Cute and Plump

Molly had her 2 month old check up yesterday....she's coming in plump in the 83rd percentile for weight and 63rd for height. Not terribly surprised....

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

So I've been trying to wake up early and exercise. When the baby regularly sleeps till 9, it keeps getting harder and harder to make an excuse.

This morning, though setting my alarm a good hour before the kids awake time, they woke up crying at 5:15. Michael managed the situation and came back to bed, but I don't think they actually went back to sleep.

So they were up when I got up to exercise. I didn't want them underfoot when I was exercising so I told them to stay in their room and this is what  I saw when I was done with my routine:

So, this room was tidy last night when they went to bed (tidy as in no toys on the floor whatsoever).

Now I can't decide which is more unpleasant: just cleaning it up so we can move on with our day or making them clean it up which means holding their breakfast hostage and hounding them over and over again to get it down (because usually their method of cleaning is put a few things away.....play with that toy...I come in and crack the whip....they put a few things away....play with another toy...my kids are the ultimate dawdlers).

Trying to muster the focus of two over-tired toddlers to pick up this mess is not how I envisioned spending the morning. Ugh.

Baby Boy and Baby Girl

More Molly

We haven't had Molly in a while...so here she is!

So, basically, Molly is the easiest baby in the entire world. There is no area she could be any easier.  Does she eat like a champ? Yes.

Does she sleep like a champ? Yes.

Is she cheerful and smiley and talkative? Yes.

Can she tolerate the affections of her ambitious brothers?  Yes.

Michael and I frequently say what a gift her easiness, especially compared to the, how can I put this? lengthy adjustment period of the other two boys.  

Today, we were talking about what on earth we possibly could have done to deserve such an easy baby.  Michael, while Molly was resting in my arms, said, "Maybe it's because we didn't give back the other boys." We both laughed hard, and as if in on the joke, Molly added a perfectly timed chuckle.  

She is a sweetheart of a little girl and we are so blessed!

A Weird Idea of Fun

Yesterday, the boys and I had a morning in the house...Molly slept the better part of the morning (from 9am-10:30 she was awake, then from 10:30-1 she was asleep..yes that's right, between 7:30pm the night before and 1pm, she was only AWAKE for 1 hour and 30 minutes!) so the boys and I had lots of time to play.

We did our normal routine, had some good reading time, Airwolf time and whatnot and all of a sudden I asked what they wanted to do next and Michael said, "Go in Matthew's bed!"  Ok...so we can play games, color, play with the train, go outside on the patio, but THAT is what they want to do?

Yes. They wanted to go in Matthew's bed, pile on all their stuffed animals and just lay there hanging out.

I tried to get them to play with me by having them throw things out of the bed into a bin, but they were not interested. They didn't want to play with me, they just wanted to hang out together. So, I went in the next room and did my own thing. Bonus!  While attempting to be an interactive parent, I get excused to have some quiet time of my own....all the glory of some "me" time but none of the guilt!

Matthew's Helicopter

Not bad for two: complete with a tail rotor, main rotor, cockpit and pilot (the pilot is one of the two dots in the front).

My suspicion is Matthew will be a good artist, not because this particular work is so amazing and I have delusions of having a child prodigy based off this little scribble (I don't) but because Matthew focuses so diligently on what he is drawing. He holds the pen like a grown-up would and really tries to be accurate.  I've also seen him write letters pretty accurately. I could be wrong, but that is my guess.

Red Hat Society

Over the past few weeks, I'm discovering the importance of getting the kids a chance to burn some energy.

We did gymnastics for a while, which was great but it was expensive (especially compared to the park!) and it is hard to predict how the Molly factor is going to play out so having to commit to something where I had to be on the floor with Matthew and also had to tend to Molly was a little stressful.  So we are taking a break from that.

But the boys are not suffering one bit from it! We have really taken to exploring the area on foot increasing the energy output and, I don't think coincidentally, increasing the amount of good behavior around the house.

I think, despite frequenting the parks even before Molly came and having weekly gymnastics, the boys were physically understimulated and I am working really hard to remedy that.

We've been going on hour-long walks, and when we go to the park, we don't just play in the sand as we used to do.  

But we run.

Michael couldn't get enough of running. After he was running from one end of the field, he turned around and ran back.

Matthew was down with the running too!

It's been a lot of fun and the boys seem to look forward to their excursions. Molly loves the hour or two hour naps she gets strapped to my chest, and we all love the fresh air.

I'm starting to think having boys is like having a puppy: Don't forget your daily walk!