2 month check-up

Yesterday I had my 2-month check-up with the Dude. He seems to be really happy with how I'm growing and he says that I look great. I'm now 10lbs 1oz (45%), 22.5" long (70%), and my head circumference is 39cm (55%). At this rate, I'm going to be able to put my big brother in a headlock by the time I'm 18 months old!

Mama asked the Dude about my affinity for projectile vomiting. He said that it sounds like I have acid reflux (just like my big brother), and my way of doing it is to store up a bunch of milk in my belly until I explode violently. Neither Mama nor I is a fan of this particular manifestation of acid reflux. I vomit so much that it comes out of my mouth and nose, and then I gag and choke, which scares me. I also get milk trapped in my throat, which makes me wheeze and rattle like an old man with emphysema. However, as long as I continue to nurse willingly and gain weight well, apparently I'll grow out of it.  In the meantime, Mama will be doing lots and lots of laundry.

The Dude also recommended that Mama and Daddy get the H1N1 vaccine in order to protect me. Z will also get the vaccine at his 2-year check-up, but since I am too young to get it, it's important to try to keep my caretakers healthy as a first line of defense.  Mama and Daddy have never been fans of getting the flu shot, but they did have Z get it last year on the Dude's recommendation.  Now that we have H1N1 around and Z and I are in the most vulnerable age group, it looks like everyone's getting a shot this year!

Speaking of which, I got my first set of shots at my appointment.  I did not like them.  First the nurse distracted me by giving me an oral vaccine for rotovirus.  Then she pulled out the needles -- three of 'em -- and verrrrrrrrrrrry slooooooooooowly stuck my thighs.  I turned bright red and started screaming when I felt the first one, and continued to scream for approximately 3 weeks as Nurse Ratchet took her time giving me the next two shots (seriously, could she have BEEN any slower?).

Mama looked like she was ready bite Nurse Ratchet for going so slowly, and I could tell that it took all of her strength not to snatch me up before the shots were over.  The instant the nurse put the bandaids on my legs, Mama scooped me up, snuggled me close, and sang to me to help me calm down.  Then I got to nurse, which made me relax and start to drift off to sleep.  Mama got me dressed and put me in the car seat, and I don't remember much after that...

3-0

Video variety show

Summer must be over


Having a chat in the stroller


Itsy-bitsy spider (or as I prefer to call it, the "WASH!!" song)


Taking Cowboy for a wagon ride

More pictures: Mei-mei

Worth a thousand words (for now)?

We haven't had time to post much lately. Mama used to post when I was either napping or in bed for the night, but now Mei-mei keeps her busy during those times. And I'm too busy running around, chasing Cowboy, and chattering up a storm to post frequently. But we'll try to catch up over the next couple of weeks! We have lots of things to talk about, including A-mah and Opa's visit, our trip to Colorado for my Uncle Brendan's wedding, and Grandpa's visit.

In the meantime, I'll post some pictures from the past few days.  You can see me enjoying a pancake, playing with my Slinky, reading with Grandpa, discovering the joy of stickers, and going for a wagon ride with Cowboy (which ended in a way that Cowboy was not quite expecting). I have some videos I'm going to post soon too, so stay tuned!

Happy Birthday Papa H!

Bye-bye mullet

My Grandpa Walt treated me to my first "real" haircut (now that I actually have a full head of hair).  It was so much fun!  I got to sit in a wooden rocket ship that had buttons to push.  I got a whole box full of cars and trucks to play with.  My stylist Jennie gave me drape covered with cars and trucks.  And Jennie showed me whatever she was going to do before she did it, so I got to play with the water spray bottle, the comb, and even the electric trimmer!  Mama was worried the experience was going to be a bad one because I'd spent the 30 minutes before my appointment kicking and screaming and having a meltdown (I didn't take a very long nap today)...but it turned out to be a really good time for everyone.

And now see how neat and polished I look.  No more "bullet with a mullet" for me!  I look nice and clean-cut, which hopefully means I will be able to get away with even more mischief than before.

Ducky

Peek-a-boo!

Lounge artist

I've been practicing my "lounging around" skills for the past 5+ weeks, so I've gotten quite good at it. I can lounge in Mama or Daddy's arms, in the cradle, in the pack-n-play, in my car seat, and I can really lounge in a baby carrier.  I usually look around for a bit and then drift off to sleep, unless I'm in the co-sleeper next to Mama and Daddy's bed.  When I'm in the co-sleeper, I like to stare at Mama.  She tries to ignore me in a futile attempt to convince me to sleep, but why would I sleep at night when I have her undivided attention?

Actually, I do sleep a fair amount at night -- but I also like to snack throughout the night.  So I take a little nap, wake Mama up for a snack, fall asleep after about 20 minutes of nursing, then wake Mama up again about an hour later.  Rinse and repeat.

In spite of this, I'm a pretty easy baby all around.  Mama is afraid to say too much about this for fear of jinxing it, so we'll just leave it at that...at least until we've passed the peak of baby fussiness.  For my big brother Z, he started the fussy phase at about 3 weeks and continued until about 12 weeks, with his peak at around 9-10 weeks (6 weeks past his due date).  Since he peaked at 6 weeks past his due date, not his birth date, Mama is assuming that my peak will come at 8 weeks (which is 6 weeks past my due date).  So she's waiting until at least the end of September before she talks too much about what an angel I am.

Here are some pictures showing some of my best "lounging" moves.

Story time

One of my favorite things is story time. I say "REE!" and bring books to Mama or Daddy to read to me. I have my favorite books, but they change pretty frequently. Right now I'm on a Dr. Seuss kick, which I've actually been on for quite a while. I'm also a big fan of Brown Bear, I Love You More, My Daddy and Me and Caillou, Careful. I climb onto Mama or Daddy's lap (or into my Bumbo) and I help turn the pages. I do sound effects at the right times and point out the different characters if Mama or Daddy can't find them (they seem to have a particularly hard time keeping track of the fish in The Cat in the Hat, always asking "Where's the fish?"). Sometimes I turn the page back to a favorite page, and often I'll decide I've had enough of a particular book and say "No" and close it.

In addition to reading all day, I get to pick out a couple books for story time right before I go to bed. It's my way of winding down after a long day. Usually we read books while rocking in the glider in my room, but sometimes I get an extra story downstairs in the living room or on the front porch. Here are a couple pictures of bedtime stories with Daddy.

Bye-bye BOB...

...hello Phil and Ted.



Yes, it's time to part with our beloved BOB stroller.  It's a great stroller and we've thoroughly enjoyed using it, but unfortunately, it only fits one child.  And, you'll note, we now have more than one child.  So after a lot of research and polling of other parents of two, we decided to get a Phil and Teds double stroller.  To make it more affordable, we bid our BOB farewell via Craigslist.  It sold in less than 2 hours, so we didn't have a lot of time to say our good-byes.  Z will be especially sad, because he loves to say, "BOB!" and has more difficulty with "Phil and Ted".  Maybe we'll just start with one name.  I like "Ted".

For those of you unfamiliar with the Phil and Teds stroller, here it is.  In its current configuration (for toddler + baby), it's a double-decker with the baby lying down on the bottom (see picture 1, showing Mei-mei snug as a bug in the fully-reclined main seat).  The toddler sits in the "jump" seat, which is attached above the main seat (see picture 2, showing Z looking a bit unsure about things).  The combined stroller + jump seat is smaller than the single BOB, which is pretty neat.  And once Mei-mei gets bigger, we'll attach the jump seat in the back so Z can sit in the main seat and Mei-mei can be the backseat driver.  In that configuration, the top of Z's head won't be skimming the underside of the sunshade.

Almost as good as living in a musical

How cool would it be to have your own baby laugh track? I could watch this all day.