Low Tide at Alki

This week we've had some super low tides, so the kids and I headed down to Constellation Park for some awesome (though slightly chilly) tide pooling.

Amelia finds some anemones

Marley examines a (dead) crab

We saw LOTS of sea stars

Amelia's hand, for size comparison

They loved searching the rocks and sand for sea creatures

Another brightly colored sea star

Sunflower star: the biggest and fastest in the star family

Marley loved finding shore crabs under the rocks

My Butt Hurts

Here we go again!  Two shots down, 16 more to go. Ugh!

Other things about this pregnancy that may or may not interest you:

*It's a boy!
*We still refer to him as Baby Eyeball.
*I'm just about 20 weeks along, due at the end of October.
*Baby looks great and is measuring right on time.
*My cervix appears to be long and closed (both good things!).
*I've gained 10 lbs, so far.
*Cravings include anything spicy, especially jalapenos.
*I'm not really feeling much movement yet, due to an anterior placenta.  Boo!
*I'm feeling great, otherwise. Yay!
*My last appointment with the perinatologist will be at 26 weeks (if all is going well).
*I have two more ultrasounds scheduled between now and then.
*This pregnancy is FLYING by way too quickly!

Bye, Bye, Boobies

During a time when breastfeeding was uncommon, my mom breastfed all four of us kids past a year.  Some of us, past two years!  Jeff's mom breastfed all three of her babies, as well.  Needless to say, we've felt very supported when it comes to nursing, which I'm so grateful for, since it hasn't always been easy. There've been latch issues and reflux.  Tongue tie and breast infections.  Just to name a few.  And then, just when I think we've passed all the challenges, we come to the final hurdle: weaning.

Newborn Amelia

This one is new for me.  Marley weaned very gradually during his second year, until around 20 months, when he just decided he was done.  A small part of me was sad to not make it all the way to two years, but mostly I was proud that we were able to nurse at all with the challenges of his prematurity and me working full time.

With Amelia, it's been quite different.  Sure it was a little bumpy in the beginning, but nursing a full-term infant was still a million times easier than nursing a preemie.   However, she has had pretty much 24/7 access  to me (and the boobies) and, even two months ago, was showing no signs of wanting to wean.  She naturally decreased her breastfeeding over time, as she ate more solids and became a busy toddler.  But nighttime, nap time, and early morning were not going to be easy give up.

12 months old (candidly taken by Marley)

Many months ago, when I asked my mom how she weaned her toddlers, her only advice was, "Get pregnant."  Hmm...okay.  Well, then what?  I really didn't mind breastfeeding early in my pregnancy, but a couple months in it started to get really painful.  Then, my milk started drying up, and it became excruciating.  Jeff and I decided that we'd get serious about weaning when we returned from our trip to France.  Amelia did not agree.  Several times during our trip I heard her whisper to Sarah, "Sarah, lemme tell you a secret: I love boobies and lay down!"  Although I'm totally glad to be done, I already feel nostalgic for those sweet words.

Anyway, I think my mom was onto something.  I'm sure weaning was much easier due to the fact that Amelia was no longer getting any yummy, warm milk.   After we arrived home from France, Marley and Amelia both got really sick, so we put off weaning for another couple weeks.  By the time we really got started, she was only nursing first thing in the morning, before nap, before bed, and if she woke up at night (which was pretty rare, thankfully).

The first week, we eliminated the before bed session.  This was all Jeff.  He gave her a sippy cup of milk and put her to bed at night.   This seemed to go well, and Marley was super happy to have Mama to himself at night.  The next week, we eliminated the morning session.  I'll admit that I handed her my iPhone on a couple of particularly early morning wake ups.  But, that seemed to go fairly smoothly, too.

24 months

Her last nursing session was before nap time on May 24th, one week after her second birthday.  This was the hardest one to get rid of because I had to figure out a new way to get her to nap.  After a little trial and error, though, I think we have it figured out.  I rock her in the chair or carrier and we listen to a song by the Decemberists, on repeat.  She even lets me know when she's tired.  Although, I'll miss hearing, "I'm ready for boobies and lay down," I look forward to hearing, "I'm ready for you to rock me and hear Sons and Daughters".

Maybe my favorite Marley quote of all time

"Mom, open your mouth. I want to tell Baby Eyeball something."

Pedal Pushers

In our neighborhood, it's not unusual to see very young kids riding bikes.  I'm not talking tricycles.  I mean REAL two wheeled bicycles.  Without training wheels.  So when Marley started to outgrow his first bike, I wondered what the next step was.  The overwhelming response from friends and neighbors was: a balance bike!  A balance bike looks just like a tiny two-wheeler, but without the pedals.  The idea is that kids learn to balance and steer on these bikes, then when they're ready, can pretty much hop right on a regular bike and take off.  No training wheels (or running while holding onto the seat of a nervous child's bike) necessary.  That sounded good to me!  There are MANY balance bikes on the market, and after much research, we ended up with the Mini Glider.  We bought it for Marley about a year ago, when he was 3.5.  It took a little getting used to, but by summer's end he was looking for bigger ramps to ride down.




Fast forward to this year.  I've known for a while that Marley was ready to try out a pedal bike, but according to several neighbors, there's an intermediate step to make the transition from balance bike to regular bike smooth: the "too small" bike. 

We all know how to "properly" measure for a bike.  When you sit on the seat, only your tip toes should be able to touch the ground, and when you pedal your knees should not bend at less than a 90 degree angle.  The problem is that this doesn't work well for beginners. 

A bike with a 12" frame appears "too small" for Marley, but in fact, is just the right size for learning.  He can sit on the seat and place his feet flat on the ground, just like with the balance bike, eliminating the need for someone (me) to hold his seat and run behind him.  Also, making it easy for him to stop without falling over.  I was hesitant to buy him a 12" bike since I knew he would only be using it for a very short time.  Luckily, I didn't have to because our neighbors gave us one that they were no longer using.  Yay! 

Anyway, the point of all this rambling is to say that Marley, age 4.5, can ride a bike!  It only took a couple attempts for him to figure it out, and I didn't even have to run while holding his seat.  Instead I got to yell words of encouragement and give pointers from across the park.  Feel free to mute the volume when you watch these.








And just so Amelia isn't left out, here she is on her bike.  Maybe tomorrow I'll see if she wants to try out the balance bike!

More Quotable Quotes

Phew!  Now that I have gotten that off my chest, I can blog again.  Hooray!  Here are some recent kid quotes.

My favorite thing Marley does is narrate his own play, like a book. As he's pretending, he says things like, "He jumped as high as he could onto the boat as it floated by."

He and Amelia were sitting at the table drawing when I heard Marley say, "'My picture is better than Amelia's,' he thought to himself."

We were listening to music and dancing one day, and I asked Marley why he looked so angry. He responded, "This isn't a mad face, this is my rock n' roll face."

We took Marley and Amelia to an early ultrasound, and told them that they were getting a sibling.  Marley's first response was, "I wonder what I should name this one!"  Shortly after that, he came up with the name Eyeball.  More recently, he told us that Eyeball isn't a good name and he wants to name the baby Moonlight.  He also wondered how he came up with the name 'Marley', and was surprised to learn that he didn't name himself.

As Marley, Amelia, and I sat at the breakfast table one recent morning, Amelia offered me a soggy mini wheat from her bowl.

Me: No, thank you.  I have my own cereal.
Amelia: [screaming] I want you to eat this one!
Me: No, thank you.  You eat it.
Marley: I'll eat it! [gulp]

Amelia: [screaming] No, Marley!  Give it to Mama!  I want Mama to eat it!
Me: Amelia, you didn't want it.  And I didn't want it. 
Amelia: [more screaming] No!  Give it back, Marley!
Me: Marley already ate it.  It's gone.
Amelia: [louder screaming] No! I want it!

Me: Amelia!  Knock it off!
Amelia: But, I don't want to knock my bowl of cereal off the table onto the floor!
Marley: No, Amelia.  She means, "Knock your crying head off."

Is this thing on?

Hello? 

[clears throat]

[peers out into the darkness]

[crickets chirping]

[crochet hooks clicking]

Oh. Hi, Mom.  I didn't see you sitting there.  In the front row.  In the dark.

Well, uh, [mumbles apologies].

Anyway, just in case anyone else is out there...

[futilely searches the darkness]

We're still back from our trip.  The kids were sick.  

I had a lovely Mother's Day.  Amelia turned two. 

 Marley is finishing up preschool.  

And I'm growing a penis.

*gigglesnort*

Sorry, Mom.  

[hangs head shamefully]

I'm also growing the cute baby that it's attached to, of course.  

Okay, he might not look that cute yet, but just give it another six months.

Goodnight, Mom.