Talk'n Turkey

They certainly are brave outside of the month of November. This family of babies has been growing bigger and bigger from only a little over a month ago. They roam around the neighborhood, including our front and backyards. Besides a few stray ones seen many years ago, this is a first for our wild encounters outside our door.

Eliza was happy to be given a turkey feather and felt proud to have stumbled upon their poop!

Mid Monthlies

So here we are...another month and they always have a middle to them. Lets just see about how AWESOME of a mom I've been lately...

The third child is getting to test the limits of just how absorbent those huggies really are. I'll get caught up in all the things that are required in the day dealing with the kids, that I have to pause and think...wait. when were you last changed : /

My 2.5 year old now requests mommy milk....as if never having weaned him at 15 months...he picked it up without any question one day when I was so tired of trying to fight him off while feeding Alden. And even in the long streak of not allowing him...he would try going for them almost every time! What can I say...I think I'll know what kind of "man" he'll be.

I let my 4 year old CIO last night for nearly an hour as she demanded a bed time song after I had already supplied them with a long story. And might I add, this request came right as I was closing the door. The difference between a CIO infant over a preschooler is they can bang the door while wailing like a banshee!

I have had to resist the urge to email Eliza's teacher every day. I only get so much out of my daughter after she gets off the bus as to what she did that day. It is weird to have her in the new world of school and not be in it with her. Like who would name their kid "Galactic"? She swears this is his name and she could not be mistaking it with Sebastian...


Oh...and there is plenty of room on this mountain of awesomeness, so enjoy my fellow friend here

School Dazes

The years have caught up to us and we officially have a child in the public school system. Gone are the days of play dates and naps for our eldest.

HELLO to some ME TIME!

Well...okay...maybe some time with a few more options during nap time.

Wearing our "magic school bus" ticket. Grown ups are too big to get one ;)

In our city, they provide a public pre-k program that also includes busing. Depending on where you live will determine if you have morning or afternoon session. We lucked out and got the afternoon, so at least there is one more year until she'll have to wake up and head on the bus each morning.

Waiting for the bus takes patience

Hard to believe my kid gets a locker! I didn't have one until high school and it was a third of the size of hers.

On her first day, the parents get to join their child for the first hour and then leave to go to an informational parent meeting. This was the only time which there was a little hesitation to let us leave her. Parents are not allowed to ride the bus, so it wasn't like this was the first time on her own. But after an extra hug from daddy, the teacher aids quickly swooped in and redirected her attention.

Matt finds it hard to believe he is old enough to have a child in school.

I find it hard to believe they will only take her for 2.5 hours! I was just as much ready as she was to have her start. She is ready and excited after only the first day while informing me they played a matching game and balloon pop one.

We've had 3 days so far and she is just as excited to get on the bus each time. Then there is much excitement when she see's me getting off in the afternoon. Nolan is still adjusting to the switch, as he has about 1.5 hours time of being on his own before nap time. Eliza though, is a bit upset that she doesn't have her quiet time sans brother when returning home.

"Nolan needs to go in his room now"

Three Months

Oh....there's been a bit of excitement in the Geddes house, which explains some of the lack of blogging around here. More details to come as we continue to transition into some new phases in life. But at least I found some time to get a birth month milestone done on the actual day.

Yes...I am just that awesome.

So what has Alden been up to this last month?

First teething episodes

First overnight trip to Grandma and Grandpa

First trip to IKEA

Holding head and chest up off floor

Sleeping through the night once

Graduating to the crib in the kids bedroom

First State Fair experience

First movie: Minions

Alden continues to be a pretty chill baby, and only fussing when he's hungry or we've reached the witching hour when we know he is ready to knock out for the night. Despite some of the roughness from Nolan, he seems to tolerate it for the most part.

Still wearing 0-6 month clothes.

Starting to play and grab toys that dangle in front of him.

Reflections on our Possible Last?

As I write this post, it has occurred to me just how fast this summer is passing us by.

The summer season seemed to reside on a distant planet.

DISTANT I TELL YOU!

The space in which was between me and my due date was never close enough. Couple that with a winter season who buried us alive, freezing our sanity in the icicles hanging on the outside eaves of the house. Everyone who had a vagina seemed to be pregnant, and I was towards the tail end of the baby train. You were happy for those ahead of you having their baby, but childishly burned with envy, that it was you instead.

Now I sit and look at how we are almost done with the month of August. In a few weeks, Alden will be turning three months. It feels like forever ago and at the same time, just last month.

This brings me to nearing a very hard time as a momma.

It isn't the sleep deprivation, shirt changes from spit up (like I have time to change clothes anyways), fussy moments when all you want is to sit down and enjoy dinner. I can't remember the last time I was afforded the luxury of dining.

Where each bite was savored.....appreciated....and not eaten in such a rapid ferocious manner one would eat as if this was your last meal ever and a herd of tyrannosaurus rex was headed in your way. Behold the powers of a crying baby.

I think I'd just enjoy being able to eat and not have to dodge gross covered hands using my clothes as their personal napkin.

What brings me a great deal of personal and ridiculous distress is when you have to start putting away outgrown baby clothes.....sigh.

Why are these sleepers with silhouettes of elephants/firetrucks/dinosaurs causing such emotional turmoil!?

BUT THEY'RE SO DARN CUTE!
YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY HAVE OUTGROWN IT ALREADY!?
YOUR UMBILICAL CORD STUMP JUST FELL OFF THE OTHER DAY!

Curse you Lord for not designing our children with a pause button!

I've been caught off guard by the feelings, or lack thereof, of having an overwhelming desire of feeling complete with our family size. Yet, the thought of being pregnant again and going through a 3rd cesarean as I approach turning 33 brings a quick reality check. And as I laid my youngest down in the crib while Thing one and Thing two were fast asleep in the same room....where on earth would we put a fourth child in our place if we still remain in this house!?

I cheer on each of my children for reaching new developmental milestones....but silently weep inside.

Matt feels very much content and complete with our number of bio kids. He is very verbal, stating if we do add to the family, they will either be house broken or come with underwear.

So as each new day comes to pass...sometimes you can just say "screw it" and let your baby fall asleep at the breast instead of self soothing while drowsy away from you.

laundry and house chores will have to wait because....I'm holding my baby :)

    

Nolan: Flying Ace!

After attending a birthday party in Canandaigua NY, we decided to check out their local airfield after seeing small planes flying low for landing. It must have been destiny, because one of the pilots had just finished with a ride and was finishing up with the riders who booked a WW2 Warbird experience ride.

Of course, our little aviation enthusiast had to get out of the car and get an up close look. As we were chitchatting about the plane and how for only a mere $250, you could also enjoy the same experience...I mentioned how much our son loved planes and if he could check out the cockpit.  

Low and behold...he obliged and even got to wear the flight cap! Oh how over the moon he was!

Maybe some day....he might just be a real pilot.

2 Months!

Phew! We have reached the second month already! Time just keeps rolling along. And in that time span, we are getting some smiles and the chunk is starting to pile on.

2 Month Stats

Weight: 12.4

Height: 23.75

Alden did surprisingly well for his well baby exam. No problem being held/poked/prodded etc.... This was much relief compared to Nolan who wanted NOTHING to do with the pediatrician. She could tell right off the bat about his temper and that I was in big trouble. Oh how those words have never been truer! 

We're in mostly 3 month clothes, with some summer items like shorts and rompers being utilized in the 6 month size from Nolan. I'm finding there to not be much of a huge difference between these sizes and as long as the waist works....boom sauce! I've even gone with some 12 month 2 piece pajamas. I guess this way, I'll get to enjoy Alden wearing them longer as he grows into them. Then when the time comes to retire those precious items, I'll of had enough time putting them on to help make the process a little easier....I hope.

King of the Mountain

In all the craziness of the beginning of this summer season....having Alden ended up blessing us more than we'd thought. Through our Aflac coverage, we found out about a portion of our policy that all children born while on the mother's coverage are also included for the first 30 days.

An unknown financial blessing came our way :)

And like most parents....you love your children despite the days where they mutate into little monsters.

In the backyard, we have a ghetto swing set up. It is a long chain stretched tight between two large trees with 2 regular and one baby swing. It works pretty well and was the least expensive route to go. We had always drooled and envied those with the wooden set ups with the tower to climb and/or monkey bars. But they've never been in our budget. So when we had some unexpected funds become available...we thought this would be the only time we could do something like this.

We searched online and instore...did our research...compared and weighed the pros and cons.

Hey, look....Walmart has one on rollback!

.....but when it came to hitting the complete purchase button....we got cold feet.

Never had we spent this much money on a toy for the kids. Shoot....not even that much on a stroller!

These things have been known to be a beast to assemble. An all day job at that, and that is assuming you know what you're doing. By the time it would arrive, and be constructed...I couldn't help but wonder if they'd have a month to play on it before the weather turned sour. Kinda like giving a kid a bike for Christmas in the North East.

We don't own our place and is unknown as to how long we'll stay here. So we skipped the idea, since it was really the tower we wanted so the kids would stop climbing us or the furniture. Ain't nobody got time for that! But what else was there to climb on?

Low and behold....Amazon!

Step 2 had a mountain and it came with free freight shipping. Hooray!

It is over 6 ft tall and has been our solution. It ended up being cheaper on the budget too! It is rated for up to age 8 and should last a long time with the kids. And in the event we have to move, this should be more manageable to take with us. If not, we should be able to get a few bucks back out of it :)























Nolan can already climb to the top and drop inside to the middle platform.

Overall, it is a big hit with the neighborhood. Now if only I had room to bring it inside for winter play!

Snip Snip!

Since Nolan was about 12 months, I've done the home haircuts for him. Nothing too fancy, but I've gotten better with my skills. But with all the craziness of the birth, recovery and adjustment...I hadn't had the time or patience, and it was becoming very clear that something needed to be done when during church, I swept away his sweaty blonde locks. It had grown a good length, and I guess I wanted to be spoiled and have someone else do it and also pay attention as to how they handled his noggin.

In staying with tradition with Eliza, I dragged my camera along to document his first pro cut. I used my own need of a trim to justify it even more. My buns hadn't seen a salon chair since early Fall!

Overall...he did GREAT for my stylist and stayed put for the most part. All the extra practice at home sure helped make this time around go smoothly.

One Month

Firsts:

Holiday

Rolling from tummy to back

Day trip

Fireworks

Bonfire Pit

Visits from Grandparents

Alden is a pretty chill baby boy. We can usually comfort him pretty quickly with a binky, a boob or just to be held. Thus far, he tolerates his older siblings with all the hugs and kisses given. Things like the vacuum do not bother him, and he's becoming more alert and will focus and look around his surroundings.

The sleep department isn't bad either. He still wakes about 1-2 times in the night, but no clue as to when as I don't bother to even check the time. All I know is he will eat and fall asleep right after while I also snooze in the bed.

It doesn't feel like it has been that long ago I was anxiously waiting to go into surgery to meet him.....and at the same time, feels like he's been in our family forever :)

*Disclaimer*

I know by the time this is posted, it will have been longer than a month, but with 3 chitlins to watch, any time this momma has to herself is a true gift! So forgive the lateness of these posts. 

Mid Month Confessions

Its that time of the month...and no its not my period 

(Yay! May it hold off for another year with breastfeeding)

Click here for another less than stellar mom

1> I put on Mrs. Doubtfire for us adults since the kids were going to bed soon. Um yeah....kids didn't go to bed until almost the end....certainly not g rated for a few words. Lets hope they weren't deciding to listen then.

2> We've had a few CIO moments with our 1 month old. Not planned but I guess that is what you get with kid number 3.

3> I have all these educational and sensory things for Eliza to do...but I've been too tired and lazy to actually do them with her since quiet time is suppose to give me a break.

4> I've seriously had moments as of late of wishing away my 2 year old. Who ever said girls are harder than boys must not have raised both!

5> I've called the hubby to purchase donuts for me at 9:30 pm. Nursing cravings are real, right?

Belated Mothers Craft

In all the craziness of being pregnant and not seeing family until after Alden was born....it gave me a chance and an excuse to put together a gift for both grandparents with mostly supplies I already had on hand.

I took an idea from Pintrest and did a variation on one of them after the iconic Love stamp. My mother needed a gift that she could easily pack in her suitcase to fly home with.

My MIL, got one which will go nicely in their new home they'll be moving into this late July. Both were very happy to receive this as a gift, and includes all the grandchildren. I'm happy for the most part of how it turned out, but its not easy to get nice looking hand and footprints from babies and kids when you only have one shot at getting it somewhat visually pleasing.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

We decided to drive away from the local rain and head for the clear skies in the Finger Lake Region for July 4th for an adventure. Since there isn't anything to do where we live, I had thought visiting Watkins Glen State Park at the most southern end of Lake Seneca while my mother was out visiting would be a nice distraction.

There was a small but very neat playground by the picnic area, containing play structures that we don't have at any of the near by local parks. With all the time spent in the car and then being dragged along to boring outlet mall shops, this was a welcomed break for the kids. They really challenged the kids with the untraditional ways to climb, even bringing out a little fear in little miss daredevil. Nolan was quick to catch up to Eliza, proving he could do it just the same!

Watkins Glen's beauty is found in the wet paved trails, above and below the gorge with waterfalls. If you are not in the best of shape, you will still find trails that make it easy to walk without feeling like you weren't able to see enough of the falls.

It is recommended though, if planning on visiting with infants or young toddlers, to baby wear them, as the trails do have portions of stairs sprinkled in the trails. At least enough of them to detour you from wanting even a jogging stroller. This is when having an infant who is still very little, made my poor man's ergo carrier very enjoyable despite the stairs and distances walked. If you plan to stay for the day in the warmer months, your entrance includes access to a very large public pool with 3 diving boards and a good sized wading pool.

We stopped for dinner on the lake's waterfront and watched the boats come in and out and cruising along. Despite one cloud cell dumping some rain while we ate under the covered deck, the temperature was comfortable for the most part and didn't require any jackets.

On our way home, we drove up the other side of the lack and came into a small town's fireworks show. We pulled into a church parking lot and had the best up close viewing for the show.....and gave the local mosquitos a feast in the process! This was the first time the kids had seen fireworks, as we've always been visiting family and doing a BBQ at the house. Eliza loved all the colors, but Nolan was undecided for half the show if he liked them or not. Lots of running in and out of the van were had until finding a safe place with daddy.

Despite coming home very late and a few more bug bites than we'd like....it was a great way to spend the holiday with family and enjoying God's beauty!

A Newborn Shoot: Alden

I love when the weather is nice enough (or season cooperates) to do a newborn session outside with natural light. I had recently acquired a large bassinet type basket and a cradle prop I had given some TLC to and never used it with Nolan.

With babies being fickle in posing and moods, I split it up in two different sessions, while also utilizing different lighting of the day. 

So here are some of my personal favorites of each session