Halloween at the Toledo Zoo

We loved spending Halloween at the Toledo Zoo last year, so we went again for the Pumpkin Path - a trick or treating trail that takes you all through the Zoo. We brought along our friends. Andrew's best buddy is Jonas though it is definitely a love and hate relationship, but we were glad that they could come with us. They were real troopers, because it was not the best weather. It was cold and raining off and on. Probably, like in the 40s? We had to buy gloves at the gift shop because it was so cold. Luckily, our boys Halloween outfits are warm (Seriously, I don't know what Michigan parents are thinking who don't get fleece or other seriously warm costumes!).

We slowly slowly slowly trick or treated at 20 different stations throughout the zoo. We saw a magic show along the way, got pictures taken at the HP photo center, posed for many pictures on our camera, played on inflatables, and of course, saw animals! We also spent quite a bit of time at the new Children's center at the zoo, which was fun. Fisher Price had a section set up with cars for the kids to drive. Andrew was at the wheel, but I think he was a little shell-shocked, because he would not pay attention to me at all. I kept telling him to put his foot on the pedal to make the car go, but he did not listen. He did get it a little bit at the end, but I think we should wait awhile before teaching him to drive. Meanwhile, Jonas was mostly concerned that the car's radio was not working!

We got tons of candy (and we got even more candy today at a coworker's kid's birthday party from a pinata) - I have no idea what we will do with it all, though I am stashing some away from the Christmas stockings. Shoot me now, but I am all done with the kids' Christmas shopping! Yeah!

Okay, back to Halloween ... so, the zoo was great. And we stopped at my favorite restaurant on the way home (Abuelos) after only getting a "little" lost. It was an adventure with the boys - Andrew took many time outs at the restaurant, but we had so much fun.

We'll miss our friends when we move!

Seth is 4 months old!

I just can't believe that our little sweetheart is already four months old! The time is just flying by.

First, Seth is a great sleeper. Most nights he sleeps the whole 11-12 hours without waking. Lately, the first 3 hours or so after he goes to bed, he wakes up and fusses for a few minutes, but seems to comfort himself back to sleep without any intervention from us. Katsu thinks he probably does this all night and I just don't hear it because I'm asleep. Well, regardless, I think his sleeping is GREAT and I hope and pray visiting Japan and moving doesn't mess that up.

He takes 3-4 naps a day. Usually a 45 min-ish nap about 1.5 hours after he wakes up. Then, maybe a short catnap before lunch. He takes a longish nap in the afternoon (sometimes for 3+ hours) when Andrew is napping. At least, I try to get their naps to correspond, and they do about 1/2 the time. And then he takes a short-ish nap around 4. He is usually asleep by around 7 every night.

Seth nurses often, but I don't mind since he sleeps so well. He probably eats about every 1.5-3 hours. He is a pretty distracted nurser. He likes to smile and coo a lot, unless he is starving. And sometimes I feel like we are in a wrestling match trying to get him to nurse. But he seems to be gaining weight and is pretty chubby (though no where near Andrew, I think). He already outgrew Costco 1/2 diapers b/c he is so chubby. I just love cute chubby baby thighs.

Seth is very happy about half the time. He coos and giggles and laughs up a storm. He wakes up from naps and in the morning very very happy. He smiles a lot and just lights up whenever he sees anyone. He loves to "talk". He likes being held, or being on the floor, kicking around and trying to roll around. The other half of the time, he is pretty fussy and only wants to held, and usually bounced, too. Thankfully, he likes being in the sling and I carry him around quite a bit.

Seth loves to chew on his fingers. I think he will be a thumb sucker, but right now, he likes to chew on his three middle fingers. He likes to also chew on his clothes and my fingers and toys. No pacifier, though.

Seth likes to play on his activity mat and kick and hit his toys. He is less interested in the swing nowadays and we actually didn't ever use it that much, except as a mobile/mirror. Seth likes grabbing toys some, but is pretty content to just look and bat.

Seth likes to be on his tummy pretty well. Right after he turned three months, he figured out how to roll from tummy to back. He concentrated really hard, rocked himself and kind of tested it out, and then did it. Then, he had no interest, until a couple days before he turned four months, when he rolled over and over. Now, no interest again. I think he prefers being on his tummy and being able to look out over the world.

Seth loves people and pictures of people. I think he is really started to like Andrew, too, which is great because Andrew loves him. Seth loves being outside if it's not too windy or cold, especially looking at trees. He HATES his car seat. Thankfully, I absolutely detest using the car seat as a carrier (first, it is really heavy and also, it seems like people bring them places and just park their kid in them and then totally ignore the poor baby), but it does make car trips quite miserable. He starts out with small crying which then turns into huge hysterics and then the saddest cry ever (that unfortunately also sounds kind of funny and then Andrew starts laughing) before he finally wears himself and falls asleep. Seth also LOVES having his diaper changed. I don't know why, but it is his favorite part of the day.

Seth enjoyed getting to know his Grandpa Dick and Grandma Clo and Aunt Karen better this month, too. We went to the Botanical Gardens with them and to Frankenmuth. This month, we also went to the zoo for trick or treating, went to several parties with Katsu's coworkers, and had a friend visit from Boston.

Mostly, I would just say that Seth has such a sweet personality. It is hard to put in words, but he is just so sweet. I love holding him and cuddling him and when he falls asleep on my shoulder or in the swing.

I'll post stats after his doctor appt on Tuesday.

I just can't resist ....

Read the post about Andrew below (it's great), but I can't resist posting a couple pictures of laughing Seth. Enjoy!

Andrew is 29 months old

Andrew is 29 months old today. He is growing up so fast. He talks a mile a minute now and always says the funniest things. Today, he wanted me "to turn the sun off" because the sunlight was in his eyes. He always says the word "though", which is so cute - like, "I'm just going to do this a little bit, though". Sometimes I still have no idea what he's saying, but most of the time he speaks pretty clearly.

Andrew has a lot of energy, always running around and jumping. He LOVES to jump, all the time. When they do a "Crazy Dance Party" at the end of library story time, he just jumps and jumps and jumps. He likes to climb up on the moving boxes we have started to pack (which he is not allowed to) and jump on. I still am in disbelief that this kid has not broken a bone or gotten stitches. He falls and hits his head all the time, but he seems to be virtually indestructible. Andrew also loves to run around, and most especially to chase other kids. He gets this look of glee when he sees kids running and he is off.

Andrew is getting more picky about what he eats. His new favorite food is pasta, which he wants to eat all the time. I tried this new thing with kale where you oil, salt, and pepper it and cook it in the oven and it gets crunchy, kind of like chips. Andrew really likes it. I never thought I would see the day when I would hear my kid say, "More kale please, Mom", but he said it this week. He is starting to get a sweet tooth (my fault, probably) and loved helping make Halloween cookies this week. He practically had a meltdown when I said he had to wait for his friend to sprinkle them. Then, he kept sticking his fingers in the frosting or stealing cookies away when I wasn't watching ... sneaky boy.

Andrew is in full-fledged whine mode, which DRIVES me crazy. We count him on it sometimes and I also don't respond to him when he whines (most of the time), which helps a lot. But still - whining is one of the worst things. He also is more emotional. I think the theory that kids are emotional nutcases around their half-birthdays has some merit to it. He is learning to control himself, most of the time. He usually (but not always) doesn't hit, but he will get right in your face and kind of growl and almost hit you but not quite. Pretty intimidating for other kids, poor things.

I think having to discipline really stinks - one of the least fun parts of parenting so far, for sure (well, still WAY better than dealing with sleep). But it's nice to see that counting really works well. Andrew usually stops doing bad behavior when I say "2". Of course, by the time we hit 5:00 and I am cooking dinner and Andrew and Seth are both going ballastic, we spend half the time till Daddy gets home in time-out. So fun (not). Funny story - my grandparents were here last weekend, and my Grandpa tried to count Andrew and Andrew said "You can't say 'One'" or something to that effect. I guess only me and Katsu are allowed to discipline.

Andrew is most of the time really sweet to Seth and loves to be with him. He talks to him in sweet voices and calls him Honey and tells him it is Ok. He also laughs with him, which is really cute. Andrew loves to say all the time how they are brothers. He will say "Brothers" and then point to Seth and say "Little brother" and point to himself and say "Big brother". I love seeing them together as brothers and hope they will be great friends. They seem to be on a good start.

Andrew has this cute thing where he will always list every single person. As in, "Where is Mom and Andrew and Dad and Seth going?". He wants us all to go everywhere together and is very disheartened when Katsu has to go to work.

We are still trying to move in the direction of independence. Andrew has gotten good at washing himself with soap while Dad supervises. He is starting to want to do everything himself - even giving himself his medicine with his inhaler (sometimes this drives me nuts, but I try to let him help). He is getting better at putting on clothes, but still needs lots of help. He is really good at feeding Joe and doesn't make much of a mess anymore. He always helps me vacuum and dust. I think it's time to have him help me clean the kitchen and bathroom with something safe like vinegar and water.

Andrew really has a good sense of compassion. He has been very concerned about my finger this month and always wanted to look at it. And he always will say "Mom, you need to be careful, though". He also says that whenever anyone gets hurt. We were looking at a picture of the Crucifixtion this week and talking about it. Andrew saw the nails in Jesus' hand and said "He needs to be careful". He is most fascinated about this picture and will always say (in his one and only voice - loud - much too loud for church ... sigh), "Look, Jesus died". Another story - Andrew had a friend over and did something to hurt him (hit or shove, maybe)? After, he came out of time out, he went straight over to his friend and gave him a hug and said "I'm sorry". I was so proud that he did that of his own volition. We are working on the "Please" and he is pretty good at that. We are trying to move on to "Thank you" now.

Andrew still loves cars with an extreme focus and loves to line them up and park them on his car mat. He also LOVES to read. Between those two things, that is all he wants to do, especially when Seth is sleeping and he has my full attention. We also are trying to make sure that he has special time alone with me (Story time on Wednesday afternoons) and with Dad (his First Steps class on Saturday). I think that helps make the transition to having siblings easier.

Andrew is singing all the time now. Favorites are Happy Birthday song or songs he makes up. I thought it was so funny when he said he wanted me to sing "Jesus wants me to jump" (for the uninitiated, that would be "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam"). He also said his first night time prayer all by himself (i.e., he came up with things to say Thank you for). We were very excited. It is fun to see his excitement at church things. He really loves Family Home Evening - I think using the nursery manual really makes it so easy and so fun for him. He thinks that marching around the living room while I sing some song is an essential part of FHE.

Andrew had a lot of fun with my grandparents this month and also with our friend Christina and her boyfriend who visited from Boston. He loves meeting and hanging out with new people and will talk about them for weeks afterwards. He still asks about where Grandpa Dick and Grandma Clo and Aunt Karen went. And I can now anticipate many questions about Christina and Stuart. Ha ha ha. He just really loves everyone. He is getting a little shy when he first meets people, but he opens up in now time and wants you to play with him "right now". He is very good being left with babysitters (at Institute or switching date night with our couple friend every week) as long as we are there everynight to put him to bed. I can't imagine his tolerating us being gone overnight very well. His sleep troubles endure of course. I tried to bribe him with a toy car if he slept in his big boy bed all night all by himself. He told me "not yet". And repeats that every time I bring it up. ARGHHH.

We love Andrew and are enjoying every (okay, MOST) minute with him.