Labor Day, already?

How can it be Labor Day weekend already? Unbelievable.

I haven't updated in a while, but I'll give you a quick rundown of the happenings of August:

• Miles started rolling over (both ways) on August 10. Crazy enough, this kid actually likes to be on his stomach.

• Adam continues to potty train. Just when I think he's doing fabulously, he'll have an accident. Yesterday there was an unfortunate incident that involved my good chair. Pee on the leather chair, dammit!

• Miles grabs at anything and everything. He sees objects as something to be put in his mouth, come hell or high water. Awesome.

• Adam started calling Jeff and I "mom" and "dad." I don't know where this came from, but I don't like it - where did my baby go?

• Miles has started sleeping loooong stretches. The last three nights he's slept from 8pm until 8am. He'd sleep longer, but I usually wake him up because I *need* him to eat. Can you believe that?

Looking forward to September. Adam turns 3. A long weekend trip to the Great Wolf Lodge. Our 7th wedding anniversary. All good things!

Mild Miles...

My Mom prompted me to write this entry, saying that I need to "write this down." And since I always listen to my Mom, here I am...

Miles has such a sweet temperment. He loves to be held and cuddled. Lately, his favorite spot to hang out is on a lap, facing outward so he can just take everything in. Calm and quiet observation, completely and totally relaxed. He also loves to be held up on your shoulder, with his head nuzzled into your neck. He'll easily fall asleep this way if you stand up and sway long enough to let him. Along the same lines, he loves to be carried in one of my three carriers. It makes errand-running so much easier to have him strapped to me. He loves to hang out in there and most often ends up falling asleep, being lulled by my movements.

I love his sweet little temperment and can't wait to see how it changes as he grows...

Adventures in potty training...

It's been exactly a week since Operation: Potty Training began in the Gray household. Much to my surprise, it's been smooth sailing so far, as Adam has been peeing and pooping on the potty like a champ (save for three unfortunate accidents - only one of them on the carpet!). I think the timing was just right - he is more than willing to be a big boy and go on the potty.

A few funnies:

• He'll often say "I'm so proud of you!!" after going on the potty.
• "Can I get an M&M now, Mommy?"
• I was standing outside the door to the bathroom yesterday while he was trying to poop. I overheard him farting in the potty and then cracking up at the sound that it made. Repeat. I couldn't help but chuckle as well, but man - I guess fascination with farting starts young, eh?
• In order to keep potty training in the foreground of his mind, I frequently ask him if he has to go potty. I don't know why I do this, because 9 times out of 10 he'll reply "I DON'T HAVE TO GO POTTY, OOOOK???" He much prefers to go on his own terms.
• Jeff was walking out the door for work when Adam ran after him and said "Hey Daddy, don't go pee pee in the car, ok?" Ooook, Adam. Will do.

So yes. Much praise to my big boy, who can now be seen sporting his new Lightening McQueen tightie whities on his perfect little tushie.

It's seriously cute.

MamaGray: Superhero?

"I make milk. What's your superpower?"

I came across this saying on a t-shirt the other day and thought it was so clever. I was tempted to buy one, except it was a bit more than I would usually spend on a t-shirt, and chances are, it would be too short on me anyways.

But yes, I make milk.

Nursing has proven to be a challenging undertaking, but it is immensely rewarding. From a nutritional standpoint, it is very empowering to know that you are solely responsible for the growth of your child for the first 6 months of his life. You and only you made those chubby thighs possible.

Aside from providing round the clock nutrition, nursing fosters such a sweet relationship between a mother and her child. It is so wonderful to be nursing and have your son pop off and look up at you with wide eyes, smile at you, then return to eating. In fact, it makes my heart all melty just typing that out!

On the other hand, nursing is also a challenge. With your first child, you don't know what to expect - learning the art of nursing is not easy. Not only are you dealing with engorgement and sore nipples, but you have to make sure you're nursing properly. There are possible physical problems such as clogged ducts (been there, it sucks) and mastitis. And let's not forget: nursing is also very time consuming. I don't remember feeling as tied down with Adam as I did with Miles in the early weeks/months. With Miles, sitting down every 2 hours for 45 minutes or so while he nursed seemed like an eternity in part because I was also responsible for keeping Adam occupied at the same time. I remember feeling very trapped while nursing Miles, as it's hard to nurse when your toddler is getting into things he shouldn't be (he would frequently get into the fridge and bring me items like the eggs and fruit. Talk about testing my patience!).

Like most things, the good outweighs the bad. I am happy to nurse my kids because I believe it is the right thing to do, and for the most part, I enjoy it (Did you know that as the baby nurses, Mom's body releases endorphins that help the her mood? Isn't that amazing?).

It's not for everyone, but I do believe everyone should at least try. I was at a baby shower recently and was chatting up with two girls - one of them had a 3 week old, and the other was single and childless. As the one was pulling out her bottle she made several comments about nursing that made me sad. She remarked that nursing is "So annoying" because it takes so long to feed a newborn, and that her husband was upset because he couldn't help feed the baby. She quit nursing after a few days. Sadly, this is often the case. You cannot be selfish commit to nursing- it will not work. Nursing a newborn can be difficult in the beginning, but annoying? Yikes. What is annoying about cuddling with your new baby and knowing that at this stage of his little life you can give him everything he needs? And, husbands can help with the feedings - just make up a bottle of breastmilk. I felt sad for her, because I want her and every new mom to know what I know - that breastfeeding can be so great. Oh well.

I'll step off of my soapbox now and close with saying that God created a woman's body to do amazing things. I'm very thankful to be able to breastfeed and hope to continue doing so for a while longer...

Morning

"Standing by the window watching his father go off to run the world." - Storypeople

If Adam is awake, he watches Jeff get ready for the morning. Standing on the stool next to him in the bathroom, he peppers Jeff with questions: "You scruffy, Daddy? Are you shaving, Daddy? All clean now? You brushing teeth?" On and on, until they move into the bedroom where Jeff gets dressed, Adam pointing out that yes, he is wearing a tie, and yes, it is time to go off to work. "You going to the office today? To earn some money?" Yes, and yes, Adam. Daddy goes to work because he loves us...

And finally, Jeff kisses all three of us goodbye and Adam says "Honka horn, Daddy? You going to honka horn today?" Then he runs to the window and waits for the Subaru to drive by (Jeff has to go the opposite way up the street to do this every morning, so i'm pretty sure it's a goodbye that they both enjoy..). Jeff honks, they both wave, and Adam surely thinks that his Daddy is indeed, off to run the world...

Fireworks and the 4th

Thursday night, Jeff took Adam out to my Mom's house to watch the fireworks display from the boat. Feeling a tinge of jealousy that everyone was going to see the fireworks, and that Jeff was taking Adam for another "first" without me, I stayed home with Miles. I reminded myself that soon enough, Miles will be running around with the rest of the gang, but for now, what he needed was his mommy and his crib - bedtime for him is 10pm at the latest these days.

Adam loved the fireworks. I hear he covered his ears the entire time, which is so typical of his personality - very cautious, and not a huge fan of loud noises. He also enjoyed eating the chips that were up for grabs on the boat. So I hear.

For the 4th, all of us went back out to the lake and had a great time. As usual, Adam and Carter ran around like banshees both inside and outside. They sure have fun together! We had a great lunch, took a boat ride (both Adam and Carter attempted to swim in the lake with Grammie, but quickly opted back into the boat after deeming the water too cold. Brave boys nonetheless), went in the hot tub, and lounged around. Everyone was thankful for gorgeous weather!

We got home late, but Adam was still up and asking to do sparklers. Jeff indulged him, and thank goodness he was the one who burned his fingers on the fireworks and not Adam. Covering his ears once again, he stood back as Jeff lit off some bottle rockets and Roman Candles. I'm sure our neighbors apprieciated the noise...hee hee.

3/4ths of us were in bed by 11pm, exhausted. A great day spent as a family, with family, indeed.

A couple "firsts" this month...

Adam saw his first movie in the theatre this month. While "Kung Fu Panda" is probably not going to become a classic, Adam had a wonderful time seeing his first movie with his Daddy. He came back from the experience talking about "popcorns" (another first!) and big pandas. While he didn't sit through all of it (we didn't expect him to!), he did see about an hour of it before he started to get squirmy (note to self: don't sit through all of the previews next time). A wonderful way to spend a lazy Father's Day morning.

Another "first:" Miles giggled! I was sitting on the chair in the living room and he was sitting on my lap. I'm sure I was doing something completely ridiculous in order to engage him, but it paid off - a giggle erupted from his little body. More giggles soon followed, and it didn't take long before Adam was sitting on the chair as well and all three of us were laughing. It was a special moment for me - sitting with my two boys, having a great time.

Looking forward to more giggles, that's for sure.