A real bang-up first day

Feels like it was just the Fourth of July and here we are at the end of August and first day of school.  It was a rough start to the morning because we were trying to suck the last bits out of the waning days of summer with our friends (blame the parents here).  But at pick-up from after school care, the mood was much improved. I asked Boden how the first day went and it was quote-unquote "great" and his teacher is "the best teacher ever"!  I have low expectations for him maintaining his enthusiasm the whole year but it was a real bang-up first day.

Speaking of bang-ups (see how I did that?), Augie got banged up on his already mosquito-bitten up face at school by a buddy and a truck.  Poor dude but he was able to pull a smile out for his momma this afternoon!

August's first dental visit

August visited the dentist for the first time in May.  He cried the whole time and clung to me like we were monkeys in the rainforest trying to escape grave danger.  In other words, it was a great time.  She followed up with a picture and a nice note after the visit to welcome August.  See the picture below: She looks fabulous, I look ridiculous, and August looks scared--a fair summation of the visit. 

Family getaway

I started this post about a month ago so now seems about the right time to finish it!  In July, we + grandparents headed up to Lutsen for a longer weekend.  It happened to be one of the hottest weekends of the summer but it was, of course, a wee bit cooler in the North Country. The weather made pool time all the better for Boden and the frigid temps of the lower level of the condo a little more bearable.

Sloan loved all the running around she got to do every day--look at her smile!

 

This picture was at the start of the Eagle Mountain trail.  We've been up it numerous times and it's always a good hike with great views.

This year, Boden did his first hike ever with us--he was totally reluctant to go along, preferring to stay back at the condo with Papa and Nana, but at some point during the hike he said "this is way better than I thought it was going to be!" Victory!  Of course I was terrified for his safety at every overlook, but he did great. After our hike, we took Boden to our favorite maple syrup purveyor and stocked up on a year's supply.

Boden even went on a hike with his Papa to Temperance River state park--they came back with some good stories of their adventure together.  

Todd and Boden did the Alpine slide.  I was scared of the slide and Todd was scared of taking Boden on the chairlift, so we flipped for it and he "won" the "opportunity" to go.  I think they applied the brake liberally and had a good run.

On one of our hikes we saw some very fresh bear and baby bear tracks--not a good combo!  We didn't see those two, but we did come across a quick glimpse of a momma moose and her calf plus a covey of grouse that day.

And her's our parting shot with Lutsen mountain in the background!

Less than rave reviews

Boden started first grade today and I knew he wasn't excited about it but I hoped for the best and tried to be encouraging.  When I picked him up from his after school care, I asked how his first day went.  His response "I did not like it at all."  When I asked him to explain, I understood how he felt, "there was no toy time and no rest time.  Do not like it." While I thought this was a humorous response, he was very upset and that made me sad for him. As I asked more questions hoping to find a bright spot, it was clear none were revealed today:  only one friend in his class (while good, not great, he's social so this was quite a diminished social circle), at lunch you have to sit with your class (again no established friends), you work through snack time vs having an actual play break, and there is going to be homework every night.  It does sound like it sucks compared to Kindergarten. Todd and I both have lots of reassurance and we're hoping a few more days will create some friendships and fill his social needs...ugh.

He looked happy this morning, though!

Gone Girl

  Earlier this month, I had the chance to slip away on a girls' weekend where the goals for the moms of the group were to sleep in, stay up late, not make dinner for anyone, and watch a movie in the middle of the daytime...the simple pleasures :)  I was a little nervous about going, knowing that a weekend with the boys is not as glamorous as you might imagine.  At age 6, Boden, of course, is pretty easy to hang out with, but adding a 1 year old to the mix, means naptimes, lots of age appropriate snacks, and diaper changes.  All of which puts a real damper on free wheeling thru the weekend.  And Todd had a nasty cold that could have easily turned into strep throat.  But, I packed into the minivan with my gals on Friday with fingers crossed.

The short report:  Me and my gals rented a lovely home free of pet hair and kid grime and had a glorious time.  And, I heard "Boys Weekend" was great, quote "we did just fine without you."  Everyone's a winner!  I'm scoping out my next trip, already.

Hairs cut

Todd has been teasing me about getting August's hair cut for a couple months now.  "He's got long scraggly hair from the womb!" He said.  I've maintained that he doesn't need it and it looks fine.  Besides, I reasoned, Boden didn't get his first cut until he was almost 2, so given the cost of kid cuts, I was willing to wait, but finally gave in.  While he didn't have lots of curls or nothing especially memorable, I thought the messy wisps fit his personality a little better...so we'll see how long we wait before the second cut!  He no longer has his nascent hair so mission accomplished.

True to his personality, August was happy the whole time and sat nicely while his "stylist" trimmed off his locks.

Before and after:

Proof!

First Day of Kindergarten

Well, we waited almost six years for this day and it finally arrived -- the first day of Kindergarten for Boden!  I think I was more jazzed about it than he was, but that's probably what it's like for parents in a lot of "firsts" with their children.  With all my years and wisdom (yes, I'm being a little fascetious), I know that Kindergarten is a special time and hopefully a wonderful time.  I remember my Kindergarten year with fondness.  It fostered my love to learn and I hope that's what happens for Boden.  He asks so many questions and has so many interests (yes, some of them a bit neurotic at times) that I hope his energy can be channeled into a positive experience so that he looks forward to not only play time, lunch time and after school care, but also the learning time in between.  That's a lot to hope for, right now, and I'm just thankful the first week is over.  I haven't gotten a lot of information from him about the happenings at school but I did ask him on his first day before I took him to school, two things:

What are you most excited for the first day of school?  Answer:  Playing with his buddy from preschool who is in his Kindergarten class and finding out where the toy cars are because he didn't see them on Back To School Night.

What are you most excited to learn in Kindergarten by the end of the year?  Answer: How to tie shoelaces.

Reasonable goals!

Change!

August has gone through lots of changes  this past month.  For one, his smile is transforming on a daily basis! His two front teeth erupted at the same time, putting an end to his mysterious "crankiness" (cranky for him, but still pretty darn happy).  He has a total of 6 teeth now which is always comes as a surprise to me--I still imagine his sweet, gummy smile.  He's also getting very close to walking on his own, although he crawls very quickly which makes this his default mode of transport when he really wants to turn on the accelerator.  He's very into wrestling--his Boppy, Boden or fellow classmates.  So, while his young infant room teachers love him, it's time for him to quit mauling the itty bitties and move up to the older infant room, where he can have a little more freedom to roam.  August also had some fantastic illnesses over the past few weeks--hopefully he's built up some immunity to take on the bugs in the new classroom!

On the same week that Augie moves up to be with the older babies full-time, Boden starts Kindergarten!  We're all very excited for this.  We went to Back to School night where his principal already knows him by name (so far, this is a good thing) and we met his teacher, saw his classroom, and dropped off school supplies.  We even found out there are at least 2 buddies from preschool in his class and a new friend he met over the summer.  While he's sad his best bud isn't in his same class, I know he'll see him in the after school program.  

Many exciting transitions for the little Brown boys--just when you get things down, change happens!  

Boden's pirate ship

Riding waves

While the cost of swimming lessons seemed questionably high, we are starting to see some small payoffs in Boden's attitude toward being in the lake this summer.  He's trying new things like wake boarding (yes, really!) and not getting crabby when he's on the tube and gets water in his eyes or bounces off into the water (thankfully, for his parents' sake, that doesn't happen often.). He still needs more practice but he definitely likes being in the water.

Date Night...whether we like it or not!

When August was younger we were able to get out for dinner a couple times with him in tow while Boden was staying with his grandparents.  The older he's gotten, the more difficult that has become, so date nights have been few and far between.  In fact, Todd and I had not been out since last September when I was pregnant--quite a dry spell!  So, in April, we bought tickets to a concert at the zoo for an artist we both loved who happened to be playing on our anniversary in July.  While I thought we would have gone out before that date, it turned out July 19 was going to be it--rain or shine, we had tickets and a sitter and we were going.  No matter how tired we were, someone else was going to put the boys to bed and that was reason enough to embrace the evening!

I was a little concerned about August since he was mostly sleeping through the night but, because he wasn't a huge fan of the bottle, I was the only one who had ever put him to bed.  But, our babysitter was one of the teachers from his daycare and she gave him a bottle nearly every day so we assumed she would be the next best thing.  When she showed up at the door, August smiled big.  Then he looked at me, looked at her and reached out for a quick hug.  He seemed to say "Miss D is here, Mom.  She's my best friend and she's here in my house.  Yay!" Boden was super excited for pizza to be delivered and Todd and I were excited for our concert because it was a beautiful evening.  

The concert was great (the opening act was awesome), August took a bottle and went to bed shortly after we left, and Boden beat the sitter at multiple games of Go Fish. A perfect re-entry to "date nights"--a win-win-win, I guess :)

Love this picture...

On the move

August is crawling!  We knew it was coming when he started rocking back and forth on his hands and knees.  He's still working on perfecting it, but he's very proud of his new skills.  He seems to be anxious for standing up, so I think he'll be progressing quickly to using the furniture as his ally to help him get upright.  Time to get the baby gate back in place!

It's here...kind of

A couple nights ago, August took a little nibble on me while nursing, which surprised us both, I think.  I set him straight real quick and thought a tooth must be coming soon.  This thought manifested itself in a dream in which his bottom gum was red and inflamed with a big, gnarly looking tooth poking out of it.  As I was telling one of his teachers about it, I poked my finger into his mouth to rub on his gums and felt a tiny, tooth poking through--on the bottom where I dreamt it was...obviously I'm some kind of oracle :)  August's first tooth appeared within days of when Boden got his first tooth 5 years ago.  The little turkey wouldn't let me get a pic of it but I'm lucky I got one of him holding still...sort of.  

Halfway There

August turned 6 months old this week--it seems as if time has accelerated since I went back to work!  Yikes!  But, we celebrated this mini milestone with his regular check-up where he weighed in at just under 16 1/2 lbs.  He's not too hefty anymore but Todd continues to call him "chunko".  I call him "happy pants" because even through teething pain and two really bad colds this month, he continues to be pretty darn smiley.

We unfortunately also celebrated his first trip to urgent care this week.  His daycare teacher called one afternoon to tell me August's congestion (due to his aforementioned cold) seemed to be getting worse and she was concerned that his breathing was becoming more labored. After a call with a nurse for some advice, I had my briefcase packed up and was heading down the highway pretty quickly to go check him out.  While he was doing okay when I picked him up, a trip to urgent care seemed like a solid plan.  So we spent two hours there with a provider who looked like "the Rock" (not really a bad thing) and a respiratory therapist.  In the end, they determined August was just too stuffed up so they literally vacuumed out his nose which, although he didn't like it (understatement), the treatment was highly effective.  They sent us on our way with orders for saline and suction frequently.  So thankful it wasn't something worse!  

I think this next month holds some fun development for August--maybe sitting on his own and I'm sure some teeth will erupt, too.  He continues to adore his big brother even when Boden is being a big stinker.  Unfortunately, August still thinks he needs to wake up in the night at least twice to visit with his momma...but he's usually very pleasant about it so what's to complain about?

If we can make it through this...

This Tuesday was my first day back at work and, if I could have planned it differently, I would have started on a Thursday!  Especially since Todd also had a business trip planned for Wednesday thru Friday which added an extra hurdle to what I anticipated would already be a stressful week as we all try to deal with a new routine.  As with most things, the devil is in the details... And there are many when you have an infant--milk to thaw and bottles to prepare each morning, pump parts to clean and assemble and tote along, fill, return home and clean all over again, along with empty bottles to scrub out, ice packs to freeze, diapers, wipes, ointments, lunches and after school

snacks to pack, pre-schooler meltdowns to manage, a dog with a cone on her head to feed and care for, deep breaths to take, and on top of all that, commutes and drop-offs and pick-ups just to get to where we all need to be. In between, of course, is the reason for many of these details: work!  Whew. First day, on the way back to the 'burbs, I was happily putting the work day behind me and looking forward to picking up August, when--oh, shit!  I forgot to bring home my pumped milk.  As I said, working out the routine this week and there is definitely room for improvement. To make things really exciting, the forecast is calling for a significant snowfall to really put an exclamation on this tiring week.  Mother Nature could cut this mother some slack.

First day at daycare

All good things come to an end--even my glorious maternity leave.  Oh sigh.  In prep for heading back to work in a couple weeks, I wanted to ease August into daycare so my first day at work would be less traumatic...for both of us.  So, he did a "trial" for a couple hours last week where he met the teachers and his "classmates"  and went yesterday for most of the day.  I had some concerns because he was not taking a bottle without getting VERY upset.  After the trial day, I asked the lead teacher how it went and she said "I see what you mean about how angry he gets over the bottle.  It looks like we have some work to do." Wa-waaa.  That was a downer, of course; as I had flashbacks of Boden's dislike for the bottle and how he opted for lots of nighttime feeding so he could avoid the bottle at daycare.  When Tuesday rolled around, I thawed out milk and filled bottles and crossed my fingers that August's hunger would beat out his distaste for the bottle.  And, it seems it did!!  It doesn't sound like it was easy, but one of the teachers spent some time with him and figured out the right combination of rocking, holding and singing to him to get him to eat.  (Cue angels singing :-) ).  August was beat when I picked him up but was mostly happy, until some older baby crawled over to his bouncy chair and whacked him on the face :). His teachers said he was so smiley (I'm sure of that) and such a happy guy.  Whew. 

We've got a couple more "test" days left before I go back to work, so hopefully they all go this well or better!  It's stressful to worry the whole day about your little one but if we conquer this bottle aversion (at least at daycare), I'll be much more at ease.

First giggles are so sweet

The only time we've heard August really giggle was in his sleep--not sure what you dream of when you're 3-4 months old, but apparently it's funny stuff.  So, it came as a nice surprise when August, Boden and I were hanging out one afternoon, and Boden, a natural born silly guy, was the first one to get August to giggle while awake.  The camera work is not great, but the giggles sure are.  I dare you not to smile.

Hello, sun!

After the longest, coldest winter of my recent memory, a vacation in Marco Island was a welcome respite for the whole family.  The drive from Orlando was long and made longer by traffic delays, a nursing baby, and potty stops, but pulling up to our rental was an amazing sight--let the relaxation begin! Thus far, Todd and I have run every day, and Boden has been either in the pool or at the beach.  August has been doing his best to go with the flow, but even with a sun hat and a beach umbrella, the sunny beach scene seems a little too bright for him--since this is the most sun and warmth he's seen and felt in his entire life, it's bound to take some adjusting.  For the rest of us, though, the sun, humidity, and heat, was just what the doctor ordered! 

( yes, I'm wearing Boden's sunglasses--hoping I left mine in the truck during all the hubbub at the airport in MN during our drop-off).

August in the front pack--my arms weren't long enough to get us both in. the picture.

Todd relaxing.

August in short sleeves, in his car seat, without a blanket or cover--first time since his birth and it looks like he's enjoying the not so cold world!

It's not really a small world after all

Part of our vacation this year included a detour to Disney World.  We figured Boden was at a good age to enjoy it and August was young enough to be portable and go with the flow.  Since we were only going for one day, we focused on the Magic Kingdom and tried to get our money's worth.  Boden and Todd went on most of the rides together while August and I sat on benches or toodled over to Starbucks where the wait was equal to the wait at Space Mountain!!  But, hey, there WAS a Starbucks at Disney World so I wasn't complaining. 

After Boden got a little uneasy on Space Mountain and the Lilo and Stitch ride, we looked for lower key rides/entertainment and found a few that the whole family could go on like the Jungle Cruise and the train ride.  Boden had to do a lot of walking and requested several times to leave and go back to the hotel (no way, Jose) but we kept him moving.  He seemed to like seeing the Disney characters best and probably would have really enjoyed the evening parade and fireworks, but after August and I hit up the nursing "parlor" at the on-site child care center (you can't get more family friendly than that!) it was time to head out so we could make it back to the hotel before a melt down.  Boden had such a tiring day he fell asleep on the bus back (mission accomplished!) but rallied at the hotel to consume an entire kid's pizza.

Todd and Boden on the Dumbo ride.

August and I enjoying the Jungle Cruise

Selfie of Todd and August.  They were waiting for me and Boden to get off the Pirates of the Caribbean ride 

Boden asleep on the bus back to the hotel--peace and quiet at last :)--for a few moments, anyway.

Tooth, be gone!

After a lot (A LOT) of talk about how wiggly Boden's loose tooth was, what was going to happen to the tooth, why teeth fall out, and many, many details about the Tooth Fairy and her tooth business, I finally managed to liberate the tooth from Boden's mouth right before bedtime last night.  It was literally dangling there and I told Boden the tooth just needed a little nudge.  He was reluctant to let me touch it, but I was quick--like tearing off a band-aid--and then it was over before he could worry anymore about it (blech).  We celebrated with a little ice cream and put the tooth on a pillow in a tiny box next to his bed so the Tooth Fairy could take a look at it.  The famous fairy snuck in during the night and left him $5 and a note to congratulate Boden and remind him to keep brushing and flossing. 

It gives me the willies

"It" being "loose teeth".  I hate them--the thought of tiny tooth roots holding on for dear life to tiny threads of gum material, while being wiggled back and forth by the untamed tongue aiming to free the baby tooth and leave a hollowed out divot where a new tooth will erupt makes me gag.  As if that's not icky enough, there's the threat of swallowing the tooth and then what?  How's the famed Tooth Fairy supposed to deal with that?

I knew loose teeth were in our near future, but the future is now!  While brushing Boden's teeth the other night, I spotted the top of a gnarly adult tooth hiding out behind the front row of baby teeth--Ugh.  I can already tell this tooth is going to change the landscape of his mouth--like a giant in a land munchkins, it's going to look a bit out of place until the rest of his mouth catches up.