Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Love,
Hayden and Harper

Harper is 4 months!

I can't believe this little girl is 4 months old already!  While she readily gives smiles to anyone she sees, she seems to be somewhat intimidated by the camera.  I've yet to capture the full on grin she gives people she recognizes.  Hopefully soon.  Harper went to the doctor today, and I'm happy to report that she is growing like crazy.

Here are her stats:

Weight:  14lbs 15oz (76th percentile)
Height:   25" (76th percentile)
Head:     43.6cm (96th percentile !!!)

Dr. V was pleased with how well Harper is holding up her head and grasping things.  She encouraged us to try rice cereal.  With Hayden I was so eager start baby food.  For some reason, I've been hesitant to start with Harper.  I think I just don't want to admit she's growing up.  I did mix up some rice cereal for her.  She's been fussier than normal lately, so I figured it might be because she's hungry.  Harper did well with the first couple of spoonfuls, licking at the spoon.  She definitely swallowed more than she spit out, but after a few minutes, she got incredibly angry, crying at the top of her lungs.  We'll keep trying and maybe introduce some veggies.

After my last post, I feel like I need to take a second and brag on Hayden.  Last Wednesday, after having a poop accident at school, Hayden came up to me at dinner and announced he had to poop.  We went to the bathroom and HE. DID. IT.  I literally cried my eyes out sitting on the bathroom floor.  Hayden looked at me, completely confused and said, "Why crying Mommy?  This is happy!  Not sad!"  Very true.  So he continued and wanted to poop every 10 minutes (maybe a touch of an upset stomach?).  I really feel like he's turned a corner.  He pooped at school for the rest of the week.  After a few mishaps at home on Friday, Hayden was accident free all weekend.  I'm SO SO SO proud of him.

This weekend we head to Sherman for a wedding...and Harper's first trip to Nan's house.  Harper is looking forward to meeting all the Sherman peeps and relaxing by the pool.  More pics soon, I promise!

It's Time to Get Real

As I have mentioned more than once on this blog,we are in the throes of potty training in our house.  This is, by far, the most difficult thing I have ever experienced as a parent.  Truly.  I know there were times when during the first 2 weeks of Hayden's life that I literally thought I would never sleep again.  I also know that at about week 7 of Harper's life, I was pretty convinced she would never stop screaming. 

All of those things were hard.  This is harder.  It's harder because when Hayden had his days and nights confused, I knew it was because he was a baby, and babies are don't always sleep at night.  When Harper was screaming her guts out for two straight hours, I knew it was because that's what babies do sometimes.  I knew it wasn't because of anything I was doing (or wasn't doing).  This, however, is different. 

We first tried our hand at potty training last June.  We went cold turkey.  I put him in underwear one weekend and gritted my teeth as he continued to pee in them all weekend long.  Sure we had some successes in the potty, but all in all, he was constantly peeing in his pants.  We tried for a solid month, and he wasn't making much progress.  So, I put him back in pull ups.  He clearly wasn't ready, because he didn't say one word about being in a pull up.  He didn't mention he wasn't wearing his underwear anymore.  Okay.  So he wasn't ready.  No big deal.  By that point, I was newly pregnant and on the verge of vomiting every day, so I really didn't care.  

Around Christmas (2 months before he turned 3), Hayden started asking about underwear again.  Now I was almost 9 months pregnant.  Just. No.  So we put him off.  We couldn't put him off anymore by February and we dived back in (with a newborn -- good call!).  School helped a lot.  But.  BUT.  Hayden is incredibly stubborn.  If Hayden is doing something fun, like reading a book (take a moment here to say YAY that reading is fun for him) he is not going to stop what he's doing to potty.  This is the battle we fought at the beginning.  I learned you couldn't ask Hayden, "Do you need to go potty?" Frankly, the pee could be dripping down his leg and he would tell you no way, uh uh, not me.  So we had to tell him it's time to potty.  His school follows a regimen of going every hour.  So, that's what we do.  Then we fought the "no no no! I don't want to potty battle!"  Just now almost 3 months into this Hayden is starting to tell us, "I need to potty."  Otherwise we go every hour or hour and fifteen minutes.  Do we still have accidents?   Yes.  I'm not going to lie about that.  What's the point?  I said I was going to be real about this, and I am.  I would say we have 1 or 2 pee accidents every 2 weeks or so.  That's just how we roll.  Usually it's because Harper's freaking and we're running zone defense and Hayden doesn't get taken to the potty in time.  Oh well.  He's getting better.  Generally speaking though, he is pee accident free at school.  He naps in underwear.  No accidents.  

Now -- here's our problem.  And it's gross.  And it's the leading cause of all my tears and all my frustrations.  It's also why I'm even bothering to write this.  I feel like I'm the only one who has gone through this and I know this can't be true.  I also, for some reason, feel like this is a reflection of me as a parent.  That I'm screwing up somehow.  However, I feel like EVERY post I read on Facebook or on blogs is how their child is ta da! potty trained in like 3 days.  Well congrats to you.  Am I bitter?  Probably.  Congratulations if your child potty trained in 5 seconds.  However, my cynical, black little heart doesn't believe those same people post, "My sweet angel crapped his/her pants for the third time today!  We'll try again tomorrow!  After all, tomorrow is another day!"  

Well, here's the news.  My sweet angel craps his pants.  Every. Single. Day.  My child, who I think is incredibly bright (because he's my kid and I'm entitled) has pooped in the potty two times in 3 months. Twice.  That's it.  Do you know how many dirty pairs of underwear (that have sat in his daycare back pack ALL day, mind you) I've cleaned?  I'm throwing up in my mouth just thinking about it.  And please don't tell my child isn't ready to potty train.  Um, no kid who pees with no problem in the potty isn't ready.  I can't bribe him.  He scoffs at M&Ms, jelly beans, marshmallows, cookies, etc.  I have promised him a bike.  A bike we have picked out and sat on at Academy.  No go.  I've promised him a Lightening McQueen tent.  No go.  He'll even tell me, "I'm so close, Mommy, I'm almost there," as he cheerfully skips off to his corner to crap his pants.  Every day his teacher brings him inside at 3 and he sits on the potty for 20 freaking minutes trying to go.  His face turns red.  He grunts.  He then announces it is "stuck inside."  Outside he goes.  Craps his pants (clearly not constipated).  It is unreal.  I'm at my wits end.  SURELY someone else out there has experienced this.  If they have, I doubt they're lining up on their blog or their facebook to shout it from the rooftop.  

Of course, this is exactly what is difficult about parenting in this social media world we live in.  While I too love posting pictures of my sweet kids on facebook, I also fall victim to looking at other children and constantly comparing what they're doing to what my children are doing (or not doing).  When Hayden was an infant it was sleeping (no way Baby X is sleeping for 6 hour stretches!  Hayden sleeps for 6 minute stretches, what's WRONG with him??).  As Hayden got older and I got more used to this parenting thing, I thought I had gotten past this.  Then the potty training thing has brought me back to my knees.  Child So and So potty trained already?!  He's only 2!  How can Child Y be potty trained and it only took 2 days?!  Boys must be harder, right?  I've shed many tears, heard my child say, "Don't be sad, Mommy," and "Mommy's tired of cleaning up my cwap" (a parenting low, I will admit).  So, I decided to write all this down to say, potty training blows.  In a world full of attaboys and my child is so awesome, I'm saying Hayden isn't so awesome at pooping in the potty.  In fact, he's down right terrible at it.  I can only hope this is a control thing (as I've been reading about) and he'll do it when he's ready.  So from now on I will LET. THIS. GO.  Because no kid goes to Kindergarten in diapers....RIGHT?  Also, I promise not to post a status update when he does master this acting as if this was the easiest thing I've ever done.  Just know that when it does happen, I can honestly say it's taken at least 1 year off my life in the process.  Oh, and Harper?  You owe me.  You better be very "girly" about this and potty train in 2 days because frankly, doing this twice might kill me.  

And simply because I've basically complained about him for an entire blog -- look at this face.  How mad can I be at him?  And when Hayden is 15 I'm sure he'll be thrilled his mother blogged about him not pooping in the potty.  I love you, dear, but these are the cold, hard facts.  And truly, if your child did potty train effortlessly, kudos to you.  Honestly.   

3 months (and Easter)

Harper turned 3 months old this past week, but we are late posting anything because our family has been on lock down with illness! I received the scary phone call from daycare on Tuesday that Harper was "having trouble breathing." Poor baby girl had a bad upper respiratory infection with resulted in a "reactive airway." All of this is doctor talk for Harper breathing too fast and getting very frustrated. Off we went to the doctor. Harper weighed in at 12 lbs and 12 oz. We left with breathing treatments and steroids. We are finishing up our steroid dosage today and she's doing much better (if still a little wheezy).

Right when we thought we were out of the woods illness wise, I started feeling terrible on Friday. I left work and by the time I got home my temp was 102. Diagnosis? Strep throat. So, I've been doing my best to stay out of Hayden and Harper's sweet faces so they don't catch it to.

Since I'm behind, Easter was a huge success. Hayden had a blast hunting Easter eggs.

Harper could barely stand the excitement

Before Easter we had our pics taken in the bluebonnets in Frisco. I planned poorly, and the session fell during a time when Harper was hungry. I still love the pictures though. Especially the ones of Clark and Hayden.

Blogger is being difficult and won't let me upload the rest of the pics. I will try again tonight!

2 months (a few days late, of course)

Harper looks thrilled to be 2 months old, right? Today was her 2 month check up ... and her stats are:

Weight: 11 lbs 3 oz (50%)

Height: 22.6" (50%)

Head: 40 cm (50%)

I know everyone is on the edge of their seats waiting to see how much Harper weighs, but part of this blog is for my own memory, so deal with it. In comparison, sweet, weight challenged Hayden only weighed 9lb 14 oz at his 2 month check up. I'm sure Harper will be thrilled that she outweighed her brother.

Harper is a champion sleeper. She has been sleeping through the night since she was 6 weeks old. I remember when Hayden was little I actually wanted to punch people in face for saying things like that. I even convinced myself they were just lying about their baby's sleep habits. So, I will not rub it in and leave it at the fact that Harper sleeps.

Harper also screams...a lot. As much as I don't want to admit to myself or to anyone else, Harper has a touch of colic. She usually fusses (see, who am I kidding? She SCREAMS) for at least an hour once a night -- usually between 6-8 or 8-10. Riding in the car doesn't even help. If you put her in the car during one of these episodes, she will scream just to show you who is running this operation. We get it, Harper, you're in charge. Hayden obviously has some opinions about this, "Harper cries a lot." Or this little gem: "Ugh, stop it." Trust us, Hayden, we don't like it either. We've moved to a gentle formula for fussiness and gas and that seems to help (cuts the crying down to an hour instead of 2 hours). It has gotten better as she's gotten bigger. I think the peak of these shenanigans was 7 weeks. Hopefully we're on the downhill slide.

Harper wore her first bit of Baylor gear this week during March Madness:

As you can tell, Harper's expression doesn't change all that much. While she is smiling, I have yet to catch one of those elusive smiles on camera.

It is very important to Hayden that Harper have toys to play with. We've pulled out a few toys, but as we're completely overrun with toys in this house, I'm trying to limit the amount of baby toys until Harper is actually into them. Hayden has other ideas. On Friday, he found Harper's toys in her closet and then began piling them in the swing with her. He kept saying, "Here you go Harper, here's a blue star." After loading her up completely, Hayden said, "Okay, that's enough Harper, share with me now." Ha! He's in for a world of hurt when Harper actually wants to play back.

Also new? Sitting in the bumbo. Jury is still out on how much Harper actually enjoys the bumbo, but I use it as an alternative to tummy time. Must be working, b/c the pedi was impressed with Harper's neck control!

Of course, Hayden took this opportunity to load Harper down with some toys.

In Hayden related news, we've been potty training for about a month. He's doing really well with #1. In fact, I would go so far as to say he's almost completely trained in that regard. He rarely has a pee accident and goes to the potty when asked (which is a huge improvement as he used to scream bloody murder anytime we asked him to go to the bathroom). He does REALLY well at school, even staying dry at nap time (we have not duplicated that at home though). Now, #2 is a different issue entirely. We've had a few successes in that area, but generally when he has an accident, it's #2. It's foul and I hate it. I especially hate it when it happens in public. Hayden's teacher at school has been super supportive and is always encouraging me, which I am very grateful for. I think Hayden truly is getting the hang of this and will be fully potty trained soon. Then we can buy him the Lightening McQueen bike we promised him!

Hayden didn't want to be left out of the chair pic!

On a sad note, I go back to work this Friday (random, I know). I enjoy my work very much and I've actually missed working, but I'm finding it very hard to leave Harper. When I went back to work with Hayden it wasn't nearly so bad b/c I was leaving him with Clark. Well, Harper starts school on Friday. I love our school, but I still feel sad taking her when she's 9 weeks old. I know, for starters, that's she's going to get sick and that breaks my heart. What if she cries all day? I know she'll do great and her teacher is the same teacher that took care of Hayden so I know she'll be in good hands. I would appreciate any prayers and good thoughts on Friday. If you see me crying in the daycare parking lot....move along, nothing to see here!

For now, I'll take care of this nugget who is sleeping soundly after her first round of shots...

Birthday Party Fun!

Saturday was Hayden's birthday party at Pump It Up - an indoor bounce facility. The party was 2 hours long and you spent time in two separate bounce rooms. Each room had a couple of gigantic bounce house/slides that the kids loved. Hayden was in HEAVEN. I think the above picture really sums up his feelings on the day.

Guess the theme ...

Hayden getting his first look at his cake

Hayden thinks safety videos are for chumps.

Zoe loved going down the big slide with Mommy and Daddy!

The birthday "throne" Hayden got to sit on!

I love this picture. Hayden looks so genuinely happy and touched that everyone is singing happy birthday to him. When we got in the car to head home Hayden said, "That was a great party!" I just love him. I also loved that this party was a huge work out for the Daddys (and the mommys, just not me). Every man was sweating bullets after chasing their toddlers through bounce houses and climbing up huge slides. Everyone could skip their cardio after that work out!

Zoe approves of the cake

Don't worry, Harper was not left out of Hayden's birthday party festivities. Harper made her presence known early that morning as this is how I found Hayden when I went to wake him up:

"Harper cries a lot!"

Harper wore her first smocked outfit for the party. I'm so proud.

Sleeping beauty

Of course Harper wakes up just in time for the party to end.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Big Boy!

At Hayden's 3 year well child check, we received a "milestone" packet. The headline of the packet was "Goodbye babyhood, hello childhood." Truth. Hayden is such a big boy now, I'm having a hard time dealing with it. Of course, every "he's not a baby anymore" difference is highlighted when compared to little sis, but I find myself looking at his hands and thinking, "those aren't baby hands anymore!" Pathetic, right?

Recently, Hayden's been suffering from every sickness you can imagine. This kid goes an entire year without a trip to the doctor, and since Harper's been born he's been 3 times. Ridiculous. He started losing his voice the weekend after she was born (URI). Then when that got better, he got pink eye. Also ridiculous. I had pink eye for an entire month two summers ago, and he never got it. Now there's no one with pink eye in a five mile radius of this kid, and he gets it? So random. Next up, another URI, which required antibiotics. Boo. We finished antibiotics on Monday. On Monday afternoon (not an exaggeration) he develops a new virus. This is accompanied by night terrors. If your child has never had night terrors, you are lucky. They are the most horrifying thing I have ever watched. Hayden sits up in bed, seemingly awake, screaming "no, no! Please don't! Please stop!" He cannot be consoled. Holding him or hugging him makes it worse. This happened periodically for 3 hours. Luckily we had our well child check the following day. Diagnosis? Random virus. However, he's wheezing so we left with a steroid and breathing treatments.

Let me tell you about breathing treatments. Number 1, he hates them. Number 2, he essentially inhales speed, oh I'm sorry, albuterol. This medicine helps open up your airway, but it also makes Hayden run around like a mad man. You can tell he's exhausted, but he can't. stop. talking. Last night he told me no less than 50 times that Elmo cupcakes go "round and round the potty." I have no idea what that even means, but he kept saying it, with a look on his face like he wanted to stop talking but couldn't. And we're supposed to do these treatments every 3-4 hours until his wheezing stops. No way I'm doing those before bed again. Good God.

Enough about the downside of 3...what about the upside?

Hayden is really into sports. He asked for a soccer ball and a "net" for his birthday. He also wants a bike. Since we're potty training, his potty prize (when we throw away all the pull ups is a Lightening McQueen bike). To tide him over we got him a bike helmet...

That way, Daddy!

Hayden still loves to read and loves to play cars. He is learning Spanish at school. He knows most of his colors in Spanish, "blue, azul!" He counts consistently to 14, but gets derailed after that. He's not quite to counting objects. He has a ridiculous memory. He remembers everything. His favorite color is red. Everything must be red. He sits in his red chair at his table, insists on wearing red shirts, wants red hats...you get the idea. Woe be to you if you give him something that is not red: "Green is not my favorite color!"

He still loves Cars. He is good at sharing and likes to "take turns." He will only eat chicken if it's in the form of a nugget.

Saturday is his birthday party at Pump it Up. Should be entertaining. Of course he insisted on a red, Lightening McQueen cake.

And for your Harper fix:

Boppys make excellent pillows.