Christmas 2010

Christmas was as good as it could be this year. I feel like I've just been going through the motions, basically trying to ignore the whole Christmas season. It used to be such a happy and joyous time, and now it just feels so sad and empty. One of my favorite things used to be sitting by the tree with Jared at night, with the lights out, talking and listening to Christmas music. I just miss so many little things like that about our life together. And this time of year is especially hard because everything feels so geared around families. I know that the three of us are still a family, but it's such a hard version of family to adjust to. I just miss Jared so, so much, and everything he represented in our family. He was truly the best husband and father, and those are voids that will never be filled. His presence was so overwhelmingly missed today.

But Kyle had a good day. He was very into the present-opening, although he's still too young to really "get it". Alex and Rachel definitely "got it" this year though, and it was fun watching their excitement and joy, and feeling that magic of the day. It provided a great preview of what I have to look forward to with my boys in a few years. But it also made me sad, knowing that I won't have Jared to share in that special joy. I so hope his spirit is able to feel the love and joy from our boys, but not the pain and sadness.

Very Frustrated

So nursing is supposed to be this wonderful, natural, healthy, mother/child bonding experience, right? That description couldn't be further from the truth with my children. Nursing Luke is just an absolute nightmare, and it seems to be getting worse even though he's almost 4 months old. He has the same issue Kyle had, where he swallows air, then I hear the air bubble go down, and then he writhes in pain and can't nurse (even after I get a burp out). This happens the majority of times that I (attempt to) nurse him. I'm sure the months of sleep deprivation make it seem worse, but it is just the most indescribably maddening/frustrating/exhausting experience. And obviously he's not gaining well because of this, which just adds to the overall awfulness.

I do get nice glimpses of what it "should" be like, and I do feel good about the health benefits that they've received from it. But overall, nursing has been a very negative experience for me. I just feel like so many things about my life HAVE to be hard right now, but this shouldn't be one of them.

Fortunately though, he's making progress in the bottle department. He's taken one from Grammy the last few nights (only about 3 oz each though, and tonight he refused it altogether). So he's certainly not at a point where I can wean him, but hopefully he'll get there soon. I absolutely can't wait to be done with nursing forever. It will be VERY emotionally liberating, and I also look forward to eating/drinking whatever I want (I've been pregnant and/or nursing continuously for the last 3 years). Enough venting...Luke is such a cute, sweet, happy and most importantly HEALTHY baby. He'd be so easy if I never had to feed him!

On a happier note, Kyle had fun with his cousins today, decorating the tree and making Christmas cookies with Grammy! I'm so thankful that Kyle has his cousins to play with and look up to, and to put him in his place from time to time :)

Closing in on 4 Months...

So as most of you know from Facebook, Luke FINALLY took a bottle from Grammy yesterday! It happened after he woke up from a (very rare) 4.5 hour nap. He fought her for 30+ minutes but then caved and took over 3 ounces. So between the long nap and the bottle (and the fact that Kyle was at his cousins' house for a sleepover), it was a GREAT day!!

A great day nestled between many not-so-great days this past week, mostly due to the fact that Luke hasn't been doing a long sleep stretch at night (everything's been less than 3 hrs). So because of my trouble falling asleep, I've been totaling less than 5 hrs/night of sleep, spread over three stretches...not very restorative to say the least. Hopefully that changes soon, because the lack of sleep has definitely been catching up with me lately.

But Luke is fast-approaching that magical 4 month milestone, when lots of great things become possible. First and foremost, it becomes "acceptable" to let him cry it out at night (although I won't do this until we're in the new house, since he and I share a room right now so it would be extra tough). He also should also be able to fall asleep on his own for naps, without me nursing/rocking him sleep...this will be especially liberating since I feel like I spend half my life trying to get him to sleep! What will I do with all my free time??

And in general, I think babies just become more fun around 4 months. I THINK Luke laughed a couple times over the last few weeks, but last night I got the first definite/repeated laugh. Oddly enough, it came when I was eating at Chipotle with Ca...he became fussy but would laugh every time I leaned my head toward his and made a funny noise. I tried to get a video, but you know what happens as soon as you whip out a camera...whatever you were trying to capture immediately stops. But I'll keep trying to get a video of it. It's SUCH a sweet sound :)

The first of many liberating milestones...

Farewell swaddle...


Hello sleepsack!



Yes, Luke has graduated from the swaddle to the sleepsack! As with Kyle, he went cold turkey. I didn't really feel like the swaddle was enhancing his sleep, and I didn't like how many hours a day he was "bound up" (when you add in the countless hours I spend each day trying to rock/nurse him to sleep when he's swaddled). Plus, he was starting to kick his feet out of it pretty regularly, and the "half in half out" (at least psychologically for me) seems less conducive to sleep than either being swaddled or not. He's done pretty well so far. He wasn't yet sleeping regularly or predictably, so it's hard to say whether short naps/night stretches are the result of no swaddle. My gut feeling is no...his sleep seems pretty similar to before.

The next two liberating milestones that are on the horizon are putting him to bed when he's still awake (not rocking/nursing him to sleep...I absolutely CAN'T WAIT for this one), and then letting him "cry it out" at night, so that I'll finally (hopefully) start getting more than a few hours of sleep at a time. And I look forward to him getting on a predictable nap schedule where I can count on those blocks of time (like I can count on Kyle's daily 40 minute nap...what to do with all that time?!).

Happy 3 Month Birthday Lukey Pookie!

Visit with the Ruggieros

Kyle and Luke had a fun visit with Nonnie, Great Grampy and Uncle Mike today. Kyle was a little "off" when we first got there, but he snapped out of it once he started playing his favorite game...shredding his Car and Driver magazine and bringing each piece to the trash. Who wouldn't perk up from such a fun activity?! Once that got old, he showed off his alphabet knowledge (he knows all his letters!) and then wrapped things up by playing dump truck with Nonnie. And Luke held up pretty well, in between some fussy fits. It was a fun visit...Kyle and Luke are lucky to have such wonderful relatives!

Ups and Downs

Life with Lukey Pookie is definitely one big roller coaster right now. The last couple days have been HORRIBLE (way more time spent trying to get him to sleep than he actually slept, very short sleep stretches at night, lousy nursing, etc). But then last night, he slept a 5 hr stretch followed by a 4 hr stretch. And he's been napping well this morning. So there are lots of ups and downs right now, but I guess that's par for the course with a 2.5 month old. The bad days feel absolutely unbearable, but then they just make me appreciate the good days that much more.

It seems the key is to not let him get overtired. But that's much easier said than done with a two year old in the picture, because I can't always take the time to nurse/rock him to sleep with Kyle around. And once I miss my "getting him to sleep window", it gets very tough. He'll still (usually) fall asleep but will wake up after just 10 or 15 minutes...and then this is followed by endless/frustrating attempts to get him back to sleep. When he's overtired, he just has a lot of trouble getting into that deep sleep mode. This just completely supports the saying "the more they sleep, the more they sleep"...SO TRUE!!

Here are some pictures from the last week...

Happy Halloween!

Kyle enjoyed trudging up and down Lowell Ave tonight as a 2nd generation monkey (Alex and Rachel were the originals). He didn't really get it though...instead of accepting the candy, he demanded to go inside the very first house we went to (fortunately, it was Viv and Hank's, and they were nice enough to give him a toy to take along with him, which he preferred carrying over his pumpkin!). He enjoyed holding hands with Nonnie, picking up leaves, and watching his Scooby Doo and Dalmation cousins do REAL trick-or-treating. And there was even a Superman sighting up the street!

Luke was a little trooper too, sleeping the whole time all bundled up in his stroller (if I had my act together, I would have got him a pumpkin hat to wear instead of his non-festive Red Sox one).

As is the case with just about everything these days, it was fun but a very muted fun. The huge void in my little family is so much more painful on days like this. But it just makes me that much more thankful for my two precious little boys. They are my world and I love them more than anything.

British Buddies!

We were treated to a visit yesterday from our British friends...Meg, Jamie and Emilia (and baby-to-be!). Kyle enjoyed trying out his not-so-subtle moves on an unsuspecting Emilia (i.e. approaching her from behind and rubbing his face on her hair). She was a good sport, and they even shared a brief conversation about cars. I tried to get a picture of them together but missed the milisecond window that they provided. Hopefully their trip home last night was uneventful!

On an unrelated note, Kyle has been VERY into his bellybutton lately. He loves pointing to it and saying his approximation for "bellybutton". And amazingly, he just discovered something else down there during his bath last week (not sure what took him so long!?). So now, after he points to his bellybutton, he points to his diaper area and says "ya ya". And since I was unprepared as to what to call it at this early age, I am going with "ya ya" (since he did NOT like when I tried to just call it his diaper). And a more anatomically correct term might be a bit embarrassing when he DEMANDS that I identify it in public!

And Luke's sleeping has once again taken a turn from the better! I probably shouldn't say that, because it seems when I post about it on this blog, he goes in the other direction. But he has been napping very well during the day since my last post, and still doing well at night. Let's hope I don't jinx it!

8 Weeks and Not Napping

Ah, the newborn weeks (is 8 weeks still considered newborn?). Unfortunately, the new and improved Lukey Pookie was very short-lived. In fact, it basically ended with my post about it. He's still doing okay at night (one 5ish hour stretch followed by several short ones), but he will NOT sleep during the day. Let me clarify...I'll nurse/rock him to sleep fairly easily, put him in his crib swaddled/asleep, and then he wakes up about 10 minutes later. And I do this over and over again all day. VERY frustrating. Oh well, he obviously needs to sleep so I just have to keep trying and hope that he figures things out soon.

And Kyle's sleep is also frustrating. He's always slept well at night (7 to 7ish), but his afternoon nap has just been getting shorter and shorter. And it was never that long to begin with. Like today, I put him down at 1pm, he screamed for about 15 minutes (which is also a new, aggravating twist) and slept for 30 minutes. And then woke up screaming. I decided to try something different today...I went in there after he woke up crying, rubbed his back and told him that he needed to nap more and then left the room. He cried for a few minutes but did fall back to sleep right away. For about 10 minutes. Ugh.

These next few years would be some much easier if my kids would nap well for me. I REALLY need those sanity breaks during the day, since I don't get them in the evening anymore. But it doesn't look like that is going to happen. Certainly not for Kyle anyway. There's still hope for Luke. I just need to be very disciplined about getting him on a good schedule early on.

Oh, Kyle had his 24 month well visit last week. He weighed 33 lbs and is 36 inches long (both are around the 90th percentile). She said he's very proportionate and doing well, although she did discover that he has a double ear infection (he's had a cold this last week but I was still surprised, since he's never had one before). So he's on antibiotics for the first time, which will hopefully clear things up.

Visit with Grampa!

Kyle and Luke had a fun visit with Grampa, Auntie Jayne and cousin Rene today. Kyle enjoyed having Grampa read him stories, and showing Auntie Jayne how cute he looked in the NYC shirt that she gave him. And Luke was happy to meet Grampa for the first time, and enjoyed smiling with Auntie Jayne :) It was a great visit with great relatives!

The New and Improved Lukey Pookie!

If anyone's looking for Luke these days, he's either in his crib or swing sleeping! Yes, after 6 weeks of not sleeping very much, he has been a sleeping machine these last 3 days. He's been sleeping in his crib from 11pm(ish) to 11am(ish), waking of course every few hours to nurse, but going right back to sleep. And then during the day, he's been doing the same thing in his swing. I basically just change his diaper when he wakes up, get LOTS of super-cute smiles, nurse him, and then put him back in his crib/swing when he falls asleep on me. Newborns are so easy ;)

Needless to say, what a WONDERFUL turn of events this has been! I'm not sure what to attribute it to, or how long it will last, but I'm enjoying every minute of it for the time being. And he especially likes his swing now that Aunt Ca enlightened me to the fact that there are two recline positions (and unknowingly I've always had it in the more upright position, including all the months that Kyle used it).

Speaking of Kyle, he's having a sleepover at his cousins until tomorrow. So I've had a VERY productive day today. These last few days have definitely been the best/easiest since Luke was born...hopefully they continue!

Kyle and Luke's First "Photo Shoot"

Today, after taking Luke's weekly (6 week!) photo, I was feeling ambitious and decided to try to get a "formal" picture of both boys together. Kyle LOVED the photo shoot!! Having Luke perched on his lap for the first time was quite a thrill for him. And Luke was surprisingly smiley too. Of course things went downhill quickly, but I got a few cute ones.

And yes, Luke is 6 weeks old today. These 6 weeks have been incredibly difficult on so many levels, to say the least. But it feels good to have 6 of the toughest weeks under my belt. He is now pretty consistently doing one 4-5 hour stretch of sleep per night, followed by a few 2ish hour stretches. So I'm getting a little more sleep these days, and I'd be getting a lot more if it didn't take me so darn long to fall asleep each time.

Currently the most frustrating/exhausting thing on the Luke front is just the hours and hours spent each day rocking/nursing him, trying to get him to sleep. And stay asleep! He'll nap for 10 to 20 minutes, but then wakes up for some unknown reason...SOOO frustrating! I don't think he's taken a noteworthy nap since his 3+ hour nap during Kyle's birthday party! Hopefully he'll figure it out soon, because it's become quite challenging for me to just do the basics each day (i.e. eat, shower, etc). But he's such a sweet/smiley little boy (just like his brother) and I love him to pieces!

5 Weeks!

Luke had his 1 month checkup yesterday and he's doing great. He's up to 11 lbs 10 oz, so he's gaining well (gained about 2.5 lbs over the last 4 wks). Hopefully this will soon lead to better sleeping at night!

Kyle's 2nd Birthday Party!

Kyle had lots of fun at his birthday party today! But similar to last year, the cake was his least favorite part of the party. Have you ever seen a 2 yr old so devastated by the sight of cake?! Despite Uncle Jon making the coolest "car cake" for him, Kyle wouldn't even take a bite. He did perk up a bit when he discovered that there was a picture of a car on his plate under the cake. Oh well, maybe next year he'll figure out that cake is yummy!

Unlike last year, Kyle now definitely "gets" the concept of presents. When he sees a gift bag or wrapped present, he wants at it IMMEDIATELY! So we hid his presents out on the porch until it was time to open them. And after he opened his first present, he promptly "knocked his knuckles" together signifying that he wanted more, more!

Amazingly, Luke slept for the entire party...I actually had to wake him up at the end so people could meet him! This was wonderfully liberating for me, because I feared that I'd be holed up in my room nursing him the whole time. This was one of his longest naps ever, coming off a night with his longest chunk of sleep ever (4.5 hrs). So hopefully this good sleeping trend continues!

Overall, it was a great day, despite the painful absence of the most important person in my life...these milestones and celebrations are all just so bittersweet without Jared here sharing them with us. But thanks to all of our wonderful friends and family for your important roles in our life and for making today so special.

One Month and Smiling!

Happy 2nd Birthday Kyle!

Welcome Luke!

This is a few weeks overdue, but Luke Jared Berube made a safe and healthy arrival on August 24th, measuring in at 9 lbs 1 oz and 21 inches. My labor and delivery were MUCH easier this time around...had my first contraction around 2am, went to the hospital a little after 10am (even though my contractions weren't that close together or regular, but they were long and intense), was 4cm when I arrived at the hospital, got an epidural around noon (instant relief!), and Luke was born at 2:15pm after less than 5 minutes of pushing! On the other hand, my labor with Kyle was 27 hrs and I pushed for an exhausting 2.5 hrs! My recovery with Luke was also much quicker than with Kyle...I felt almost back to normal physically after just a couple days. I guess Kyle did all the damage the first time around!

We're all doing as well as can be expected at this point. Kyle LOVES Luke and shows no signs of jealousy. He thinks he's funny (especially when he's crying!) and loves snuggling up to him. His gestures of affection can be a little rough though, so I have to watch him pretty closely. Kyle is going to be a great big brother...he already is!

And I'm doing pretty well, despite several weeks of sleep deprivation (Luke would much rather nurse all night than sleep). Needless to say, these last few weeks have been extremely bittersweet. There are just no words to describe how much I miss Jared, and the incredible void and sadness I feel without him here with us. It just feels so wrong and empty to be experiencing all of this without him. But I know he will live on through our boys, and I hope they grow up to be just like him...he's truly the best person I've ever known and I will never stop missing him and the life we had built together. But I am just so thankful that Luke is healthy, despite all the stress he endured in utero these last 6 months. I feel very blessed to have my two precious little boys.

Playdate with Nonnie

Kyle had a great "playdate" today with Nonnie. After playing at the house for a little while, we went to the playground (where we had a surprise visit from Grammy on her way home from the gym). As you can see, Kyle LOVED going down the slide. And lucky for me he finally figured out how to climb the steps to the top, so that I don't have to lift him up each time...I credit Aunt Ca's rigorous stair climbing "boot camp" for this accomplishment.


And it was only a matter of time before his eyes caught sight of the swings. Despite his very serious facial expressions, he absolutely LOVES swinging. But it's not usually a pretty scene when the swinging has to come to an end (flailing temper tantrum). Fortunately, Nonnie wanted to push him so I was able to veg out on a picnic table in the shade. And amazingly, he didn't flip out when it was time to go...I think he was on extra good behavior for Nonnie, or "Nun" as he calls her. Thanks for a great visit Nonnie!

Fun in Tewksbury

Kyle and I had a fun visit up in Tewksbury yesterday with Nonnie, Auntie Jayne, Uncle Mike and Great Grampy. After a very cautious start to the visit (where it took Kyle about 5 minutes to muster up enough courage to "climb" the 1/2 inch threshold from Great Grampy's driveway to porch), we had a wonderful meal at Great Grampy's country club. The weather was PERFECT, so we ate outside, which made Kyle a very happy little boy because he could watch people golfing, and more importantly watch all the golf carts drive by. He even got to go for a quick ride on a golf cart with Auntie Jayne (along with the guy who was parking them)...that was quite a thrill! And he loved watching the fish in the pond with Nonnie and Auntie Jayne.

The only low point of the meal came when Kyle became very frustrated that he couldn't get the wheels on his toy truck to spin so he angrily launched it across the table, knocking over a glass of water, which landed on Great Grampy's lap and then shattered on the patio. Whoops!

After dinner, Kyle enjoyed a walk in his stroller with Nonnie and Auntie Jayne. He also liked checking out Great Grampy's new car (which of course had everything that Kyle looks for in a car...license plate, taillights, wheels, etc). Kyle really enjoyed his visit with the Ruggiero side of the family! Oh, and this was Kyle's first long car ride since I had his car seat turned to the forward-facing position last week...he did pretty well on the ride up (was very mesmerized by his video), but not so well on the way home (although it was past his bedtime which may have had something to do with his fussiness). I'm hoping that being forward-facing will make him a much happier passenger going forward (pardon the pun).

Visit with Nonnie

Kyle had a great visit with Nonnie today! He was especially excited to show her his new issue of Car & Driver magazine, demanding that she identify every car/truck that he pointed to (and getting very frustrated if she dared to speak to anyone else during this "interrogation"!). He seemed quite satisfied with her knowledge of cars and their various parts. And as much as he enjoyed the visit, he also enjoyed watching her car drive away (as he doesn't get to see many cars "in action", living at the end of a dead-end street these days)...let's hope Nonnie's AC worked well on the drive home!

School Boy

Kyle had lots of fun today surprising Nonnie with a visit at her school! He was very "official" with his visitors badge and enjoyed all of the commotion that the end of the school day brought. It was probably the most people/activity he's ever seen at one time, but he wasn't at all overwhelmed by it. At one point, he ran out of Nonnie's classroom and joined the sea of kids heading down the hall, trudging along like he belonged...very cute.

And he LOVED going outside and watching all the school buses drive by...he probably saw about 15 total, up close and personal, and was in school bus heaven. Nonnie's arms are going to be very sore tomorrow though, because she impressively held all 30 lbs of him for about 15 minutes straight when the buses were driving by...my arms get tired after about a minute of holding him!

And of course he enjoyed his favorite parking lot activity of pointing out wheels, license plates, taillights, etc on random parked cars. But I think his favorite part of the day was just hanging out with Nonnie (and seeing/meeting all of her nice teacher friends). He should sleep well tonight!

Big Boy Bath!!

So after 17 months of baths on the kitchen counter in his infant tub, Kyle has finally graduated to the big boy bath!! I realize that we should have made this transition about 6 months ago, but we had such a quick/easy/happy routine down that we weren't very motivated to mess with it. But he has DEFINITELY outgrown the "counter tub", so it was time. He's now had two baths in the big tub and seems to enjoy splashing around in the extra space.

Perhaps another driver in making this change is the fact that he gained a whopping 1.5 lbs this past month!! He weighed 26 lbs 15 oz on his 16 month birthday, and 28 lbs 8 oz when we weighed him Monday at 17 months. This seems like a pretty big jump for this age, but I'm not surprised because he literally feels heavier to me each and every day...picking him up is like lifting a ton of bricks! And he's also become quite the little beggar. We can no longer eat in front of him without him begging for some. Like tonight, he ate a good portion of my black bean and tofu burrito. I'm happy he's a good eater, but I do miss the days of being able to snack on the couch in peace.

Officially Walking!

Yes, Kyle is officially walking now! He walks all around the house, and has surprisingly good balance for a new walker...very few falls so far! And he can also stand up by himself, without holding onto anything. It's just so cute having this happy/proud little person wandering around all day :)

Lots of Steps!

Kyle is definitely starting to catch on to this whole walking thing! He provided our entertainment last night, walking back and forth between his toy box and the ottoman, over and over again (while playing "fetch" with a coaster). Such a cute and exciting milestone, and he seems so proud of himself! And this morning, he's been doing some unprovoked walking, without us encouraging him...fun!!

A Few Steps!

Kyle was taking a bunch of steps by himself tonight, as you'll see in the video!

Getting Close!

As you can see in the video, Kyle is (finally!) close to walking! He will now walk around the house with us holding just our finger. And he seems to like it! And for the last few weeks, he'll take a step or two when cruising from one piece of furniture to another. But I couldn't really say when he took his milestone "first step"...it just blended in with his cruising. The big "first step" milestone in my mind will be when he takes a step or two out into the open, with no foreseeable "landing zone". My thought all along has been that he'll be walking by Valentines Day, and it now looks like that's a pretty safe bet.

And yes, he is wearing a sweater vest in the video! There were a couple random days where he took VERY long naps while wearing that sweater vest. While I'm sure this was just coincidence, I will periodically put him in it when I'm hoping for a good nap. My wishful thinking failed me today...he just took his usual 2 one hour naps.

And I'm sure that you're all on the edge of your seats waiting for a diaper update! Well, Pampers Overnights were the answer...he hasn't woken up wet since we switched! And I've discovered that pulling up a Baby Einstein video on YouTube is a GREAT distraction for him when changing his diaper...he's MUCH happier which makes it MUCH easier!

And today was a big day (I'm being sarcastic)...Kyle actually drank a whopping 6oz of milk from his sippy cup over the course of his 12 waking hours (with me shoving the cup in his face at every opportunity). I literally think this is the most he's ever drank in a day (he does take 8 oz of milk at night mixed with his cereal). He clearly likes milk but must be part cactus because he is just NEVER thirsty!

Diaper Update

As you know, I was looking forward to my break from diaper duty today. But of course Kyle woke up dry and without a poop this morning for Jared. Of course!! The dry may (hopefully) have been because of the overnight diapers that we bought. But no poop? I'm not exaggerating that he has literally woken up EVERY single weekday morning for the last couple weeks wet and with a poop. And Jared's luck continued through the day...no poops, which is just soooo rare! He typically has one each time he wakes up, meaning I do 3 nightmarish poopy diapers before Jared gets home from work (morning wake-up and two naps). Anyway, enough about poop. But it just supports my favorite expression..."it must be fun to be Jared" :)

And I forgot to report that Kyle had a great 15 month check-up last Monday. He weighs 26 lbs 8 oz (75th percentile) and was 90 something percentile for height (I don't remember the actual measurement). So he's doing great, although he has a slight runny nose (might be from his shots). Hopefully it doesn't turn into a full-fledged cold!

Down in the Diaper Dumps

Over the last couple weeks, I have come to dread the first 30 minutes of the day. Despite the fact that Kyle barely drinks anything, he produces an INSANE amount of pee at night. So every morning, he wakes up SOAKING wet. I'm not talking the diaper leaked a little. I'm talking the diaper is COMPLETELY saturated with visible droplets of pee on the outside. I could literally wring out his onesie, that's how wet it is. And of course he wakes up with a poop every morning too.

Now pair all of this with the fact that changing his diaper has become a near impossible task over the last month, with him using all his strength to fight it (rolling, kicking, screaming hysterically). In addition, he has an itchy rash on his bum, so while I'm wrestling with him trying to change the diaper, he is clawing ferociously at his butt, and REALLY digging his fingernails in so that the rash can't heal. So that first diaper/change of clothes in the morning is just an absolute nightmare. The diapers the rest of the day are no picnic either, but at least they don't also involve a change of clothes. Hopefully this will be a short-lived phase. In the meantime, I am thrilled that it's Friday, so that I can get a break from diapers for a couple days!

Happy 2010!!

We've had a fun, busy week celebrating Christmas with family and friends! We wrapped up the celebrations yesterday with a trip up to Maine to see Nonnie (after visiting Kyle's great grandparents in Tewksbury). We had a great visit and Kyle did really well considering he hadn't napped. Unfortunately, Kyle's new car DVD player didn't prove to be the miracle that we had hoped. But I don't think that we should draw any conclusions yet, because it was his first time watching the Baby Einstein videos and he was soooo overtired that I don't think anything would have made him happy (except for sleep, which for some reason he refuses to do in the car!). We'll try again, on a shorter trip when he's not overtired. Like everything else, I think he'll like it once he gets used to it. Or maybe he took my advice (which I whispered in his ear before bed last night) and made a new year's resolution to nap in the car, or at least be reasonably content!