fresh out of the TUB!

One thing I love in the life of being a mom is a freshly bathed little boy.

When Cale was King, bathing him wasn't as fun as it is now. He prefered showers, and would constantly try to get out...it made filling up the tub with water and bubbles much more of a hassle.

But now that he has a little brother, baths are so much more fun!

I'm not sure why the Goob makes such a big difference to Cale...but he does!

Maybe it's because Megersa doesn't take up too much room, and doesn't interrupt Cale's playing...

or maybe it's because Goober loves to splash in the water!

When both of them get going, I have to close the curtain or the entire bathroom will be soaked.

Megersa doesn't mind having his hair or body washed. He's a delight to bathe!

Cale seems to take cues from the fact that baby brother doesn't fuss when he gets washed and will comply more than he did on his own.

And call me crazy, but I love getting them out of the tub. I like drying them off; slicking them down with vaseline (it makes their skin SO soft by morning), and zipping them into their jammies.

They smell so good - like fresh baked cookies! :)

Anyway, here are some pictures POST bath time. Clean boys. Happy Mom.
Oh, and before I forget...I HAVE to post something Cale said today. It was HILARIOUS.

Me: (not knowing where Cale was or what he was up to) "Cale, what are you doing?"

Cale: Oh nothing. Just walking like a princess. :)

look what I can do!

Way to go, Goober!!
Megersa's 'getting the hang of' feeding himself!
He seems to like holding his bottle for himself...sometimes even when we're cradling him!
Of course, if we "offer" he's more than happy to let Tim or I hold it for him... :)
But we're proud of him as he's getting stronger and developing his skills!

He's even becoming more adventurous in the food department.
He grabs veggie straws and will gnaw on them. Today he gummed a Ritz cracker to oblivian.
Still no teeth, but I think they're coming! Will definitely be posting pictures when they arrive.

SMILE!

Cale had his first dentist appointment today.

He did AWESOME!

I was so so proud of him!

I "pumped him up" so much about going to see the dentist, that when he woke up he was pretty excited to get going.

Initially, we actually arrived at the wrong dentist.

There are 2 different dentist's offices only one building apart.

I went to the wrong one.

I sensed it was the wrong one when I walked in, but it took the receptionist 5-10 minutes to acknowledge me being there and then to tell me I had no appointment scheduled.

I was upset because I thought we'd be late to another appointment.

We showed up at 9:13a when our appointment was scheduled for 9am.

I apologized to the receptionist, but she said, "No, that's fine, you're actually early - your appointment is at 9:15a."

Awesome! Already off to a good start.

Admittedly, I wasn't that impressed with the waiting room. Sure, there were 2 TVs playing and some random toys in a plastic tub towards the end of the room, but...no colorful walls, no balloons, or sticker machines (as had been MY experience as a child going to a Pediatric dentist.)

But, I was very pleased by only having to wait between 5-10 minutes before being called back.

As soon as they called Cale's name and opened the door, he marched right in.

He didn't seem to be afraid by anything he saw, until the dental hygenist started talking to him in a 'sing-songy' voice. I could tell that she was used to children being nervous...so I could understand her trying to be 'over-the-top NON-scary'...but that, in and of itself, made Cale much more apprehensive than he would have otherwise been.

She showed him his "chair" and asked him if he wanted to sit in it.

He gave me a look that I took as, "let's get outta here" so I tried to take over.

A "matter-of-fact" voice works very well for Cale...

((ie: this is what this is. this is how this works. this is what will happen.))

....but Miss Sing-Song wanted to see if she could help him relax a bit. She took him over to some other children sitting in their chairs (they were all lined up facing TVs), and he followed her. She compared him to the other children and said that he would get a "special cleaning" like they did.

She then asked if he's like to sit in the chair like the other boys did, and he said no.

Sing Song told me that this "appointment might not happen today."

Nah, it'll happen.

I told Cale that the lady could clean Mommy's teeth first if he was nervous.

(Thankfully it didn't come to that - I had JUST finished a breakfast bar and most of it was still caught in my teeth.)

I layed down in the chair, and then put him on my lap. He agreed to let her put a bib on him. We saw that Madagascar was playing on the TV. And although it was on mute, I reminded him of when we went to the movies last summer to see Madagascar 2.

Even though we had to leave in shame after the first 1/2 hour, we were able to stay long enough to hear the song "I like to move it-move it"...

He remembered.

As I've mentioned, Cale has a fantastic memory.

We strolled down memory lane as we sang "I like to move it-move it."

That worked.

He opened his mouth for her to brush his teeth, and gave the appropriate "eehs and ahhhs" when requested.

He went on to cooperate enough to let her rinse his mouth and use the "Mr. Thirsty" straw too (not sure if that's what they STILL call it, but when I was a kid - that's how they described it).

Personally, I hated that thing - I'm still not a fan. It feels weird, like someone sucking the breath out of you...but Cale was cool with it.

He's a chill kid sometimes.

More than that though, he's inquisitive.

I've been told one more than one occasion, by strangers, that my son is "very inquisitive for his age." And he totally is.

He had to know how this 'sucky-thing' was working, and how the water was coming out of the sprayer thing without him being able to see it.

Above all else though, he LOVED the "tickle-brush" (aka: gritty plaque paste).

He let Miss Sing-Song clean ALL his teeth with it...more than once, actually.

He was fascinated by the fact that she swirled it in RED (his favorite color) stuff then put it on his teeth. She let him play with it, and he cleaned some of my teeth.

I hate that gritty feeling, but I put on a smile for him. :)

Sing Song was so impressed she kept calling out to other hygenists to look at him. She kept saying "Have you ever seen a child tolerate the 'tickle brush' so well - and then want to play with it?"

She did have to take it from him though when the dentist came over.

The dentist pointed out his problem right away.

I knew it was coming.

"Does he have a thumb-sucking problem?"

No. It's a binky problem.

I thought I'd be getting a big lecture here, but I was very pleasantly surprised to hear her say that we should keep trying to steer him from using it, and that by 4 they really like to see kids "kick the habit."

4??

WOW!! I would have never thought a dentist would say 4!

((What do you think about THAT, Grammie?!?)) ha ha.

The dentist poked in his teeth and counted them...and that was that.

He got 2 prizes from the "treasure chest" and a bagful of dentist goodies and we were done.

Easy peasy.

I'm very happy that he passed with flying colors and I didn't have to walk out of the office in shame like I did that movie theater last summer...

Of course I probably shouldn't have gone home and given him candy as a reward for being so good...but hey, I'm a sucker for that slightly buck-tooth smile. :)

Look your age.

Cale has ALWAYS been mistaken for being older. Mainly because of his size.
I'm glad he officially turned 3 a few weeks ago, because it was exhausting telling people that he was only 2.
"Yeah, right..."
I got this response from many.
And well, he's huge for his age, so it makes sense people would be doubtful.
Many people gave me their own follow-up conclusion "his daddy must be big." (I'm gonna take that as a compliment even if it's not meant to be. :)
But, no.
It certainly comes from my side of the family. My largest uncle is 6'5" and over 300 lbs. He played football for the Oklahoma Sooners when he was in college.
Tim and I dream of Cale playing College football too....and us going to the games for free! :)

I, on the other hand, get mistaken for a younger age. And, that's fine...but I've recently been mistaken for a HIGH SCHOOLER! I mean, yeah, I could probably pass for 21, but I am doubting that my 'baby face' is that of a 13-17 year old!
My mom says I'll appreciate it when I'm older. ;)
I'm sure I will. But I'm looking forward to the day when I tell a stranger that I have 2 children and they respond by saying, "You look too young to be a mother...I thought you were still in school!"
No, I'm 26. I've been married for 5 1/2 years. I just look young.

Tim could pass for older...especially when he hasn't shaved for awhile. The teens at our old church thought he turned 36 on his last birthday.
Not so much...
He usually says that he doesn't mind looking older because when he's bald (he actually fears this will be in the next 10 years), he can say "Yeah, I'm in my late 40s."
What a jokester.

The Goob looks his age. A little on the small size, but most can tell that his mannerisms and abilities are on track for his age....plus his legs are getting C-H-U-N-K-Y!

Goob??
Yes, I've been calling Megersa "goob" lately...
The evolution of his name has gone from Megersa, to Goo-Goo, to Goober, to Goob.
Daddy didn't care much for "Megs" (though I had been using it for months - it's just so much easier to type out than Megersa)...and when I tried to CALL him Megs out loud - I didn't really think it felt right either.
But, the 'G' sound seems to fit better with him for a nickname.
Before we even went to get Megersa from ET, we would pray with Cale for our family.
And then we would do this little 'diddy' with him "Mommy moo-moo, Daddy doo-doo, Cale coo-coo, and Gersa goo-goo." Things took off from there.

Anyway, all that to say:
Strangers, I am not a child. I am a young women who got married young, had kids young, and still look young. :) I'll be thankful of it when I'm 50 and look 40 - like my mom does.
If you would, please think about your "compliments" before you say them, so that young-looking ladies don't think YOU think we look like teenage mothers. Thanks.

Issues.

We all love each other here at the Nester house...
But, that being said - we have issues.
And I'm going to get into them.
Blogging is therapeutic for me. It really is.

So, let's start with the tiny one.

We intend to adopt again in the future, so I'd like to write some of this stuff down somewhere.
Perhaps Megersa's "issues" are strictly his and his alone, but in case I run into them in a few years, I can revisit this post.
(I truly wish I had written down more of the things we struggled with when Cale was smaller - it would have really helped, and I'd look like less of a fool when people ask me things about my own son.) :)

Megersa's issues:
1. The whining.
I think I mentioned that in a previous post.
Note on that: He is now a fan of green veggies. Go figure.
Resolving it: We've decided to feed him his meal before or after ours...usually before, since we eat late some nights, and it has helped our stress levels during meals.
We're figuring he must have had the food shoveled in his mouth in ET, so maybe he's afraid if he doesn't whine for more we'll take it away. Perhaps he had that happen to him?
Who knows really.
When he's fed alone, I can just keep going until he's done. Focused attention seems to help him.
The whining outside of meals can usually be remedied by putting him to bed. He generally takes 3 naps a day. I've really only ever seen him go about 3-4 hours (sometimes only 2) between naps and that last part of it he's pretty cranky, so my best guess when he whines (for no other REAL reason) during the day is, that he's tired.
2. Food.
Apart from the aforementioned issue, he won't try to feed himself. At all.
What? We want him to feed himself?!
Folks, I know he's only 7 1/2 months, but if he can pick up a toy and bring it to his mouth, he has the capability to do it, or at least to try.
We're not trying to get out of parental responsibilities, we are just encouraging him to develop skills. The bottle thing, I feel like, had to do with the way the nannies hold the babies in ET.
I've seen pictures of the nannies holding the babies hands down away from the bottle, or behind their backs, so maybe he's reluctant to even try because of the 5 months he spent being fed that way. It's been a few days and now he'll play with the bottle and sometimes will put his hands on it when we feed him...I think it'll come in time.
The food thing though, I think is bizarre.
Actual food. Real food, mashed, cooked, uncooked...anything...he won't put in his mouth.
I bought teething biscuits and he just bangs them. If I try to put them in his mouth so he can taste them he'll turn his head away like I'm torturing him.
Same thing with a squishy banana I put on his tray today. He wouldn't let me put in near his lips. So, I put it in front of him and mashed it up on the tray. I KNOW he recognizes baby food, but he would NOT touch it. I put some on my finger and put it to his mouth, but again, he pulled the tight-lipped, head-twist move and started whining.
He will hold (play) with his own spoon, so I tried to take his hand to mimic scooping some up to feed himself, and he started bawling.
I mean, isn't this weird??
I tried again at lunch...not to torture him, but to help him understand that it's OKAY to put food in our mouths. I put the bowl on his tray so he could see it (normally I hold it), then scooped food and fed him. I gave him a different spoon and I tried to "take turns" helping him scoop, but he started flipping again! I'm so confused!!
I don't remember everything from when Cale was this age, but I DO know he loved food. He was always a MESS when we were done with meal time.

((Ohhh...I forgot to mention. After the "torture" that was lunch, I tried to keep him busy in his high chair while I washed the dishes, so I put dish soap bubbles on his tray.

Those he chose to taste, AND scoop up with a spoon to feed himself...but not food...only bubbles.)) I've also noticed that Megersa has a "nervous tick" when he's stressed or upset.
He rubs his right elbow on a surface. When we picked him up in ET I noticed the raw spot, but figured it was ezcema. It's gotten MUCH better since he's been home, but I JUST now put it together why he does it. When I was trying to 'help' him feed himself, he pulled his arms back and did the elbow thing. I thought maybe at that point in time his elbow was itchy, so I put cream on it, but as soon as I stopped "torturing him" with bananas, he stopped. But then did it again at lunch, and before nap time when I changed his diaper.
His cheeks look better, but I've really only seen him rub his cheeks when he's putting himself to sleep. He rubs them against the sheets like a cat trying to find a good spot. It's kinda funny actually. "Purr, purr...there's the spot!" Good kitty.

3. Sleep. He's waking now once a night. Fewf!
For a few nights it was at the 6am hour...then he'd go back to sleep! But the past two nights it was about 2am. Either way, one bottle a night is much better than the repeated wakings we were having initially. He's still small, so maybe he does need that nourishment at night. The doc said some babies play "catch up" when they are home for what they've missed while in the orphanage. So, I hope that in a few months I can record that he is sleeping straight through - 8p-8a. Ha ha. I know it's not likely, but one can hope, right? :) 4. Disposition.
This really isn't an "issue," but again, I want to record things the way I see them for future reference.
When I got Megersa in ET he smiled...all. the. time. He smiled at EVERYONE! He wore his heart on his sleeve! lol. And now, well, it seems as though he's reserving his smiles for Tim, Cale or I. When we take him out he just stares at people. They try to get him to smile or laugh, but he usually won't budge. If we step in and try to get him to smile, he'll 'cheese-it', but not as much for others. We had friends over last night and he mainly just stared at them.
Makes us feel good, but I would never guess that he would suddenly become reserved with others.
Do you think he's becoming 'possessive' of us in a way? Maybe possessive isn't the right word, but selective? I've left him in the nursery twice for church services and both reports were that he was pretty quiet the whole time...until the very end when he started to warm up. Hm.
Again, this isn't really an "issue" just a date and time thing.

So that's the tiny one.

What about the big fella, you ask?

WELL, Cale...
There's so much to be said about him:

1. Mischief. Totally into this "terrible 3's thing." I had a friend say to me "I don't think that the 'terrible twos' saying is correct...they're really just warming up for three."
I agree.
He's done more mischief in the couple weeks he's been 3, then I can remember in his 2nd year of life.
~Helping himself to orange juice, which he purposely or not, spilled all over our white carpet.
~Finding my gum, then eating piece after piece until he can barely chew.

~Playing in my makeup or with my jewelry any chance he gets.
~Waking up Megersa from naps then yelling, "HE'S AWAKE, MOMMY!"

It's something about the age........Yes. I'm choosing to blame it on his age. :)

2. Sleep.
Oh Cale. Always been a terrible sleeper. Usually wakes up at least once a night.
Those poor parents, right?

Not sure where we went wrong there, but he's obviously not hungry..... :)
When he was a baby, we gratified his night wakings immediately because we were weak, and figured if we gave him what he wanted, we'd all be able to go back to sleep.

And it worked; but...we're still reaping the "benefits" of that decision.
He's very much like me with his 'sleep associations.' I have several things that I need in JUST the right position/order that I will have a horrible time getting to sleep or staying asleep...
and unfortunately, I must have passed that on to Cale.
I need 4, strategically placed pillows. 2 small ones on either side of me, 1 under my head, 1 under or between my legs (for hip support). I need to have a small, folded blanket over my face. I need my favorite blanket and I must be wearing a tank top with pajama pants. I also need a fan on, and to fall asleep BEFORE Tim does.
Cale needs:
His fan on, his music, his blanket. he WANTS his binky (we're still struggling with it), and now he needs to be tucked in. He's adding items to the routine all the time! It's hard to break him of one of them. Recently he's been wanting to add our king-sized down blanket that is used on our bed. I mean, it's just madness!

3. The binky.
Oh.....the binky. Yes, I TOTALLY agree we should have taken it from him when he was much, much younger. Never seemed like a "great" time. Of course, that's cuz we were too chicken to hear him scream about it and not give in. He uses it for naps. He will go to sleep without it (after an extended time in his room), but sometimes will wake up crying for it in the middle of the night. I'm telling ya. It's a real problem. I wanted to have it gone before we moved and brought Megersa home, but then we thought there was so much transition going on, we didn't want to make it harder.
I guess you make all the mistakes with the first one, huh?
I guess it's better than his thumb. Tim and I were talking to friends yesterday and they said that they met a teenager who was 15 and still sucking her thumb! In front of the TV no less....not a closet sucker (like one of my friends admitted she was until she was 12). So, I guess I don't feel THAT bad. Yet.
Watch, my kid will be the only one packing a binky in his suitcase for college. :) ha ha.

4. Vocab and comprehension.
He's smart as a whip as far as I'm concerned. He understands WAY more than I thought he would be able to. Today I told him that he needs to "coorperate" with me while I'm trying to dress him. Usually a new word will stop him in his tracks a little bit, and he'll refocus what he's doing. He loves to learn new words and what they mean....but apparently he already heard this one. Because he didn't stop wiggling, I asked him. "Do you know what coorperate means?" He said, "Yes, sit still." lol.

So that's the boys.
How about me?
Well, I've been learning alot about myself.
1. Temper.
I have to admit to having a shorter fuse than I'd like to at times.
'The littles' bring out the best in me, but sometimes the worst too.
I can feel my temperature rising, but I'm often slow to do anything to stop it. I should.
Tim and I were talking the other morning, and he admitted to letting himself get in a bad mood. He said he woke up and was tired, so when I brought the boys to him, he chose to stay in that 'funk.' It made the morning worse. I often feel that way.
Like this past Monday.
We had planned to go somewhere as a family...a family date, as I affectionately call them.
I love family dates. To wherever. Some of the best family dates have been to Costco for samples and hot dogs. :)
But the boys were just NUTS that morning. It was crazy. Tim and I took turns going "we're not going anywhere in public with either of them" so we decided to stay home. At about 11am I decided that we we're gonna get through the day without help!! I told Tim to bring down Cale's boom box and I blasted the Christian radio station and we had an impromptu 'dance party.'
It saved the day.
Seriously! Cale got REALLY happy and started dancing and singing along to all his favorite songs, Megersa was engaged, and both Tim and I felt better. We ended up having a much nicer afternoon. Both boys went down for naps together and after dinner we went out for ice cream.
I guess I should think on my feet more.
The music helped calm and refocus me as well.
I very much like the Christian radio station. The music is great and I love the blurbs they have in between songs.
Today I heard this lady say that when she gets stressed, she thinks about her daughter that passed away. She went on to say that her daughter was mentally and physically handicapped and that she died at age 22, but that she was the most vibrant, beautiful person she ever knew.
That stopped me in my tracks.
My children are handsome, spirited, and HEATHLY. But those are the days I forget that gifts such as these can be taken away. I love that God gently reminds me of the bigger picture in small ways like the Christian radio stations.

2. Exercising.
I enjoy it. Alone.
Tim and I recently started jogging because we got an email from his parents saying that they had a beach house reserved for the Nester family vacation June 12-19!
A 6 bedroom beach-front house in North Carolina! We are sooooo excited!
With that, we looked at ourselves and at each other, and decided that we are not swim-wear ready...(We haven't been for quite some time)...but we made the decision that we will NOT be the 'chubby ones' on vacation.
The first few times I ran with the boys. Megersa HATED it the first day. For the entire 40 minutes he cried. (Well, a mixture of crying/whining.) I thought the next day I'd bring him a bottle "just in case" - and even though I fed him a bottle before we left, he still ended up drinking that one. He started crying again, but after 5 minutes, I stopped short...propped the bottle up to the side and kept going. He sucked on it for almost 30 minutes, but then was fine.
Since then I've not taken the boys. Tim said that Megersa was fine when he took them, so maybe he just needed to get past....whatever it was. (Trying to see if Mommy's head will explode, maybe?)
Anyway, I very much like to go out alone. I'm secretly digging these jogs. I'm not sure how far I'm jogging, but I've gone further each day. There are so many places around here to discover.
I put my earphones in, turn my IPOD on, and just go.
I am in love with listening to sermons as I jog....specifically Pastor Steve from Colonial Baptist Church in NC. He has the perfect topic, volume, and emphasis...totally engaging.
As I mentioned once before, sometimes at church I feel unnerved answering people when they as me how I am...because I'm tired.
Well, Sundays is the day I should be focused and ready for a sermon. But, when Pastor Guy starts his sermon, I find myself struggling to focus. NOT because he's not interesting...but because the room is kinda dark, I'm all cozy, and I'm pooped from a hectic morning.
But when I run - I'm out in the fresh air...ALONE...focused.
And let's face it - it's an easy way to distract yourself from what you're doing! :)
UNFORTUNATELY, my ankle is prohibiting true love of the escape.
The very first day I started running, I didn't really stretch out the way I should have...
And now I'm paying for it. Dearly. Each run after that (and so far we've gone 7 days straight) my ankle hurt worse and worse. And after I ran yesterday, I noticed that my ankle was feeling...strange, with the pain.
If I move it around, it feels like I'm pulling old elastic. It's like I can hear it stretch...and not in a good way. Like an old spring or something....it's "icky."
It's not horribly painful, but because of the weather and Tim forbidding me to go, I didn't get to go jogging today. It hurts much worse with sneakers on anyway, so that will make a difference in how it feels when I do get to go out again.
Pray it gets better, okay? I'm jonesing for more QUIET time. :)

3. Coke.
I'm a closet coke drinker.
haha. Not really. Usually I'd say that I like Coke as much as the next guy. On average I have about 3-5 glasses of coke a week. But that's if it's in the house. If not, it's usually much less.
I figure it's not that big of a deal. I dont drink coffee, or tea. It's my only caffeine.
So where does the "closet" come in?
Well, mainly it's just funny to say - but I do tend to turn to coke when I'm stressed.
And because I can't enjoy it when Cale's around asking me for a sip every 2 minutes, I wait until the boys are asleep, or occupied.
I find myself opening more cans these days. I love it. :)
Ahhh.....sweet, sweet Coke. Cherry, if I can get it. But regular Coke is also a favorite.
No diet, thank you very much.
Why coke? Well, I dont "drink." Never have. I don't have any desire to taste alcohol...but if I did, I'm sure I'd be an alcoholic the way these boys run me ragged some days. :)
So...those are the issues. I'm sure Tim has plenty. :) Haha. I just don't know if he would like me to share.
And now, it's 9:30p...creeping up on 10, which is when my alarm goes off saying "start getting ready for bed!"
I have an alarm set, because as you know, I'm an night owl, and the later I go to bed, the earlier the boys wake up....or so it seems. :) So, I've instituted this alarm to ensure that I'd be 'starting' my bedtime routine earlier. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
But judging how today went...I'm not sure I can go to sleep just yet, knowing what's on the other side of it.
I'll think I'll watch some TV. :)

Dear right Achilles Tendon,

Please stop hurting.
I know I didn't really prepare you properly the first day 'body' and I decided it was time to start running...
But for GOODNESS SAKES - it's been 7 days!
Can you figure out how to stop throbbing so we are not in pain with every. single. step. ??
Please!!!!

Do you need different shoes? I thought the new sneakers I bought would help!
Would you like an ace bandage? Would that help?

I try to stretch you out as best I can!
Wouldn't you agree that I'm taking things easy when we aren't out for a jog??...
Don't make this torture for me. For us.
Let's enjoy our daily jogs, okay?
Remember we discussed that we aren't going to be the "chubby one" at family vacation?
Try not to get in the way of that, okay?
Thanks. I'd appreciate it.

on the ball

I think it's safe to say that Megersa and Cale have different schedules.
Different needs, different wants.
But at night time - they should have the same ones, shouldn't they?

A desire to rest their bodies....to rest their minds and most importantly, to take a break from running their mother ragged. Right? :)

Well, up until the past week or so, Megersa hasn't really got the picture.
And I can't blame him, he's only been in the family for a month...(where Cale has been in the family for 3 years and still can barely manage to sleep through the night).
BUT...over the last week, Megersa has only woken up once a night!
I change his diaper if he needs it (but this is also less because we've decided to put a bigger sized diaper on him at night) and give him a few ounces of formula.

On Saturday night he slept from 8pm to 6am, only to wake breifly for a bottle THEN slept until 9am!! Whoa!
That sounds like a dream come true! And it was, except Cale was still up at his normal 7:30ish time, and that Sunday is clearly a busy day with church and stuff, so we couldn't all lay around in our jammies like I would on any other day.... :)

All that to say, I think Megersa is getting "on the ball" with his sleep habits. I'm not going to expect a 9am wake up, but knowing that it IS possible, makes me happy.
Fingers crossed and prayers answered, things will only continue to get better.

Cale. Well.....
I'm pretty sure Tim and I have resolved ourselves to the fact that he is a needy sleeper.
Maybe when he's a teenager he wont want his Mommy and Daddy to crawl in bed with him.

cruel and unusual punishment.

This post may not completely fit the title, but Tim told me I should go ahead and blog about it, because it proves a point.
To me, anyway.
I'll have to start off by saying that we all love Megersa.
His smiles are to die for and the fact that he recognizes each one of us and wants to be in close contact with us all day, every day, is very special......
BUT....
THIS KID CAN WHINE.
And I mean whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinee!!!!!!

What's his deal you ask?
You got me! Tim and I cannot figure out his whininess most of the time.
He'll whine when he's on his back, or on his belly. Sometimes sitting up, or standing up.
He whines when you change him, or feed him.

He likes to whine.
Alot.

It's stressful.
He's our baby and we love him, but the whining is a little much.

So...during one of his 'whining fests' while eating, a brilliant idea came to mind.
Apparently I'm not good at shoveling the food in fast enough, or he was mad I was taking a bite of my own food instead of offering him more...whatever it was, I decided to see if I could stop the whining.

See, Megersa likes food.
He likes apples, bananas, sweet potatoes, peaches, pears, squash, carrots, oatmeal, and rice.
He does NOT like green beans or peas.
(Do you seeing where I'm going?? :)
So, I'm shoveling, shoveling, and he's whining, whining...and though try as I might, he doesn't respond to me telling him to "stop whining"...so I walked myself to the fridge, and took out some green beans.
I make my own baby food, so I bet these beans taste worse than the canned stuff...because it's straight beans...nothing added, no salt, sugar, preservatives...nothing.
I started smiling as I walked back to his high chair.
He saw my hand reach for his spoon, and the whining increased....so I scooped up a great big spoonful of green beans and put them in his wide-open-birdie mouth.
He swallowed; (as he always does - thankfully he hasn't figured out how to spit things out yet), but then shuddered...and he screwed up his face and made that hilarious "this tastes AWEFUL" face!
A ha!
Gotcha! That'll teach ya!

Did it work?
Well, to be truthful...not exactly. It's certainly made him more tenative to open his mouth up for fear of more green beans, and he's eaten more green veggies in the last 2 days than he has before...but I'm not sure he's grasping my homemade punishment.

Anyone have any tricks for the whines????
We need help.
Or maybe, I can just figure out how to add some sanity to our own food.
Let me check if I have the recipe.............

1 month

Today is April 13, 2010.
Megersa has been home for exactly 1 month.
WOW, the time has flown by!
We had our first post placement report yesterday and it was actually quite easy.
I dont know what I was expecting, but I can tell you that our house was spic and span for the impending 'investigation' of our suitable living space and family for Megersa.
However, the social worker stayed put at the dinging room table, outside of a brief visit to look at Megersa, sleeping away in his crib.

Basically all it was was questions.
I can't remember them all, but something along the lines of:
When was 'placement' day?
I told her we got his referral on Nov. 5, 2009; but I didn't meet him until March 9, 2010.
How is he adjusting? ie: eating, sleeping, getting along with big brother, bonding, etc.
Did we take him to a doctor? Where is he at developmentally? Health-wise? (height, weight?)
How is Cale with him?
How are we (Tim and I) feeling like we are adjusting?

She gave some advice she thought was pertinent, and then asked if we had any questions.
Not really. Things have really come quite a long way since he came here.
The past 2 nights he's only woken up once!!
Yesterday he slept from 7:30-5am, then went back to sleep until just before 7.
Cale...on the other hand...well, he's been taken Megersa's place.
He woke up twice for the past few nights. And NOT when Megersa has.
SO, Tim and I have been woken up 3x for different reasons in the past few days, and let me tell you, any kind of waking in the middle of the night is torture.
Please pray that both boys can get their acts together!! :) haha.


In other news. I'd like to say that it's very strange, but I rarely find myself on the computer anymore. If I do get a quick break today (if both boys are sleeping at the same time) I tend to try and catch up on some housework that is desperate for me, or I try to get something to snack on. By the time I walk over to the computer and turn it on, to check my email, I start hearing noises.
Like today. Our dryer got fixed yesterday, so I've been catching up on load after load of dirty clothes (I think I've done 5 today so far, and there is more....). Well, I finally got Megersa down for a nap. Cale was already sleeping. So I thought - GREAT! Alone time!
I sat down at the computer to respond to a few emails, and then the phone rang. I answered it, then went downstairs to do laundry. When I got upstairs, I heard Cale.
I got Cale downstairs and we got some juice. When he finally settled in to let me get back on the computer, I heard Megersa.
Oh golly.

How am I on the computer now if both boys are awake?
Well...Cale is watching 'baby animals' on TV and Megersa is currently in the exersaucer blowing raspberries and rocking it around. I should get going on dinner though.
Until later...

Lover, not a fighter

I think it's safe to say that Cale loves Megersa. :)
His new favorite saying is "that's my favorite!"
For instance:
Today when I asked him if he wanted to go to Costco with me, he said...
"Costco? Oh yeah! Costco's my favorite."

Here are some other recent favorites:
watermelon gum
his 'transportation' puzzle
Finding Nemo
ziti
bubbles
and...Megersa. :)

I think I mentioned before that Cale has been warming up to him...
Well, in the past month of Megs being home, I've seen Cale go from interested, to unimpressed, to annoyed, to tolerable, to concerned, to 'like', and I hope I'm correct in saying that now it is LOVE! :)
I can't remember what day it was, but Tim just told me this little story about him.

I guess Cale was next to Megersa and touched his foot. Tim asked him "Do you like Megersa?" To which Cale responded. "Yes, Megersa's my favorite."

He likes to help Mommy with him, and I've noticed more than once in the past day or two of him giving him hugs and kisses. ...And bottles, and toys, and feeding him baby food.
When we are in the van (just the two of us) he always asks where Megersa is and says he wants to sit by him.
I can't wait until they 'feel' closer in age and will play together!!
(For them, of course...not for me to have more alone time. ;)

I haven't caught any affection on camera, but when I do, I'll be sure to post the evidence of his brotherly love.

And the winner is.....

Cale Timothy Nester!

At 3 years old, 38.2 lbs, 41 inches, he's managed to win the ability to get into ALL kinds of mischief when Mommy is dealing with his little brother.

Here are the things he's been caught doing recently:

1. smearing diaper butt cream all over his toybox, bed and himself.

2. coloring on the walls and carpet in his room.

3. making huge greasy spots on our couch using cooking spray.

4. dumping colored bubbles on the carpet...everywhere.

5. pouring all the bubble bath and baby wash in the tub then complaining about being "itchy." :)

What a guy.

I can tell you that he has TOTALLY taken a huge liking to Megersa recently. I think he's realizing that he's not going anywhere. He always wants to know where he is, wants to be able to see him, and will try to give him his bottle when he's crying. Today I even saw him hug him when Megersa started his usual whimpering after I put him down. It was GREAT!

I don't know if I'd call it the"terrible threes" - but maybe something along the line as "don't-leave-me-alone-or-I'll-get-into-trouble threes." :)

sweaty boys

It's HOT here today.

And I have sweaty boys.

Cale has ALWAYS been a hot-head...sweating any time he is exerting himself too much, but I didn't really think that Megersa would be that way.

I mean, he was born in Ethiopia. It's really hot there! And there is no air conditioning.

I've seen the nannies dress babies in clothing that is appropriate only for winter, so I assumed that he would feel very cold here.

Not true.

He's a sweaty little thing too.

When I feed him a bottle, and his head is against my arm or shirt, we are both drenched by the time he is finished!

I give Cale a crew cut for the summer months. Partly because his hair has NEVER laid down (no matter how long it got), but mainly because of his core body temp. I'm not sure what Megs will look like if I give him the same look.....

So, the summer clothes are all officially out.

I just got the AC turned on.

Hopefully the stink in this house will get a little better..... ;)

how are you?

This question SHOULDN'T be hard to answer, should it?
Well, I have a hard time answering it NOT feel like I'm complaining.
I hear it so often from family, or at church, and when someone asks me (very meaningfullly) "How are you?"
I say, "fine."
I'd say it's an appropriate answer.
Nothing's really wrong, and "fine" about sums it up.
But, I'm sensing that people can hear the 'sigh' in my voice when I say it...so they continue -
How are you feeling?
Ugh.
Here's where the complaining comes in (maybe it's not technically complaining).
"I'm tired." I'll admit.
Why do I tell people this?
I mean, it's TRUE.
Megersa keeps us up at night and man, it's exhausting.
I struggle very much with sleep normally, so repeated wakings for any length of time (and sometimes it's awhile) always make matters worse.
But, if I don't fess up and admit I'm tired, then ineviteably I get someone saying "Oh, you look tired, are you?"
Yes.
It's true no matter how you say it (or don't say it).
I can't avoid the truth.
But then, where do you go from there? Some people press the issue (though I'm sure they don't mean anything by it) and ask about Megersa's sleeping. If I go into it and mention that he is still waking between 1-3 (sometimes more) a night, it just makes me feel like all I have is complaints.
If I try to avoid it, then it gets awkward and I say "no, it's fine. occupational hazard" (etc, etc).
I get those looks. The looks of pity and that 'half smile' (you know the one - with the head cocked to the side). :)
I give them too, I'm sure of it- especially to new moms, because well, waking up at night is the PITS.
I can't imagine one person who would say they enjoy it.

We're praying (and hoping) things get better quickly.
Because it's also hard to answer why he is waking up.
I don't know!
He's only been home 3 weeks and I just am not sure why it's happening, or why it's still happening after 3 weeks. I'm clueless.

Please just pray for Tim and I.
Broken sleep is hard on us as we debate over who got more sleep, whose turn it is to go into his room at night, or who has to wake up with the boys in the morning.
We are both night owls...NOT morning people.
I feel like I'm worse than him, so pray especially for me! :)
And Megersa.
And Cale.
Everyone needs prayer. :)
Prayerfully God will provide Megersa with enough comfort to put himself back to sleep on his own, so we can all get the sleep required...and I can start answering this question with a smiling, happy, non-exhausted face, saying "I'm grrrrrrrrrrrrrreat! How are you!" :)

never know what you're gonna get!

One of my favorite movies as a pre-teen was Forrest Gump.
I, like many others (I'm sure), loved his famous line:
"Momma always said life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get."
And you know what, Tom Hanks? YOU'RE RIGHT!
Life IS like a box of chocolates.

And I've opened ALL kinds of chocolates recently!!

New job, new house, new baby (and all the small changes that go along with them), so I figured, let's get a new blog!

I felt like I needed to change things up.

My original blog Chasing Jace was mainly focused on our adoption journey to Megersa, but now that we have him home...he's part of our family, and it's time to blog about all of us - as a whole.

The postings will most likely be focused on Cale & Megersa, but hopefully I'll be able to add things about Tim and myself more often and our lives as a 4some.

Keep checking in!