We had an amazing time and I took the last week to not blog and just chill out. Although I do have to admit that I find myself often on facebook connecting with friends. Anyway, we had an amazing time and so much to tell. First off, I think I got back to who I am and kept asking myself what I need in life and I found that I need to have something for myself. So I enrolled in nutrition school and I will start in October and it is year long program. I have wanted to attend the Integrative School of Nutrition in NYC for 4 1/2 years. I am doing the distance learning program. I am so excited. 

Second, the hubby and I are doing great. I think we needed some time together and a few date nights to get back to the old us. I swear the first 5 months after having Sam was just tough and taking care of both of them left me with little to give to our relationship. So I feel like we did a lot of getting back to the old us too.

Max has hit over 100 words-his goal prior to leaving for the summer and now he is onto 2 or 3 word sentences.

I have been running. I started running two weeks before I left for the beach and now I am hooked. I love it and I love the ME time it allows in my life. Plus I am back to pre-Max weight and feel super good about how I look.

Sam is huge and adorable. She learned how to crawl and pull herself up while we were away. She is also trying her first foods-banana, apple, rice puffs and any other finger food I feel she can handle. She just does not like being fed. So I am sure she will love food as soon as she can feed herself.

I have tons of pics and will need to post very soon but for now this is a link to a photographer that came and took pics of us at the shore. Scroll down to August 13th.

Glad to be home and hopefully I will blog a little more now that summer is over.

Dearest Max,

Another month of your life has blown by. So much has happened. You are such a big boy.

We are living down the beach and you are loving being at the beach. I guess the biggest thing I see this month is that you and your sister have started to play with each other. It is so cute. You are pretty rough with your sister and she loves it. Although you get pretty angry when she plays with your favorite toys. You are good at exchanging toys with her. You always help to put her to bed and you always say NITE NITE. You hug, kiss and hold your sister a ton. You are a great big brother.

Before we left for the summer, your teachers made a goal of 100 words and you did it!! You started the summer with about 60 words!! We are so proud of you. You are no saying words in two or three word sentences. You have really worked well with your teacher here. Way to go Max! Keep up the amazing work!

CARS! CARS! CARS! You love your cars and trucks. Your Dad bought you a huge truck that you both play with. And you won a truck at Fantasy Island Amusement Park that you and Mommy play with at the park everyday. Sam loves watching your truck. You are also so cute because if another kid comes-you always share your truck. You also love imagination play. You want to make tents and hide and play tickle games. You also love water balloons, chasing anybody who is willing to play. You love to snuggle and chase your dog and she loves the attention.

You officially a No Nap Kid except for the days where you really need it but generally you just have quiet time during your old nap time. You are just growing up so fast. You also say Momma non stop and I love it. I waited so long for you to say MOM and now you say it over and over and over…

I am lucky that despite your food allergies, you are a good eater. You love your veggies and more often I need to beg you to eat protein and not your veggies. You love “curious george white broccoli” aka cauliflower. You love asparagus and you have always loved broccoli. You are eating brown rice pasta and of course white basmati rice and brown rice. You eat nitrate free hot dogs and burgers daily. Your allergies keep you a way from anything soy, dairy, corn, shellfish, fish, nuts/seeds, cantaloupe, strawberries, wheat and gluten but we survive. I realize you do the best on whole foods, which means most of your foods are made at home. I would do anything for you!

You are free spirited kid and I love it. I love that you are a problem solver, a very athletic kid, and very sweet. We may have our times because we are so alike but you are an amazing boy. I am blessed to have you as my son. I am so grateful that you are my little boy. I will always remember our first moments together because they were priceless.

Happy Birthday my dearest!

Love,

Momma

One of my biggest anxieties with having two kids was timing the damn nap. Max was never a great sleeper so nap meant laying down with him until he went to sleep or driving in the car and letting him sleep in our driveway in his car seat. So when Sam arrived he got better but it still meant lying down with him. Some days it would work and others it would not. I know I am not alone because tons of my friends had the same situation. I just never felt comfortable letting Sam cry in a swing while I was laying down with Max.

But now Max is rarely napping and I love it. It takes all of 2 minutes for him to fall asleep at night and so by 7 pm the night is mine. Sam sleeps for about 40 mins in the am and about 1.5 to 2.5 hours in the afternoon but typically 2 hours. I just feel so much less stress around this issue.

Sometimes Max is so tired and I let him nap for about 40 minutes but that means he goes to sleep by 7 30pm so the NO NAP actually gives him a better night sleep and he is more rested then when he naps and sleeps at night. I also noticed that it gives me time with my husband. Since my kids get up early, I was always tired by the time my husband got him down but now we hang out and chat and then I either watch my own shows or go to bed.

It feels so good just to have it figured out for today but of course of motherhood has taught me anything-this too will change!! hahahahaha

I never considered myself strict until lately. I had one of my friends from home come and see us for a day with her family and then we just had my husbands best friend come with his family the other day. I think when you are out of your usual environment it is easier to see things. I guess I have always had boundaries for my kids, something that I did not have growing up at all. If I wanted something I just steam rolled my parents and got my way. My mom also never gave us rules, she did what she called “modeling”. This type of parenting just let the kids watch the parents be good role models and then the kids will be good kids. This style makes little sense to me. I think kids need boundaries to feel safe.

My one friend came with her two kids (one Max’s age and one Sam’s age) and I watched such inconsistent parenting. I think I never realized it so much because we were always together for short play dates. But her child would act out, they would say NO and then she would do it again and they would threaten and then she would do it again and they would say then NO ICE CREAM and then she would do it again and then they would give her ICE CREAM. OH MY! See I learned a long time ago that if you threaten then you have to follow through. I also don’t want to bring up kids that run the show because not only does that not work in our house but it does not work in the world. There are rules in the world. Of course this is hard to balance because I want them to feel that they can express themselves and be independent but I also want them to know that I am the MOM and my husband is the DAD and we have rules. I want my kids to feel like they have a voice but know when to use their voice.

Then my husbands friends came and they are similar. There are no rules. The kids go to sleep when they do and the little kid, Max’s age, is so bad. He knows that nobody will really punish him. He kicked Sam in the face, pushed Max, spit on my floor and acted like a maniac. He is a sweet boy but he has no rules and he runs the show.

Don’t get me wrong-I do not measure love by rules. There is so much love in both families but there are kids that run the show and there is constant time outs with no change. I guess we always looked at it like from day 1 we would parent the same. We had certain rules that have always stayed like listening to mom and dad or another adult  and  being gentle to people and animals.

Like I said, I never thought I was strict and maybe it is more that I am consistent and let me say that I think that type of parenting is hard because you never can waiver. You always have to be the same every day or it is not fair for your child. I think being a parent is tough no matter what and I feel lucky that my kids have boundaries because I think it will make the transition from our home to the world a little easier.

My dearest little girl,

You are such a wonderful baby. I get stopped everywhere we go because people just need to comment on how adorable you are and how easy going you are and they are right! You finally made it through your real early morning waking and we are averaging 5:30 am to 6:15 am, which is perfect and THANK YOU! You go to sleep between 6:50 pm and 7 pm and you nap about 2.5 to 3 hours a day. You are doing great.

Well you still love Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and anything else that anyone wants to sing to you. We have started Patty Cake and Wheels on the Bus and Row, Row Your Boat. You are starting to enjoy books as well but you typically try to eat the book instead of reading.

You love to growl and cough. If you hear anybody cough, you will cough within 5 seconds. You also love to do this funny thing with your tongue, rolling it around your lips and then you start huffing and puffing like a bull when you want something. It is so funny and your Dad and I are trying to find a way to catch you on video while you are doing this.

You are a true water baby. You start to kick your feet the minute your hear the water for bath time. You also don’t mind getting water poured on your head, since this seems to happen a lot since you and your brother bathe together.

You love to laugh and smile. You love to play. You think your brother is hysterical and any attention from him is good even when he pushes you or says NO!

You have started to show your personality and you get pissed easily. Your Dad and I think you will be a tough cookie. You squeeze and shake your whole body when something is taken away from you and you actually clench your face and shake. You have tons of fire in your little body.

We just weighed your yesterday and you are 18 pounds and your length is 26 inches. You are growing so fast. You are just about crawling. I give you another week or two to master crawling because you can make it about 3 or 4 crawls now.

You love plastic bags and you give your Dad a heart attack whenever you find one because you like to put them on your face. OY VEY! You also love to play with keys and anything that makes a fun sound. You love to be busy. You can play independently so well and you always let us know when you are ready for another activity.

You have two teeth that have broken through. You have rolls on your thighs and chunk on your arms. You have a full head of hair and beautiful blue eyes, like your momma.

We have fallen in love with you and we love you more each day. You are such a sweet and spirited little girl. You are a mover and a shaker and we can see this already. If there is a way, you will find the way. I love that part about you. You are an old soul. I have been told this many times.

Keep reaching for the stars my little angel.