Now if only he would change himself

Nick has become very adept at point at things he wants or wants to see. He also is able the say there or that (more like de and da, but we know what he means). So I was very amused this morning when he woke up to have him point to his changing table and say de as soon as I picked him up. He didn't fuss the entire time that he was being changed and as soon as I had taken off the wet diaper and wiped him down his mood was instantly playful. Then again, Nick has never liked having a wet or messy diaper, so it really shouldn't come as a surprise that he would tell me he wanted to be changed.

Nick still does not have his two front teeth, despite the pain they have been causing him and the fact that you can feel the ridges right above his gums. He really is taking his sweet time getting his teeth. Eleven months and still only two teeth. However, I do think he will be walking soon. He is a champ at standing on his own, and is a speed demon when given a cart to walk with, so it is really just a matter of confidence. Although he might very well skip walking and go straight to running just so he can keep up with Gabe. His gym class instructor is amazed at how well he can stand and bend and stand back up without falling over. Nick really enjoys gym class and loves to participate in everything.

Gabe is also really enjoying his sports class. It seems to be a much better fit for him than his gym class was. So I'm glad we made the decision to sign him up and keep that class over the gym class. Hopefully the team sports and the skills will help him when he starts soccer again this spring. Plus he'll be older and Pigpen will be coaching. I think all three combined will help make soccer a better experience for him this time around. I really want both my boys to play sports and enjoy it, even though that was never something that I liked or was good at.

I am doing better with my workouts in the morning. Nick has been sleeping better, and while it is hard to feel motivated at four in the morning, I figure that since I'm already awake I might as well go work out and be done with it for the day. I have one more week of both level 1 of my iFit workouts and level 3 of 30 Day Shred. The following week I move up to level 2 of my iFit workouts, which will now be 30-45 minutes and Jillian Michaels' No More Trouble Zones, which is a 45-minute workout. So I will alternate between the two. Hopefully I can continue to tone, my stomach is still a big problem area.

Two Front Teeth

This weekend was nice. My MIL watched the boys while Pigpen and I went out to dinner on Valentine's Day. We went to a Japanese steakhouse for dinner, and then followed it with sundaes from McDonald's :) It was nice. I got a blue tooth headset for my phone, which I have been needing. I got Pigpen a dozen chocolate covered strawberries and a heart-shaped cookie from the boys. Gabe stayed the night at my MIL's, so he could go to Sunday school with her in the morning.

On Sunday we went bowling with some friends of ours, who have a son who's about a six or so months older than Gabe. I'm trying to remember when his birthday is. Any way. The kids had a good time, and so did we. We played two sets. I didn't break a hundred either time, but then, I never claimed to be any good at bowling. It was really nice to get Gabe together with someone his age, and to socialize. We don't do it that often.

So Nick is in the process of getting both his top front teeth, which will bring his grand total to four. Four teeth at eleven months. And he is not happy about it. He's up every hour to hour and a half at night to complain about it. In other words, I'm really tired. I'm not sure what to do, other than comfort him. He's not interested in any medicine at night. No Orajel or baby Tylenol, and gets rather offended if I try to give him anything. During the day he i s more than happy to take something, but not at night. This is something he shares with his brother. Gabe is also very resistant to taking any kind of medicine at night.

In addition, I discovered that Nick's diaper had leaked at about 2 AM. Luckily, it didn't get his bed wet, but his pajamas had to be changed. He was not happy about that. My only consolation is that he is not taking long to get back to sleep when he wakes in discomfort. I just hope those teeth hurry up and break through. The one on the right is almost through; you can feel the ridges right under the gums. I don't remember teething being as painful with Gabe as it seems to be for Nick.

Despite the number of times that Nick had me up last night, and the difficulty I had getting Gabe back to sleep when he woke up around 3:30 AM (he has a hard time just about every morning when Pigpen leaves for work), I still got up and worked out this morning. I missed all of last week due to the stomach bug, so I needed to make sure I didn't start off the week by missing a day. I was tired, but felt good when I was finished. Tomorrow is my last day on level 2 of the 30 Day Shred. On Thursday I will move up to level 3. I can hardly wait, really...

When I spoke with my MIL this morning I was happy to hear that both boys had eaten well for breakfast. Gabe has always been a sporadic eater, so it's nice to hear when he actually eats enough to fill him up. And Nick has had trouble shaking that stomach bug, plus the teething. He didn't eat much this weekend, and really wasn't interested in bottles of any sort. All he seemed to want to do was nurse, which was hard, since I am starting the weaning process, so my milk supply is reduced.

In other [sad] news, Pigpen's puppy, a beautiful pure-bred Chihuahua, passed away this morning due to kidney failure. Although, he was not really a puppy, since he was almost 10 years old. He has been living with my in-laws for the past couple years since we haven't exactly lived places that were animal-friendly. Plus we work all day. My MIL was very attached to him, so she's pretty sad. And Pigpen got him when he was about six months old, so of course he's pretty sad about it too, that was his puppy. And poor Gabe. Try explaining to a three-year-old where their pet went.

Stomach Bugs

I've been dealing with a stomach virus for the past week. First Gabe got it, then Nick (who still hasn't gotten over it) and then me. Gabe only threw up once and then seemed to be over it. In fact, his appetite has been pretty good the past week. Nick, however, has thrown up multiple times. Four times in the course of 24 hours last Sunday. The fourth time was in the middle of the night and it got everywhere - even in my hair. Ew! Plus, his appetite has been weak, and he's normally a great eater. He's also been extra cranky and clingy, again not like him. I feel so bad for him.

I ended up succumbing Tuesday morning. I managed to work two half days Tuesday and Wednesday, but then came both days and napped. It seemed to help. I didn't throw up, but My stomach hurt and I didn't have much of an appetite. I was still a little iffy yesterday, but I am doing much better today. Thank goodness. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I am looking forward to going out on a date with Pigpen. The last thing I want to be is sick.

Since I wasn't feeling well Wednesday, I stayed home with Gabe while Pigpen took Nick to gym class. I have wanted Pigpen to take Nick any way, just to interact with him there and see how much Nick likes it, so this ended up being the perfect opportunity. And Gabe and I had a nice time together, as well. I so seldom get alone time with him. He usually prefers anybody but me. He was very cooperative and we enjoyed our story time together.

Pigpen said Nick impressed his teacher with his ability to stand, crouch down and pick something up, and stand back up without falling over. It's a recently acquired skill. Nick has been working on standing independently over the last few weeks, but keeping his balance while picking up something has only developed over the last week. I love watching my boys learn new skills; it just feels like they are growing up so fast. Nick's new skill in the class was flipping over one of the bars, which he enjoyed.

Speaking of gym class, we decided last Saturday to drop Gabe's gym class. He will still do his sports class on Fridays, but will stop his Saturday gym class. We spoke with the lead teacher, who instructs both classes, and she agrees that this is a good decisions. Gabe pays much better attention in his sports class, which is comprised of mainly boys, unlike his gym class, which is comprised of mainly girls. His Saturdays won't be empty for long - he starts soccer again in March. Pigpen should be coaching, so hopefully, it will go better this time around.

I'm enjoying a nice break from school. My statistics class ended on Monday, so I have a short break before my next class starts. Thankfully, it has nothing to do with math. This week has been bad for exercise, what with Nick and me being sick all week. Hopefully next week will be better so I can pick my routine back up. I'm below my prepregnancy weight, but still not at my lowest weight, so more work to be done. I've been enjoying my workouts, and while I'm not a morning person (nothing will ever convince me that I should be), I do feel better when I start my day with a workout, especially my iFit treadmill workouts.

Sick and Tired

My boys are both sick with something, so their dispositions haven't been the best. Gabriel hasn't wanted the eat the last couple days, and even threw up what little he did eat on Tuesday - that was fun to clean up, since he was still at the dinner table when it happened. Nick is about to get his two top front teeth, has a head cold, and his stomach is bothering him. He was very cranky last night. Plus Pigpen is not feeling well, also a head cold, and called in sick to work today.

Neither child wanted to sleep last night, and both have been up since about a quarter to five. Pigpen had Gabriel, and I took care of Nick. On top of it, Nick was extra clingy this morning, which made getting ready for work difficult. He was fine if I was holding him, or if Gabe was playing with him, otherwise he wanted to get into things or be held. I'm really loving obsession with electrical cords, particularly his strong desire to put them in his mouth. It's great, really.

So, I am very tired, and not just because the boys didn't sleep well last night. I also adjusted my work schedule this week, so instead of getting in close to 8, I'm going in at 7. And I'm now working out in the mornings instead of the evenings, so I'm getting up at 4:30 and working out for an hour. This morning I was able to get my iFit workout in, but had to quit after the warm up of 30 Day Shred because Nick was being extra fussy and only wanted me.

I had hoped Nick would sleep better last night because he had gym class, but no such luck. However, he did greatly enjoy his class. He practiced walking (still not there on his own) both on the floor and the balance beam, and he did forward and backward rolls over something referred to as a "hot dog". He still adores the balls and is curious about the bubbles - he was more aggressive last night in his pursuit of them. I am so glad he likes it. It has been beneficial for Gabriel and I hope it is for him. Gabriel was home with Daddy, and enjoyed being in our bed with him and watching Curious George, which he choose over having Daddy read him a story.

I had a chance to talk to Gabriel's gym and sports class teacher during Nick's class last night, and was glad I did, since I have little idea how he acts in his sports class, since my MIL takes him during the week, and only observational knowledge from his gym class on Saturdays. She said he actually is doing really well in his sport class and is much better at listening and paying attention than he is in his gym class. He's really enjoying it. Right now they are learning hockey, which they started last week, and after only one session I can see that he's getting it. He has a hockey set at my MIL's and I got to see him practice with it and I though he did really well.

I am so glad I am in my last week of my current class. Statistics is driving me crazy. The workload is much heavier than I have had in any of my previous courses, so I'm really struggling to get it all done. Still, I have been working hear, and it's reflected in my grade, which is nice. After this class is over I get a three week break before I start my next one. Not that I'll be relaxing. There are a number of things that I need to use those "free" evenings to accomplish.