Thoughts on Colin at One Month

After getting to know him for a few weeks, we all agree that we got a really, really nice baby.

At four weeks of age, Colin is:

• less yellow, more pink
• suffering through a serious bout of baby acne
• 10 pounds, 7 ounces and 24 inches long
• balding up top
• not officially smiling yet -- but I swear that he smiles with his eyes when he looks at me (this has yet to be confirmed by anyone else in the family)
• getting a lot of love from his brother and sister
• happiest when he is snuggling with Mom or Dad
• fitting in just beautifully with our little family.
  

A T Rex in my Kitchen

I know this picture will come in handy if I ever need to blackmail Brendan or make a slide show for his rehearsal dinner.

Pretending

Even though it looks like this outside . . . .

Inside, we are trying to believe that spring is here. If only it were true.

Baking for Babes

My issue of Wondertime Magazine arrived in the mail last Saturday (this is by far my favorite parenting magazine).

Inside I found a recipe for homemade teething biscuits -- just in time for my nephew Seamus' first birthday party.

My little bakers and I got right to work on our homemade birthday treat.

• 1 1/2 cups of unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup of maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons of applesauce
• Mix ingredients together and knead for three minutes. Roll the dough out until it is about 1/3 inch thick. Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 300 degrees for about thirty minutes (until they just begin to brown slightly).

This would be a great Valentine's "treat" for a little toothless person in your life.

Sleepy

I am short on words today (and short on brain functioning in general), but here is a picture of my sweet boy.

Let The Distraction Begin!

I joined Facebook today.

I have been intentionally not joining Facebook for months now.  Sure, I was curious but I feared the distraction that it would bring into my life (which already has plenty of distractions . . . like blogging).

But I have been doing a horrible job in keeping in touch with a lot of people that I want to be in touch with.  And Facebook seems like a chance to check in with these friends on a more regular basis. . . . . and search for old boyfriends . . . . and snoop on what my college-age cousins are doing . . . and look at pictures of cute babies. . . . and keep up with MY MOM (that's right, my Mom joined Facebook before I did).

I think I am up to fourteen or so friends already.

Disney on Ice . . . Oh the Excitement

Blogging has its perks. One of those perks is that I periodically receive an email from a public relations firm inviting me to take my kids to an event. For free. Sometimes I say yes.

When I received an invitation to Disney on Ice at the United Center, I couldn't pass it up.

Eleanor is seriously excited about the opportunity to see Tinkerbell in ice skates. I am seriously excited to watch my little guys enjoying the show.


If you think that your kiddos would love a chance to see Disney on Ice, I have a few coupon codes to pass along to you. The show will be in Chicago (at the Allstate Arena and United Center) from January 22nd through February 8th.

• $5 off: Qualifier MOM5 (this is basically good for all weekday performances)
  


• $3 off: Qualifier MOM3 (this one applies for most weekend shows, but not VIP or front row tickets)
  

His Petite Feet

I am trying to savor all of the smallness because it is so fleeting.

Postpartum Fashion (Or I Literally Have Nothing to Wear)

You know how you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror during the final weeks of pregnancy and think, "Oh my God, what happened to my body?"

And then you know how after you actually have the baby, you look at yourself in the mirror and think, "OH MY GOD, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY BODY?"

That is what I am writing about at the Chicago Moms Blog today.

Party of Five: Week 2

We have had a busy two weeks since Colin joined us. The "high"lights include:

• One broken pipe and flooded basement (followed by my kind brother-in-law spending a day pumping gallon after gallon of water out, one emergency call to the plumber, one wall of the basement knocked out, and one big mess to clean up -- the contractors get going next Monday).
• One natural gas leak and evacuation narrowly avoided (resulting in more holes in my basement ceiling - see note about contractors above).
• One big brother with an ear infection.
• One jaundice baby requiring numerous trips to the doctor and Children's Memorial Hospital (this situation is hopefully resolving in the next day or so).

Luckily, we have had a ton (and I mean a ton) of help from our families -- without which I would have been reduced to tears on more than one occasion. Thank goodness for those helpers when you really need them.

I am confident that the next two weeks of Colin's life will be more peaceful for all of us.

Happy weekend to you all.

Big and Little

These are tough times for Brendan.

He was just starting to really experiment with some typical two-year-old behaviors. You know, coming out of his room after bedtime, having overly emotional breakdowns over limitations on his candy cane consumption, refusal to wear anything other than his soccer uniform, etc.

And then this new baby came along.

Brendan has stepped effortlessly into his big brother role. It is as if he has just been waiting for someone to come along that he could boss around (much the way he gets bossed around).

When Colin sneezes, Brendan admonishes him to "sneeze into your arm, Colin. You spreadin' your germs!"

If Colin is crying, Brendan kindly reminds him, "Stop whining Colin. You got to be more patient."

But he is still my sweet boy. He greets the baby with a "Hi Colin" in his sweetest voice. He offers to cuddle him when he fusses. He gives Colin big, messy kisses.

I can't wait to watch what happens with these two.

Sew, Baby, Sew

Check out January's issue of Chicago Parent for my piece on teaching little ones how to hand sew. January's frigid days seem like the perfect time to curl up on the couch by the fire and give one of these projects a try.

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