My Cutie pie

Some sweet baby Aaron pictures in his crib. He is happy and cheerful in these pictures, but he likes to be held and cuddled and played with so much that he gives me the saddest pout face when i lay him down for his naps. It's just pitiful how he looks at me - like I've totally betrayed him some how by having him sleep. ha! Silly boy!
He is doing so well. This thanksgiving weekend he moved forward a bit doing the army crawl. He even surprised me this evening by doing his pointer finger/thumb pincer grasp when picking up cheerios off his highchair tray! He may have very good fine motor skills like Nicholas. He strikes me as a combination of a lot of Nicholas and Celia's strengths. His gross motor (celia's strength) and fine motor (Nicholas' strength) are great. He is babbling 'mamamama' and some other sounds. His eating is an area that he needs time in. He loves to nurse and always has. He could do just as well without solid food. He likes pears, bananas and sometimes some baby cereal. He hates sweet potatoes (actually shudders) and avocados and he loved peas one day and hated them the next. N&C loved solid food right away, so this is a surprise to me. At least I know mother's milk is what he needs 99% of right now and I plan on nursing him past 12 months if he wants to continue.
I sort of grieved not being able to nurse Nicholas and Celia. I felt I missed out on that close mother-baby bonding time with them. I pumped for almost 12 months so they didn't need any formula, but it just wasn't the same. This time with Aaron I set it in my mind that I would nurse him. It was an adjustment. Nursing a baby is not 'easy' at first. It takes time for the mother and baby to learn from each other. I'd say it was 6-7 weeks before it was not a lot of work to nurse him. It took a lot of practice from us both. But, boy, is it worth it in the long run. I definitely don't want anyone out there to feel guilty if it doesn't work out for you or your baby. But, it's something I cherish with Aaron. I never mind nursing him and I'll miss it when it is over someday.
I've nursed him in restaurants (at the table), stores, waiting rooms, Dr's offices, my car, on thomas the train (ha ha), during a wedding (while the bride walked down the aisle and I was standing up), in church, at the aquarium.... I always nurse discreetly - often people think I'm holding him and he is sleeping. I'm not a flasher! :) But, its a natural thing and there is nothing to be ashamed of a mother nursing her baby. Benefits to him are enormous and the benefits to me (prevention of breast cancer) are also wonderful. I just love it!

Here is some info on 101 reasons to breastfeed your child, that is interesting. :)

I Love

This evening I was putting Nicholas and Celia to bed and Celia was so tired. They are both fighting a cold and Nicholas' is almost all done but she is fighting a cough and runny nose. Well, she was so tired that I wanted her to be able to fall asleep quickly, so I had Nicholas come lay in our bed. Uncle Matthew, Jason and Uncle Russ were going to be playing Wii in the livingroom, so I was going to walk over to my parent's house and hang out with my sister Angy and my mom. So I told Nicholas that in a little while Daddy was going to help him go to his bed and I was going to be gone to talk with Grandma and Aunt Angy for a while. I always tell them that I will be gone otherwise if they wake up looking for me and I'm not there they will cry.
So I said "I'm going to go to Grandma's house for a little bit but I will kiss you when i come home"
Nicholas "No. Stay here Mommy. I Love you"
Me "Awwwwww"

. . . But I still went and he did great going to bed for Daddy. This was his first REAL 'I love you' with meaning on his own terms. Lately N&C have been saying, for example, in talking about a toy, "I LOVE that plane!". Everything is "I Love it" instead of "I like it". ha

So tonight at bedtime when we were reading their Children's bible I was telling them how much God loves them and how God wants us all to love each other. They both looked so excited to hear that. We were reading the story of when Jesus was born and I was telling them that Jesus is God (the best I could explain it to them right now) and that when God/Jesus was born that people knew he was special and that when we pray we are talking to that same Jesus. So then we prayed a super simple prayer together that basically went like this

Hi God and Jesus
I love you God. I am glad you love me. Thank you for everything. I'm glad that you love Nicholas, Celia, Aaron, Daddy, Mommy, Grandmas and Grandpas, Aunt Angy, Russ, Lauren, Sammy,.... (on and on - please don't feel left out if you're name isn't in there - We're So thankful for everyone).
Thank you for my warm bed. Thank you for Daddy working so hard for us. Thankyou for our 'nummies (food). Thank you for our toys. Thank you for 'Max and Ruby' (their favorite cartoon this week).
Please help us to get all better so our yucky noses and coughs can be gone. Please help Lauren and Sammy to feel all better too. Please help Sammy to sleep lots at night (that one was for you Angy!).
Thanks God. Goodnight. Amen.

And I do thank God for my husband, our beautiful children, family, friends, warm home, food, medicine, healthcare, Jason's 3 jobs, our health.... so much. My big problem is I worry it can all be taken away in an instant and I oftentimes think about how each moment could be our last. Perhaps its just too much cause it often leaves me worrying too much. Could this be the last time I say 'goodbye' to someone or how long can all this wonderfulness continue before something bad happens. I really wish Jason could not have to work 3 jobs so he could be home more and not so tired all the time, but in times like this its great that he can have 3 jobs and make ends meet. A lot of young families are struggling out there right now. And this will pass someday. But we have our health, our children whom I couldn't live without , each other, ... gosh, I could go on and on. When you really think about it, I think Thanksgiving is probably the most underrated holiday ever. So, hug those around you and think about all your blessings - even in tough times, there are probably a few in there.

To the Park

I'm thankful we have a nice park within walking distance from our home. I've been taking N&C to this park since they were little babies.This Fall I was able to let Nicholas and Celia ride their tricycles to the park while I either carried Aaron in the Ergo carrier or had Aaron in a stroller. It gets us to the park quicker and they are happier to listen when it is time to go home because it is fun to ride their bike home.

Following Nicholas and Celia to the park.



Me with Aaron in the Ergo carrier - i had to get a pic of us by holding the camera out

Nicholas and Celia are so happy they can get up/down on the riding animals now.

Nicholas found a stick he was playing with the day before still at the park.

Aaron getting drowsy and looking at our fast setting sun (4:30pm the sun is down)

Just this last weekend my sister asked if we were thinking of selling the BOB stroller. It is the double stroller we had with N&C. I'm known to get rid of almost anything I'm not using much (I've even been known to almost throw out my highschool diploma). But, you know... I must say that stroller is something I can't part with yet. And truly we may use it more. I had little problem getting rid of N&C's cribs and getting rid of some other baby things, but that stroller was a big part of their babyhood. We went on SO many walks around the neighborhood and to the park. It was a common part of our afternoon and a relaxing thing for me to do with them. But, hopefully we'll need to use it a bit with Aaron - and maybe someone will want to ride in the extra seat.
And as Thanksgiving nears in a couple days and snow is in our forcast, we'll be saying goodbye to the park for another season. See you in spring neighborhood park!

Aaron at 6 months old

My baby is 1/2 a year old. I find it bittersweet. He is thriving, happy, healthy and wonderful. But I know this time is so fleeting and when I cuddle him I know it goes so very fast. Sometimes when I am busy cleaning the house, preparing meals, getting caught up on the computer, etc I feel like I'm wasting time that could be spent cherishing their every moment. I know its unrealistic and I would never ever get the things done that they also need. I suppose each stage is special on its own, but it just goes too quickly. It's something you hear parents say, but never fully understand until you are a parent watching your baby grow up.
I like the above picture. I was playing with Aaron on my bed when he woke from his nap and Nicholas and Celia were still napping. I was holding the camera above us trying to get a picture of us both and this was the best I could get because I have a 50mm lens and it doesn't take wide pictures. Aaron was attacking me with his mouth. I like to imagine he was kissing.

It was very bright in my room and I should've closed the curtains because it made the pictures quite bright. Turn down your monitor to view. ha!





His funny face! ha ha!



Aaron has been taking 2 nice naps during the day. Usually 1-2 hours each time. He goes to sleep at about 5:30/6:00pm and sleeps until maybe somewhere between 11-2am (varies still). So generally nurses about 2 times a night. He sleeps in his own crib in his room and when I go to bed I open his door very wide so I will hear him. When he wakes up I bring him into my bed to nurse him (so I can go back to sleep - Aaron also goes back to sleep while he is nursing). When he is full I burp him and put him back to his bed. I would say he nurses about 6-8 times a day still. However, he generally nurses in about 5 minutes time, so its pretty quick! Nursing babies are very efficient! Nicholas and Celia used to take 30+ minutes to finish a bottle.
He just started eating mashed bananas a couple days ago and he is doing well. I have been trying a sippy cup with him so that maybe I can be gone to my Usborne Book shows or photography sessions without him eventually since he does not take bottles (even though he's a great little assistant).
His favorite things right now are - our cat Gideon, his hands/feet. And of course all the people who love him!

Party in Aaron's room!!

I think my point and shoot camera is losing it's umpf. The pictures are just so out-of-focus and yuck lately. :( Pictures are SO important to me. My slr camera is great, but it is large and not easy to pop out and just take a snapshot. I believe we are in the market for a new point and shoot. This camera served us well for about 6+ years, but its time to replace very very soon.
____________

Naptime for all 3 kids. House is quiet. I get a little bit of a break. Then Aaron starts to make noise and wake up. So I go in his room to get him. Change his diaper and everything. Then I hear a door open and Celia walks out from nap. She comes in Aaron's room and we're playing together and I start taking pictures.





Then Nicholas wakes up. Looks happy doesn't he...

But then he joins in the fun too!






Grandpa Maus was wondering how Aaron and Nicholas compare as 6 month olds. I think they look like brothers, but different. Their eyes are different and to me, they are just special in their own ways. A lot of people say Aaron looks just like Nicholas did, but I think that he is beautifully his own. Here is a picture of Celia and Nicholas camping at 6 months old - almost the exact age Aaron is right now.

First food for Aaron

I really wanted to wait until Aaron was 6 months old for his first food as that is the most current recommendation now for babies. Nicholas and Celia had their first food - rice cereal - at almost 5 months old because I was excited to try to feed them, so this was a bit later. So Aaron is about 3 days from 6 months old and Jason really wanted to be here for his first food - which really means a weekend. It isn't true anymore that you need to avoid fruits before vegetables, so I decided to try a mashed banana since Aaron had licked a banana a few weeks prior and really liked it. His gagging has been about gone for a number of weeks as well. He also sits independently now too.

I mashed up a banana and it was at maybe a stage 2 texture - not thinned or anything. He did lose a little bit when he was trying to swallow, but he did pretty well and he seemed to really enjoy it. Nicholas and Celia also gave him some bites as well. They had fun feeding him. Initially when I said "Guess what! We're going to feed Aaron some banana" Nicholas said (with some tears sprouting from his eyes) "No mommy. Aaron can only drink mommy milk". So I explained that he is getting bigger and he can start to try some baby food. Then he understood and felt better. It was like I was really shaking his world to imagine we were giving Aaron anything other than breastmilk. Nicholas and Celia are quite maternal to Aaron and often give him kisses/hugs and toys and when he cries they say "He wants mommy milk, mommy". This baby is quite spoiled. :)

Celia feeding Aaron

Nicholas feeding Aaron

Mommy feeding Aaron

And Aaron this evening after his 2nd banana meal. He did even better today. He even ate a couple small chunks of banana. It was a bit messier this time though as all our bibs were drying.

Halloween 2009

This halloween Nicholas and Celia were both monkeys and Aaron was a banana. he he he
They were so cute! It was a very cold Halloween and their costumes were nice and warm, so it worked great. Unfortunately I didn't take any of our own pictures, so we'll have to get some from Aunt Angy. Aaron fell asleep during trick or treating, so I carried him for a while until Grandma Maus took him and Sammy home. Cousin's Sammy and Lauren were both little chickens.
Aunt Angy shared an idea she read about playing hide and seek each day with a piece of Trick or Treat candy. So in the afternoon after naptime, Nicholas and Celia pick one piece of candy and then I hide it and they search for it. They think it is fun and they haven't had more than one piece a day, so its working great. Me on the other hand.... thats another story! It's no secret that Jason and I both have sweet tEEth.

* We dressed up the day after Halloween to take some pictures since we forgot.

Cute curled monkey tales and bananas in the pockets (hmmm didn't know monkey's had pockets)

With Grandma Velicer

On another note, Nicholas and Celia have been going to bed so wonderfully the last 3 nights. After almost 2 months of difficult bedtimes being in their big beds, maybe we've turned a corner? They have always done well in their big beds once they are asleep, but it was seemingly impossible for them to fall asleep in the same room without hours of going in and out of their room. So for the last few weeks we would automatically have one start out in our bed so they could both calm down and when one was sleeping then we'd move the one in our bed into their own bedroom.
This last week or so we started giving them the chance to start out in their bed and if they got out of bed or were being loud then the offender was moved into our room immediately (no 2nd chances). Both of them prefer their own beds, so going to sleep in our bed isn't viewed as fun.
The last 3 nights they have both been in their own beds and fallen asleep in their bedrooms alone and sleep through the night. It's wonderful!
Our bedtime schedule that has been working:
* At about 6:30 I have N&C go watch a TV show while I go nurse Aaron and get Aaron to bed. Then it is pajamas on, honey (honey is a natural relaxer/sleep inducer - and it works!), brush teeth, potty, each chose a book and we read it together, rub their backs for about 2 min each, and then kisses/hugs and Goodnight. Let's hope it keeps up.

Cutie Aaron playing with his favorite toys... his feet. I bought him a special toy that is very popular for babies right now, and sadly, he still prefers his feet and hands more! ha ha Aaron does not put a lot of toys in his mouth other than his own fingers or blankets to lick. Nicholas and Celia were never big on putting things in their mouth either. Wonder why some babies are that way and some are not?