The All Seeing Eye

Love, love our video monitors, except when my husband secretly photographs my behind while I was trying to soothe an overtired, crying Patrick to bed Friday night. We have caught Patrick doing something he shouldn't have been enough times to make this thing worth its weight in gold. My favorite moment recently: being a fly on the wall while Tom and Patrick completed night-time prayers before bed last night.

Tommy, now officially 3 months, has spoiled me rotten with all this sleeping. He is taking one good 2-3 hour nap around 1:00 or 2:00, followed by a full night around 8:00pm. In another month we are going to start him on some stage one foods. He and Patrick were my shopping companions Saturday when we hit the outlets and were very well behaved. Only in the fashion world does summer end in early July-I love end of summer clearance shopping when I can still get lots of use out of the clothes this season. Got a great dress/beach cover-up at J-Crew for $15 that will be coming on vacation with me.

Finished up a workout this morning, but was dragging a little following a late night caulking party in the kids' bathroom. It isn't pretty, but at least the patches should get us through to the spring when we plan to gut the whole room and start from scratch. With so much still to do on the house, we are prioritizing and shelving cosmetic projects for a more practical approach-like roof and chimney repairs and diagnosing a possible leaking shower in our master bath. I am itching to rip out all the old bathroom fixtures though and finally re-paint the bright yellow walls with a more appealing color. I would hate to do it now and see my work get demolished in the spring, so I will silently hate it for the next few months.

Enjoy your week...

Nearly Three Months

Tommy is approaching the 3 month mark and is proving to be as good of a sleeper (actually better) than his brother. For the past week and a half, our new routine is bed around 8:00 or 8:30 and he sleeps through until 7:00 or 7:30 the next morning. Although he is still rolling from his back to his belly on his activity mat, he hasn't been doing it at night, thank goodness. It is time for the breathable bumper to be installed though.

Tommy has also been showing more interest in toys and will hold one for a while if in the mood. He has been going through a spit-up phase which is not fun for me, but at least he isn't acting fussy.

That's about it. I just passed my one month mark for my workout program and while I can see some results, my weight hasn't changed at all. Our vacation is looming ahead-uggh, pictures on the beach. In a swimsuit.

Tom and I have been getting split opinions about Tommy's features and who he more closely resembles at this point. I remain undecided...

Bye, Bye Fat

I haven't mentioned it lately, but still going strong with Crossfit. Today's workout: lift a total of 10,000 pounds, no time limit. That's right, no errors on the number of zeros in there. It took me 50 plus rounds and a time of 48 minutes, 15 seconds to finish.

Life tomorrow morning should be interesting after today, but I plan on doing a Saturday morning workout to make-up for Monday's missed class. Then , it is a kids-free day at the pool with a friend. Hope the weather holds up.

Sock Man

Where this is injustice in the laundry and you can't find one mate as you fold-he will be there.

When you are running late and throw on a pair of socks only to discover they have a hole-he will be there.

When your feet are cold against the hardwood floors in the dead of winter-he will be there.

Where there are cookies-he will be there (come on, he's a kid).

Sock Man.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

My friend Mandy (way back to the days of high school) was married last year and is now expecting her first, a little girl. At one point I was sure Mandy was going to leave D.C. and move back to Pittsburgh, but now that she has found love (and I can't blame her), I think it is safe to say Virginia will remain her home. I only wish I could see her more, especially as she falls into motherhood (I like to think of it as first you free-fall, then you grow in to the role).

Mandy and I had a conversation over the cookie trays and I told her to expect to have those moments where you are so frustrated with your baby that you end up either in tears or saying something inappropriate (or at the very least thinking it). I have told Tommy to shut-up. Isn't that horrible? Sorry Tommy, but at least twice since you were born I slipped and said it out of anger, exhaustion, and frustration. I felt guilty and like the worst mother immediately afterwards, but it happens. Don't beat yourself up about it. You kiss them a second later and then say a prayer of thanks when they finally do fall asleep.

I love the look of new moms-to-be and am a little envious that she is just beginning the journey. The wait for the first is such an adventure and by the second, so much of that exciting unknown is spoiled by all the experience gained. You somewhat know what to expect from your body, and the hospital, and your husband the second round. Of course I could not wait to meet Tommy and loved creating his special room, but first time parents have this anticipation and vision of their new life as a "family" that is like a drug. Baby is all you can talk about and think about. I practically blogged every movement Patrick made during the first 6 months. Now, we are slightly more lax, but no less proud of all of Tommy's milestones.

Enjoy the ride, Mandy and Scot. You only get to go down this particular road once, no matter how many kids may wind up in your future.

The Fun Place

That's what Patrick calls the Science Center, which he has trouble pronouncing. We finally went with my sister and her boys, the first time since we moved back. What can I say-we were primarily zoo snobs. Patrick's cousin Nathan is like a big brother to P and carefully whisked him around to each exhibit. I didn't realize until I got home that I didn't have a single photo of Jack and Patrick, mostly because Jack was always a step ahead. We had fun, but I think Patrick was slightly overwhelmed by the choices. We tried the planetarium (Big Bird's Night Sky was playing), but as soon as the lights dimmed and Big Bird said goodnight to the sun, Patrick started screaming. Out went P, baby and I and we found refuge across the hall at the train display until my sister finished the show with her kids. Thank goodness for small miracles. I was able to sit on a bench and nurse Tommy while Patrick was hypnotized in place by the passing trains.

The Doctor Is In

I kept meaning to post, then I caught a random summertime flu virus Thursday and was out of commission for a day and half. Luckily we are all ship shape now, in time for the holiday weekend and Tommy's two month check-up this past Friday.

Our T is pulling his own weight these days-at 2 1/2 months he measured in at 12 lbs, 9 oz (52%) and 24" long. He is still rolling, but not as frequently as when he started. His biggest new talent- cooing and an attempted laugh, which he really didn't start doing regularly until about a week ago.

On the pacifier front, still no progress, which is a shame considering this one cries as soon as he is placed in his car seat. Patrick was a wonderful traveler and usually fell asleep as soon as he was in the car, but Tommy feels obliged to cry steadily for the first 10 minutes (at least). We have been having success at bedtime. The last few nights he has gone down by 7:30pm and slept until 3:30 or 4:00 am to feed, then right back to sleep until 7:00 ish.