Size Comparisons

Ethan was always a big baby, his size percentiles were always in the 80's and 90's, so I was curious to see how our next baby would be. Well yesterday we took Anthony for his 4 month check-up and here are the results:

Ethan at 4 months: 19 lb and 27"
Anthony at 4 months: 17 lb and 28"

Ethan's weight at 4 months was in the 99th percentile and Anthony's height was in the 99th percentile. Now, Anthony is an inch taller and TWO pounds lighter than Ethan was, he's skinny compared to Ethan! No wonder 3-6 month pants never fit Ethan. I have big boys, what can I say?
(In case you can't see, there is a new post under this one summing up Anthony's first 4 months)

Anthony is FOUR Months Old!!

Oh my, I can't believe my little newborn, my SECOND baby, is already 4 months old!! Where does the time go? With your first baby, you get to sit around and take in every moment of their life. Countless hours are spent holding and interacting with this new miracle in your life, and that's one thing that is so special about a first child. I was a little nervous about having a second baby because I knew it would be different, that I wouldn't be able to spend as many hours just one-on-one with my baby. Also, friends who had their second babies said they felt sorry for them because they barely got held!

Well I decided that I was not going to let that happen with Anthony. In the first few weeks of his life, Chris was home almost every day (he was on-call) so I spent those days cherishing every moment I got with Anthony and holding him almost every waking moment. I was surprised that I could feel such intense love for him right away, and that it was just as special as having my first baby. Having Anthony was special in its own way because it brought back all the memories of Ethan's first months of life and knowing how fast that first year of life goes by, has made me aware that I need to cherish every moment with Anthony, so I have. And then there's the trend that there are never as many pictures of the second child. I too decided this wasn't going to happen, so I think I've taken even more pictures of Anthony!

I just love baby thighs! As far as chubby thighs go, Anthony's are pretty skinny!

Anyways, as time went on, and Chris had to work more, I found it hard to juggle both kids - not wanting either one to be neglected. Putting this pressure on myself definitely caused some stress for me and still does. My housework also suffers because I have decided that spending time with my kids is more important than having a clean house; they won't remember how clean it was, but they will remember the time I spent with them.

And now for a rabbit trail: I often feel overwhelmed at how great of a responsibility it is to raise children. There's SO much information these days telling you things like: you need to give 7 positive statements for every negative, or the importance of not raising your voice because it robs kids of their self esteem, that firstborns are better adjusted in life because they get held more as infants, that a person's character is developed in the first 3 years of life so if traumatic things happen to them, it will affect every aspect of the rest of their lives, and the list goes on. I know these things are true, and I believe them, but then when I'm having a bad day where I'm exhausted and my patience is wearing thin and I make Ethan play on his own when he wants me, or when he's getting into everything he shouldn't, and I keep telling him "no" without any positive interaction, I really beat myself up. At the end of every day, I think "did I play enough with Ethan or interract enough with Anthony? Did I reprimand Ethan too harshly and hold Anthony enough? Is Ethan getting enough socialization? Did I use my time effectively today?" You get the picture. So, I tell myself that tomorrow's another day and that I'm going to do the very best I can do to be the best parent I can be, and the rest I trust into God's hands; that where I fail, He'll fill in and be the Father to my kids that I could only hope of being, and bring healing to any hurts they encounter. For this I'm thankful :o)

Just a Quick Post

Here are some recent pics and a little video. There isn't much going on here other than getting ready for all the upcoming Christmas events. We've already had Chris' work party and my family's Christmas, so my next post will be a sum up of those events.

Anthony started rolling over from back to front just after he turned 3 months

Ethan and Chris getting ready to play outside

Nothing's cuter than rosy cheeks and hat head after playing outside

Here's our happy baby-what a mouth!

Ethan HATES wearing a scarf

Peek!

Brothers!

Ethan loves stickers

A typical meal with Ethan

Please Comment :o)

Hello, I think I've said this before, but in case you didn't read it, here goes again. I sometimes wonder if anyone, other than the handful of people who comment, actually read my blog. I'd love to hear your thoughts and feelings about my posts, as it is a neat way to connect with people. Even if I don't know you, feel free to post a comment.

In case you also don't know, you don't actually have to have a gmail account to comment. The only thing with leaving a comment without signing in, is that it will say it's from "anonymous" so sign your name at the bottom. I'm looking forward to connecting with more people and if you have a blog, I'd love to add you to my list of blogs I visit. As a stay at home mom without a vehicle, I feel like blogging (and Facebook) is my way to connect to the outside world!!

(As a sidenote, I'm in the process of "spiffying up" my blog design, so bare with me as it looks kind of boring right now)

A Trip to the Doctor

Today I took Ethan to the doctor to get his 1 year shots. Yup, he's almost 2 and he still hadn't had them. The reason he didn't get them when he was a year old, like most kids, is because I'm scared of the whole "autism rumor," that after the 2 year vaccine, kids (particularly boys) get autism, and the vaccinations are the cause. Many people say "we all had vaccinations and we're fine," but apparantly the amount of vaccinations we received by the time we were one, is half the amount our kids recieve , so this is one of the reasons people think it causes autism. To make a long story short, this is why we decided to spread out Ethan's vaccinations. They weren't supposed to be spread out quite this far, but between moving and having another baby, this is just the way it went. Actually, I scheduled and cancelled them THREE other times, but not for any other reason than fear.

Now the reason I've been a little fearful of autism is because Ethan has some small, but maybe significant signs of it. One of the signs is that kids with autism don't answer questions, they just repeat the questions. For example, if you say "do you want juice?" they don't answer yes, they repeat "juice" if they want it. Ethan does this, he does not ever answer yes. However, he does answer "no" and he does answer questions such as "where is your blanket?" He'll look all around for it until he finds it, then say "there it is!" Autistic children will often just repeat your question. Another thing is that autistic kids will be really gifted in one area, often numbers. Ethan can count to 10 right now, but the area he's very advanced in is talking. By the time he was 15 months, he said over 25 words and right now can speak in 5 and 6 word sentences and asks "what is that" and "how come." He is only 21 months, and most 2 year olds aren't at this level yet, especially boys. Finally, a symptom is lacking social skills. Ethan is becoming more social, but I have noticed that compared to other kids his age, he's not quite as interactive with other kids. He often just plays and other kids follow him around. This being said, he does notice other kids and will smile at them, and he'll smile and talk to adults while I'm shopping. In the mall he'll wave and say "hi Santa" to the Santa. The way I notice it is that he won't laugh with other kids when they laugh or try to get his attention. But maybe this is his personality. We'll find out over the next year I guess.

I told my concerns to the doctor today and he said he didn't see any major warning signs, and to keep an eye on him over the next year. If his speech plateaus and doesn't improve, that would be a sign, but he is learning new words and sentences on a daily basis. I'm not too worried about it because he is very friendly and isn't scared in crowds. If anything, it might be very mild. So there's my dilemma with immunizations.

As for how the shot went, he SCREAMED when the nurse tried to measure his head, and SCREAMED when she measured him on the table, so I was quite nervous to see how the actual needle would go. Since the doctor and I were talking for quite a while and Ethan really liked him, he didn't even care when the doc was getting his arm ready, and when he got the actual shot, he just said "ehhh" and didn't care. What a goof! I guess he just didn't like the nurse (and I can see why, lol!) The doctor was very impressed with Ethan's talking and kept mentioning it, but I don't think he understands that I talk with Ethan ALL day, EVERY day. We don't have many entertainment options, so we talk. AND, Ethan LOVES talking and NEVER shuts up! Seriously, he doesn't ever stop. Chris took him for a walk yesterday and said he talked the whole walk about everything he saw and kept saying "thank you daddy." What a guy! Well this is getting long enough, bye!

Our Little Comedian

The funniest thing just happened so I had to come and write about it.

The older Ethan gets, the funnier he gets. He gets this little glint in his eye and you know he's about to do something funny.

So here's a little bit of history: Ethan has known a few colours for quite a while now, so he'd always point to something and say it's colour. One time he pointed to Chris' red shirt and said "yellow." Chris said "this is red" to which Ethan stated emphatically "YELLOW." Thus began Ethan's love for arguing. Yup, he thinks it's hillarious to argue. So if I say "we're going to nana's house" he'll say "Gramma's house!" so I'll say "gramma's house" and he'll say "nana's house." It's quite fun and we get a kick out of it around here, so it eggs him on.

Well tonight I was saying goodnight to him and went through the regular routine of praying, giving kisses, giving him his "ni-night" (blanket), and for the first time he asked specifically for his stuffed monkey so I gave it to him. As I was leaving I said "goodnight honey" and he said "goodnight monkey." I indignantly said "I'm not monkey!" He got a big kick out of that and said it again. So funny! So I give him another kiss and he said "bye." As I was walking out the door, I said "I love you Ethan, say I love you mommy." Without missing a beat he said "I love you monkey!" I burst out laughing and so did he! He is SO funny! So as I was laughing he kept saying it and I kept laughing, and as I closed the door he was still saying it and laughing.

It's one thing to watch your kid learn words (nouns, verbs, etc.), but lately I've been amazed at his ability to understand words with more abstract concepts. His latest thing is asking to see things. He always hears the furnace go on and asks "go see furnace? Furnace is on." Or he all of a sudden started using the word "too" in the right context. It started with him asking "Ethan come too" if I was going somewhere, but then he started using it in sentences like "too big, or too hot, or too cold." I'm sure this is quite boring to the average reader, but I find it amazing to watch him develop his language skills. (I've posted a little video that I happen to have on the computer since it's been a while.)

Pictures of the New Baby

I just realized that I haven't posted any pics of Anthony since the newborn ones. I post so many on Facebook that I forget about the blog, but I realize some people check my blog who aren't on my Facebook. So here is my newest little bundle of joy. Enjoy!

About 1 week old I think

My tiny little baby

2 Months old?? I think so

Happy rolly polly little guy at 3 months :o)

Starting to play with toys

Bundled up and ready to go outside

He loves those hands!

So Much to be Thankful For

Lately I've been having a bit of a pity party for myself as I'm alone all day from morning til night with no car, blah blah blah. I often feel left out from my friends in Steinbach that I had to move away from, (since I can't be there on a daily basis) and it makes me quite sad.

But tonight I couldn't sleep, so I decided to catch up on the months of blog readings I'm behind in. One of my friends who had a baby girl about a month before Anthony, is going through something that I can't even imagine going through. One night she woke up and checked on her baby girl to find that she wasn't breathing and was ice cold. She screamed, which thankfully woke the baby up, but the next day the baby had a seizure. Can you imagine having to experience this with your 3 month old baby? It breaks my heart. So now they're in the middle of going through tests to see if she has sleep apnea or epilepsy or something else. On top of it, my friend's grandpa just died, she has to have gall bladder surgery in a couple days, and her grandma (who raised her) is in the hospital. Please take a moment right now to send a prayer up for my friend and her family.

So here I am wallowing in self pity for such trivial things in comparison to what these wonderful people have to go through and I'm humbled. Truly humbled.

"Thank you Lord for my healthy boys and my healthy family. Please forgive me for being so self centered."