For he's a jolly good fellow

Sunday as we were hibernating from the cold and the wind taking care if changing one of the estimated 3,000 diapers changed a day little Jimmy let out  a laugh.  So ridiculously jolly.

He hasn't done it again.

He's a big one

So apparently the two month check up involves 3 shots and an oral vaccine now and the deuce achieved a previously unheard decibel level.  I remember Ben's 2 month check up clearly - I sat and looked at the door while Martin did the hands on baby wrangling so he could get his shots.  He didn't know what to make of it, he looked perplexed then after 20 seconds or so he cried.  Deuce started his high pitch protest immediately upon the oral vaccine and ramped it up for the shots.  Wow.  He sure lets you know when he isn't pleased.

So he's 15 lbs even and 2' tall.  His head is 16.5 inches around.  He is above the 90th percentile all around.  Big boy.  The nurse loved his chubby thighs for the shots:

 He also likes to blow bubbles.  When I heard about babies blowing bubbles I thought it meant big ones, like one big one.  But what it really means is constantly wondering if your child has rabies.  He makes millions of tiny bubbles, or foam if you will.  Today's bubble session was more normal sized but it is very strange.  And cute. 

 I have been trying to be better about doing tummy time with this guy - and he mostly doesn't do anything with it besides rest on his belly, but occasionally he will do some exercises.

 And because I wanted to record the Deuce's largeness for posterity but don't have much else to say I figured that I would put up pictures of each of their rooms as well.  There is a relatively short window where I get to call the shots for what is decoration in each room and I never got to go balls out on Mino's room when I was pregnant with him, I have used all that pent up nesting energy in their rooms here.  To pinteresters and clean people the rooms are probably not too fun to look at in pictures but I get great joy walking into each room.
Martin has a love/love relationship with Skymall.  It started as a young boy I think, who knows, but we get it at home, not just on airplanes.  Well, back in my youth I too requested a Skymall Item - and got it for a birthday or maybe high school graduation from my grandma - the map mural.  I loved it and had it in my bedroom in Clintonville as a teenager for a few years until I wanted something else.  Well it sat up in the attic for a long time until I remembered it as I was pondering what to do with the wallpaper in Jimmy's room.  With the help of Saaron's long arms we got it attached and it makes quite the cool room for a little explorer.

 We are still working on the overall layout of the room, but as of today this is where things are.

 Ben's room happened by accident.  Nana and Sarah wanted to help with my desire for a nursery for the deuce and through many discussions we ended on making a monster nursery.  The first thing I did was get wall decals like we had in the old house, however they don't work quite as well on textured wallpaper.  So monsters got moved to Ben's room.  But what I didn't know was that Sarah and Nana were making things for the nursery, five cool monster pillows and three wall hangings.  Whoops.  Well Ben ended up with those in his cool room.

 We had a long discussion of what to do with Ben once the baby came, do we take his crib and give him a bed or leave him and get another crib.  It wasn't an easy decision but we ended with keeping Ben in his crib until he tries to escape it and getting the deuce one as well.  So here we are, people with two cribs.  We are going to have a sweet rummage sale some day.

We gave Ben a mullet. Whoops.

So this new year started off fairly exiting, Packer tickets were available for a home playoff game!  Who'd a thunk it?!  Not me.  I didn't bother checking.  They are never available except through craigslist or your hygienists aunt's husband's father.  But they were, and so many were available that the game was close to being blacked out in the home market because it wasn't sold out.  I couldn't let that happen, so Sarah and I took one for the team and got tickets.  It was hyped to be colder than the Ice Bowl, but it stayed above zero the whole game.  I didn't even need to wear the goggles.  No, Jimmy was not under my coat.  Martin would have left me if I had my way on that one.  I was a hurting mama after getting home though. . .

Then we came back home.  Ben is into trains.  And Batman.  And Dinosaurs.

 The next weekend Saaron came to visit us in MSP.  Well, really, it wasn't to visit us, Sarah had plans and wanted free room and board.  Aaron came to visit us.  We had a rough week prior, Ben had croup. 

I don't wish that on anyone.  That cough and breathing sound was terrifying to hear in the middle of the night.  I filmed it because we needed to bring him in and I hoped that he wouldn't be making these sounds until then but I wanted the doctor to hear what we heard throughout the night.  But he was mostly over it and the temps were warm so  we hit the lake hard.  I wish that I had more pics.  Saaron were leading Gryff around, Martin and Ben were keeping pace with one another and I was walking with Jimmy.  Ben needed to be carried back home from about half way around, Martin wished he could be.

 Contrary to both of their expressions, the boys had a good time with their Auntie.

Ben is more of a lover than a fighter.  We try to get him to punch the wobble tiger toy, instead this happens and before he goes to bed he hugs and kisses it.

Martin and I have been at odds with what to do with Ben's hair.  I err on the shorter side, Martin likes his luxurious locks.  I finally put my foot down and ventured out for the first time with both boys to tackle the hair.  Here we are leaving the house on the way to cut that hair.

 In action. . he was so well behaved compared to last time.

 Here is the after. . . he did just wake up from a nap though.

 Here is the real after - oh yeah - we are trying to get him to use the potty, or at least not be scared.  The first time was great, he pooped.  That scared the bejesus out of him.  He hasn't been back except for when bribed.  Here is documentation of him doing it, but I am real, the kid will be in diapers for at least another year.  There is no desire there to do anything other than tell me his diapers are dirty.  He doesn't even want to change them when dirty, he just likes to tell me.  He loves those diapers.  And the Desitin.  He really likes the Desitin.  I got off on a tangent, this side view shows the accidental mullet.  My instructions were "You can cut it, but keep it long"  I was happy that he still had long hair, that he didn't throw a complete shyte fit whilst getting cut, and that the three of us survived in public without anyone wondering which one I kidnapped.  I didn't notice the mullet.  Martin did first thing.

 A little cuticle trimmer cut later, the mullet was gone.

I totally busted Portos and Jimmy having a moment.

 Jimmy is a calm little dude, even in the bath, he just hangs out.  He makes some mean bubbles though.

 This is for my mom.  She loves baby hands that are fat and the knuckles are dimpled. 

 He loves the changing table too.  But who wouldn't. 

 I am trying to get back to my roots with ugly face shots to end each post.  This shot is a doozy.  It may be the ugliest of the ugly.  I can't help but laugh every time I see it.  I was trying to capture Jimmy's perfect little frown that he makes.  He and Martin and CaroleNana are all capable of making a complete upside down U shaped frown.  It is amazing.  He bypassed the frown though and went straight to this:

Month Deuce for the Deuce

I found a photo editor online and have been spending waaaay too much time with it.

Here he is, in all his glory.  Little Jimmy is such a delight.  He sleeps.  And I don't mean just those few hours between feedings, I mean he sleeps from like 10 pm until 330 or 4 in the morning.  Insane.  Ben didn't do that until he was 13 months old.  He eats all day long, and isn't so great with a bottle, but for right now when I am home with him it is amazing.
He likes to sit on his own, he loves the swing and the little activity mat.  Sometimes he just wants to vibe out in his little vibrating chair.  I hold him a lot, but he is happy to just hang out in his car seat and smile at god only knows what up in the ceiling (I hope it isn't ghosts, Mama was a creepy movie.)  He is heavy.  I don't have his 2 month appointment until next week, but according to my measurements he is around the 15 lb mark.  You feel it if you are standing holding him for too long.
He finally has a bed.  I think the next post will document the boy's room but just one day shy of 2 months Jimmy has a proper bed to sleep in.  He smiles up a storm and makes little laughing like sounds with particularly big grins.  He watches his brother.  Well, I think he does anyway.  He really only is mad when he has to drop a deuce or he's hungry.   He is a really great little chubby baby.

There is no visible similarity between Jimmy and Ben at this age, I compared Ben's pictures and there wasn't anything even close so I won't even bother putting comparisons up.
BUT - as visible in the first shot - Ben is asking to hold Little Jimmy now.  He willingly put his arm around him today and kissed him. When he runs down the hall to say goodnight to which ever parent isn't reading him stories, he has to find Jimmy to hug and kiss as well.  We may be able to keep him.

Clintonville for Christmas

This Holiday season was a bit hectic and a bit crabby but wonderful overall.  Our first Christmas as a family of four.  I decided that it would be a great idea to load up the boys and head to the mall to see Santa, however, after getting there and seeing the line that was at least an hour long I quickly opted out of that painful and expensive experience.  I put half of an effort into finding out if Santa would be in Clintonville but didn't go too far with that idea, and luckily ran into Becca who already had the jolly man headed to her house.

Mino and Deuce got to meet the main man of the season, no tears or fears involved.

 

 I was amazed as Ben is in prime Stranger Danger phase, but hey, don't mess with it. Becca wasn't as lucky, her little ladies were a bit timid.   Ben was a fan of Santas beard as it reminded him of his doggy.  Weirdo. Jimmy was just happy to be held.

Anyone who knows me knows that I like trashy brainless reality television.  Most of those families have matching pajamas for the holidays so I decided my family would as well.  The boys at least.  Ben is just starting to allow Jimmy to touch him, so this is as good as it gets with the two of them.  We did get our first "Jimmy hit me" though during one photo op when Jimmy began to flail his little newborn arms wildly.  Oh, and Ben has developed a camera smile.  Isn't it a beaut.

He even tried to play with him

 Except for Jimmy who is looking at the creepy lady in the office (or ghosts or who knows what, his eyes don't work yet), we are all sort of looking in the same direction

 Aaron was officially welcomed to the family this year acquiring his own stocking hand made by his lovely sister who was probably cursing my mother during the entire fabrication process but it was amazing. 

 The highlight this year was that Ben is starting to understand what presents are.  He has been in overload from his birthday, to the birth of his brother which as fetched him quite a few gifts to Christmas so he opened all of his as well as going around helping everyone else open theirs.  His favorites this year were this amazing sweatshirt/cape/mask of Batman combo and the monster slippers.  Jimmy slept. 

 

 We were home for a while and just hung around the house for the most part.  As I think I previously said Ben is going through a major Daddy phase and Uncle Aaron is benefiting from it as he is on the cool list.  Doodoo not so much.  Dad and I pouted up in his office for a while for not currently being the apples of Ben's eye.

 With the pleothora of snow this holiday season we siezed the day and went sledding a couple of times.  We were lucky and were the only ones there.  Ben did way better than I could have imagined, he didn't get scared and didn't complain of cold, he cackled wildly and asked to go faster and faster like a true Ricky Bobby.

 

 

 Clintonville is by no means the most exotic destination but it was filled with family and friends and we had a good old time.

 Poppop walked in as I was nursing Jimmy (he was under a towel.)  Poppop was very concerned with what I had done to my arm, I pointed out the little feet emerging from the blanket then Jimmy got to meet his namesake.