Teeth or Tusks?

I purposefully have not verbalized too much how well Heath had begun to sleep over the last couple of months. I stopped nursing him at night and when he would wake up, Jason would change his diaper and rock him back to sleep. Then he miraculously began to sleep from 8-5! It was great while it lasted. This past week or so he has been waking and not happy to just be rocked. He screamed (and I mean screamed) as I tried to rock him one night last week - we are seeing that he can be super dramatic. I took his signal and nursed him and he was fine. The next morning Jason asked me if I expected to a see a tusk poking out of his mouth after all that screaming and in my groggy, sleepy state, it took me minute to get his joke. He has had all four top teeth come in during the last few weeks and this last one was a doozy. I do not recall looking at Alder's teeth and thinking how huge they looked. Do you all agree that these things look really big!?

Just as the intensity of this round of teeth seemed to taper, and just after Heath slept through another solid night, there arose another reason to wake up screaming. Heath has been sick this past week and had a high fever last night (103). We got an ear infection diagnosis and started antibiotics. Yuck. I have to say that I have to blame some of this on him cutting all these upper teeth....;). Now mom is sick...

Speaking of teeth, Alder actually smiled at the camera the other night...


Alder is getting more and more goofy every day. My mom has said that there is nothing more silly than a 4 yr-old boy and I can see the beginnings of this developing now. He has really begun talking to himself when he plays and acting like his trucks/trains are talking to each other and it is as if he is reading a book...."What's happening said Thomas to James" "Nothing, I just fell down off the table" "Oh, do you need help?" "Yeah".....or.....in a deep gutteral voice, "hello" said the fire engine, "what are you guys doing up here gumballs and line level?" an on an on...

The boys have really taken to baths together. Taking them with Heath has given Alder a second wind on baths, as he had started to sort of get bored with them. Heath totally goes kicking-squealing nuts for baths, and has started enjoying them EVEN more since we have taken him out of the infant-sit-up-in-the-bath contraption. Seeing them in there totally gives me (dad) flashbacks, thinking of how the tub seemed so vast and fun, and remembering how I loved the deep end but hated the fact that I had to look out for the faucet bonking me in the head and back. I see Alder doing some of the same things I would do: lying down and noticing what parts of his body are in vs. out, trying to suck his stomach in to change that; listening to his voice with his ears submerged. Tonight I watched Alder practically get lost in the exploration of his hands, dipping softly in and out of the water, through a thin film of shampoo, while whispering something I couldn't hear. So much to be learned in the bath. So much that we forget.

Super Fun and Busy Weekend

What an incredible equinox weekend! The weather was beautiful and we had loads of fun.

Saturday was awesome: We then hung out around the house and yard enjoying the 70 degree weather. Then we went to an afternoon birthday party at a park for one of Alder's school friends (Chloe is now 3). There were lots of Alder's friends from school, bubbles, balls, snacks, sand, a very tall twisty slide, and lots of momma's with babies.



Heath was by far the largest of them all though only a tad bit older. Joren, we could have used your heft to even out the difference! We headed from the park to have dinner with some friends. Alder enjoyed playing with his friend Anna. We were sufficiently exhausted when we got home, but were all smiles and had a good night of rest.

We woke Sunday morning and headed out again! This time to Alder's school for a volunteer work day in the outdoor classroom (aka playground). It is called an outdoor playground since it is not only for playing but learning as well. Numerous families and kids were there to help out and play. We were working to create and amend beds where edible food of all sorts will be soon growing: blackberries, tomatoes, peas, squash, greens, corn, and a variety of other things. We also turned grassy spots into native wildflower patches, spread compost and mulch in a variety of places, weeded, and created a willow tunnel that will look like this when greened up:

It was really awesome to work amidst so many great folks and kids. Here are Boyce and Sylvia admiring an earthworm.

Here are Jason and two other dad's beginning to construct a raised bed made of recycled cinder blocks that Jason scavenged from a local demolition site. I wish I had a completed pic to show because it really does look great.

I shoveled mulch and turned over a bed for about an hour while Heath slept soundly on my back. It felt so good to do this - be active and keep a baby happy at the same time. So often we modern moms ironically seek our independence when strapping the baby on can sometimes allow for much more independence/ability to go/do. And here is a shot of the moms and kids doing what we do best - multitasking. I see three moms in this picture wearing infants while also assisting with the spreading of mulch/compost and overseeing numerous toddlers. The kid-sized wheel barrows were awesome. The little boy in the red shirt here (almost 5 yo) told me as he maneuvered a heavy load (that Alder was unable to manage) that he was "big and could do anything!" Cute.

Finally, here are a few pics of our beautiful, growing boys.

Kite Festival

Last weekend we took the boys to a kite festival. It was perfectly sunny, blustery day for such an event and Alder had a blast! I have to say that I am so happy to be able to take Alder to something like this and know that he is going to have fun. It seems as though he has reached some sort of landmark age (almost 3!) where outings to events like this are no longer a gamble - we no longer have to weigh (as much) whether or not he napped, the length of the drive, if he will actually enjoy it, etc. Heath was miserable in the wind by the time we left, but the second child just has to deal, right?

He squealed with delight upon arrival and kept his eyes up to the sky almost the entire two hours we were there.
Exceptional stunt kites flying to music were truly amazing - the tails on this thing were ~50 feet long...the photo does not do it justice nor the precision with which the kite flier made it dip and twirl just above the ground and then swoop up again.

Dad and Alder ventured out across the huge field with a free kid kite and a doubtful mom sat back with a neighbor friend and infant. I always recall kite flying with memories of frustration and little success. However, by the time I joined them they had this little (well designed) kite flying with ease.

Alder was even able to hold the kite string and run with it. He was easily distracted by others and their kites and more than once got tangled with others or let go altogether. It is such a pleasure to show a child something in real life rather than try and describe it or even show it in a book. I think he has a real appreciation now for wind and what it is relative to us.

We look forward to using this little kite again...

It was also my birthday last week and Jason surprised me with a delicious vegan carrot cake from the local health food store for the second year in a row and I loved it. My birthday was a regular, hectic Monday and this was a wonderful way to end it.