Cottage Cheese Anyone?

Okay, so I was totally going to start sharing about my trip, but after the morning I had...I thought I'd share about that instead!!!

Today is the second Tuesday of the month, which for those of you who don't know, means MOPS. We had Dawson today as well, so instead of having Brandy drive all the way out to our house, just to turn back around and head into town, we decided to pick him up instead. Fine, things are going great so far! Kallen woke up at 7:45, drank some milk, played for a little bit, then got dressed for our outing into town! I tried to give him some breakfast, but that was a "no go", so fine, no worries!

Well, here we are, driving into town, just around the corner from Brandy's, when all the sudden ...blahhhhh...Uh, what was that? I turn around and Kallen is throwing up, curdled, chunks of milk. Uh...what do I do now? I'm driving around a corner, turned around watching my son, not able to do anything to help him, and almost losing it myself from the smell and the sight of it all. Then, that precious son of mine blurts out "uh oh...oots (his version of Oops)", while holding out his arm for me to see the nasty cottage cheese looking curds that are looming on his arm. Sorry to be so graphic, but at least you don't have to smell it too...right Brandy!

I got to Brandy's, pulled the car seat (with Kallen still strapped in) out of the car, and went knocking on the door looking for towels, plastic bags, and a gas mask if she had it. No such luck on the gas mask, but Brandy was such a good friend, and helped me change Kallen's clothes, and try to get things a little better cleaned out before I headed to MOPS.

Yes, I went ahead and went to the meeting, but only because I was certain Kallen wasn't really sick. He basically turned into a human milkshake after drinking so much right before we went into town, and his poor little body didn't like it.

The meeting didn't go so well, since Kallen decided to have a major case of "mommy separation anxiety" and never stopped screaming. I ended up sitting down in the nursery with him and all the other little kiddos, and missed the entire meeting. Oh well, what are you going to do? Go home and have cottage cheese and fruit for lunch, right?

Big brother practice!

Yesterday Kallen and I were blessed to have Dawson with us again! It is so funny when I say "Brandy and Dawson are here!" Kallen's eyes light up, and he immediately runs for the door. Most of the time Dawson comes in asleep, that is until Kallen gets so excited he squeals and wakes the little man up. Yesterday was no exception. Kallen immediately ran over to Dawson's carrier and put his head on D's (Kallen's way of giving a hug and showing affection). He then proceeded to clap his hands together, bend over, and squeal with excitement! That love for Dawson never dwindles throughout the whole day! Kallen is constantly wanting to sit by (or on top of), play with, hug, kiss and talk to him!

Well we had a beautifully sunny day yesterday, so the three of us spent some time outside. We sat D on a blanket, because I'm pretty sure twigs and leaves are not part of his diet yet, and Kallen was continually going over to him to make sure he was okay. He would say a few words, show him a few things on the toys, then move on his merry way!

Then we went out front, and sat Dawson in the stroller while we all explored the yard! Kallen was a little confused why he wasn't in the stroller, and someone else was, but he soon found out it wasn't all that bad. He started pushing D everywhere and talking all the while. I'm pretty sure he was telling him all about rocks, mud, and grass since that's what he was looking at while pushing. Good thing I was around to steer him clear of the road!

The love Kallen shows for Dawson, is I'm sure just the beginning to how things will be when the new baby arrives. I can't wait!

There's always an exception

We don't watch a lot of TV in our house, especially when Kallen is awake. It's not that we're against it or anything, just against the mood it puts Kallen in. I find that if we have the TV on, our focus isn't solely on Kallen and it definitely reflects in his attitude. He gets into things he knows he's not supposed to, cries and whimpers about nothing, and sometimes gets physical by hitting or scratching at us. I never really knew what was going on until I realized that every time we were watching a program, or just had the "tube" on...he started to act this way. I used to turn the TV on as soon as I got up in the morning, if for nothing else...the background noise. Well, I decided to try an experiment. I set up the TV to tape any shows I would normally watch, and didn't actually turn it on all day. What do you know...a relaxed and calm day. Kids are supposed to like TV, right??? Wrong. I guess not all kiddos do! I even tried a few cartoons thinking maybe he'd like that. Nope. He will watch something for maybe 60 seconds, then he's off and running again! I guess that's good. Better that he didn't like the TV then be hooked on it and always wanting to watch it right?

Well...there's always an exception! We got a Baby Einstein video from someone as a present, and one day when Dawson was over I thought I'd try it out. I needed to put D to bed, but Kallen was being really needy, and didn't want me to hold Dawson without holding him also. Have you ever tried to rock a 5 month old to sleep, while holding a squirming/talking 1 year old...yeah...not to much fun. So anyways, I set the video up, just to see what would happen...Kallen was hooked. He watched that whole silly video and loved it! D did too as you can tell.

I was able to rock Dawson to sleep and lay him down. Shut off the video and go back to playing with Kallen. It was great!

Then just today, that same old needy Kiddo came out right at dinner making time. When I'm making something that doesn't involve the knives or heat, I normally let Kallen help...but chopping veggies, and making soup on the stove while baking muffins in the oven...I didn't think was the best thing to have Kallen involved in. Fancy that. So, in went the trusty Baby Einstein, I got dinner all chopped and cooking, and everything was "easy peasy"! I never wanted to use the TV or movies as a baby sitter, but sometimes you just need a minute or two to get things done!

We need more arms

So here I am, getting my first reality check about the new baby! My friend Brandy needed a favor today, and asked me to watch her 4 month old son Dawson.




Isn't he the cutest!!! Anyways...of course I said yes, not exactly sure what the day would have in store for me. I was most pleasantly surprised, but did get a little taste of what it will be like when the new baby arrives!!! For 14 months now, Kallen has been the only one. All my attention is focused on him, and my arms are always available for that precious hug he needs every now and then...or just to hold him. He hasn't had to face the problem of me holding another baby in my arms, trying to get lunch ready, and having him tug on my legs to get up. It would sure be nice to have four arms. One to hold each child, and the other two to get things done. I might send a memo up to God to share my suggestions with him. Four or more arms is the way to go, especially for moms and dads! Anyways...today Kallen was faced with that, and it was pretty interesting. Kallen reverted to being a little baby, which was much to be expected. When Dawson was in the swing, Kallen would walk over, and try to pull him out, so he could get in the swing himself. If Dawson was laying on a blanket playing with a rattle or something, Kallen wanted to lay on the blanket and play (with the exact same toy D had of course!) It was pretty comical actually.

I will say that having two little ones around will definitely help keep me skinny. I've done more acrobatic moves today than I've done since I was a little tyke myself. Holding D in my arms, and pushing Kallen around on his little truck with one foot, while hopping on the other foot must have been a hilarious sight for the neighbors!!!

All in all, we had a good day, and things went off without a hitch. Not too many jealous tears were shed from either child, and D's face is still in tack. (Kallen tends to try and rip other babies faces off). We all took naps at the same time, and took turns in mommy and auntie Kati's arms!

The only thing that got neglected was the house work. Today was laundry day, so I guess I'll start that when Kallen goes to bed, and I might take a real quick grocery trip in between loads. If that's all that didn't get done, I guess I did pretty good for my first day with two little munchkins. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it with more and more practice.

So...can I be ready for two little ones after only one day of practice. Huh...maybe Brandy will let me borrow Dawson a few more days before baby number two comes!!!