can you just slow down a little please?

My boys are getting so big. I looked at them both today and was amazed at how much they have grown. Aiden is getting big. He is eating like a horse and sleeping great. I cannot wait til his two month appt so I can see how much weight he has gained. And looking at Jakob and thinking that he is turning three next month is incredible. I have booked a photo session for the family. I am going to go shopping for matching outfits next week. I think it will be so unbelievably cute. I am also thinking about “big brother” and “little brother” tshirts for some photos too. Jakob has blossomed these past few months. His vocab has increased, his coordination is developing quickly, and the ability to carry on conversations that are meaningful is amazing to me. I love the kid so much. And seeing him growing up so fast on one hand makes me sad, but on the other I see the “fruits of my labors”, and the teachings we have given him developing. But enough about that.

A Patient Pooch

My poor dog is going to bite Jake one of these days. And you know what? He will deserve it. Jakob tortures this dog. Toby gets no peace when she is in the same room with him. He teases her with food, he throws toys at her, he hangs onto her tail, and pretty much does anything he can to get a rise out of her. She puts up with a lot. But lately her patience has been getting shorter and shorter. I don’t blame her. It drives me nuts too. I feel bad for her. Today is her birthday. Toby is five today. She was given some treats for her special day. But what I wish we could give her is a day free of harassment from the boy. He doesn’t respond to punishment at all. I have put him in time outs, put him in his room alone, taken away toys and privileges, but nothing works. It isn’t fair that she gets banished to the porch or kitchen to get away from him. So the question is, what do I do to get him to leave her alone???

Tattoos - Mom, Don't read this one!

I am addicted to tattoo shows. I love watching LA Ink and Miami Ink. It inspires me. I love the colours and the artwork. And it makes me want more tattoos. I really want something to represent the “boys” in my life. I was thinking of some flowers representing them – one from each of their birth months. I was also going to include the flower for the month of June for my father, Herb. And that way I would be able to include him – I miss him everyday. Ok – so my other idea for a new tattoo is a pin-up style Hockey Mom. I always new I wanted to be a mother and I knew I wanted a boy. And now that I have my two boys I see myself as a “sports mom” in the future. And people have thought soccer mom in the mini van. I see myself as a hockey mom. Being Canadian, hockey is in my blood. And I would love to be getting up for five am practices to see my boys play the best sport ever! So that is what I am thinking about getting. And I know that if my mother is reading this she is cringing and picking up the phone to tell me I am crazy and or and idiot. But I love my tattoos. I love Jason’s tattoos. I think they are very beautiful and artistic. I don’t feel all the negative ideas about tattoos that my mother has, I feel that my generation is more accepting to tattoos. And I am not about to put it in a place that cannot be covered up. So now the only thing to figure out is where to have it done and who will do it. I would love to be able to go to LA and have Hannah do it for me. She is incredible and the pin-ups that I have seen her do on tv have been incredible. That would be so awesome.

Tubes

I think that maybe it may be time to consider putting tubes in Jakob’s ears for the rest of this season. I was hoping that we might be able to make it to the end of this “ear infection season” without another round but it doesn’t look that way. Jakob began to complain about his ears again over the weekend. He didn’t have a fever to speak of, but he was sure that something was bothering him. We went to the pediatrician this morning and he has the beginnings of an infection in his right ear. We debated waiting it out to see if it went full blown or to start antibiotics now. I figured from past infections that the wait and see approach wouldn’t work for us. We would be back there in a day or two when it got worse and then have to start the antibiotics later. I didn’t see any reason to wait – I didn’t want Jakob to be in any pain. And this way he will have a couple of days of antibiotics in his system and there will be no reason for him not to be able to go to “school”. Whooo hoo for me. I know that sounds terrible, but I really have been enjoying my days with Aiden. Not feeling guilty for holding him for hours on end and snuggling on the couch. It is so hard when Jake wants my attention and Aiden is demanding to be held or fed. So those eight hours that Jake is at school I can hang out with Aiden and run any errands that I need to run toddler free. The bonus is that Jakob loves going to school. He asks about it everyday – and is super excited when he wakes up and we tell him it’s a school day. I wish we could do more than just one day a week. Once he turns three he will be going twice a week – so until then he will just have to count the days til it’s Thursday.

My name is....

Jakob is adorable. He has learned his last name and is very proud of himself. We asked him what his name is and he said “Jakob S.” and then when we asked him who we were he responded with Daddy S. and Momma S.. And then continued with Aiden S. and Toby S. (our dog!!). It was super cute. I am happy that he can tell someone his full name if asked. I worry that if he gets lost or takes off that when someone asks him his name he wouldn’t be able to tell them his full name. But now he’s got it!! Whoo hooo! I love seeing him when he finally understands something and becomes so proud of himself. His eyes light up and the smile spreads across his face and it’s great to see that. It is also fun to see Jason get that “proud papa” look on his face. Jason is really enjoying Jakob these days. Jakob and Jason have some great conversations and are really bonding over certain activities. I know that Jason bought Jakob’s Hotwheels for Christmas more for himself than for Jakob. They are a bit old for Jakob, and a bit young for Jason. But when they play with them together there is a bond between them that is so obvious. Boys and their cars. Something I will never be able to understand or intrude on.

Damn Tomatoes

So I think that tomatoes have been the culprit of my allergies. After not having them for weeks, we had a frozen pizza for dinner and within an hour my lips were itching. No swelling, thank goodness, but the outside of my mouth is itchy. Jason made me take some Zyrtec right away. I am still itchy but not too worried about it. I am glad that I think I have found out what was making me have such a bad reaction. Though I don’t remember eating a lot of tomatoes or tomato sauce when this whole hives and allergic reactions business. Hmmm…. No more spaghetti sauce? Pizza? I hope this is a fluke thing and that it goes away. I have reintroduced all the other things that the Dr. had me remove from my diet, tomatoes were the last to be tested. So I guess for now I have an answer. I am going to wait a week or so and then try it again. And hope for the best.

Let me put you down!!

Aiden loves to be held. Especially when he is sleeping. He loves to cuddle. And so do I. I just don’t have the time to hold him all day. I want to be able to put him down for a nap and spend some time on other things. To be able to play with Jakob and not have to have Aiden in my arms would be nice. Jakob has been really patient. He has his moments, but for the most part he has been a really good big brother and waits til I am done with Aiden, whatever I am doing; changing a diaper, giving a bottle, or just getting him to settle down. Aiden is going to be a month old tomorrow. I cannot believe it. Time flies. It has been such a busy month too. With the holidays, and getting Aiden out and about, and this past week it seemed like we had something going on every day. There were appointments, having lunch with Daddy, playdates; we were busy bees. But it was great for Jakob. He got to see friends and have fun. It’s so important for him to get out and about as much as possible. He is so high energy and hates to be at home all day. So the idea of him possibly being sick again and having to be at home without seeing friends is torture. After a couple of days in the house he is an absolute pill. Anyway – back to Aiden. I can’t wait til we set a bit of a schedule of naps and work on getting him to take his naps in his bed or at least in the swing. I need him to get a little older to be able to get him into some kind of groove. I guess until then I will savour the moments that I get to cuddle with my little man and enjoy every minute of it. The time will fly by and then I will be complaining that he doesn’t want to cuddle with me at all.