Priorities

Stella is working on her cuteness and good posture. 

While Porter prefers to focus on his chins and arm rolls. 

Car Seat Debacle

For Porter's current car seat we are using one of those infant carrier seats that has a base in both of our cars. It only took one month and 3 days for the entire car seat to end up at work with Tim, leaving us with no transport method for Porter. I am a little surprised it took that long, actually. 

Rather than cancel our plans for the day (shopping with Grammy), I got brave and dragged the whole crew out on the bus. Matilda loves bus adventures and there is a bus route that runs from near our place right to the mall with few stops. Our first order of business, after an uneventful bus trip in, was a stop at Target in search of a new bathing suit for Matilda. Then Grammy and Matilda, in their matching outfits, got matching coffees (for the record Matilda gets a kids steamed milk, sometimes with honey if it is classified as a treat). After the big bus trip and some shopping Porter woke up so we headed to the snazzy kids room at the new fancy mall, Americana. There Matilda was entranced by Ratatouille while Porter recharged and then we took advantage of the changing room and free diapers. 

We did a bunch more shopping, got some lunch, and enjoyed some of the kids concert that we happened upon before another easy ride home. Porter's first bus trip completed, which he slept through both ways in the sling.

Back at home the kids modeled some of their new clothes from Grammy.

Time to Worry?

From the next room I just heard this commentary in Matilda's stream of chatter while she plays:

"Matilda, you're wrecking it!"

Maybe it's time to investigate. 

Dresses Only Please

As you can see this rainbow dress is the current favorite, replacing her apple dress as favorite. M is in a solid dress phase now and only wants to wear dresses. She also has moved into the changing-clothes-many-times-a-day phase so we've installed a strict 2-dresses-per-day rule around the house.

Wishful Thinking

We just watched this video and Matilda has declared twice since that she wants to "go there now!"

She also told me today that she was going to Grammy's house for Christmas and she was going to open some enormous presents and that Porter would open some tiny presents. Her words. 

We're Growing a Giant

Porter had his 1 month check-up today and verified what we have been suspecting: he's HUGE.

Let me refresh your memory: at birth (exactly 5 weeks ago) he weighed 8lb 7oz and at the last check-up (two weeks ago) he weighed 9lb 3oz.  Today he was a whopping 11lb 13oz, coming in at 97th percentile weight for age. He is also a tall fellow, at 23 inches, 90th percentile height for age. At this rate of weight gain he will outweigh Matilda by summer's end. 

The other exciting news from our pediatric appointment is that by next week Porter's belly button will be healed enough for a bath. So at 6 weeks of age, our greasy boy will finally get a scrub down and rejoin the ranks of good smelling babies. 

Not Enough Words

You folks can make you own caption on this one. I am still laughing. 

Conspiring

I think Matilda has found someone to do her dirty work. 

Gross Milestone

Porter's disgusting umbilical stump finally fell off today. Well, it would be more accurate to say that I pulled it off, albeit accidentally. Although I am quite pleased it is off now and we are moving closer to bath day since the boy is getting a bit funky, one month into life now with no proper baths. 

Here he is immediately after I pulled his cord off getting another lame sponge bath. You can't tell really in this small picture but his belly button hole seems cavernous. I would say he is looking a bit concerned about the fitness of his parents, no?

Don't Scowl at MY Kids

Grammy took us all out to a delicious dinner at our favorite neighborhood Italian restaurant and Porter proved that so far, he, like his sister, is an awesome restaurant kid. I was nervous headed into the fancy-ish place with Porter, but I think I forgot how portable & easy little babies are. He just slept & nursed the entire time we were there: 

Matilda, despite being sleep deprived, was also on good behavior thanks to all the delicious food. Here she is spreading the olive paste with her fork onto the yummy bread. 

She also pounded all the calamari, mussels & clams that came in both our appetizer and Tim's entree. For her we ordered their awesome pasta e fagioli soup which she also devoured. 

It is nice to know that, so far, we still aren't relegated to the loud "big box" restaurants with crappy kids menus. 

The Boy is 1 Month Old!?

I am not sure where the month went to, but here is how we celebrated today:

We hired a cow to entertain Stella & Porter. 

Matilda decorated the bathtub with grafitti. 

Porter went for his first walk in the Ergo. 

We ate brownies & gave Porter extra kisses. M was too anxious to get the brownies in her mouth and insisted on no candles. 

Porter dreamt of the day when a ride in the car doesn't leave him with a major neck kink. (Note: Mismatched socks, a sure sign of the second born - I never would have been so slack as to dress Matilda in mismatched socks already at 1 month. Those are Matilda's winter gloves wadded up in his seat, she wore them for a good portion of the 80 degree day today. I drew the line when she wanted to wear her winter hat, recommending a sun hat instead.)

Morning Mat Time

Some pictures of the growing boy happy on his play mat this morning. 

Peek-A-Boo

Porter really seems to have smiles only for his sister, the rest of us have barely gotten a single smile out of him but M gets them consistently. It is so great to witness. Tonight Matilda was doing peek-a-boo with Porter over the side of the pack-n-play where we were changing him. Porter was giving big smiles and coos for her each time she popped up. We were all enjoying it so much that by the time I remembered to grab a camera for documentation Porter was tired of the game and started crying so the vidoe makes it seem like Porter is terrorized by peek-a-boo. 

In other news, it was orange day around here and Grammy, Matilda, Porter & I all wore orange. The word is that tomorrow is blue day if you want to join the fun. 

Nothing Much to Report

We seem to be reaching our cruising altitude around here. 

Porter sleeps & eats through most activities, including our belated Mother's Day brunch.

Matilda is keeping entertained with animals as usual. Seen here showing off her pill bugs on the patio to a visiting friend. 

And taking advantage of a petting station at the zoo.

Tim & I are getting acclimated I think, exhausted some days & not so much others. As documented in my fish stick post, I have discovered the joy of frozen/pre-packaged foods. I think I may go back to cooking from scratch by the time the kids are in college.

Starving

We had a fun morning with an outing to the zoo. We got home and I was just fixing lunch for M & I, when a massive wave of hunger hit me. After inhaling any leftovers that could be rapidly heated up I realized the problem: in my busy morning prep to get us all out the door before 10 I forgot to eat breakfast. 

Holding Porter

Since Matilda was sick last week we have really been restricting her from touching Porter & trying to keep her a distance away. It has been really hard for everyone, except maybe Porter who doesn't seem to mind not having his big sister hanging on him at any given moment. When Matilda woke up this morning the first thing she said was, "I get to hold the baby!" Tim & I both thought that the other one had promised her this, but it turns out she had independently decided. Tim & I agreed she is well enough and so first thing, right after the smiling, she got to hold Porter, which she hadn't done in more than a week. She was so pleased and so sweet with him. It is nice she is well again because now randomly during the day she will just run up to him and hug him (actually she usually hugs just his head, generally as he is trying to nurse) and whisper, "Oh Porter, I love you." Porter takes all the love really well and usually only fusses when she is hugging him so vigorously that it pulls his mouth off my boob from nursing. In other, not so sugary sweet news, Matilda could not comply with the no-climbing-on-the-coffee-table rule that I imposed at Sarah & Gaurav's tonight. I like how in this instance rather than reminding Matilda to get down, Tim first chose to take a photo. Note Stella & Porter chatting it up in the background, plotting the baby insurrection. 

Smiling Babies

So after all her practice making Stella smile yesterday (shown above), Matilda broke out her good material and got smiles from Porter this morning. His first smiles! How sweet that they were for his big sister. It was first thing this morning when Matilda was waking up. Tim was already in her room & I brought a quiet, alert Porter in to say hi to everyone. Matilda came rushing over to him repeating "Hi Porter, hi buddy, hi sweet little guy" in her soft baby-speak voice. He smiled after hearing it so we encouraged her to talk to him more and we got more smiles! Such a nice moment.

On the Go

I seem to be getting more and more of these.

Next Up, Tater Tots

Today I introduced Matilda to a standard staple in the diet of many American children: the fish stick. In a fog of tired-new-mom-hunger I bought a huge stockpile of frozen food yesterday at Trader Joe's including some fish sticks, which we broke out for lunch. Matilda was an instant fan and scarfed down all of hers before I even sat down. She then alternated between hounding me for the remaining fish sticks on my plate and spooning up the mayonnaise-caper mixture I concocted as some pseudo-tartar sauce. Looks like she'll survive just fine on the standard school lunch diet when the time comes. 

Some Days go so Smooth

Today was not one of those days. We started trying to leave for the playground at 9:30. We actually arrived at the playground at 4:30. The hours in between are a blur of nursing, car troubles, temper tantrums, napping attempts and snacks. And this pic of the kids loaded up to leave the playground is the only one I managed to snap all day - exciting stuff I know. Tomorrow is a new day. 

The Mama Who Cried Wolf

OK, so the day is not over, it is not even 7 when Tim gets home, but I have to say we survived. There were some rough patches but everyone made it through and it wasn't all terrible. The key seems to be living in the moment, break the day into 30 minute increments that you can get through and really lower your expectations! Also, plugging the older child into her new favorite program for an hour or so really helps too. 

Uncle

OK, it is only Tuesday morning of my first week alone and I think I am officially calling uncle.

Translator

When Porter first came home and was crying Matilda would say, "Waaaah, waaaah, waaaah." For days we kept explaining to her that Porter didn't know words, he could only cry to tell us things. It cracked me up since it seemed like she was mocking him, but eventually she stopped. Now she mostly says soothing things when Porter fusses. However, tonight as Porter was crying during a particularly long and traumatic diaper change Matilda was rattling off her version of what he was saying: "Where's my boob? I want that boob. Get my boob. I need a boob now." 

I think she was probably fairly accurate. Porter has little patience for diaper changes and usually wants to go straight to the nursing portion that follows. 

Entertaining Porter

"Daddy, you're making babydoll dance really good!"

Return to the Hills

Porter revisited the Griffith Park hills with Sarah, Gaurav, Stella & I for a little Mothers Day hike. Last time we went on this trail was three weeks ago. I have to say he seemed easier to carry this time. It was also just nice to get out and move since we have mostly been home bound with the little tyke trying to keep him away from the germy public for a bit longer. 

Uneventful Update

Really nothing much to report around here. Porter isn't sick yet. Matilda still is (albeit very mildly) and now Tim too so they are quarantined together to the far side of the apartment. Spent the whole day nursing and getting alternately pooped and puked on. But, both the kids are sleeping now and so angelic looking that I've managed to forget all the disgruntled feelings I had earlier.  

Gaining Weight

Porter went back to the pediatrician today for his two week weight check. Typically babies should gain 1 oz/day at this age. Porter decided to aim high and managed to gain 16 ounces (1 pound!) in 10 days. I think a lot of it had to do with all the cramming he did last night before our appointment. After sleeping the day away yesterday Porter decided to tank up on milk all night and got up to nurse every hour. His hard work paid off and he tipped the scales at 9lb 4oz this morning.

The crummy part of the medical visit was confirmation from our pediatrician that Matilda has to be kept away from Porter due to her current runny nose/congested status. Our pediatrician said she cannot touch him or be within a few feet of him until she's well. Matilda has done really well with following these orders and needed very little reminding to stay back actually. But for me, I am not really sure how to comply with that order since Porter spends almost all his time on me either nursing or sleeping in a carrier yet I need to get near Matilda for any number of activities. Thankfully Tim will be home tomorrow to assist in all manner of things. 

He Got the Snoring Genes

Well, we all survived our first day home alone - probably because Porter spent the majority of the day doing this:

It allowed me to entertain Matilda a fair amount, cook dinner, take a walk and even squeeze in a trip to the playground. 

Fair Warning

Tomorrow I will have to face the hard reality of two kids since Mom went home tonight & Tim is back to work now. Which means that the blog posts here may stop immediately and you may never be updated on the cuteness of M & P again. Or at least never until July when Matilda starts pre-school (for a whopping 9 hours per week) and I have a spare moment to think again. Unless of course I choose to use those spare moments for napping rather than blogging, in which case I will really never be heard from. Because just look at that bundle, who could resist napping with him. 

In the Danger Zone

Yesterday after a little birthday breakfast out, we took Tim to the zoo for a last-day-at-home celebration. Porter & I stayed out of the goat enclosure for a nurse in the while Matilda went in for some goat brushing. I cannot explain what is going on here but it seems like risky behavior on Matilda's part.  Incidentally, it was also Porter's first trip to the zoo - he cooperated quite nicely by sleeping in the sling almost the entire trip with only the occasional squawk to nurse. 

I'm Gorgeous

Matilda has come running out of the bathroom from helping Grandma Marge get ready 3 times now in 5 minutes to tell me she's gorgeous. Who knew how much fun a bottle of concealer could be. 

Meanwhile Porter is in the sling snoring with each exhale. 

Old Man Tim

In honor of Tim's birthday I dressed the kids in their "Daddy love" clothes today. Porter either disagrees with the shirt, or opposes the vice grip that his sister is trying out.

Sleep Grin

We aren't sure we have seen an actual reactionary smile yet, but these "sleep grins" are just as good to me. 

Ratted Out

The record should show that Matilda engaged in her first instance of tattle-taling on Saturday. In this case she was reporting on Grandma Marge, but I am sure she's just honing her skills for Porter. Matilda and Grandma had gone off to the bathrooms at the park, mid-picnic, to take care of some business. As they returned the first thing Matilda said was, "Um, Mama, Grandma Marge put a baby wipe in the toilet." (This is significant since we have a no wipes in the toilet policy in our household to spare the plumbing.) 

The funniest part to me is that she didn't say a word to Mom as it occurred, just silently watched and filed the information away. That's really the trick is that she never misses a thing & is always testing the boundaries lately - girl is too smart for her parents already, especially the new sleep-deprived parent-model. 

Mr. Potato Head Fun

Who can resist trying on the big teeth?

Rock Star Material

Matilda got this rocking, sparkly headband from Stella's aunt Rachel who was just visiting. Now all we need is a picture of M with her headband and Porter with his hair pushed up into a mohawk for their album cover. 

Two outings in one day necessitates a 3 hour nap for Mama.

Lots of firsts today as Porter went to Griffith Park for a picnic and our favorite gelato place.

This mini Radio Flyer wagon came packed with baby gifts from some of Tim's co-workers. Matilda quickly claimed it as her own and it has been turned into the primary transport for her Wizard of Oz dolls. Today the Cowardly Lion got chosen to join on our picnic outing. Porter manages to open his eyes just a bit in the bright sun. Dueling sling action after gelato - the babies both slept through the entire event and did not get to partake in the goodies. 

Eye Make-up and Grandma Marge

Matilda is having no difficulty filling her time while we are occupied with Porter. She is in absolute heaven with Grandma Marge here and keeps tabs on Grandma at all times. This morning she passed quite a while "helping" Grandma get ready. It turns out she has perfected the art of eyebrow pencil application.  As you can see she is also working on the art of tolerating her mother. She gave me this look as I asked her to pose for a photo - it was accompanied by an eye roll. Teenage years here we come. It seems I am officially in the doghouse for bringing home the new baby brother. Tim & I are both getting quite a hard time and attitude, but Grandma Marge can do no wrong. I am really thankful Mom is here for many reasons, but mostly to help Matilda survive this transition a little easier.