Looks Like We Need an Update

Sheesh. I haven't posted a blog since before school started. Bad Michelle. So I'll make it up to you and add a few pics of the kids and you will forgive me.

Well, Devon is loving kindergarten. Although she asked me a few weeks into school why they were doing the same work they did in Pre-K. I had to tell her that some kids may not have gone to Pre-K and need to catch up and the teacher wants to refresh everyone's memory.

About five weeks into the school year, the school has two days where there is early dismissal and they leave the afternoons open for parent/teacher conferences. I really like that the school does that. You get a one on one with the teacher and you see how your kid is doing. Well, when I went I got to sit in a tiny kindergarten chair in the hall and wait for my turn. I was out there for about 20 minutes (the parent before went a little over her time, but no biggie) but I felt like I was waiting for the principle or something. It was a very odd sensation.

When I did get to see the teacher. She told me that she was very pleased with Devon and told me her strong points are that she is a fast learner, an eager learner and gets along very well with all her classmates. Not bad huh? But then she got to the "concerns list." There was only one thing in that column and it was that Devon is "too shy and quiet" when talking to the teacher. Apparently her teacher has to ask her to speak up often. But she said that is also common for kids who are the first born girl.

It was real strange when Devon went back to school. Matthew only noticed she wasn't there when it was nap time. He was so used to hugging her before nap he would cry, stretching his arms out for his sister who wasn't there. Poor guy. But he has gotten used to it now. And oddly enough as soon as Devon started school Matthew started talking more. It seems not having big sister there to talk for him gave him a little push to speak up.

I've gone back to working at the church nursery during the ESL classes again. It's twice a week now, so it's twice the fun. This service is available to the students of the ESL classes who have kids. It's a bit challenging when we get a new kid because about 90% of the time they don't speak or understand English, AND they have never been away from their parents before. Talk about a scary experience for the kid! But we do our best to comfort them, and after many weeks they feel comfortable. Let's put a big emphasis on MANY WEEKS.

And finally, I am taking a class at our church that will last about 7 months called Disciple. I had many of my friends tell me about it and they all said it was a bit challenging because you go through most of the bible in that whole time. I was really excited to take on this challenge. But it's not quite what I was hoping for, but I am really enjoying it and learning a lot.

So as promised, here are some new pics of the kiddos. :)

I know I post a lot of pictures with the two of them sitting in this little car, but they play in it so often and this time Devon was wearing Chris's hat. I couldn't resist.

Hear Matthew wanted me to help him put on his backpack. He had filled it with books. So I asked him if he was going to school like Devon he actually said "Yes." It was really cute. He's such a silly boy.

First Harvest

Well, the tomato plants my neighbor gave me have really taken off. They are about 4 1/2 feet tall now. And there are lots and lots and lots of yummy tomatoes coming in. My Roma bush has about a dozen green ones and the two pear tomato bushes have about three dozen tomatoes on them. And I have learned a valuable lesson, gardeners need patience. Silly me thought that shortly after a tomato sprouted out on the plant I would get a yummy red tomato. Wrong. It takes about three weeks for them to ripen on the vine. So right now I just have to keep watering and waiting.

I have harvested two Roma tomatoes. They were yummy, but tiny. I haven't figured out why they are so small. I need to google that. The first tomato I chopped up and put in some guacamole, mmmmmh. The second tomato I let Matthew hold, and I toook a picture to show just how tiny it was.

Well, it wasn't but a moment after I handed the tomato to him that he put in in his mouth.

He wasn't a big fan of the green stuff.

So he gave it back to me seeming disappointed.

I took off the leaves and gave it back and he chomped down on half of it.
Then a few seconds later he stuffed the other half in his mouth. Once he was done chewing he started walking towards the back of the yard. He wanted another one. Cute huh? Too bad there wasn't any for him to pick.
I also pulled up one of my baby carrots too because I thought it looked ready.

I'm pretty sure they need a bit more growing to do. But it's getting close. Maybe in a month I'll try again. It was really bizzar. The carrot was bendy like a rubber pencil. So I'm only guessing they need to sit longer. Maybe I should google that too.

It's Over and It Wasn't a Big Deal

So if I can remember correctly I've written three or four whinny, dramatic blogs about the devastation of the idea of weaning or trying to wean or the word weaning. I've made a big hoopla about it and now it's over. Hooray!

Was is torture? Did I have to listen to Matthew screaming in his crib feeling rejected? No and no. I do think it has altered my hormonal state a bit. I seem a bit testy and easily peeved at the opposite gender. I'm not sure why, but I made this observation last night. My neighbor is weaning her boy also, he's only three days older than Matthew, so it's good to have someone to relate to. And yesterday she seemed to be in the same mood as me, so this lead me to believe there is something going on inside us besides lack of milk production.

I finally got inspired to start weaning because when Matthew would latch on a few days ago, he just seemed to be there, not really into the whole drinking thing. Then he chomped down and I said that's it for him. He made it a little over thirteen months, he's fine. So at nighttime and nap time I just bring a cup of milk upstairs with me and we still sit in "our spot" and sometimes he drinks, sometimes he doesn't. Then I take him in his room, kiss him, say "night night" and lay him on his belly. Then I would pat his back until he fell asleep. So for about five minutes or so. But now I don't pat him all the way to sleep, just for a couple of minutes to get him sleepy and he can fall asleep on his own. It's been working great and he doesn't even cry. I'm so lucky to have two kids that have been easy to put to sleep. Yeah me! I did it!

Four Years and Twenty Pounds Apart

Yikes, it's been a while since I've been in the blogging world. What with Matthew turning one, Devon having the flu and then the chaos of having two birthday parties in one day, it's been pretty crazy around here. Oh, and let's not forget the reordering of the house after the chaos. I feel like I just now have returned back to normal.

We'll start with Matthew. He turned one and got a rad little hotrod for his birthday. He loves it! At first he would just climb in and out, in and out for long stretches of time, but now he has gotten over the novelty of it and can be pushed in it without trying to hop out like a stunt devil. Also, I made him an awesome dinosaur cake that was delicious! It was banana cake with chocolate frosting, all made with love from scratch.

Shortly after Matthew's birthday Devon starts to get cold/allergy symptoms, but then on the day of her well check appointment she runs a 102 F fever and has to miss school for the first time all year. There goes that perfect attendance record. At the doctors, they test her for strep and the flu and she comes back positive for both. This is on Tuesday, her birthday party is supposed to be on Saturday. Uh-Oh. Luckily, she went to the doctors at the height of the illness and started to recover quickly. Then on Thursday the doctors office calls me and says that the 48 hour culture of her strep test came back negative, so apparently she didn't have strep, just the flu. So one less dose of meds for her, hooray!

Now Matthew's well check was at the same time as Devon's. Seemed like a good idea at the time to just get them both out of the way at the same time, but it also meant it was a very loooooooong appointment. I think next year they will have separate appointments. Poor little Matthew weighed in at 19 lbs 4 oz, so he still has to use the baby car seat, backwards. He's not a big fan of that. Devon weighed in at 40 lbs, which means she's only gained one pound in a year. Now I know why she seems so lanky, it's because she is. But then again she was sick and her appetite goes away when she's sick. So maybe she's really 41 or 42 now.

So, Saturday comes and so does the families. We have cake and presents for Matthew at 2:00 and then somehow time fast forwards in warp speed and it's time to dash to the children's museum for Devon's party. The museum is downtown and we are in Manor. Shouldn't have to worry about traffic because it is a Saturday right? Wrong. Highway 290 was backed up and I was hyperventilating. Then there was construction all around the museum, which wasn't there during our last trip. So Devon was 15 minutes late to her own birthday party. And for those who know me, then you know I was loosing it. I absolutely HATE being late, especially to my daughters only 5th birthday party. Luckily, I have an awesome husband who reminded me the party doesn't exist without the birthday girl. Great man I tell ya, great man. Devon had a blast at the party. Unfortunately, none of her school friends she invited came, but that just left more free passes to the museum for us.

Car Boy

Well, it looks to me like on the eve of Matthew's birthday, that he is a car boy. It's funny, when little boys are between one and two or even three they are generally intensely interested in one or tow categories of toys. Some boys love trucks, some love trains, dinosaurs, blocks, balls .....the list goes on. As for now, Matthew is actually divided between books and cars. He even makes the "Brrrrrrr" sound when he pushes cars on the floor. I love it. It's adorable.

I remember my nephew Scotty being a car/train boy when he was little. He had the Thomas train table and everything, and not to mention a few hundred hot wheels. You know when I think about it, we really haven't bought any "boy" toys for Matthew. The cars he plays with are Devon's. We're mean parents we don't really buy toys very often, the grandparents do that enough. I guess it's our way of trying to teach gratefulness. As we tell Devon (thanks to Madam Blueberry) "a thankful heart is a happy heart."

I was really hoping to have a partner to share my passion for dinosaurs, but I'm not giving up hope. Devon does enjoy dinosaurs, but she isn't that into them. Matthew actually destroyed her only dinosaur non-fiction book, which was my fault for not paying attention to the ripping sounds coming from the back seat a couple of weeks ago. That's ok, it just a good excuse to go to Half Priced Books. ;) And maybe when Matthew is older we can memorize all the different types of dinosaurs together. Hey, it could happen.

A Few Firsts

The last few weeks have been very eventful for both Devon and Matthews development.

The other day, Devon and I were on the couch and we were reading one of her new library books. It was one we hadn't read yet and I was letting her say the sight words we have been working on. Well, as we are reading about the Backyardigans surfing, I turn the page and Devon just reads the entire sentence! "I can jump." I about pooped my pants. She recognizes "I" and "can" but we haven't done "jump" yet. It was such a big moment. I dropped the book and hugged her! She looked at me like I was nuts. In less than a month, she will be FIVE! Yowsers! At some point I need to fully accept she is growing up.

Now for little Matthew, he has been saying "bu" (pronounced "bu" as in book) for a few weeks now, but I wasn't ready to claim it as a first word yet. But I'm going to stop being modest now because he is clearly trying to say book. When ever he sees a book whether it's a board book, one of Devon's books or even one of mine, he points to it and says, "bu". Mama and Dada mean nothing to him, he's all about the books. Actually, he rarely says "mama" anymore. We're going to have to work on that. ;)

Also, Mr. Big Boy took his first steps the other day. I believe it was super bowl sunday. He took three steps from me to Chris and it was so exciting! He has been standing on his own for a couple of weeks now, but just hasn't wanted to walk yet. I'm ok with that, he's fast enough when he crawls I'm not ready for running. Today he was once again standing on his own and I came up to him with my arms opened wide, trying to entice him to walk towards me and he took four steps! He was so proud of himself and of course my heart was just melting. I'm going to have to get the video camera out so we can document this.

Another Pat on the Shoulder

So I am very proud of myself. Why, you ask. Well in a few weeks Matthew will be one and I will have successfully breastfeed him for his entire first year. Many of you who are not parents are probably not impressed and that's ok. But I am! And so is his pediatrician, because I am a righty only! ;)


When I was pregnant with Devon I read at least a half a dozen baby books (and many more afterward). I was 21, and had no clue what to expect. I remember asking my doctor for recommendations because on most topics they were all the same but with others there seemed to be a divide. None of the authors philosophies really felt right. She told me she loved Dr Sears and had actually met him. So I checked him out and he changed my life.


The man has raised 8 kids who turned out great and he's a pediatrician. And to top it all off, his wife is a midwife. That coupled right there is an impressive combo. And you know what's funny? At the time my OB was married to a pediatrician who was Devon's doctor while we lived in Nacogdoches, just like the Sear's. Crazy.


Thanks to Dr. Sears ideals I was able to comfortably breastfeed Devon, in Nacogdoches of all places. God forbid Devon ever got hungry in public. People would give me dirty looks, and I can remember at least one time someone told me what I was doing was "disgusting." It made me very timid and I just avoided going out except for short periods when I knew she wouldn't get hungry. If she did get hungry I would nurse her in bathrooms, dressing rooms or in my car.
Nursing Matthew has been a much more pleasant experience. I live in a hippie city where it is the norm to breastfeed so many places have areas for nursing. And I can't recall even a negative glance.

Now Devon weaned herself at around nine months. It was a sad time, I was a little disappointed in myself that I didn't go the whole 12 months. So I told myself if I had another kiddo then I would do my best to make it 12 months. Well, Matthew has made this too easy because except for a couple of bottles in his very early months he has refused formula. And I do mean refuse. I tried to put some formula in a sippy cup and he chunked it at me. Chunked!!

So all of that to say, his first birthday is quickly approaching and it will be time to go through the dreaded process of weaning. Well, I don't really know if it is dreaded I've just heard that it's rough. Luckily his pediatrician is a big breastfeeding advocate so she can give me the scoop on what it will do to me. Because I still love it. I love the closeness. How he still 11 months later will just stare into my eyes, with love just pouring out of them. It is the only thing that I have been able to give him that no one else can.

I am purely fascinated at how my body knows exactly what to make for him. His own personal meals created only for him, changing as his needs change. It's remarkable! So I'm ready for the weaning advice to just pour on me, cause Lord knows I need it. I've been slowly replacing nursing meals with baby food, so he only nurses 5 times a day now. I'm pretty certain that the nap and bedtime nursings will be the last to go, and probably the hardest. Uhg. I just got to get the little engine mentality, "I think I can, I think I can."

Mischief Report

So since my little guy is a magnet for mischief I decided to occasionally chronicle it. Because how else am I going to remember it to put in his baby book? I haven't decided if he just has a normal boy level of mischief or if he is above average. I only have Devon to compare him too and she was anything but mischievous as a baby. So as of right now here is what he's getting into.

He has been playing in the pantry as long as he has been able to crawl to follow me in there to fold the clothes. He loves pulling all the clothes out of the dryer for me and throwing them on the floor. However, that doesn't fill his mischief tank. Now he has discovered that he can reach the bottom shelf of the pantry and I caught him this morning with some loot. He grabbed a box of Bakers chocolate. I let him play with it until he discovered how to open the box. Then I had to trade him for a big wooden spoon.

He has discovered how to open the cabinet doors. This is all my fault though. I used to open up the cabinet that has all the pots and pans for him to play with while I cook. So now he goes into the kitchen with the sole purpose to open that cabinet and pull out the pots, pans and of course their lids. And I also let him play in the cabinet that houses our tupperware. He has recently discovered that he can crawl into it and go for the goods in the back. Silly boy.

Oh and this one should get me the parent of the year reward. About a week ago Matthew discovered a little box that has samples of baby lotion, butt cream and shampoo. He loves to take it off the shelf of the changing table and empty it out. He also would chew on all the bottles. I never thought it was a bad idea until he handed me a sample bottle of Johnson's baby shampoo that was half empty. I freaked out!! I ran to Chris saying, "Does his breath smell like baby shampoo?" And of course it did. He had drank half of that little bottle. I felt horrible. So that little box has been hidden away where he can't get to it. I can't believe that happened. Apparently his new teeth aided him in popping the lid open. It's not harmful or anything, but he did have a very loose stool a few hours later. Like I said, parent of the year. Right here.

Genetics

I am so fascinated by genetics these days. Not necessarily the heavy scientific jargon, but just the evidence I see watching my two munchkins grow up. Devon and Matthew are so different, yet the same at the same time it's incredible.

Devon was pretty chubby as a baby, but still always managed to stay in the 50th percentile every doctors visit. Matthew started out in the 15th percentile, but has climbed up to the 25th! He's just got little genes, from Chris's side of course.

So if you're reading this, you are very aware of just how often and how many pictures I take of the kiddos. Lately, whenever I take one of Matthew I can almost always think of one from when Devon was the same age and I go back and look at just how much they really do look alike. It's remarkable!!

Here is Devon when she was 12 months old. She was sitting in the azalea garden at SFA, playing with pine needles.

Now here is Matthew at 10 months, in a similar pose, outside playing with leaves. Isn't that awesome! Maybe it's not so much that they look alike, but that I tend to repeat photo shoots with Matthew that I did with Devon. Haha! I am seriously laughing at myself now.

And here is Devon on her first birthday practicing walking for the first time with a push toy. I can still remember that night. She walked back and forth between me and Chris for the longest time and every time she hit an obstacle and couldn't keep going she would just stand there and cry, waiting for us to "make it go again."

And here is Matthew on Christmas day pushing the same kind of push toy. The only difference is that he is two months younger. And that is just a difference in personality. To this day, Devon is still rarely in a hurry. And Matthew, well he just loves trying to keep up with the rest of us.

I am so grateful that I get to spend my days at home with them. I've been doing this for almost five years now and (this is so cliche) it has just flown right by! Next year Devon will be in school all day for kindergarten. Matthew is really going to miss her. I can tell all ready.

Pickles

Well, this has just been a blog writing kinda week, hasn't it?

Since Matthew began crawling around to follow me he has always been excited when I open the refrigerator. I suppose the big bright light and colorful bottles and such are very attractive to an infant.

On the bottom shelf on the door are two water bottles and a jar of pickles for sandwiches/hamburgers. This jar of pickles was like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for Matthew. As soon as he hears me open the refrigerator door he comes racing over and reaches for the pickle jar. Today was no different. I was getting dinner ready (homemade chili!) and I reached in the fridge for garlic, and of course Matthew came rushing over. Well, I didn't get the door shut in time and Matthew was able to once again grab at the jar of pickles. This time, he was successful at knocking it over and when he knocked it over the lid came off with it!

This was extreme excitement for him. He instantly tried to splash in the pickle juice. So I grab him away from the pickle juice spilling everywhere, with the garlic still in my hands and I plop the garlic on the counter and then set Matthew down in the living room. I grab a few hand towels and start cleaning the mess. All the while, I hear Matthew squealing in excitement and rushing back in the kitchen. Chris jumps up to grab him and gets him just in time.

Silly boy. So after a couple of months of grabbing at the pickle jar it apparently slowly loosened the lid. At least that's my explanation, because we honestly haven't used those pickles in a while. Matthew has been the only one to touch them. He's such a nut. So now, after nine months of life, Matthew has a nickname that may or may not last a lifetime. We'll see how long it sticks. But for now, we are definitely calling him Pickles. It's only fare, my parents call Devon Puddin', but she doesn't have a funny story to explain it though.

Everyone says it, and now I'm joining in the chorus that "Boys are definitely different!" I can't help feeling like this may be some sort of "payback" from Chris's childhood, but then that doesn't seem fair because I'm the main one chasing after him. Oh well. I wouldn't trade my little mischievous boy for anything!

The End Is Near

As most of you know, I'm a big advocate for breastfeeding. Even though I'm broken and can only feed on one side. I wanted to go the full recommended 12 months with Devon but only made it to 9 months because I got thrush and Devon weaned herself. I was pretty bummed.

Then Matthew came along and hasn't really had any issues like Devon, so I have been really hopeful about making it all the way to 12 months. Well, here comes a hurdle and boy is it a whopper. I seem to be producing less milk. So I run to the health food store and grab some good ol' Fenugreek. It helps a little but not enough to relish the side effects.

Matthew nurses every two hours, which is no big deal, I'm used to it and I understand that it is because I can only nurse on one side. It's been this way since we brought him home from the hospital. He would still sleep really well at night, having a first sleep stretch last anywhere from 5 to 9 hours. But the last few weeks, he wakes up every two to three hours at night to nurse. Uhg!

At first it wasn't too bad, but now I am really starting to be effected by this. I'm constantly tired and I'm pretty grumpy throughout the day. Not good for the family. Not good for me. So the idea of giving him a bottle of formula keeps being thrown at me and I really tried to resist. But my well-being is continuing to dwindle and I don't want to be a grumpy Mom or grumpy wife for three more months.

Today I tried to give him a bottle right before his afternoon nap. After twenty minutes of resistance by Matthew I was pooped and caved into nursing him (actually us) to sleep. Then tonight I tried again to give him a bottle to put him down. Still lovingly holding him close and rocking him, but still he resisted. He finally just passed out without drinking anything.

So now I am consumed with guilt. I feel like I just starved the kid and it just doesn't feel right to wean him while he's kicking and screaming (literally). What's a mom to do (*sob*)?

Oh Baby the Places You'll Go

Well, little Matthew is getting dangerously close to being eight months old. Seriously, in four days. He is such an awesome little guy though. Always happy and gives away smiles to anyone who asks. We both hit a big milestone this weekend. He stayed in the church nursery for an hour while I was in Sunday school. And he did really well. I, however, was a nervous wreck, clinching my cell phone in my hand to make sure I didn't miss any vibrations. Luckily I had alot of support from the other moms in the class who knew exactly how I felt.

Also, Matthew is become a little climber and instead of describing his expeditions I will demonstrate it with a montage of pictures. All of these were taken just within the last two weeks.

Here we have Matthew climbing up on the lego table.

Instead of going around the box, he just went over it. Was this the path less traveled?

He absolutely loves climbing over people!

This is definitely my favorite age (of children in general), from now until about two. This is when everything is new and demands exploring. The simplest of objects can become powerfully stimulating. It's just amazing to watch the learning process unfold.

Having Fun Together

Whenever I do laundry, Devon almost always wants to play with the laundry basket. The other day she found a new way to play with it. Yep. She "trapped the wild thing." She's a big fan of the book Where the Wild Things Are, so this is why she called Matthew a wild thing.

Matthew thought the whole thing was quite entertaining, and kept giggling which is what caught my attention. I don't know why I always get suspicious when one or the other is laughing, but it always gets my attention quick.

So I showed Devon a different way she could play with Matthew and the laundry basket. There was an added bonus to this game. She got a bit of energy out too. :) Sneaky me.

I'm pretty sure Matthew liked this game better than hunting for wild things.

The Headlines Read "Siblings Rival Over Floor Space!"

So now that little Matthew is very mobile he likes to follow his favorite people everywhere. He likes to follow me in the kitchen, laundry room, bedroom and bathroom. Yep he's such a little explorer.

Well, this is all exciting for everyone, except now Devon is realizing playing with her Cars toys is a little challenging. She is not allowed to let Matthew play with the cars because they have small tire pieces that could come off. So she used to just claim a space far from him, but that doesn't cut it anymore because he loves, loves, loves to go where Big Sister goes.

The other day I finally found a way she can have her own space on the floor and Matthew be safe from the toys. It may sound a bit odd, but I basically barricade Devon in her corner using her doll house. She loves having her own bother or should I saw brother free zone.



Now this worked for a few days, but now little man is stepping up his game and pulling up onto his knees, on her doll house. It's kinda funny. He looks like King Kong reaching into the doll house for a car. And Chris is in denial that Matthew is even remotely interested in the PINK doll house. ;)

Surrogate Mommy Boosting Morale

So every morning when I drop Devon off at school, I walk her to her classroom where she has to sit on the ground in the hall with her class until the teacher lets them in. Lately, many of the kids are real interested in playing with Matthew, and Devon, of course, is just so proud to show him off and show them things like how to tickle his feet. Mostly it is the little girls who want to see him, but there have been a couple of days where a few boys have wanted to play with Matthew too. Doing this has allowed me to get to know these little kiddos and now I know at least half of their names. L (I don't want to use their names) always wants to show me her lunch, even though it is the same thing everyday, but it's cute.

Well, today there was a group of five little girls adoring and playing with Matthew and then the teacher opened the door. When Devon stood up I gave her a hug as usual and told her to have a good day. After that, one little girl wanted to give me a hug too, then all of them did. It was really sweet. I just love the fact that I can give them a little extra love, maybe even boosting their confidence to get their day of learning started. :)

But who knows what this is doing to Matthew. I mean he's sitting here getting loved on by a big group of girls five days a week. Who knows....

Magic Tree House

So this week at the library I was inspired by another devoted reading mom to try longer fiction books with Devon. I was being nosey and looking at the books she grabbed for her little girl, who turned out to also be 4 1/2. She had a copy of The Wizard of Oz, which had great illustrations, and four other novels with pictures. The little girl asked her to read one of the books and of course Devon had to plop down next to them and listen. She's not shy when it comes to mooching off stories. So while she was listening, I grabbed a book from a series called The Magic Tree House because Devon seems to like books with familiar characters, and this series has almost 40 books in the series. Luckily, the library actually had book number one, Dinosaurs Before Dark.

Sunday I started reading it and by the end of chapter three she wanted to stop. I was a little sad that she didn't want to keep going but I didn't let it discourage me. Monday while Matthew took a nap with Chris I was able to start at chapter three again and read the entire book! Devon loved it too. There were some scary parts when a dinosaur was chasing a kid and Devon was clinging on to me pretty tight, but I just kept asking her, "Do you want to keep reading to see if....?" Every time she would be like, "Yeah let's see if ...." It was totally cute. It was the best part of my whole day to be able to sit and become absorbed in a book with Devon.

And so we don't leave little Matthew out, he's becoming very fond of Goodnight Moon and sometimes it can distract him from his fussy moments. I can't wait for the day when they are both on each side of me and we can just sit and read for hours on a rainy day.

Mmmmmm, Paperbacks

Well, lately I have been devouring books like there is no tomorrow. Just in the past couple of weeks I have read The Educated Child, and The Five Love Languages. This may not sound impressive to some, but don't forget I have an infant connected to me most of the day and an energetic four year old. So there!

Currently, I am reading an awesome book called, The Read-Aloud Handbook. It may sound odd, but yes it is actually about reading out loud. It gives an insane amount of scientific support for reading out loud to your kids. I love it. Jim Trelease you are my hero! He also managed to compile a great treasury of books for different ages. I will easily be using this book for the next ten years or so.

Something Jim talks about in the book is how most children can comprehend listening to books three to fours years above their reading level. While this may sound trivial, it has challenged me to step up the books I read to Devon. I mean she loves her picture books, but we both know almost all of them by heart. So Saturday we ventured to the Austin Public Library and got Devon her very own library card. She was in love! The awe of owning her own library card was enchanting. I picked out a small chapter book, with five chapters to see if Jim was right. And of course, he was. Devon comprehended just as well as a Franklin book. And we have read it about three times a day so far, but that's ok, she's worth it. Next time I'm going to try for one a bit longer. It's like my own little education experiment, mwah ah ah ah.

Now everyone knows Devon has been a book girl from infancy, but the challenge now is to instill the same love of books to Matthew. So far we are off to a good start!

Here is Devon at four months, she was such a little chunker. :D

Here is Matthew, who is now four months old. So far, so good!

Four Months

Well, if you can believe it, because I barely can, Matthew is four months old now. This little boy has really changed my world. Throughout most of my pregnancy I worried and fretted about how I could possibly love another child as much as I love Devon. Devon and I have such a strong bond that just keeps growing. So naturally at the time I didn't know how I could share my love with another.

When I first laid eyes on Matthew, it was love at first sight! It's so bizzar how in an instant my bodies ability to love multiplied. All my worries were thrown out the window and I never looked back. Although I will admit it has been a little tricky learning how to evenly distribute myself, but with kids like these it's totally worth it.Matthew couldn't be any sweeter, and is just waiting for any opportunity to smile. And it's incredible how much Devon loves him too. She is so nurturing in spirit, we just have to help guide her toward more delicate means. I love watching them together because I can really see the love in their eyes, and I know I've got to be doing something right.

Yeah, They're Related

It is pretty obvious that Devon looks alot like me and Matthew like Chris. So tonight after snapping a few pics after Matthews bath I decided to get a three month picture of Devon after a bath too. Well, let's just say they can never deny each other!

This one is Devon at three months.

And this one is Matthew right now at three months.

And one more thing they have in common is LOVE!

Just Like His Daddy

Now I have mentioned my obsession with baby/parenting books, well a couple of them mention that sometimes babies will wake up in the middle of the night to practice a new skill they learned. I thought this was the silliest thing. Devon never did that, and I had never heard another mom speak of this phenomenon either.

Well, it turns out that little Matthew fits into this category. When he first found his hands he woke up one night and would not go back to sleep by nursing or with the binky. He just kept slurping on his hand and then he would get excited and kick and squirm. Mind you this was at three o'clock (random moment: o'clock is one of my favorite words!) in the morning. So out of desperation for sleep I scooted him over a few inches so he wouldn't whack me when he got excited, and I turned my body on auto-snooze. This is when I sleep for 5-10 minute spurts and then wake up to glance at Matthew. It's not the best way to get sleep, but it is better than nothing. And by the way, he stayed awake for an hour doing this!

I know what you're thinking, that was a fluke right. Well, last week he woke up one night rocking from side to side trying to roll on his tummy,which he hadn't accomplished yet. (Did you notice that key word there? Yet.) So I did the same thing, scooted him over a few inches, and went on auto-snooze. Except this time, I hadn't been snoozing more than three minutes when all of a sudden Matthew bumped into me. I opened my eyes to see Matthews eyes wide open and a big drooly grin on his face. He had finally done it. He rolled over on his tummy. He was so proud if himself he celebrated with a nice helping of mommy juice and fell back to sleep. Yesssssss.

This reminds me of Chris because he is the type to keep going until he figures something out. Not even a silly little thing like sleep can stop him.