Oh yeah...

I'm on a roll with these blog posts tonight.  I forgot to update about potty training.  I can't believe I'm still talking about it because this should have been over about a month ago.  About a week or 2 ago he completely regressed. A few days after he started using peeing on the floor when he was mad, he just all together stopped going on the potty.  I would make him sit on the potty and then 5 minutes later he would have an accident.  It was like he just decided he no longer wanted to do it....and he is stubborn.  If he doesn't want to do it, he's not doing it!  Yesterday, I basically started over.  I moved the potty back in the hallway (I know, gross, but it is necessary).  I also started dancing for him again.  We made up a new dance and all.  "Go Jevin. Go Jevin. Go Jevin, It's your birthday. Go Jevin. Go Jevin" with lots of crazy movements and shaking my head so my hair goes everywhere.  We also brought back the M&M.  I don't know what part works, but Jevin is pottying again.  In fact, as soon as I brought the potty in the hall he went on his own.  He is even better than before.  He now needs no help pottying.  He pulls his own pants up and down.  Yesterday, I was in Zane's room working on the nursery and Jevin woke up from his nap. He never came to find me, so I peeked out and he was sitting on the potty.

He's also getting super independent....a little too independent.  While I was calming Zane down, Jevin made himself his own peanut butter sandwich.  All the supplies were on the counter.

A couple more random Jevinisms--he pretends to be asleep whenever he doesn't want to listen to what you are saying.  He closes his eyes and starts snoring.  It's especially disgusting when he does it while on the potty.  He uses the bath rug as a blanket.  Something about that really grosses me out. 

The best....he has started calling me "Karen."  I'm nipping this one immediately!

Random picture because every blog posts needs some sort of picture of either Zane or Jevin.   Look at this horrendous outfit Dorian put Jevin in...and he took him to the park in it.   Dorian says he looks like "a kid ready to go play."  Hmmmm....that's not what I see.

Brothers!

 This is what happens when you are the little brother.  Your belly gets used as a parking lot (see the 3 cars parked on his belly?  He did color code them to match his outfit).  You can kind of see that Zane has a hernia in this picture.  It is much, much tinier that Jevin (who actually still has one), but it is still definitely there.

Jevin and "mine."  When you let Jevin hold Zane, you have to be careful about taking him back.  If you just grab him, then Jevin will hold on as tight as he can and say "mine."  You have to make him think you are just borrowing him for a minute so that Zane isn't squeezed to death.

 Zane getting in a little tummy time.  He has a super strong neck, and has been holding his head up since about day 3, but he isn't a fan of tummy time at all.  He usually just puts his head down to the side and relaxes.  The boppy doesn't let him do this, and that makes him super mad.

 Continuing the total randomness of this post....Jevin getting a hair cut.  Look at that sweet little smile.  He is always so well-behaved at places like this.  He is a big time "yes maamer" in public. 

 Little rolls.  Zane seems so chubby to me and Dorian.  Jevin was super skinny and hardly had any rolls.  His skin just kind of hung off of him at this age.  Zane is wearing clothes that Jevin didn't wear until he was 3 months old.

I've gotten a little better about taking both of them out and making sure nothing crazy  happens (like babies being slammed into doors...).

I'm Losing count

Jevin is well over the age where you use months to track their age, so I'm having a hard time remembering how many months he is for the monthly picture, especially since it's not in the actual picture anymore. I decided to take a picture of him doing one of his favorite things and then edit in the month when I get the picture taken. This month, we decided to take it at a park.  I'm not sure if it's really one of his favorite things or if that's just where Dorian takes him, but he spends lots and lots of time playing at the park.

He is now 26 months.  Last month was one of the more difficult with him, actually by far the most difficult.  He stopped listening, he purposely did anything he could of think of to push buttons, and he was way to rough with Zane.  There were times when I got so frustrated with him that I would have to leave the room.  He would use the bathroom on the floor--on purpose (already talked about that).  He would "hit" Zane.  I put it in parenthesis because he never hurt Zane.  Zane never even really reacts to him being "rough."  He doesn't cry or startle, so I think Jevin was being more gentle than it looked, but either way he was doing  his actions to get Dorian and I upset--and it worked every time.  Dorian who is always patient with him and never gets upset with him even had to send him out of the room a few times.  He changed from a gentle, sweet boy to a rough, mean boy in a matter of days.  I did not respond as well as I could have, and I think it just made Jevin even worse. We are definitely two peas in a pod--we are both stubborn and need the last word.  Luckily, he has slowly been reverting back to his old self. He is listening again and is his former sweet self (knock on a huge chunk of wood). 

Developmentally he still hasn't mastered colors, but I also stopped working with him in all of the craziness of bringing home a new baby.  I'm going to start up again.  He can count, but it's kind of random. Right now, he starts with 5 and goes to 6 and then jumps or whatever it is he is counting for.  I know he can count to 6, but I'm not sure beyond that.  Again, need to start working with him.  We are working on always using complete sentences.  He still likes to leave out lots of words.  However, I'm blaming this one on Dorian.  Dorian will stay stuff like....Jevin say "down please" when he wants to get down from eating.  So....he's talking how he is being taught.

His favorite things right now are still playing with his toy cars.  He also likes to color, and watch TV (Popyco is probably his favorite right now--I think he likes the simplicity of it). Oh.....playing outside is probably is very favorite of all.  It doesn't matter how hot it is.  He wants to be out there.  I bought him every water toy I could think of so he could spend lots of time outside but still stay semi-cool this summer.

He is still very into mimicing other kids, but I've noticed recently he will start to try to take the lead. Goodness I hate to think of the crazy things he might do at 16 if these copying thing keeps up :-)

Here he is mimicing Violet.  Can you tell which one is the real baby? :-)

He is also, and always has been, a Drama King.  From when he was super young people have commented about the big tear drops that roll down his face when he's upset about something.  He can go from being deliriously happy to being hysterical and back again in just seconds. Usually all revolving around him getting his way.  The top picture was taken moments before the bottom.  He was hysterical because he had to wait 5 seconds for his bag to be refilled with chips.  The bottom is right after he got his chips refilled.  I tried to capture the smile but just missed it.  All was right again in his world once he got his chips.

He has also gotten super brave recently.  He used to be very cautious and careful, and now he's starting to jump off of stuff and climb up things that are, in my opinion, way too high for a little boy

 

 Here he is climbing up to one of the big boy slides at Boingo Bounce

Oh....and one of my new favorites.  He spreads his arms out really wide and asks for "hug."

Happy Mother's Day to ME

                                                                                My boys!

                                  

The annual backyard Mother's day photo shoot.  I took both boys shopping yesterday in order to find the perfect mother's day outfit, and then you can't even see them......Zane's says "Mommy's new man" and Jevin's shirt says "Mom's Team Player."  That was a ROUGH trip.  I've decided that I"m going to take Jevin and Zane both out as often as possible in the next few weeks so I don't feel like I have to stay home when I have them by myself (which is often since Dorian and I work opposite hours). The first time I took them out it was to a friend's niece's softball game.  I stopped by the speedy mart to get some water, and I was trying to get Jevin out the door while carrying Zane in his car seat.  The end result was Jevin being knocked flat to the ground by the heavy door.  This time, while trying to find the perfect "mommy" shirts, Zane was screaming his head off while Jevin was running/jumping around wearing a too-small blue girl's hat.  I was trying to get it away from him while he continued to shout "mine."   To top it off, I got in line behind the lady who applied to get the credit card to save 20%.  Maybe I should just stay at home :-)

Back to pictures after that off-topic story....

 
                                   

    Zane (AKA piget, piggie, or little bubby),
          I thought it was impossible to love another person as much as I love Jevin.  Having you changed all that.  You are my sweet baby boy, and I can't wait until I get to see more of your personality. Right now, it seems as if you are going to be my high-maintenance baby.  You like to whine until you get your way.  If you are starting this at a few weeks old, I can't imagine what you will be like as a toddler :-).  I like you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be. Thank you for making Mother's day double special for me!

All of the above pictures are horrible ones, but I had to put them on here because they capture Jevin's personality so well.  He is one onery little boy. Yes, he is making faces at me in our mother's day pictures.  He was doing the stick your finger in your ears and wiggle them while making a face and funny noise.  Then when Dorian kept snapping pictures any way, he decided to cover up his eyes.  Because you know when a baby covers up his eyes...nobody can see him....Yup, that's my Jevin.  By the way, he has 100% regressed in potty training.  He has been going all over the floor.  I'm telling you he is doing it to spite me. 

Jevin (AKA big bubby),
          My first born....my baby....the one who made me "momma."  You look just like your daddy....but, oh my goodness, you act like your momma.  You know just how to push my buttons, and we both need to get the last word.  This causes quite a bit of nightly struggles, and I admit you've made me have to take 10 deep breaths before addressing you a couple of times.  But you make up for it with your big hugs, your nightly cuddles, and I love to hear your little voice calling "coming momma" when I call for you.  You are also a helper.  You loving helping clean up any messes, and I can always count on you to bring me what I need when I'm feeding Zane and can't get up.  I love you to the moon and back my ornery little boy!  Thank you for making me a momma!

Haha!!! I caught you looking at the camera and smiling (kind of)!  I win! I win! I got the last word :-)

Noooooooooooooooooo!

Tomorrow is the day that I go back to work.  I wasn't able to take my full 6 weeks because I was on bedrest so long that I used up all my days (plus some).  It saved a couple of thousand to go back to school....so here I go tomorrow.  Had I used my full 6 weeks it would have been PERFECT.  I was due to go back on May 18th, which is the first day with no students.

Although I LOVE teaching and love my co-workers, I have had lots of fun being a pretend "stay at home" mom.  Before kids, I always said how I could never stay at home.  Now that I have kids I would love nothing more than staying at home going on play-dates and different community activities all day.  Jevin and I have been on walks, to parks, baseball games, the square, several play days with friends and family.  I will definitely miss that when I go back to work.  I think my favorite "stay at home" times were staying up until 1:00-2:00 in the morning cuddled with Jevin watching Nick JR. until he fell asleep next to me.  When I have to get up early, I"m so frustrated and just ready for him to go to sleep so that I can sleep.  Second favorite was watching him laugh and laugh (his real "I can't believe this is so fun" laugh) while I let him soak himself in the sprinklers on the square.

Baseball game with me and Pops

Hanging out on the swings after a walk on the trails

Watching his buddy's cousin play Softball

 Intently watching Mace so he can mimic exactly what he is doing

 Hanging with the cousins--intrigued by a water fountain

Chuckee Cheese on a play date with Jaymon

Just  a few pictures of the fun we've had while I've been on maternity leave.  Good thing summer is in just 12 days!!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

I can't believe it has been a month since Zane entered our world.  He's a super good baby.  He really only cries when he's hungry.  However, he has no respect for the fact that other people would like to get some sleep.  Starting between 1:30 and 3:30 he wakes up every hour and 1/2 to eat.  It's a little annoying.  Especially since Jevin goes to bed at about the same time that Zane starts waking up.  I'm thinking we are about to switch to some bottle feedings at night.  Other than that Zane sleeps a lot of the day away.  He is awake for about 3-4 hours a day.  He spends most of that time looking around, and he likes to be held when he's awake.  He'll stay in his swing a little bit.  He used to like to sleep in his crib, but for the last few days I haven't been able to keep him asleep.

Jevin is making him very tolerante of noise and sudden movements.  For some reason Jevin likes to grab his face.  It freaks me out and every time, and Jevin gets in big trouble, but Zane hardly reacts. He'll screw up his face, but he doesn't even cry about it. 

You know what they say about the second child....you aren't nearly as paranoid about everything.  Jevin maybe left the house 3 times until he was well past 8 weeks.  With Zane, I didn't take him anywhere until he was 4 weeks (except doctor and family), but since then Zane has been around town (not really....).  We are still only taking him to places where nobody will touch him, and where he will be kept germ free until he gets his shots, but he has left the house a couple of times in the last few days.  He went to the park with me yesterday and with Dorian today ( May 6th). 

Stats:
Length- 21 inches (32nd percentile)
Weight- 8 pounds and 9 ounces (22nd percentile)
Head circumference-36 inches (14th percentile)

And just for fun...here is Jevin at one month.  Basically the consensus is that Zane looks just like me and Jevin looks just like Dorian.  For those who know my brother, they usually say he looks like him. Those who don't know Dewayne, say he looks like me.

Wait...what? I didn't know I had a Teenage Girl

I think most people know that I'm not interested in having a little girt (although, I've been rethinking this lately).  One of the reason is the horrid attitude of a teenage girl.  Well, God has a sense of humor.  I swear that Jevin acts just like a teenage girl sometimes.  He literally slammed the door in my face today and told me "go away momma."  I think the newness of Zane is wearing off, and he is starting to get a little jealous.  This is causing some new behaviors in him that just doesn't fit the mild, sweet Jevin that we used to have.  He has turned into a teenage girl!!  Whenever he doesn't get his way he runs and balls up or throw himself onto something and sob (see pic below).  If you come near him,  he'll slam the door and tell you to go away.   

Here he is in the middle of a melt down.  I can't even remember why.  See that pull up?  He is 100% potty trained.  He always tells me when he needs to potty, and he never needs reminding (well, he has a few #2 accidents), and he has even started telling his teachers. Why the pull up?  Because everytime I'm taking care of Zane and he doesn't get my immediate attention, he uses the bathroom on the floor...on purpose.  So....I beat him at his own game. Bwahahah.  I put him in a pull-up so he doesn't have the satisfaction of creating a pool.  I think it's working. Today he did it, and then he came to tell me "potty."  I put him on the potty knowing full well he was trying to tell me he pottied on himself.  He kept grabbing the pull up out of the trash and showing me that it was wet and saying "no, no."

He has also started grabbing Zane's face.  It started out as him trying to help.  We would adjust Zane's head while in the swing, and Jevin was trying to do the same.  However,  he now does it when he is frustrated about not getting to do something concerning Zane. For example, today he was trying to give Zane a Popsicle stick. When I told him no, he grabbed his face.  He does this because he knows he isn't supposed to.  He's not trying to hurt Zane.  He's trying to show me that he can do what he wants.   To me it looks like he is ripping it off, but it must not be that bad because Zane doesn't cry at all.  Still, he has done it about 4 times, and it makes me nervous.


Other than his jealously spurts, he is really good with him.  He comes and gets me when he's crying, he gently rubs his belly and loves to hold and kiss him.  

Hoping this phase wears off soon.  I miss my sweet Jev-Jev

**Totally unrelated...Jevin is finally using some complete sentences, and he can count to 5 (or higher.  I've only heard him go to 5, but he was playing a 1-2-3-4-5 jump game).  The first complete sentence  I noticed  was "I'm coming momma" yesterday.  Maybe he's catching up a little in speech.  I'm really not sure if he's behind.  I have no clue what other 2 year olds do.  I just realized that I'm expecting him to do what is cousin can do who is 18 months older.  Guess that doesn't make sense.  He still won't talk much in public.  I'm sure some people reading this are thinking..." I just saw him, and he didn't say a word the whole time."  We had a little school fundraiser, and he was acting like he couldn't talk when his teacher was talking to him (the one he sees twice weekly...not like she's a stranger), and she said that he does talk, but that he is very shy.  He has his group of friends that he talks to, but she said it always is a little surprising when he says certain stuff because they don't expect it.  He's got 2 buddies who he plays with a lot at school, and I think he pretty much ignores everybody else.  I met the mom of one last night, and she said he talks about Jevin all the time when she asks him about school.