Missing Ethan

Ethan is out in Albany for the long weekend. While it's a nice relief for Mia and I, apparently it was a bit of a concern for Ethan.

When he and I were talking about it yesterday he got a very sad look on his face and asked me "Daddy, will you miss me?" And to Mia he said "Momma will you miss me when I'm gone?"

This was a bit of a surprise to us because normally he asks it the other way when I go to work. "Daddy, will you miss us when you go to work?" And I always tell him yes I will. And I mostly do ;)

But this time, we could both answer honestly that we will miss Ethan while he's gone. In fact, when I got home from work today I was a little sad that no one ran shouting to meet me at the door.

We have the cutest kids in the world (sorry, everyone else) and I wouldn't give them up for anything. Though I might loan them out for a weekend (and miss them).

Mother's Day Gift

I know that Mother's Day was last Sunday and I've been meaning to write this post since then but I've been busy job searching. Fortunately (?) Edward woke up at 5:30 this morning so I've got some time now.

This year I decided to give Mia something special for Mother's Day. Don't get me wrong, I still got her the Godiva chocolate she asked for, and Ethan helped me pick out some roses, but those were just trappings. The real gift was spending the weekend (while Mia worked) weaning Edward.

Weaning is something we've talked about for a few weeks now because Edward has been eating every 1.5 hours (if not more often) and wasn't able to fall asleep without nursing. We knew he wasn't getting enough to eat, which accounted for the frequency, and assumed that being hungry was also a factor in his incredibly short naps and constant wake-ups at night.

One of the hardest parts of weaning is taking the attitude that your child will take a bottle when he gets hungry enough. The time before that happens can be quite miserable. Especially if he screams when you try to give him the bottle. On the bright side, using sleep as a defense mechanism against eating from a bottle does provide some relief.

But, I stuck to my plan, and even when Mia was home we kept pushing the bottle. At 2AM he wouldn't be comforted back to sleep by nursing but by getting a bottle from Dad. Finally by Monday, we had him doing pretty well with taking a bottle and he was starting to drink more at each feeding. This was a key part of the change so we were glad that it materialized according to plan.

This morning, as I write this post, I'm tired but got a solid night of sleep. Uninterrupted sleep. It's like Nirvana. So while I am still groggy, at least I'm not frustrated.

And it looks like he's just about done with his playmate. He might be getting sleepy again himself. That would be nice.

Singing

Ethan loves to sing. And he learns the words to songs pretty quickly. And if he can't quite get the tune right, he makes up for it with volume.

We have a tape of primary songs that he sings in the car. He's getting to know pieces of most of the songs. It's cute to hear him join in when it's playing. He'll sing all the way to wherever we are going.

Then, when we are at home, Ethan will also start just singing at random. Today he was climbing on the couch singing the "Follow the Prophet" chorus (over and over) at the top of his lungs. Then, on occasion, he would mix in "I lived in Heaven" to the same tune as Follow the Prophet. It took me a few times before I realized what words he was actually using.
Of course, he didn't care. He was just happy to be singing and dancing.

I love that he likes singing so much. I hope he gets his mother's talent for singing too.

In Sickness and in Health

Mia got the flu last week. She got it hard: headaches, runny nose, fever, chills, fatigue. We were fortunate that Ethan was vacationing in Albany. Unfortunately, we didn't get nearly as much done around the house has we hoped because Edward screamed like a banshee.

Finally Mia broke down and bought a swing. It was amazing. Edward loves to be in the swing and will immediately calm down no matter how loud he is being. In fact... we are starting to think he likes swinging more than being held. Yikes!

At the end of last week, I got the flu. Mostly it was just a runny nose (I went through an entire box of tissues on Sunday) but when I get sick, I get hit hard with fatigue. I went to work on Monday and felt exhausted when I came home.

Fortunately, my mom has been in town so she's taken very good care of us. We've really gotten more sleep that we would otherwise with an extra set of hands around.

But, as I was telling Mia the other night, when I'm sick I realize how much I appreciate her and all the things she does. Maybe I just notice them more because I can't do them for myself. Whatever it is, when I'm sick it's more obvious to me how much I love having her in my life.

And now... more sleep.

The high cost of gas

Now, you might think that I'm talking about gasoline. Well, you'd be wrong.

This is a baby post, so you can guess what kind of gas is involved. As all conversations about babies eventually turn to poop, I'll just start this off with it and avoid beating around the bush.

Edward tends to get a lot of gas. And it's painful for him.

Now, with that context, please enjoy this anecdote.

I decided yesterday that we don't really do much as a family after I get home from work because Mia is exhausted and goes off on her own to take a break. I don't blame her after a day with the kids. But, yesterday, I suggested that we go out to dinner together. So we went to the Olive Garden.

Mia had a salad (I had the sausage soup, yum) and the Mixed Grill. She was very careful not to eat any of the vegetables she knows give her gas, including all of the squash and peppers that came with her meal. She was rather disappointed but we didn't want to deal with Edward getting even worse.

Jump forward to this evening. I came home from work and was trying to get Edward to calm down. Mia said she would make dinner for us. She poked around a bit and came up with a quick meal: Chili.
Wait, wait, I know what you're thinking and it gets better.

So, I'm dealing with Edward while we eat and as Mia finishes up her second (yep, #2) bowl of chili, Edward starts fussing and won't calm down. Mia looks up at me and says "He's probably still got some gas..." There is a pause "Oh no."

This was the moment we realized that she'd just eaten two bowls of what is probably the worst possible food for avoiding giving our baby gas. I have a feeling we are going to be in for a very exhausting weekend.

The Facebook

In my continued dive into social media, I now have a Facebook profile. (And so does Mia.)

We've already hooked up with most of the family but just throwing it out for anyone that might not know yet.

Web 2.0 Saved My Marriage

Out of Office

Mia worked all weekend. I took care of Ethan all weekend.

Then, this morning Mia asked me to take the whole day off work so she could rest. She definitely needed it. So I agreed.

But, I absolutely couldn't stay around the house again all day. Ethan and I went to the booksale at the library. I picked up One Hundred Days of Solitude and Master and Commander.
Ethan got a new Bulldozer book and the Little Train that Could.

Then, we drove down to the Aquarium. It's an easy drive now that we know how to do it. So, I grabbed Mia's aquarium pass and we headed into Boston. Normally the passes are only supposed to allow you into the building if you're with the person named on the card. But, they didn't even bat an eye when Ethan and I were going in.

Ethan loves the Aquarium. Especially the little tide pool that you can stick your hands in. His shirt was all wet from leaning over the edge playing with the starfish, hermit crabs, sea cucumbers, and horseshoe crabs.
He also likes the sharks in the big tank at the center. We walked around and he'd climb up on the ledge (designed for kids to stand up a little taller) so he could watch them pass.

After that we went to Quincy Market for lunch. Ethan (a boy after my own heart) enjoys a good corndog, which is what we got. We ate lunch with my friend Ken. Then, I was thinking about going home but we'd already missed naptime. We walked over to the Boston Common. (We followed the Freedom Trail so I wouldn't get lost.)

He ran around in the grass, chased the squirrels, and then ended up in the playground by the frog pond. He loves new playgrounds. At this one he discovered a pyramid-shaped ladder that was about 7ft. high and began to climb it repeatedly.
Then, after a while we saw his friend Juan Fernando. He's just about Ethan's age but we haven't seen him in a few months. Of course, that didn't matter to the boys, they just started running around together having a great time.

Finally, after a long day we walked back to the car and drove home. The boy took a little nap in the car and then we snuggled and watched Toy Story 2 before bedtime. It was a full day but we had a blast.

In the good old days

Mia and I were talking about people that used to be in our ward here in Boston "back when we were single."

Of course, what my cute wife meant was before we had kids.

Happy Birthday

Congratulations on getting older.

I still love my hot 20-something wife though.

:D :D