Fall/Winter 2014 - General Schedule

Life has hit a good little groove around here.

Barrett is going to preschool Tuesday and Thursday 9-12. He is also doing swimming lessons Monday, Wednesday, Friday for 30 minutes each time. This is is second 10 lesson session and he is loving it! Last week he back floated and kicked all the way accross the 25 meter pool - by himself! He is also jumping off the diving board and flipping onto his back after. He still has a lot to learn and isn't too into the whole face in the water, swim to the instructor thing yet - but he is progressing so well. We have him signed up for MWF all the way until the end of march with 2 sessions added on Tuesday/Thursday nights with a good friend of ours for good measure! So there will be a 6 week session in January and February where he will be going 5 days a week! He was in gymnastics for a little bit in September and October, but he loved swimming so much that we have kind of committed to doing that intensively for a while. I am sure we will add gymnastics or something else down the road, but for now, swimming is working out really well.

Gentry and I go to the gym on Tuesday and Thursday when Barrett is in Preschool and I also try to hit the gym Monday, Wednesday and Friday (or at least 2 of 3) after swimming. Gentry has been a really good sport about just getting dragged around to Barrett's activities. He isn't the best at sitting still though. At the pool, I basically chase him around the whole time and try to keep him from falling into the pool. I can't wait for him to be able to do lessons too although you have to be 3 and that wont happent until May 2016 which seems really far away.

Barrett is loving school and has been coming home singing songs. He can sing all of twinkle twinkle and he was singing Jingle Bells (the first 2 lines) today. He has absolutely no ability to carry a melody which is pretty funny. At parent teacher conferences I learned that he loves to gather things, is "kind of" playing with 2 of the other boys, enjoys participating in everything and can get kind of wild in circle time. He also loves building toys and the cash register.

My boys at 3 and 16 months

I find it so interesting having 2 boys 18 months apart. It's so fun to see all the ways in which they are similar and the many more ways in which they are different. It blows my mind on a daily basis how, two boys, from the same parents and so close together can be so very different.

Barrett loves fruit. When he eats a burger or a sandwich, he eats the insides and discards the bun or bread. He hardly eats (it seems). He will eat anything for the most part, just not very much. He favors any fruit or berry, yogurt, carrots and sweets...the kid has a sweet tooth which clearly didn't come from me.  He loves to help, with everything. He can build with legos for a long period of time. He really is a self directed kind of kid. He plays in the sandbox, in the yard, in the house without needing a lot of intervention. He is also stubborn and hates to go down for naps (and always kind of has). He loves to cuddle and needs some time to wake up in the morning. Generally, he likes to sleep in. Sometimes I have to wake him up for preschool and he will say "lighs off mama! Sleeping." He sleeps mostly calmly and right next to Nick (like glue). He is pretty controled emotionally but when he is tired he gets naughty and does everything he knows he shouldn't do. He is busy and active and very good with his body (jumping, running, kicking, swinging a golf club, etc). He is like a cartoon character. He will do things like a full belly flop off from the swings and onto the grass, grin really big and get up and do it again. He smiles often.

Gentry loves food. Any food. Doesn't matter. He eats. A lot. Fruit, veggies, bread, spaghetti, meat - I mean seriously whatever. The kid just likes food. He feeds himself and he is very enthusiastic about it. If he had a theme song it would be the "food glorious food" song from Ice Age the Meltdown. He is fast and mischievious but the biggest cuddle ever. He is so easy to put down for naps but then wakes right up when he is done and is so cheerful and happy and ready for the day. He also wakes early and is spritely and ready to go! (insert the poor mama face here). He wants to do what Barrett is doing. He also wants to do things himself. He wears his emotions on his sleeve. If he is mad, he cries - loud - and hard. He is busy with a capital B. He is tough - like really really tough - like kind of a badass he is so tough. The things that Barrett has done (intentionally or not but mostly just wrestling too hard) and Gentry has just taken like a man are countless. He is the most terrible person to share a bed with. He twirls and kicks and moves and pushes. I call him "the bad citizen" for his sleeptime antics (he goes to bed in his crib but always ends up with us...) He loves to be chased. He runs fast for how little he is and giggles and laughs and thinks it is like, the funniest thing ever.  Lately he has been doing this "evil" laugh all the time and it seriously is the funniest thing. Muahahahahahah!

September Update

Oh my - where does the time go! Life with young boys is crazy. Fun but crazy. Time for blogging seems to be at a minimum. Then when I do consider it I'm think to myself - do I update from now forward? Or try to go back... But honestly, I don't think I have the brain capacity to go back. It's lost in diapers, meals, trying to get out the door in a timely manner, worrying about whether I am being a good parent, codling too much - er maybe not enough. Should Barrett be getting himself dressed by now? Should I worry that we aren't potty trained? Or that both kids sleep in bed with us? Nah - or whatever I guess. I have 2 happy and healthy boys so perhaps those questions are unnecessary. When I drop Barrett off at preschool, he waves goodbye and happily goes off to play and learn...seems pretty well adjusted to me! When I send Gentry to the gym Kids Club, he generally takes a nap.

So what are we up to lately?

Barrett started preschool at Resurrection Catholic Preschool in their 2's program. Because his birthday is in September he will always be oldest in his class, but he was ready for some type of preschool so we found one that had a 2's program. He LOVES it. He gets to paint, draw, play, ride trikes, do music, learn pouring and mixing and all kinds of useful things like waiting his turn, washing his hands, following directions! He goes in happily and it is always hard to get him to leave. He seems more mature and seems to have picked up some fun new skills/phrases. He can sing part of twinkle twinkle little star. "Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what ...doo...rar!"

He started gymnastics one day a week and loves to follow the teacher and jump in the foam pit, hang from anything, run around on the floor and do the warm up song. It is a great way for him to learn direction following and waiting his turn.

Gentry continues to be a spirited little sprite! His favorite and most frequently used word is "Go!" He follows directions really well (when he wants to), can say "down" and some other words but like his brother is really a man of few words. He likes to do what Barrett is doing (and Barrett doesn't always appreciate it).

For the most part the boys love to do things together and when Gentry isn't with us, Barrett will ask where Gentry is. Barrett loves to help me cook and will bring his chair into the kitchen every time I start to cook. They both love to play in the yard and love going to the pool to go swimming. Both boys are pretty funny. Barrett has a more dry humor that can be a bit harder to get. Gentry is just a ham.

So obviously a lot more has happened since my last post ages ago...but a mama has to start somewhere. And has to finish quickly before the boys tear the house apart during my brief "break."

Things Kiddos

Things Barrett:

• When he goes to bed at night, he gives you a kiss and says "kiss", says "honk" and honks your nose, and says "hug" and gives you a hug
• When he is in the bath will scoot over and say "Gaanty too" (Gentry too) and pat the spot next to him. 
• Thinks bubbles are ice and says "ice"
• Confuses hot and cold. When it is really cold he will say "hot" sometimes
• Likes Wall-E, Toy Story I,II,III, Cars I,II, Baby Einstein, Ice Age I,II,III,IV
• Talks quite a bit. Not full sentences but he will say multiple words together like "Gentry eat more" "Mama outside" "Eat cookie" 
• Takes a while to warm up to situations and tends to be quiet and shy at first
• Likes playdough, coloring with chalk or markers (and an isolated incident on the wall), cars and trucks, blocks, toy tools, toy kitchens and play food, balls
• At kids club at the gym goes back and forth between playing with other kids and playing alone, likes to run around a lot. 

Things Gentry:

• Bear crawls and crawls
• Says Mama
• Likes to be held but lunges at things when you are holding him which makes holding him hard
• Does not like to go to sleep, I think he doesn't want to miss anything. 
• Love all things Barrett. What B is doing, playing with, where he is going.
• Thinks Barrett is hilarious. If B does something, he laughs. B can rile him up very easily. 
• Eats everything. And he must be growing because he eats A LOT. 
• Wearing 9 and 12 month clothes and weighs around 21lbs. Unlike tiny B, he is pretty big. 
• Still smiles all the time but is also going through a fussy phase. I think he may be teething plus he always cries when it is time to go to sleep so I think that not wanting to miss anything causes him to get over tired. 
• Still takes a paci and is still nursing. Less during the day but other than a fluke night where he slept through the night, he still wakes to eat several times.