkin bars. Jameson even ate some! (And not just the whipped cream this time)

Then it was off to the parade! The boys aren’t as easily contained by strollers anymore, and quickly wanted out and on dads’ shoulders or walking around. (Jonathan was expert at kicking his shoes off)

Jameson enjoyed the trucks and the dogs in the parade, though the loud noises occasionally startled him. They handed out free glow wands which are battery powered, so we’ve gotten some further use out of these since then.

We enjoyed seeing Santa as well, though it was even more fun to get up close and personal the following week! The parade was fun, and we got to see some lights and get into the holiday spirit. It’s after Thanksgiving now, so I don’t have to hide my Christmas music anymore 😉

life with baby

Halloween Festivities Weekend

November 1, 2012 No Comments

Halloween started off last Friday with our neighborhood party! They have the party every year, though this is the first year we’ve participated. Neighbors either pay $5 or host a “station” at their house for kids to come visit.

Okay, the first time Jameson put this costume on, it was a fight! He screamed like we were cutting off his legs, poor thing. Brian and I looked at each other, and did what any good parent would do (right?) and we forced him into it. I’m sure we were both thinking “It’ll be good for you! Fun! Come on!”

He did end up enjoying himself, and the costume was perfect for this awful hurricane-generated rain that we’ve had since that Friday through today still. Still! He stayed warm and dry the entire time, and he loved staying up late. Jameson got a little slap happy at the end.

First stop was a photo station and then pumpkin ring toss. Jameson got a spider as his prize. Oh, and he also had a wonderful new eyeball necklace that lit up from the party favor station when we arrived too. He loves that necklace!

This is Nathan and Jameson, his buddy from school. Nathan was dressed as Thing 1, and his sister as Thing 2. We stopped at their house since they had a s’more station! The boys just had some graham crackers.

We also hopped aboard the hay ride tractor, which Jameson loved. He stared at the tractor the entire time and waved bye bye when we finished.

One of the neighbors is in a real Kiss cover band and had a photo booth there as well. Jameson refused until Brian picked him up. This photo is hilarious!

At the end of the evening, the snack station opened and Lily stopped by for a bit. This photo of Jameson climbing on her stroller made me laugh. He wanted her to come out and play! The night was getting late though and it was cold and misty, so we headed back home shortly after that.

On Saturday, we went to the Akron Zoo for Boo at the Zoo with JP, Lisa & Jonathan.

At least Jameson didn’t mind the costume as much this time, but by the face he’s making in all the pictures you wouldn’t know it. He seems very concerned!

But mostly I think he has a solemn face when he is taking things in and absorbing new experiences.

We rode the merry-go-round, which Jameson loved! He didn’t want to leave or say bye to the polar bear, he had so much fun!

The Akron Zoo is smaller, so we made the rounds pretty quick. I took a few inside, but then it started to rain so I didn’t get any more outdoor photos.

I love how he looks when you take a picture of the back of the costume, with the eyeballs up. Also, yes, he is wearing his eyeball necklace from the previous night again.

After the zoo, we went to Luigi’s for lunch, which I had been craving, so that was perfect! Jameson and Jonathan did really well with dinner, and Jameson ate rigatoni though no ravioli.

He finally ate filled pasta for the first time at daycare the other day; they said he ate it all (either that, or it was all on the floor and they couldn’t tell what he ate, right?!)

Due to Hurricane Sandy and the bad weather this week, our city Trick or Treat has been rescheduled to Sunday, which nice. By the time Halloween festivities are over, Jameson will have worn his costume for 4 days! Lots of adorable pictures of him in Elmo.

Yesterday on Halloween we didn’t lack for Halloween celebration; I went to his school’s Halloween Party and took some photos. More on that to come!

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