Five Months

Today, Elwin is five months old. We have greatly enjoyed getting to know him and watching him grow. He is calm and sweet. His dimples pop and his eyes sparkle when you take the time to talk to him.

Here are a few recent pictures:

His lopsided grin...

His great interest in everything we do...

His total disdain for getting dressed to go...

His love of sitting in the double stroller with Josiah...

His obsessive thumb sucking...

His painful teething bouts...

His tumbles from his big brother's arms...

His monkey-toed PJ's...

His celery 'snacks'...

His first snow...

His love of stories...

His sheer joy at being naked...

His willingness to play 'Baby Moses' in a drama created by Josiah...
(just one step away from the pond!)

Elwin has filled our home with new joy. Even Josiah calls him 'sweet baby' because there is just no better way to describe him.

At his check-up last week, he weighed 19 lbs. 11 oz., and was 28 1/4 inches long. He is in 9-12 month clothing, and on his last box of size 3 diapers before we get size four. He is growing strong, and learning to do lots of new things.

He can easily grab and hold toys (and hair!). He tries to get his socks and shoes off, and then sucks on them, or on his toes. Elwin also is trying to pull himself up to a sitting position. Although he can roll over, he doesn't seem to enjoy this motion, so it doesn't happen very often! When held, Elwin jumps like crazy.

Elwin is curious about food, and likes to gnaw on raw vegetables to help with his teething pain. He hates taking medicine, and comes up with new strategies all the time for how to spit it out. Oh, and he is blowing raspberries!

His love of music shines through every day. Yesterday, he sang along in church...so cute!

And that is a peek at our boy at five months!

I'm not sure about you, but I find myself less inclined to buy new things these days. A lot of stuff seems to break very quickly.

For example, I am on my third whisk this year. They have ranged from $1.00-$10 each, and the quality hasn't seemed to vary much. They have all broken within three months. This constant waste of money and uncertainty of what to buy has prompted me to start sharing some of the things I buy that I am happy with.

Here is one that I am loving:

It is the Wilton muffin/cake carrying case. You can use it to store baked goods or take them with you to potlucks, etc... The muffin tray come out and I have even put veggie platters in it to take out. It also holds a 9x13 cake perfectly. I love how it locks and has handles to carry- makes it easy to take along with car seat, purse, diaper bag, etc...
Because I have only had it for a few months, I can't tell how long it will last. But is seems to be made really well, and hasn't been compromised yet.
It retails for $29.99 at Michael's, but I got it for $18 with a printable online coupon. Great value!

This week has been rough. The boys both ended up getting sick last week, and then it seemed to clear up. Then, on Sunday, Josiah started burning up again and saying his throat hurt. I took him to an after hours clinic, where he threw up all over the examination room. The doctor lacked professionalism in so many ways, that I will be sure to ask if he is working before I book any more appointments there. He was much more concerned with gossip and family business than my sick kid, so I'm not sure how much stock to put into his diagnosis, but he thinks Josiah has a throat infection. I am more inclined to believe he has tonsillitis, but I may be wrong.

Last night, he was up for most of the night screaming, so I am feeling tired today, and he is too. We have been in the house a lot and have missed many outings and activities, and I know he is feeling stir-crazy, but I know he needs rest. I have taken him on a couple of walks for fresh air, but I don't know if that is helping either.

It's so hard to know what to do, or when to go for a second opinion. I am trying to be patient and see how tonight goes, because it will mark the 48 hours on antibiotics, so there should be some changes. In the meantime, I am taking a lot of oil of oregano, washing my hands, and trying to keep Josiah out of Elwin's face. Oh, and desperately hoping for more sleep tonight!

Lately,

I have been...

...dealing with sick people in my house.

...trying to figure out how to clean vomit out of Bo, Josiah's favorite stuffed animal. I have soaked, hand-washed, sprayed, scrubbed, sunned and 'dryered' him, and he still smells. I think I am gearing up for a total re-stuffing operation!

...reading a lot.

...waiting to hear about my heart surgery. Still no news or timeline.

...longing for simplicity.

...trying to take pictures of simple things that I never want to forget.

...starting to think about Christmas.

...gearing up for snow.

...doing poorly on my diet!

...very thankful to have attended a Robin Mark concert with Chris, and know that my kids were well taken care of by sweet friends. We have not gotten out much since Elwin was born because it is so hard for me to leave a newborn with teenagers.

...selling things on a local classified sight that we don't need. This has been a great way to de-clutter, except for all of the no-shows!

...doing a ton of laundry. I don't think this chore will get lighter anytime soon.

...finding it hard to talk on the phone or stay in touch, and wishing I had more time for this.

...realizing that I like being home more with two kids than I did with one. Even though it is a bit lonely, it is much easier.

...doing lots of crafts with Josiah.

...making Elwin laugh. It is so adorable!

Costumes

Josiah had a costume party at his preschool, and the boys visited a couple of people on Halloween night in these outfits:

Josiah was not interested in wearing a costume at all, but he really wanted Elwin to go as a pig. I was talking to my cousin and she suggested making Josiah a farmer or rancher and he went for it! Although I was not able to find a manly pig costume for Elwin, he made a pretty sweet little cow!

My baby boy turned four months old yesterday. Here are a few things he's been up to lately...

Eating cereal, although he's not quite sure what to think yet!:

Enjoying bath, but getting too big for the baby tub:

Often sleeping through the night (he often only eats once in a twelve or thirteen hour stretch!):

Hanging out with his brother (and 'the dog'):

Sitting in the Bumbo:

Smiling and being cute (and wearing 6-12 month clothes!):

Playing in the exersaucer:

Sucking the thumb of one hand, while covering his eyes with the other to get himself to sleep (this picture is just thumb sucking- I haven't caught the other on camera yet):

Still disliking the car seat, and leaving the house in general:

And 'tummy-time' is not a favourite activity yet:

But he still loves to be held close, hugged, kissed, and tickled:

When I took him to the hospital this week, Elwin weighed 18 pounds and 7 ounces. He is growing very strong, and can hold himself up on his legs now.

He has been drooling like crazy, and I am expecting to see a tooth pop through any day. This extra drool has given him the chance to spit and blow bubbles, which he loves.

Elwin enjoys music and tries to sing. He is usually quite soft-spoken, but once he gets going, it's hard to stop him! I love hearing his baby whispers (really, he does whisper), and I think he loves it when I lean in close to hear all of the important things he has to say.

From day one, he has been a little snuggle-bug. He is now leaning into my face with his mouth wide open when I kiss him, and it looks like he is trying to reciprocate, but isn't quite sure what to do yet!

I LOVE this babe, and his cute dimples!

Elwin is sick. He's been fussing a lot the past couple of days, but yesterday was terrible. He either slept (and not much) or cried, which is very unlike him.

So this morning, when he woke up bawling instead of smiling, I took him to the hospital. We were in a hurry, and he was obviously feeling rotten so I didn't change him. When we got there, the nurse pulled his slipper off because she needed a toe to measure his pulse, and this is what she found:

She didn't even need to take his sleeper off! I was completely embarrassed, because I actually knew about the hole, but I've been finding it difficult to make the time to change Elwin's dresser over, so he has very little to wear right now in his size.

Needless to say, his bigger (non-holey) clothes are now sorted and ready to be washed!

And Elwin has his first ear infection! No wonder he hasn't been himself. Hopefully we can get him to swallow enough of the medication so he'll start to feel better soon. He has this little trick where he actually stores the meds in his cheek, and keeps it there for quite a while, then spits it out when he thinks you are done!