Loss of a Companion

Last night was a first for Jack. He slept with out his paci. We had been putting it off and putting off for the last little while. The child is going to be 3 soon...it needs to go. Now, I do have to say, he was only using it at night and naptime, but still, it needs to go. So, the question was, how do we do it? Do we "accidentally" leave it somewhere? That would lead to a breakdown. Would we tie it to a balloon and let it float away? Would he then associate every balloon with is paci? Would he be searching for it? No, we just snipped the end and watched his reaction.

"It's broken," he said.

So what's his solution, "Daddy, put some water on it."

Water won't work...sorry. So what happened then? He came up with a new solution for how it broke. First, he said he stepped on it. Then, by the morning, it turned out that dinosaur stepped on it and broke it. So what do you do with a broken paci? You throw it away. That near broke my heart as Jack walked in the kitchen and tossed his beloved paci in the thrashcan. I about cried for him! He did well though. He asked for it a couple of times before settling in for sleep. Then he got up at 4am and asked me where it was. I reminded him of throwing it away and he went back to sleep. Same process for nap today. Let's just hope every day gets better! I'm waiting for him to find some of the pacis that Caroline doesn't use and try to take those!

Too much to blog about

So we've been busy with life lately and I don't think I could even sit down and blog about it all! I get bad about not doing this regularly and then there's not enough time to upload all the pictures I would like. One big this is Jack starting soccer today. It was fun watching him. He did great. I was afraid he would be one of those kids that was crying on the side without us playing with him. Instead, he was out there running like crazy and having a great time. He even followed directions pretty well. We look forward to the rest of the season. I'm just going to put a link to the photos of the day...

http://picasaweb.google.com/twb2500/JackSSoccer?authkey=Gv1sRgCPP86KjmtaL7MA&feat=directlink

What else...Caroline is eating solids now. I've made her some squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, apples and pears. She really seems to be enjoying it. I took her to practice at daycare the other day and they said she even wanted more cereal than I brought! I think we have a healthy eater on our hands. I just hope I can keep up with her and pumping once I head back to work on the 17th. Way too soon! I know I can't be too hard on myself though. Formula isn't a bad thing. I just really want to nurse as long as possible and keep her on breastmilk for cold and flu season! That's my goal anyways.

We had several doctor's appt this week. So far all is good. Just trying to get everything done before school starts back up.

One thing I have to share that really made me laugh. We had lunch with one of Jack's favorite heart nurses from the times we spent at Children's Hospital. Jaime has a special place in our heart! Anyways, at lunch, Jack decided to show Jaime his scar. (He had noticed it the other night and Tommy explained it all to him...in a way an almost 3 year old would understand.) He proceeded to tell Jaime that he got his scar from falling down on the driveway. I just had to laugh. If only that was how he got it. Here's reminder at what a blessing he is!

Here's Jack 2 weeks after his heart surgery when he was 3.5 months old. In his words, that was a good fall on the driveway!

Crockpot Yogurt

So I've never been a real natural, green person, but since getting married and having kids, things are changing. I've got a garden, doing some sewing, and now making my own yogurt. Small steps, but we are getting there. (no cloth diapers here though!) Here's the link I used for the yogurt...great stuff!

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogurt-in-your-crockpot.html

Jack keeps asking for more. We made strawberry-banana and raspberry for this go around. It makes a ton. I'm going to try and half next time. Next thing...anybody have know-how on composting?

Who's Who???

I think the resemblance is uncanny. Definitely a daddy's boy!

4 months

Caroline is now just over 4 months. We went for her checkup yesterday and she is doing great! She now weighs 12 pounds 12 ounces. I guess she's slowed just a bit. At her 6 week check, she was in the 65th percentile. Now she is sitting at the 30th. The doctor wasn't phased by the drop. I guess Tommy and I are just not meant to have monster babies! She's still a lot plumper than Jack ever was! I love her full cheeks and rolly thighs! She's also a long baby in the 60th percentile for her length. I figured that as some of her 3-6 month things are actually getting short. We also go the go-ahead to start with some solids. I was already prepared. Once home, we got out the oatmeal and tried some. I've also been working hard to making so great summer veggies into baby food to save for when she's ready. So far we are stocked up on green beans and sweet potatoes. I need to do some butternut squash and some fruit. Let's hope she likes it! Here are some pictures of the first cereal attempts. She seemed to enjoy it and want more. It was just difficult getting it to go down instead of all over the bib. Or the fun part...her hands that contantly went to the mouth and then cereal was everywhere. Of course, Jack wanted to be a part too. He kept wanting to try the oatmeal (mixed with breastmilk). I let him try...check out his reaction. I think it was just because it wasn't like the normal sweetened oatmeal I have!

Getting ready for first food!

During the process. Alot of it came out!

Jack having to take a turn...yum oatmeal with breastmilk!

Not so sure about it.

Telling me he's all finished!

Sitting Pretty

Caroline is really growing! She will be 4 months on the 20th. We pulled out the old bebe pod seat to see how she would do. Of course, before we could put her in, Jack had to try it out. I can't believe he still fit in it.

Jack taking his turn.

One of my favorite pictures from when Jack was little. It's funny that he still fits!

Caroline's turn!

They are so sweet. Now we just have to figure out the whole getting them to smile at the same time thing.

Jack's finished sharing the camera with Caroline. Back to Jack time.

First Harvest and a Good Night's Sleep

Yesterday was a good day at the Bowman garden. Jack helped me to harvest all these vegetables! He has been a good helper out in the garden. He will pick weeds (I just have to keep an eye on the things that he thinks are weeds!) He also got a little excited when we picked the red tomatoes. He then started handing me green tomatoes as well. And I was pleasantly surprised when at dinner he ate his whole serving of squash and zucchini that we had sauteed. I kept reminding him that he helped them grow and that he picked them from the garden. That seemed to make all the difference! We even got one small sugar snap pea and Jack had half of it! Hopefully taking some responsibility in the garden will make him be a bit more adventurous in his table habits. I wonder if that would work with Tommy for his eating squash, zucchini, and tomatoes! Hopefully soon we'll have some cucumbers, peppers, jalapenos and others to go with our harvest!

On another note...Caroline slept all the way through the night last night! There wasn't a peep out of her. Before last week, she was still getting up for a 3am feed. After I taught my week long class at NKU, I knew that feed had to go. I was getting up at 3 to feed her and then at 5:30 to get ready for the day. I had an awful hard time actually getting back to sleep after feeding her. Starting the day at 3 and going all day was just not going to happen in August. So last week began the process of breaking that feed. The first couple of nights were really rough. I let her cry (and Tommy was happy to enjoy the guest bed in the basement and not hear anything!). Jack didn't wake up in his room next door either. Then she started waking, fussing a few minutes, and going back to sleep. Her first feed would then begin at 6am. That will work out great for August. I will be able to feed her once before school. But last night, I rolled out of bed for my 3am pumping (building a freezer supply) and didn't hear anything from anyone. Then at 6:30, I heard Tommy getting ready. He assumed I had fed Caroline already but was surprised when I said I hadn't. I was bad...I woke her up to feed her. I know, I should let a sleeping baby sleep, but there is something nice about having her on a good feeding schedule. It just helps out with our day and keeping a 2 year old happy as well. So I fed her and she went right back to sleep! Yay for Caroline!