Food Fight!

     After easing into work for the last couple months with 2 kids by working in the infant room this week I'm "moving out". I'm transitioning back to working with the toddlers and making brief trips down the hall to feed Froggie. 

     Froggie has been getting a tablespoon of cereal for breakfast and then a small portion of baby food in the evening. This means that she gets her cereal at school now between when we get there and when I go down to feed her. Today this was the picture my co-worker sent to me. Apparently Froggie wanted to blow bubbles in her cereal this morning!

On to the Next One

     Have I mentioned lately that I'm OVER rain? I feel like we'll start floating away soon if the rain doesn't hold off! At least the next few days are supposed to be dry (as of right now anyway). It looked like it was going to rain ALL day and it did for awhile but after dinner the sky looked blue and promising.

     Did I mention that I got new shoes today? So, of course, we headed out to do our loop to finish our distance for the Let 'Em Know 5K for FragileX. Froggie was a little upset for awhile and ended up being carried for a bit. She  ended up falling asleep on Big Brother shortly after our ice cream stop. I'm amazed that she wasn't covered in ice cream when we got home!
     It started to drizzle sporadically on our way back and Hubby and I were a little fearful that we  would have to sprint home in the rain. Now that this 5K is in the books we'll be working on the next one (scheduled for 8/11).

Celebration Sunday

     This morning we finally got to sleep in. By sleep in I mean Big Brother was up at 8! I think Hubby and I finally caught up on a little sleep since we went to bed at 9:30 on a Saturday. After our relaxed morning and lunch/nap time we headed out to celebrate a first birthday.
     Our friends daughter had a wonderful party and it was nice to see everyone and celebrate. She loved her presents and cake! Big Brother and Froggie liked to play with the other kids; Froggie even fell asleep for a little bit! Shortly before leaving Big Brother asked to hold Froggie and some of the pictures turned out pretty funny.

Birthday Girl

Hubby with a sleepy Froggie

Sleepy Froggie face

Froggie and I

Big Brother and Froggie (1)

Big Brother and Froggie (2)

Big Brother and Froggie (3)

Milestones

     It's been raining ALL DAY! I'm pretty over rain... 

     One of the things that I was concerned about when Froggie was placed in the harness were milestones. I was really afraid that since her movement was restricted that she would give up on trying to roll, scoot, etc. At her 4 month check up her doctor was amazed that she had stayed pretty much on track and would roll when not in the harness. To me that was a positive sign.

     According to the Center for Disease Control website 6 month olds should be rolling in both directions, begin to sit with without support, supports weight on both legs and may bounce when standing, and rocks back and forth sometimes crawling backwards before moving forward. 

     I'm so excited to say that Froggie will be 6 months old this coming week and she began sitting up by herself for short periods of time! She's not steady enough to sit without some cushion behind her but she does a good job! I'm so proud of her for being determined enough to do things like roll over and sit up that she didn't let her time in the harness hold her back!

She LOVES sitting by herself!

Froggie sitting up

Lounging

Twinkle, Twinkle

     Like I said before Big Brother LOVES his sister. We've had a pretty tiring week and have had to be at school/work a few hours early which means Big Brother got to spend time in the "baby room" until there were enough of his friends to move down the hall. For the most part he was good with the babies though he did become protective of Froggie a few times and sometimes didn't want to share the toys. Though this is really just typical 2 year-old behavior so I wasn't too surprised.
     This morning he was very sweet with Froggie. She was in a swing while I got some of the other babies situated after they arrived and Big Brother decided she needed help. He moved the swing back and forth and sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to her over and over. She loved it!

Big Brother singing to Froggie

In the Navy

     Hubby is a sailor. He's done 5 years active duty and spent the last 3 as a reservist. His contract with the Navy was winding down and Hubby is hoping to change what he does in the Navy so he opted to reenlist.
     This afternoon I dressed the kids up in cute outfits (reluctantly on Big Brother's part) and headed from work to the reserve center where we met up with Hubby. He donned his uniform and we headed to the conference room with his parents to witness him "signing his life away" to the Navy for another 6 years.
     We should have taken some other pictures of Hubby and the kids but no one really thought about it until it was too late.

Mid-week Blues

     I'm starting to feel a little run down and know it's just because it's mid-week. I even tried telling my boss today that tomorrow is Friday! In the hectic life I live I tried to become a little more organized today.
     I updated my planner and compiled my Facebook events, phone events and random stuff floating around in my head. I also registered Hubby and I for our August 5k. It turns out that the race we wanted to do is on a Saturday when he has to work in the morning so we're doing a different race than planned. It's nice to be registered! The day of the race is also the last night that Froggie has to wear her harness to sleep in!
     Off to bed for another day. Tomorrow is a special day for our family - more to come on that later though!
   

Froggie coping with the mid-week blues

Let 'Em Know 5k Follow Up

     Right smack in the middle of two thunder storms we decided to take a walk. Normally that would have been my excuse not to go but I figured since rain has become an equally foul "four letter word" as snow I should probably just go.
     After dinner and prepping everyone to head out the door we packed the kids in the double jogging stroller and headed out. We decided to officially count our distance today as part of my distance for the Let 'Em Know 5K. We decided to take a walk to the local ice cream stand, get a snack, turn around and come back.

Froggie sleeping on her Big Brother.

     We logged 1.8 miles towards our 5K (3.10686 miles) which means we have 1.30686 miles left which means another trip for ice cream and we'll make our distance!

Brotherly Love

     As long as you have read more than just tonight's entry you know that Froggie has a Big Brother. He LOVES her! From the time we found out we were expecting a second child Big Brother has been in love with his baby sister. He also told us he was getting a baby sister before we were able to find out through ultrasound.

     He has been a trooper through the las year or so. Going to doctor's appointments with Hubby and I to check on his baby sister and see her on TV (the ultrasound was transmitted to a larger screen to be viewed) and then coming to the hospital and not climbing on me after my C-section. He has gone to most of Froggie's appointments or gotten up early to go to school so that I can take Froggie to an appointment.

Big Brother with Froggie at a clinical check.

      He hugs her and kisses her. He always tries to involve her and finds toys for her to play with. This sometimes quickly ends with him yanking away the car he wanted her to look at instead of chew on. 

Big Brother and Froggie watching a movie.

     This week we are going to school/work early to cover for staff that are out for a week long camp and today I had a sleeping infant, Froggie, Big Brother and a toddler while we were waiting for the older kids to head down the hall with another staff person. During this time Big Brother was showing Froggie a truck, which I thought was cute and tried to take a picture of (see first picture below). I noticed that it was a little blurry; because, lets face it, an almost 6 month old and a 2 year old don't stay still for long. Shortly after this I asked Big Brother to kiss his sister and got the most amazing picture ever, it doesn't even need words (see second picture below).

Unexpectedly Busy

     Today was supposed to be a lazy Sunday where we moved at a slow pace, lounged around and got things like grocery shopping and laundry done. However, Hubby and I had forgotten to write down an event in our calendar and were reminded this morning of a friends birthday party. 

     Our close friend is joining the ranks of the "almost 30" crowd and we had some pool time and some cake to celebrate. Here are some pictures from our day.

waiting to get in the pool.

Big Brother showing off his borrowed floaties. 

Hubby & Big Brother swimming

Froggie taking a break to eat

Big Brother swimming on his own!

Froggie and I hanging out in the pool.

Happy Birthday Katie!

     Froggie fell asleep before cake and Big Brother fell asleep as we were pulling out of the driveway. We dropped him off with my mom and headed out to the grocery store. We came home to a Big Brother who had just woken up and was pretty grumpy. (He had a pretty grumpy day, but he's two so there probably wasn't any real reason for his grumpiness.) As soon as I got in the door he said he had to go potty so he headed in to the bathroom and sat on the big potty to go pee. He came out and was getting his cars out while I was turning on the Bluray player so he could watch cartoons while we put away groceries and all of a sudden he said he had to go potty again and that he wanted his little potty. (I feel like now might be a good time to add that he was OBSESSED with pooping last week. He was determined to go on the potty so that he could get a "special surprise" and made me cart the little potty out so he could sit and watch cartoons and try to go) I thought we were passed the need to cart the little potty to the living room but I needed to put away groceries and I figured it was worth the chance. 

     Well... HE WENT! So I went and raided my stash of gifts that we started putting away for Christmas and his birthday and pulled out a car for him. As soon as he got off the potty he started asking for his special surprise! Today was a proud mommy day for me!

Big Brother's special surprise!

Trying Something New

     Tonight everyone had something new for dinner. I guess Froggie didn't but she actually liked her carrots tonight instead of spitting them all over the place.
     The rest of us had salmon patties and wax beans. This was a bit adventurous for us since none of us really eat seafood. I figured it was time to branch out and we were struggling to come up with a dinner idea so we gave it a shot. It was pretty simple actually.
     2 cans of Salmon
     2 eggs
     1/2 cup Italian Bread crumbs
     1/2 onion (finely diced)
     That was it! We mixed it all together and pan fried them so they were a little crispy. Hubby and I agreed that they tasted like big fish sticks and Big Brother scarfed his down and then asked for seconds! He NEVER asks for seconds! So I guess it was a hit.

Big Brother prepping the beans

Dinner!

New Earrings

     If you read the post about a month ago you know that Froggie got her ears pierced. Thursday was the 4 week mark and we headed back in to where we got them done to have them check her ears and exchange our deformed earring. She wasn't a fan of having them taken out and changed but overall her ears looked great; which I was a little surprised about since her earring was so damaged.
     The piercing place was amazing and they replaced her damaged earring with little hassle. I also picked up a second pair of piercing earrings for Froggie (since they're the only ones I can find with locking backs). They are adorable little flowers with multi colored stones, and I don;t have to worry about them falling out because they's covered in resin!

Froggie's new earrings

How she still sleeps, even harness-free

     Friday was a fun day at school. Big Brother got to go swimming and Froggie got to sit in a walker and play with some toys. I was a little hesitant to let my co-worker put her in it but it didn't seem to position her hips awkwardly or put more strain on her hips than sitting her on my lap or the floor would have. She had a lot of fun playing while I fed one of her "friends" but seemed equally glad to get out and nurse.

Fun at school

Here Comes the Rain...

     As I'm up in the middle of the night feeding Froggie, for the first time in her life ever really, I can hear the rain roll in. It is an amazing sound and the almost instant drop in temperature is very welcome if you ask me. This heat is crazy and to be honest I'm surprised there haven't been more storms.
     I'm working on catching up on blog entry's since the internet has been spotty again recently. You may be asking yourself how I gotten through breastfeeding for five and a half months of Froggie's life without having to get up to feed her.
     The answer is simple, we co-sleep! From day 2, after a very traumatizing night of being hooked up to leg cuffs and having to send Froggie to the nursery to be cared for, she has slept on me or near me. until we moved from sleeping on  the couch she slept on my chest and fed whenever, now she hogs the space next to me and feeds on demand throughout the night. Since she was born tonight is the first night I can recall being awake longer than the time span of a diaper change and getting settled.
     This up in the night to feed thing is not for me though, we're heading back to bed! Stay cool everyone!

Beating the Heat

     It's been pretty hot for the last few days and it's all over the news that the East Coast is experiencing a heat wave. So instead of coming straight home after work the kids and I strolled around the mall to enjoy the air conditioning.
    We tested out our "new" double jogging stroller and checked out a few stores. I found an amazing deal on shorts for the kids at The Children's Place. All of their clearance was an additional 60% off. This was actually pretty good timing considering how hot it has been and the fact that Froggie has been wearing dresses and onesies for the last few months.
     The jogging stroller worked great and will be nice for my next 5K and any others we do in the future. The only downfall to using it at the mall was that it was a little difficult to get through some of the displays in the smaller stores.
     After our mini shopping excursion I took the kids to the new Kidz Zone that was funded by a local credit union. It's really a very nice place for the kids to play and everything is padded and made of foam. Big Brother had a lot of fun but some of the kids in there were obviously not accompanied by a parent or were being minimally observed, which would be fine if they weren't almost 10 and running over little kids. Oh well, Big Brother liked to climb on EVERYTHING and then jump off of it. He was pretty well behaved and even played with some of the other kids.

Strolling in style.

Big Brother on a GIANT basketball!

     We went out to dinner and came home with enough time to get Big Brother ready for bed and read a few books before bed time. Froggie slept for a little bit in front of one of our fans and then had her squash. Tomorrow we will try a new food. We haven't decided on on carrots or peas but it'll probably be a last minute decision. She got a quick bath and played a little on the floor. She spun herself around and played with her toys for a few minutes before passing out on the floor under the fan.

Relearning Life with Froggie

     Just like having to learn how to live life with a Froggied princess we are now adjusting to life with Froggie out of the harness.
     Some things have stuck while others have changed permanently. Froggie now has a bunch of frog toys and ironically seems to prefer them to the other toys we try to give her. We occasionally call her Froggie (though that's really a rare occurance). We have developed habits that accommodated the harness; how we change diapers, how we hold Froggie, how we dress Froggie, etc.

sleeping with free toes

     In the last few days we have had to become reacquainted with pants/shorts/diaper covers. I scramble to figure out what I'm going to put on Froggie's lower half when I set out clothes in the evening. I had to relocate all of her pants and diaper covers since she never wore any of them; most of them were still on the hangers we received them on!

     Playing with Froggie is another experience with a learning curve. She's better able to roll around and is more tolerant of being on the floor for longer. Much like when she was 2-3 months old and would spend more of the day on her belly on the floor than doing anything else. Her modified Bumbo can still be used since I left the original leg holes though we are reluctant to use it for long periods of time since it forces her legs into a position very much unlike how the harness held her legs. This is also the reason that we are choosing, with the doctors strong recommendation, to avoid exersaucers and jumpers (at least until we get another "normal" x-ray).

Tummy Time!

     Froggie is also a little (maybe a lot) more wobbly without the harness. Because of this she needs a little extra support or her upper half leans a little further back than any responsible parent would be comfortable with. She is a lot more flexible though!

Tasty Toes!

     Things like swimming take a lot less forethought and effort. There's no worry about getting the harness on and off or how long Froggie is out of the harness. So, since it was in the 90's today, we had an impromptu trip into the swimming pool this afternoon.

hanging out in the pool

Silly Froggie floating in the water.

Flying Froggie!