There Is No Finer Investment. . .

 Look at that sweet face.  Who wouldn't bend over backwards for this little peanut?  Which is why I am currently eating a diet of lentils, chicken, white potatoes, rice, celery, lettuce, garlic, apples and pears.  Literally.  Eliminating dairy and soy got rid of Peanut's reflux symptoms, but we've still had some unresolved poops issues that have been bothering me. 

My gut (pun intended) is telling me that there is still something I'm eating that isn't good for his system.  I tried cutting out eggs, and thought that was helping, but then things went right back to where they'd been.  And since I'm getting tired of going back and forth, trying to come up with another food to cut out every couple weeks, and then adding it back in because it didn't seem to matter, only to then think maybe it did, I finally decided to just do the strict elimination diet.

Actually, I'm doing a combo of a couple different types of diets because I really want to get to the bottom of this quickly, so I found 3 likely dietary types of issues and am addressing two of them right now, and if things don't clear up in about 2 weeks, I'll switch my focus a little and try the third one, which will be stricter for grains, but open up a lot more possibilities for fruits and veggies.

Who knows--maybe this will turn out to be nothing, but I can't keep wondering if I'm doing damage to his intestines.  Luckily, Peanut is a pretty happy baby, in spite of the food troubles.   And he is growing, even if he's not chunking up, he keeps getting taller and stronger all the time.

Just check out these giggles.  He normally kind of chokes back his laugh so it comes out in short little bursts, but I got him doing a pretty good giggle the other day.

12 in 12

Remember that list of things Daddy-o had planned for his paternity leave?  It started off as his 12 Projects in 12 Weeks, only as we brainstormed what would be nice to get done, the list grew to 28 items.  And then, with the reality of a new baby and the sleep deprivation that always brings, 2 other kids out of school all summer, and the HOT, muggy weather that we've had, even getting 12 projects done became a challenge.  Some of the items on the list would have been a summer project by themselves--writing a life history, transcribing journals, scanning all the non-digital photos in our house--lot of time consuming ideas here.

But Daddy-o did finish off several things this summer, including my craft room, which was one of my top priorities. And he did the lighting in our kitchen which has been on hold for almost 3 years because we weren't quite decided on what we wanted.  But I think the overall effect is great now, and its so useful having lights over the sink again.

 Daddy-o also braved the mugginess a few mornings to try to do some damage control on the house.  He got rid of some mildew we had growing on the side of our house and painted the trim on the front of the house which really needed to be done--its amazing how fast wood weathers here.  We can see the appeal of the all brick homes.

Another project that was almost finished last summer but needed a few more hours of work--the deck rails were finally all replaced and the whole thing is stained.  Now we're just waiting for it to cool down so we can enjoy it again.

Throw in cleaning out gutters, fixing a kitchen drawer, and planning and making dinner, and spending time with his wife and new child (I added those last 2 to his list because I wanted to make sure he got credit for the time he spent doing what I really wanted to have done this summer), and he made it to 9, with some other partials (the mission journal transcription was started).

And he's still plugging away at the list.  There is a ceiling fan in parts on our bedroom floor right now, just waiting for one more piece before installation.  Thank goodness for nights and weekends.

First Week

One week of school.  We're slowly getting back into the routine and having specific times where we have to be somewhere.  And trying to get a few things done around the house:

A little organizing--some time in the pantry, the playroom, still lots to go. . .

.

 learning some new baking skills--vegan cookies, vegan zuchini muffins, (but more about the dietary issues going on here, later),

drawing with my Bug, who's been missing his sister during the day,--he's getting into Halloween in a big way,

and had me help him create a whole vampire family to tape to his picture,

a little time spent on my own projects (sneak preview into Peanut's almost finished room),

and folding copious amounts of laundry with this little guy.

Seriously,  between the laundry and the dishes, and taking care of my two boys, I really could stay busy all day.

And now, it's time for another week.

Sweet Talk

This little guy is the sweetest.  It's hard to get him to smile when he sees the camera, but at least he was willing to talk with me.

2nd Grade

 For some reason, 2nd grade is hitting me hard.  It just sounds so old, and I can very clearly remember my second grade year, which makes me realize that my baby girl has now hit the time in her life where she is living the life she'll know--life counts, now.  And I just hope we're all making the most of it.

 I think her two brothers are going to miss her during the day.  We've spent a lot of family together time this summer and while the arguing and fighting hasn't been fun, we have had a lot of laughs and fun in between.

Bean has been getting really excited about today.  We started off the morning with a surprise--cinnamon rolls for breakfast, (which got me a hug, instead of the groans that she's started with our typical Monday oatmeal.)  And she was ready in record time--wonder how long that will last?  And then the excited reunion with friends from last year.  Their class only has 9 kids right now, but the energy level was high enough that I'm sure Ms. A. had her hands full today.

And while the rest of us may have missed her a little bit today, she told us, almost regretfully, "I was too busy to miss you--there was a lot to do today!"  It was only a half day, so I guess we couldn't expect her to miss us very much in 3 hours.

I want to have the kids fill out a questionaire of favorites and such for the start of the year, so I'll add those answers back in when I get them.

It's That Time Again

Doesn't Back-to-School time mean a school supplies castle at your house, too?

Only 2 more sleeps.

Mentoring

(Please excuse my less than great pictures--not the best lighting in the room they chose to set up in.)

 Another example of what these two have been up to all summer (and why they haven't minded all the home time)--art classes.  Taught by Bean, attended by Bugaboo, and concluding with an art show for the family.

 Each class centered around a certain topic--space, boats, cities, animals, collage, watercolor, etc. . .  Bean wrote up the syllabus ahead of time and they did 2 or 3 classes a day.  For the art show, they hung their projects together, his on top, hers below.

 For some reason, this "class" worked out much nicer than most of their attempts to play school.  They got along so well and spent hours and hours in the craft room together.

 I'm so glad that they've had each other to play with this summer.  We've had plenty of tears and yelling mixed in, but they have also had a lot of play time.  Even when they are fighting, they can't seem to stay away from each other for long.

Hanging on for the Ride

I'm finally caught up with the blog posts from the last 3 weeks (scroll down to see them).  The transition from 2 to 3 kids has certainly been easier because of having Daddy-o home with us for the first 12 weeks.  Because now that he's been back at work for a couple weeks, I'm finding things a lot trickier.  We're doing okay, and its not even really the 3 kids that are making things hard.  Bean and Bug are great about playing together (with fights interrupting the fun every little while, but still, they stay entertained pretty well for hours), and Peanut is a pretty easy baby, at least based on my experiences.

What is killing me is trying to run errands with 3 kids.  Peanut won't nap in the carseat, and really likes to nap on a regular basis, so we're stuck either trying to rush out quickly between naps, or having to stay at our destination long enough for me to put him in the mei tai and walk him around so he gets a nap in while we're out, which is okay for some stops, like a museum with the kids, or a long Costco trip, but not so convienent when I need to stop at 3 or 4 stores to grab a few things.  Still working on how to do that.

It's also gotten a little harder for me to get things done around the house.  Even when Peanut naps well, it still seems like there are just too many meals to fix and laundry loads to fold, not to mention trying to squeeze in exercise (necessary for my sanity) and playing with the kids.  One thing I have found to be really helpful are books on CD--the kids still get their stories, but if I get interrupted, or need to eat my lunch, or whatever, I can.  It's the little things that get us through the day.

We miss Daddy-o, but are figuring out the new routine.

Alive and Well

We're still here.  Just having fun with the three little munchkins.  I'm working on some posts to fill in the last few weeks--Grandma visiting, friends visiting, baby growing up.  It's been busy.

3 Months

 No official stats, but by our rough estimates, Peanut is around 11 pounds, and 26.5 inches long.  I'm glad he's getting longer or I'd worry that he's not eating enough, but he eats when he wants and is happy and content, just must have a fast metabolism.  His longest stretch at night has been 7.5 hours, but we've been getting lots of nights where he goes from about 8 until 1:30 or 2:30--sure beats every 3 hours!

 Peanut has started rolling over from his front to his back, only by accident, and it always startles him, but I don't think he's too far from figuring out how to do it on purpose.  It would probably happen faster if he liked tummy time for more than about 5 minutes, but that's usually his max.
 He's also talking, smiling, and laughing a lot--so fun!  When he smiles at us, he usually gets his whole body involved and does a cute little squirm that I love.  And he lights up when he sees Bean or Bugaboo--which is really helpful in the car because he still doesn't like to sleep in his carseat, but they can at least keep him occupied until he gets to the point where he's really tired.  Then things get a little noisy.

 I think he is going to be our blanket sucker. He's our only one who wouldn't take a paci, but it doesn't stop him from wanting to suck on things.  So far, its mostly our clothes or his, but when he can manage to get his little dog lovey into his mouth, he's happy to suck on it.  He also really likes looking at its face, and any toys with faces on them.  He smiles and talks to a little bear that hangs down from his bouncy seat all the time.

Look at those long chicken legs! 

We've mostly got his reflux under control.  I've eliminated dairy and soy proteins and it cleared up pretty well--not much more in the way of gurgles, or wet hiccups, or mucousy, green poops.  I'm currently trying no eggs as well, because he had a little flare up when I'd accidently eaten a tiny bit of dairy, but I'd also had a bunch of eggs those couple days, so not sure which thing it was.  I'm hoping it was just the dairy--it gets tricky finding substitutes for everything I can't eat, and expensive, too.

We love this little guy--its so hard to imagine our family without him.  We just hope he doesn't grow up too fast.

On Our Own

 Daddy-o may have had to head  back to work August 1st and Grandma left that afternoon, but we ended up having a couple more days before the kids and I were on our own.  Our friends, and old neighbors, the C family came back to visit for a couple days.

 The devestation of seeing Daddy-o in a shirt and tie mid-week was balanced a little by a sleepover with friends.  I was so grateful for a friend to help keep me sane those first couple days as I try to figure out how to be a parent to three.

 We miss this family so much.  Luckily they are only 3.5 hours away.  Who knows?  Maybe one of these days we'll figure out how to get Peanut to fall asleep in his carseat and we can make the trek down to their new place.

A Week with Grandma

The kids have loved having their grandma's come visit this summer.  The last week of July was Grandma Linda's turn.  It was also Daddy-o's last week of paternity leave, so they had a lot of fun on the schedule. 

First up, the Raptor Center.  They had a great time, and the kid's especially loved that fact that two of the birds have the same names as two of our kids.

They also spent a morning at Discovery Place Kids, where they get to pretend . . .

 to drive a boat,

 or fix a car.  It's a great place.

 There was also lots of baby love going on.

And lots of board games, crafts,

 swimming, eating, putting on plays, and more board games.  The kids love to play games, but they tend to lead to tears, fighting, threats, and sometimes pieces thrown around the room.  It was nice to have another adult here to share in the fun. :)  We're glad that Grandma came to visit.