Boys, boys, boys

I feel like I've been giving the boys the short end of the stick on the blog. Everytime I manage to find time to blog, it's an Izzy update. So let's see.... what have the boys and I been up to...

We have a membership to the Milwaukee County Zoo. So we've been there a few times already. It's about an hour (at most) from home, and rarely do we have issues with rush hour traffic, so much easier that Chicagoland zoos! The boys love seeing all the different animals, and can't decide what their favorite is!

Two monkeys riding the train

Trev by the dinosaur hedge. Blake loved this, but WOULD NOT pose for a picture!
Watching the polar bears swim
Being checked out by the mountain goats.

Blake's favorite: the rhino. Who was very entertaining drinking, gargling his water, then peeing. The kids thought that was great. If you've ever seen a rhino pee, you'll understand why! You'll also understand why I didn't capture that on film!!Feeding time for the giraffes. This was a really neat thing to happen to see. For a fee, a few select people can feed them. It was pretty cool just to watch. And they have really LONG black tounges.

We also have passes to Six Flags Great America. Yes, I got passes this year. While its a bunch of money, I figure between this and the zoo membership, we can stay busy and spend very little money on a daily basis! So far, it's working well and the boys are having lots of fun!!

Izzy hanging out in her stroller, enjoying herself
The boys enjoying their treat: cotton candy!

The boys on the spinning tea cups... fun times!

Aside from that, we've been going to a lot of parks, the spray park, and hanging out with friends.


So that's about it for now. We're just enjoying summer!!

And the Dr said...

Today was Izzy's 2-month check-up. But before we get to that, let's briefly recap last nights events....

Last night, Izzy and I attended a baby shower for a friend who is due in a few weeks. This was a gathering of my online mom's group of friends, and many wanted to meet Izzy for the first time. She was dressed to kill (in one of her many fabulous outfits) and she ate just before we left, and therefore she was in a GREAT mood. She was wide-eyed, alert, and more than ready to play "pass the baby". She let everyone and anyone hold her! And only complained twice in 3.5 hours that she was hungry (she likes to cluster feed at night to get ready for bed).

So she ate at 6, 7:30 and 8:45. At 9:30 we headed home. I had changed her into a clean diaper and jammies, and had high hopes that a 20 minute car ride home would put her to sleep and then I could either a)transfer her to her crib, or b) but her car seat in her bedroom and just leave her there! We arrived home, and there was miss bright-eyes wide awake! So she said hi to Daddy, and then demanded another feeding. But still, as I fed her I thought, okay this is it for the night, she'll fall asleep and I'll put her in bed. Nope... not sleeping! At this point she was awake for about 4+ hours straight!!! Geez kid...

Regardless, I tried putting her to bed, knowing she was tired. But that's not how Iz likes to fall asleep....she likes to move, either in swing or car or vibrating bouncy seat. So that didn't go well. Both Daddy and I tried rocking and swinging and dancing with her to get her to sleep but no dice. Heck, we tried moving the swing up to her room and letting her sleep there. Nope. No sleeping, and at that point she didn't want to be held either. So we left her there in her crib to cry... at midnight she passed out from exhaustion (I think)! And slept til 4:30.

Lessons learned:

• she can go 6.5 hours beteween feedings!
• she can scream for 2 hours before falling asleep!

Hopefuly we can get to a point where we sleep for 6.5 hours and skip the 2 hours of screaming. Then I would be a happy mommy!!

As for the Dr visit... Izzy is growing just fine. She's in the 25th percentile for everything. She weighs 9 lbs 13 oz, she's 22 inches long, and her head is 14 7/8 inches. Just fine.

I asked the Dr about the dairy issue, and much as I expected, he confirmed there is no real test for this issue, and that his advice at the time of the rash would have been to cut out dairy! (Yay me, $$$ saved on a dr visit I didn't make!). He also informed me that babies intestinal tracts are not fully developed until 6 months, so at that point she may be far more tolerant to dairy!

Not much else to report from the Dr visit. She got her first 2 vaccinations....and she took them like a pro. She seems to be sleeping most of the day away, but if I'd gotten a bunch of shots, and then Tylenol, I would too. It's fine with me, as long as she sleeps tonight!!

Izzy....2 months

Wow, she's two months old already! Where does the time go!! (I know, what a cliche!).

Things she likes:

• Lying on her changing table in her closet
• Listening to the hair dryer
  (Those two things will calm her when she's upset, quite quickly and easily....I guess she's a girly girl after all!)
• Swinging in her 'new' swing.... thanks for letting me borrow it Jayden!
• Watching her brothers do silly things to make her laugh!

Apparently, Izzy had TOO much pink in her wardrobe as 'Aunt' Kate had to add these. Not that I object... I love all the clothes Kate has added to the kids wardrobes over the years! I think the 3rd one is my favorite!!




The rash has gone completely. I've had minimal amounts of dairy (a little sour cream on a taco, a little bit of chocolate, or a little bit of Parmesan on pasta) and that seems to be okay. But at the moment, I'm keeping it to a minimum. I'll see what the doctor says at her appointment on Thursday.

Don't ya LOVE the dimples!?!?!?!?

She's becoming much more predictable in her waking/sleeping/eating patterns, and her mood. She still wants to eat every 3 hours during the day. In fact she's like an alarm clock, she won't go much past that 3 hour mark, and she'll let you know she's STARVING!! In the evenings, she still wants to nurse a little more often (to "tank up") and then she'll sleep for about 5.5 hours straight. I'd love to get that longer, but we'll get there. But after that 5.5 hours, she doesn't always want to go back to sleep! It seems to help if it's already light outside, as then she can look around her room while in the crib, and is content to look and babble, until she falls asleep again! I never thought I'd like that her room faces East and gets VERY bright in the morning!

Working on holding her head up...
and posing for the camera!


When she's awake-for about 3 hours in the morning from 9-12, and from 7-10 at night, she's content to lie on her play mat, look around, coo, and watch bright lights or the crazy brothers. It's all good! At the point she starts to fuss, she's usually over stimulated, and wants to snooze in her bouncy or her swing! The swing is a life saver... not sure how I got thru life without one for Trevor! She adores it and will sit in it for hours, either awake or asleep. Eventually, it always puts her to sleep!

Trevor still loves to hold her, and has to at least once a day or he gets very upset. Blake finally decided he was ready to hold her and loved it! He doesn't need to do it as often as T, but he does like to hold, hug, and kiss her!


She's still able to squeeze into some Newborn size outfits, but only if she's wearing a disposable diaper. However, most of the 0-3 month sleepers are just miles too long for her!! Still, she's got a great wardrobe, and is always better dressed than her mother!
Thursday is Izzy's 2 month checkup. So we'll talk about the dairy issue, see how much she's grown (officially-the weight measurement on the side-bar are taken by holding her on the Wii!), and getting her first immunizations.

I think that covers the last month.... I can't believe how fast this is going. My last baby is growing up!!!

Updates...

Wow...long time no blog. Oopsies!!

2 weeks into June and we've had very few fabulous days....at least weather wise. We've had quite a few cool days, quite a few rainy days, and a few nice sunny warm days. We've tried to get out when we can and enjoy those days. Some park trips, some picnics, a trip downtown, and a trip to Great America come to mind.

Having fun on a warm day with a bucket of water and squirt guns!

Trevor's been playing tball, or at least trying to....2 games have been rained out. But he's having fun. Yet again, there are two Trevor's on the team....seriously, is the name that popular? There are 7 other teams, could you split up the kids with the same name please!?!??! He's one of the oldest as the league is for 3 and 4 year olds, so he gets the ball a lot, and plays first base a lot (the position with the most 'action'). He wants to play again next year, so maybe we've found something he really likes!

Playing first base
Batting

Izzy and I enjoying the game!
We went to a friends wedding a few weeks ago. The boys stayed home with Grandma and Izzy went with us. At the moment, I have only 1 picture, as I'm waiting for a friend to send us the rest of hers (hubby used her camera all night, instead of ours!).

She slept thru the whole ceremony!


Izzy's doing great, rash is gone, and she's growing like a weed. But more about her in a seperate post on Monday, when she turns (gasp) 2 months old!!!

The boys start summer camp Monday, so we'll have lots of highlights from that I'm sure!!

Blake seems to finally be 'fully' potty trained!!!! June has been a completely dry month! Woo Hoo!!

Other than that, there isn't much news to blog about. And it seems Izzy is starving, so I'm off to feed her!!