I just described the ultimate dream day for any boy between the ages of 2 and twelve and it also summarizes our weekend with the Isenhours. We started with a trip to the Museum Center to see the Real Pirates exhibit and ended with pizza at The Works. In between we reunited with old friends from Colorado (Melissa and Lee) over margaritas at Don Pablo’s, napped in the car, hung out on the slides at Nisbet Park and watched Alex and Amblen’s friendship grow while playing trains, jumping on the bed and throwing rocks in the Little Miami River – boys will be boys!
And, as usual, Avery just took it all in while along for the ride!
Click here to see pictures from the museum and park.
Click here to see pictures from Avery’s thirteenth week.
Everything I have read says that being at home with a newborn is one of the most demanding and stressful times in your life, and the key to survival is open communication, patience and acknowledging your spouse's feelings and concerns. But with everyone adjusting to the craziness of having a newborn AND a toddler – which includes sleep deprivation for four and a double dose of screaming and crying – as well as a poorly timed, but great, work opportunity for Andy – which has led to an obscene amount of extra hours both in the office and on the computer at home – we are not following this advise as closely as we should be and have definitely had our share of tense moments in the Muse household.
And when anger builds and tempers flare, we have to remember that we now have an alert and curious audience member who in one moment despises our behavior, but in the next instance mimics our actions. Luckily, on several occasions, Alex has added some much needed comedy and stress relief by playing referee and interjecting with a well pronounced and serious “knock if off,” “stop talking daddy” or “mommy go upstairs.” Once any of those statements are made, laughter takes over and whatever we were bickering about seems irrelevant.
On the flip side, we may be creating a monster, as it seems to be fueling a bad temper already in the works. Alex has began imitating our not so model behavior and has made a few new enemies around the house including, Thomas the Tank Engine, his inflatable pool whale, Casey and the flashing lights on top of Avery’s swing. It seems in each case, they were not cooperating with his likes, so he let out a lashing. He now has a bitter tone – filled with accusation, frustration and disappointment – that resonates with each command and reprimand (i.e. “stay on the track,” “you’re not working,” “stop barking” or “I said turn off”). But despite the fact these disputes should be in his favor, Alex’s sparing partners never seem to give in or say their sorry, which unfortunately leads to more confusion and the every changing moods of our dynamic two year old.
It’s official. My 84 days of being a stay-at-home mom have come to an end. My maternity leave is over, so it’s back to the office (located directly northeast of my kitchen) for me and back to school for Alex. Avery will have the luxury of spending her days here, while I keep my fingers crossed in hopes that she eats, plays with her activity gym, sits in her swing, naps and watches Baby Einstein on my schedule so I can actually get work done. Hmmm … we’ll see how long this will last, but I am glad to have a companion in the house (I mean at the office).
Click here to see pictures from Avery’s eleventh week.
Click here to see pictures from Avery’s twelfth week.
Ten weeks have already passed, and I am not sure where the time has gone and what I have been doing. However, I do know what I have not been doing and that is proactively providing enough emotional, physical and mental stimulation activities for Avery. Unlike with her brother, who I had on a tight daily development schedule that included music, art, bouncy seat calisthenics and reading, I find myself having to stop and make time just for a little mommy and baby eye contact. Surprisingly, and despite my lack of efforts, she hasn’t missed a beat and is logging milestones at the same pace as Alex. But even though we are seeing results now, I don’t want any surprises in the long run (which could lead to lingering parental guilt), so I promise to dust off the baby gym and pull out the Einstein videos for a crash course over the next few weeks.
Click here to see pictures from Avery’s tenth week.
When we decided to have kids two years ago, I knew I would be sacrificing any bit of fashion knowledge or style that I may have possessed. It just did not make sense to invest time or money in shopping for expensive and trendy clothes due to my continued expanding and contracting body shape (remember, I’ve been through pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and post pregnancy twice). Plus, let’s face it, I had to choose more practical styles as running around in three inch heals with a baby can be challenging (and dangerous). Therefore, I vowed to live vicariously through my kids ensuring that top dollar was spent on their threads and that they would always be groomed like Baby Gap models.
So after what I believe to be two successful years, it looks like I finally made my first fashion blunder and unfortunately it could not be erased by taking off a shirt and tossing it into the Goodwill bin. Instead, Alex literally had to grow out of it.
Just like “Brad and Angie,” we also prefer long and shaggy hair on kids, but the humidity this summer made Alex’s blonde curly locks look a bit unruly. So I took him in for a trim to just “shorten it over the ears and keep most of the length.” However, my intent was lost in translation and the end result was a circa 1980s mushroom cut and Alex spending the past four weeks looking like Anthony Michael Hall (from Sixteen Candles minus the headgear), Tony Hawk (in the real dog days of summer) and my brother-in-law Mark (at his wedding). Although we kept hoping that this trend would resurface and we would see this cut on Mad or Pax, it looks like a trip back to the barber (or in time) is the only solution.
I just described the ultimate dream day for any boy between the ages of 2 and twelve and it also summarizes our weekend with the Isenhours. We started with a trip to the Museum Center to see the Real Pirates exhibit and ended with pizza at The Works. In between we reunited with old friends from Colorado (Melissa and Lee) over margaritas at Don Pablo’s, napped in the car, hung out on the slides at Nisbet Park and watched Alex and Amblen’s friendship grow while playing trains, jumping on the bed and throwing rocks in the Little Miami River – boys will be boys!
