the latest

¡Hola!  Since my posts seem to be fewer and farther between these days, I thought I'd just give a little update on my already-born children.

Sleep situation: We decided to move Sam's crib into Henry's room, and that has been great!  They are doing so well with the transition (after a week).  They go to sleep at the same time, and Henry wakes up a little bit earlier than Sam.  He knows not to wake Sam up, and comes downstairs when his alarm clock turns green.  Henry, my kid who always needs at least one other person around, LOOOOOOVES having Sam in his room.  Sam was initially apprehensive about the room-sharing, but has adjusted really well.

How they amuse themselves: The boys both really enjoy pretending to be dogs. (??)  I'm not sure if this is to compensate for the fact that most likely, we will never have one of our own.  But they follow each other around the house on hands and knees and bark like dogs.  It is funny.

Other things we are into these days: Hungry Hungry Hippos, Mousetrap, Paper Airplanes, Riding Bikes and Scooters, Swimming, and I am sure I'm missing tons in this category.

More on swimming: We put Henry in swim lessons back in January, and since Sam had no choice but to come along to watch, I went ahead and signed him up too.  Well, after 8 weeks, with some really great weeks (and many very stressful weeks), I asked for a refund on Sam's remaining lessons.  They agreed.  They said we had tried very hard and been patient, but that Sam was actually regressing, which by the way is code for absolutely not cooperating at all. This is so right in line with Sam's little sweet and sour personality.  The thing is, when we take him to Lifetime, he LOVES putting his head under the water and trying new things.  It's only when we spend the $$ on swim lessons that he decides it's a good time to refuse.  Naturally.  If we are giving Sam the benefit of the doubt, the swim lessons are smack dab in the middle of his would be nap time, which means 99% of the time he is exhausted during his lessons.

Henry's personality: Henry continues to be more on the shy/reserved/introverted side.  Situations with tons of people completely overwhelm him.  Case in point: our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt.  He does not blossom in these settings.  He is naturally very shy, and to be honest, I am learning how to accept how he is made and parent him accordingly.  I could write a whole post on that alone.  You'd think that being a shy, introverted child, I would have some sort of insight, but it turns out I have just recently begun to accept some of the limitations of my own personality, so there's a lot of wisdom to be gained here.

Sam's separation anxiety phase: Sam has entered a new phase of clinginess to mommy.  I kid you not, that kid has wanted me to hold him more in the last 8 weeks than he had the entire year before that.  I read the other day that in these last few weeks of pregnancy, that I stop making as much progesterone and start making oxytocin, which is the mothering hormone.  Maybe you think I am crazy, but I seriously wonder if Sam is sniffing out that mothering hormone.  I'm telling you, he has been soooo clingy, crying when I drop him off at the gym and at school, after having not cried for months and months.  He wants my constant attention, wants to sit in my lap at dinner, etc.  And of course it's really sweet, but also a tiny bit inconvenient at this point in my pregnancy.  I am trying to be thankful and soak up these last days of Sam being the youngest.  Since he is normally so independent, it is sweet to actually have him wanting me.

Stuff they say: I could write a whole post on all the things they say.  I need to keep a running list because they both literally crack up up everyday.  Here's a few conversations:

After swim lessons the other day, Sam was tantruming, and I was using the IGNORE technique of parenting.  So we are riding in the car, and Sam is being ignored, at which point he starts screaming, "Mommy, you're not listening to me!" Over and over and over again.  Finally Henry chimes in and says, "It's because you're whining, Sam!"  Thank you, older brother.

I wasn't here for this one, but my in laws told me this story.  My mother in law, Henry's mimi was watching him and they were out and about.  She apparently asked him about 10 times before he got in the car to go home if he needed to go potty, and after telling her no, he was getting frustrated that she kept asking.  Shortly after that, Henry told my sister in laws (his aunts), "Sometimes when Mimi talks to me, I just get so BORED!"  We think he must have meant "frustrated" or something like it, but "bored" is what came out, and now it's a great story.

This post scratches the surface of what's happening with us.  Perhaps I can post more than one time this week.

In other news, three weeks till the due date, and while I am not "ready," I am just about done being pregnant.