On to tablefoods!

Well, we have started trying some random table foods with Carmine. And he seems to be so much more into it than he has been with baby food. He has had brocolli, ham, potatoes, pear, peach, watermelon, canteloupe. Probably more things I can't think of. We are still trying to keep it pretty simple and there are certain things that are off limits to him. And he will still be getting some baby food-the ones he really likes-avacado, sweet potatoes, pear and peaches. He will also be finishing off the others I already had frozen. I am loving this whole new relaxed approach. I found this article and it helped me relax a little because it just makes sense. And so far it has been true. Plus, now I am much more relaxed about the fact that he isn't actually "eating" much with this method. It is more about learning right now. He is getting all the nutrients he needs from me, which is how it should be right now. How much one can change between children!! I am definitely not more relaxed about which foods he is eating, but in other areas I am. At this point Rece had not even had ANY table food! Here he is enjoying his brocolli!

First Tooth!

Carmine got his first tooth on 9/9! There is a little glare but I think you can see it!

Catch Up!

It takes forever to upload pictures onto here with dial up so I just never have enough time during the day anymore. So here is the last week...

Some eating....
Carmine sampling a banana! He wasn't so sure about it just like the babyfood. We have tried avacado, banana, rice cereal, mango and apple and he really just doesn't care about any of them. Oh well, I am still nursing 5-6 times in a 24 hour period, so he is getting plenty of food.
And Rece after some yummy corn, just about the only veggie I can get him to eat.
And some playtime...
Beth, Averie and Baylor came down and spent a couple of days with us. We have kind of gone from taking Averie and Rece's picture to taking Baylor and Carmine's. They are a little more cooperative!
A new milestone...

He started doing this on the 10th! He can't fall on his butt gracefully yet, but he stood there long enough for me to take about 7 pictures and then some.

And the state fair...

We rode on 2 rides. This one can spin if you spin the wheel in the center. We ended up riding with 2 boys about 8. So of course they wanted to spin. We let them for a little bit, but I think Rece started feeling it, so we had to put it to a stop. He liked them and wanted more afterwards but we moved on to more eating.
Rece and I shared an elephant ear and of course he loved it.
Then we went into the petting zoo. He really liked feeding the baby goats carrots. Carmine just kinda hung out in the stroller the whole time and was a good sport.

Evaluation

Well, some of you know what a hard time Rece has given us at times. It has gotten to a point where we thought we should have him evaluated by our county's 0-3 program. So we started that process a few weeks ago and yesterday was the evaluation. It took place in our home so he was being pretty typical which was good. There were two women here, one did the gross motor, social/emotional and self help areas. She pretty much asked me questions about what he can/will do or not. The other woman was evaluating his speech, fine motor and cognitive areas. She was just playing and interacting with Rece for her part. The results of their evaluations were even a little worse than I expected. He has a delay in every area except social/emotional, in that he was at a 33 month level. He is 31 months right now. In the fine motor, speech and cognitive she said there were slight delays, but I didn't get numbers. In gross motor he was at a 21 month level and for self help he is at an 18 month level. They said that these evaluations were pretty broad and that they didn't cover everything but they give an estimate. On top of this I gave them a list of issues that I see with him on a pretty regular basis. This is the list I gave them:
no reaction to almost all loud noises and the reactions he does have a pretty severe, he is very loud, squeals to where it hurst others' ears, babbles still, hits other kids non-aggressively, never stops moving, runs into things, loves spinning and being tossed, kicks to wall in bed, prefers music/Tv very loud, eats paper, crayon, chalk, etc., tears things, stuffs his mouth too full, throws food, bangs cup on table, spits milk, bothered by 1 hair on hand, hates having most food on hand-yet won't use silverware, won't sit/stand in sandbox, afraid of climbing, late milestones (walking at 18 months, first word at 12 months), touches everything in a room, loves opening/closing doors, pinches nipple for comfort, hard time transitioning from wake to sleep and vice versa, chews on crib, wants us to repeat him, eats a lot for his age, always hungry, enjoys his face/tongue being washed.
I know that is long but that is Rece. So they will take all of that into consideration and I should be getting a phone call next week sometime to set up another appointment with our service coordinator to decide where we should go from here. It could be a preschool readiness program, a playgroup, Occupational therapy, etc. or all of the above. We have been thinking for a little while that it is a Sensory Issue like Sensory Integration Disorder and both the evaluators aggreed that a lot of the problems seem to stem from sensory problems. And if we were questioning that before I am pretty set on that after our lunch today. We went to a buffet for lunch today and I got him some jello. He has never eaten jello before because it feels funny, but today he started squishing it in his hands. I could tell he didn't like the feeling based on his face but he kept doing it but then he started gagging just from the feel of it. He almost threw up. I felt so bad. I took it all away, he almost started crying because he just hated that feel on his hand. So no jello for him until he understands all of this and is ready to try again.
So I will be happy to get him started in whatever he needs to help him get through all of this. And then in January, when he turns 3, he will most likely start preschool. That will be very bittersweet. I know that this is what will be best for him, but I am going to be so sad sending my baby to preschool. It will also be nice for Carmine because that will give me some one on one time with him, but still very bittersweet.
This has not been hard for me to deal with until we actually got the results of the evaluation. And it still isn't really hard, just a different feeling then I have had before. It actually gives me some relief. It makes me think I do know my son and it makes me feel better that I am not crazy and just unable to handle him. But as a mommy, I can't help but wonder what I could have done differently. Don't worry I know it isn't my fault but I think every parent wonders this when anything happens, no matter how big or small. And I find myself doing things a little differently with Carmine in some aspects, especially food. I will be happy once this all starts rolling, well it has already, but I will be happy when progress starts showing. Now that I have gotten this out there, I will make sure to keep everyone updated about what we are doing with him.
Sorry for the rambling, but I have been having these thought for a while and just not quite ready to share.

A couple Firsts

Carmine's first solid food! A few months ago I decided I was going to make my own baby food. So I started a little while ago and we have quite a freezer stash. It is actually really easy and not time comsuming at all and so much cheaper and tastier and healthier! We gave him avacado on Sunday. He did so great. He opened his mouth at first sight of the spoon. He made some funny faces though. But he kept opening up. I don't think he ate too much because he kept spitting it back out, but he has done a little better since then. He kept grabbing the spoon and he would actually get it in his mouth. And he also enjoyed playing with a cup. He can't quite figure out how to get the water out but he was close. And yesterday he got bananas. Right now he only gets a little at lunch time. I am taking it nice and slow, I am in no hurry to have him on 3 meals a day or start him weaning from breastfeeding. Once he starts getting more in him then I will probably add a breakfast.

His first non-baby tub bath! I decided to switch his bath tub to the big boy bath tub since he is sitting up pretty well. Plus we had such a hard time getting Rece to lay in the bath tub that I said from the beginning that Carmine was going to lay. He loved it but of course he loves any type of bath.

Horseys

That is what Rece now calls the carousel at the zoo. We went there again and he rode it with Grammy this time and loved it. Before he would get on it and the horse would go up once and that was the end of it. But now I bet he will besuper excited to ride the horseys again!!

SWIMMING!!

This is a little late, as it happened last week, but oh well.

First we blew up the baby pool and Rece loved it! Carmine did not have the same love for the pool. We also had the elmo sprinkler on which Rece also liked. This is Rece the first swim.

But then we also went to a local pool to take them swimming. Rece did great! It was shallow enough that he could walk around a little. He didn't really like letting us go but did a couple of times. He even let daddy float him a couple times. He never really relaxed, but we are working on that, and there may be an underlying reason that I will go into later.

Carmine liked the big pool much better, it wasn't quite as cold. He actually kind of enjoyed floating. I didn't dunk anyone today, cause it was way to cold and I didn't even want to go under! I am not that mean!!

And lets not forget about yummy pool pizza!

Oh I am so missing my moms pool this year! I can't possibly go to a public pool by myself so we are stuck waiting until a free day on the weekend which very rarely happens.

And lets not forget the swinging! This was Carmine's first time in a swing and he loved it. Much more than Rece did at that age.

On a totally different note, my little boy is 2 1/2 today! I can't believe how big he is getting. Everyday he makes me laugh and everyday he surprises me. He is a lot of fun right now and he thinks he is the funniest person on the planet. He has got the biggest personality and I can't even convey it to the people who read this blog that don't actually know him. Even the people that don't get to see him often have only seen the surface of that personality. Those of you that will be at Uncle Keith's wedding will get to see it in full bloom. He absolutely LOVES dancing and being the center of attention. So between walking down the aisle as the ring bearer and dancing the night away at the reception he is going to be the life of the party. Aunt Hope already knows this and is ok with it ;) I doubt that he will ever know or understand how much I love him and what it means to me that I get to spend every single day with him. And I get to be the one who shows him all the new adventures and amusements of every day life.

SURPRISE!!

We threw a surprise party for my mom's 50th birthday! And I will never throw another surprise party again! I know, never say never. But I felt like I needed to throw up the entire day. It turned out to be a great party but we didn't know how much she knew. But we did know someone almost ruined it. So we had a lot of covering up to do. And my mom lives with us right now so that made it even more challenging! We went to church that morning and most of the time on Sundays we go out to eat afterwards. Well we had about 3 hours to kill before I could take her home. So I said that I needed to go to a mall that is about 25 min. away from our house to look for a book, which I did. So we went and ate lunch and did a little shopping. Then the drive back was awful! I though for sure I was going to get sick in the car. But we appeared to pull it off (unless she is lying-but she isn't that good of a liar!) and it was a success!

The cake my grandma made! Thanks Grandma!
SURPRISE!!

Now my mom can be a red hat lady!!
And of course one of my little guy enjoying the cake...looks a little mischievous!

5 Months!!

Wow, can you believe it??? I have a lot of catching up to do. We have had such a busy week and a half with visitors. But first I present the 5 month pictures. I never would have thought that my second child would be even as close to as photogenic as my first and he may have even surpassed him in some ways!! You be the judge:

Carmine at 5 months

Rece at 5 months

4 Months

***********Rece at 4 months************



***********Carmine at 4 months*********



It is pretty funny that I had forgotten that we used a sports ball in Rece's picture until after we already had Carmine's taken!



And this is just my favorite of them. I have to say I have 2 very photogenic kids that smile constantly!!! For the rest of the pictures click in the sidebar.

Crazy!!

Things have been pretty crazy around here as anyone who has ever had a puppy can imagine. But it is fun crazy, usually. Gunner is doing pretty good. He definitely has the occasional accident but what puppy doesn't? But unfortunately he has diarrhea. That is not fun. And while Carmine is sleeping through the night we usually have to get up once to take Gunner outside!

And with the non-fur babies, Carmine I believe is teething! What do I even do with that! Rece didn't get his first tooth until he was 10 months. I could be wrong, but he is having all the teething symptoms. He is waking at night occasionally, he is slightly feverish. His poop is runny and smells a little funkier. And his bottom gums at times are white. And he is ALWAYS chewing on his hands. Now he is a thumb sucker, but chewing on his hands is different.

And as far as getting Carmine on a schedule with his naps, that is practically impossible, with how busy I keep Rece! So a lot of the times right now he just falls asleep in the pack-n-play. I am really ok with that now but I know eventually he won't sleep very well in the pack-n-play. But I guess as long as he is happy while awake and sleeping through the night for the most part and going to bed at about 7:30 then there isn't anything to complain about. His eating is on a schedule usually. He eats shortly after he wakes up, then again at noonish, then at 3:30 or so and then againat 7ish. Oh well schedules are sometimes overrated! It will come.

I have no Title

Yesterday, Rece had quite a jealous streak. Everytime I held Carmine, Rece got into everything that he knows he is not supposed to. Hence this picture!



On Tuesday we went to the nearby outlet malls and I finished up Rece's summer clothes shopping. Carmine got a few things but he really doesn't need the clothes. After we shopped, Rece played on the playground for a little bit, but he really preferred to people watch as always.



I took this picture a few days ago and I was going to write about how Carmine is so content on his belly that he is never going to learn to lift his head. But, then just today he surprised me and started lifting his head. He even lifted it about 90 degrees! Carmine has also slept through the night a couple nights in a row. I think that him not being swaddled has helped that. I was planning on swaddling through three months, but for probably 4 nights in a row he got totally out of the swaddle and that just leaves a loose blanket in the cradle and I can't have that! So, we have been weaning him gradually from the swaddle, only swaddling one arm. He seems to like that for now. But every night now he finds his thumb. He is still not really coordinated so him finding his thumb is quite a sight! I need to get it on video before he stops doing it. But, he basically rubs his hand all over his face vigorously over and over until the thumb finds its way into the mouth! It is cute, but he has scratched himself a couple of times in the process. And while doing this he has almost rolled over a couple of times. It won't be long now. YIKES! And Carmine has decided that he prefers two long naps. It is crazy but he will nap for like 3 or 4 hours! Especially in the afternoon. However he is not so good at the napping on the go. He is up and down and up and down the whole time we are out. I really don't mind too much because he is always in a good mood when he wakes up and then fusses a little later and then falls back to sleep. And he is only nursing 4 to 5 times a day, depending on if he wakes in the middle of the night. Rece didn't drop to 4 nursings until like 8 months! Crazy how different they are already. It makes me nervous that Carmine will be ready to wean long before I am. We shall see!

Carmine's Baptism

Carmine was baptized today! Afterwards we had a little reception in our church basement. My mom made the cake and the day turned out to be pretty successful. Carmine was very quiet during church. He fussed a little when the water got poured on him but liked it even less when the pastor put his hand on Carmine's head to bless him :) And of course during the children's message the pastor pointed Carmine out because the message was about baptism and I was breastfeeding. The same exact thing happened with Rece!

This is Carmine with his parents and Godparents, Annie (friend) and Keith (my brother).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE TOM!!

2 Months!

What!? 2 months already? Where did it go? I can't believe how fast it is going. It feels like yesterday that he was 1 month. I can't really say he has changed a whole lot in this last month. He is still only getting up once at night to eat. He is still very calm and easy going. He is starting to swat at his toys in his bouncy seat. I think his big brother is getting used to him. I know soon he won't even remember being an only child and things will be smoother sailing-until they are 10 and 12!!.

RECE AT 2 MONTHS



CARMINE AT 2 MONTHS



I know they are really different poses, but they are both smiling.

So many things

We took Rece to his first movie yesterday. We saw Happy Feet! It was cute. There were a couple parts that scared him(for good reason). But overall he did really well. He would never sit and watch a movie at home but I think just with the size of it all he was in awe. He fell asleep toward the end but it was a really good experience.
And tonight Rece fingerpainted for the first time. I hadn't done it with him yet because he still puts everything in his mouth. But he really needs some craft and activity time. He is starting to get very bored during the day, so I said oh well if he eats it and just did it. It went great. He put his finger in his mouth at the very end while I was cleaning up and that was it. The only thing we had a problem with was that he started shaking his hands to paint went flying, but only a little. And he kept wanting more paint, but other than that he had fun and we have 4 masterpieces to show for it!


Ok, now I am going to b!tch and moan a little bit. But I think for good reason. Carmine's face is all scratched up. Rece has been hitting him a LOT!! I feel so bad for Carmine. He sees so much of the pack n play it isn't even funny. But the hitting happens generally when I am holding Carmine. But half of the time Rece just randomly walks up and smacks him and the other half he comes and gives him hugs and kisses and then hits him. Either way I am caught off guard and I am at the end of my rope with Rece. I just don't know what to do. I can give him 50 time outs a day and it doesn't seem to phase him. I don't want to spank, but even if I would consider it, I just couldn't hit him to teach him not to hit! It doesn't make sense to me so I am pretty sure it wouldn't make sense to him. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! I know eventually he will get used to Carmine and will grow out of it but poor Carmine suffers in the mean time. And it isn't just a jealousy thing because he does it to other kids. We are lucky to get invited back to playgroups. I don't even feel like I can be a good mom to either of them at this point. Rece, cause I have lost my patience with him with the hitting and don't know how to handle it. No one can give me advice, it seems like I am alone with the hitting. I know other 2 year olds hit, but where are they??? And even so do they do it for absolutely no reason and so often?? And Carmine, because he spends so much time in the pack n play. I can't put him on his play mat, swing, bouncy seat or anywhere else without very close supervision and even that doesn't even really protect him. I dont even see it coming when Rece hits him. I am at a total loss and all I could do today was cry to my sister. In the coming weeks I am going to try to get Rece involved in a couple of things, like gymnastics and I am going to start trying to do some type of craft or activity almost daily. But if anyone can offer any advice on how to make this easier on everyone please do.

POOR CARMINE!!!!

1 Month pictures

Rece at 1 month
Carmine at 1 month

We took Carmine to target, where we always go, to get his pictures taken on Thursday. Unfortunately we couldn't get our regular girl there and they turned out not so good. I was really disappointed. So we tried again yesterday at Kiddie Kandids. I love them. I am also disappointed in Targets change in prices, package options, and ordering online. So, I am seriously considering not using Target anymore. We will see. The link for the kiddie kandids is to the right and the target one will be as soon as I get it. He and Rece really don't look alike in 1 month pictures! Picyure later.

1 Month

Carmine is 1 month old! I can't believe it.

We had his 1 month appointment today along with a sick visit for Rece. Carmine is 8 lbs. 10.5 oz. and 21 in. His height is in the 25th percentile and his weight is between 25th and 50th. He is growing like a weed. They asked if he is smiling, being alert while awake, tracking some with his eyes and grasping fingers. We could happily say yes to all 4 questions! Compared to Rece at 1 month, Carmine is 1.5 oz. smaller and .25 in. bigger!

As far as Rece goes, his fever was 103.3 this morning. And his ear infections have still not cleared up all the way. The doctor thinks he has another viral bug causing the fever on top of his existing infections. So we got a third round on antibiotics. This one a little stronger. The poor little guy is miserable. He is so whiny and clingy and crying a lot today! I can't really blame him cause I am sure he is probably achy and has no idea why. The doctor said the fever should be gone in the next day or two and he is already started on his antibiotics.

Sick

Can't we all just be healthy in this house!? First Rece then me then my mom and now Carmine and Rece are both sick! I hate that Carmine is sick so soon but it is just congestion and a cough. No fever yet. Fever is basically the only way the doctor would want to see Carmine this young cause they won't give him medicine yet. But does pneumonia always come with a fever? The cough is worrying me a little. It keeps us both miserable at night. Last night he technically slept through the night for the first time, but everytime he would cough he would cry. So I would be up with him even though he never woke up. He nursed at 11 pm then not again until 5 am. And at 5 am I woke him up and he only half nursed on one side. Then he didn't nurse again until 8:30. I had to go pump at 5:30 because I was so uncomfortable. He has had this cold since Friday and partially because of that Carmine has slept in bed with us more in 3 weeks then Rece has in 2 years! Rece was always calmed by walking and a pacifier when he was this young. Carmine doesn't really like the pacifier (which is fine by me) and all he wants when he cries is to be held. I don't like getting into that habit of him sleeping with us but I can't let him cry this young especially when he is sick! Him sleeping with us makes me nervous when he is this little too. Last night we tried the swing, because we thought maybe him being flat on his back in the cradle was making the drainage worse but it didn't really help either. I guess me being a sleep prop for Carmine is no different then Rece's pacifier and Rece's pacifier was gone by 5 months. Hopefully once he feels better he won't cry in his sleep as much. Don't get me wrong he is doing great at night for a 3 week old! And I think it is safe to say that Rece is not disturbed at night by the crying!! We were a little worried about that. Of course we will have to see once Carmine is in his own room sharing a wall with Rece's room!

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY GAGE!

Definitely Real!

He is most definitely smiling! So early!! YIKES! But he smiled at me while I was talking to him 4 or 5 times last night. He has his brother's big smile! We didn't even get the big ones in pictures.