Parker 16 Weeks

It was back to school for kids in North Texas, and likewise for the Seminara household.  Mom survived her first week back at work from maternity leave.  As compared to last time, she found it harder to leave Parker knowing their special time was over and way easier to get back into work because she'd done it before and knew what to expect.  Parker did great going full time at day care, he continues to get comments from all the teachers how he's so sweet and snuggly.  He's active too, rolling all over the place.  Ms Barb said she hasn't seen a baby this young roll like this and that she can't leave him more than 2ft from her.  Brady did great in EPS II too, asking several times to go potty when he recognized the urge.

All three also had a touch of a cold and congestion, but thankfully did not spike a fever to warrant going to the doctor.  This was Parker's first cold, and his little immune system did great.  He still has a little congestion like the rest of us but is sleeping, eating, and in good spirits.  What a difference from Brady's first cold (RSV), one that doesn't warrant trips to the ER, breathing treatments, and rounds and rounds of antibiotics.  Here's knocking on wood.

With all the adjustments in the household we cancelled our RV trip to Kansas City and decided to take it easy at home this Labor Day weekend.  It'll be nice to enjoy some time with family and relax before we get too busy in our routines.  Fall will be here soon!

Mom and Dad toasting to new jobs (still with LM)

The boys cleaning up for the 1st day of school (daycare)

 Infant room?  No sweat.

Brady growing up too fast already

1st Night In Their New Rooms

The boys spent their first night in their new rooms last night - and both did great!

Brady was so excited when he got home from daycare to see his furniture all assembled and his stuffed animals on his new bed.  And he likes the transportation theme getting excited to see all the cars, trucks, and airplanes.  He did great sleeping through the night.  No surprise he was dangling off the edge of his bed this morning given how much he has always moved around in his crib.  Parker did great too, he even napped in his new bed before dinner, and slept mostly through the night.  He's got a touch of the same cold Mom had last week so he's a little congested waking up stuffy.  Mom and Dad cleared out his nose, fed him a little, and he went back to sleep just fine.  In fact, we had to wake both boys this morning for breakfast!

Brady in his toddler bed (28 months) 

Parker in the crib (3.5 months)

Mom's 1st Day Back at Work

Mom survived her 1st day back at work.  Driving in on a mid-80 deg morning with the sun shining and the activity on the flight line got her excited to be back at work.  Like last time, she found some things were very different and some things were very much the same.  She got to meet her new boss (initial impression - he's a little stuffy) and start getting into her new role.  There have been a lot of organizational changes and she's excited to be part of the new team.  She also found many of the same programmatic and technical issues were still being discussed since before she went on leave = the life of a big defense program.  Her biggest challenge looks to be establishing a good schedule, mostly because her boss has 7am meetings with no call in number.  Unless she can work something out with him it'll be tough getting everyone out of the house in the morning.  Mom also got on the mother's room schedule, and other than it being in a loud high traffic area, had no real problems with it.  While Mom enjoyed some things about returning to work, she missed snuggling Parker.  The thing she missed most was his smell followed closely by the feel of his soft bald head.

Parker had a good 1st full day too.  He drank almost all of his 16 oz milk (four 4oz bottles) and took 3 naps (40 min, 2 hr, and 1 hr).  He developed a bit of a runny nose this weekend, so Mom is trying to keep him hydrated and rested and so far he hasn't had a temp.  Mom was hoping to get a laminated sheet like before with a picture of Parker on his first day of school, maybe she'll get it tomorrow.

Working 9 hr days, plus the commute, doesn't give much time in the morning or night to spend with the kids.  The nights are the craziest with trying to cook dinner, put away groceries or milk, all the while trying to entertain a baby and toddler when you're tired, and have time to talk with your spouse.  We can understand why some say you're outnumbered at 3 kids.  Greenling has been a great find delivering organic meals sized for two, with everything cut and ready to cook, giving us healthy food with minimal clean up so we can spend as much quality time with the kids (and each other) as possible.

Parker 15 Weeks - A Week of Transitions

This was a week of transitions.  For Parker this was adding thumb sucking and sleeping on his belly to his bedtime routine.  And sleep training paid off - from waking 1-3x a night to sleeping through the night by the end of the week.  This was accomplished by coaxing him back to sleep in the middle of the night instead of feeding him.  We also woke him at 7am setting his "clock" and put him to bed at 8pm same time as big brother.  Since he likes to flip over to his belly we stopped swaddling his lower half letting him sleep in just his pajamas.  This was Parker's first week of daycare going part time half days for 3 days of the week.  He had a bit of an adjustment the first day - learning to feed from a bottle and sleeping around noisy babies - but by the second day he was happier with the slow flow nipple and had adjusted to the noise.  And he's developed a new skill, reaching for and holding objects in his hands.  He reaches out like he's holding up the number 4, with his thumb tucked in, but is quickly getting more coordinated and gets those fingers wrapped around a toy.  Now to get the elbow coordinated so he can get the toy in his mouth!

It was also a week of transition for Brady.  We had already started talking about moving him to a toddler bed, and had waited hoping to finish potty training, but with Parker rolling around in his co-sleeper it was time to move the boys to their new rooms.  This week we got all the toddler furniture and painted the room to make it Brady's room, and we picked up new bedding to make Brady's old room Parker's room.  Brady had transitions at school too.  After watching another classmate, he peed standing up two different days - what an accomplishment!  It was also his last week in the EPS 1 room with Ms Sam and he will move to the EPS 2 room with Ms Cristina next week.  We'll miss Sam, and how she took such great care of our son teaching him his ABCs, how to count from 1 to 10, colors (even if he calls red pink), and days of the week (his fav is Tuesday, no idea why), but know it's time for him to learn new skills in EPS 2.  These skills will include tracing letters of the alphabet and learning how to check in/out of group play.  

Mom had her transitions as well.  This was her last week of maternity vacation.  Mom and Parker enjoyed the time together snuggling, playing on the play mat honing his new reach skills, and Parker gave Mom her one wish for the week to fall asleep in her arms one more time.  With Parker in part-time daycare Mom had some time to herself to get ready to return to work, including cutting 4" off her hair.  While she is sad that this will likely be the end of her last maternity leave, she is excited to return to work in a new job with a new boss and see her co-worker friends.  

Having two small children makes you realize how much time you had before with only one.  While you used to be able to hand off the baby to your spouse to workout, run an errand, write in the blog, etc, now it's when you can work it in around kid stuff - usually before they wake up or after they go to bed or you may get lucky at nap time.  The boys seem to have opposite schedules - when one naps, the other is awake and vice versa - keeping Mom and Dad busy holding, feeding, or chasing at all times.  It is crazy at times, but we wouldn't want it any other way.  

But what a great summer.  From Parker joining our lives, to celebrating Grandma Reggie's retirement from PSU and spending time with our northeast family, to Parker starting to move and Brady getting potty trained and learning how to swim - it was a great 4 months!

 Thumb sucking and belly sleeping - just like big brother

Cuddling Mr giraffe 

Practicing his reach...now to get it to his mouth

1st week in the jumper - he got the hang of it!

Big brother showing Parker the features of the jumper

Last day in EPS 1 - thanks Ms Sam for a great year!

Goodbye space room - hello toddler bedroom

 The best part of me - is you

Week 14 with Parker - Rolling Over!

The last two weeks of back arching paid off, Parker is now rolling back to front (and back again)!  The first time he did it was in his swaddle on morning and was on his belly when Mom went in to pick him up (which was a little scary for Mom since his arms were tucked in his swaddle).  Once he did it there was no going back, now he's flipping all the time - in his play yard, on his play mat, he even tries it on his changing table. Other than rolling over, he's starting to get better use of his hands, holding onto objects dangling above him and finally unclenching those fists. Our little man is growing up!

Brady is getting so grown up too.  He completed swim lessons this week.  At first he liked it, then he didn't, then he did again.  It helped that at his last lesson it clicked for him how to hold his breath, so he was able to swim longer underwater with less going up his nose (and no more crying).  He can slide off the water slide, go under, swim to the side (with a little steering from Mom), and climb out all on his own.  He can kick/dig (doggie paddle) after a toy and put his face in the water.  And he can go under and retrieve a toy (again with steering from Mom).  Today he used a pair of arm floaties - which he loved - jumping in off the side and bobbing back up all by himself.  With a little more practice he'll be able to swim completely on his own with the arm floaties.  He's getting so grown up!  He had so much fun he now likes to practice his swimming in the bath tub, floating on his back or putting his face in.  What a little fish.

Parker starts daycare next week, going a couple half days, so we started working on his routine.  He wakes up at 6:45am to set his "clock" for the day.  He takes 3 naps - 45min to 1.5 hrs in the morning, a long 2-4 hr nap after lunch, and a short 30min to 1 hr nap early evening.  At 8pm we start his bedtime routine - nurse, bath, PJs, story, and bed - putting him down when he's sleepy but not asleep.  This seems to be working well, now we just need him to sleep longer through the night (he's waking 1-3x a night).  Brady continues to be a great sleeper, especially after a full day of daycare activities and swim lessons, sleeping 8pm to 7am.

Mom had a touch of a cold this week (Dr said bronchitis) and has done her best not to share it with Parker which isn't easy when you're home on maternity vacation nursing a little one.  Next week is Mom's last week of maternity vacation, then it's back to reality.

Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas before sending Grandma Reggie off

Parker being cute

 Playing with Mom

Who's that handsome guy in the mirror

Rolling over

 Mom enjoying morning coffee while Brady's already found the water hose

Mr Fish

 Brotherly love

Brady likes to "hold" Parker

Week 13 with Parker

This week Grandma Reggie was in town to help Mommy with the boys while Daddy was on business travel - what a treat for the boys!  They had no shortage of fun and attention.

Parker turned 3 months old this week!  Unofficially on the home scale he weighs ~11.5 lbs but won't go in for another official weight check until his 4 month appointment.  His legs are so strong, he likes to try to stand up, push off your lap, and stomp his feet.  Or he kicks at objects when lying down doing his "exercises" with Grandma.  This week he really started grabbing his feet, usually his right hand on his right foot, while chewing on his left thumb and index finger.  Most nights he wakes up 1-2x a night starting at 2am and again around 4:30am.  Mommy feeds him at the first waking and usually just has to tuck his arms back in his swaddle at the second waking to get him back to sleep.  Like big brother, he likes his blankies, and they help settle him back to sleep in his car seat or lamb swing.  He still arches his back, even in his swaddle, trying to roll over so we'll start getting him into a crib in his own room soon.  He's starting to have days where he doesn't poop at all, followed by high poop days, as breastfed babies do.  And when he's held he loves to look over his shoulder checking things out really twisting himself around.  He seems to do a good job finding Mommy by her voice and gives everyone lots of smiles.  He really is a good tempered sweet little boy.  

Taking advantage of a cool morning to walk to the park 

Enjoying a cool pack on his back at the spray pool 

Morning cartoons with Grandma

Brady had fun this week getting to check out the River Legacy Science Center and play ground, the Grapevine Sea Life aquarium, and started swim lessons.  The science center has some aquatic animals and reptiles - fish, turtles, frogs, etc - which Brady enjoyed watching.  We also walked around outside and saw turtles swimming in the pond and small green lizards on the bushes.  The playground was immaculate complete with a dinosaur and treehouse.  Brady had fun climbing on the dinosaur, playing in the treehouse and suspension bridge, and going down the big kid slide.  He made another trip to the Sea Life aquarium in Grapevine taking Grandma through to show her all the fish, sharks, turtles, and eels.  And what a little fish in swim lessons!  In just 4 days of class he has learned kick/dig (doggie paddle), to hold his "bubble" (breath) and go under, float on his back, put his face in the water, go under water for a toy, go down the waterslide, and climb out of the pool on his own.  He's still a little uncomfortable going under and putting his face in the water, but really enjoys floating on his back and relaxing while Mommy sings him a song.  As a special treat Mommy and Grandma got to visit Brady at school for bug day with the bug lady.  She got the little kids to sing songs and showed them spiders, millipedes, and beetles.  And guess who's kid ran to the front of the class to hold a water bug (aka cockroach)?  Yep, Brady.  It was fun to see him in his element at school with his teachers and all his friends.

River Legacy Science Center

Fun at the River Legacy playground

 Warming up with Grandma at the spray pool

I'll hold the bug!!!

Checking out the aquatic wildlife at the aquarium

 Going under with Mommy

 Kick/dig to get the boat

 Fun on the waterslide!

Floating on his back

Mommy has been super appreciative of all the help from Grandma feeding, diapers, bathing, etc for the boys.  And Grandma has had a lot of fun playing with Brady helping him pack his lunchbox and going off to work, having cookouts with firemen, and punching his ticket to go on an airplane.  It's so fun to see their imaginations at work!  And Parker has gotten lots of cuddles and play time with his Grandma, practicing grabbing objects or lifting his head.  It's so fun to have our family part of our boys lives!

Brady's 1st Poopy on the Potty

He did it, Brady had his 1st poopy on the potty!!!  

He's been practicing going potty at school and at home, and he's gotten into a routine of peeing on the potty (sitting), and last night for our big Saturday night highlight he went poopy!  Daddy was drawing his bath and Mommy was reading him a book when he told us he was going poop.  Sure enough, he did!  He thought it was funny he could see it.  And he liked flushing it and seeing it go down.  So excited for our big guy!  It was nice having no clean up to do.  We're hoping he keeps it up!