Happy Birthday to my 5 year old!!!!

Daniel, you are 5 years old today. Happy Birthday to you, you are the most precious little boy on this planet.
This year has been a big one for you. You have overwhelmed us with your curiosity, sense of humor and your love of people. You love being around others. You suck the marrow out of being with other kids.
Although you have a little bossiness to you, other kids just gravitate towards you. You are a leader.
You became a big brother this year and you take that job with such pride and maturity. There is not a day that goes by that daddy and I don't look at each other and smile.
You are sensitive but tough, a mama's boy but not a push over. You are a complex little person. I cannot wait to see what the next year holds for you as you embark on a new adventure, kindergarten.
Every morning we hear your little feet race towards our room and everyday we hear 'good morning mommy and daddy' or 'guys' and I can't imagine mornings without that. You love to cuddle with us in our bed and we love it too.
You love Star Wars and play with daddy constantly. You race ships around the house like a mad man. You are all boy. You are smart and we know you will live life to the fullest.
We wish you love, laughter and a happily ever after!!
Memory lane.
Just born:


1 year old:


2 years old:


3 years old:

4 years old:

I will be back with a full recap of the birthday celebrations soon.
Someone else turned 5 months old as well. :)

Oh what a week!

Hallelujah

I read this blog post and thought 'she read my mind'.

http://www.rageagainsttheminivan.com/2013/03/lets-bring-holidays-down-notch.html

Join in the craze, 4 months and 5 years old

Our weekend as usual was full of exhausting errands, house chores and sprinkled in with a little bit of fun.
Friday, D started swimming lessons again. He only swallowed water a couple of times according to Ry. I stayed back home to hold down the fort with the little hell raiser.
We switched Michael's formula and it backfired, literally, his butt fired out poop for 3 days straight. He was so miserable Friday that I gave him the old formula again to not cause him any more discomfort. Saturday, both boys had their checkups. Daniel had a 5 year old check and Michael his delayed 4 month check.
Daniel went first and was pronounced healthy and perfect.
His stats:
Weight: 44.5lbs (75%) Height:43" (50%)
After getting embarrassed when the Dr. pulled down his undies he got 3 shots. He didn't even whimper, brave boy. With a filled out 'Certificate of Child Health Examination' for kindergarten he was off the hook and rewarded with a lollipop.
Next, our more complex offspring, the one that keeps us guessing daily about his ailments and demeanor.
Medically he is fine. His stats:  Weight: 14lbs 10.5 oz (40%) Height: 24 3/4" (50%)
After the basics, the next 15 minutes we discussed his gas issues, irritability, annoying eating habits, fussiness, etc. During his exam Michael showed his personality. The Dr. agreed he has a "temper" and is "spicy".
The best the Dr. could say was "he will outgrow this, right now it's all trial and error" and "nothing will happen to a baby if you let them cry it out". Well, she needs to speak to my mom because according to my mom God forbid he cry more than a minute because he may get a hernia.
I asked, NO he can't. The Dr. said to put him down and go take a shower. She admitted she let her own girls cry for up to 2 hours. I can't do that for sure but the next day you bet your butt he was left alone more to fidget and figure things out on his own.
We discussed formulas and what would be the best thing for him, I presented her the print out of an organic formula I found on line that got rave reviews. All to which she said "sure you can try it, but nothing is guaranteed". We were also told she herself has 4 daughters, 2 of which were also hell raisers. It's pretty much a gamble of what type of child you will get. We rolled the dice on this one and his middle name is Mr. Cranky pants. All the nurses know him there, more so because of his red hair than his Irish temper (probably has 10% or less of actual Irish genes in him). The sweet nurses there just feel pure pity for me, they gave me a can of new formula to try. Along with that we increased his reflux meds and were told to try some oatmeal to help bind the milk.
Oh we did... 

He LOVED it!

Technology at its best. Tummy time and some iPad entertainment.

 Today we got the hell out of the house so D could burn some energy at a local play place.
Before we left I bribed him with the place for some pictures.

Polish boys, but I allowed some St. Patrick's Day green. Purchased by grandma, who is also not Irish. Everyone is on March 17th.

It takes a real man to be burping a crying screaming baby and rubbing his "cat" next to him at the same time, all while starving and waiting for dinner to be made.

Carry on

It was another Star Wars kinda weekend. Sunday, the boys enjoyed a trip to LegoLand while I entertained the little one at home. It was a Star Wars themed exibit of some sort.
Daniel wore his Darth Vader costume. I didn't convince daddy to put on his Star Wars t-shirt.
Doesn't Ry look like he has a halo on his head, like Jesus with a light saber?

Saturday, I had my first appointment with a chiropractor. Aside from being told I'm falling apart I was given some vitamins since I don't eat enough veggies, I'm vitamin D defficient and lack energy. Aside from that he cracked me in a few different spots and sent me home with a book and a video. I will admit hearing my bones crack like chicken bones wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. Weird but not painful. I felt much better for the rest of the day, until I woke up in pain, again. I guess I can't think one visit will help.
Why is it that after visiting a holistic Dr. does everyone wind up at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's? I thought Trader Joe's wouldn't break the bank so off I went in search of healthier snacks. $6 on some nut mix later I felt in charge of my family's diet. HA!
Maybe it's the 10lbs I have to lose is causing my back to ache, how come he didn't come up with that theory?! I was told to eat meats and veggies and that's it. Riiiiigggggghhhhht! It's taco night tomorrow.
Nuff said.

Old

That's all I have to say about how I feel this week. In the last 2 months I have felt joint pain like never before. I wake up sore and a hunched over. It takes a few minutes to get "straightened out" in the morning. I feel old.
Today my mom said I had make-up smeared under my eye, I went to look in the mirror and realized she was talking about my horrible dark circles. Stress, lack of sleep and running around like a nut with 2 sick kids will do that to any woman.
Postings have been few because I just can't take a picture or just don't feel like complaining on the blog (I guess I felt like complaining tonight). I'm sick of the weather but most of all I want to win the lotto. Ry and I talk about hiring a nanny in our mansion so that although I would care for the kids, when they had a melt down I would be able to get the hell out of the house. I missed zumba classes for reasons I can't remember but yesterday was because I was suctioning noses and carrying a baby on my hip for what felt like an entire day.
That's all I have to say about that.
I'm doing something about it though. I got a great recommendation for a chiropractor and me and the baby are going to see him Saturday. This guy supposedly cured Ryan's co-worker's daughter from colic. Crack me quick. SOLD!

 I did play puppets with Elmo, both boys enjoyed this. Elmo even joined playing Star Wars.

My hairstyle of choice nowadays; a ponytail

Cranky baby under kitchen fan, a daily routine.

4 months and a couple of days

Michael, you are 4 months old. Officially it happened a couple of days ago but this week has been long and crazy, kinda like your 4th month.
As usual your appt is next week so we'll be a week behind with your stats.
This past month has been a whirlwind with you. Your colic or whatever it is has seemed to have returned. Although nothing like before, you have once again become a handful. You don't want to eat well so it takes a while to feed you. Your naps vary so much that I can't call it a schedule whatsoever. You have days that you can nap for 3 hours and other days you go on 30 minute cat naps all day.
I won't complain about nights because typically you're out by 7:30 and then up at 7 with only one feeding. These past few days have been the worst. I even gave a nurse a call and asked for advice. We're going to try to spread your feedings apart more and hold you off for at least 6 to 7 hours at night. Wish me luck. Everyone always told me that when you have two kids raising them will be very different. You and your brother could not be different. You're a mover and a shaker and he was chill.
Your smiles melt everyone though and make up for the fussiness. You love being active, bouncing you on my knees, dancing and just talking with you seem to calm you down. You can't be in one position too long or you'll make your presence known. We can't figure you quite yet. You are a snuggler though.
You wear size 2 diapers but your chunky little thighs will have you out of those soon.
You still wear 3-6 month clothing but many of those outfits have made their way down into the basement already. May of your sleepers are already 6-9.
You suck on your hands like crazy and make loud noises. You are a drooling fool. I have checked for teeth often convinced they will be popping out soon but nothing yet. 
I hope winter is over for both of us very soon. You need to get outside and breathe in some fresh air peanut. You have been cooped up for way too long. I think you are going stir crazy. I can't wait to take you on a walk as soon as it hits 50. I think you will like it.
You are a handful but the cutest handful ever. I don't think you want a little brother or sister because both mommy and daddy are exhausted and done with having babies. I don't think you have being a middle child in your plan. ;)
You are ours and we love you to pieces.

Fussy? Me? No......

4 months old!!!

Sweetness

Tummy time. You drool like a fool and get little breakouts already