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Moe's words of the day

Shhh. Baby sleeping.

Moe's friends

Mobile post sent by aliblog using Utterz. Replies.  mp3

Moe's words of the day

• Elmo
• Zoe
• Cookie
• Oscar (Ah-key)
• Big Bird (Bih Bah)
• Grover (Over)

Moe Brokey

Moe's recent streak of destruction (a partial list):

• Popped a dozen keys off laptop keyboard.
• Ripped countless pages from paperback and board books.
• Painted clothes, hands, legs and Robey's bedroom carpet with craft paint.
• Tore sheets off crib mattress and threw all crib contents on floor.
• Painted face with waterproof lipstick.
• Removed and un-sorted socks from sock drawer.
• Permanently pushed out TV on/off button.
• Lost batteries from two remotes.
• Emptied entire toy box all over floor.
• Tore border off Mardi Gras puzzle.
• Emptied and trashed contents of Robey's backpack.
• Ripped plastic covers off countless DVD cases.

Moe's words of the day

Kiss (he also says, mwa, the kissing sound).

Moe's words of the day

• Sissy (for Zanna). She's also "nice baby."
• Brokey (for broken), which he says all day long because he breaks things all day.
• Wait (He holds up both hands like traffic cop and says, "Wait, wait, wait.")
• Let me see.
• Watch this!

Moe's word(s) of the day

• Clap
• Nap
• Light
• I'm sorry (sounds like "I sharry," when he says it)

I thought about doing these as a separate Twitter feed or a sidebar or even as audio posts on Utterz (both sites that I haven't quite decided how to use yet). But I'm putting them here for now because he's saying so many new words everyday & this is an easy way to document it quickly.

Moe's word of the day

Mess.

(In reference to his bedroom, my hair and his lunch on the floor, among other things.)

Moe's first photos

(shot completely on accident)

When Moe first met Zanna ...

Have you ever heard of a kid who starts with the pacifier at 18 months?

I could do a whole series of posts on the differences between Robey and Moe. Their different demeanors, attitudes, habits, development patterns and so on. I notice these things and ponder their likenesses too, but I hesitate to put so many comparisons into print.

I could also do a whole series of posts on the challenges we've faced with Moe. Nothing atypical, mind you. Just your standard strong-willed, over-active toddler boy challenges and your not-so-standard, six-month stretch of non-stop ear infections. But we're past that, I hope. And, again, I haven't found it appropriate to use this blog as a platform for negativity.

Instead, let me repeat what I said recently when asked what makes parenting Monroe at 18 months more challenging than parenting Robey when he was 18 months old.

"Two things," I said. "Robey would watch TV, and Robey would take a pacifier." Ultimately, both of these things meant that we could get Robey to SIT STILL and BE QUIET. We could silence screams and distract him with bright, shiny programs for long stretches at a time. And most of the time, we could get him to go right to sleep as long as he had his blankey and pacifier.

Just this week Monroe started sitting still in front of the television for up to 15-minutes at a time time, a record for Moe. And last week? Last week he started taking a pacifier ... at 18 months.

Monroe started refusing a pacifier when he was 9 months old, which happened to be during that period of chronic ear infections. Since then, when he found pacifiers in the toy box now and then, he'd stick one in his mouth upside down and walk around the house smiling right past the plastic plug. For 30 seconds. He thought the things were ridiculous. Last month, however, he found one at my mom's house and took to it. He wouldn't give it up when we left, and asked for it again the next day. From that day forward, whenever he found one in the toy box, he'd latch on to it and scream when we took it away.

We laughed it off for a few weeks, but now we're remembering what wonderful tools they are - and we're giving them to him at night. Why? Because Baby Girl Bolen will be here in a couple weeks, and anything we can do to simplify our life with the boys is a welcome relief.

Are we nuts? Maybe - but I can't help remembering how easy it was for Robey to give up the plug, and he was completely addicted for almost three years. Plus, I can't help thinking that maybe it's some kind of wacky answered prayer.

What Moe says, July 2007

Words:

• Mama
• Dada
• Uh-oh
• Hi
• Thank you (deh-doo)

Animal sounds:

• Dog
• Elephant
• Bird

Signs:

• Yes
• No
• All gone
• More
• Big
• There/That (points)
• Blows kisses
• Love pats

Our Boys, Three Years Apart

Do they look alike? Can you tell who's who?

Cake Face

What Do You Mean There's Only One Page?

All Moe, All Week Long

Guess Who's One Today

The Star Crawl

He paces the house with these things in his hands, clomping from room to room - and back - like a horse.

On The Seventh Day of Christmas My Blogfriend Gave to Me ...

... a portrait with a bogus background

Six Months & Three and a Half

When Robey was three, he'd hold down his thumb and pinkie and extend the remaining three fingers to indicate his age like a typical three-year-old (like you would sign the letter W). Now that he's three AND A HALF, however, he must display his age differently than before. So he extends his pinkie along with his ring and middle fingers, and holds down his thumb and index finger (like you would sign the letter F). The distinction is significant to him, if not to anyone else.

I'm not sure how we should indicate six months on our fingers, but that's how old Monroe is now: half a year. Jeromy took him to his six-month checkup on Friday, and he's still in the 90th percentile for length and 70th for weight. He's 19.25 pounds, a bit shy of the 20 pounds that I predicted here.

Moe was still exhausted and running a high fever Saturday from the immunizations, but he was back to being his regularly, smiley self on Sunday. Then Sunday night he was miserable again, which means he was up all night last night, fussing and crying every couple of hours.

I never noticed any reaction at all when Robey had his shots but the effects are clear with Moe. He was inconsolable after his four-month immunizations too. We spent an hour or two that night pacing around the cottage in Michigan wondering what to do to calm him down.

It's strange, because - in most other ways - Moe is more laid back and easy going than Robey was as a baby. I'm amazed at how different two babies can be.

Robey was standing and sitting and crawling by now. He was a quick, wiry little guy who wanted to be on the go from the onset. Moe is much more content to be a baby and to hit his physical milestones on time. He hasn't even thought about crawling yet, but Robey was up on all fours, trying to figure out how to move before he turned five months.

I'm enjoying the differences. Right now, Moe is trying very hard to sit up. He lays on his back and does a whole series of crunches and ab exercises, and usually ends up on one side with his elbow propped under his belly and his knees curled into his chest. It looks like a new, baby yoga pose.

I don't remember Robey putting any effort into these things at all. He just woke up one morning and sat up. A month or so later, he stood up in his crib without so much as a grunt. It was as if he simply decided, "Today I think I will stand," and then he did.

Robey was so busy moving, however, that he didn't have time to pay attention to words or hands or the actions of others. These are the things that Moe is accomplishing earlier than his big brother. He is watching us all rather intently. He mimics simple noises and is much busier with his hands than Robey ever was.

Moe is also cuddlier and snugglier and happier to be held than Robey was as a baby, but Robey has made up for that as he's grown. He is the lovingest toddler ever, offering these giant hugs that melt right into you. "I squeeze you," we say as we grab on for a bear hug. When he's tired he "tucks in," holding both arms in front and letting you wrap his whole body with a snuggly hug.

The "Moe hold," on the other hand, has been perfected by his grandmother, who rocks him on his side and tucks his bottom arm under her arm, then wraps her other arm around him. He also likes to fall asleep upright with his head on your shoulder - and that's how we slept most of the night last night. He grew angry each time we laid him down, so Jeromy and I took turns with him in the recliner. We're tired today, but we don't mind. It's worth it to spend the extra time with our baby Moe.

First Tooth

When Robey was a baby and well-meaning friends would ask whether or not he was sleeping through the night, I'd say, "Yes, yes he is. But only when he's not teething, he doesn't have a cold, he isn't in the middle of a growth spurt, we don't have visitors, and we're not traveling or haven't just returned from traveling ourselves - then, yes. Yes, he sleeps through the night."

Currently Moe is teething, he has a cold and we've just returned from traveling. You can guess what that means for my slumber.

At four months he weighs 16 pounds and measures 27 inches. That's slightly above average for weight and top of the charts for height. He recognizes faces and smiles at people he knows. He rolls over. He reaches and pulls for toys. He babbles, blows bubbles and giggles quietly. He is beginning to master the Johny Jump-up.

And the teething? For weeks he's been a slobbering, fist-chewing fool and I've been saying, "If I didn't know better, I'd think he was teething." But he's only four months old. I kept checking for teeth anyway but didn't see any. Until this weekend. When I checked beyond the front of his mouth and found a little white bud peeking through. Again, I'm saying, "If I didn't know better, I'd say it's a first molar."

At this point, I might just not know better. Know what I mean? It could be a cuspid but it's way back there. Could it really be a molar? As a first tooth? Is that possible?

No wonder it's keeping us up at night.

For Mich

For Mich
Originally uploaded by AliBlog.

As requested, baby doll. I haven't been updating flickr much - but just did - for you. (Click photo to see more.)

Already Looking Up to Daddy

And a closeup ...

My Blurry Kids

(Alternative title: Why I Need a New Digital Camera)

I've been trying to get pictures of Moe's smile and Robey's new haircut, but the boys move too fast. You take what you can get, I guess.

I wish you could see how Moe's eyes light up when he smiles:

People keep telling me he has big hands. I don't notice in person, but here it's obvious.

Robey's short hair makes him look older:

When I told him he always looks older after a haircut, he said, "Four? Or Five?"

Nine Weeks with Moe

Monroe is 11 pounds, 15 ounces and 23 inches long - both measurements within the 50th percentile on the growth charts. He holds his head up at a 90 degree angle. He smiles in the mornings and sleeps in the afternoons. He's starting to sleep better at night - but not consistently.

When I carry him around the house, he rests his head on my shoulder, wraps his right arm around my left and clings to me with confidence. Sometimes he falls asleep there as I'm walking around picking up toys, and other times he lifts his head to look around (as he's doing here with his Grandma Dee).

Today, he's been sleeping all day, because he has his first cold. He woke up sneezing and coughing this morning, with a raspy, barky cough that matches the one Robey has had for a week. I'm hoping he'll kick it soon with all this extra sleep, though.

He was spoiled with love this weekend since Mike, Shannon, Alec and Saren were in town - and everyone wanted their fair share of baby time. (They'll have two of their own by the end of July!)

He starts daycare in a week, and all the ladies at the daycare facility are excited to get their hands on him. Part of me wants to keep him home with me forever, but a bigger part knows this is the best decision for our family. It will be hard to hand him over, but I have a freezer full of expressed milk and the knowledge that Robey has thrived in that daycare environment as my reassurance that everything will turn out fine.

What? You weren't aware of the reassuring powers of frozen breast milk? They don't call it liquid gold for nothing.

What I'd Forgotten About Babies

Their toes spread open like the fingers of a hand. The cracks in their hands are a gathering place for fuzz. Their arms rise and fall in jerky rhythms - and freeze upright just before sleep. Their necks build strength daily for rooting and responding. Their mouths spread open like the beaks of baby birds. Their eyes, unfocused, see you more clearly than anyone ever has.

They change overnight from newborn to infant, from infant to baby and from baby to toddler with dozens of other transitions in between. Their first few months are really just one long transition from the womb to the world, filled with desires for little more than suckling, snuggling and sleep.

Until six weeks, they're only vaguely aware of their surroundings. Awake, they want to be snuggled, comforted and bundled into balls - legs tucked into bellies and heads buried deep into warm, welcoming chests.

Then suddenly - one day - they wake up and want to experience the world. Their heads lift off your chest, their necks maneuver robotically and look around in awe. They begin to enjoy swings and bouncy seats instead of slings and swaddlers, and they practically beg to spend time alone on the floor, kicking and cooing and staring at the walls.

My baby Moe is in this stage. He swats at hanging toys, follows flashing lights with his eyes, and he's starting to spend more time awake and aware of his surroundings throughout the day. He's only six weeks old and already he's growing up too fast.

Here's to You, Mom

On my first mother's day, when Robey was 6 weeks old, he peed on me four times.

Today, during Moe's first changing of the day, let's just say he made such a huge mess I wasn't sure what to clean first: his bum, his clothes, my hands, my clothes, the changing table or most of the items on the changing table.

Both times I imagined the little buggers saying, "Here ya go, Mom. Happy mother's day. That's all I've got to give ya."

And I was proud.

Yo, yo, yo. Wha's down in the crib?

Born Aprril 18, 2006 at 8:51 am

Weight: 7lb 7oz, Height: 21 inches

Street name: Moe Bird or Baby Moe.