The Brotherhood

You'd be surprised at how many people think it's just great that Jack and Jude are only 18 months apart.  Really?  And here I thought it was hard work.  :)  Actually, it's usually the older moms that that say that.  The younger moms tend to respond with "Oh you poor girl" or "I don't know how you do it..."  But I think they've got it all wrong.  Yes, it's a little tough right now.  I've got two in diapers, two that can't speak sentences, two that always seem to want mommy at the same time.  But now is not forever.  I know having Jude this past spring was the best thing for our family.  I know it every time I take Jack to the park and see his little face when he realizes there's no one else there to play with.  Or how he radiates excitement and enthusiasm whenever he sees another little person come around.  He just wants a friend.  And we're working on it kiddo.  Jude just needs a little more time to grow up, but soon you'll be best buds!

In fact, Jack is getting much better with Jude.  He's still a little rough sometimes.  I still will turn around to hear Jude scream and see Jack run the other way to hide a very guilty face.  But for the most part, Jack loves his bee-bee, and Jude finds Jack quite entertaining.

"Beebo!"

And it's fun.  It's fun to have two little boys who are different and yet so very much the same.  To feel Jude gnawing on my shoulder while peering out over the top, thinking "Gosh, this is so 18 months ago!"  To snap him up the same cutey pajamas that I fell in love with when Jack was that size.  To do the same cradle hold/side sway/rub-thumb-lightly-over-forehead that was magic at putting my other baby to sleep.  And it doesn't get old. 

Jack and Jude at 4 months.

Different and the same.  Most people say they can tell the boys are brothers.  They don't look alike, but they do look related.  And some people say I have "big kids."  I look at my baby out of the corner of my eye and think, "Really?  That little guy who is swimming in his big brother's hand-me-downs?  Big??" 

But my favorite is watching my big and little baby together.  Catching Jack cover Jude's face with sloppy kisses.  Seeing Jude smile and kick his feet whenever his big brother comes around.  Learning how to get Jack out of bed with one hand while holding onto Jude with the other.  And snuggling together on the couch, balancing boys and books, trying to dole out enough "mom" to keep everyone happy.  Yeah, those moments are the best!

Sometimes I worry about how much "influence" Jack's going to have on his little brother as he grows older. But then I just pray, "Lord, teach them to love each other. Make them best friends. Use Jude to keep Jack out of trouble. And may they one day be such a source of entertainment to each other that I can sit down and read a book in the middle of the afternoon. Amen."

This kid

This kid is all too eager to relinquish his title as "World's Best Baby" lately. This kid is exhausting his poor mama by waking up at 5am every morning. This kid then started waking up between 2-3am, and has since added an 11pm wake-up. This kid is up more in the night now than he was 3 months ago. This kid actually compelled his daddy to get up with him in the night for the first time in his short little life!

This kid has suddenly lost interest in nursing ... unless it's 3 in the morning. This kid would rather stare at the ceiling fan, watch his big brother, or play with Mommy's hair, than eat. This kid needs to know his Mom is not a TV dinner. And yet somehow, this kid has managed to gain a whole pound in two weeks.

This kid is still only taking 45 minute naps. This kid has a frantic mommy who's entire day is constructed into 45-minute blocks of time. This kid occasionally will play the 2-hour nap card, but only when Mommy is least expecting it. This kid and his new 4-month habits are kicking his Mama's rear this week.

And yet this kid is only getting more adorable. This kid was stopping lady-traffic in church on Sunday with his "big blue eyes" and "adorable shoes." This kid loves to hold a blankie, especially when it's covered with this kid's spit-up. This kid's latest activity is swinging outside clutching his sour-milk scented flannel, and he thinks it's the most relaxing thing in the world.

This kid can make his parents forget about 45 minute naps with just a toothless smile. This kids chunky thighs and round arms make fighting for his attention during nursing sessions his mom's new favorite pastime. This kid's adoring looks makes his big brother feel like a movie star. This kid's infectious laughter is worth every 3am wake-up for the rest of his life. And this kid has my heart completely.

Jackspeak, Part II

Finally, I was able to capture those adorable utterances on video!

Jackspeak

Jack's vocabulary has multiplied this summer.  I just love his little voice and its highly entertaining to hear him spout off new words.  I started a list the other day of all the words he knows, since the doctor had suggested a certain amount by the time he turns two, and I eventually lost count.  So I think we're doing good on the whole language thing, even if it seems like all the little girls his age are having full conversations at this point. :)  Some of my favorites are:

truck - CHr-uck (major emphasis on the CH!)
car - cawr (NJ style)
shhh - sssss (make "O" with lips, curve finger and put against teeth)  This is usually when Jude is sleeping, but he does it so loudly it doesn't make much of a difference.
cow - mooo
baby - bee-bee
Jude - Jewww (the 'e' is in a high pitch)
poppa - bobba
hot - hoTTT (really pronounce that "T"!!)
cool - kewwwl (Jon thinks he says it just like me)
yes - yah or ee-yah (he just learned this one and says it all.the.time.  Oddly enough, he hasn't said "no" yet.)
fish - she? (as in fishy, but he always says it like he's asking a question)
cheese - chee
swing - swee
apple - ahh
train - tew-tew-woowoo
squirrel - girl
football - foof-baw (with plenty of spit from each "f")

I won't include the words he actually says "correctly" because they're not any fun. Mostly he just sticks to one word sentences, but I'm almost positive I heard him say "Where go?" this morning when we were looking for his shoes.  He gets very dramatic when something disappears - palms turn up, shoulders squeeze together, bottom lip goes down as eyes go up and then a double shrug of the shoulders.  It's adorable, gets me every time.  I also love his non-recognizable English babbling.  He just goes off chattering, bobbing his head, raising his eyebrows, waving his hands.  And I just pretend like I know exactly what he's talking about.  I've tried numerous times to get this on video but for some reason both my boys won't act for the camera.  Life is always at its best where there's no camera around to catch it!

Speaking of Jack (and his speaking) my almost-2-year-old is really growing up.  I don't get as sad about it anymore because it seems that things are starting to get slightly easier.  Besides, I have another baby on his heels that keeps my baby-love tank continuously full.  So I am fully enjoying this little guy who is trying so hard to be big.

He's a huge "helper."  I take advantage of this whenever possible.  I can't remember the last time I actually had to walk to the trash can to throw something away myself.  I simply hand it to Jack, say "trash" and he immediately disposes of the object.  He's quite handy.  Of course, he still likes to help sweep the floors, often cleaning up the very same mess he just made moments ago.  And he really likes to help water, er drown, the plants. I'm slowly learning that he needs to be kept busy.  Constantly.  When I'm out in the garden and I turn my back for a second, he's stepping on plants and picking green tomatoes.  But if pull weeds in between handing off rotten tomatoes one at a time to Jack and saying "trash", well I can almost get the job done.

But we're getting better.  Mommy's adjusting to life with an active, willful little boy and Jack's learning the proper way to exercise his opinion.  Sometimes I think toddlerhood took me by surprise.  But then again, so did babyhood, and motherhood as a whole.  I may have two kids, but with Jack I'll always be a first-time mom.  And sometimes the learning curve seems so steep.  Then I remember that this is how it's always been.  Two steps forward, one step back.  Progress is a spiral.  Some days I think we've finally made it, finally figured this whole thing out.  And then the next day starts off and I realize we're right back in familiar territory.  And yet somehow it's still progress.  As someone who thinks I could easily be a perpetual student, I think I've found my niche.  Mommyhood.  Where you never stop learning.

With apologies to August

Perhaps I was a bit too brash in my last post.  August isn't entirely bad, and I've considered redeeming it by trying to have a baby some August a few years from now.  It's not the Fall, but it's pretty close.  And it might be a nice way to kill time during those hot last weeks of summer ... I digress.

Anyway, after I blogged my August angst I later realized that the month does hold one special day near and dear to my heart ... our ENGAGEMEVERSARY!  If you remember from last year, we try to make it a point to celebrate the day, or at least the week, that we got engaged. 

August 17, 2005

Our special day came just at the right time this year.  We needed a date.  Marmie and Poppa came for the weekend for one last summer fling before Marmie starts teaching again.  And they were both more than happy to watch the boys for the evening.  Our original plan was to hit up Old Towne Alexandria, a place I've been longing to visit since long before we lived nearby.  But a sketchy weather forcast and utter exhaustion from the previous day's activities kept us closer to home.  Instead we opted for dinner and a movie a few minutes away.  We were kinda excited about going to the movie theater since it doesn't happen very often these days.  We decided to really do the whole experience and spent a small fortune on soda and popcorn.  We've been wanting to see "Salt" and weren't disappointed.  But I think we'll stick to movies at home from now on.  The snacks are free, I don't end up missing 5 minutes when I need a bathroom break after drinking a larger than life Coke, and Jon is able to pause the movie as needed and offer his commentary.  If you've ever watched a movie having to do with history/politics/military/intelligence/Islam/terrorism/national security, etc. with Jon, you know what I mean.  Sometimes the excessive pausing to offer explanations is annoying, but usually it helps keep me interested in "his type" of movie.  Then again, I once tried to watch "Pride and Prejudice" with him (the newer, shorter version).  He stopped the movie to ask questions so many times I've decided I'd rather watch "my type" of movies by myself.

Other than celebrating our engagemeversary, we had a wonderful time with Marmie and "Bobba" as Jack has started to say.  We prepped him for their arrival 20 minutes before their ETA ... and then spent an hour trying to keep him occupied after M & B got stuck in traffic.  Jack was really excited to see them!

Marmie and Poppa like taking Jack to the pool.  We tried to go without them once earlier this summer, but it ended up being kinda lame with just us, so it was nice to have an excuse to enjoy our pool again!

On Saturday we headed off toward a cute little beach town on the bay.  We walked the boardwalk, explored an antique shop, and ate ice cream that melted faster than we could eat it.  We also combed over a nearby marina seeking out names for our someday boat.

From there we drove to Annapolis.  I was super excited about this trip since I've heard so many things about this adorable town.  It totally satisfied all my quaint charm cravings.  We didn't get a chance to give Jack a tour of the Academy there, so we'll definitely have to make a trip back again! 

Needless to say, visiting the "Sailing Capital" has solidified my part in Jon's dream to own a sailboat.  Can't you just picture our little family all dressed in white shirts, khaki shorts and deck shoes?

It was a hot, long day, made even longer by the construction traffic on the way home.  Which is why we were a tad exhausted the next day and decide to settle for only one tour of charming streets over the weekend.  We don't want to waste all the adventures at one time, so Alexandria will be something else to look forward to.

So we said goodbye to Marmie and Poppa yet again.  We're not sure when we'll get back to PA to visit them since this Fall is already booking up with weddings, reunions and other visitors.  Jack was a little sad to say farewell, but little does he know what excitement awaits him when his four cousins arrive in a few days!

Summer rebels

August is such a trial.  In fact, now that I think about it, it may be one of my least favorite months, topped only by the long, dark, cold months of winter.  Vacation ends, school starts, fall is just around the corner and ... it's still unbearably HOT.  August reminds me of field hockey pre-season and just thinking about those days makes my muscles ache.

Can you tell this was pre-haircut?

So here we are, more than ready to visit a pumpkin patch, light some spicy candles and enjoy more dinners on our back patio. But Mother Nature refuses to cooperate.  And it reminds me of the last few weeks of Jon's patrols during his deployment days.  When I'd just do what was necessary to get through the day, anything to tick off another date on the calendar, whatever it took to get one step closer to meeting him on the dock after 3 long months apart.  So that's what we're doing now.  Trudging along, going through the motions, using whatever energy the hot season has left us with to pull off a few more summer flings.  While secretly pulling cute, little jeans and hoodies out of the back of the closet where they too have been waiting for the slightest drop in temperature. 

Have I mentioned what a tease the neighborhood trees have been?  A few of them just gave up in early July when the rain clouds stopped coming around.  And so piles of brown leaves littered the streets, an absurd picture in the middle of the year, and a grim reminder that this coming autumn may not be just what I had anticipated.

And my poor garden that I've only had a chance to tend to once this summer.  The summer storms have finally arrived and our yard is green again.  But somehow the "weed garden" task has fallen way low on my to-do list, somewhere between "burn old home videos to DVD" and "order a wedding photo album."  Yeah, you can guess how long that's been on my list.  The garden manages to thrive despite my lack of attention.  Maybe we'll just saying we're growing wild tomatoes. 

I can hardly keep up with the harvest, but I haven't quite figured it out yet.  If I wait too long they end up splitting and rotting, and then there's these yellow ones that I'm guessing, after a few weeks of watching, are never going to turn red.  And another plant that I've finally figured out doesn't produce round tomatoes.  And unfortunately, I have no idea what to do with yellow or gourd-shaped tomatos.  The peppers aren't quite ready yet.  And the squash plant has taken over the entire right side of the garden.  That nasty squash has completely chased two tomato plants right out into the yard.  I think I know how it gets its name now.

But we're enjoying other non-garden produce.  Nothing says summer like fresh corn on the cob.  And I figured it was high time Jack had his first shucking lesson. 

He's a quick learner.  Of course, anything that involves ripping and tearing comes quite naturally to him.  And eating of course. 

I tried to explain that we don't eat corn until it's been cooked but he didn't seem to care, and then ran off with one of the cobs.  Up until now we'd been cutting the corn off for him. Apparently that was a bit superfulous.  Completely chewed his way around the whole thing, he did.  I was a little grossed out but I think I read somewhere that cooking corn isn't neccessary.  Probably from the same source where I've heard that corn has no nutritional value.  I think I was bummed for the entire day after hearing that.  Anyway, I let him go because obviously the poor kid was hungry and at least he was reaching for something of the vegetable variety.  A few minutes later while I was gathering the ears to bring in the house I noticed another one was missing.  You guessed it.  Tank plowed through two ears of corn, RAW, before I had a chance to finish shucking the rest.  You can only imagine his diaper the following day ...

But that was last week.  Today I lit an "Autumn Spice" candle and made chicken stock.  Today we went outside in the morning and pretended like that's what it feels like all day.  I might even crank up the AC and put on some jeans. 

Today we're rebelling against summer, defying the 9 and 4 glaring at me on the digital thermometer even though I know I'll despise my August bashing self a few months from now when it's cold and dark and we're stuck in side.  So just today. 

Tomorrow we'll think of new ways to celebrate the last days of sunshine and our slew of guests that are coming over the new few weekends.  Tomorrow I'll put the spicy candle back in the cupboard where it's been hiding.  And maybe I'll just go ahead and freeze that chicken stock for a more soup-worthy day.  Until tomorrow then!

Operation: Explore Maryland

This was our first weekend home in Maryland, by ourselves, with nothing planned.  I figured we would just use it to catch up on laundry, housecleaning, yard work, etc.  But Jon had other plans.  We awoke on Saturday morning and he announced we were going to have a "Family Fun Day."  The phrase stuck. We used it all day long.  When Jack was yelling and running around the house and refused to get his shoes, "Hey, it's Family Fun Day, now sit down so we can get in the car!"  When Jude was crying and then spit-up all over his nice clean clothes, "Oh well, it's Family Fun Day!"  When Jon didn't want me to give Jack a sip of my mocha coolatta with insane amounts of sugar, "Why not?  It's Family Fun Day!" and so on.  We didn't have a plan, according to Jon we were going to pull this off the way my parents typically do - spontaneously.  I also reminded Jon that my parents don't have two kids under two either.

But somehow it worked and ended up being fun.  We needed a day with just our little foursome, we needed to try something new, and we definitely needed to explore our new home.  So we pulled out a list of State Parks, circled a few that looked interesting and took off down the road. 

If there's one thing I'm learning as a moves-around-a-lot military spouse, it's that you can always find something to love about your location, sometimes you just have to look for it.  We love our house, and our quiet, cozy neighborhood.  But I'm having a hard time loving our city.  In my opinion, it's crowded, too new and lacking charm.  But I'm slowly learning that the best secrets are usually just outside the city.  And the best way to find them is to just get lost, but bring a map along just in case.  We weren't far outside the hustle and bustle before we were cruising by rolling green fields, beautiful farms, a half dozen fresh produce stands, a huge Amish farmer's market with lots of "Yook, horseys!" and two kids consignment stores.  Of course, Jon refused to stop.  But I've got the place marked and I'm ready to attack this coming week.  I realized, after seeing Jack cry and pull on his waist everytime I button his size 2T shorts, that he may be ready for the next size up.  I've just been waiting to come across some good consignment stores and here they are!

After over an hour of driving through the country we reached the very end of Maryland, a State Park surrounded by water.  Because we didn't have a plan, we ended up buying lunch stuff from the campground store and then enjoyed a not-so-healthy picnic by the bay. 

It was a gorgeous day, both boys were in great moods (or should I say all 3 boys?), and I was loving the change of scenery.  Jon and Jack went exploring while I fed Jude in the shade under a tree.  And by exploring, I mean Jack picks up every rock, leaf, acorn, etc. he sees, and then usually throws it.  As the day wore on the objects got bigger and bigger...

We checked out a little more of the park, got some ideas for the future and then left with a tourist map and a new destination.  It was naptime so we took another slow drive through several quaint little towns and glanced over some hiking/biking trails at a nearby lake to let the boys sleep.  Jack woke up just in time to see the "booooats" as we passed through an adorable little island village, where we brainstormed names for the sail boat we'd love to get someday.  A little bit later we ended up stopping at another park, known for its fossil beaches and sandy cliffs.  It was a 2 mile hike from the parking lot to the beach. 

Since we didn't know what they day held when we left the house in the morning, we only had an umbrella stroller and our jogging stroller in the back.  The park ranger said the trail was "stroller friendly" ... I think the park ranger didn't have any kids ... or at least didn't have a stroller.  So Jude had a bumpy ride in the jogger and Jon took Jack "off roading" in the other stroller.  The boys made it in one piece and maybe just a little rattled.

It was nice to dip our toes in the bay after a hot hike through the woods.  It was more like a Barbie-sized beach compared to what we've been visting this year, but the cliffs were gorgeous and the people around us were digging up fossils left and right.  Of course, Jack immediately started picking up rocks and throwing them.  Such a boy.  In fact, I caught my husband doing the same thing earlier that day. 

Can I just say that, as a girl, I don't think I've ever had the desire to pick up a rock and throw it?  But I decided to try it out, just to amuse Jack.  I didn't get anything out of it personally, I think I'll just stick to picking flowers.

And that was our day!  Well, most of it.  To sum up the rest we hiked back to the car as quickly as we could with two strollers.  Met a couple with two Weimaraners that convinced us, yet again, we need to get some (we keep changing out mind!), ate some amazing surf and turf at a restaurant we'd never heard of, discovered a former railroad bed that is now a bike trail only a few minutes from our house!, put two very tired boys to bed as soon as we got home, and then watched a movie that ended up keeping me awake half the night. 

So yes, we had a full, exciting day exploring Maryland, found new reasons to love our new (albeit temporary) home and came back with a whole list of things to do and places to see over the coming weeks.  And maybe I'll even get a few more blog post ideas from our adventures!