Life with the Magic Number: This and That

This post is going to be all over the place so I'll just dive right in with the hodge podge of updates...

Sucker for a Good Tune

Rudy is still a sucker for a good tune. He is cracking us up lately with his new moves that he's been coming up with... he gets his shoulders in the mix, does a little shimmy, throws in some arms...it's hysterical. We literally laugh out loud several times a day when he gets groovin'

And his facial expressions are getting more and more complex (and priceless!). It's funny to see mine or John's expressions come across his face... for example my "scrunch face." John is often telling me to "stop making that scrunch face" or "what's that scrunch face for?" And then I saw it. Apparently I do make "that scrunch face" often.

If only I could get a picture of him trying to roll his eyes.

Poop City

I feel like I am up to my elbows with poop lately and, at times, I feel like our house just smells of poop! Between Rudy's continued diarrhea and Avery's constant pooping, we probably go through 8-10 dirty diapers a day -- and that's a lot! Not to mention, about half of those require outfit changes. I put Avery in size 2 diapers as of last week, hoping that would help. And it did. Somewhat. I don't think any diaper can handle what that girl puts out at times. I basically bathe her with wipes on the really good ones. I called the doctor's office about Rudy's nonstop diarrhea. Since he had that stomach flu, they said to expect 7-10 days of diarrhea, but we are going on 2 1/2 weeks. The doctor ordered a stool culture and some other tests that required me to collect his poop in little cups. Once collected, I had to get it to the lap within 2-3 hours and luckily he filled his pants right before Gran's lunch hour so she was able to make the drop off for me. The results came back negative for anything, which is great. We think he may be getting more "regular" and the amount of juice he gets may be making his stools loose and it's time to start trying to work in more dairy again. We'll see how it goes!

Skin Issues

Avery broke out with some awful looking baby acne, mixed with a little cradle cap, too. Poor girl. This dry weather doesn't help, either! I only give her a bath about every third day to keep her skin from getting too dry and I apply Aquafor and hydrocortisone cream on her face/neck/chest for the acne and cradle cap. Thankfully, it is all just about cleared up. Hopefully it stays that way. The doctor said it was a very common age to get it and being in the winter, it's not surprising that it seemed "worse"

Snacks

Rudy's newest favorite snacks are Baked Cheetos and Oreo cookies. He gets so excited when we get them out for him, especially because I bought the individual sized bags and let him have the whole bag... he was thrilled. I've since bought a regular bag and split it into snack-sized baggies so he still gets the feeling of his very own bag. And of course, Oreo cookies...who doesn't love Oreo cookies?? Give him either and he will sit content in his high chair as happy as a clam.

Growth Spurts

We are pretty sure Rudy is going through a growth spurt or has recently had one.. which is odd considering all the diarrhea... but all of his sudden, his clothes don't fit quite right. His pants are all a tad too short, his shirts that he always wore are creeping up his belly and things I never thought about climbing, he has dared to climb (and is able to!)...like on top our bed, the couches, the ledge around the fireplace, coffee tables, etc. He's our little monkey these days!

Avery on the other hand just must gradually always be growing. When Rudy was a baby it was very obvious when he was having a growth spurt because he would want to eat nonstop! But Miss Avery has been on her same schedule (give or take a feeding or two) since about 2 weeks old. But she absolutely is getting bigger. Bigger diapers as I mentioned before and she has outgrown several outfits... some even 0-3 month size things don't fit anymore. It's incredible. But this is absolutely the way I'd prefer it. I like our routine and I like being able to rely on it. So fingers-crossed, she keeps this up!

Craft Time

FitClub has been doing Valentine's Day crafts with Rudy for a week or two now and I love seeing Rudy come home with his latest project. He runs in holding it, so proud, to give to me. Then we have to hang it on our bulletin board and at least once a day he wants me to hold him up to admire them.

All Clear

I had my 6-week checkup with the doctor and I am all clear to return to my normal activity. Six weeks went by fast! No more excuses of not being able to carry or lift heavy things and especially no more excuses for not working out...although I have no idea when I will find the time for it.. but I hope to figure it out! I am 9 pounds away from pre-pregnancy with Avery weight and 17 pounds from pre-pregnancy Rudy weight. Long way to go :(

Reflux

The reflux medicine for Avery seems to be helping quite a bit. She is not nearly as nasally and I only suction her maybe once a day. She has started spitting up more, which is odd now that she is on the meds, but maybe it is just coming out instead of going up her nasal passages? Who knows..

At Home Barber Shop

Our handsome little boy got another hair cut. We set him up in his high chair and this time we tried giving him a marker and some paper to color on. It worked for about 15 seconds. Then he just held the marker and cried. Luckily, John is quick with the clippers and it only lasts about 3 minutes (Papa once suggested he join the fair sheep shirring contests). We took the tray away and de-clothed him to start the hair clean-up and he found another surface to color on!

Activities

I have been trying to come up with things to do around the house or things outside of the house to keep us busy and occupied. This winter weather can really get me down! One thing that worked well to entertain the little man was giving him some Post-It notes to play with on the windows. He loved it! He thought it was hilarious and ran up and down the hall putting them on different windows, then would stand back and laugh. I bought a multi-pack so we will be getting them out again some day.

We also took a trip to Barnes and Noble with Jenna, Nolan and Nora last week. Starbucks for the moms, books and toys to run around and play with for the boys, and the girls slept soundly. It was a nice little outing! Of course, Rudy liked to climb up the stacks of books more than he wanted to read them..but at least he burned off some energy and was happy!

Markers and paper have given us some entertainment, too. Thank God for "washable" ingredients!

And, of course, the mall is always a favorite hot spot with the carousel and train.

Rudy also stays busy working on the house, naturally.

And Avery? She is working on getting stronger. Rudy loves to lay on his stomach, looking right into her face whenever she is on the floor (and it's so sweet to see). And just watching Rudy exhausts her, I think! For whatever reason, Rudy also tries to sit on her when she is on the floor. He acts like he's going to walk away, but then goes to sit down real quick. I have to stay on guard whenever she is on the ground -- whether it's a flying toy (trying to place catch with her) or his backside -- little miss needs protected from her crazy, big brother (who loves her so much -- Avery always gets the best kisses)!

Cars, Trains, and Trucks...and Barney

In case anyone wondered, Rudy is loving cars, trains, and trucks. It is his go-to toy for sure these days. He rolls them on everything, sends them down the slides, shows them to Avery, etc. He has even started to point them out to us when we are driving.

And, as much as I thought I would never let him into our house, Barney is his favorite show right now. He is so entertained by the constant songs and watching the other kids. It's actually come in handy for John and I because if Rudy is being whiny -- like when we are trying to wash dishes or get dressed in the morning -- we can sing a favorite Barney tune and Rudy snaps out of it and starts dancing!

Sleeping Beauty

Avery is still our little Sleeping Beauty as we affectionately call her often. While she is up and alert several times throughout the day, she sleeps so great and peacefully -- even through Rudy's screams and bangs. I guess I shouldn't say "peacefully" allllll the time...the girl makes quite a bit of noise in her sleep, especially at night. Needless to say, I wake up often thinking she is waking up, but it's just her making her noises.

Patriots Cheerleader

Unfortunately, we won't be cheering on the Patriots this weekend, but that doesn't mean they don't still have the cutest little cheerleader!

Chili Cook-off Winner!

Papa had a winning weekend a couple weekends ago. He won first place in green chili on Saturday, followed by first place in red chili on Sunday. Mom and Dad will be headed to Palm Springs, California this fall for the World Chili Cook-off! We were lucky enough to be with him when he won on Sunday and Rudy was awfully proud!

The cook-off on Saturday was in a mall and Papa used some of his earnings to buy Rudy the next size up of his favorite CP3's. It was love at first sight. Of course we had to take them out of the box right away and put them on, even though they were too big! They are hiding in his closet for now -- it'll be exciting all over again when he can fit into them.