As you may recall, one of my goals for 2015 was to start a vegetable garden with Peanut.  Knowing that her world was about to change in a big way when Nugget arrived and joined our family, I really wanted to come up with a special activity for us to do, just us two.  Of course, I read to Peanut all the time, and I play with her, but I wanted to do something bigger.  I wanted us to take on a project together that would provide opportunities for fun learning experiences and, I hoped, set a foundation for similar experiences throughout her childhood.  I hit upon gardening as an idea that I hoped would work.  It certainly would give me plenty of chances to teach Peanut about the natural world, which is something I’m passionate about, it could be tailored to her age and attention level and my experience level, and I loved the idea of her growing up with a trove of memories of gardening together with her mom.  The only possible hiccup I foresaw was that Peanut is a fairly fastidious child.  You’d never know it to look at the state of her playroom, but she generally doesn’t like to get dirty.  So I hoped that she’d find gardening fun, but I wasn’t sure how she’d feel about the dirt part.

I needn’t have worried.  But anyway, backing up.  I decided that I wanted to start this year with just a very easy garden – a few pots with starter plants on my back patio.  I haven’t gardened in years – I tried a few times in Virginia, but always killed everything – so I knew that starting with four raised beds and thirty varieties of vegetables and herbs was a recipe for frustration and failure.  I also knew that Peanut’s attention span was going to be limited and there was only so much of her time I was going to get this year.  Anything advanced – like starting plants from seed or testing soil – was right out.

My first stop was Lowe’s, where I picked up four bags of potting soil and this set of four gorgeous planters.  It actually took me awhile to find the planters.  Everything I liked was expensive (funny how that works!) and I didn’t want to spend a fortune on a garden that was by no means a sure success.  But the pots that I deemed inexpensive enough seemed dinky, or their looks didn’t appeal to me.  I bypassed the pots above at first because I balked at the $98 price tag – until I realized that $98 bought a set of four pots.  Now that I can stomach.  I loved the beautiful ombre, and the fact that they’re frost resistant (key when you live on the tundra).  Sold.

Then it was off to the garden center.  Hubby and Peanut joined Nugget and me for this part of the adventure, and we all had fun exploring the different greenhouses while I decided what I wanted.

(Sneak peek – Peanut was picking out flowers for a special garden project that we’re also doing together.  More on that next week.)

I came home with sweet 100 tomatoes (a cherry varietal I’m really excited about); red leaf lettuce; mixed leaf lettuce; a strawberry plant; parsley; dill; rosemary; tie-dye basil; and mint (my favorite herb).  Hubby set up the plants on the back patio and we were ready to start playing in the dirt.

We dressed Peanut like a farmer, in overalls and crocs, because obviously.

Peanut received these Melissa and Doug garden tools from the Easter Bunny this year.  They’re excellent quality and she loves using them.  Well, she loves the rake.  She doesn’t care about the shovel or the spade.  We’ll get there.

Peanut helped me prep the soil…

And then I started potting.  And then came our first disagreement of the gardening experiment.

I wanted to actually pot the plants.  Peanut wanted to fling fistfuls of dirt about.  I guess my fears about her not having fun because she doesn’t like to get dirty were misplaced.  Seems she’s outgrown that particular preference, heh.  Anyway, I’m bigger so I eventually got my way and everything was potted.  Now Peanut and I water the plants together most days (they get watered every day, but I sometimes do the job myself, because I don’t want her to burn out on the project).  So far, nothing seems to have died, and I actually enjoyed some of my mint chopped up over a fruit salad – winning!  Stay tuned for updates on how the garden does over the summer.

Do you have a garden?  Fellow WNY gardeners, any tips for me to avoid killing my little baby plants?

(This is my usual TV viewing of late.)

I don’t watch much TV, for various reasons.  Mostly, just because I never have, so I’m not really in the habit.  Then there are all of the other things that I want to do with my time – read, blog, hike, garden, run, you name it.  TV is generally low on the list.  When the TV is on in our house, it’s usually showing a hockey game or – more often, these days – a Disney movie.  And of course, it’s been hard to watch anything for the past few months because we’ve been dealing with major toddler shenanigans at bedtime, which have eaten away pretty much every evening for the past six months.  Peanut started having problems at bedtime when we moved into our house and we indulged her for quite awhile because she was dealing with so much upheaval (new house and new school in the same two-day span, and a little brother only about six months later).  We’re finally sleep-training Peanut now, though; it’s long overdue.  I don’t want to say much about it for fear of jinxing things, but we’re actually seeing some progress and beginning to get our evenings back – it’s wonderful.  Lately Peanut has been decent about going to bed with minimum hysterics and Nugget has been falling asleep in my arms around the same time (he needs to be well asleep before we can put him down, but a snoozing baby is no trouble at all).  The result is that we’ve actually been able to chip away at some of the programs we do enjoy.  Here’s what we’ve been watching lately, and what’s next on the agenda:

• Downton Abbey – We were behind on this one, opting to wait for the Blu-Ray instead of record episodes on our DVR, because we didn’t know when we’d have time to watch anyway.  We’ve finally finished the sixth season.  I love Lady Rose, although Lady Mary is still my favorite.
• The National Parks: America’s Best Idea – We started watching this documentary when I was pregnant with Nugget, but didn’t have much time.  By the time we were able to press play, thanks to Peanut’s bedtime theatrics, I was usually half asleep anyway.  We’re finally prioritizing it and have been watching it little by little in the evenings since finishing Downton Abbey.
• Parks & Recreation – This is one of my favorite shows, and I haven’t seen the final season!  I think it’s probably going to be next on the agenda after we finish the national parks documentary.
• Game of Thrones – We’re way behind on this, thanks to my refusing to watch for months on end because I knew what was going to happen at the Red Wedding.  Finally, hubby watched the episode without me (I still haven’t seen it, and don’t plan to, thankyouverymuch) and now we need to move forward.  I’m trying to stay unspoiled about the seasons we’ve not yet seen, but it’s hard.  I’m also running out of Iron Throne contenders to root for.  I was torn between Robb and Dany, but now I suppose I’m throwing all my eggs into the Dany basket.  Please, no one tell me if that’s a bad idea.
• Wolf Hall – I started recording this Masterpiece series because I read and loved the first two books in the trilogy.  I was planning to watch it myself during maternity leave days, but after watching the first episode I realized that hubby would probably really enjoy it.  Now I’m trying to figure out when we can fit it into our viewing agenda.
• Stanley Cup Playoffs – Always.  Since our beloved Sabres aren’t in it (again) we were obviously rooting for the Caps.  But theyre out of it now, so we’re not heavily invested in any series, and we’ve just been tuning in and out as it suits us.

It feels so strange to have chunks of time again and actually be able to make a dent in this list of shows we want to watch.  Not that I’ll have time anytime soon, with all that we already have on the agenda, and this almost feels like bad luck so I’m knocking wood as I say it, but – any recommendations for me?

What a month we’ve had with this little guy!  Nugget has been working hard at growing and he’s doing a pretty good job of it, I have to say.  He’s so much bigger than he was just a month ago – it’s amazing – and more than that, every day he gets more interactive, more alert, and more fun.

The best thing to happen this month was the above – smiles!  Nugget blessed us with his first social smiles a few weeks ago and has kept them coming ever since.  I live for those smiles.  He’s happiest in the morning, much like his sister was as a baby (and still is now – they’re both morning people, it seems).  I pretty much spend the entire day trying to coax those big gummy baby grins out of Nugget.  Lucky me, he’s pretty generous with them – especially for me.  Still a mama’s boy.

He also loves his sister.  Peanut gets quite a few smiles out of Nugget, too.  She’s still crazy about him.  She loves to stroke his head gently, play “pat-a-cake” and “this little piggy” with him, and give him the sweetest hugs and kisses.  We have to occasionally remind her to be gentle with him, but she’s usually very good about keeping it calm.  Nugget finds her completely fascinating (as do we all) and it’s just a matter of time before he’s trailing after her everywhere she goes, worshipping the ground she walks on as only little brothers can.

We’ve been out and about quite a bit this month, thanks to me finally figuring out the Ergobaby carrier.  It’s a bit awkward to get into, but once we’re in Nugget is comfortable and cozy – so much so that he usually goes to sleep.  Nugget has been on three hikes this month (one on Mother’s Day, one midweek to Knox Farm, and one to Darien Lakes for our monthly hiking project – recap coming soon), he took a few long walks around East Aurora, and he visited the Curious George exhibit at the Buffalo Museum of Science.  Our neighborhood, unfortunately, is not the most walkable – there’s really only one route I feel comfortable taking the stroller, and it’s pretty boring, so we’re spending a lot of time looking for other places to play.  As Nugget gets more engaged by color and activity, I’m hoping to keep getting him out and about so he can start exploring his world.

It’s been a good month.  I’m more awake than I was a month ago – thanks in part to Nugget stretching out nighttime feedings and in part to just getting used to operating on a sleep deficit again.  I think we’re figuring out this whole two kids thing – there’s a bit of trial and error still, but we’re working through the kinks and our little unit is starting to run more smoothly.  And I’m a lot more confident even than I was a few weeks ago.  I’ve gotten used to using my own judgment with Nugget (and not relying on a team of medical professionals to tell me what to do, the way I did with Peanut).  We’re getting to know each other and I’m so grateful to have this time at home to bond with my little fella.

Nugget at 2 Months:

Weight: 10 lbs, 12 oz – big guy!  He’s packing on the pounds and ounces and turning into quite the adorable little butterball.  I love it!

Height: 22 inches cooperative.

Clothing Size: Officially in 0-3 month clothes and I’m actually not sure how long they’ll last.  I bought him some Circo onesies and they’re already looking a little short.  (Carters usually lasts the longest, since they seem to be cut for longer torsos.)  I’m currently trying to shop for Nugget’s summer clothes and bathing suits for our beach trip and I’m at a loss – I don’t know if I should buy 3 months or 6 months!

Sleep: I didn’t write about sleep last month because there was really nothing to say – there was no rhyme or reason to Nugget’s sleep cycles, but that’s to be expected with a newborn.  As he’s gotten bigger, though, he seems to be falling into a pattern of eating one final time just after we finish dinner, falling asleep in our arms on the couch (we put him in his crib on our way to bed) and then waking up one for a feeding between 1:30 and 4:30 (depending on what time he last ate).  I can take one middle-of-the-night wakeup; I think that’s pretty darn good.  His pediatrician is fine with the long stretch at this stage – Nugget is growing well and there’s no question he’s getting his meals when he wants them and eating plenty of food.  We’re all sleeping better as a result of this stretching; may it continue.

Likes: Still 100% obsessed with Mommy, and I’m loving it!  He also thinks his sister is pretty cool.  But don’t worry about Dad – he gets plenty of smiles, too.  Nugget is a happy little guy and seems pretty pleased with the family he’s found himself.  He’s also a huge fan of the art prints in his room, and one in particular – a crowd scene featuring a cluster of woodland animals.  (I’ll show you the print, and the other art items in his room, in the next nursery decorating update – soon, I promise.)  The print in question hangs over his changing table and he loves to gaze at it.  He usually doesn’t even mind diaper changes because he is so enthralled by his little forest buddies.

Dislikes: Baths, being hungry – typical newborn stuff still.  And I don’t know if I’d call these “dislikes,” but he is deeply ambivalent about his swing and the pacifier.  He’ll tolerate both if he’s in the mood to be accommodating, and even if he is, he has a short shelf life before he starts voicing his displeasure with being left in the swing or offered something to suck on that isn’t food (the nerve!).  Neither of my kids are/were big into pacifiers.  Peanut used them because she was a preemie, but she weaned herself from the paci at six months, as soon as she could find her thumb (she’s still a thumb sucker, but that doesn’t worry me).  Nugget, I think, will be rejecting the paci even earlier.  Fine by me – I’d just as soon have my kids wean themselves from the paci rather than force me to officiate elaborate parting ceremonies when they’re four years old.

Favorite Toys: Nugget is still a little young to really understand and play with toys, but he has developed a pretty adorable attachment to a stuffed panda that Peanut got from Grandma ages ago.  Peanut likes the panda too but fortunately she’s been decent about sharing.  I expect it’s the high contrast black and white that attracts Nugget.  He can lay on his blanket and coo at the panda for a good five minutes, which is basically an eternity for a newborn.

Milestones: The best milestone this month – I already mentioned it above – SMILES, my favorite!  Seriously, the first smiles are my biggest joy in the entire first year.  I’m pumped that Nugget smiled so early – more time for me to enjoy those sweet happy grins.  We also had a not-so-fun milestone this month, though: Nugget’s first sick visit to the pediatrician.  It took Peanut 15 months (once she was sprung from the NICU, that is) to need a sick visit to the pediatrician, but Nugget wasn’t so lucky.  Peanut brought a cold home from preschool and Nugget eventually caught it after it had been making the rounds of the house for several weeks.  He had it fairly light; I wouldn’t have called the doctor at all over his symptoms (a slight cough for a few days and a little bit of a runny nose) but for the fact that he was so young.  We ran a humidifier in his room, used the nasal aspirator before feedings, and he was back to normal after about a week.  It wasn’t fun for him, though – poor guy.

Quirks: Nugget earned himself a new nickname this month – “Snort.”  In addition to his puppy squeaks, which he is still doing, he’s added the cutest little snorts to his verbal repertoire.  If he wants to tell us something really important, it’s usually communicated via a medley of squeaks and snorts.  It’s ridiculously cute.

Happy two months, Nugget!  Thanks for joining our family!

Happy Mother’s Day (belated) to all the moms out there!  I had a lovely day celebrating with my three favorite people – and you can tell, because I didn’t take very many photos; I just had fun.  It was a particularly special Mother’s Day because it was my first one celebrating with this guy:

Look how he coordinates with his sheets!  Total accident.  Anyway, motherhood continues to be my favorite role of all time, and being a mom of two is a whole new ball game.  Twice the fun, twice the snuggles, twice the laughter, twice the grins (and also twice the tears and twice the diapers, but that comes with the territory).  We’re only two months into this two-kids thing, but I think we’re starting to figure it out a little bit, and it was nice to take a day and reflect on how lucky I am to have gotten the little ones I have.

We started the day at our usual ungodly hour.  Hubby fed Peanut her breakfast while I fed Nugget his, and then Peanut and I played a rousing game of “soccer” – a.k.a. tossing and kicking a mini playground ball around the house.  (I bought a Crocodile Creek ball with pictures of the planets, sun, moon and rocket ships for Nugget, who is starting to be engaged by colors and patterns and not just high-contrast.  Peanut has, of course, claimed it as her ball – but Nugget is happy to share with her.)  We had a fun “soccer” game, and Peanut shrieked and cackled with glee.  The game ended when she decided that Nugget should play, too.

I fed Nugget one more time and then we headed off on a short hike at Hunter’s Creek County Park.  The hike was fun but abbreviated, since the path leading down into the ravine was much too slippery and mucky for us to navigate with the kids in carriers.  So we explored the trails at the top of the ravine and then called it a day.

Hilariously, we saw our doubles on the trail – another family with one kid in a backpack on Dad (I’m not sure what brand the backpack was, but it wasn’t the same as ours) and a baby in an Ergo on Mom.  We waved to each other and the other mom called over to us “I like your carriers!”  That’s our life in a nutshell – bonding with strangers on the hiking trail over baby carriers.  We all got a good laugh.

After the hike, we rushed the kids home for lunch and naps.  Lunch went fine but naps were a struggle.  Peanut stayed up for an hour or so and trashed her room before finally crashing, while Nugget put us through our paces downstairs.  He naps well in the morning but isn’t big on afternoon snoozing.  Hubby and I settled him briefly and were able to watch about fifteen minutes of Ken Burns’ The National Parks, but the rest of the afternoon was spent with one of us bouncing and shushing Nugget while the other dashed up and down the stairs yelling at Peanut to lay down and stop throwing books.  It was pretty representative of this stage of motherhood!  I couldn’t do anything but laugh.  After Peanut finally woke up from her abbreviated nap, we treated ourselves to Chinese takeout for dinner and “the kids” gave me a beautiful blue bead necklace in honor of my first Mother’s Day as mom to a boy… then it was time for the normal bedtime dance.  Peanut went down easily enough, but Nugget wanted to party.  More bouncing and shushing ensued until:

We watched another ten minutes or so of The National Parks (it’s 12.5 hours long; you can see why it’s taking us months to finish it) and then attempted to lay Nugget in his crib.  He was having none of that nonsense, so I ended up alternately feeding and rocking him until he finally fell asleep at about 10:30 – and then crashed on the pillow for a few hours until it was time to get up for 2:00 a.m. snuggles.

It was a low-key day, but I felt very loved and appreciated by my boys and my girl.  And now, motherhood continues – it’s Nugget’s breakfast time.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of my friends who were celebrating.  I hope you had a lovely day!

Everybody knows that old saying: it takes a village to raise a child.  When Peanut was born, I found out just how true that proverb really is.  Certainly there are parents out there who go it alone, and my hat is off to them for everything that they do on a daily basis.  We’ve been lucky, though, in that we’ve had much more help than most.  Peanut, and now Nugget, are blessed with a village made up of pretty wonderful people – from the neonatologists and NICU nurses who cared for Peanut during her first rocky weeks of life to the sweet and dedicated teachers in her nursery classroom today, she’s had the good fortune to encounter many caring adults who have helped our family every day.  And then there are the aunts – Auntie Em and Aunt Grace, both of whom have spent several months nannying for us – and what a relief it was to us to go to work knowing that Peanut was home with an aunt who loved her.  And then there are the grandparents – Peanut and Nugget are the luckiest kids ever, because they got the best set.  But more than anyone else, my village is this lady:

Nana is my village.  She has given up months of her life to watch Peanut while I went to work.  She has sent me pictures during the day, so I could get my baby fix.  She has diagnosed fevers, hand-fed Peanut more pancakes than I can count, and dropped everything to drive across the state when the whole family came down with a nasty stomach bug (which she then caught too, worst thank-you gift ever, sorry Nana) or to be extra support in the weeks after Nugget’s arrival when I was overwhelmed and hubby was working constantly.

Peanut and Nugget both adore her.  She was the lucky recipient of one of Nugget’s earliest smiles, and she’s better at getting grins and giggles out of Peanut than almost anyone else.  When Nana turns up for a visit and happens to arrive during naptime… well, you should hear Peanut’s shrieks when she wakes up and finds one of her favorite people in the house.  It’s like the Beatles are playing Shea Stadium all over again.

Nana plays play-doh indefatigably, makes tooth-brushing themed collages, teaches baby animal names and colors and letters and numbers and everything else under the sun, picks up after all of us, and makes sure I remember to eat even when I’m sleep-deprived and have a newborn clinging to me at all hours of the day.  She spectates races, arranges flowers, accepts furniture deliveries, makes tea, stays up late or wakes up early so I can get extra rest, sleep-trains toddlers, and listens to me vent anytime I’m having a bad day.  She’s the first person I call when I’m sick or overwhelmed or just need an extra pair of hands, and even though she lives five hours away she’s been here instantly every time (how does she do that?).  I don’t know how we would parent without her.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.  Thanks for everything you do for us.

I’ll have to ask your forgiveness in advance, because I’m totally going to do that annoying mom thing – just like I did in every monthly update with Peanut – and lament how fast the time is going.  Because I seriously cannot believe that Nugget is already a month old!  It feels like just yesterday that we were meeting him for the first time.  (Hubby saw him before I did and got to watch him being cleaned up and weighed, and what I heard from across the room was “Hi!  You look just like your sister!”)

Nugget really does look an awful lot like Peanut, which surprised me.  We had a record number of ultrasounds (I was high risk, because of the complications Peanut had, and went in for twice-monthly growth ultrasounds during my last trimester) and I never thought that his ultrasound pictures looked anything like hers.  So I really was shocked when he came out looking so much like her – I mean, I know they’re siblings so they were going to have some similarities, but some of Nugget’s pictures could pass as a baby Peanut, and you could just knock me over with a feather.  Even so, I still maintain he looks more like his dad than anyone else: they have the same eyes and nose (Nugget’s nose is different from Peanut’s) and mouth (which Peanut also shares).

Of course, there are a lot of differences between Nugget and Peanut as well.  The main difference is that Nugget was full term, so he got to room with me in the hospital and come home from the hospital two days later.  Three cheers for no NICU time!  I’d actually gone to great lengths to deliver in a particular hospital because it boasted the top NICU in our region – after going through a transfer with Peanut, which was the worst day of my entire life, I wanted Nugget born in the hospital with the NICU that people transfer to.  As a result I transferred doctors and started going to a clinic I hated, because they were the only place I could find that delivered in the hospital that I wanted.  And after all that, we didn’t end up needing the NICU… and I couldn’t be more thrilled!

A full-term baby, blessing that he is, is definitely a different animal from a preemie, and we’ve had to re-learn (or learn for the first time) how to parent a newborn.  It’s been a very different experience from our experience with Peanut.  That’s a good thing – I wouldn’t wish the NICU on my worst enemy – but it’s also brought some different challenges.  For one thing, I think my recovery was easier with Peanut.  I wasn’t getting up to care for her during the night in her first two months of life; I was able to sleep nine hours and really let myself heal at night (even if my days were hectic jumbles of pumping, talking to neonatologists about things like gavage tubes, and giving baths through isolette portals).  With Nugget, the healing takes a backseat to 3:00 a.m. feedings and chasing a toddler.

Another difference: the NICU got Peanut onto a very regimented schedule of eight daily “hands on care” and feeding sessions, which we continued when she came home.  As a result, she rarely fussed or cried as a newborn (except during her 5:00 p.m. witching hour) because the schedule let us anticipate and fulfill all of her needs before she realized she needed anything.  3:00 p.m.?  Time for temperature, diaper and a bottle – before she even realizes she’s hungry and needs a change!  Nugget, however, is not on a schedule at all.  He’s fed on-demand and we check his diaper when he fusses.  I much prefer this way of parenting, of course, but it does mean that we need to work a little harder to figure out his cues.  There’s been a learning curve (we’re still learning) and plenty of head-scratching.  Why is he crying?  He can’t be hungry; I just fed him.  And I changed him three minutes ago.  Is he overstimulated?  Cold?  Hot?  Just ticked off at life?  Each day hubby and I get a little better at reading his signals, but it’s going to take a few more months before we’re really in tune with him.

Speaking of Peanut, although this is Nugget’s update, I should say a few words about her, since a lot of people have asked me how she’s adjusting to being a big sister.  In general, she’s been wonderful.  It helped that, right around the time of Nugget’s birth, her class spent a week talking about all things baby.  (Not for us, but the timing sure was good!)  She is a very sweet and gentle big sister – stroking Nugget’s downy head, giving him little kisses, and telling him she loves him.  Bestill my heart!  That said, she has had her moments.  At two-and-a-half, she is willful and attention-seeking anyway, and a new person in the house demanding lots of Mom’s time was sure to be an adjustment.  In some ways, her behavior has really taken a nose-dive; she’s spending a lot more time in time-out for throwing food, throwing toys, and (a new thing) hitting and pushing.  Her aggression has been directed at hubby and me – mostly me – not at Nugget, for which I am grateful.

I’m trying very hard to ease Peanut’s adjustment by giving her plenty of individual love and attention.  That sometimes means Nugget doesn’t get picked up immediately if he’s fussing, because I’m reading her a story, doing a puzzle, or saying bedtime prayers.  And I am looking forward to planting our garden together in a few weeks, once the weather warms up for good (it will, right?).  Hubby’s been working on Peanut’s adjustment, too – often doing bathtime and getting her ready for bed on his own, while I feed Nugget, and then I join them for stories and prayers even if he’s fussing.  It’s a balance that we’re working out, gradually, and each day things seem to make a little more sense.

Nugget at 1 Month:

Weight: 8 pounds, 8.5 ounces – wow!  Up from 6 pounds, 9 ounces at birth (and 6 pounds, 3 ounces at discharge).  I guess this guy likes to eat!

Height: 20.5 inches – added an inch since birth.  Grow, Nugget, grow!

Clothing Size: Still in newborn clothes, but he’s very close to growing out of them.  Peanut was in newborn clothes until she was almost five months old (well, once she grew into them, that is) so the idea of getting only a month’s use out of all those tiny onesies and sleepers is crazy to me!  Nana washed and folded his 0-3 month clothes, so they’re ready to go and I have a feeling he’ll be in them any day now.

Nicknames: “Nugget,” of course; “Tough Guy” (he sometimes side-eyes Peanut’s toys); also “Squeaker” and “Puppy” because of the squeaky little puppy cries he gives.  And Peanut calls him “Nayyyyyyyy-fin!”

Likes: Mom.  MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM.  He’s definitely a mama’s boy.  He settles down faster in my arms than for anyone else, and hubby jokes that when I’m holding Nugget and he’s in quiet alert state he gazes up at me with pure adoration on his face – a look that’s reserved for me.  With everyone else, he’s mainly quizzical.  I’m quite flattered by this.  Peanut is such a daddy’s girl, and while I love that she loves hubby so much, it’s kind of nice to have a kid who is wild about me in particular.  He also likes his food – he’s an enthusiastic eater (aggressive, even) – and it shows in his weight gain, for which I’m patting myself on the back!  And (thanks, pregnant running!) he loves being bounced and shuffled about the room with buoyant little steps.

Dislikes: Baths, like most newborns.  He’s also not fond of diaper and outfit changes, feeling hungry, or his late afternoon/early evening witching hour (just like his sister).  And he’s not into being put down anywhere, ever; major hysterics (the back of his head gets all sweaty!) whenever I ask him to sit in his swing or seat while I eat or go to the bathroom… the boy wants to be held and bounced all day long!  All pretty standard newborn stuff.

Milestones: In developmental milestones, the biggest news is that he rolled over three times from prone to supine!  The first time he did it (on the day before his one month birthday) I thought it might have been unintentional.  But then he did it two more times the next day.  This seems so early to me – he’s a strong little guy!  We’ve been working on tummy time and he’s really quite good at it.  He lifts his head and turns it from side to side pretty readily, and he does so without the help of rage (which Peanut needed to motivate her to move).  Nugget, by contrast, will nonchalantly turn his head to the other side as if he’s just gotten tired of the view on the one side and wants to check out what’s going on across the room.  In other milestones, we celebrated Nugget’s first major holiday – Easter – and he wore a sweater vest!  He also took his first walk in the great outdoors; he wasn’t a fan of the stroller, but I’m hoping that he’ll grow to enjoy hiking as much as we do.

Quirks: Hmmm, not much to report here; we’re just getting to know him.  Other than being a total mama’s boy, as mentioned above, of course!  (I’m not complaining about that!)

Happy one month birthday, little man!  We’re having so much fun watching you grow.

HOPPY Easter, friends!  I hope you had a good one!  Ours was… well, it was a bit of a challenging day, but ultimately Easter can’t be anything but fun with two little ones in the house.  I was exhausted all day after being up pretty much all the night prior, tending to Nugget.  He’s going through a growth spurt and it’s making him extra ornery.  As a result, I didn’t get more than a 30 minute stretch of sleep all night, until after 6:00 a.m.  So I was extra not amused to see this view in the morning:

SNOW?  Seriously?  C’mon, Buffalo, it’s enough already.  I’m so unbelievably over winter, I can’t even tell you.  We’ve had snow on the ground since November.  That’s seven months, if you count April.  I’m done.  Anyway, I turned my attention to happier views.

The Easter Bunny came!  Peanut made out like a bandit.  She got chocolate, a Pooh puzzle, gardening tools, stickers, a cup with a fun straw, and a Silvermist fairy doll (from the Disney fairies movie franchise, which we have basically memorized).  And she got:

Gruff, the Neverbeast (from the most recent Disney Fairies movie, Tinker Bell and the Legend of the Neverbeast).  She was overjoyed to find him next to her basket.

The bunny didn’t forget Nugget either, although his basket was a lot smaller than Peanut’s.  He’s not really playing with toys yet, and he certainly can’t have chocolate.  But he got a stuffed frog and duck, and an Oball car.  All three now belong to Peanut (according to Peanut).

He didn’t really know what to make of this whole Easter thing, but he was interested in his basket.

Meanwhile, Peanut lived out all of her toddler dreams by eating chocolate before breakfast.

Later in the day, we colored Easter eggs.  We’d meant to do the job the day before, but it didn’t happen.  Anyone surprised?  Anyway, we got it done and that’s what counts.  The eggs looked basically white when we took them out of the dye because we were impatient, but whatever.

The kids took naps (and I tried to nap but failed; I think I was overtired), and after everybody woke up we got all dolled up in our Easter finery for FaceTime with Nana and Grandad and then dinner with Grandma and Grandpa.

Nugget wore a sweater vest.  Can you even handle the cuteness?  I couldn’t.

I told them to smile for the camera.  This is what happened:

Ah, well.  You can’t win them all!

Dapper little dude, isn’t he?

After the photo ops, I set the table for dinner.

(I used my favorite Provencal linens, which I bought in Paris.)  No pics of the actual dinner – Grandma and Grandpa brought it over, and I contributed a pineapple cake for dessert – but everything was delicious.  We had chicken, potatoes, asparagus, and a Polish bread.  And thus ended Easter and began the nightly bedtime negotiations…

Hope all of my friends who celebrated yesterday had a wonderful day!  And now, seriously, WHERE is spring?

So, it’s spring… allegedly, anyway.  It’s still pretty dismal and dreary out there (that picture above is from last spring) but at least I can see grass again.  (Brown grass.)  Given that there’s been snow on the ground for the last five months straight, I’m a bit skeptical of ever seeing green or flowers again, but I keep hearing that it will spring in good time, so.  I will put on a brave face and make a list of things to do this spring.  When it comes – when.

• Enjoy my maternity leave and get in lots of snuggles and bonding with Nugget.
• Take a spring hike at Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve.
• Plant a patio garden (herbs, tomatoes, beans and peas) with Peanut.
• Take a tour of the Roycroft campus in East Aurora.
• Continue our family project of hiking in a different place each month.
• Take Nugget to the “Book Babies” program at our local library.
• Start training for the Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon (as soon as I’m cleared to exercise again)!
• Organize my yarn stash and put together a usable craft closet.
• Invite one of Peanut’s school friends over for a playdate.
• Paint the living room fireplace.

There – that’s ten things to do this spring!  I think that’s plenty.  (I usually try for fifteen, but I never quite make it and with a newborn in the house, there’s just no way that more than ten activities are happening, anyway.)  Mostly, I just want to enjoy our first full season as a family of four.  (FOUR!)  We’ll still be in the newborn black hole for awhile yet, but I think we can muster up the energy (somehow) and make an effort to really enjoy each other and have some fun this spring.

Are you making a spring to-do list?  What’s on your agenda?