Weekly Smithkids - Week 171 and Week 22

 My sweet girl

Yep, that IS a three-year-old in a Lincoln Log bucket.

Team Smith is easily amused.

He's smiling because he's too little to be Lincoln Log bucket'd.

His time is coming though.

Smooches from Daddy

It's seriously hard to remain on your tummy when your head so large

Weekly Smithkids - Week 170 and Week 21

This week was such a departure from the wailing and teeth-gnashing Disaster of the Double Double-Ear Infections that was last week.

It's so nice to see her smile again. She's a top-notch smiler.

And him, too. His dimply goodness rocks my world.

Month 5 - Recap

Well, sir, you win the race of Which Smithkid Can Get An Ear Infection Before the Other? Natalie got her first one just a month before she turned two. But you, you little One Upper, got your first one just a week before you turned five months. I noticed you coughing on the evening of Daddy's and my anniversary, but I didn't think much of it. Fast forward three hours and you began your Four Nights of Not Sleeping More than One Hour at a Time. You didn't have a fever, but your nose was half-congested-and-half-runny and you kept coughing. The next morning, I called the nurses' line at your pediatrician's office and was told that as long as you didn't have a fever and as long as you were able to breathe well, then there's not really anything the doctor can do. Poo. The next night was just as bad. You were up and crying every hour or so and nothing really seemed to console you besides incessant jiggling (which, while it may be a great calorie burner, it's hard to do at 2am. And again at 3am. And again at 4am. And again at 5am.) You looked absolutely miserable. Your eyes were runny, your nose was runny, and, of course, you were still drooling. 'Soaking wet mess' is a pretty good phrase to describe you. I'm not proud of this, but I called the nurses' line again the next morning and told a little white lie by saying your cough sounded croup-y. I wanted the doctor to see you to determine if there was something more than just a cold, but I didn't want to sound like a worry-wart mother. Which I am, by the way. Anywho, I do NOT advocate lying and I do NOT want you to lie, but I'm so glad your pediatrician saw you that day. She took one look in your ears and said "Oh wow. He's definitely got an ear infection. And an upper respiratory infection." So while I'm so sorry you're sick, I'm THRILLED there was a (relatively) quick fix for it. By the second day of being on an antibiotic, you seemed like you were feeling better. You're still not sleeping great at night, but it's a heckuva lot better than what it was. (Side note: Natalie got an ear infection two days later. Two Smithkids, each with a double ear infection. Each not sleeping for more than 45 minutes at a time before waking up crying [at different 45-minute intervals, of course.] You're welcome for not making you both sleep outside.)

You giggle. A lot. And seriously, kid, it's like music to my ears. You're such a good-natured boy (except when you're tired. You're pretty much a bear when you're tired. And not a cute Charlie Bear kind of bear. You're a grumpy, fussy WAAHHHHHHHH kind of bear.) so it's pretty easy to get you to giggle. We laugh a LOT in this house, so it bodes well that you're so amused by us. Is it sad that we like the validation of our humor when we can get a baby to giggle? Eh, probably.

We put you in the Jumperoo for the first time this month. It was one of Natalie's favorite toys and I was totally excited to see how you'd like it. It took you two-ish weeks before you got the hang of it. And even then, you still don't really jump. And why one earth WOULD you, since Natalie pushes the Jumperoo up and down FOR you. It's hysterical. You're just a passenger. As far as you know, the Jumperoo runs on Natalie propulsion.

It's so funny how differently I approach your milestones, being the second child and all. I was practically tracking Natalie's every move and making sure it lined up with what was appropriate for her specific age. But you? You're not rolling over yet (you're about 95% of the way there), but it's no biggie. You're not great at holding up your head for long periods of time when you're on your tummy (in your defense, I don't think I'd do any better at holding up a behemoth head either), but it's no biggie. Mainly I think that everything leading up to you becoming mobile can wait as long as possible. I know what happens when babies become mobile. And I really, really enjoy knowing that if I put you in one position on the floor, leave the room for a few minutes and come back, you're going to be in pretty much the same position I left you in (give or take a few degrees). But a mobile baby? Dude. That's a whole 'nother can of worms that I'm just not ready for. So if you don't crawl till you're six, it's cool with me.

You seem to like when I read to you. You come with me when I read to Natalie before her naptime and the books seem to hold your interest for a while. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is one you get particularly squeal-y about. It was one of Natalie's favorites, so it's cute to see that you like it too. I distinctly remember Bob reading bedtime stories to Aunt KK and me when we were younger. And truth be told, she read to us WELL past the age of when kids usually aren't read to anymore. But I loved it. It's one of my most treasured memories, being curled up on Aunt KK's bed while Bob read us each book of the Little House of the Prairie series. And when she reached the last page of the last book, we started the first book all over again. I don't remember of LHOTP bookies are too 'girlie' - I'll have to reread them and see, because I would love, love, love to read those books to you and Natalie. And maybe in between each LHOTP book, I'll read a book about robots or dinosaurs or dump trucks or something. Just to boy it up a bit. Cuz I'm nice like that.

I pray for you and your sister a lot, but one of my most fervent prayers is that you both come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. I can't be a good mom without Him (as evidenced by you and your sister not sleeping in the yard when you double-teamed me with ear infections). I can't be a good wife without Him. I can't be a good ANYthing without Him. Yesterday was Easter. Easter is my favorite holiday, and celebrating my risen Savior coupled with you being 0.416-with-a-line-over-the-six'th of a year old makes the day especially special. YOU are especially special, my darling Baby Bear.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Headlines for April 9, 2012:

• 'Everybody's going to do it': Teens risk melanoma to tan for prom
• Magical shot in playoff lifts Bubba Watson at Masters [side note: Bubba Watson is from Milton, and went to the same high school as Daddy!]
• London, NYC top the cities favored by ultra-rich
• Athletic dudes' girly little secret: The pedi
• World's smallest puppy fits in a mug
• '60 Minutes' veteran Mike Wallace dies

Weekly Smithkids - Weeks 165, 166, 167, 168, 169 & 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

So I'm pretty sure that we did cool things this past month. But the past four days have been rough. Charlie got his first ear infection and slept probably 15 hours over four nights. He didn't even sleep that badly when he was a newborn. The antibiotics seem to have kicked in, so he's feeling a bit better. Just in time for Natalie to start feeling ill. Awesome.

So here's how this week has looked.

A lot of this. Particularly at 2 in the morning.

Oh yes. Let's not forget the big, fat tears.
We've had a LOT of those.

And then there's the crumpled face. That's a good one.

And finally, we have the grumpy toddler. A personal favorite.

And me? Well, this about sums it up.

(Except my hair doesn't look this well-brushed.
And I'm in yoga pants and a shirt with drool on it.
And I have three baskets of clothes that need to be folded.
But other than that, this is me.)

March 2012 - Recap

My sweet Peanut,
I'm so curious to know if you'll do something music-related when you're older. You love to sing, you pick up on lyrics with lightning speed, and you can identify most instruments by just hearing them. Three of your favorite songs have Ls in the title. Your sweet voice combined with your inability to pronounce the letter L, makes for some unbearably cute renditions. You get ridiculously excited when "Love Come to Life" (or, "Yuhve Come to Yife"), "Learning to be the Light" (or, "Yearning to be the Yight"), and "Where I Belong" (or, "Where I Beyong") come on KLOVE. You jump up, you squeal, you proudly announce to Charlie that these are your favorite songs. And you can sing about 80% of those songs. I love, love, love it.

You are definitely Pep's granddaughter and Uncle Rich's niece. You like going around the house announcing "Ooh rah, Go Navy."

Our normal bedtime routine is reading you a book, me or Daddy praying, then tucking in you in (after your OCD self makes sure all of your stuffed animals and blankets are in their proper position). One night, it just struck me to ask you do to the praying. And oh my WORD. I can't believe I've waited this long to hear you pray. I so wish I had recorded what you said because I don't remember everything. I was suffocating under the sheer sweetness of your prayer, and the lack of oxygen prevented me from recalling your prayer. Here's what I do remember you prayed for: Bruce [Daddy's really good friend who's been in the hospital for a long time], books, toys, yeggos [Legos], bean bag chairs, Chaw-yee ("because he's a buh-wito" [we had just swaddled him up like a burrito]), hairbows, and Ita [your imaginary friend].

Speaking of Ita, you talk about her nonSTOP. I haven't the foggiest idea where you came up with her. Sometimes your story changes as to who she (sometimes she's a girl, sometimes she's a grownup, sometimes she's an animal). Lately, Ita is your friend from 'caw-wedge' (college). The past few times we've gone to the park, any girl you see is Ita. And you make a point of calling her Ita and announcing to everyone around that she's your friend from 'caw-wedge'. Needless to say, you get some strange looks from kids at the park.

I know this isn't unique to you, but good heavens you're bossy. You're particularly bossy as to how we play (or 'pway') with you. You want our legs just so (and procede to screech if we deviate from your Approved Leg Position plan). You feed us the words you want us to say (and again, you procede to screech if we deviate from your Approved Script plan). You're also bossy about what you eat.

Me: Here's your snack, baby.
You: Oooh, pwetzels! Yum!
You: [after having only taken one bite of one pretzel] And after dis, I can have another snack.
Me: Um, excuse me? How about we try that again?
You: *sighing* After I eat my pwetzels, can I have another snack?
Me: Much better.

Me: Nat, please finish your dinner. Stop being a slow-poke.
You: After I eat three bites, I can have dessert.
Me: I'm sorry, come again?
You: After I eat three bites of my bwokki (broccoli), I can have a cookie!
Me: That's what I thought you said. Mommy will let you know when you've eaten enough dinner to have a cookie.
You: Okay, after FOUR bites I can have a cookie.
Me: Again, Mommy will let you know when you've eaten enough dinner to have a cookie.
You: I can have a cookie after dinner.
Me: [firmly placing my hand on top of my head to keep it from popping off from the sheer lunacy of our conversation] Do you tell Mommy what you're going to do?
You: No.
Me: So let's try the whole cookie scenario again.

After Daddy and I put you and Charlie to bed, we often run through some of the funny things you say. We can't get over how insanely clever you are. And the things that you say that cause us to pull our hair out in the heat of the moment cause us to giggle like a couple of little girls just a short time later. You getting out of bed to complain to us that your NON-MOVING, NON-ALIVE, STUFFED animals are dilly-dallying and it's preventing you from falling asleep drives me BATTY. But after you've fallen asleep and it's just Daddy and me hanging out in the living room? It's hysterical.

You really like Little Einsteins. It's probably one of the least annoying shows that's out there. Each episode included famous art (I'm assuming it's famous - I don't 'get' art, so I don't know what's famous and what's not) and classical music. You love repeating the names of the composers. And I love hearing you repeat the names of the composers - mostly because you mispronounce them. My favorite so far? Johann Spedastian Bop.

So last month (or maybe two months ago. I can't remember. You and your brother have irreperably damaged my brain.) mentioned how you are the ultimate Back Seat Driver. You screech at me to stop when you see a red light, screech at me to go when you see a green light, get upset when you can't SEE the light, etc. And you're still not happy with the I-Can-Turn-Right-At-A-Red-Light-If-There-Aren't-Any-Cars-Coming rule ("Wed means STOP, Momma! You can't GO!"). This brings us to a week ago. We were playing Red Light, Green Light (for the 12 billionth time that day) and you were Green Light-ing it down the hall when I said "Red Light!". And you kept going. So I said "Red Light!" a little louder. And you kept going. So I said "Hey goofball, 'Red Light!' means stop!". To which you said "I know it was a wed yight, but I was turning wight [right] and dere weren't any cars coming." Wise guy. I can see it now. Fast forward three or four years and Daddy and I are having to go to yet ANOTHER parent-teacher conference because you were a smart-alecky-wise-guy-know-it-all. Daddy and I won't admit it then, but we'll be happy to admit it when you're 30 - your smart aleck-iness, albeit infuriating and exhausting at times, is quite funny. But as far as you need to know, it's infuriating. Now turn away so I can laugh, you funny little smart aleck.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Headlines from April 1, 2012:

• Palm Sunday observed around the world
• No fooling: Asteroid zips close by Earth
• One-man town up for sale in Wyoming
• Are you kidding? April Fools' Day on the Internet
• Mega Millions Winners: Identities Not Yet Revealed
• Is It Over Yet? Gingrich Hints at an Alliance