Ethan edition...with some sleep updates

Ethan's latest thing to say is, "I'm just boy"...recently I said, "You are such a big boy, Ethan" and he said, "I'm not big. I'm just boy, Mommy"...Now it's the response to almost anything..."I'm not sick, I'm just boy"..."I'm not eating breakfast, I'm just boy"...

Sunday morning Ethan created his longest sentence yet...my jaw dropped as he was about half-way through it. Andy was grinding coffee beans so he didn't hear it from the kitchen and at first he didn't believe me when I told him. Behold, my genius child...."I'm probably going to bring my car into my learning tower and watch daddy make coffee, Mommy"...

Something about a toddler being sick makes them say "no" to, or dispute, anything you say. Ethan was riding around on his Harley trike the other morning and was reaching for the pedals...Gamma was commenting that he seems to be growing lately and Ethan said, "I'm not growing, just flowers grow"...

We were reading "Alligator Alphabet" recently and R is "R is for rabbit, they have fluffy white tails" Ethan told me that Mommy doesn't have a tail...usually I do have a tail...he calls my pony tail, "Mommy's tail"...

Ethan was coughing so hard on Monday morning that he threw up on Gamma...Gamma decided she needed a new shirt so I lent her my hooded St Olaf sweatshirt. Later, Ethan saw Gamma wearing it and said "Gamma wearing Mommy's jacket"...I guess I might wear that sweatshirt too much...

We have a bedtime book where all the baby Sesame Street characters have something they snuggle with at bedtime. The last page asks, "What do you snuggle with as you turn out the light?"...Ethan always says, "I snuggle blue blankets, I snuggle cars, and I snuggle Mater"...for awhile he would ask, "Who do you snuggle with Mommy?" and I'd say, "I snuggle with Daddy"...so now he adds, "Mommy snuggles Daddy"...Ha!....

One more recent thing about Ethan is that he is obsessed with salt and pepper right now. He wants salt and pepper on anything...which is sometimes really unappetizing in my opinion...but I will usually put pepper on anything for him because it's more likely he'll eat it then...and I pretend to salt. I'm not sure where this came from, but we do read a book called "My Cat has Kittens" and Miss' kittens names are Pepper, Salt, Pepper-and-Salt, and Salt-and-Pepper.

Ethan got some stickers from Gramma Nana the other day and he has already used them up and keeps asking for more. I think it's safe to say they were a hit! (picture above)

*****

Dylan and Owen were 7 weeks old on Monday. I need to take the "7-week" picture of them. Hopefully today after bathtime. We had a rough night on Monday night. I almost hit my breaking point and started to cry...almost. It was one of those nights where just when you get one settled, the other wakes up...Ethan was part of that mix too. He's sick, so he's been waking up a bit at night...probably because he's stuffed up...we use a humidifier but that doesn't solve everything! I barely slept at all...even when they were all quiet, I was just waiting for one of them to holler out so I had a hard time relaxing enough to fall asleep. Even though Andy slept terribly too, he was a sweetheart and made a new batch of formula, put away some dishes, poured out the next bottles, and made me some coffee before he left for work. Yesterday I started reading "Health Sleep Habits, Happy Child"...it's hard to read when you are so tired your eyes hurt...but I'm willing to make the effort. They are young enough that we can teach them healthy sleep habits versus trying to correct issues...Dr Weissbluth recommends keeping a sleep log so I think I'll start that soon. Anything is worth a try...things will only get better with time, right?!

The babies have yet to catch Ethan's cold, but they have been sneezing a lot and I think they both have a little something rattling around behind their noses. I'm too afraid to use the snot bulb. The one time we tried to use it with Ethan, he screamed so terribly I cried. Ethan's old pediatrician always told me that the snot bothers us more than it bothers them. The nurse comes tomorrow for their RSV shot so she will listen to their lungs and I'll ask about the snot and sneezing...

Last night (which was much better than Monday night...11:30pm, 3am, and 8am feedings!), I was up with D & O at 3am. I was thinking to myself how wonderful it is that we don't have to deal with big spit-ups anymore. Every now and again, a little spit-up will trickle out, but no big deal. Owen sucked down his bottle and I congratulated him! They were both asleep, but I decided to rock them a little bit for good measure...I held one in each arm up against my chest and Owen erupted, big time, on all 3 of us. Thankfully I was wearing layers so off went my sweatshirt, new blankets for everyone, and a new outfit down to the skin for O. They are due for a bath today and boy do they need it!!