Monday, April 30, 2007
Introducing... Soren Peterson!
Just a quick note to announce the birth of Soren Peterson this morning at 7:59am. Soren is doing well, as is his mom.
Soren measured 8lb 11oz and 21 1/2 inches long. His APGAR score was 9 (very good). He has curly black hair and a fair complexion (or so I've heard - I haven't met him yet).
No pictures yet, but I will try to post some after Amy gets back from the hospital.
Soren measured 8lb 11oz and 21 1/2 inches long. His APGAR score was 9 (very good). He has curly black hair and a fair complexion (or so I've heard - I haven't met him yet).
No pictures yet, but I will try to post some after Amy gets back from the hospital.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Busy week
The boys and I have been keeping busy this week with activities each morning to keep at least Nick and I sane (Tim's just along for the ride). We had a trip to the playground on Monday, the children's museum on Tuesday, playgroup on Wednesday, a playdate this morning and another playgroup tomorrow morning. Tim has been great each morning and fairly predictably takes a nice 2 hour nap in the baby carrier. It certainly makes things easier for everyone involved!
He is definitely maturing and spending a lot more alert time. He is starting to really watch people and look towards sounds. We are still working on his alert time issue in the afternoons and middle of the night though, as he doesn't really want to go down for a second (or third) nap each day and still wants to play in the middle of the night. Oh well, sleep is over-rated anyhow, right?
Nick has been having a great time with all of the social activities and really seems to be enjoying playing with other kids (not just in parallel) these days. It is interesting to see how he interacts differently with kids of different ages though as he seems to ignore the little ones, fight more with the ones his age and get a long really well with the older kids. Of course, it could just be the particular personalities of his playmates.... Still fun seeing him blossom into a little boy from the baby stage.
He is definitely maturing and spending a lot more alert time. He is starting to really watch people and look towards sounds. We are still working on his alert time issue in the afternoons and middle of the night though, as he doesn't really want to go down for a second (or third) nap each day and still wants to play in the middle of the night. Oh well, sleep is over-rated anyhow, right?
Nick has been having a great time with all of the social activities and really seems to be enjoying playing with other kids (not just in parallel) these days. It is interesting to see how he interacts differently with kids of different ages though as he seems to ignore the little ones, fight more with the ones his age and get a long really well with the older kids. Of course, it could just be the particular personalities of his playmates.... Still fun seeing him blossom into a little boy from the baby stage.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Summertime
Just a quick post to update you on the excitement in our lives. It was a gorgeous day here in Maine - upper 70's!! Summer's here. Tim had his first trip to the playground today. He seemed to enjoy himself sleeping through the entire thing in the front carrier :) Nick had a great time too, and on his first playground outing of the season, attempted many new stunts including climbing bars, the roller slide, the straight slide and the spiral slide all by himself. What a big boy!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
What's going on here?
That's one of Nick's favorite phrases these days and today I'm finding myself asking the same thing. Tim fell asleep in the sling this morning around 11:45am, and at around 1:15pm, I decided to take the sling off and put him on the bed just to see what might happen. Well, it's after 2:30pm now and he still hasn't woken! Wow!!!!!!! Is this one of MY children? :)
Friday, April 20, 2007
Spring is here!
It should now be officially spring - it was *beautiful* today! Wouldn't surprise me if it snowed again given the 'spring' we've been having, but I'll take the nice weather while I can get it.
Not much new on the home front. I think Amy pretty well covered it in her postings. Feels like we're settling into a routine. Tim is getting a bit easier ever day (see Amy's post about the 6 hours of consecutive sleep she got) - we can even put him down mometarily without him screaming his head off. With luck he'll just keep getting easier.
Nick is still expanding his mastery of the computer - he understands the concept of the shift key now. I expect he'll be adding a couple of high-level computer languages to his repertoire any day now (which would be great - I could use his help debugging). Amazing what a sponge he is. His other new trick is scat singing to his favorite tunes (either that or he's singing them in Klingon).
I'm back at work fulltime (oh joy). I still feel bad about leaving Amy alone with the two boys, but I feel better about it when my paycheck arrives :) Still trying to decide what to do - whether to stay on InDesign or switch over to a new opportunity that's opening up. Both have their pros and cons and both are good opportunities, which makes the decision difficult...
OK, I'm just babbling, so I'll wrap it up before I bore you anymore than I already have. I do have a few pictures, so I'll let them speak for me:
Tim hanging out in his bouncy seat (note: he's not screaming!):
Mom and her boys:
Sitting with Grandma on the couch:
Sucking down a tall one:
Bloggin' with Mommy:
- Greg (Daddy)
Not much new on the home front. I think Amy pretty well covered it in her postings. Feels like we're settling into a routine. Tim is getting a bit easier ever day (see Amy's post about the 6 hours of consecutive sleep she got) - we can even put him down mometarily without him screaming his head off. With luck he'll just keep getting easier.
Nick is still expanding his mastery of the computer - he understands the concept of the shift key now. I expect he'll be adding a couple of high-level computer languages to his repertoire any day now (which would be great - I could use his help debugging). Amazing what a sponge he is. His other new trick is scat singing to his favorite tunes (either that or he's singing them in Klingon).
I'm back at work fulltime (oh joy). I still feel bad about leaving Amy alone with the two boys, but I feel better about it when my paycheck arrives :) Still trying to decide what to do - whether to stay on InDesign or switch over to a new opportunity that's opening up. Both have their pros and cons and both are good opportunities, which makes the decision difficult...
OK, I'm just babbling, so I'll wrap it up before I bore you anymore than I already have. I do have a few pictures, so I'll let them speak for me:
Tim hanging out in his bouncy seat (note: he's not screaming!):
Mom and her boys:
Sitting with Grandma on the couch:
Sucking down a tall one:
Bloggin' with Mommy:
- Greg (Daddy)
Spring is in the air!
It is a beautiful day here in Maine! Its in the 60's, bright and sunny and the snow is almost gone. The seeds we started last week have all germinated and are getting ready to go out in the garden in another month and a half (ok, so summer's still a ways away). Either way, the sunshine wonderful after about 2 weeks of gray (felt like we were in Seattle again, except for the 2+ feet of snow we got)...
Nick and Tim hosted their first playgroup together this morning, having Henry, Annie, Caroline and Charlotte over to play. Much fun was had by all and the gathering was a success.
Tim had a great night last night (at least in my opinion, not sure if Dad agrees)- he slept 5 hours straight!! Since I get to bed right after his last evening nursing and Greg stays up to top him off with a bottle and settle him for the night, I got 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep - wow! It makes such a difference :)
Tim is turning into a different baby this week - he's started having a lot more quiet alert time and is much more fun to be around. He did great yesterday at my 6-wk doc checkup and again today at our playgroup, snoozing away and being cute. Its like he's turning into a regular baby!
~Mom
Nick and Tim hosted their first playgroup together this morning, having Henry, Annie, Caroline and Charlotte over to play. Much fun was had by all and the gathering was a success.
Tim had a great night last night (at least in my opinion, not sure if Dad agrees)- he slept 5 hours straight!! Since I get to bed right after his last evening nursing and Greg stays up to top him off with a bottle and settle him for the night, I got 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep - wow! It makes such a difference :)
Tim is turning into a different baby this week - he's started having a lot more quiet alert time and is much more fun to be around. He did great yesterday at my 6-wk doc checkup and again today at our playgroup, snoozing away and being cute. Its like he's turning into a regular baby!
~Mom
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
I got to do the dishes!
I know, not something that most people get excited about, including me before Tim. But, since Tim joined us nearly 6 weeks ago, I haven't been able to do much else besides care for him, and I really mean much else. He's a cute and cuddly little fellow but rather demanding. He likes to eat and savor his meals, and likes to sleep in someone's arms (not any other way!). Can't say that I blame him at all, and I don't get me wrong, I know that they're only small for a short time, so I don't mind holding him a lot, but it does make it difficult to get anything else done, including caring for a toddler. Anyhow, on now 3 occasions this week, Tim was happy in his seat for at least 10 minutes or so - at least long enough for me to get a little bit done. I feel like he's really turned a corner!
On the sleep front (ok, not sure if anyone else cares, but these are the issues that are pretty central in my life right now!), Tim is doing a ton better during the day. I'm watching him around 1.5 hrs awake, and at the first sign of fussing and yawning, he's in a baby carrier (sling and moby are our favorites right now). It usually only takes a few minutes before he's out and sometimes, we can avoid the screaming altogether, which really makes for a happier home! Now, we just need to work on the nighttime...
Greg went back to work full time this week, so I've been on my own with the 2 boys. Well, ok, on Monday Grandma came by for a visit and helped out and Aunt Amanda took Nick to play with her friend's 3 yr old, and then on Tuesday, Greg sat with Tim while I took Nick to music class in the early morning. So, I guess really, today was my first full day alone with both kiddos. Either way, it went great! I love a challenge, so I decided to take them both grocery shopping! The trip was a smashing success as Tim slept in the sling for the whole trip and Nick was happy snacking, playing with his "ipod" and pointing out numbers in the grocery store. All in all, it gave me a little more confidence that I'll actually be able to get the hang of this 2 kiddo thing and get back to some semblance of normal life.
Nick has been great these past few days. I think that he likes getting back at least closer to our old routine. His latest obsession is numbers and he's just about mastered the concept of double digit numbers. He'll spend quite a good amount of time arranging his refrigerator magnet numbers and identifying the numbers that he's put together. He's also developed quite the vocabulary too, showing me the "ones" and telling me that they are "cursors". How many 2.5 yr olds know what a cursor is? What a little character he is!
~Mom
On the sleep front (ok, not sure if anyone else cares, but these are the issues that are pretty central in my life right now!), Tim is doing a ton better during the day. I'm watching him around 1.5 hrs awake, and at the first sign of fussing and yawning, he's in a baby carrier (sling and moby are our favorites right now). It usually only takes a few minutes before he's out and sometimes, we can avoid the screaming altogether, which really makes for a happier home! Now, we just need to work on the nighttime...
Greg went back to work full time this week, so I've been on my own with the 2 boys. Well, ok, on Monday Grandma came by for a visit and helped out and Aunt Amanda took Nick to play with her friend's 3 yr old, and then on Tuesday, Greg sat with Tim while I took Nick to music class in the early morning. So, I guess really, today was my first full day alone with both kiddos. Either way, it went great! I love a challenge, so I decided to take them both grocery shopping! The trip was a smashing success as Tim slept in the sling for the whole trip and Nick was happy snacking, playing with his "ipod" and pointing out numbers in the grocery store. All in all, it gave me a little more confidence that I'll actually be able to get the hang of this 2 kiddo thing and get back to some semblance of normal life.
Nick has been great these past few days. I think that he likes getting back at least closer to our old routine. His latest obsession is numbers and he's just about mastered the concept of double digit numbers. He'll spend quite a good amount of time arranging his refrigerator magnet numbers and identifying the numbers that he's put together. He's also developed quite the vocabulary too, showing me the "ones" and telling me that they are "cursors". How many 2.5 yr olds know what a cursor is? What a little character he is!
~Mom
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Visit with Nana and Pepere
Big news this week was obviously the much-anticipated visit from Nana and Pepere. Glad we could roll out the great weather for their stay here! We really enjoyed spending time with them - Nick in particular had a *great* time, playing baseball with the cool new tee-ball set Nana and Pepere brought him, playing outside in the snow, singing songs at toddler time at the library, and playing "letters and numbers" on the computer. We think Tim had a great time as well, which he showed by screaming his little head off (great set of lungs on that kid!).
Unfortunately, Nana and Pepere decided to ignore our pleas to stay longer - something about other people to visit and a house on the other coast. It was great to see them and the extra sets of hands made such a difference. We'd love to hear them say that they're moving back to the east coast (and I don't think we'd be alone), but we understand that a beautiful new granddaughter and two out of their three kids being in Seattle can be a powerful pull in the other direction. Guess we'll just have to start playing the Megabucks so we can buy them a house out here and pay for their airfare... ;)
I have a few pictures to share - culled from the *huge* number we all took during the visit. Most feature Nana and Pepere, although there is one in there from the easter egg hunt we held for Nick on Sunday (note that the eggs he collected are the plastic ones you'd expect in a traditional easter egg hunt, not the more fragrant "Maine-style" variety I described earlier).
Oh, and before I forget, we want to give a HUGE thanks to Grandma Sidell for babysitting last night so Amy and I could take a much needed breather and actually talk to each other over dinner IN A RESTAURANT! JUST THE TWO OF US! NO KIDS! We'd forgotten how nice that is. Thanks!
Now for the pictures:
Unfortunately, Nana and Pepere decided to ignore our pleas to stay longer - something about other people to visit and a house on the other coast. It was great to see them and the extra sets of hands made such a difference. We'd love to hear them say that they're moving back to the east coast (and I don't think we'd be alone), but we understand that a beautiful new granddaughter and two out of their three kids being in Seattle can be a powerful pull in the other direction. Guess we'll just have to start playing the Megabucks so we can buy them a house out here and pay for their airfare... ;)
I have a few pictures to share - culled from the *huge* number we all took during the visit. Most feature Nana and Pepere, although there is one in there from the easter egg hunt we held for Nick on Sunday (note that the eggs he collected are the plastic ones you'd expect in a traditional easter egg hunt, not the more fragrant "Maine-style" variety I described earlier).
Oh, and before I forget, we want to give a HUGE thanks to Grandma Sidell for babysitting last night so Amy and I could take a much needed breather and actually talk to each other over dinner IN A RESTAURANT! JUST THE TWO OF US! NO KIDS! We'd forgotten how nice that is. Thanks!
Now for the pictures:
Friday, April 13, 2007
spring in Maine and 4 little words
Ah- April 13th- spring is upon us in Maine, along with another 6" of snow (to add to the 18" we got last Thursday). Nick had a good time playing outside today with Dad, Nana and Pepere in what is hopefully the last snow of the year.
Tonight, for the first time ever unprompted, Nicholas said 4 little words to melt any mother's heart - "I love you Mommy". Needless to say, it made my week!
Tim is now 5 weeks old - on his way to the 6 week mark, which according to some "experts" (yes, despite my better judgement I've started looking at the books again...) is the peak of the fussiness. If they're right, we should be turning the corner soon, the fussiness will start to taper off until he hits the magical 3 month mark, and I might actually be able to put him down one day. With luck, that'll happen since Tim has been a tad volatile these days. He's been acting hungry during about 95% of his awake time that he's not actually spending eating. However, most of the time, when he actually nurses, he falls asleep on the job...very frustrating! My latest theory is that he's not actually that hungry most of the time, but rather he's just looking for a little comfort because he's actually tired but has trouble getting to sleep. Today, I've tried getting him to nap after being awake for 1.5-2 hrs. So far, he's been able to sleep each time and goes down easier if its only been more like 1.5 hrs than 2. I guess the real test will be how he does overnight tonight....
Hey, one more thing - a plea to those reading this blog! Post a comment and let Greg and I know that you're reading (and want us to keep posting!). Thanks!
~Mom (aka Amy)
Tonight, for the first time ever unprompted, Nicholas said 4 little words to melt any mother's heart - "I love you Mommy". Needless to say, it made my week!
Tim is now 5 weeks old - on his way to the 6 week mark, which according to some "experts" (yes, despite my better judgement I've started looking at the books again...) is the peak of the fussiness. If they're right, we should be turning the corner soon, the fussiness will start to taper off until he hits the magical 3 month mark, and I might actually be able to put him down one day. With luck, that'll happen since Tim has been a tad volatile these days. He's been acting hungry during about 95% of his awake time that he's not actually spending eating. However, most of the time, when he actually nurses, he falls asleep on the job...very frustrating! My latest theory is that he's not actually that hungry most of the time, but rather he's just looking for a little comfort because he's actually tired but has trouble getting to sleep. Today, I've tried getting him to nap after being awake for 1.5-2 hrs. So far, he's been able to sleep each time and goes down easier if its only been more like 1.5 hrs than 2. I guess the real test will be how he does overnight tonight....
Hey, one more thing - a plea to those reading this blog! Post a comment and let Greg and I know that you're reading (and want us to keep posting!). Thanks!
~Mom (aka Amy)
Monday, April 9, 2007
News from the maternal front
Like a true Mainer, Tim was up at 5 this morning again so apologies if this doesn't make a lot of sense - the sleep deprived fog has set in!
Wow - Tim is a month old now! Its hard to believe that its been that long and at the same time, hard to believe that its only been a month! He celebrated by spending the weekend partying with the Sidells - always a good time. He attended his first baby shower on Saturday morning at Amanda & Kevin's house in honor of his cousin who should be arriving on the scene any day now. He was extremely well behaved (slept the whole time) and a hit at the party.
Tim had his one month checkup this afternoon. I am very proud to report that he has entered a new weight class and is now 9lbs! The doc is pleased with his progress since he is following a curve perfectly, albeit the 25th percentile curve. Anyhow, he's now off their weight-watch and we don't have to go back in again until his 2 month check up! Yipee!!
Tim's maturity is shining through as he has started to settle into a nice routine with sleeping at night (hopefully, I'm not jinxing myself by saying that!). Usually up around 2 to eat, back down by 3:30 or so and then up again around 5. On good days, I can coax out another hour after the 5am feed but not always. He does wake up fairly happy though and we spend some nice cuddle time in bed together chatting before we get up for the day. He's starting to follow objects (including his parents and brother) with his eyes when we're close enough and I'm pretty certain we've gotten a few smiles, although maybe its just gas... Either way, they're really cute and make all of the hard work worth it.
Nicholas has continued to be a model big brother! I don't know that I've ever seen him be so affectionate to anyone before! He gives Tim hugs and kisses whenever he sees him and wants to be near him all of the time (Mom better not leave Tim sleeping by himself in another room!!). Nick has also decided that he is going to show Tim how to play with all of the toys we have and also entertain him in the car by reading road signs to him. What a great big brother!
Wow - Tim is a month old now! Its hard to believe that its been that long and at the same time, hard to believe that its only been a month! He celebrated by spending the weekend partying with the Sidells - always a good time. He attended his first baby shower on Saturday morning at Amanda & Kevin's house in honor of his cousin who should be arriving on the scene any day now. He was extremely well behaved (slept the whole time) and a hit at the party.
Tim had his one month checkup this afternoon. I am very proud to report that he has entered a new weight class and is now 9lbs! The doc is pleased with his progress since he is following a curve perfectly, albeit the 25th percentile curve. Anyhow, he's now off their weight-watch and we don't have to go back in again until his 2 month check up! Yipee!!
Tim's maturity is shining through as he has started to settle into a nice routine with sleeping at night (hopefully, I'm not jinxing myself by saying that!). Usually up around 2 to eat, back down by 3:30 or so and then up again around 5. On good days, I can coax out another hour after the 5am feed but not always. He does wake up fairly happy though and we spend some nice cuddle time in bed together chatting before we get up for the day. He's starting to follow objects (including his parents and brother) with his eyes when we're close enough and I'm pretty certain we've gotten a few smiles, although maybe its just gas... Either way, they're really cute and make all of the hard work worth it.
Nicholas has continued to be a model big brother! I don't know that I've ever seen him be so affectionate to anyone before! He gives Tim hugs and kisses whenever he sees him and wants to be near him all of the time (Mom better not leave Tim sleeping by himself in another room!!). Nick has also decided that he is going to show Tim how to play with all of the toys we have and also entertain him in the car by reading road signs to him. What a great big brother!
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Snow day! (redux)
Well, it snowed again today. A lot. A real lot. We got over 18 inches of snow. Now I know that April is messing with us. Nick and Greta are both overjoyed to see the snow (me, somewhat less so). We went out and made a snowman and the beginnings of an igloo/fort. Much fun was had by all. You can see a little glimpse of the mirth here (you'll need to have Windows Media Player installed and agree to the security warning you may see).More pictures:
Nick all serious:
Cute kiss (too bad it's fuzzy):
Nick and the snowman:
Nick all serious:
Cute kiss (too bad it's fuzzy):
Nick and the snowman:
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Snow day!
Snowed last night and part of today, so we went from having basically no snow left - just a few snowbanks here and there - to having 2 to 3 inches of fresh snow. Nick got outside with Mom and Tim (Tim rode in the Baby Bjorn (tm)) while Dad went to work. Much fun was had (by Nick and Gretz at least). It then warmed up over the course of the day so the snow has largely melted again. I feel like April's just messing with us.
Not much else to write about. Tim's been very cranky lately. We're hoping it's temporary and shortlived. Cranky babies seem to make everyone else cranky too. Guess that's why people invented alcohol. Sigh. On a positive note, thanks to Grandma and Papa for taking Nick today to give Amy a bit of a break.
Oh, I did play soccer on Sunday - the first time in about a year. My legs are still tired and my blisters are killing me. Wish I could say it was great and a ton of fun, but it wasn't. I realized just how out of shape I am and how much I suck at soccer. Might be a good wake up call. Weather's getting nicer just in time - now to get out and start running/biking again.
More pictures:
Hanging out in his cradle (a rare quiet moment):
Cute hat (thanks Sam and Babs!):
Digging in (what's left of) the snow:
Snow day!
Bijou snowman (homme a neige?):
In the sling with Mom:
Not much else to write about. Tim's been very cranky lately. We're hoping it's temporary and shortlived. Cranky babies seem to make everyone else cranky too. Guess that's why people invented alcohol. Sigh. On a positive note, thanks to Grandma and Papa for taking Nick today to give Amy a bit of a break.
Oh, I did play soccer on Sunday - the first time in about a year. My legs are still tired and my blisters are killing me. Wish I could say it was great and a ton of fun, but it wasn't. I realized just how out of shape I am and how much I suck at soccer. Might be a good wake up call. Weather's getting nicer just in time - now to get out and start running/biking again.
More pictures:
Hanging out in his cradle (a rare quiet moment):
Cute hat (thanks Sam and Babs!):
Digging in (what's left of) the snow:
Snow day!
Bijou snowman (homme a neige?):
In the sling with Mom:
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