Super Cutie

Chloe's Eczema is completely cleared up on her face.  It's improved on her body but is still there.  We've been doing Aveeno Eczema bath wash and Cetaphil Eczema lotion (per the doctor's recommendation).  We have an appointment next week so I'll ask about it.  I am so glad her face looks so much better (and feels better).  She is probably glad too.  The first time I put the medicine on her, I think she liked it because she got really happy afterward.

She is just getting big and chunky.  She is quick to smile.  I am having a hard time capturing it though.  She gets really serious when I pull out the camera.  I love that her hair sticks up on top.  She is still not sleeping great at night.  She goes maybe 4 hours.  Her nights seem to run from 2:30 am to noon...but since I can't adjust to that it's not working out.  Luckily, she is pretty pleasant when awake and easy to get to sleep (when she's tired). I'll often lay her down and she'll put herself to sleep without a pacifier or anything.  Carson never did that so it always feels like a little miracle to me.

Karate Kid

We signed Carson up for a Karate class at the local community center.  There are 13 4 years olds in his class.  I thought it would be total chaos, but the teachers actually do really well.  It's obvious they have worked with a lot of children.  It is pretty darn cute.  They learn some moves, talk about strangers, talk about how our best weapon is our mind, etc...and then play duck duck goose.  I have a video but I can't figure out how to get them off our new camera...so they will come later once Karl helps me with this issue.

The Fox and The Hound & Eczema

Carson and I rented the Fox and The Hound from the library this week and we watched it today.  When the lady has to leave the fox in the woods (I'm assuming you all have seen it), Carson started balling.  Huge tears streaming down his face.  I felt so awful for letting my kid watch such a sad movie.  It broke my heart to see him so sad.  I love my little tender heart.  I offered to turn off the movie but he was determined to see it through.

Also, I took Chloe to the doctor today because she started getting red bumps all over and her face almost seemed scaly.  She has pretty bad eczema.  So we got a prescription ointment and I'm hoping this will help clear it up.  It looks awful and makes me sad.  I'm sure it is itching her like crazy too.

Conversations

Last night (at 3 am I might add), Chloe and I had our first conversation.  She was all smiles at me and then started making sweet coeing sounds and gurgles.  I of course responded with the same.  I love this part of motherhood - when you finally start getting a little bit of response.  It's just so wonderful.

Scholastic

Carson just came home with his first Scholastic book order flyers!  I loved these when I was a kid.  I would circle all the books I wanted and then add up the total (usually over $100).  Then my mom would make me whittle it down to something around $15.  Now that I am the mom, I am having a really hard time not ordering the entire flyer.  I will have to give myself a budget again.  I think my excitement over book orders is catching though - Carson seems pretty excited too.  He and I just spent a good amount of time looking over all the books.

Stats Update

So Chloe is 23 3/4 inches long and weighs 13 lbs 6 oz.  She is off the charts for both.  Carson was 23 inches long and 11 lbs 11 oz at his one month appointment.  She is definitely a little bit bigger of a baby.  I think they'll even out pretty soon though.

I also discussed with the doctor how much she spits up (projectile spit up across the room type) and how she gags when she is laying down.  She definitely has reflux, but her projectile spit up isn't often enough to warrant anything further...and she's gaining weight fine so he said not to worry.  Still, the game of "when will she projectile spit up" is not fun.  I have to always be prepared (I spread a burp cloth across whatever we are sitting on just in case).

One Month and Oh So Chunky!

 She is now one month old.  She's got chunky thighs!  She is now good at sleeping during the night time (although she still wakes up every 3 hours to eat...but at least she goes right back down).  She is horrible at napping.  She wakes up 5 minutes after we set her down almost every time.  So I'm stuck holding her or gambling that she won't wake up.  She is starting to make cute little sounds.  I've gotten her to smile a few times but I look forward to when she'll do it all the time.  Today was our first venture to church.  I had to leave every meeting to feed her or change diapers, but it was still nice to be there.  She also was pretty relaxed so I never had to get up for crying reasons.  She can still wear her three month onesies and dresses, but the little diaper covers are too tight on her thighs and all her sleepers are too short.  So we are wearing a lot of 6 month stuff already.  She has a doctors appointment on Tuesday and I'm excited to see her stats...not excited for the shots.

He's On Board!

I think Carson is now fully on board with this little sister thing. While driving in the car he said "Mom, I like being a big brother now...but it is very difficult." When I asked him what was so hard about it he laughed and said "Silly Mom, it's not hard." So I think he may not know the definition of difficult. He also now gives her the same goodnight process as he gives me, regular kiss, hug, fishy kiss. He hugs her so sweetly and gently. I have gotten her to smile a few times and he was very upset that it wasn't at him. I had to reassure him that in a month she'll be smiling at him all the time. He also calls her by sweet little names such as "Sweety Princess." Chloe is also not the only one that likes her chair.  I caught Carson watching a cartoon like this.

I love my sweet little boy. With me taking pictures of the baby all the time, I have also been taking lots of random pictures of Carson. He loves to do random poses. I was trying to get some nice pictures of the two of them together, the deal was if he cooperated, we would then do a photo shoot of just him with his cape on. See the magic below.

Raw Chicken

Carson loves helping me make dinner.  He is actually quite helpful.  He gets everything out of the pantry and fridge for me, he pours everything in, he's learned to stir slow at first so it doesn't go all over the counter.  The only problem is he licks everything!  I am constantly telling him he can't lick the spatula and that he can't stick his finger in whatever we are making.  Today he kept telling me that he needed to because "he was still hungry" as he licked the ketchup residue off the measuring cup.  Ahh...yes, ketchup is always my go to when I'm hungry.

The other day I turned around and he was using his finger to get the thin layer of sauce that was on top of raw chicken.  I kind of hit the fan.  After "scolding him" (a term used by my mother), he started crying and left the room.  I could hear him saying "You are not my best mom ever."  Lately he has been telling me I am the best mom ever...so I guess then I was the opposite.  He then came back in the room to talk to me and said "Mom, you hurt my feelings.  My heart feels sad."  He is too cute.  I love that he can express how he feels.  I then did my best to make his heart not feel sad.  He still is sampling everything we make (I try to limit it to residue on measuring items I will not be using again), but I think he has learned that raw meat is off limits.