7 years ago
Thursday, July 23, 2009
8 Months ~ Mama's Boy
Cannon is 8 months old! It is crazy to think he will be one in just 4 months! His first word is "MAMA"! YEAH! I When he wakes up in his crib, JR and I laugh because we hear him yelling "MAMA" now. It is so cute. He is such a mama's boy we arent surprised he is saying Mama first. He is also walking around the table (while holding on, of course) and even letting go for a couple seconds. He is weighing 15 1/2 pounds now. Still little but still growing.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Summer Fun
Hudson is in swim lessons with Gianna. They love talking about it on our way to the pool, they love the water in general, they love talking about swimming after they swim... but they do not love the lesson itself. Hudson screamed during the whole lesson today. He would pause, take a breath, dive under, come up, take a breath and then continue screaming. And then when he got out, he exitedly said "I did it! I floated on my back by myself!!!" Ummmm... did he forget the screaming part?
Proving Me Wrong
After my 'dreaded sleep post' in which I described just some of my kids' poor sleeping skills, I invited my children to prove me wrong. And they did. Those little stinkers both fell asleep in the car last week... TWICE. Ugh. I should have been more specific. Please prove me wrong with respect to NIGHT TIME SLEEP. Thank you.
Nightly bath routine...
Holding hands.
Nightly bath routine...
Holding hands.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
My Little Man
Oh, my crazy little Cannon is pulling himself up to standing on anything he comes into contact with, including the crib (yep, that wasnt good). He is a strong little guy that doesnt like sitting still. And he still fits in the play baby-stroller.
The Crew
The crew hanging out. Hudson (2 years), Liliana (6 months), Cannon (7 months), Gianna (2.5 years), Rowen (3 months).
I love this picture. Liliana is happily 'talking' to Cannon. And Rowen is crying and being comforted by Gianna (who is leaning in) and Hudson (who is holding Rowen's hand). Too cute.
I love this picture. Liliana is happily 'talking' to Cannon. And Rowen is crying and being comforted by Gianna (who is leaning in) and Hudson (who is holding Rowen's hand). Too cute.
Happy 4th!
We had a nice relaxing 4th of July at home this year. Hudson had a great day and was so excited about the fireworks that went "pop-pop-pop like popcorn" that it made the day even more fun to see it all through his eyes.
Hudson made this shirt at school:
Hudson made this shirt at school:
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Can't Keep Him Down
Cannon has never really liked being put down in one of the various contraptions we have for him. He doesnt like being kept down. He especially doesnt like the swing, the saucer, the jumper, the chair, a carseat, etc. (anything that has a belt and keeps him down). But it is getting dangerous to place him in some of these things lately. He squirms, rolls over, reaches, twists, leans and tries to escape. He wants to climb, pull himself up, and stand, get that toy that he sees. I had to take him out of the bath tonight because I couldnt get him to bend from a standing position into a sitting position in the water and he was getting cold. It is hard to believe he is only 7 months old and already this strong and determined. We have to keep our eyes on this one.
No more sitting on the counter to eat. I caught him reaching for my water glass, practically sideways in his chair.
I have to post this video that shows how much Cannon loves his brother Hudson. Everything that Hudson does makes Cannon laugh as long as Hudson is somewhat directing his attention at Cannon.
No more sitting on the counter to eat. I caught him reaching for my water glass, practically sideways in his chair.
I have to post this video that shows how much Cannon loves his brother Hudson. Everything that Hudson does makes Cannon laugh as long as Hudson is somewhat directing his attention at Cannon.
Monday, June 22, 2009
My Movin' Piano Man
Finally - video of Cannon moving! Sorry this has taken me so long to post. He is most definitely on the move, crawling. And he is fast (when he wants to get something - he gets it). Hard to leave him alone now cuz he can move all around the room.
[I just looked back at this blog to see when Hudson crawled, and it was posted days before Hudson was 7 months old. SAME as Cannon...who will be 7 months tomorrow. Oh, the similarities are endless].
Poundin' the keys.
Here is a video of him scooting along last week (this is what he has been doing for a few weeks)... towards a train, of course.
[I just looked back at this blog to see when Hudson crawled, and it was posted days before Hudson was 7 months old. SAME as Cannon...who will be 7 months tomorrow. Oh, the similarities are endless].
Poundin' the keys.
Here is a video of him scooting along last week (this is what he has been doing for a few weeks)... towards a train, of course.
The Dreaded Sleep Post
This is the dreaded sleep post. I have been trying to avoid this but I need to vent (remember, I used to talk about Hudson's sleep until I got sick of myself obsessing over it, or rather lack of it). I know many of you have sleep issues too. We are not the only ones. But it seems that I also know a lot of you that dont and didnt have to do much to get your child to sleep/nap. It is usually a natural progression that takes place a couple months after birth. Not here.
My children do not sleep. It sorta sucks. We are beginning to accept it. I love when people tell me about how they got their kids to sleep. These parents tell me they just simply demand it... and voila, bam, like magic, what do you know? their kids sleep. Silly me! I have spent all this time doing the Super Nanny silence, the cry it out, the search for large cribs (essentially cages), hiring sleep experts to come to our house, talking to the pediatrician about medications for these kids of mine and silly me, I must have forgotten to try demanding sleep out of them. If you have a child that sleeps, you may have one or more of the following going for you: 1) your child is still in a crib and hasnt figured that he or she can get out, 2) you have a naturally good sleeper on your hands or at least an O-K sleeper, and/or 3) you have a child dissimilar to ours. Oh the good ole' days of the crib. Back when it would take hours for Hudson to fall asleep but because he was confined to the crib, it didnt matter how long it took him to fall asleep because we were not involved in the process; after we placed him in the crib, we left the room. Once he started climbing out last year we put the crib mattress on the ground (with the crib walls around it) to buy ourselves a couple more months. But sadly that ended and spiderman continued to get out until we had to get a big boy bed. If you know us, you know we have tried evrything, read evrything and we now try to just accept it. Everyone has said that my brothers and I didnt sleep when we were kids.... JR's sister's kids dont sleep well (except Cha Cha). So do we just accept? Live on coffee? Watch our brains deteriorate? Stumble into walls at all hours of the night hoping one kid doesnt wake up another?
There are a few things about my kids that impact their sleep:
1- Hawk ears. They both have amazingly good hearing. What I would consider background noise is crazy interesting and sleep-interrupting for our kids. An airplane overhead gets Cannon, who is nursing, to open his eyes, turn his head, turn over on me, try to climb off me in the direction of the window. For Hudson, a plane overhead now causes him to jump up and say "Mommy! The plane woke me up. It scared me! It's too loud!" You can see where this is going. God forbid a fire engine, a dog, a car door slam, a telephone ring, one of them yell/cry. Despite the many sound machines we have going to drown out the noise, we cannot seem to overcome their hawk ears. I am not even sure if hawks have good hearing. I am too tired to think of an animal that has such hearing. But you get the point. An elephant?
2- My kids seem to require less sleep than most 'normal' kids. I read in the sleep books that normal children have 12-13+ hour sleep clocks programmed inside and sleep such hours at night. Well, well, well. Doesnt that sound nice? Both my kids, early on, establish a 9-10 hour clock. So let's say Hudson goes to bed at 8pm. He is up at 5 or 6am saying "All done. No more night-night." Even on a good night around here, 9-10 hours is what we dream about for Hudson. Why? Oh, if I knew why, we wouldnt all be so tired around here. For the last few months, Cannon has been waking up at 440am. Yeah, fun (and NO that is not the only time he wakes - if it were, I would have parties at 440am and be so excited. I can hear some of you say "Leave him in there!" "Let him cry it out!" "Demand it!" For 1) he is wide awake. Happy as a clam. Happiest part of his day is at 440am (he doesnt go back down until 7am). He isnt crying but talking, cooing, aweing, yelling, making baby noises. Not tired. 2) he has undoubtedly pooped. It's his time. 3) Remember Hawk ears Hudson? Remember he doesnt want to miss a party? Do you want both kids up? We have tried this, believe me, and Cannon has NEVER gone back to sleep. Can you go back to sleep once you are wide awake?).
3- Outside influences seem to be harder for our kids to shake. For instance, Cannon might be tired but his desire to try crawling is FAR stronger than the urge for sleep despite the fact that his body might need sleep more.
My kids dont seem to want to sleep. And we are beginning to accecpt this. They dont want to miss out on anything. This is evident in the fact that Hudson has N-E-V-E-R fallen asleep in a high chair, or while playing, or on the couch, or while watching a movie/tv. Cannon has N-E-V-E-R fallen asleep in my arms (he has fallen asleep while nursing but not just hanging out). Neither sleep in strollers. Neither sleep in the car (Cannon might fall asleep if we were going to Big Bear or the River on a long trip but there will be more crying than sleeping and he is more likely NOT to sleep than to sleep. Last time he slept for about 10 minutes). Neither have ever been moved from one place to another and stayed asleep (i.e. the car to the bed. And if they do miraculously fall asleep in the car, do NOT stop or slow down because that will wake them too).
You see, you can demand that your child lay down BUT YOU CANNOT FORCE A PERSON TO SLEEP. And we are beginning to accept this. They fall asleep when they are tired. When they are ready. When they cannot keep their eyes open any longer. I can force my kids to stay in their beds but I cannot force them to fall asleep. I can hire sleep trainers who are "shocked" by my kids. I can force my kids to cry longer than anyone ever expected them to cry to the point where the sleep expert doesnt really know what to tell me other than "have him keep crying. He has to stop eventually." Oh, does he? You dont know my kids. (I am not willing to write on this blog how long it went on for, let's just say I wouldnt have lasted half as long if I were crying in my bed at night). And still they dont sleep well.
Our compensation? Our silver lining? Our consolation seems to be that our kids learn things in all their awake time. Hudson probably walked earlier than most kids. Hudson talked early. Hudson knew the alphabet, shapes, counting, colors, and a ton of animals by 18 months. They should do these things early because they are ALWAYS awake. What else would they do but learn to do this stuff early and easily during all this awake time?
Ok, I feel much better now that I got that off my chest. You almost have to laugh. We will keep telling ourselves that eventually they will sleep. Eventually we will sleep. We are beginning to accept this. Who needs more than a couple hours of sleep in a row anyways? Not Hudson and Cannon!! Maybe they will start sleeping better just to prove me and this post wrong. Oh, the joys of parenthood...Here's to hoping...
Who can resist them though?
Update- funny story. I was putting Hudson down yesterday (we do the Supernanny Silence - where I sit with my back to him and silently put him back in his bed if he gets up. Then leave the room once he falls asleep. Funny how on Supernanny, the time gets shorter and shorter each night - not here) and he said "I dont want to lay down. Mommy, look at me, I am talking to you!" It was hard to not laugh out loud. We must say that to him and now he is repeating it to us.
My children do not sleep. It sorta sucks. We are beginning to accept it. I love when people tell me about how they got their kids to sleep. These parents tell me they just simply demand it... and voila, bam, like magic, what do you know? their kids sleep. Silly me! I have spent all this time doing the Super Nanny silence, the cry it out, the search for large cribs (essentially cages), hiring sleep experts to come to our house, talking to the pediatrician about medications for these kids of mine and silly me, I must have forgotten to try demanding sleep out of them. If you have a child that sleeps, you may have one or more of the following going for you: 1) your child is still in a crib and hasnt figured that he or she can get out, 2) you have a naturally good sleeper on your hands or at least an O-K sleeper, and/or 3) you have a child dissimilar to ours. Oh the good ole' days of the crib. Back when it would take hours for Hudson to fall asleep but because he was confined to the crib, it didnt matter how long it took him to fall asleep because we were not involved in the process; after we placed him in the crib, we left the room. Once he started climbing out last year we put the crib mattress on the ground (with the crib walls around it) to buy ourselves a couple more months. But sadly that ended and spiderman continued to get out until we had to get a big boy bed. If you know us, you know we have tried evrything, read evrything and we now try to just accept it. Everyone has said that my brothers and I didnt sleep when we were kids.... JR's sister's kids dont sleep well (except Cha Cha). So do we just accept? Live on coffee? Watch our brains deteriorate? Stumble into walls at all hours of the night hoping one kid doesnt wake up another?
There are a few things about my kids that impact their sleep:
1- Hawk ears. They both have amazingly good hearing. What I would consider background noise is crazy interesting and sleep-interrupting for our kids. An airplane overhead gets Cannon, who is nursing, to open his eyes, turn his head, turn over on me, try to climb off me in the direction of the window. For Hudson, a plane overhead now causes him to jump up and say "Mommy! The plane woke me up. It scared me! It's too loud!" You can see where this is going. God forbid a fire engine, a dog, a car door slam, a telephone ring, one of them yell/cry. Despite the many sound machines we have going to drown out the noise, we cannot seem to overcome their hawk ears. I am not even sure if hawks have good hearing. I am too tired to think of an animal that has such hearing. But you get the point. An elephant?
2- My kids seem to require less sleep than most 'normal' kids. I read in the sleep books that normal children have 12-13+ hour sleep clocks programmed inside and sleep such hours at night. Well, well, well. Doesnt that sound nice? Both my kids, early on, establish a 9-10 hour clock. So let's say Hudson goes to bed at 8pm. He is up at 5 or 6am saying "All done. No more night-night." Even on a good night around here, 9-10 hours is what we dream about for Hudson. Why? Oh, if I knew why, we wouldnt all be so tired around here. For the last few months, Cannon has been waking up at 440am. Yeah, fun (and NO that is not the only time he wakes - if it were, I would have parties at 440am and be so excited. I can hear some of you say "Leave him in there!" "Let him cry it out!" "Demand it!" For 1) he is wide awake. Happy as a clam. Happiest part of his day is at 440am (he doesnt go back down until 7am). He isnt crying but talking, cooing, aweing, yelling, making baby noises. Not tired. 2) he has undoubtedly pooped. It's his time. 3) Remember Hawk ears Hudson? Remember he doesnt want to miss a party? Do you want both kids up? We have tried this, believe me, and Cannon has NEVER gone back to sleep. Can you go back to sleep once you are wide awake?).
3- Outside influences seem to be harder for our kids to shake. For instance, Cannon might be tired but his desire to try crawling is FAR stronger than the urge for sleep despite the fact that his body might need sleep more.
My kids dont seem to want to sleep. And we are beginning to accecpt this. They dont want to miss out on anything. This is evident in the fact that Hudson has N-E-V-E-R fallen asleep in a high chair, or while playing, or on the couch, or while watching a movie/tv. Cannon has N-E-V-E-R fallen asleep in my arms (he has fallen asleep while nursing but not just hanging out). Neither sleep in strollers. Neither sleep in the car (Cannon might fall asleep if we were going to Big Bear or the River on a long trip but there will be more crying than sleeping and he is more likely NOT to sleep than to sleep. Last time he slept for about 10 minutes). Neither have ever been moved from one place to another and stayed asleep (i.e. the car to the bed. And if they do miraculously fall asleep in the car, do NOT stop or slow down because that will wake them too).
You see, you can demand that your child lay down BUT YOU CANNOT FORCE A PERSON TO SLEEP. And we are beginning to accept this. They fall asleep when they are tired. When they are ready. When they cannot keep their eyes open any longer. I can force my kids to stay in their beds but I cannot force them to fall asleep. I can hire sleep trainers who are "shocked" by my kids. I can force my kids to cry longer than anyone ever expected them to cry to the point where the sleep expert doesnt really know what to tell me other than "have him keep crying. He has to stop eventually." Oh, does he? You dont know my kids. (I am not willing to write on this blog how long it went on for, let's just say I wouldnt have lasted half as long if I were crying in my bed at night). And still they dont sleep well.
Our compensation? Our silver lining? Our consolation seems to be that our kids learn things in all their awake time. Hudson probably walked earlier than most kids. Hudson talked early. Hudson knew the alphabet, shapes, counting, colors, and a ton of animals by 18 months. They should do these things early because they are ALWAYS awake. What else would they do but learn to do this stuff early and easily during all this awake time?
Ok, I feel much better now that I got that off my chest. You almost have to laugh. We will keep telling ourselves that eventually they will sleep. Eventually we will sleep. We are beginning to accept this. Who needs more than a couple hours of sleep in a row anyways? Not Hudson and Cannon!! Maybe they will start sleeping better just to prove me and this post wrong. Oh, the joys of parenthood...Here's to hoping...
Who can resist them though?
Update- funny story. I was putting Hudson down yesterday (we do the Supernanny Silence - where I sit with my back to him and silently put him back in his bed if he gets up. Then leave the room once he falls asleep. Funny how on Supernanny, the time gets shorter and shorter each night - not here) and he said "I dont want to lay down. Mommy, look at me, I am talking to you!" It was hard to not laugh out loud. We must say that to him and now he is repeating it to us.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Flour & Excuses
Hudson is all about excuses these days. Today we were walking back from the park and he didnt want to walk anymore (because he didnt want to leave, not because he was tired). I couldnt carry him because I had Cannon in the Bjorn. I told him he had to walk like a big boy (which is what he tells me he wants to do all the time now) and he said "I cant walk. The sidewalk is too slippery. I'll fall." I told him it wasnt slippery and he then said "But it's too hot." Oh my.
And here he is being Hudson: getting into something. He was "looking for the sugar" (not sure who taught him this) but, unlucky for him, he found the flour.
And here he is being Hudson: getting into something. He was "looking for the sugar" (not sure who taught him this) but, unlucky for him, he found the flour.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Settled
We are starting to feel settled in to the new/old home, but we are not fully unpacked. Moving is not that much fun. We are starting to get used to our surroundings again with lots of walks:
Lots of new food for Cannon:
Lots of good clean fun:
And other fun...
Yes this is my breast pump in Hudson's hand. Hudson said "I need to make milk in my belly like Mommy."
Cannon is on the move... It is part army crawl, part dive, part real crawl, part walk (I dont know what else to call it but see picture below) but he gets where he needs to go. He'll be moving fast soon. (I think this is the same onesie he had on in the original 'crawl' post - I swear I change him.)
Oh and Cannon got his first tooth last week. I cant take a picture yet - he hardly lets me touch it but I felt it and I know it is there. And his 6 months stats are 14 pounds 2 ounces (5%) and 26 inches long (30%). Still little but growing.
Cannon is also on the move in another way. The good ole car. Cannon hates shopping. But in the car I am able to keep him happy for a few minutes while I dash around the store and grab what I need... this works as long as I dont stop.
And to keep us even busier, we are starting to potty train Hudson (again). He showed more than an interest 6 months ago when he was able to go in the potty when he wanted something. He then started getting mad when we talked about it so we backed off after talking to some other experienced potty trainers. We are trying again. Sigh. He does it in the toilet all the time when he is trying to get out of taking a nap... stinker. But not always consistent if he is just hanging out. I am putting him in big boy underwear and I ask him all the time if he needs to go. Basically I want him to get used to feeling wet at this point (something kids dont really feel in their diapers). He hates being wet so that is good, but not sure how well this is going to work. It is especially hard on the days he goes to school since he needs to wear a diaper until he is a little more consistent. Anyways, he looks cute in his Cars and Thomas underwear as he is modeling for you all here:
In other news, Mom and dad even squeezed a little trip to Vegas in (first trip post-two-children):
Lots of new food for Cannon:
Lots of good clean fun:
And other fun...
Yes this is my breast pump in Hudson's hand. Hudson said "I need to make milk in my belly like Mommy."
Cannon is on the move... It is part army crawl, part dive, part real crawl, part walk (I dont know what else to call it but see picture below) but he gets where he needs to go. He'll be moving fast soon. (I think this is the same onesie he had on in the original 'crawl' post - I swear I change him.)
Oh and Cannon got his first tooth last week. I cant take a picture yet - he hardly lets me touch it but I felt it and I know it is there. And his 6 months stats are 14 pounds 2 ounces (5%) and 26 inches long (30%). Still little but growing.
Cannon is also on the move in another way. The good ole car. Cannon hates shopping. But in the car I am able to keep him happy for a few minutes while I dash around the store and grab what I need... this works as long as I dont stop.
And to keep us even busier, we are starting to potty train Hudson (again). He showed more than an interest 6 months ago when he was able to go in the potty when he wanted something. He then started getting mad when we talked about it so we backed off after talking to some other experienced potty trainers. We are trying again. Sigh. He does it in the toilet all the time when he is trying to get out of taking a nap... stinker. But not always consistent if he is just hanging out. I am putting him in big boy underwear and I ask him all the time if he needs to go. Basically I want him to get used to feeling wet at this point (something kids dont really feel in their diapers). He hates being wet so that is good, but not sure how well this is going to work. It is especially hard on the days he goes to school since he needs to wear a diaper until he is a little more consistent. Anyways, he looks cute in his Cars and Thomas underwear as he is modeling for you all here:
In other news, Mom and dad even squeezed a little trip to Vegas in (first trip post-two-children):
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