Week 50: What a Big Boy!

We find ourselves saying that a lot lately - What a Big Boy! I can't believe his birthday is just over 2 weeks away! It is strange; when I held him before Chloe was born I don't remember him being quite so big (Not too big since he is still only 18 lbs and wearing mostly 6/9 month outfits).

He is starting to get really comfortable on his feet. And will now take up to 5 steps before falling down/cruising into our arms.

He also really enjoys playing with his toys. Mommy and Daddy bought him an activity table for being such a good boy this week and it is his favorite! You can see how happy it makes him. I didn't get a photo of it yet, but he really loves playing with his cars. He will push them from room to room and will laugh when Mommy makes screeching car noises. I can't remember if I mentioned it before but Marshall is so funny with his toys that play usic, his little head will move up and down to the beat. It is just adorable.

Separation Anxiety is still an issue at night so Chris and I find ourselves waking up 3-4 times a night some nights, and other nights it will be 1-2. (Last night it took me 3 hours to get him to sleep and no night wakings but the night before only took 5 minutes to get him down but had to get up 2 times - Point is, you just don't know what sort of surprises the evening will hold). At least he doesn't wake up until 8 a.m. so it is nice to catch some additional ZZZ's. What helped out a lot this week is we tried some "Lovies on him." Basically its a transitional object for him to cuddle with.

Marshall seems much more comfortable with his baby Sister. For the most part he seems to be okay with her. I think the only time she is an issue for him is when he is cranky/tired/hungry. But he would be upset even if she didn't exist for him. He will even kiss his sister and pat her on the head (and rock her in their swing).

He also is very fascinated with her small fingers (holding her hand).

Week 49: Getting Things Back to Normal

Marshall really has had a rough few weeks: being sick for a whole week, not going to school anymore, having some major Boo-Boo’s, having Mommy and Daddy being gone, and bringing home a baby sister. All of this has really taken some tolls on him and we have had to really work to get him back into a routine, which has helped to get him back to normal. Here are some of the issues we had this week that we worked on:

Baby Sister – He was a little bit clingier after we first took her home, but he has started to get used to her. We just have to be careful that he doesn’t accidentally hurt her when he is trying to steal her Binky.

Bath time – With his little accident, he became very paranoid and scared whenever he had baths this week. Chris and I were so sad that our favorite pre-bedtime routine was affected so negatively. We worked really hard at getting him comfortable again (using some reverse psychology with Mommy climbing into the bath-tub fully clothed and playing with his toys).

Separation Anxiety – This one has been a little bit harder to get rid of but he is markedly better since Chris and I are at home.

Problems falling and staying asleep – It is generally Marshall’s routine go to bed around 9 p.m. and to wake up for 3-5 minutes around 1:00 and 4:00 in the morning for his binky to be put back into his mouth/sometimes have a bottle. But once we left for the hospital and for most of the week, Marshall would not go to sleep until 11:00 p.m. and would wake up and cry for 2 hours. Happily, he is comfortable again with his bed and is getting back to his old routine.

High Chair – Standing up in it is one trick he doesn’t do anymore.

Closed Doors – He is afraid whenever a door to a room is closed (even if Chris and I are in it), including elevators and the garage door (he doesn’t cry out for these two but clutches us a little bit more tightly).

He figured out how to open the wipe box. Oh what fun!Not sure what this goofy look was for.

Visiting us in the hospital.

Walking to Daddy.
Rocking the baby (stealing the binky).
Our little ones.

Week 48: Big Brother

Marshall is sadly no longer the baby. Despite the happiness of our new baby; it is still sad to think that Marshall has grown up so much this year and is no longer the baby. It was a really rough week for him being away from Mommy and Daddy (and Mommy and Daddy really missed being with Marshall). Luckily he had so much fun with MiMi and Grandpa-ha (my Dad was also so helpful at baby sitting for me during the week preceding Chloe’s birth – he introduced Marshall to his new favorite snack….Goldfish!). They took such amazing care of him during this very difficult week.

Photo of him going to MiMi and Grandpa-ha's house:

Marshall was very curious of his sister when he first met her, but when we brought her home I think he was bothered that we had also brought her home from the hospital. I think it will be difficult to teach him to be gentle at his age, so we’ll have to keep an extra close eye on them both. He is most interested in stealing her binky. But when he takes hers he hands his out to her as if to offer to trade with her. I think if she was old enough to reach for it he would probably pull an “Indian giver” move and take it back.
By the second day at home, Marshall was no longer bothered by her presence and things were starting to normalize, but then Chloe and I went back to the hospital on Sunday.

Week 47: Marshall’s First Major Boo-Boos (PLURAL)

Baby’s First Major Boo-Boo

Well with walking come more opportunities for accidents. Like the previous week’s blog stated, Marshall tries to stand up and walk in the Bathtub, despite Daddy’s scolding. Well Monday night, Marshall got up and Daddy told him to sit down, which he did. But he decided to do it again and he slipped and fell as he was reaching for Kung Foo Penguin.

Photo of the dirty Baby who needed a bath:

Photo of the Villain…

Photo of the Boo-Boo:

So at 9:30 at night we ran to Acute Care Kids (thanks for the suggestion Dr. Baker!) where he got is Boo-Boo glued back together. Sadly, he was afraid of the bathtub all this week. This really bummed Chris and me out since he has always just loved his bath time. We’ve been working some reverse psychology on him and he has started to get less and less stressed out by the end of the week.

Marshall was such a trooper throughout the ordeal though. He cried initially for a few moments, but he was more interested in comforting Chris, who was a little freaked out about the blood. Then as he saw his doggies he wanted to crawl over to them and talk to them. He was really good as we cleaned up the wound.

Baby’s SECOND Major Boo-Boo

The other place that Mommy and Daddy always have an issue with Marshall standing up is his high chair. He has figured out how to get out of the seat belt and tries to stand up and Chris and I will tell him to sit down.

On Tuesday (the day after accident number one), Mommy was distracted and running around the house like a crazy person by the news that she was going to have to go into the hospital in a few hours rather than Wednesday morning and didn’t see Marshall wiggle out of his high chair. When she turned around he climbed on top of his tray and was trying to crawl toward the table. I tried to grab him, but he was too fast and fell onto the kitchen floor, head first. Luckily, he has my genetically hard head.

I was just so freaked out and emotional for being such a bad Mommy. I called Dr. Baker (again) – I tell you I was such an emotional wreck at this point – to make sure I had not given my kid a concussion or brain damage, while Marshall is in the back ground laughing/talking again to his doggies. Clearly he was okay, but I was so freaked out leaving him to go into the hospital. I think the stress of the ordeal started my Labor early.

11 Months Old!

What a big boy. He was so serious during this photo shoot. Although he did show off his walking for the camera! He was such a good baby while we were waiting for his pictures to print and view. There was another little boy there that was 4 weeks older than him and the Mommy could barely keep the kid in the store; meanwhile Marshall was such a good boy playing with his toys and eating his Cheerios and playing with the other babies.

Week 46: Baby Steps

Marshall took his first steps this week (granted they were in the one place he is not supposed to be standing up, let alone walking in!!!) - IN THE BATH TUB! It is so crazy how he just stands up all the time and will try to take a step or two. My baby is growing up and will be a Big Brother in just a few days!

He has been such a good boy this week making it easier for Mommy to feel so much better (the swelling in my legs even went away!). His routine included waking up at 8:30am all week (although we still wake up around 1 or 2 in the morning for a quick cry and goes back to sleep). We will generally go downstairs and eat breakfast (it is so great all of the foods he eats on his own) and let the doggies outside. Then we'll come upstairs and he'll play with his toys for a bit then take his morning nap for an hour or so.

In the afternoon we'll go downstairs and eat lunch, then come upstairs and play. He just loves playing in every room upstairs. He is such a boy - just plays with himself for a while then will come over to me for a few snuggles and kisses but mostly he just wants me to pretend chase him, make funny faces and sounds, be tickled and sing silly songs. He has the funnest laugh! Then he will go back to playing with his toys quietly. Then around 4 or 5 he'll take his afternoon nap and be up and cranky in time for Daddy to get home.

After dinner, Marshall loves when his Daddy takes him in for his bath time. They both really enjoy this time together at night. Chris has a name for all of the bath toys - Larry the Lobster, Kung Foo Penguin... Marshall, even when he was a few months old has always been most Partial to Larry though.

Marshall is also so ready for Halloween! This baby has always loved a good scare and has always been partial to the color Orange. Well we were at Sam Club stocking up on Pampers and Formula and they had an animated Halloween Monster that rips off its face to reveal a scary bony face with lime green eyes. Marshall thought it was so awesome and just laughed at it (later we heard a little girl screaming at it). He also knows when we are eating candy - he had such a fit when we opened the candy bag and didn't give him anything.

I have really enjoyed bonding with him this week. I now his life will be so different in just a few days, but we were told by Dr. Baker and Dr. Greebon that he is really too young to have a concept of his exclusive status with his parents and it won't affect his self-esteem too much. He is such a special guy and Chris and I love him so much.

Here is his funny smile he gives now.
















Now this shot took me a while to get. He loves to play ball. He is really really good at throwing. I love how he lifts the ball over his head then throws.
















Another silly smile.

















Marshall's favorite book. He thinks it is so funny when Mommy or Mr. Roggy Ribbit stick their head in the hole during story time.

Week 45: Poor Sweet Baby!

My Poor Sweet Baby was so sick this week. I think he picked up a little bug at school and by the time we brought him home on Tuesday, he was so fussy so we put him to bed at 7:30 (which is about 2 hours early) and he woke up at 1:00 am with a 101 temperature, which is one of the highest temperatures that he had ever had to this date. So Chris stayed home with him on Wednesday and in the afternoon on Thursday. By the end of the day and throughout the night he was in the 103 range. I took him to Dr. Baker on Thursday and got him some medicine, which thankfully kicked in by Saturday.

I think for Chris and I both, this was the longest week ever! It was difficult not getting any sleep as well as being so far pregnant and trying to not stress myself into Labor. It was also kind've sad that he didn't get to say a proper good-bye to his teachers, who all just love him so much. By the time he returns, he will be in the next classroom. He spent his last day of school at my dad's house, snuggling with the PaPa.

We were so happy on Saturday and Sunday to get to play with our fun baby again.









Playing with Mommy's Laptop.












Falling asleep watching TV.












Trying to play with his nightlight (even though he knows he's not suppose to).









Trying to figure out which Binky he likes best. It's like watching the Discovery Channel - no real sound/action, just a little creature going about it's everyday activities.

Speaking of Creatures... (Boris worn out after playing with his Human)