Short Stories

Anyone have some time for a quick little game of catch up?

I do! I do!

Let me tell you, being on maternity leave (sadly, only 4 weeks left) and being home all day long, one might be so inclined to think that I'd actually have more time to blog. Nope. I'm still somewhat baffled as to how I don't have more time, that I can't just steal away for a peaceful, little 20 minute stretch to fulfill my reporting duties as my kids grow and change so much every single day. The times I have thought about blogging, the second thought to cross my mind is "Where do I begin?" Seriously, the fact that I am home everyday enjoying our little sweethearts, I've experienced so many moments that make me just want to hit the record button on the camcorder and leave it on until they're teenagers. Just to remember these sweet days with our two kids and that they will never be this age ever again. In fact, tomorrow morning, they will both be even older. "Days older" is still pretty significant when you're not even a month old and your age is still counted in weeks.

Let me start with the disclaimer that this could easily be my most choppy, unstructured work of words ever recorded but I hope that you find some enjoyment out of it and that it still serves the purpose of recording these events to still hold dear in my own mind.

Let's Begin With Lincoln!!

Can I just start by saying that he is just about 100% full of sweetness? What did I do to deserve this wonderful baby boy? Honestly, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think that. And to get so lucky, so fortunate to have not just one, but now two children that are just purely amazing, just blows my mind. Everyday.

It's Elaina's fault that our dear, sweet Lincoln has taken on a whole new identity in his short little life so far. Since Elaina affectionately refers to Lincoln as "Winkin'" - you guessed it, we've been calling him Winkin' too. When you look into his sweet face - Winkin seems just fine. Don't get me wrong, afterall we did name him Lincoln because we liked that name and prefer to call him his given name, but... from time to time, he is just purely Winkin'.

So you remember that little 6.6 pounds of baby we brought home from the hospital? (He dropped some ounces prior to discharge) Oh yeah... he is growing! He is actually beginning to fit into some of his 0-3 month clothes. Previously, my friends, family and myself were all out scouring the stores gathering up as many newborn sized outfits as we could find so that we wouldn't lose the little boy in the 0-3 month clothes which looked like circus tents next to Lincoln. He is growing so much that I am beginning to think that I may have purchased my last pack of newborn Swaddler diapers for him. I would even chance a bet that he is possibly ready for the size 1 diapers that I bought for him almost 2 months ago. Since I'm on the topic of diapers... I am actually beginning to get somewhat used to changing boy-diapers. (Good thing for Lincoln and Eric, don't you think?) After my second "baby shower", courtesy of the baby, I've surveyed all of moms-of-boys-friends to learn the fine technique of changing the boy, minus the shower and realized that I just needed to alter my approach a little bit. Now, I am quicker, safer and use a little barrier to avoid the squirt gun effect. Never to soon for the "Ah-Hah!" moment to take place.

Along with growing and filling out, Lincoln continues to be the most calm and sweet bundle of baby love ever. He rarely cries and it's always only when he's hungry. He has recently begun to finish 4 ounces of formula, as opposed to only 3 previously. In addition to that, he has been sleeping up to 4 hour stretches without a bottle. (This is where I do the happy dance!) But, boy oh BOY-- when his belly timer goes off and he's ready to eat, he will definitely be sure to let you know that you have exactly 1 minute to provide warm, milky nourishment to the starving child. That's all it takes, one minute until he starts to wail. Upon hearing this hungry cry, as both parents spring into action, Eric says, " Get him his bottle before he starts to billy goat!" Yes, if you have ever heard the shaky ah-ah-ah-ah bleating of a billy goat, you may think that is the noise coming from the within the mesh walls of the pack 'n play. Nope. It is our kid - just the baby boy kind. You can just about hear the milk hitting the pit of his empty belly as he is drinking it down. Poor little guy. I just keep telling myself that the bigger he gets, the more consistent his schedule will be.

Other than all of the growing taking place around the clock, he is still a good, sound sleeper. His hair is beginning to grow more obviously, more than just his fuzzy peach head. We're still debating whether it will come in blond or brown. My vote is decidedly light brown. His roots glow with a blond sheen and appear blond in photos, yet his actual hair looks to be dark brown. He's still got the cutest little face ever to compliment either hair color. There is no mistaking, he is all boy!

And Now For Elaina!

Oh, Elaina... my little clown. Lately, this little pipsqueak has been cracking us up! She is growing into her new role as the big sister quite nicely. I won't say that she loves her Winkin' just yet, but she is terribly fond of him. I'm guessing that for an almost-two-year-old to really love something, it has to pan out some kind of entertainment or tasty reward. Unfortunately for Lincoln, he is neither to her just yet. She sees Lincoln as the baby - not particularly fun for her since he interacts very minimally, (read: zero) and she has to sometimes wait her turn with mommy and daddy's time because of him. Yet, she still looks in on him every morning and pats his legs or butt gently and kisses him on the head before bedtime. She has not made any attempt to pick him up by herself or do anything to cause him harm. Without fail, she remembers to be gentle and soft and nice to her brother. Just this morning, I was holding Lincoln and Elaina sat next to me and told me that she wanted to give Lincoln a hug, "Okay?" I helped to hold Lincoln on her lap and she beamed with joy and fulfillment that she was able to give some of her love to him rather than just a pat on the leg.

Also, since becoming a big sister, we've been doing a lot of talking about how big Elaina is. She will quickly tell you that she is going to be "2" and that she is a big girl. Tonight at dinner, Eric asked her if she was a nice girl, to which she replied, "I a big-gurl!" Ahhh... nice- schmice, she's gonna be big! Along with our big girl talks, we've been talking a lot about sitting on the big girl potty and sleeping in the big girl bed and that big girls don't need binkies. Whew... only a few times I have seen her head begin to spin. Lots of changes we know. While Eric and I are both off work for the time being, we're trying to take full advantage of this time to make some transitions while we have the time to make them easy for her and gradual. So far, the only one we've had any luck with is the big girl bed. Very soon, Eric will be repainting what will become Elaina's new room as Lincoln will take over residence in her current bedroom in a few months. We're moving her into a full sized bed and a new bedroom which is much further down the hall. She has occasionally taken naps in there and does just fine. Only time will tell how she does overnight.

As for the issues of the binky and potty training... well... Let's just say that she would prefer to be a baby forever if that meant that she can have her binkies. In fact, she's actually gotten worse, not better, with the binky situation. She asks and sometimes demands 2 binka-bonks.
One day, Eric made an off-the-cuff rule for Elaina to abide by which was "No binkies outside." Beofre running out the door, she easily and willingly parts with her binkies as she lies them on the table and shouts, "No binkies owside!" So, maybe, I'm, thinking, we move her bed outside? No binky and she won't have to wear a diaper and she'll be grateful to have any bed, even though it doesn't have crib rails on it. (Put down the phone for Children Services... I wouldn't do that. I'd at least give her blankets and some clean underwear.)

I digress, Elaina has been a great little helper. She seems to recognize the shift in the household as she has wanted to be mommy and daddy's little helper every chance she gets. Regardless what Eric or I are doing, she'll pal up next to us and say "Help, Mommy?" "Help, Daddy?" She is most efficient at throwing away Lincoln's stinky diapers and putting the soiled bibs on the counter for us. I'm still not sure why her help spectrum of helping is so limited. Ask her to pick up her toys, do the laundry or wash bottles and she's all like, "What?" Very selective, that girl of mine.

Her most recent gold star worthy accomplishment (in her own mind) is that she has taught herself to buckle her seat belt to her booster chair at the dinner table. She kept herself happy as a clam for a whole 5 minutes straight, just hearing the little click of the buckle as she fastened her seat over and over again. So do you know how she was able to re-fasten it so many times herself? Well, she hasn't quite caught onto the fact that the same action will in fact release the buckle which leads us to mommy's newest job assignment. Mommy, The Unbuckler. Trust me, I am relieved that Elaina doesn't know how to release herself and I pray that we don't have to tackle that problem anytime soon. In addition to her fascination with the seat belt, any time she does something by herself, she happily squeals with an excited, "I did it!" We get an "I did it!" when she flushes the toilet, when she eats all of her food and even when she washes her hands. Really it is the little things that put a smile on my face every single day.

Elaina will forever be my sweet little girl who says, "Amen" at the end of a story, hugs the telephone when she is finished talking to daddy or grandma and grandpa on the phone and who possesses the most sparkly blue eyes and sweet smile I have ever seen.

Now, can someone tell me what I ever did to deserve these two wonderful children to call my own? We've truly been blessed by The Best and I wouldn't trade them for anything!