PYO Strawberries

So it's finally summer which means lots and lots of yummy fruit out there. Specifically, local pick-your-own, and today began our season of what I'm sure will be many farm visits over the next few months for strawberries, blueberries, peaches, apples, etc etc. Moms love this season because it seems like a good wholesome activity to take your kids to go do. They labor in the sun, which tires them out, and at the end they get to eat healthy, well-deserved snacks.

So without further ado, PYO #1: Strawberries. We headed out to Verrill Farms in Concord this morning. It was a little hot and I couldn't bring the stroller out to the field, so I had Alex in the carrier and stood there sweating while trying to teach Ashton how to determine a good strawberry from a bad strawberry. No, not the smashed one, or the white one, or the one half-chewed by ants. Yes, the red one. And that red one. And yes, that red one! (Lots of pointing done by me here.) The first half of our pint had some questionable picks but he got the hang of it the more he sampled. Boy they should tell you, don't wear clothes you care about to this activity. It cost us $5.25 for the fruit and one Old Navy polo shirt.

Anyway, this is some serious on-your-knees picking which means toddlers are good at it because they are closer to the ground. Here is how it went.

Towards the end, Ashton was pooped, Alex and I felt great, and we had a nice, juicy pint of strawberries ready to stain everything in our house. Success!

Just cute photos

There's no real point to this post except to share some photos of my deliciously cute boys. There has been a ton going on in my life this week between work and family and sometimes at the end of the day, before I go to sleep, I flip through my photos just to see Ashton and Alex's little faces. I think every mom would agree that there's a certain magic that happens when your kids have been in bed for a few hours and you've had some time to yourself (and perhaps a glass of wine) (or two): the day-to-day challenges like the annoying whining, dinner chaos, dirty messes and overall exhaustion they wreak upon your life don't seem to matter. I forget that in the two seconds I took to go to the bathroom today, Ashton took his blue crayon to the walls and living room cabinets and while I was scrubbing to get it off, he dumped his snack cup filled with goldfish onto the rug and stomped them into oblivion. The stomping woke the baby up, which screwed his sleep schedule for the afternoon, so even though I put him in his crib he was screaming his face off with overtiredness while I was trying to wash Ashton's hair at bedtime. And washing Ashton's hair is a knock-down, drag-out affair these days. There was water all over the floor and let's just say my stress level and blood pressure were not low.

But....but. Now that I'm in that magic zone and a few hours removed from the experience, it doesn't seem that bad. So when I look at their pictures, all I feel is love. Here are a few of my favorites from the last week, especially this first one.

Owen is Ashton's very best friend and they were swinging together on a gorgeous summer night - you can just see the joy on Ashton's face and it melts my heart. Also on Ashton's face is dirt, because they were playing in a big pile of it.

One day last week, there was nothing Ashton wanted to do. He didn't want to go to the library, take a walk, play trains, go scootering...nothing. I suggested we make some cookies for the big machines (read: the construction workers that have been digging up our road) and he insisted on doing all the mixing himself.

I also just bought him his first pillow. The other night, I checked the monitor before going to bed and I could NOT make out what was going on in Ashton's crib. Some weird shadow or shape?  I went in and found this.

How on earth? 

Alex does not quite give me the material that Ashton does, but I get my best pictures of him when he is in the tub because he is so calm and happy.

That was actually his last bath in the kitchen sink. I bought a sling-seat-thing so he can go in the big bathtub with Ashton now (have you heard the phrase, "two birds with one stone"? ;) ) This was their first joint experience there.

The funny part was, I kept policing Ashton to make sure he didn't pour water on Alex's face and then by accident, I did it :-/ 

Oh, and Alex rolled over a couple days ago. Like, for real, on his own! I put him on his playmat and then found him a few moments later propped up on his little forearms like he had been there forever and was very displeased with how long it had taken me to find him.

So those are my boys lately. My boys who, because they have been in bed for three hours and I've had some wine, seem quite perfect at the moment.

Good night :)

3 Month Memes

My little baby's life is flying by. Alex is 3 months old! This is a new phenomenon for me because I distinctly remember time moving in slow motion when I first had Ashton. My world had changed so dramatically: I had left my job and didn't have many mom friends yet, so a lot of days I found myself struggling with my new identity and what to do in between the feedings, diaper changes, etc. This time, I blinked and newborndom was over.

I don't have any height or weight stats because there was no 3 month well-visit. But Alex has grown in so many ways, not the least of which is his little personality. Speaking of, I've taken the liberty of creating memes out of some of his recent photos to make things a little more interesting. I know you're riveted by my reports on his diaper size (2, but very soon-to-be 3), clothes size (3-6 or 6 month), and how he is sleeping (up twice usually) but that doesn't mean we can't have some extra fun.

He loves all the things that most babies love: music, being held, walks, and baths.

And he remains a very calm, happy baby. He really only fusses when he's wet, tired, or hungry.

He and Ashton are the best of friends.

And play together so well.

Hahaha I love that one. We splurged on this jumper for Ashton and it is awesome (reviewed here). But maybe you'd have to see the video of how bouncy this thing can get. Really bouncy. Like, destination: outer space.

In all seriousness, he is doing great, smiling and "talking" and so happy despite basically having a cold that won't quit. He goes through phases of being really mucousy and there's just nothing I can do besides saline and the nosefrida (another awesome device). It could be allergies but it's more likely the petri dish disguised as his older brother.

Besides the jumper he loves the toy bar on his Baby Bjorn seat and is definitely starting to get curious about the world around him.

He also likes to grab the rings on his playmat but we don't do a lot of tummytime because, well, I forget. But he's really strong and can support his own weight when I help him stand. No rolling over yet and no nap schedule yet, but it's still a little early. 

Other highlights: cradle cap, which I treated with Mustela and it's mostly gone. The scrubbing made huge knots in his hair that I had to cut out. And then when Jason was giving Ashton a buzz cut last week, he trimmed the wings fur hair by Alex's ears so he actually looked like he had had a haircut too! I was so mad I didn't get any pictures of that (good before-and-after, amiright?). And he's getting better at bottles, taking about 4 oz each time from a medium flow nipple on the days that I am at work.

So that about catches you up on everything. Love my thankfully-still-little Alex :) xo

Father's Day Weekend

Continuing on with all the posts I feel like I am behind on, this past weekend was Father’s Day and the boys and I spent the first part of it up in Vermont sans Jason. We went up for my sister’s baby shower – she is due with a baby girl in August and I am sooo excited. There are no little girls in my family OR Jason’s family so she will be the first. Girl stuff is so stinking cute, I can’t wait to buy her a miniature bathing suit. I'm obsessed with them. Tee hee.

So there we were, about 15 of us on our friend Patti’s back porch. There were mimosas and cupcakes and presents and it was all in all a lovely brunch. Here are some of my favorite photos:

Kari and the two "grandmothers" - I use parentheses because Becky and my mom are way more fabulous than that word ;)

Me and the mom-to-be :)

We were lucky in that the weather warmed up juuuuuust enough to be outside and we had so much fun. I'd say between her wonderful gifts and all the gear I plan to happily unload on her she should be all set!

The boys and I drove home on Sunday to be with Jason for Father's Day. Now, this has become the fourth yearly occasion for which presents are technically supposed to be given (in addition to birthday, Christmas, and anniversary. We skip Valentine's Day because, well, it's Valentine's Day). But the good thing about Father's Day is that Jason has to love and cherish whatever Ashton makes for him (this is what we gave him for his first Father's Day - we have since moved and I tried to find it recently to frame for our photo wall but couldn't :( )

This year, Ashton decided on some fine art. Sculpture, to be precise. He didn't make it or anything, he just painted it. We went to Make Meaning at Legacy Place in Dedham, and they have a whole wall of ceramics: plates, mugs, etc. but Ashton saw the train and went crazy for it.

It was extremely hard to explain that this was not a toy and frankly, a very breakable $26, so I held my breath basically until we were done.

Alex didn't get Jason anything but he was along for the ride (story of his life so far ;) )

I eventually had to cut Ashton off from painting for fear that all the colors would mix and the train would come out brown. I wrote "Father's Day 2014 - ACN" on the bottom, they glazed and fired it and voila! It now has a happy home on Jason's desk at work.

Of course we tried to get a photo of Jason and the boys on Sunday night. Most of them looked like this.

Happy Father's Day to Jason, Poppy, Grandpa and all the dads out there! We love you xoxo

Back to workkkkkk

This has been a big week around here and I am very behind on my posts! I'll tackle my "back to work" stuff in this one and try to get to all the rest of it over the next few days.

Sooo last Wednesday was my first day back at work at Bentley. I've mentioned that my office agreed to let me come back part-time, Wednesdays and Thursdays, for the summer. This is unspeakably amazing and I am beyond grateful (especially to Tara, who took my place while I was out and is continuing on for Mondays and Tuesdays (Bentley is off Fridays in the summer) - if you ever read this, thank you for being so fabulous!!). So I'm really lucky because anyone who has ever had a 12 week old baby knows how little they still are and just don't get me started on the maternity leave/FMLA policies in the US. They are grossly inadequate.

Anyway, even though I would still be with my boys 5 out of 7 days a week through August, the knot in my stomach got bigger and bigger as June 11 approached. Alex wasn't great at taking bottles, I was worried about sending him to daycare and in general, dreading this first long day (8 am-5:30 pm) back at work.

And then I got lucky again. I had signed up for care.com in the off-chance that someone would be interested in my two-day-a-week position. There was the promise of something more full-time in the fall but it's still very open-ended until we see how flexible Jason can be. (Even though I had the boys all set to go to a home daycare, a nanny or babysitter was always my preference especially for Alex. I interviewed a few people but was resigned to the fact I likely wouldn't find someone by the time I needed to go back to work.)

Long story short, I ended up hiring Jen, who is 21, has her associate's degree in early childhood education, worked at Bright Horizons in their pre-k room for a year, and, the most amazing part: she lives two streets away. What are the chances? I knew immediately that she would be perfect and hired her on the spot. She already had a babysitting job lined up for June 11, last Wednesday, so my mom came down to watch the boys that day and she started last Thursday. It made leaving them much, much easier, knowing that they were in their own house with their own toys and napping in their own rooms, etc. vs. packing them up for daycare each morning. That and the fact that I came home for lunch both days to visit, pumped at work no problem and in general, going back to a job I love that is 5 minutes from home... = not bad! All this is to say, there were no tears. I didn't cry at all and was so proud of myself. But let's be honest: it's two days a week. I have no idea what we will do in the fall but I'm taking one season at a time.

So since the last time I posted, I went back to work, celebrated my soon-to-be niece at my sister's baby shower up in Vermont last weekend, wished Jason a Happy Father's Day, and re-did our mailbox (which means one of my beloved before-and-afters). And today, Alex turned three months old and we took him to the beach for the first time:

Family selfie attempt:

As you might imagine, getting Ashton to pay attention to anything other than his shovel was a lost cause.

Lots of posts to catch up on, but I am officially "back to work" and things are going very smoothly for being two days in ;)

Back shortly!

Ashton-speak

Now that Ashton is a little chatterbox, there are lots of funny things that come out of his mouth. Perhaps my favorite of all time was actually last fall, when his speech was really just starting to pick up. I had a friend over for dinner and we were having salads. I pointed to the bowl and said, "Ashton, what is Mommy eating?" and after a brief pause, he answered: "Leaves!"

I will never forget that. Just one of those unexpected responses that give you a glimpse into how small children see and understand the world. I mean technically, he was correct. I was having leaves for dinner. But who says that? Toddlers, that's who.

And then just yesterday, Ashton threw a fit because he had a small cut on his finger and he wanted me to get it off. He was very agitated, holding up his hand and waving it around. "Get it OFF, Mommy, GET IT OFF!!" I actually didn't know what to do. My response ended up being "Uhhhh, ummm...well the best thing to do for ouchies isn't to take them off, it's to get a band-aid. How about a band-aid?" And that worked. Sometimes he really sticks it to me and I'm not sure how to explain things.

The questions are constant and I often pull answers out of my you-know-what. For example, we have some road work going on in front of our house this week due to a pipe replacement. Of course, to a toddler who plays with miniature construction trucks and vehicles all day, this is Christmas. BETTER than Christmas. It's Christmas on the moon after a rocket has taken you there and given you unlimited fruit snacks on the way.

So when the crew is done for the day they leave all their big excavators and equipment parked nearby. Ashton notices. "But why aren't they working right now Mommy? Where is the dump truck? It's not here but excavator is here. Why? Where is it? Where it go?"

Ahem. In case you were wondering, the answer is that all the machines are very tired from working all day and they are sleeping. Dump truck is much faster than the others so it has gone home but it will be back tomorrow. Dump trucks like to sleep in their own beds because they snore and don't want to wake everyone else up.

There were no more questions after that so I took a little bow. Mentally of course. I swear, some of the conversations I find myself in...

Anyway, there are several little Ashtonisms that show up on a pretty consistent basis:

Alex "spits out" instead of "spits up". "The baby spit out, Mommy! He spit OUT!"

While we are on the baby, it is his. He refers to Alex as "my baby" which I think is pretty typical of other kids his age. Like:
"Where's my baby?"
"I go see my baby now?"
"My baby is hung-gee!" (hungry)

He loves to put things in the middle of the floor and announce he is having a picnic.

Instead of "I don't know", he says "I can't know, Mommy, I can't know."

"I'm so cozy!" When he is really happy

He calls toothpaste "soap". We brush our teeth together and he watches me spit bubbles into the sink and says, "I can't spit, I need the soap! Gimme soap Mommy!"

"I'm almost Scott!" = I almost forgot.

We put things on the fridge with "maggots".

"shock kick kops" = his "shark flip flops". He had to repeat this like five times at first before I understood what he was saying. When I got it I said, "Ohhh, yes your shark flip flops!" and he smiled and said, "Yeahhhh, Mommy knows."

When there are two similar things, they are "two sames".

Quite randomly, he will sing/shout, "I'm super hero! Super Paci Mannnnn!"

Pajamas are "jamas"

When he refers to his Crocs, he leaves out the letter "r" (I'll let you do the math on that one)

And probably most bizarrely, Vaseline is "mac and cheese lotion". ??

There are so many others that I'm failing to document right now :-/ More than just his vocabulary though is the simple back and forth every day. I actually have someone to (sort of) talk to!

Me: "Want to give the baby a bath today?"
Ashton: "Yeah! He has lots of dirt Mommy, lots of dirt."

I recently bought this book and every night during Ashton's dinnertime I ask him the question of the day. It's pretty funny and I can't wait to see how his answers evolve. Right now things aren't too deep, I'll leave you with some samples.

Question: What drives you crazy, and why?
Ashton: Ummm, my cars!

Question: Are you loud, quiet, or in between?
Ashton: (laughs)
Me: Ok I'll help you. Are you loud?
Ashton: Umm, I don't know.
Me: Well, are you quiet?
Ashton: NO! I'm not quiet! ROAAAAAARRRRRR!!!

Question: What's the best movie you've seen lately?
Ashton: Fish.

Question: What is your dream job?
Ashton: Naptime.

Can't argue with that ;)

Toddler Life

I live in a land where toddlers rule. They run free, destroying everything in their path and raining down demands that are nearly impossible to fulfill. The only way to rein them in is to have some semblance of a routine so they know what behavior is expected of them and when. So that has been our life for the last several weeks. I'm pretty much on auto-pilot when it comes to the structure of our day and frankly, veering from it every now and then messes ME up at this point.

But even with a routine, things happen. I thought I'd share some examples of what I experience in our day-to-day.

1) Extreme dissatisfaction at meal time.

I had made Ashton one of my better dinners and he wailed and wailed because it didn't include crackers. At first I said, "No way, no crackers." I actually took him out of his high chair several times to show him that what he had on his tray was all he was getting, and if he didn't want it, well then, no dinner. The wailing continued. So then I said, "Ok, first chicken, THEN crackers." Nope, more wailing. Finally I gave him the damned things. Five mini-saltines to be precise, which he did not even eat! He stacked them in a little pile then happily ate his entire dinner and was all done. WTF I ask you. W. T. F.

By the way, despite being 3 in two months, the highchair is still necessary at dinnertime. Otherwise it would be like trying to feed a mexican jumping bean.

2) We recently walked the Fresh Pond loop and it was Fresh Pond Day, an annual event with all kinds of vendors and one table was offering books for kids. No catch. I didn't even have to write my name on a mailing list. Just, pick a book, any book, and it's yours! Understandably, I was wary. There's no such thing as a free lunch or haven't you heard.

Anyway, Ashton chose "The Cow That Went OINK."  As are most new things, the book was the prized possession-du-jour that he carried around for the rest of the day. But as I was filling up his tub that night, I quickly went to change Alex, came back, and:

From prized to disgraced in seconds. THIS COULD HAPPEN TO YOU. Toddlers are dangerous and unpredictable. 

So sorry, Cow That Went OINK. Easy come, easy go. 

3) Who eats a banana like this?

Jason offered Ashton a bite during a recent car ride and this is what he got back. After several minutes.

4) Things like this cause a frenzy.

"LOOK MOMMY! Look at this one! It's big! They stuck Mommy, they STUCK! Look at this fish Mommy! LOOK! Why is it like this Mommy? Why? It's ok? It's ok Mommy? LOOK!"

In all fairness, I had never seen three stuck together either. But I could hardly calm him down and he never ate it.

5) If there was ever a key word in Ashton's life, it is "BIG". He's obsessed with big things (or, big in a relative sense, like he'll pick the bigger grape over the smaller one and then loudly announce he has the big one). I put this to use as follows.

Me: Ashton, eat your sandwich.
Ashton: NO!
Me: Ashton, eat your BIIIIIG sandwich!
Ashton: Okay! [takes bite]

Basically, you can sell him on anything you advertise as being big. It's that simple.

You know, I'm realizing that with the exception of the Cow That Went OINK, this entire post has been about food. It makes sense I guess, the kid never stops snacking.

6) If there was ever a key concept in Ashton's life, it is getting a "special treat" - a new snack or small toy. He'll do most anything with the promise of a reward afterwards (a strategy I've had to start to employ given his demonic tendencies of late). If you're thinking, "This sounds like bribery!", duh, it is. I want to change the bomb of a diaper he has on? I assure him that if he lets me do this without kicking me in the face (true story), he can have a special treat. If I need to get him in the car, put new clothes on, etc? Special treat. It worked for awhile and things in toddlerland were peaceful. But then I used it too much and was running out of things to give him that he considered worthy. Nothing like your special treat getting rejected for not being special. But now, he just runs around demanding a special treat for no reason. "I want special treat Mommy! I WANT SPECIAL TREAT! Where's my special treat??" So after temporary success, I've now added this to my list of parenting backfires. Bribery will get you nowhere.

So it goes on like this. Sometimes things are funny, sometimes they are not. Where is Alex by the way? Oh yeah, he's quiet as a mouse just looking around or sleeping in his carseat like a little angel.

He doesn't give me nearly as much blog material. Yet ;)