I don't know why but I think this video is so funny. We were all headed to Charlie's friend, Cooper's house. Every time we go to Cooper's, Charlie has to "drive" something over there. Today it was the lawnmower (or as Charlie calls it, the "yawn mo mo"). I am fairly certain that the entire neighborhood could hear us coming. Charlie truly is a man on a mission. The only thing that slowed him down was the fact that he had to stop to identify the doggie. Love it!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Chase's Big Week!
It was a big week for Baby Chase! After a few days of struggling with naps, general fussiness and mega amounts of drooling, he cut his first two teeth! (The front two teeth on the bottom.) Then, I noticed he was doing more and more sitting up on his own! What a big boy! He still struggles a bit with sitting up, but he's definitely getting better.
So, I decided to pull out some of Charlie's old toys and Chase LOVED it! He's totally fascinated with the colors and sounds, and what's even more funny is so is Charlie! I guess what was old is new again. Charlie loves his old Fisher Price karaoke toy. It sings "If You're Happy and You Know It" to which Charlie responds by clapping his hands and stomping his feet. It's so funny to see him sitting in front of this toy, towering over it!
But back to Baby Chase. I think we're back on schedule with naps again. Now that those two teeth have pooped through, he's not as miserable and is able to get some rest. Bless his heart. It must be so painful to cut teeth!
Here is some video of sweet Baby Chase in front of his new toy. What a cutie! (And yes, he's usually this smiley and happy.)
(I thought I would try embedding videos through YouTube. Let me know what you think. Once it fully loads, you should be able to watch it as often as you like. Enjoy!)
So, I decided to pull out some of Charlie's old toys and Chase LOVED it! He's totally fascinated with the colors and sounds, and what's even more funny is so is Charlie! I guess what was old is new again. Charlie loves his old Fisher Price karaoke toy. It sings "If You're Happy and You Know It" to which Charlie responds by clapping his hands and stomping his feet. It's so funny to see him sitting in front of this toy, towering over it!
But back to Baby Chase. I think we're back on schedule with naps again. Now that those two teeth have pooped through, he's not as miserable and is able to get some rest. Bless his heart. It must be so painful to cut teeth!
Here is some video of sweet Baby Chase in front of his new toy. What a cutie! (And yes, he's usually this smiley and happy.)
(I thought I would try embedding videos through YouTube. Let me know what you think. Once it fully loads, you should be able to watch it as often as you like. Enjoy!)
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Charlie Monkey Sees Curious George!
Well, today was a big day for Charlie Monkey. Mike and I took him to his first live show, "Curious George Live." How appropriate!
To celebrate, I got Charlie a new book, "The Original Curious George," and a Curious George t-shirt, which I gave to him at breakfast this morning. Mike and I talked up the show all weekend and all morning, hoping to get Charlie excited about what he was going to see. We dressed him in his new shirt, put him down for a nap early, and once he woke up, we left for the show.
I don't think he had any idea what he was about to see and do, but I was so excited for him I couldn't stand it. We had great seats, row L in the center section, and a clear view of the stage. The auditorium lights dimmed, the stage lights turned on and the show began with a great song and dance featuring most of the cast. At the end of the song, Curious George jumped onto the stage and the crowd erupted into applause. I teared up. I was so happy to be there in that moment with Charlie at his very first show. It was awesome.
Charlie was such a good sport. He sat in Mike's lap or my lap for most of the first act. He was so well behaved! Then Mike and Charlie played in the back of the auditorium during intermission. Charlie got a little restless during the second act, but he still was such a good little boy and did exactly what we asked him to do. (I'm not sure why a show like that would have an intermission, but whatever!)
We had so much fun with Charlie. What a great day! What an awesome little boy! I could not have been prouder of him. How cool is it to experience these "firsts" with your kids? And to think that I have years of "firsts" ahead. I can't wait for the next one!
To celebrate, I got Charlie a new book, "The Original Curious George," and a Curious George t-shirt, which I gave to him at breakfast this morning. Mike and I talked up the show all weekend and all morning, hoping to get Charlie excited about what he was going to see. We dressed him in his new shirt, put him down for a nap early, and once he woke up, we left for the show.
I don't think he had any idea what he was about to see and do, but I was so excited for him I couldn't stand it. We had great seats, row L in the center section, and a clear view of the stage. The auditorium lights dimmed, the stage lights turned on and the show began with a great song and dance featuring most of the cast. At the end of the song, Curious George jumped onto the stage and the crowd erupted into applause. I teared up. I was so happy to be there in that moment with Charlie at his very first show. It was awesome.
Charlie was such a good sport. He sat in Mike's lap or my lap for most of the first act. He was so well behaved! Then Mike and Charlie played in the back of the auditorium during intermission. Charlie got a little restless during the second act, but he still was such a good little boy and did exactly what we asked him to do. (I'm not sure why a show like that would have an intermission, but whatever!)
We had so much fun with Charlie. What a great day! What an awesome little boy! I could not have been prouder of him. How cool is it to experience these "firsts" with your kids? And to think that I have years of "firsts" ahead. I can't wait for the next one!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
My Cutie Patooties!
Really, I don't have much to blog about, but I have some cute pictures so I thought I would post them.
Doesn't Charlie look like such a big boy? He's dressed up for church and I just thought he looked so cute, so I had to snap a picture.
And little Chase in the bathtub. What a cutie! He's getting so big. He won't be able to fit in the infant tub much longer so I thought I would get more photos of him at bath time. And look at him in the car seat! Is he huge or what?
On the Chase front, his naps are still going much better. We had a downturn mid-week and I thought we might be going backwards (he only took a couple of naps that day and the longest was 40 minutes), but I chalked it up to teething because the next day was back to normal. We're now solidly getting at least one 2-hour nap a day, plus a couple of other shorter naps. Go Chase!
And Charlie, of course, is growing up more and more by the day. He's putting several words together now and making short sentences. I'm so proud of him! It's so much easier when you can communicate with one another! Charlie also started swimming lessons again this week. We've got to be ready for summer, right?
Anyway, enjoy the photos. Are these Arning Brothers cutie patooties or what?!
Doesn't Charlie look like such a big boy? He's dressed up for church and I just thought he looked so cute, so I had to snap a picture.
And little Chase in the bathtub. What a cutie! He's getting so big. He won't be able to fit in the infant tub much longer so I thought I would get more photos of him at bath time. And look at him in the car seat! Is he huge or what?
On the Chase front, his naps are still going much better. We had a downturn mid-week and I thought we might be going backwards (he only took a couple of naps that day and the longest was 40 minutes), but I chalked it up to teething because the next day was back to normal. We're now solidly getting at least one 2-hour nap a day, plus a couple of other shorter naps. Go Chase!
And Charlie, of course, is growing up more and more by the day. He's putting several words together now and making short sentences. I'm so proud of him! It's so much easier when you can communicate with one another! Charlie also started swimming lessons again this week. We've got to be ready for summer, right?
Anyway, enjoy the photos. Are these Arning Brothers cutie patooties or what?!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
A Breakthrough!
That's right! We've had a breakthrough! After trying for weeks and weeks to get Chase to take a nap that lasts longer than 30 minutes and that he doesn't absolutely fight me for, I finally got him to take three naps today and one of them was 2-hours. AND he went right down for all three of them! I could not have been prouder of him! So what was my secret?
Well, I've been reading books on the subject (only one of which was somewhat helpful) but yesterday, I decided to hit the internet to see what solutions I could find from real moms. One mom said that she hung blankets up over the windows in the baby's room and it instantly made a difference. I realized that my room (where Chase is currently sleeping until Charlie moves out of the crib) probably is way too bright during the day. And with me as his mother - who has to have the room pitch black when I sleep, to the point where I cover my eyes at night - I should have known that this was the problem.
So, I hung blankets, towels, whatever I could find over the windows and moved his pack-n-play to the darkest corner of the room. The first time I put him down, he went right to sleep without a fuss. I thought we were on to something, but then he woke up 45-minutes later. Forty-five minutes is definitely an improvement, but I was skeptical and needed to see a long nap before I would become a believer.
THEN, I put him down for nap number two. After thirty minutes, he woke up so I was SUPREMELY disappointed. I decided to leave him in there for a few minutes just to see what happened. I figured he was going to stay in his pack-n-play for at least an hour. What he decided to do with that hour was up to him. Long story short, he feel back to sleep after only 10 minutes of fussing. The best part is, he stayed asleep for two hours! HORRAY! HALLELUJAH! It's a miracle!
The third nap lasted 45-minutes as well, but that's ok. The first and last naps of the day should be sorter, so I'm ok with that. Anyway, Chase was an absolute joy today. I could tell he felt good and he was much more alert and attentive. So yeah us! It looks like a crypt in our bedroom, but if it works for Chase, then so be it!
And in other happy news, Charlie Monkey melted my heart tonight. He put his hands on my face, turned me to him and said, "Kisses Mama!" Then he leaned in and planted a big kiss on me. An unsolicited kiss! My heart jumped in my throat! What a sweetie!
What a day we had. A not so good start (long story for another blog) but a great ending. Here's hoping for another good day tomorrow!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Stir Crazy!
Today was a good day - sort of. It was absolutely beautiful outside, so I was looking forward to taking the boys outside for a couple of hours after Charlie's nap. Little did I know I would have to drag Charlie outside. That is so not like him!
Let's start at the beginning. The morning started early. Chase woke up at 4:45 a.m. That's early, even for him! I pulled him into bed with me, he nursed then fell asleep a short time after. We slept until 7:45 a.m. Well, I say "slept" but I don't really mean that. Sleeping with Chase nestled beside me in the crook of my arm is completely wonderful in so many ways, but equally not as wonderful in others.
You don't really "sleep" when Chase is beside you. There's the fear that you'll roll over on him followed equally by the fear that he will pull the sheets up over himself and suffocate. So, as a result, you keep the sheets below his feet but that means you freeze. It is not all that easy to sleep when you are freezing and you are worried about your infant's well being.
Then, there's the the fact that you don't want to move, don't want to breathe too hard for fear of waking your sleeping infant up. You'd pretty much do anything to keep him sleeping at this point. It's the wee hours of the morning, you're exhausted and you'd give anything to sleep even just one more hour, so you lie perfectly still, not moving an inch - until you feel Chase move. When he moves, you take the opportunity to quickly extend your arm, or stretch your legs or reposition your aching hips, or, if your lucky, roll over onto your back to relieve the pain. Usually though, when you do roll onto your back, he decides he wants to nurse again so you have to roll back onto your side. Oh your aching hips!
Anyway, long story short, Chase and I "slept" until 7:45 a.m. when we heard the call of Charlie. Charlie was is a good mood for most of the morning. He's a happy kid right now. Well rested. Playful. Helpful. An all around good little boy. So the morning was great except I COULD NOT get Chase to take a nap. I was so frustrated, discouraged, annoyed, you name it. I know he needs a nap. I know he's super tired. He just can't relax enough to nap and if he does fall asleep, he only stays asleep for 20-30 minutes. It's awful! Trust me. You can't get ANYTHING done in that amount of time.
So, skipping forward to after Charlie's nap. First of all, he slept for 3-hours and 15 minutes. Yes, that's absolutely wonderful. He's an excellent napper. The only bad thing is that I am going stir crazy because I have been in this house for too long. I want to go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. BUT after Charlie wakes up, he wants to play in his crib for awhile. Then he wants to play in the playroom. I'm begging him to go outside with me, but he's happy as a clam playing inside. I'm going nuts! FINALLY I drag Charlie outside at 3:45 p.m. Keep in mind that we have to come inside at 5 p.m. to start dinner because Chase takes his bath at 6 p.m., so we have lost most of the day. ARGH! Anyway, once we got outside, we enjoyed playing on the neighbor's swing set. Chase was able to swing for the first time (which he seemed thrilled about) and Charlie had fun sliding down the slide and playing in the sand. Then we went to Cooper's house (or as Charlie calls him... "Coo Coo") and played there for awhile. Charlie LOVES going over there because they have lots of trucks and they have an outdoor play set with a really big slide.
Dinner and Chase's bath time were uneventful. Everything went pretty smoothly. Charlie's bath time? Not so much. He pooped in the tub. WHAT IN THE WORLD?! So, lucky me. I got to clean POOP out of the tub on a Saturday evening. Oh joy.
Anyway, I'm attaching some photos of Charlie and Chase playing outdoors. Hope you enjoy! And hopefully your day wasn't quite as eventful as mine...
Let's start at the beginning. The morning started early. Chase woke up at 4:45 a.m. That's early, even for him! I pulled him into bed with me, he nursed then fell asleep a short time after. We slept until 7:45 a.m. Well, I say "slept" but I don't really mean that. Sleeping with Chase nestled beside me in the crook of my arm is completely wonderful in so many ways, but equally not as wonderful in others.
You don't really "sleep" when Chase is beside you. There's the fear that you'll roll over on him followed equally by the fear that he will pull the sheets up over himself and suffocate. So, as a result, you keep the sheets below his feet but that means you freeze. It is not all that easy to sleep when you are freezing and you are worried about your infant's well being.
Then, there's the the fact that you don't want to move, don't want to breathe too hard for fear of waking your sleeping infant up. You'd pretty much do anything to keep him sleeping at this point. It's the wee hours of the morning, you're exhausted and you'd give anything to sleep even just one more hour, so you lie perfectly still, not moving an inch - until you feel Chase move. When he moves, you take the opportunity to quickly extend your arm, or stretch your legs or reposition your aching hips, or, if your lucky, roll over onto your back to relieve the pain. Usually though, when you do roll onto your back, he decides he wants to nurse again so you have to roll back onto your side. Oh your aching hips!
Anyway, long story short, Chase and I "slept" until 7:45 a.m. when we heard the call of Charlie. Charlie was is a good mood for most of the morning. He's a happy kid right now. Well rested. Playful. Helpful. An all around good little boy. So the morning was great except I COULD NOT get Chase to take a nap. I was so frustrated, discouraged, annoyed, you name it. I know he needs a nap. I know he's super tired. He just can't relax enough to nap and if he does fall asleep, he only stays asleep for 20-30 minutes. It's awful! Trust me. You can't get ANYTHING done in that amount of time.
So, skipping forward to after Charlie's nap. First of all, he slept for 3-hours and 15 minutes. Yes, that's absolutely wonderful. He's an excellent napper. The only bad thing is that I am going stir crazy because I have been in this house for too long. I want to go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. BUT after Charlie wakes up, he wants to play in his crib for awhile. Then he wants to play in the playroom. I'm begging him to go outside with me, but he's happy as a clam playing inside. I'm going nuts! FINALLY I drag Charlie outside at 3:45 p.m. Keep in mind that we have to come inside at 5 p.m. to start dinner because Chase takes his bath at 6 p.m., so we have lost most of the day. ARGH! Anyway, once we got outside, we enjoyed playing on the neighbor's swing set. Chase was able to swing for the first time (which he seemed thrilled about) and Charlie had fun sliding down the slide and playing in the sand. Then we went to Cooper's house (or as Charlie calls him... "Coo Coo") and played there for awhile. Charlie LOVES going over there because they have lots of trucks and they have an outdoor play set with a really big slide.
Dinner and Chase's bath time were uneventful. Everything went pretty smoothly. Charlie's bath time? Not so much. He pooped in the tub. WHAT IN THE WORLD?! So, lucky me. I got to clean POOP out of the tub on a Saturday evening. Oh joy.
Anyway, I'm attaching some photos of Charlie and Chase playing outdoors. Hope you enjoy! And hopefully your day wasn't quite as eventful as mine...
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Mama Turns 25!
I know it's been awhile since I've blogged but frankly, it's been super crazy busy. Mike was in California then Las Vegas for a week-and-a-half leaving me here with the boys. I did have grandparent help, thank goodness, but I was also by myself for quite a bit of time.
Chase and I finally came to blows over his nap schedule. He was refusing to nap and I was insisting that he do so - and I was determined to win. It took about a week of solid work, but I think we've finally turned a corner. For the last two days, Chase has finally given in and taken several good, solid naps. We're still working on the length of his naps, but I'm hoping that will come with time. Once he gets used to napping, I think they'll get even longer and longer. Last week was rough though. He was fighting me so hard and it totally wore me out. Every night, I would completely collapse from exhaustion - thus, no blogging for me! Here's hoping he stays on the right track!
In Charlie news, he is talking more and more which is great! The hard part? Trying to figure out what he's saying. It's like decoding a foreign language! "Hit" means "Sit." "Map" means "Nap." "Abbas" means "Applesauce." You get the idea. He's so wonderful and fun though. And more good new Charlie news... He's officially enrolled in StoneBridge Preschool for the fall. He'll go Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:15a -1:15p. He's going to have an absolute blast! I am SO excited for him!
Mike is home for now but leaves again tomorrow for Atlanta. Thankfully next weekend is an off-weekend. He was gone more than he was home in February. It was rough. I'm ready for a break.
In Mama news, I had a birthday yesterday. Turning 25 wasn't all that bad! HA! Seriously though, I had a great birthday. I celebrated with ice cream cake and presents with the boys, then Mike and I went to Capitol Grille for a wonderful dinner. I'm attaching some pictures from my birthday. I think Charlie loved the cake more than any of us!
I will post more videos of Charlie talking soon. Stay tuned!
Chase and I finally came to blows over his nap schedule. He was refusing to nap and I was insisting that he do so - and I was determined to win. It took about a week of solid work, but I think we've finally turned a corner. For the last two days, Chase has finally given in and taken several good, solid naps. We're still working on the length of his naps, but I'm hoping that will come with time. Once he gets used to napping, I think they'll get even longer and longer. Last week was rough though. He was fighting me so hard and it totally wore me out. Every night, I would completely collapse from exhaustion - thus, no blogging for me! Here's hoping he stays on the right track!
In Charlie news, he is talking more and more which is great! The hard part? Trying to figure out what he's saying. It's like decoding a foreign language! "Hit" means "Sit." "Map" means "Nap." "Abbas" means "Applesauce." You get the idea. He's so wonderful and fun though. And more good new Charlie news... He's officially enrolled in StoneBridge Preschool for the fall. He'll go Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:15a -1:15p. He's going to have an absolute blast! I am SO excited for him!
Mike is home for now but leaves again tomorrow for Atlanta. Thankfully next weekend is an off-weekend. He was gone more than he was home in February. It was rough. I'm ready for a break.
In Mama news, I had a birthday yesterday. Turning 25 wasn't all that bad! HA! Seriously though, I had a great birthday. I celebrated with ice cream cake and presents with the boys, then Mike and I went to Capitol Grille for a wonderful dinner. I'm attaching some pictures from my birthday. I think Charlie loved the cake more than any of us!
I will post more videos of Charlie talking soon. Stay tuned!
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