The long week

Last week was a tough week at our house. Adam's Grandma Ellen passed away. She was an amazing woman and she is going to be missed by everyone who knew her. I'm so happy and honored to have gotten to know her over the last 5 1/2 years. She was kind, generous, classy and talented. The last quilt she made was Nolan's baseball quilt, and that's something we'll cherish forever! Adam and I are extremely proud that our boys will carry on the Bleck family name, too.

Adam's back gave out on him last Wednesday, and thankfully super Dave came to the rescue again! Dave took Adam to urgent care and pick up his prescriptions. In addition to the pills, Adam has made a few visits to the chiropractor. He's been laying pretty low and trying not to do any lifting, which is difficult when you have a 20 month old and a 2 month old at home! He's at Greg and Ellen's right now, soaking his sore back in the hot tub.

I feel very fortunate that my dad and Adam's parent's were able to help Adam out this weekend with the boys so I could enjoy a night away with my mom and sisters in St. Cloud. We literally shopped til we dropped! I didn't quite get all our Christmas shopping done, but it's a good start. It felt so good to sneak away for a night and not have any one to think about except me - and to sleep through the night! It sounds selfish, but I really needed it:)

Last week Kale made another big step in the sleeping through the night category. His typical routine in the evening is to go to bed around 6:15 or 6:30. I do an early dream feed around 7, and then another one at 10:30. As long as he hasn't leaked through his jammies he'll sleep until 3:30 or 4. Last Wednesday he slept from 6:30 to 6:30, straight through! I woke up and didn't know what hit me, as it was the first time I had really slept through the night since before he was born! Nolan was also feeling extra kind that same morning, as he didn't wake up until close to 7. Kale also had his 8 week check up last Wednesday, at 8 1/2 weeks old. We had noticed he seemed to be getting bigger, but we weren't expecting that it would be as much as it was! He weighs 11 lbs 15 oz (50%) and is 24.25 inches long
(90%!). He has a wee little head right now, only checking in at 25% (I think it's around 16 or 16 1/2 inches). Kale is an inch and a half longer than Nolan was at this age, and is a little over a pound heavier. I'm afraid to think how big he might be when he gets to Nolan's age! We had our pediatrician check the flat spot on his head, and she said she isn't super concerned yet, but it's something we need to keep an eye on. We also told her about how Kale is really congested sounding after he eats, and how he does this weird thing where he seems to stop breathing for a second or so, and then takes a deep breath and continues on. He happened to do it at his appointment, and it's reflux! We should have picked up on the signs, since Nolan had the same thing. He's been real spitty lately, too. He has a prescription for Zantac. So far we haven't really seen results, but our dr. asked we give it a week and if it's not working to call back and we can try something else. Kale had his first day at daycare on Friday, because we didn't want to take both boys to the funeral. Jane had to get a license variance for Kale because she has too many kids under the age of 2 until March. There's another baby who goes to daycare Tuesday-Thursday, so Jane has room for Kale on Monday's and Friday's if we need it. Come December Kale is going to go to daycare every Friday, to break in both he and Nolan. The first report was good, so we're hoping that will continue.

Nolan is certainly becoming more of a toddler. A report from daycare last week went like this - "he sure is stubborn, but a joy to have in the house". Not sure if that's good or bad! It's become par for the course that Nolan will get a few timeouts during the week, primarily for not listening. On the up side his speech and vocabulary is improving every day. It will sure make our job as parent's a lot easier when he can actually tell us what's wrong, instead of us trying to figure it out with him.

Hard to believe but Thanksgiving is literally right around the corner. We have plans to head up to Gina and Eric's on Thursday morning, but we need to wait and see what the weather is going to do. If it's anything like the skating rink on the roads this past weekend we'll be staying home!

Timber!

The boys and I are home alone again this weekend - Adam is at the farm trying to get another deer. They must know I'm the only one here, because last night Nolan went to bed at 6:25 and Kale went down at 7:10. The best part is Kale didn't wake up to eat until 4:45 this morning! Nolan started talking around 5:30, but he wasn't crying so I ignored it until he finally got up at 7. I felt surprisingly well rested today! Nolan again went down at 6:30 tonight, and Kale at the same time of 7:10. It's nice to be able to have some down time to get things done around the house!

Today was an eventful day. We woke up to several inches of very heavy snow that had fallen overnight. It was so heavy that it started taking out our 20 year old maple tree in our front yard, branch by branch! I was in Kale's room with the boys when we heard something crash in to the house. Nolan heard it, said "uh oh" and made a beeline for the kitchen to see what it was. I wasn't too concerned - I thought maybe a gutter had fallen off the house. When I finally went in to the kitchen to look out the window I saw a fairly large branch laying near the house. One by one other branches fell throughout the morning, until only half of the tree was left standing - and it did not appear to be very sturdy. Luckily my brothers-in-law were around this weekend, and they came over to help take care of the tree issue. I was really concerned with the weight of the snow that the largest section of the tree that hadn't fallen yet would tumble down on to the house, right on Nolan and Kale's bedrooms. It took about 4 hours, but the tree is down. Our front yard looks very, very empty. In addition to the help from Dave and Josh, our neighbors Todd, Jim and Kurt were super helpful, too. There is no way I could have shoveled this snow or taken care of this tree, so thanks to all!

Hard to believe, but Kale is 2 months old today! He has changed so much since he was born. He is a very smiley baby, and is quite a talker. He is content most of the time, except in the evening after dinner - that's his crabby time. He's up to 5 oz. of formula at each feeding, and is a pretty amazing sleeper. He recently has taken an interest in watching Nolan. He seems to really enjoy his big brother's antics and entertainment - especially Nolan's mad dancing skills! His neck movement continues to improve, and he's doing really well with tummy time - in fact, he's been rolling over from his tummy to back for a few weeks. His 2 month appointment is on the 22nd. It will be fun to see how much he's grown!


Right after Kale was born I picked up a potty chair to put in the bathroom, so we could start introducing Nolan to it over the next few months. We try and have him go "potty" before bathtime and naps, if he wants to do it. We're not pushing it - just trying to keep it fun and exciting. Last night he made his first big steps in to the world of potty training - he dribbled in the potty! I was so excited for him, although I'm sure he thought I was crazy with the way I was cheering for him! Each time he sits on the potty he gets an M&M. Hopefully that will keep him motivated! Nolan loves playing with his blocks and building towers, and is learning how to count. He has the number 1 down with no problem, and he even knows that's how old he is! He enjoys coloring at his play table, and loves to throw around any ball he can get his hands on - football, baseball, soccer ball, etc. He has quite the arm on him! We're working with him so he can learn how to catch the ball. It's harder than you think. This afternoon after his nap I tried to take him outside to see the snow. He was not a fan of his new snow boots. He's used to his tennis shoes, which sit below his ankle. He did not like how the boots felt on his legs. He refused to walk outside, which is loads of fun for me - especially since he weighs 27 lbs! I just have to remember that it's considered exercise every time I have to carry him around:)


Wednesday morning brought us some very sad news. Adam's grandma had a stroke Tuesday evening sometime, and wasn't found until Wednesday morning. She's in the hospital, and is not expected to make it. She is an amazing woman - still lives in her own house, walks on the treadmill, goes to coffee downtown, and quilts. In fact, she just made Nolan a baseball quilt and gave it to him at Kale's baptism! Pretty darn good for being almost 97 years old! We're sending lots of prayers to her and the family, but any extra are appreciated.

Daylight unsavings time

Up until a few years ago I loved daylight savings time - the falling back part, that is. Who couldn't use an extra hour of sleep? But alas, kids change that, and the falling back part really screws with their sleep. Nolan started talking at 5 AM on Sunday morning - which would have been 6 if not for DST. I brought him in to bed with me in hopes I could get a little more sleep, but at 5:25 neither of us could take it:) Plus, Kale heard Nolan talking and thought he should join in the party, too. The nice thing about Kale is that he fell back asleep! I remember having this issue with sleep last year, too. It took about a week for Nolan to get back on track.

I really enjoyed my time with the boys this weekend. We stuck close to home and kept a normal routine, which was great for all of us. Nolan didn't wake up once either night, and Kale didn't wake up to eat until 4 on Saturday a.m. and 3:30 on Sunday. I really appreciate the fact he goes right back to sleep after that bottle and doesn't get up until after 7! I took a walk with them both days, and even got to spend some time playing with Nolan's outdoor toys, possibly for the last time this year. Even though the boys were great, I was still pretty tired last night. It's just go go go with both of them - no time for resting during the day! Adam also enjoyed his weekend hunting, as he was able to bag a doe on Sunday morning. He's going again next weekend, in hopes of getting the elusive buck.

Nolan's vocabulary is quickly expanding. He can repeat just about everything we say these days! The best is when he gets in trouble and I ask him to repeat back what I said. He totally knows what I'm saying and it actually makes sense when he repeats it back! I love the fact I can ask him to do very specific tasks and he completes them - like getting me things for Kale. It sure helped me out this weekend! He is turning in to such a little boy. On Saturday morning he tooted, which isn't unusual for him. In the past it hasn't phased him, but not anymore. He turned to look at me and started laughing! How do boys know to do that???

Kale is getting so big - 7 weeks old already! I weighed him today and he weighs exactly 9 lbs. What a little chunk! He is doing really well. Last night he went to bed at 7:15 and didn't wake up to eat until 4! I have been blessed with 2 very good sleepers. People always say God gives you what you can handle, so I guess I wouldn't be able to handle kids who don't sleep:) I've been taking Kale to the chiropractor 2 days a week for the last 3 weeks. He's making progress, slowly but surely. He turns his head with no problem when he's laying on his back or when we're holding him. The problem he has is during tummy time. He will only turn his head to the right. I guess I just need to be patient - or at least that's what our chiropractor tells me!

I'm so excited for my big night out tonight. I'm going to Let's Dish to dish up our dinner for the month. I'm trying to find ways to make life less stressful at our house, and I determined that the most stressful time of the day is dinnertime. Everyone is tired and a little cranky, so Adam and I decided that since we already need to spend money on groceries we might as well make is easy and have the meals frozen and in our freezer, ready to be made. Plus, it's all made with fresh ingredients, so it's healthier than a lot of other things we could be making!

Trick or treat?

This Halloween didn't quite go as smoothly as last year. We were in Deerwood for 4 days and 3 nights prior to the big holiday, and Nolan was all out of sorts [SIDEBAR: sleeping in the same room with your kids is probably the worst idea ever. No one sleeps, and everyone is a little on the cranky side!]. He did really well when we went to Erica's house to show he and Kale off (it could have been his first Tootsie pop sucker, too!). After we got home he melted down, so there was no way we were going to take him around the neighborhood. Kale had a bit of a crying spell at the same time, so our house was very loud! We thought that by not turning on the outside house lights the trick or treaters wouldn't stop by, but that wasn't the case. We actually had to turn off all the lights on the main level and hang out downstairs! We're hoping next year will be our year, and that both boys will cooperate. We are slowly catching up on our lack of sleep from last weekend. Kale treated me on Monday night by not waking me up until 5:15 am. A full nights sleep is just what the Great Pumpkin ordered!

Adam was super excited to get to hunt ducks and grouse last Thursday - Saturday. He said Thursday was his best duck hunting ever! Nolan got to see some of the ducks that came home with Adam and Eric. Hopefully he'll be a hunter so Adam can take him in a few years. Adam also killed his first ever grouse. I'm not sure what grouse tastes like, but I'm sure I'll find out soon. My guess is probably like chicken.

This weekend Adam is off to the farm to hunt, so I'm staying at home with the boys. It will be tiring, but fun to hang out with both of them. I'm hoping the weather will cooperate so we can spend some time outside.