Matthew had his 15 month check-up this morning. Yey.
His stats:
Weight: 24.06 lbs (50%ile)
Height: 33 1/4 in (95%ile)
Size of the Megamind: 49 1/2cm (95%ile)
The doctor asked about language development. It is important that a child can state one word with meaning at this point. Last night, we made a list of all the words Matthew has said in case we were asked about this. At a total of 40 words, I'd say he's doing just fine.
The doctor also asked about motor movement like walking, running, and climbing, of which Matthew is doing all of the above. We also discussed eating, use of bottles/pacifiers (of which M does not use), and last but not least sleep. The last few weeks of illness for Matthew has made his sleep usual, whereby he was waking up multiple times a night. Typical for Matthew though is to wake up once for about 20 min in about one in every ten days. We soothe him for a bit and then can be put to back in his crib and he goes to sleep quite immediately. This week has been a little atypical (read: we hope its atypical and not a new pattern). Two nights ago, Matthew woke up two hours after going to bed and became hysterical (tears everywhere, hyperventilating while crying). We tried to put him back in bed three times throughout the night and each time he responded with hysteria all over again. So the big boy got to sleep between Mom and Dad. The doctor said that these usual nights happen, but this has not been our pattern so there is no reason for concern.
And the doctor fancied Mike by talking to him about IU basketball. Mike's comment when the doctor left the room, "I like him." My comment. "Of course you do."
Friday, January 25, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Oh, What A Night!
Worst song ever. It is interesting to me that half of The Four Seasons' portfolio makes you wistful while the other half makes you want to beat Frankie with a bag full of mason jars.
This weekend, the in-laws took Matthew so we could have a seven-hour long date extravaganza. It was enjoyed by one and all. First, we went to see Argo, which was amazing--so amazing, in fact, that as soon as we are admitted into the Academy, our ballots for Best Picture will no longer be going to Lincoln. Lincoln was also fantastic, but not in the grab-you-by-the-crotch sort of way that Argo was fantastic. Since figurative genital discomfort is my only criteria for Oscar distribution, Argo wins.
After the movie, we decided to go to Ben & Jerry's for some Raspberry Chocolate Chunk frozen yogurt. However, we did not do so before enjoying the credits, which were narrated by the world's most self-aware woman. Seriously.
"BEN. AFFLECK."
"JOHN. GOODMAN."
"THIS MOVIE WAS REALLY GOO... ALAN. ARKIN. I LIKE HIM."
There is no higher form of humor than a gross lack of self-awareness. This woman was top-shelf. The whole theater was completely silent, watching the slide show that was accompanying the credits. And listening to a woman who apparently enjoys the collective works of Alan Arkin.
Following the riveting spoken word piece, we enjoyed our frozen yogurt. We then took a picture on my iPhone.
Aside: remember the cameras with flashbulbs? This was my first camera, although mine was actually blue. My brother's was that bizarre pink-purple color. I wonder how people would react if I pulled it out at a bar. I am often taking impromptu pictures at bars. I think they would smile. Might get annoyed when I asked them to wait while I wound the film to the next available exposure.
After the movie, we met the Schneiders for dinner at q, a BBQ place in the city. The head chef has starred on numerous TLC and Food Network shows and personally provides patrons with an autographed photo on their birthday. We learned this when she provided such a photo to Johnny for his birthday. The food, as you would imagine, didn't suck. A little different than the BBQ places we were used to in Wisconsin, however. Not too many $300 pork shoulders in Milwaukee, unless they come with one month's use of a Camry. We did not order the pork shoulder.
Finally, we ran into an old classmate of ours on our walk back to the car, a dude named Jesse who E did theatre with. He clearly had no idea who I was, but remembered her. As we talked, E brought up the fact that the only reason she and I ever met was because she and Jesse talked too much in Spanish class, so the teacher moved E to sit near me instead. Fourteen years later, there are two children that have been created due to Jesse and E never shutting up. I am thankful for that. I am especially thankful that the teacher moved E, and not Jesse, to sit by me. Otherwise, I would be married to a guy named Jesse and the two kids would be some sort of bizarre circus freaks the media would never leave alone. Yucky.
This weekend, the in-laws took Matthew so we could have a seven-hour long date extravaganza. It was enjoyed by one and all. First, we went to see Argo, which was amazing--so amazing, in fact, that as soon as we are admitted into the Academy, our ballots for Best Picture will no longer be going to Lincoln. Lincoln was also fantastic, but not in the grab-you-by-the-crotch sort of way that Argo was fantastic. Since figurative genital discomfort is my only criteria for Oscar distribution, Argo wins.
After the movie, we decided to go to Ben & Jerry's for some Raspberry Chocolate Chunk frozen yogurt. However, we did not do so before enjoying the credits, which were narrated by the world's most self-aware woman. Seriously.
"BEN. AFFLECK."
"JOHN. GOODMAN."
"THIS MOVIE WAS REALLY GOO... ALAN. ARKIN. I LIKE HIM."
There is no higher form of humor than a gross lack of self-awareness. This woman was top-shelf. The whole theater was completely silent, watching the slide show that was accompanying the credits. And listening to a woman who apparently enjoys the collective works of Alan Arkin.
Following the riveting spoken word piece, we enjoyed our frozen yogurt. We then took a picture on my iPhone.
Aside: remember the cameras with flashbulbs? This was my first camera, although mine was actually blue. My brother's was that bizarre pink-purple color. I wonder how people would react if I pulled it out at a bar. I am often taking impromptu pictures at bars. I think they would smile. Might get annoyed when I asked them to wait while I wound the film to the next available exposure.
After the movie, we met the Schneiders for dinner at q, a BBQ place in the city. The head chef has starred on numerous TLC and Food Network shows and personally provides patrons with an autographed photo on their birthday. We learned this when she provided such a photo to Johnny for his birthday. The food, as you would imagine, didn't suck. A little different than the BBQ places we were used to in Wisconsin, however. Not too many $300 pork shoulders in Milwaukee, unless they come with one month's use of a Camry. We did not order the pork shoulder.
Finally, we ran into an old classmate of ours on our walk back to the car, a dude named Jesse who E did theatre with. He clearly had no idea who I was, but remembered her. As we talked, E brought up the fact that the only reason she and I ever met was because she and Jesse talked too much in Spanish class, so the teacher moved E to sit near me instead. Fourteen years later, there are two children that have been created due to Jesse and E never shutting up. I am thankful for that. I am especially thankful that the teacher moved E, and not Jesse, to sit by me. Otherwise, I would be married to a guy named Jesse and the two kids would be some sort of bizarre circus freaks the media would never leave alone. Yucky.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
The Prologue
We're naming these last two weeks (and perhaps this coming week) of our life The Prologue. I have been sick for the last two weeks and Matthew has been sick for 9 days. Matthew started to have a bit of a cough and then the stomach flu and continued on with this nasty virus. It has led to 3 nights this week where Mike and I have gotten 3-5 hours of sleep. Matthew was waking up every hour or two to throw up or in a coughing fit that led him to cry. One of those nights, when not coughing or blowing my own nose, comforting Matthew or trying to ignore my heartburn, I thought, okay, time to rest...and then Deuce made his/her presence known by kicking up a storm. Hi Deuce.
Thursday night was fantastic; Matthew slept from 9pm-9am. He then took a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. I barely had to wipe his nose but he was coughing. I thought he was on the up. And then last night he went to bed at 8...and woke up at 10, 11, 11:45, 12:15, 5...ugh.
When we woke up at 10 he was coughing pretty hard and crying. Poor guy. I went and got him right away and held him. The sweet boy just rested on my shoulder. For ten minutes. And then it was playtime! He went looking for Daddy and then literally ran around the playroom screaming with joy for about ten straight minutes. We laid him back down at 10:30 and because we have a new monitor we were able to spy on him. He just laid there for a half hour with his eyes open. This led to questions such as, "What's on your mind? What's troubling you? Not sure which show you like better--Cat and the Hat or Sid the Science Kid?" He laid in bed with us for a bit and we tried to put him down again. Twice. He'd lay there for a short while and then start coughing and crying again. He was better when we brought him into our bed but then he'd want to play or kick Daddy in the throat.
Tonight he went to bed at 8 and is already back up coughing and crying. Ruh roh.
So why are we calling this The Prologue instead of Sleepless Sick Nights? Because this will be our sleep cycle only worse in just three months. Chasing a toddler, working, caring for a newborn, desperate for sleep, oh my!
Other random and completely unrelated thought...I dreamt that one of my sorority friends from southern IN told me she was moving to Vernon, WI. We did a walk through of her house and I discovered that her two young children would be sharing a bathroom. A bathroom with 2 jaquizzi tubs and a regular bathtub. And the furniture of the house was either dad-style cherry brown leather furniture with button tufts AND plastic blow-up chaises and chairs. When I woke up, I wondered if Vernon, WI existed. It does. And is a suburb just SW of where we used to live. Hadn't heard of it before, but somewhere in my mind, there it was!
And another random share...Mike and I were watching PBS this morning because they had on a program about National Parks. Ralph Waldo Emerson's views on the parks were referenced as he said that if you want to find God you should go into nature, the mountains. I wonder if my father-in-law agrees with his (middle name) namesake...
Thursday night was fantastic; Matthew slept from 9pm-9am. He then took a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. I barely had to wipe his nose but he was coughing. I thought he was on the up. And then last night he went to bed at 8...and woke up at 10, 11, 11:45, 12:15, 5...ugh.
When we woke up at 10 he was coughing pretty hard and crying. Poor guy. I went and got him right away and held him. The sweet boy just rested on my shoulder. For ten minutes. And then it was playtime! He went looking for Daddy and then literally ran around the playroom screaming with joy for about ten straight minutes. We laid him back down at 10:30 and because we have a new monitor we were able to spy on him. He just laid there for a half hour with his eyes open. This led to questions such as, "What's on your mind? What's troubling you? Not sure which show you like better--Cat and the Hat or Sid the Science Kid?" He laid in bed with us for a bit and we tried to put him down again. Twice. He'd lay there for a short while and then start coughing and crying again. He was better when we brought him into our bed but then he'd want to play or kick Daddy in the throat.
Tonight he went to bed at 8 and is already back up coughing and crying. Ruh roh.
So why are we calling this The Prologue instead of Sleepless Sick Nights? Because this will be our sleep cycle only worse in just three months. Chasing a toddler, working, caring for a newborn, desperate for sleep, oh my!
Other random and completely unrelated thought...I dreamt that one of my sorority friends from southern IN told me she was moving to Vernon, WI. We did a walk through of her house and I discovered that her two young children would be sharing a bathroom. A bathroom with 2 jaquizzi tubs and a regular bathtub. And the furniture of the house was either dad-style cherry brown leather furniture with button tufts AND plastic blow-up chaises and chairs. When I woke up, I wondered if Vernon, WI existed. It does. And is a suburb just SW of where we used to live. Hadn't heard of it before, but somewhere in my mind, there it was!
And another random share...Mike and I were watching PBS this morning because they had on a program about National Parks. Ralph Waldo Emerson's views on the parks were referenced as he said that if you want to find God you should go into nature, the mountains. I wonder if my father-in-law agrees with his (middle name) namesake...
These are my father-in-law's pictures from his mountain climbing expeditions. Wow!
Saturday, January 5, 2013
He Better Start Saving
Matthew: (with one arm up in a tiger-like position) Grrrr!!!!
Me (E): Are you gonna be a Missouri Tiger one day?
Matthew: No.
Me: Are you gonna be a Boilermaker?
Matthew: No.
Mike: Good answer Bud.
Me: Are you gonna be a Hoosier?
Matthew: No.
(Mike bows his head with complete devastation.)
Me: What about a Wildcat? You gonna be a Wildcat one day?
Matthew: Yeah!
Please note that the He referenced in the title of this post could be any man.
Me (E): Are you gonna be a Missouri Tiger one day?
Matthew: No.
Me: Are you gonna be a Boilermaker?
Matthew: No.
Mike: Good answer Bud.
Me: Are you gonna be a Hoosier?
Matthew: No.
(Mike bows his head with complete devastation.)
Me: What about a Wildcat? You gonna be a Wildcat one day?
Matthew: Yeah!
Please note that the He referenced in the title of this post could be any man.
Monday, December 31, 2012
"Happy No Year!" ~Joey Tribbiani
Mike and I have spent our evening learning and practicing The Routine because it just makes good sense.
OR we have spent some time reflecting on this last year. I'm not a fan of New Year's resolutions because it seems as though they are usually extreme in nature, guilt-inducing, and forgotten about shortly after February is upon us. BUT, I am huge fan of reflection time.
After graduating from IU, from time to time I have had anxiety about college being the best years of my life and never feeling that great (connected, learning, happy, in love) again. To think the best is behind me is hard and sad. But I can honestly say, I think this has been the best year of my life. It has been filled with great joy, love, family and friends.
I came upon this Bible verse tonight: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." I feel as though it speaks to our journeys. Mike's job has been challenging in a stimulating way, he has been thriving and enjoying work which is what we have prayed for and desired for years. He has not come home once from work feeling defeated, beaten down, or angry. If you knew him in his previous job, this was not so much the case. He comes home happy and energized. And my "work" is the most challenging one that I have experienced requiring more energy, thought, and patience than all others. But it is filled with love, friendship, human growth, and laughter. Matthew is our greatest gift. One that I more than don't take lightly each day.
This year has not just been about work. One of our greatest focuses in life is for this to NOT be the case, despite its potential negative consequences (i.e. we don't buy a home till we are 60 or never). We have been grateful for all the time as a family we are able to spend together. With Hillshire Brands now being downtown, Mike takes the train and is home by 6 every night (as opposed to his late nights of 6:30 in Downer's Grove). We have our weekends to ourselves, which we use to relax and laugh together or spend time with friends and/or our extended families. We have been able to see the Schwartz family much more this year than in years past, including Mike's grandparents a couple of times. We've had trips to the park, the pool, many great baths lasting 30 minutes (which is arguably Matthew's favorite activity), vacations to FL and CO, games of chase and hide and seek, and late night chats full of laughter while "trying" to be quiet because we sleep right across the hall from Matthew. There was even great joy and love in our lives when Matthew had a cold a couple weeks ago and was waking up in the night. For the first time ever, we decided to let him sleep with us a few times for a couple hours and experienced him calming and cuddling. To be able to provide this in a time of need and also experience this was wonderful; just warm and full of love. And, of course, we cannot forget the amazing blessing of getting pregnant once again.
However, I am not saddened by the thought that my best year is coming to completion tonight because I am filled with a new hope that the years to come with be just as blessed.
OR we have spent some time reflecting on this last year. I'm not a fan of New Year's resolutions because it seems as though they are usually extreme in nature, guilt-inducing, and forgotten about shortly after February is upon us. BUT, I am huge fan of reflection time.
After graduating from IU, from time to time I have had anxiety about college being the best years of my life and never feeling that great (connected, learning, happy, in love) again. To think the best is behind me is hard and sad. But I can honestly say, I think this has been the best year of my life. It has been filled with great joy, love, family and friends.
I came upon this Bible verse tonight: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." I feel as though it speaks to our journeys. Mike's job has been challenging in a stimulating way, he has been thriving and enjoying work which is what we have prayed for and desired for years. He has not come home once from work feeling defeated, beaten down, or angry. If you knew him in his previous job, this was not so much the case. He comes home happy and energized. And my "work" is the most challenging one that I have experienced requiring more energy, thought, and patience than all others. But it is filled with love, friendship, human growth, and laughter. Matthew is our greatest gift. One that I more than don't take lightly each day.
This year has not just been about work. One of our greatest focuses in life is for this to NOT be the case, despite its potential negative consequences (i.e. we don't buy a home till we are 60 or never). We have been grateful for all the time as a family we are able to spend together. With Hillshire Brands now being downtown, Mike takes the train and is home by 6 every night (as opposed to his late nights of 6:30 in Downer's Grove). We have our weekends to ourselves, which we use to relax and laugh together or spend time with friends and/or our extended families. We have been able to see the Schwartz family much more this year than in years past, including Mike's grandparents a couple of times. We've had trips to the park, the pool, many great baths lasting 30 minutes (which is arguably Matthew's favorite activity), vacations to FL and CO, games of chase and hide and seek, and late night chats full of laughter while "trying" to be quiet because we sleep right across the hall from Matthew. There was even great joy and love in our lives when Matthew had a cold a couple weeks ago and was waking up in the night. For the first time ever, we decided to let him sleep with us a few times for a couple hours and experienced him calming and cuddling. To be able to provide this in a time of need and also experience this was wonderful; just warm and full of love. And, of course, we cannot forget the amazing blessing of getting pregnant once again.
However, I am not saddened by the thought that my best year is coming to completion tonight because I am filled with a new hope that the years to come with be just as blessed.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Merry Christmas
We spent Christmas at my parents house which should be of no surprise to anyone because my in-laws are Jewish.
 |
| Matthew and Uncle John |
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| Me and Matthew wearing matching scarves (Matthew's was a Christmas gift made by GG Margaret) |
Titus on the other hand was not enjoying his gift today, double ear infections. And his dad was not feeling much better. We most definitely missed them.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Pillow Fight!
Mike and I have always felt strongly that parents should let kids decide what activities they want to participate in rather than pushing ones own interests or feelings. However, in light of all the suicides and extensive head injuries experienced in football, we have talked about not enouraging the sport despite it being the one Mike enjoyed playing the most in high school.
But our little Matthew does, and always has, loved physical contact and/or thrill seeking. Snuggling, playing leg pumping games, hanging upside down, etc. And here you can see that we are probably going to lose the battle against football pretty quickly.
This pillow fighting went on for about 20 minutes with two breaks at which point Matthew bulldozed the pillow or pulled on it laughing, begging for it to continue. This laughter throughout this pre-bedtime game was pure happiness for both Matthew and his parents.
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