Polar Bear

Because Rhys is so into animals these days, I pulled out a hand-me-down Halloween costume that I knew would fit hit great right now. He was in HEAVEN.

This next photo shows a game he came up with. He was a Baby Polar Bear sleeping in his cave, and the Elephant was screaming, so I (Mommy Polar Bear) had to tell Elephant to "be quiet" and "stop screaming", because "Baby Polar is sleeping":

Here's me battling the 'invisible mom' epidemic:

He is very good at multi-tasking, that polar bear:

And this was melts my heart (obviously!):

Ridiculous.

This video is ridiculous for a a couple reasons. The first reason is obvious... I clearly was holding the iPad wrong, so it's sideways. I hate that!

Second reason it's ridiculous; Because who tapes their kid eating a pretzel? Well, here's the back story... A friend of mine says her son never chews food properly. He just shoves it into his mouth, no matter big the piece is, and it stresses her out. So I mentioned how Rhys is pretty much the opposite. He takes little bites, like a chipmunk. And I wanted to capture it on video.

So, this ridiculous sideways video is for you, Kirsty!

A Letter To Kyle at 2 months old

Dear Kyle,

All the worries I had before you were born, about how you would fit into our family, have vanished. And they vanished instantly. From the moment I held you it was like you had always been here. I was so worried you would feel like a stranger; an intruder into this little life we had become so used to. That I would harbour guilt because I loved Rhys more. Words can't fully recant how ridiculous that seems to me now.

I absolutely loved the first two nights at home with you. I stayed in your room all night, with you on my chest. When you woke I would nurse you, when you were done we'd snuggle and rock until you'd drift off again. I would smell your head and press my lips and nose against the peach fuzz on your head that we call hair. It was so special. In fact, those two nights were so wonderful that I proclaimed to your Daddy that I already wanted another baby. That is how head-over-heels in love with you I already was. I know that as you grow older, those will be the moments I look back on that will make me cry.

Things about you at 2 months old:

You love to snuggle. To be rocked to sleep. To snooze in any one's arms or on any one's chest.

You startled easily as a newborn, but have never liked being swaddled.

You never slept in the bassinet in our room. You went straight to your crib in your own room. This worked well because it turns out you are a loud sleeper... Always squeaking or snorting or grunting or whistling with your nose.

You have never liked sleeping on your back, which caused me much stress at first. Back is Best is what parents are told. But, you are a tummy sleeper, and I've made peace with that.

The longest stretch of sleep you've had so far is 6.5 hours. I feed you twice through the night and your bedtime is slowly shifting from 11:30pm towards a more reasonable time, like 8:30pm on a good night. Instead of the 9-12 feedings a day, I now nurse you 6-7 times in 24 hours. You have taken a bottle twice.

You. Were. Gassy. Or 'Colicky', as some would say. You had a witching hour from about 9pm - 11:30pm when the pains in your tummy made you inconsolable most nights. We actually contemplated taking you to the hospital at times, in fear that your appendix was bursting or something. I had perfected about six burping positions. We also tried Oval, Gripe Water, dietary restrictions and pro-biotics. Not sure what did the trick, but your gassy phase seems to be done for now (knock on wood!).

Now that you're not riddled with gas pains, you seem pretty chill. You don't get upset when you hear a vacuum or a blow dryer or Grampa's tools or the loud clanging of toys that Rhys plays with.

Your big brother, Rhys, likes you a lot when he's in the mood to. He'll often stop playing for a second, run over to you, and put his face right up to yours and smile. He asks to see you when you're not in the room, and he tells everyone to 'be quiet as a mouse' when you're sleeping. The rest of the time, he's oblivious to your cries, or your need to eat.

Your eyes are blue/grey, and your 'hair' is very fair (I think we're in denial that you're actually bald).

At two months old you have already rolled from front to back a couple times, and you move around your crib enough to get your limbs caught in the crib rails. You are batting toys with your little fists. You smile and coo and melt the hearts of your parents and grandparents. Oh, those sounds. They are magic.

I want to apologize for something that is bound to happen, though. The first couple years of your life won't be documented with the same minutia that your brother's was. I will try my best, but I know it won't be enough. But know this. Less photos and videos and blog entries does not mean I wasn't watching you. It does not mean I am not soaking you in and cherishing you every bit as much. Because I am. Now I know the things to watch for. The things to burn into my memory. Now I know how fast you will change, so I will stop to stare. I may not grab the camera or the keyboard and write about it every time, but I did it. I promise. It would be impossible not too.

To my sweet, handsome, soft, adorable little Snuggle Bug... I love you, Kyle.

Love,

Your Mom

(Editor's note: I am horrified to admit that this is THE ONLY family photo, of all four of us together, that we have taken. We didn't even take one in the hospital. I think in April I will resolve to get one-a-week, because I think that's criminal!)

Bumper

Look who needs bumper pads! Our little monkey has been getting his arms and legs stuck in the crib rails, from scooting around too much!

And, because I just can't get enough of his cute little bum in the air...

Smokin'

Last night felt so good. It was my first time away from the kids in two months. (because the hour away to grocery shop doesn't count).

When my pump stopped working and I decided that instead of investing more money on a new one or to replace parts, that Kyle would simply drink formula when I was away, my mom made a comment that 'I gave up fast' this time around. The stigma around formula vs. nursing drives me nuts. I chose breastfeeding because it's cheap and very gratifying (once I got over the tough part). And the other, most important reason I do it is because I can. Not every woman is that lucky. But the thing I really don't like about nursing is that it can easily become a prison sentence.

This way, I feel like Kyle, Rhys and myself are getting the best of both worlds. Feedings are no longer going to hold me back from celebrating a friend's birthday or getting my hair cut. And Kyle's Dad and Grandparents can get the joy of feeding him. And Rhys can have more of my time, instead of it being used to pump milk (that Kyle gets 99% of the time anyway).

So...back to how good last night felt. I drank 3 HUGE virgin strawberry/pomegranate margaritas. I got to chow down on delicious homemade appetizers. I laughed with some of my dearest friends, and talked about things other than sleep patterns and child rearing. All while learning how to make my eyes look dramatic and sexy! God, it was heaven. I know it was T's birthday, but it was also a wonderful gift to myself to be there (thanks Warren!).

Before:

After:








The Ladies!



Our eyes really pop, from far away!




And guess what? You can book your very own 'Smokey Eye' make-up party with Kara! Here is her website: Blink Make-up Artistry

Tummy Troubles

As I've mentioned before, Kyle is a Snuggle Bug. He is quite happy to fall asleep in your arms, and when he's really dozy his favorite position is tummy-to-chest. Since he was born, this meant that to put him in his crib, we had to flip him to his back to sleep...because 'back is best', doncha know. But he would always freak out. His arms would shoot out in front of him like he thought he was falling, in that newborn reflex kind of way. Swaddling him didn't help, it only made him angry.

So, at first, he slept on us a lot, and his crib and bassinet stayed empty. But that couldn't last forever. We got desperate. So we started to transfer him from our chest, to his crib...without 'flipping' him.

*GASP*!!! I know. It was an awful, awful feeling. The general consensus these days is that, because tummy sleeping is a known risk factor for SIDS, I was sentencing him to death by putting him to sleep on his tummy. But it was that, or risk smothering him in my sleep as he slept on my chest.

I told my baby doctor, and she wasn't overly reassuring. I expected her to say 'oh, lots of babies sleep on their tummies!', but instead she pointed out that I was increasing his risk, even though it was the most minuscule increase, and that I need to do what is within my comfort level (you know, how comfortable am I risking his life every night...!!!) and make sure he is on a very flat surface, with no blankets, blah, blah, blah.

So, with that guilt trip in mind, I kept 'trying' him on his back, in the hopes that one day it would just click in his brain that his back felt great! Still hasn't happened. He mocks me by happily laying on his back when he's awake, kicking about and such.

There are a couple 'pros' to tummy sleeping though...

1) His neck has always been very strong.

2) He has never needed official 'tummy time'.

3) He has a perfectly shaped head.

4) HE ROLLED FROM FRONT TO BACK LAST NIGHT, before his two month birthday! Rhys did that for the first time when he was 2.5 months (proof here in the OMG VIDEO). Kyle was in his crib sleeping on his tummy, when I heard him start to cry. I picked up the monitor to check on him and HE WAS ON HIS BACK. I of course had to go in and flip him back to his tummy so he could fall asleep.

Good job little man. We'll have you walking by six months, I know it ;)

I Just Love These Pics.

I love how sweet he looks in my mom's arms, his tiny clenched fists, and his pudgy little feet.

Sleepless.

As if I don't have enough reasons to lose sleep these days...

The Walking Dead season finale left this image in my head all night:

Yup. The image of two 'walkers' with their arms sawed off, their jaws broken, both chained to a hooded stranger with a giant sword.

I need to find some lighter bedtime fare.

To top it off, Rhys woke up for the first time in AGES and wanted to sleep with us - which always means a lousy sleep - and Kyle didn't fall asleep until 11:00pm and proceeded to wake up every two hours after that.

I am so glad today was a scheduled 'pajama day'!

What Rhymes With Kyle?

SMILE!

Ticket To Freedom.

A couple weeks ago I was invited to my friend T's birthday party, which is taking place this Friday. It will be a bunch of ladies learning how to do their make-up (specifically a 'smoky eye' - FUN!). Once I had RSVP'd yes, I had a deadline. A deadline for trying Kyle on a bottle.

So, I dusted off the 'ole breast pump and... FAIL. The stinking pump wasn't working. Then, Warren remembered a trick to getting it working, and it worked! For about 5 seconds. A quick google search revealed that lots of people had the same issue, that was sometimes resolved by replacing a myriad of parts, that needed to be ordered online.

Screw that.

SO. A trip to Zellers for some Enfamil, and voila! T's party, here I come!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Gramma Day

Okay, so this was more like a Gramma 'Morning'. My mom took Rhys to the 'Build-A-Bear' workshop. It was his first time. Kyle and I stayed home so that it could truly be some one on one time for them, without me there 'micro-managing' (as Warren would accuse) the experience.

I couldn't wait to hear how it went, and to see what animal Rhys chose.

I probably could have guessed this one:

And when I asked himto give me a big smile, I got this (and so begins the 'awkward fake smile' phase):




It even had a 'roaring' voice box.

Gramma also got him a hotdog, a ride on the merry-go-round, and ice cream, and a round trip on the escalator.

Lucky kid!

Kyle 7 weeks Video

This blog post is a test, to see if this new blogging app works ;)

Not Awful. ( changed title)

I have been a Negative Nelly lately.

At a dinner party the other night I was asked "So, how is it now that Rhys is home full time?". "Awful", I replied. Everyone laughed and I proclaimed myself The World's Most Honest Mom. Everyone laughed some more.

But deep down, I regretted that answer instantly. 'Awful' was simply the wrong word. It's not awful at all. I mean - from a purely selfish perspective, it's just really, really, REALLY hard. And frustrating. And often overwhelming. And exhausting. But, the truth is... (and this is VERY hard for a mom who chose to go back to work to admit)...the truth is, Rhys is THRIVING lately. He's happier at home than he used to be. He laughs and smiles more. He's not tired and worn down at the end of the day. His imagination is exploding. He's playing with more of his toys and watching less TV. His linguistic skills are improving everyday with new words, longer sentences and better pronunciation. It's been really wonderful to watch. A far cry from 'awful'. But, it's not easy engaging with him and remaining patient with him while I'm nursing or burping or rocking a baby to sleep at any given moment in the day. And it's easy to focus on the negative.

Last night, as I nursed Kyle at 4:00am, I started to feel incredibly guilty that he would not be getting a full year with me like this, when he's a toddler. And sad that I won't get a year like this with him.

The good days aren't without their bad moments. And the bad days aren't without their good moments, either. The secret is knowing which moments to focus on, I guess.

Attack!

Last week, my friend Keri was another victim of The Snuggle Bug...

Strange Things Rhys Said: 2.5 Years Old

Yesterday Rhys was saying some very odd things...

Rhys: (at the doctors office,while we waited, he was playing with his Leap Frog computer) Don't want to play computer. Want to smell dirty garbage.

Amanda: What? No, no.That's yucky.

Rhys: (walks over to the garbage can, sucks in a big, deep breath) Ewwwwww. Stinky.

******

Rhys: Can I kiss your toe, Mommy? (???!!!)

******

Rhys: (after a nasty diaper change) Wanna see it! Wanna see dirty! (takes a look at the poopy diaper, starts giggling hysterically).

******

Kids are are so weird.

Things Rhys Said: 2.5 years old

This will be a new instalment on the Blog... "Things Rhys Said"

Amanda: Rhys, you are eating so much lunch! Good eating! Good Boy! Mommy is very proud of you!

(a few minutes later)

Rhys: (As River, our dog, is trying to sniff his plate) No Riber! Sit down Riber! (puts his hand out in front of himself like a stop sign).

River sits.

Rhys: Good girl, Riber. I am very powd of you. (continues eating)

******

Warren: Rhys...stand back. You're too close to the TV. It will hurt your eyes...

Rhys: No, Daddy! Don't hurt my eyes!

Warren: No, No...the TV will hurt your eyes.

Rhys: No Daddy! Don't hurt my body!

Warren: No..no, No. Daddy will never hurt you...it's...the...TV....(sighs, and really, really hopes Rhys never repeats that to anyone).

******

Rhys: I want blue eyes.

Warren: (Heart breaks as he realizes everyone has been 'swooning' over Kyle's blue eyes lately) Why? Rhys has beautiful, dark, brown eyes.

(a few days later, after we've made a conscious effort to compliment Rhys' eyes)...

Rhys: I don't want blue eyes. I big brown eyes.

Warren: Yes, brown eyes.

Rhys: Nice and dark. Mommy same!

A Letter To Future Warren and Amanda

Dear Future Warren and Amanda,

When the day comes that you begin to romanticize the newborn phase, glossing it over in your minds as you look back on photos, envying the moms with little bundles in their strollers and thinking to yourself 'I sure hope she is cherishing every moment', please try to remember how much it sucked most of the time.

Best,

Past Amanda

Looked Good On Paper.

Before Kyle was born, I was freaking out a little about what the heck I would do to keep Rhys occupied during the day once he was home with me full time.

So I downloaded this book: 365 Games Smart Toddlers Play

Aside from the pretentious title, I really like this book. It's full of everyday, simple, cheap ideas of fun things to do with young children (like hide stuffed animals all over your house, give your child a flash light, turn out the lights, and let them go an a safari hunt! Brilliant!). And on my iPad I can 'bookmark' the games/craft/activities/tips that I like and refer back to them later.

One activity the books suggests, is a 'sorting' game. You use multicoloured items, like buttons or coins or whatever and have your toddler sort them into clear jars. "Your toddler will love the sound of the items falling into the glass jars! " the book boasts.

Sounds good on paper.

In our case, we used uncooked spiral noodles that came in green, yellow and orange.

These pictures depict a well behaved young chap in his lovely plaid pyjamas, enjoying the wonderfully fun, yet educational, game that his perfect mother facilitated for him:

What the pictures don't show is that he was interested in the game for about 3 minutes, then had a full on 'on-the-floor-whining' tantrum while he screamed 'Dieeeeegoooo! Don't want to play with moooommmmmyy!!! Dieeeegoooo!", followed by an eventual 3 more minutes of playing the game (because a bribe was used, I'm almost certain).

SIGH.

Well, at least the noodles tasted good at lunch time.

And The Day Went To Shit.

Today was a total roller coaster of successes and failures. Here is a bit of a recap...

1) I rocked this morning.... Had a playdate planned way up north (Rocky Ridge) and was actually out of the house (with both kids!) by 8:40am, and arrived only 15 minutes late at 9:15am. Rhys was well behaved, and Kyle even had a wee bit of a snooze. Success!

2) My attempts to keep Rhys awake in the car were futile (Rhys look! A Choo Choo!) and he fell asleep, meaning the odds of a nap were slim. I thought my luck had turned when he willingly got into his crib. That lasted about ten minutes. He then called out for 'mommy and daddy' for the next hour, and was in a trouble making mood for the rest of the afternoon. Fail!

3) Nana and Grandan show up to lend a quick hand. ( load the dish washer, distract Rhys while I nursed, etc) Success!

4) Rhys needed a diaper change and fought me on it. Turns out his bum was flaming red and sore. So he had an early bath to sooth his poor bum. After the bath he really didn't wanna diaper on, so I figured some air could do him good, and let him be naked in his giraffe towel. Then I had an idea - I'll try him in his big boy underwear! So he put them on and looked SO cute. Then Kyle fell asleep in the baby bjorn and Rhys and I played and I made him dinner and he ate TONS. MAJOR SUCCESS!

4) Then Kyle woke up and needed to nurse. While I was nursing, Rhys was laying on the floor quietly watching TV. Suddenly he leaped to his feet, with the fear of God in his eyes. There were dribbles coming from between his legs. 'Rhysie! Quick! To the the Potty! You're peeing!' So with a baby on my breast I grabbed my toddler and ran to the bathroom. More dribbles were coming now. 'Rhys! Sit in on the Potty! SIT'! He refused and looked terrified. This was out of character because he pees on the potty all the time, 'Rhys - you don't even have to take off your underwear.... Just SIT!!!!' then I noticed the dribbles were brown. Then there were blobs of brown. He was shaking his head and whimpering. I realized I needed to keep my cool, or risk scarring him for life. 'Rhysie. It's okay. You're pooping. If you sit on the potty you can have a big sticker!' He still refused. So I pulled Kyle off my breast ( yes, I was still nursing during this!) and put him in his crib. He of course started wailing, but I had to leave him. I ran back to Rhys who was still 'hovering' over the potty. I pulled off his under wear, which was filled with chunky-yet-runny diareah like poo. Once they were off he sat down, but the damage was done. There I was. Holding a diarrhea filled under wear in one hand, and wiping down my toddlers legs with the other. I was gagging at the smell, but tried to hide it from Rhys. All I could think to say was 'good boy Rhys! Now you get a big sticker!. He smiled. So left his disgusting undies in the sink (the bath hadn't been drained yet)' and left the potty and toilet full of soiled TP, Finished cleaning him up and gave him his bowl of stickers while I sat on on the floor and nursed Kyle in the hallway. I then texted Warren asking when he'd be home. FAIL.

Warren came home from a crummy work day, and was greeted by a screaming, inconsolable gassy infant, a toddler who was not in bed, a bathroom full of poo, and a wife who was on the verge crying and throwing in the shat-filled towel.

I love you, hon.

Wiped.

Birthday Party:

Pass out:

Darned baby woke me up:

Animal Games.

Lately Rhys is really into animals. He loves the cartoon 'Diego', about a little boy who goes on adventures and rescues animals. The cutest thing about this 'animal phase' is that Rhys' sweet little imagination is starting to blossom, and he loves to role play as different animals. He likes being a snake or a giraffe, and he likes us to be a leopard or a crocodile. His animal is always the 'scary one' that chases us. He has a tiger towel (that he calls a giraffe), and a leopard towel that is a bit small for his daddy... who wears it anyways :-)

What's in a name?

I felt more pressure picking a name for baby #2 than I did for Rhys. Not only were we picking a name that went well with our last name, but this time we wanted to 'match' Rhys as well. So we came up with some criteria that we felt would deem a name a good 'match'...

Maybe it would start with an 'R', or end with an 'S' or feature the letter 'Y' in some way. Maybe it would have a silent 'H'. Maybe it would be 4 letters long, or simply be just one syllable. Or maybe it would be Welsh like the name Rhys, or maybe it would be a name that is common in the UK.

With that criteria in our minds, we set out to find the perfect name for our youngest son.

I don't remember when we 'found' the name Kyle, but I do know we both really liked it when it was suggested. Unlike Rhys, though, we decided to keep an open mind in case another name came along that we liked better. But Kyle kept growing on us, and we even started referring to him as Kyle, and started getting Rhys to say his name. Eventually there was no turning back. This was his name.

Here are some of the name 'casualties':

Ryan (I have a close cousin named Ryan - would be weird, so clearly it was a weak option... never a real contender).

Sean (We have a close friend named Sean - same as above).

Cohen (Ever since I was little I wanted a son named Cohen... but then I married a man who's last name was Cronin, and that dream kind of died... ).

Names Warren liked, briefly, that I totally used my VETO powers on (and obviously they follow none of the criteria):

McCartney and Marshall

Can you say 'shortest list ever?'. I think that's because we found Kyle so early on.

As for the middle names, we wanted to find a way to incorporate our moms, since our dads were incorporated in Rhys' middle names. Joseph is my mom's dad, and Jones is Warren's mom's maiden name.

So Kyle Joseph Jones Cronin it was.

To round off this post, Warren thought it would be fun if I posted the girl names we had (same criteria). So, here they are:

Neve (like the actress, Neve Cambell. Side note: If Rhys had been a girl, he would have been Neve for sure).

Audrey (this was the one we were leaning heavenly towards this time around).

But, since we have a beautiful baby boy named Kyle, let's bask in his cuteness:

Brothers.

Jaunty Trip To The Market.

Remember when I was pregnant with Rhys, and I would joke about giving birth to a little English boy, who would have a delightful English accent, and would say things like "Ma-maah, would you care to have a sit down and spot of tea?".

Well... yah, that didn't happen. But that doesn't mean I can't dream!

So the other day I took Rhys to the Kingsland Farmer's Market (with Kyle tucked cozily in the Baby Bjorn), and I dressed him in his jaunty coat and jaunty cap. I even thought to bring his plastic shopping cart from home that he got from Santa.

This cute sight garnered lots of attention - and free stuff! He got an apple and a cookie to put in his cart.

And what would a trip to the market be without a treat! Enter - The Lollipop:

Then much to my surprise, he wanted to take a break from the lollipop to munch on a farm fresh carrot:

(Editor's note: His hat does fit him, it was just 'riding up' in these pics. Thanks to my friend 'T' for the awesome hand-me-downs!).

Snuggle Bug.

This kid loves a cozy, warm chest. And his family is soaking it in.

Day One.

Today is March 1st, and this marks the first day of the rest of my mat leave. Yesterday was Rhys' last day of daycare, and today is the first day of being full time with both boys.

His last day was a bit surreal, and anti-climatic. We took Kyle with us in the morning to drop Rhys off, so he could show everyone his new little brother. We gave the staff a small gift to say thank-you. We left our contact info for Jasper and Maya's moms, so that maybe Rhys can still see his little friends again. Warren said at the end of the day, when he picked Rhys up, he had to empty out his cubby and they had another child's things waiting to fill it. Rhys cried out, saying 'that's my cubby!'. Sheesh. They could have waited until he was gone...

Since Gramma Patsy is leaving for sunny Phoenix tomorrow for a week, we spent the day with her. Coffee and Scream in the morning... Where we ran into Rhys' cousins Elizabeth and Kaitlyn by total fluke!

Today also marks day one of something else. I am going to blog every day in March, even if it's just posting a photo :)

So, three cheers for March. Here goes nothing!