Most helpful readings of parenting thus far...

Besides Babycenter.com and What to Expect When You are Expecting series (I think every parent needs to have these), these are a few others that have helped me coping with the ever changing  landscape of parenting.

   The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is by far the best book for any mama. I call it the bible and have referenced in tough spiritual nursing times. Like the time that I was not sure I could keep nursing through the worst case of an internal breast yeast infection with my first son which were immediately followed by several bouts of mastitis. This book kept my faith alive that 'breast is best' and that this act of nursing would give me healthy young boys. It also was there when my 14th month old told me he was done nursing, which caused me great grief---if you have ever weaned you know what I am talking about.

The Vaccine Book is also a must own for any parent. WARNING: do not read this while you are pregnant---it will terrify you. Dr. Bob Sears puts vaccine language in common language so that you really do understand the risks in vaccinating and not vaccinating your children. AND yes he does go into gory details about what is really in them---monkey tissue, brain slurry---I am not joking here folks. Read it and weep. But on the other hand, this book put the power of medical decisions in our hands and helped us create our own schedule of shots that we were comfortable with ---and thankfully we found a pediatrician at Kaiser that supported this.

The No Cry Sleep Solution...ahhh...the title kinda says it all, though I have to warn that what I have learned as a parent of two is that no baby is alike and no baby can do the same as another so you have to take this kind of advice with grain of salt. With that being said, this really helped me to understand HOW babies sleep and if I was a stronger parent I would wean my baby off night feedings and get him to sleep through the night with no crying...but man, having  second-baby-tired syndrome makes this kind of parenting almost impossible. So really this books spells it out for you but it really is what you do with the information in it that counts.

Games Babies Play is a quick reference for playing with your child. If you were like me the idea of parenting a child seemed overwhelming and this book helped me to calm down a bit in terms of knowing how to play with the baby appropriately. This may seem like a no-brainer for some people but it was one of my big worries as an expectant parent.

Siblings Without Rivalry is about how to help your children live together so you can live too as stated in the title. Without this book, I would be pulling my hair out on how to parent two boys that both are strong willed and stubborn. During the times when they are arguing, and yes although Aram is only 1 year old he can argue with screams and yelps that grate the soul, this book gives me the tools to make sure I am fair and not siding with one or the other child. It also helped me to find the language to speak with my little children so that they felt empowered to use emotion words as well.

        The Expectant Father is the first in a series of books by Armin Brott that really helped me understand the father side of having a baby. There were several moments were my husband would read a section or tow to me and I would ask, "do you feel that way?" and the answer was always "yes." to my misconception or disbelief. This book was a tremendous help in giving us a space to talk about parenting, feelings, and plans for our future together. This a must read by not only the dad to be but also the mom to be to understand what is going on with her partner during the process of parenting or becoming a parent.

     And Baby Makes Three by Julie and John Gottman, who are leading psychologists on this matter, really helped us figure out how to be a couple again after our first child was born. This book saved our marriage...ok not really, but it was a step in helping us learn to take time for each other, and was a great reminder that we are a unit romantically not just in parenting. It gave me a reminder that it was ok to leave the baby and spend time with my life-long best-friend and husband and to re-learn how to be in love with each other.

Last but not least...I am looking forward to reading The Rough Guide to Traveling with Babies and Young Children to help inspire us to go abroad next summer!

His first tooth....

He got one yes...he got one....yes! Finally a tooth! Jasper did not get teeth until 14 months so this is big. No wonder the sleepless nights and constant need to be sucking and nursing lately...oh that pain must be killer.

I feel like it is some sort of right of passage for a baby to get his first tooth. Now the real eatin' can happen my son. bagels with cream cheese, pulled pork, ice cream cones, corn bread, sushi, curry...all the good stuff...oh wait right lets back up it is only one tooth, we will need many more to enjoy that kind of yumminess.

Well nonetheless way to go my boy, I marvel and love you more with each changing season and milestone!

Easter Egg a huntin'

Easter is long gone but I could not resist putting up these photos of Jasper gettin' his egg hunt on...

booty from a neighborhood hunt

counting it all up...

The Last Frontier...a visit with Grandpa AK!

We recently went to Petersburg, Alaska to see Grandpa's new place and visit with his friends, as well as throw him an official retirement party---yes folks the old man of the sea is done.

Can someone answer how to travel easily with so much stuff..two car seats, stroller, 3 suit cases, diaper bag, and bag of toys...and  we even left home the pack n' play and other things that would have made our life easier. WOW!


It was fairly easy of a trip, well much easier than I thought it would have been with two kids although it started off bumpy. We had decided to stay the night in a hotel near the SeaTac Airport and leave our car there since it had a long term lot (plus it was a good deal on the whole package---8 days parking and 1 nigh in room). Little did I know that this would leave us with less sleep than if we had gotten up really really early and drove to the airport from our house. Here is how the story goes: At at about 1 am an alarm in the room next door started going off, after two failed attempts to try to get the hotel to turn it off (they claimed they were unable to break into the room, the lock was broken and did not have a 24 hour locksmith), we, or rather a very pissed off I, demanded a new room. We trucked our very tired babies, who were crying and pissed as well to the next room. Well guess what...that new room was right above the alarm beeping...At this point I was so livid that I barely could get words out except exclamations. I then went back down the front desk to get another room, leaving my babies and husband in the hallway...after 10 minutes of standing in the lobby (in my pj's at 2:30am) yelling hello with no one answering, I about had a melt down. Eventually the hotel staff showed (not sure what they were doing) from some unlabeled door, and gave us yet another room. Finally we room to try to get the babies back to sleep in away from the noise...ohhh but no...the neighbors were have a good ol' time, if you know what I mean, so until the creaking and moaning stopped we were destined to lay there and answer J's question of "what is that mommy?" 3 Hours later I gave a piece of my mind to the manager and had a very discounted price of a room and parking space for a week. Ugghhhh. Not worth it...next time we will just leave straight from home!

The rest of the trip went great and we had a TON of fun!!! The plane ride was much easier than I had planned for emotionally. J played with toys and Aram seamed as though he was a well seasoned traveler, never even flinching at take-off and landing.

we walked into the town daily (7 blocks down the hill), to explore the downtown, get coffee from the one coffee shop in town or to get some halibut tacos (YUM!). Discovered that Umbrella strollers, while are a great for minimal space while traveling, are horrible at going on gravel, which are what most of the roads are covered by in Petersburg.

We made it a daily habit to go to the playground, rain or shine---there were two just two blocks in either direction from Grandpa's house. This aleviated some of the cabin fever from limited toys to play with while at g-pa's place. Next time we will have
to make friends so that J has someone to go play with while we older folks visit.

His old business partner Tom and him at the party

One of the biggest highlights for all of us, was a surprise retirement party that my sister and I, with the help from local friends, threw my dad. Yes folks, it is official he is retired and living the easy life---at least that is what he kept saying to people when they would say hi to him in town the following days after the party. We brought together his friends and some old crew members to celebrate. It was amazing that no one and I mean no one spilled the beans. He totally had no idea! And then we gave him a mug (appropriate for such a coffee drinker level that he is), with as many old F/V Kesia Dawn crew members as we could find/contact signatures with a picture of the KD as a retirement gift---he almost cried. Well Congrats dad---you deserve some easy/fun time after all those years out at sea.


Other fun moments were....

continuing the tradition of chocolate chip cooking making

playing in the super duper large box from g-pa's new water
heater that was transformed into a food cart,  resturant, tool shed,
etc...hours of fun!

getting our chew on (this pic was not posed)

exploring the docks and learning how to wear a life jacket the cool way

getting bath time in x 3 (the more the merrier)!

getting the usual cousin pose done (usually includes
a bribe to get them to  all sit still)

the last two months...a visual representation

 

mommy jungle gym

It has been a long two months with lots of growth and fun for our family here are a few pictures and videos to help you see the whole picture of what has happened.

tandem nursing!

this is too cute for words!

how many more babies could we fit in the daddy nest?

Jasper and Aram are still figuring out their roles as brother and frequently I find myself feeling like a referee in a wrestling match. Aram is learning to that if he whines and looks like his brother has done something we will ask "what did you do to your brother?"---even if he did nothing. Man they learn manipulation so early! I got the book Siblings Without Rivalry to try to figure out how to make this conflict go away because it is my least favorite part of the day. Now that Aram is moving and standing up for himself (he likes to pull Jasper's hair if he gets in his space). Jasper has a hard time remembering that he is still a baby and reacts to him sometimes as if he is a playmate, using his body to make his personal bubble bigger or grabbing a toy. You get the picture, right? I am still figuring this next stage of parenting two out. Aram is somewhat of a mama's boy too, so Jasper tends to get jealous of him always wanting to be in my lap, in my arms or nursing. He constantly wants to be in my space once I get home from work. If I go the bathroom he wines outside the door, if I go outside to take garbage out he wines, if I sit down without holding him he wines, if I cook dinner he winces---You can imagine that this is sometimes a bit tiring, but I love the feeling adoration that my boys (all of them) give me when I get home. That look in their eyes, their smiles, and Jasper screaming "MOMMY!" my long days away a little easier. And I know that this stage shall pass sooner than I want it to. 

brother love!

Ole!

taking after his grandpops practicing his dr skills

and there it is folks...the unhappy face

hanging with cousin Caden

reading time with the boys

Aram is still only eating a few solid foods, mostly thinly pureed fruits and veggies, and nurses much of the time but he is growing (2 inches in the last couple of months) and seems to not care about food. He will try two or three bites every once in a while if he is really hungr, but only from your fingers and will not eat from a spoon. Furthermore to show his dislike of eating, if the food has any texture to it he gags like I am trying to shove cotton down his throat. Several people have told me that they read or have been told that it is ok because some babies don't eat until they are ready to, to avoid allergic reactions or until they have teeth (none of those yet either)---J did not get any until 12 months and it looks like Aram is on the same path. The one thing that we have been able to get him to eat are food pouches (I imagine we will all eat from these eventually when we ruin the earth and live on another planet). He will finish the entire 2.8 ounces in one shot and if he is really hungry will even eat two of them. They are great for on the go as well...or for husbands that don't like the messy ordeal of feeding (wink wink you know who you are).

For those of you that don't mind the messiness, chomping on some dried mango really makes Aram happy.

getting digital

helping with the dinner making

Aram is very active and in to everything. He has now started to look in cupboards and pull things down on himself if they are not put away. He pushes things around and loves going fast. Before long I know he will be walking and that is always little scary. He even fearlessly attempts the steps, which he will do whether not you are watching so you gotta be on your game. Go baby go!

Blue Screen of Death

As you may or may not have noticed, I have not offered updates from your favorite family in almost a month.Our computer finally went belly up...yep, the blue screen of death got us. No internet connection, no access to pictures, no typing programs, etc...you get the picture...for TWO WHOLE WEEKS, until we got the darn old thing into a computer place for them to restart/wipe clean/erase all programs that we used to use (arrrrggghhhh) so that we could start over again...luckily all data was saved, pictures included (yahhhhh). My saddest realization when we got it back and started it up was my loss of my bookmarks in my internet browser. So now we have a new beautiful computer, an iMac. Yep folks we have ditched the Ford Taurus of computers and got a Lexus of computers. It is like butter under the fingers...and as soon as I learn how to use iPhoto (which I assume will be easy as everything else on a Mac) I will start posting regularly again.

For some reason it takes us a month to get anything done, I will play the two kids card again on this but an honest apology for those of you that are following us here. 

The Value in Silence

I don't get a lot of silence in my life. Maybe at nap time if both boys happen to go to sleep at the same time but really I go from work---noisy---it is always an adjustment for me to be in the high school hallways at the beginning of the year---to home---noisy---3 year old constant talking and baby babble drifting in the air at all times. Therefore, recently I have turned to two sanctuaries, Quaker Meeting and acupuncture, of silence. Really it is to refuel and have a few moments of time for myself to think and regroup.
Quaker meeting for me is place where I go to get answers that maybe are troubling me or just in need of being silent and still for an hour, a place of worship or meditation. And although acupuncture is a treatment for my pain with vulvar vestibulitis, which has been plaguing me since Aram came along, it is such a refreshing way to get a medical treatment to sit for an hour in silence focusing on myself and my healing process.

I did not realize that I was in need of such a thing-quiet time that is, until my mother pointed out that that is  why she went to Quaker Meeting at times when my sister and I were young girls. Silence, is never talked about as a need for the human body, but I have decided it is as necessary as sleep. So to new parents out there, make sure you find a time for your silence as well as your sleep.