I Finally Got Back Into the Blog!!

Long time, no post. I know, I know. Buuuut, life gets busy, right? Just checking in :) More at a future date...Val

Nothing Like Abandoning the Blog for a Couple Years...

Our first trip to Bay Beach June 2nd (the day before Fischer's birthday), was brief but fun (some rain cut our visit short).

The boys enjoyed boats, cars, and a train ride :)

That night was bath night. I've been growing Fischer and Larken's hair out...it makes for some fun styling in the tub!

Monday, June 3rd was Fischer's 5th (!!) birthday! He shared a treat at school and chose a friend, Beckett, to take to dinner at Noodles & Company. He had a great day :)

Fischer's preschool graduation took place Wednesday, June 5th. There was a sweet and simple ceremony at daycare that night, with a great guest turn-out, and excellent event execution by the staff, allowing me and Holly, whose 5-year-old, Fischer's buddy Collin, graduated, too, to sit back and "just be moms" that night. 

Just look at that smile!

It was great! So proud of Fischer and all his classmates! I can't believe he's off to Kindergarten this fall!

To celebrate Fischer's, Joe's, Josiah's and Frances' birthdays, as well as Fischer and Collin's graduation, our family spent the weekend camping in Tomahawk with Holly and her boys. Joe's Friday night birthday dinner wish was steak on the fire :)

Everyone got along terrifically, even though we had mosquitos, wood ticks, and rain to deal with. It was super cool to see all the dragon flies hatching, though!

Larken was a champion camper, taking a morning nap in the tent both mornings while it rained. 

Fischer and Collin practiced casting quite a bit, and Fischer even landed a good-sized crappie!

We enjoyed a Saturday afternoon of playing at Memorial Park and celebrated the 4 birthdays with 4 cakes and good food. Thanks, Frances & Nate!

So far, summer is off to a great start, despite wishy-washy weather!

April, 2011

Fischer has gotten in the habit of saying, "I love you all the time and every day." He's so affectionate with Larken. Here they are on April 1st.


We went to Perkins with the boys and Grandpa Ken on April 2nd. Here's a tight squeeze between him and Fischer :)

As far as big-brotherhood, Fischer is taking some time to adjust. It's a combination of his age (almost 3), me being off work (which means he doesn't see me every day when he goes to daycare), and his adjusting to sharing me and Joe with Larken (even if he doesn't 'blame' the baby). We've seen quite a bit of this face...

To balance it all out, we've seen quite a bit of this face, too! :) You can see the laundry 'waiting' in the background. (April 8th)On the evening of April 9th, we spent some time hanging out in the driveway with our neighbors. Isn't our garage pretty :-/Larken liked being out there checking out the nice weather with all of us! Fischer was happy to have me push him in his tree swing.

On April 15th...what gorgeous boys we have! :)

On April 16th, I bought myself a "push present" (for having Larken)...an IPod touch. I mainly use it to track Larken's nursing sessions, diaper changes, and sleeping times. It also takes pictures. We were playing with it when we were over at Grandma D & Grandpa Mike's for dinner that day.

April 16th, as Grandma D looks on, Grandpa Mike and Larken get to know each other :)

Now it's Grandma D's turn to chat a little with Larken :)

I love this close-up of Fischer, taken April 17th...

There are plenty of opportunities for close-ups of Larken, as he's on my lap lots for feeding time :) This was also taken April 17th, when he was a day shy of 6 weeks old.

The evening of April 17th, Fischer and I were reading "Goodnight, Moon" at bedtime. He knows it pretty much by heart, so some I read, some he filled in until he said, "Now I'll do the talks," and he 'read' the rest to me!

Fischer's been dry overnight and during naps, so it's been quite some time since we've used diapers. We've had the kid-sized toilet seat on our toilet for some time, but he can't get up and down from there on his own. So when his daycare teachers confirmed that they couldn't remember when he used a diaper last, and that he was cooperating on the potty at school, we brought his potty chair back out and set it up in his bedroom so he has easy access.

Fischer mostly needs reminders to go potty, but he will also recognize the "special feeling" and run on his own. We borrowed an Elmo Potty video from a friend that had some cute Sesame Street characters singing and talking about all things potty/poo related, and it seemed to help!

When Fischer sees me taking pictures of Larken, he can't wait to get in on the action. My IPod allows you to see yourself as you're taking the pic, so it made for some fun shots with him!

April 18th, this photo shows 4-month-old Fischer in the background.

On April 20th, Fischer and I colored Easter eggs together. I thought it'd be fun to do the "tie-dye" kit. It was quite time-consuming, so we tie-dyed only 3 or 4 eggs, and colored the other 3 or 4 the traditional dipping way.

We had to wrap the damp fabric piece around the egg and close it in a plastic mold. Then we used a pipette to squirt the vinegar/dye mixture into little holes in the mold. It didn't turn out like a tie-dyed t-shirt, but it made for a pretty colorful effect. :)

By April 21st, Larken is sleeping in 4 and 3 hour chunks at night, usually "tanking up" with many nursings before he lays down, and then going right back to sleep after I'm up with him once at night and again early in the morning. This is much better than Fischer's overnights as a young baby! Larken also prefers to be swaddled. He calms him right down and has big smiles as he's drifting off to sleep :)

When Fischer was on maternity leave with me, at the advice of the doctor, we waited until 2 weeks before he started daycare to introduce him to a bottle. It was a bit challenging, finding a nipple type he "liked" that got more milk into his belly and less down his chin.

With Larken, however, we didn't shy away from a pacifier (which he seldom needs), and I started giving him some of my pumped milk when he was about a week old. Happily, he drank like a champ, after adjusting his sucking method a little, and liked the first kind of nipple I introduced (I had 2 different kinds on reserve, just in case).

You can see in the pic above how he grips his shirt while he's eating...Fischer got into playing with my hair while he nursed. I think Larken is going to be one who carries a blankie around :)

We've struggled to find bath toys that keep Fischer occupied. Joe suggested bubble bath, and BINGO! Super fun, super cheap, and the boy is happy :)

On Easter Sunday, April 24th, when Fischer woke up, I told him the Easter Bunny had hidden his basket. He began his search in his room. Not in the bunk bed...

Checking his closet next...not in there...

You can tell he's getting a little less patient (having just woken up), as he's checking in the bathroom...

It was in the bathtub!! That silly rabbit!

NOW he's excited!!

The plastic eggs each contained a "Peeps" chick.

He loves marshmallows :) I think he devoured all 3 or 4 Peeps in less than 10 minutes!

Next, Fischer dug into some "lip stuff" that the Easter Bunny put in his basket. He got into the habit of applying it this winter, so it was extra fun to have his very own!

*smooch* *smooch*

Our poor kitty, Schmooze, is all but forgotten these days. Lowest on the totem pole, he takes whatever attention he can get! Here, I caught him being all cute laying in a patch of sun in the livingroom.

On April 23rd, just before naptime, "Just like the Little Engine," Fischer "pushed and pushed" and went poo for the first time on his potty chair! I told him, "I knew you could!" and he exclaimed, "I can, I can!"

On April 25th, Fischer, Larken and I went to my "work wife" Holly's house to play with her boys, Collin (6 mos. older than Fischer) and Quinn (1 year older than Larken).

Larken sure grinned at Quinn! Larken didn't mind chilling in his seat while the moms visited and the "big boys" played.

We decided to slow things down a bit (after Fischer had a little potty accident) with a bowl of popcorn and a movie. The boys played so well together! Here's Larken where he spent a great deal of my maternity leave: nursing :) Because he spent so much time at the breast (no complaints, here!), I got to watch a lot of TV...we subscribe to Netflix, so I watched seasons of "The Office" and "Glee," as well as a couple other series.

But all that feeding pays off! Check out his chubber legs!! We call him Lunchbox :) He's so good-natured! He really looks interested in what anyone has to say, and really brightens when Fischer's around, or when he wants to get in on a conversation with someone. The pic above was taken April 27th, when Larken was about 7 1/2 weeks old.

Here's another pic of Fischer busy on a neighborhood playground. How great it was to finally glimpse some nice weather toward the end of my leave... On April 29th, I shot this pic of Larken fresh from his bath. He really enjoys bath time now, and especially loves the "face time" he gets when he's getting towelled off and dressed.

My maternity leave during Larken's first 2 months has flown by!! I really was counting on nicer weather, but it was still great to spend the time with him indoors. What wasn't great was Fischer's sad emotional state pretty much the whole time. You'll see in my next entry (May) that things begin to look up when we all return to Bright Beginnings :)