Good Times with Grammy

Our Grammy came to see us!  I knew my Mother had been anxious for a return trip to see the grands from the second they left the driveway in September.  A few weeks ago we booked her flight for last Thursday to this Wednesday, allowing James a hunting weekend in middle Georgia.  Then our nanny informed me she had jury duty this week (only my second week back!)  So Mother's trip worked out perfectly.

We were quite productive.  Remember - the Kerrs don't sit. They have to be doing something. At all times.

• We did a lot of cooking, cleaning, organizing, and laundry. (Well, Mother did all these things for me - but I watched with a lot of gratitude.)  
• We (attempted to) dye our black jeans.  We both realized how faded ours were, got some Rite dye, then followed all the instructions only to come out with faded black jeans.  Grrrrrrr.
• We framed James' and my diplomas - after all these years!!  My parents gift their kids diploma frames, but it took a while for James and I to, first, find our diplomas, and second figure out the frame.  Mother and I spent hours at the frame shop, but love what we came away with!
• I finally baked the cookies I've been craving for so long: oatmeal chocolate chip, "for my milk".  (certainly not for my sweet tooth…)

Baking with my Sous Chef

But it wasn't all work!  There was a lot of play!  Mother may or may not have insinuated a few times that our house is a bit crazy and chaotic.  Doesn't hurt my feelings at all - I totally agree we are a circus most days.  Circuses are fun, though. :)  

• For Maryn and Grammy it was Cuddles, Cuddles, Cuddles.  Mother even got her to laugh with some tickles!  

Hi Grammy

• JB also had a great time reading, playing, and jumping with Grammy.  

Little Blue Truck

Mr. Cool

Our little monkey

• We had to capture as much as we could with selfies (since the boys were not around to take our picture.)  This one was after church, where we managed to make it on-time with two kids in tow.  

Maryn is not impressed with this Sunday MIRACLE!

• When the weather cooperated, we hauled the double stroller and dog to the park.  Fun times for everyone.

              

And then the last night - DATE NIGHT!!  Mother shoo'd James and me out of the house to enjoy a nice dinner sans kids.  It was glorious!  

yea!!

We miss Grammy already, but it's only a month before we'll be back in Texas with both Grammy AND Gran Gran (and a whole host of other Kerrs that we love to see.)  Yea!

Black Out!

We had a storm last night that blew in fairly quickly and wrecked a little havoc on the city!  After dropping my mom off to fly home (post to follow - too many sweet pictures to organize and upload!), we went over to the McLeod's for an impromptu dinner.  Things were going well, kids ate good, we finished our meal in peace, I was nursing Maryn in another room when - COMPLETE DARKNESS!!!

Some friends who live in a Midtown high rise called me to check on us, after they saw "fireworks" in our neighborhood (from the balcony).  I told him about the lack of power, and - putting two-and-two together - we realized a transformer must have blown.

The black blob at the top - that's us!!

Fortunately the McLeods are much more prepared than we are for these situations.  They have multiple flashlights, and a very good wine collection.  WIN.  We stayed there way past bedtime until the lights came back on.

Flashlights are fun

Baby Mac - well, can't call him that much anymore, can I? - enjoyed some cuddle time with Maryn. She loved the fact that she spent her late night nap time snoozing in everyone's arms.  

Such sweetness

The boys also got to enjoy lots of Pete the Cat by flashlight.  All the adults joined in to sing the songs, too.  Storms will make you do strange things…

Who needs power when you have Pete?

After two hours of complete darkness, the lights came back on.  Good job, Georgia Power!  (If only Delta had performed better for Mother - it took her many, many hours and FOUR PLANES before she finally arrived home safe and sound.)  What a crazy night following a quick little storm...

First Parent/Teacher Conference

We had our first Parent/Teacher conference - for our two year old!  The school JB attends is very rigorous, very serious.  Even for the little tots.  This is the art that greets them each day. 

Intense.

What did we learn about our little guy?  Well, he has shown real improvement since he first joined in June, and is showing great progress in his work cycles, interactions, and independence.  (As a Montessori environment, that last bit - being independent - is a real focus.)  He is enthusiastic, caring, listens well, and plays well with others.  JB still struggles a bit in staying focused on his work cycle activities, but - gracious alive - he's TWO!! And so energetic!!  I know we shouldn't make excuses, but…Apparently, the other "friends" in class (what they call students) can focus a bit more.

We also confirmed he doesn't show obsessive tendencies towards Isla at school, which we were a little worried about.  He talks about her ALL THE TIME at home (like, all the time), and we had visions of him chasing her non-stop during the day.  His teacher said he plays it cool.  :)

JB tends to wake early during naps and he likes to join their staff meetings while the other friends sleep.  He also likes to ditch Mandarin lessons to join their staff meetings.  I can't stop cracking up about this - little JB sitting with his teachers as they talk about lesson plans.

Another major point of discussion - toileting.  Seems they are ready to start working with JB on becoming potty trained.  We will incorporate the potty in our daily routine at home to match what they are already doing in school.  They gave me some great book recommendations on the subject, and we all know how I love reading and obsessing over these things when it comes to my kiddos.

Overall a great report.  We can see how much the teachers genuinely enjoy little JB (how could you not), and the talk confirms how happy we are with the environment he's in every day.  JB is learning, growing, and loving life.

Back in the Saddle Again...

Yesterday (Monday) marked my return to two important parts of my life.  This first return: to my job.  I can't say it was any easier the second time around, but at least perspective is helpful in knowing it does get easier.  I wrote a long dramatic post about it with JB, and reading over it I feel much the same this time with Miss M.  For me, it's not the physical separation that's so hard.  It's the mental aspect that stings - the nostalgia of knowing that all my days* alone with her, with 100% of the responsibility for her care are over**.  It will downright break your heart if you let it.  So I'm trying not to let it!

Early morning cuddles and smiles!

* Okay, I know "over" is a little dramatic.  I still have her in the mornings, evenings, and weekends, but right now I'm sad about those other 45 hours a week when I have to share her with another lady!

** And I'm only working three days a week for the next 8 weeks, so that helps tremendously.  When I feel sad I think of all the 1:1 time that I'll get with my gal on Wednesday and Friday.

Okay, on a more positive note, I also started hitting the pavement again - bring on those endorphins to help me with the work transition!  It's been nearly a full year since I ran, and I've missed it so much.  I even celebrated the occasion with the retirement of my well-loved Nike Frees. (SIX YEARS, 3 half marathons, and tons of miles with these shoes - it was hard to see these babies go.)  I made a big production about finally going to buy new running shoes, and wound up with yet another pair of Nike Frees 5.0.  Hey, I love them (obviously) and they just felt like an old friend from the moment I laced them up.

Obviously a good ad for Nike - these Frees hold up so well!

Monday and Tuesday were easy (yet hilly, because, ATLANTA) 2 milers, and I felt great.  This is a good thing because we need to keep running to get this baby weight off.  (And by "we" I mean Enda because she has gotten really, really chunky this pregnancy.)   :)

Don't judge the "bra fat" around her collar...

I have not signed up for the Atlanta ING like last time, mostly because I think training with two little kiddos might be a bit much.  We'll see, though, I've done crazier things...

Clear Ears (Finally!)

Poor JB has had a bad string of ear infections over the past few months that just don't clear up.  And more, he seems to always have a ton of fluid in his ears that impacts his hearing (and maybe even his speech, as the doctors suspect.) When the ENT suggested tubes for JB, we said "when is your next opening".  It's not that we took the minor procedure lightly, but know enough kiddos who greatly benefitted from tubes that we trusted the doc when he said they would be helpful for JB.

The tubes went in this morning, and happy to report that all went well! The worst part of the whole thing was denying food to our hungry child from his wake up to the 11AM procedure.  (His wake up was even earlier than normal, too, due to a vizsla who had a minor freak out at 6AM over a strange noise downstairs!!) 

JB did great on the walk in, insisting on carrying his heavy backpack full of books.  And those boots.  Plus George.  

The pre-op process greatly entertained JB, with the glowing finger monitor, the cuff to "check his muscles", the hats. 

Maryn also behaved very well, being the "best baby sister" she could while we focused on big brother.

The surgery took all of 5 minutes, just like everyone assured us it would. JB woke up a bit cranky and demanding cheese, so we knew he was back to normal!  After a BBQ lunch and looooong nap, he seems to be doing just fine.  Yea for clear ears! 

Maryn - two months old!

Maryn Elizabeth is two months old!

It seems like I was just writing her one month - and now another month has gone by?  When does she stop being a newborn?  I'm not ready to say "infant"!  

The second month was another good one for Maryn.  She is definitely waking up the world, and is a content, happy little baby. Lots of gummy grins and big smiles that cause her to squint and squish her face.  She has also started to coo, and loves face-to-face interaction.  She also loves (loves, loves) to lay on her back and explore everything around her.  She'd prefer to stay on her changing table all day (preferably naked), happily kicking away.  Tummy time happened every day this month, but Maryn is a little lazy and doesn't use the time for neck exercises.  She prefers to lay there, chew on her fist, and drift off to sleep.  The doctor said we needed to up tummy time this month (6Xs a day!) to work on her head strength.

We are so thankful that Maryn doesn't have the tummy troubles that made her brother so miserable during his first few months.  Although she definitely has her fussy time in the evening, a swaddle and paci normally do the trick to calm her down.  Even when she has a fussy feeding (and Mama freaks out and fears REFLUX), the next feeding she's fine again.  As a "happy spitter", per the Pedi, we do go through quite a few burpies, bibs, and clothes a day - but if the spit up doesn't bother her, it certainly doesn't bother me.  

She had her first cold this month (thanks to big brother, who loves to give kisses!), and congested newborn sounds are the worst!  This prevented us from transitioning Maryn into her nursery.  (Okay, maybe the congestion is just my excuse - I'm was not ready to move her!!)   She still sleeps right beside me in the rock-n-play, and this works for us.  

She's happy on the go (thankfully, since she's a second child), and experiences a lot for such a little gal. It never fails that someone doesn't say "look at that hair!" when we're out and about.  It's red and it's wild. It sticks straight up, no matter what I do, and gets thicker and redder the bigger she gets.  I would love her to keep this head of hair.  Now let's see if she has the personality to match it.  

So here we go -  her two month stats!

Maryn's Measurements:

• Weight: 11lbs 11 oz (75th percentile)
• Height:  23 inches (80th percentile)

At 2 Month Old,  Maryn...

…Eats every 3 hours during the day like clockwork, getting in about 7 feedings a day.  Mama makes enough milk for the neighborhood, but she's learned to handle it (and single-sided nursing has been a life saver for us.)   Although we've been diligent about a bottle at least every other day, they are not her favorite and she will put up a fight.  Goldilocks also prefers the bottle temps just right.  She also doesn't love to be woken up at 11PM for the last feed (or dream feed). 

…Sleeps very well.  She usually has two really good naps during the day, then cat naps the other naps.  If we have a long car ride or errands, she will sleep for-ev-er.  If she's getting tired and overstimulated, girlfriend gets fussy.  I try to swaddle her and put her down the moment I see droopy eyelids or she is not a happy camper!  She has slept 11PMish - 6AMish a few times (woo hoo!), but the other nights is only up for a quick snack at 3AM.  At the advice of the Pedi, I'm going to drop the dream feed (because she's so difficult to rouse), and put her down "for the night" at her 7-8PM feeding.  Although I know this will mean a 3AM wake-up for a while longer, she is truly ready for bed around this time and the hope is she'll transition to 10-12 hours a night soon.  FINGERS CROSSED.  

...Wears 3 month clothes, 3-6 month clothes, and some 6 month sleepers.  If the 3 month sleepers have feet, I don't even try to stuff her in.  I've had to go up a size in swaddles because her poor legs were cramped.  This gal is long!     

…Loves the k'tan (our neighbors swear she lives in the k'tan carrier); her paci (MAMs and Avent are her favs); stretching; relaxing on her back; getting a bath (which she only really gets twice a week, oops!); car rides; chilling in her swing while watching TV (she's a fan of The Voice)

…Does not like it when she's in the k'tan or the car and we stop moving.  Stillness is not tolerated by Maryn. 

...Has mixed emotions about her brother.  Maybe because he hugs, kisses, pulls on and falls on her quite often, and loves to get right in her face (despite my best efforts). But she'll soon learn that this is all done out of an intense love for his "sissy".  

(Side note: sometimes I forget our daughter's name is Maryn.  She is called Sissy 95% of the time.  Sissy Sasser - I sure hope this gal doesn't have issues pronouncing her "s"es!)

Month Two -  You are growing and changing every day, Miss M!    

(Another side note: two months pics were a little delayed due to routine shots.  They wiped this poor girl out and she slept for 2 days!  Then it took some time to get these smiles back.  We missed her cheery face, but #vaccinessave.)

Previous Updates on Maryn:

• Birth Story
• One Month

JB's Two Month Update  (How do they Compare?):  JB - Two Months Old

Party Animal JB

JB was a little party animal this past weekend (beyond Halloween night).  On Friday his school hosted a party - Spooky Suzuki - where JB enjoyed carnival type events and consumed his first of many (many, many) sugary treats.  To those who say sugar doesn't actually produce hyper active kiddos, I give you exhibit A..

When we walked in to his class, I saw JB sitting with the girl we hear about constantly at home: Isla.  Before he saw us, we even caught him holding her hand, too.  Ah, puppy love.

The highlight of the entire party for JB (minus sweets) was a temporary tattoo.  We had to get very creative at bath time to preserve this baby.

After the party I made the kids sit for mandatory pictures.  Such cute coordinated dress must be documented.

(Maryn was at every party this weekend, from the confines of her k'tan.  Twenty plus toddlers, can you even imagine the germs!?)

On Saturday morning, JB's little friend had a birthday party out at PDK (the private airport).   A lunch overlooking the runway - JB was in heaven!!  Not that much lunch was consumed (he was too busy pointing out all the planes.)

He did manage to get inside for cupcakes.  This boy was not missing out on some sugar!! 

Then Sunday yet another birthday party - this time at Gymboree.  Thank goodness for indoor playgrounds!  It was a very dreary, rainy day, so this Mama made sure we were on time (even arriving a few minutes early to the party).  JB had a blast and got rid of a lot of energy.

Mr. Patient...

One of my favorite things about JB's school is the socialization and friendships that I see developing.  JB just loves all the fun and sweets that he gets out of it.  :)