Lessons and Carols

Every year, on the last day of school, CJ's school has a Christmas pageant called "Lessons and Carols."  There's a message from the Head of School and the Reverend, readings by some of the kids, and Christmas songs performed by each class.  I love this pageant because it always gets me into the holiday spirit in a big way.

The kids get all dressed up.  The girls are adorable in their fancy, sparkly, satiny dresses.  CJ was wearing a button down shirt, a real tie from Land's End and a blue pin-striped blazer.  I think his blazer was just a little too small.  I tried it on him this summer and it was still really big, but he must have had a growth spurt because when I went to put it on him this past week, it was a little snug.  Oh well.  He's only worn the jacket three times in his life.  It will go into the MJ 5-year box so we can get a little more use out of it.

CJ's class joined with another class to sing "Oh Come Little Children."  The music teachers did an excellent job of prepping the kids.  The 5th graders in particular did an awesome job.  Maki calls them the A team.

CJ is on winter break for a few weeks.  I love that we don't need to scramble in the morning to get him out the door by 7:45am but I'm not nuts about having him home with nothing to do.  Time to organize a thousand playdates!

How is Uncle Owen Luke's Skywalker's Uncle?

CJ is obsessed with Star Wars and Legos these days.  Big surprise.  I'm obviously a giant Star Wars fan and Maki introduced CJ to Legos and Lego Mindstorms early.

CJ has been watching the movies lately and has been interested in the family tree of the Skywalkers.  Here is a recent, hilarious exchange between me and CJ.

CJ:  Mom, how is Uncle Owen Luke Skywalker's Uncle?

Me:  Owen was Anakin's stepbrother.

CJ:  What's a stepbrother?

Me:  Well.  Let's see.  When a mom and dad split up and one of them remarries and has children, then you become stepbrothers and sisters.  Anakin's mom had Anakin, then she married Lars and had a baby named Owen.  So Luke and Owen are stepbrothers because they had the same mom.

CJ:  You and daddy and split up all the time.  Every morning, you and daddy split up and drive to work.  Do I have stepbrothers and sisters?

Me:  Hmm...  split up in this case is something different.  When a mom and dad split up, they stop being married.

CJ:  You mean they dismarry?  (Note how he's trying to put together words; it's not right in this case, but a great job at using "dis")

Me:  Yes, it's called getting divorced.  Don't worry, mommy and daddy aren't getting divorced and you're not getting any stepbrothers and sisters.

CJ:  Did Leia have stepbrothers and sisters?

Me:  I don't know.  Remember Alderaan got blown up by Darth Vader?

CJ:  Oh yeah.

Do you think this is TMI for a six-year old?

Annual Tree Trimming Party

Yesterday was our annual tree trimming party.  We normally invite some people over for snacks, hot chocolate, and decorating. For me, it's a great way to get into the holiday spirit and I get help decorating my tree!

Last year, we invited a lot of people to the party: neighbors, a couple of CJ's friends from preschool and CJ's entire kindergarten class. It was super fun but it was a mob scene. This year, we invited CJ's best buddies from school and their parents. I just didn't have it in me to do a big party, what with the baby and all. Plus, since MJ is so little, I wanted to limit the germs we were introducing into the house.

We had a ball.  For the first time, the kids actually helped decorate the tree. Last year, the kids put all my candy canes in one section of the tree. This year, they put up candy canes and non-breakable ornaments and they did a great job of spacing out the decorations around the entire tree!


Once the kids got tired of decorating the tree, they went upstairs and played with CJ's Legos. Then they had a quick dinner of mac 'n cheese.  My mom, the other moms and I finished decorating the tree and putting up garlands and bows throughout the house. The house looks so great!

Hilarious photo of the boys during dinner!

Mobile MJ

When CJ was 4 1/2 months old, my best friend Dayna was visiting.  Maki and I went out to dinner with her, with CJ in tow.  We went to a Vietnamese restaurant that's close by and serves food fast.  It was the first time we brought CJ out to dinner with us.  We did it at the urging of my sister Patricia who urged us to start going out with CJ so he and we would get used to going out together.  Since then, we've made it a habit to go out to dinner on most Saturday nights, with CJ of course.

Six years later and Patricia's advice has really worked out for us.  CJ loves going out to eat, he's a good and pretty adventurous eater, and we get to enjoy meals out as a family.

With MJ, we're starting early.  When MJ was about a month and a half old, Maki took a Friday off and spent the day with me and MJ.  CJ was at school and our nanny share didn't come to the house, so no nanny.  Maki and I went to lunch at one of our favorite Italian restaurants, bringing MJ with us.  I nursed around noon, then we left immediately for the restaurant.  As we hoped, MJ slept through most of the meal and we enjoyed a nice lunch.  After lunch, we went back home so I could nurse, then we went to see our financial adviser.  Again, MJ was a gem and slept through most of our appointment.

Since then, we've taken MJ to Harris Teeter nearly every weekend and we've been to our favorite restaurant several times with CJ and MJ.  The first time we went out with MJ, we forgot the diaper bag.  Today, we're more organized, now that we're back in the habit of hauling a whole bunch of baby gear.

It feels great to be so mobile with the baby!

This is LOVE

We try to give MJ as much tummy time as we can.  A favorite thing to do is put him on his tummy while on the changing pad.  This way, we can be at eye level with him without lying down on the ground.  The eye contact definitely helps him tolerate tummy time better!

The other day, Maki was giving Marco some tummy time when I managed to snap this photo.  MJ doesn't mind tummy time for the first few minutes and in this case, he was smiling and laughing at Maki's funny faces.

Check out the eyes.  Don't MJ's eyes look like Maki's?  I love the expression on both of their faces!

Overnight Trip on a Submarine

A couple of weeks ago, CJ's boy scout den spent the night on the USS Torsk, a retired submarine from WWII docked at Baltimore's Inner Harbor that is now part of the National Park Service.

I'm dreadfully claustrophobic so there was zero chance I was going to accompany CJ on this trip.  Plus, I think this was definitely a dads and sons activity.  Maki and CJ left on a Friday afternoon and spent Friday night on the submarine.

The boys and dads toured the ship, learned about submarines generally and the USS Torsk specifically, they had submarine sandwiches (har har) for dinner, and they visited the nearby light ship Chesapeake.

CJ and Maki had a great time.  What 6-year old wouldn't?  CJ was with some of his best buddies from the pack, he was on a submarine, and it was essentially a sleepover with friends in a submarine!

Stairwell leading down into the engine room of the Chesapeake.

This is a bunk on the top left, which is nearly directly above a torpedo.

The boys huddled around a table with a map.

 Check out this tiny kitchen!

CJ was on the top bunk (there were 3 levels of bunk beds) until Maki 

moved him to a lower bunk after one of the boys fell off his bunk.

The entrances throughout the submarine look like this.

Pretty view of the Inner Harbor from the periscope.

Sleeping Through the Night

It's the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  MJ is 2 1/2 months old and last night, he slept 9 hours straight, from 9:30pm - 6:30am.  Straight.  No crying, no diaper change, no bottle from Maki.  He slept 8 1/2 hours three nights ago and we were thrilled.  Maki especially, because it meant he didn't have to get up at 2:30am or 4:30am to give MJ a bottle.

His longer sleep at night is probably because he's a lot bigger, can drink a lot more milk, and has enough fat in his body to carry him through the night.  During his last doctor's appointment, he weighed 14.23 lbs.  He was born 7 lbs., 15 oz., which means he's put on over 6 1/2 lbs. since birth.

During his first two weeks of life, MJ was not putting on much weight.  He lost a bunch of weight right after birth (which is normal); by the time he left the hospital, he weighed 7 lbs., 6 oz.  At his two week check-up, he had only put on an additional 2 oz.  The doctor asked to see him again at 3 weeks to check his weight.  At three weeks, he weighed 8 lbs., 11 oz. so he put on nearly a pound and a half in one week.  The doctor explained that he probably figured out how to nurse effectively and is now able to nurse well.

The doctor also said that pediatricians really like for moms to breastfeed their babies because breast milk is best for baby AND breastfed babies are much less likely to be overweight later in life.  He said that doctors don't worry if a breastfed baby's weight is off the charts because by the time he becomes a toddler, he is very likely to lose the extra weight.  He says doctors think this is because breastfed babies eat until they're full and moms can't stress over exactly how much they're eating (unlike a bottle, where moms might force a baby to finish exactly 3 or 4 oz. because that's what the books say he should be eating).

MJ is now getting both breast and bottle and although he eats every 3 hours, we don't force the amount that he drinks.  If he wants 2 oz. during one bottle feeding, that's what he gets.  If he wants 4 oz., that's what he gets.  When he's nursing, I obviously don't know how much he's getting, but he definitely lets me know if he wants more and when he's done.

I'm just happy that Maki and I are getting more sleep at night.  We need to resist the temptation to try and get some work done after both boys are asleep and just go to bed as soon as we can.

The Reason I Got a Digital SLR

The other morning, Maki was holding MJ and making funny faces at him.  The morning light was perfect, MJ was smiling and laughing and I just knew I had to get some photos.

I asked Maki where the Lumix was and he said, "ooh, it's kinda complicated. The camera is in the bag in the cabinet and the battery is charging downstairs."

While this situation might have stopped most moms in their tracks, I was determined to get the candid shots that I saw unfolding before me.  I raced around, grabbed everything, put the camera on burst mode (which I had never done before) and started snapping.

Maki, MJ and the natural light all cooperated.  Here are some of the photos I took.  They're gorgeous!  And this is why I got a digital SLR!

I Finally Got a Digital SLR Camera

People who know me know that I LOVE taking photos.  I nearly always have my little point and shoot camera with me and I don't hesitate to take photos of my kids, my co-workers, events I'm attending, yada, yada.  I'm especially prolific during trips.

I've always had point and shoot cameras, but I'd been coveting a digital SLR (single lens reflex) camera for many years.  But Maki would repeatedly remind me that an SLR camera is much bigger and doesn't easily fit into my purse or diaper bag.  He was right, so no SLR for me.

This summer, Maki and I learned about micro four thirds cameras.  They're great cameras, BUT, the most important factor to me is size.  Micro four thirds cameras are a lot smaller than standard SLR camera; they're probably about the size of a bulky point and shoot camera.

So when MJ was born and Maki asked me what I wanted as a delivery present (isn't he nice?), I asked for an SLR camera.  After a lot of research, Maki chose the Panasonic Lumix G2 camera.  Our friend Eric loves, loves, loves his Lumix camera and the reviews on Amazon were great.  For me, I like that it takes great photos, with my fancy lens I don't need a flash in most situations, I can take great action shots, I can take multiple photos in burst mode, and I can take HD video!

I have a lot to learn about SLR cameras.  For now, I take most photos on Auto mode, but I'm slowly learning about f-stops and aperture openings.  If I'm carrying a small purse, I'll still take my little Sony with me, but given the chance, I now bring my new Lumix with me.  Love it!

No Dairy For Mommy

I've given up dairy --- again.  When CJ was born, he was pretty fussy at night.  He would scream and arch his back all night long.  I read in one of my books that dairy sometimes gives baby colic, so I gave up dairy -- milk, yogurt, cheese, butter.  Within a couple of weeks, CJ was a new baby.  Even if he didn't sleep easily at night, he didn't scream like he used to.

Which is why I decided to give up dairy as long as I'm nursing Marcus.  I notice that he's definitely fussier when I've had cheese or cream (cheese is particularly bad), so no dairy for mommy.  No grilled cheese sandwiches, no bologna and cheese sandwiches, no pasta with cream or parmesan cheese, no cottage cheese lasagna, no yogurt smoothie drinks.

Is it hard to give up dairy?  Sort of.  On the one hand, it's hard to snack when you're not consuming dairy, because you can't just have a glass of milk or have a piece of cheese.  And it's challenging to cook pasta dishes without cheese.

But on the other hand, Marcus is a happy, smiley baby who sleeps well at night.  That's worth everything to me.  At night, he goes to sleep pretty easily after a bit of rocking in our arms.  When he wakes up in the middle of night and Maki gives him a bottle, he goes back to sleep easily. 


I am drinking Lactaid milk with my cereal and Marcus seems fine with that.  I also recently found chocolate Lactaid milk, which is a ridiculously yummy treat when I need a quick snack.  I heard rumors of Lactaid ice cream, so I'll try to hunt that down the next time I'm at Harris Teeter.  Maki bought me some tofu cheese, but it wasn't great.  Soy yogurt isn't bad; I've had soy smoothies as well.

Here's a funny exchange between me and CJ the other day:

CJ:  Mom, this mac and cheese is yummy, want to try some?

Me:  No, I can't have dairy, remember?

CJ:  Oh yeah, I forgot.  Mom, I'm sad that you can't have any dairy.  That's just tragic!

I'm sure CJ learned the word tragic from me, but it's still hilarious to hear him use the word and use it so well!

MJ Loves Bath Time!

When MJ was about a week old, I gave him his first bath.  I dug out CJ's blue bathtub from the garage and set it up in the tub in CJ/MJ's bathroom.  I was out of practice giving infants a bath, but it went pretty well.  CJ was very sweet and offered to be my assistant.  He squeezed baby shampoo into my hand and handed me the hooded towel after the bath.  MJ cried a bit and I'm not sure if it's because the whole thing was new, he didn't like the water, he didn't like the noise, or what.

A few days later, I gave him a second bath and that went much better.  I had everything ready (towel, baby shampoo, diaper, footy pajamas, etc.) and I sang bath songs.  This time, he didn't cry, but instead just looked at me intently while I scrubbed his head and body.

In fact, MJ has not cried during bath time since his very first bath.  It seems that, like his big brother CJ, MJ likes baths!  He's very serious during baths; he just stares intently at whoever is giving him a bath but he does not cry.  Of course, we make sure we give him a bath a little bit after nursing so he's calm and full.

My tips for a successful bath:

• Make sure baby is calm and happy.
• Prep the bathtub ahead of time with warm water, baby wash/shampoo and towel. Make sure everything is within easy reach.
• Get your post-bath area ready with an extra towel, lotion, diaper and pajamas; this way, you're not running around, looking for supplies while baby is wet and cold.
• Make sure baby's hair is fairly dry but be gentle when drying his hair. A dry head means he's less likely to feel cold.
• Put baby in a blanket or sleep sack and snuggle with him so he's nice and warm after bath time.
• Sing and talk a lot during bath time. The singing will distract the baby if he's not especially fond of bath time.
• Explain to baby what you are doing, every step of the way. I did that with CJ and eventually, he could understand everything I was doing.

Sunshine, Moonshine and Starshine

This morning, I was singing "you are my sunshine, my only sunshine" to MJ.  CJ was sitting next to me and MJ on the couch.  CJ tapped me on the shoulder.  What follows is the exchange between us.

CJ:  Mommy, MJ is not your only sunshine, what about me?

Me:  Hmmm, good point.  What should I sing?

CJ:  How about "my second sunshine?"

Me:  I like it.    You are my sunshine, my second sunshine.

Me:  Wait, how about I call MJ my moonshine?  CJ, you can be sunshine.

CJ:  Yeah, good idea.  But what about daddy?

Me:  Hmmm... he can be starshine!

CJ:  Good idea!  Now you have sunshine (pointing at himself), moonshine (pointing at MJ) and starshinw (pointing at Maki).

Me:  I like it. 

Boy Scout Centennial Parade

As a rising 1st grader this summer (meaning he would be in 1st grade in the Fall), CJ officially joined the Cub Scouts.  Maki had been looking forward to CJ joining the Boy Scouts because he was a scout when he was younger.  There's a den at his school that is very active, which means CJ gets to hang out with his buddies during cub scout events.

In July, the Boy Scouts held a centennial parade on the National Mall to celebrate its 100th anniversary.  CJ and Maki participated in the parade on a 100+ degree day.  I drove them to the Mall in the morning, then picked them up in the late afternoon.  Maki packed plenty of sunscreen and water because I was very worried about CJ because of the heat. Maki reported later that CJ got a little faint at one point during the parade, but he gave CJ a bunch of water and he seemed okay after that.

The funny thing about the parade was that Maki initially thought the parade was on Saturday.  I drove the boys out to the Mall, dropped them off, and then got a phone call from Maki about 20 minutes later.  Turns out that the parade was on Sunday, so I picked them up and off went the uniforms so they would still be clean for Sunday.

The parade was a big deal.  There were hundreds of thousands of boy scouts from around the country in town for the parade.  The National Mall was a sea of blue and khaki when I picked up the boys.  CJ even got a special patch for participating in the parade.

Note: CJ wants me to report that his friend Liam did not get the patch because he didn't march, but Quinn did (and perhaps Davis).

CJ is the cool kid in the sunglasses

Good-bye Thomas, Hello Luke Skywalker!

For the past four years (yep, four years), CJ has been Thomas the Tank Engine for Halloween.  This year, CJ dropped Thomas like a hot potato and decided he wanted to be Luke Skywalker.  CJ is obsessed with Legos and Star Wars.  I guess the Thomas phase is finally over and I have to admit, I'm a little sad about it.

When we went to San Francisco last March, we went to Thomas Town at Six Flags.  Thomas Town is a small section within the theme park where kids can ride Thomas, Bertie and Harold.  CJ rode each ride once then declared that he wanted to ride a real roller coaster.  When I asked him a few weeks later about Thomas, he seemed reluctant to admit that he was ready to move on from Thomas, as if he were having difficulty letting go.

But these days, CJ plays Lego Star Wars with his dad, he builds with Lego blocks every day at school, he listens to my Star Wars soundtrack endlessly in the car (his favorite song is the Imperial March, of course), and he's watched all of the movies.  It started when he discovered a couple of Star Wars Lego kits that I bought when he was about one year old and stashed in our fourth floor library.  He noticed them, asked to build them and he was hooked from then on.

I guess it was only natural that he was Luke Skywalker this year, especially given my love of Star Wars. 

Here's CJ with his friend Ronan, who was Obi-Wan Kenobi

My God, aren't they adorable? There were a lot of Star Wars costumes this year!

Sleep is Good

When you're a new mom, the question people always ask you is, "is he sleeping through the night?"  Well, at two months, MJ is technically sleeping through the night (doctors will tell you that 5 hours is considered sleeping through the night), but I wouldn't exactly say that we are getting a lot of sleep.

Most nights, he sleeps 5 or 6 hours for the first night stretch.  He nurses around 9pm, is asleep between 9:30 and 10:00pm, and usually sleeps until 2:30 or 3:30am.  At that time, Maki (God bless him) gives MJ a bottle and then they both go back to bed.  At five weeks old, MJ slept 7 hours one night, which was a miracle; that hasn't happened since.

I usually get up around 6:30am to get CJ's things ready for school (breakfast, lunch, backpack, library book, etc.).  MJ nurses between 5:00am and 8:00am; just depends on when he gets up.  When he wakes up determines his schedule for the rest of the day.

MJ is a champion sleeper.  After each nursing, he is awake for a half hour or an hour, then he naps.  He usually cries before falling asleep and generally needs a little snuggle time to fall asleep.  He still likes to be swaddled when he sleeps.

Since Maki gives Mj a bottle in the middle of the night, I'm getting a lot more sleep these days.  I get between 5-7 hours of sleep, so I'm functional during the day.  I'm tired but I can't complain; Maki and I can sustain this pattern for months if we need to because we're both getting more than the 2 or 3 hours we got during the first few weeks.

Squeals, Squawks, Snorts and Grunts

I had forgotten just how noisy babies are!  Even while asleep, MJ squawks pretty regularly, unless he's in a really deep sleep, and even then, he breathes pretty heavily.  We sometimes call him Snort because he's got a cold right now and the poor thing is sniffling and snorting a lot.

My favorite sounds are the little squeals he makes when he's stretching after nursing or a nap.  He makes this high pitched, long squeal while his face is all scrunched up.  Pretty cute.

Maki seems to be able to sleep through all of Marco's noises at night, and I'm learning to tune them out, unless they're cries to let me know he's really unhappy.  Thanks to The Baby Whisperer book, which I swear by, as with CJ, we're learning MJ's cries.  We've figured out the hungry cry, the "I want more milk" cry and the "I'm tired and need a nap" cry.  Knowing the different cries is saving us a great deal of anguish because we can tend to MJ's needs pretty quickly, which makes for a lot less fussy baby.

CJ is an Amazing Big Brother

When asking about the baby, most friends and family ask how CJ is adjusting to the baby and being a big brother.  CJ and MJ are six years apart and CJ is thrilled, absolutely thrilled to be a big brother.

For the most part, CJ has been amazing.  He talks to MJ, he reads him stories, he plays with MJ, and he doesn't fuss when MJ sets the schedule.

Don't get me wrong.  CJ complains loudly when MJ is crying loudly.  And CJ is sometimes awoken by MJ's crying in the morning (usually, however, he sleeps right through the crying).  And he complains about not having enough snuggle time with mommy.

Maki and I have worked hard to make sure that CJ gets plenty of attention and his schedule has stayed consistent.  For example, his bedtime routine has not changed: Maki or I read him stories then snuggle with him for a few minutes before lights out.  And I give him my undivided attention in the morning while he's getting ready for school.

All in all, CJ has been an amazing big brother.   Because of the six-year difference in age, CJ and MJ may not be best friends early on, but I hope they'll be buddies later in life.  And I know CJ will look after his "baby brother."

Love this photo of the boys one weekend morning.

Here's CJ talking to Marcus John.

CJ hanging out with MJ one morning while mommy makes breakfast.

After seeing his dad walk around with MJ in the Baby Bjorn, CJ asked to do the same.

 I love this photo of the boys goofing off before bedtime.

Marcus John and Grandparents

Maki's mom says it's more fun to be a grandparent than a parent and I bet she's right.  Parents have to endure the sleepless nights, change thousands of diapers a year, try to calm fussy children, and provide discipline.  While grandparents get to spoil their grandchildren.

I heard Barbara Bush speak at the Kennedy Center a few years ago and she said that her grandkids love spending time with her because she's never in a rush around her grandkids.  Think about it.  As parents, we're always late to something with our kids: school, dinner, a birthday party, a playdate.  But when the grandparents spend time with the grandkids, there's almost never a schedule and grams and grandpa are content to let the kids set the schedule and the pace.  God bless grandparents!