Hello Old Friend...

Ok, I deeply apologize for my long long long absence.  Turns out, two kids + job + dog + house= busy life.  Who knew? (every single parent in the world).

I'll try to be better.  Some major milestones so I don't forget and Benny doesn't get the "second child no one really notices what you do shaft" below:

• Seven months old: Benny got two little teeth below! Turns out he is not a late teether like Max.  Somehow I'm always surprised that he isn't following the exact same trajectory in every way.  I.e. NOT sleeping through the night (Max did by six months).  
• 7.5 months old: Benny decided to crawl...and he is moving faster and faster everyday.  Favorite toys/things to crawl to include the clicker (literally cries if I take it away...he is Mama's son!), paper (his favorite food), wires & plugs, wooden "foods", and Max toys.  But never, not ever, does he want the baby/teether/safe/light up stuff I have so much of.
• Basically, he is the happiest most mellow guy ever.  I thought Max was mellow - this guy is a whole different level of happy mellow dude.  More goofy, I think.  All smiles and laughs. Max was a bit more serious. 
• The one exception is night time.  He isn't his best behaved self...

Max updates...Max is the funniest, kindest, most hard-thinking and interesting 3 year old I've ever met (no bias whatsoever).  Sometimes he tries to be "bad" because he seems to know he is supposed to.  He really only does this to me (lucky me).  But he definitely enjoys testing his limits - seeing what prompts a response.  And he is VERY stubborn and independent.  I don't know many kids his age who have the patience to get themselves dressed head to toe including difficult socks and shoes. But he does this every day and does NOT want any help. 

I keep a list of funny things he says in my phone.  Some of my recent favorite include when he started using the phrase "no chance", as in "Erika has no chance of picking me up from school, NO CHANCE.  It has to be you."  Or how he refers to the Yankees as "Jeter and the other Jeters".  Or when I say someone got hurt and he asks "Did he hurt his feelings or his head?".  

Unfortunately, much like his Mom, Max has some anxieties.  We're hoping these aren't abnormal and kind of par for the course since he is so smart.  He just thinks A LOT.  Everytime I ask what he is thinking about, I get a truly interesting answer.  Not just a canned response like "nothing", but things like "I'm thinking about why its sunny during the day and 'moony' at night."  Maybe he'll be a poet..

We just returned from the most marvelous trip up north where we saw lots of friends, stayed at Rancho Relaxo and had the pleasure of being part of a big, busy house (like my childhood), got to spend days and sleepovers with Grammy & Tom (which afforded me & Charlie two nights away...yahoo!), and spent five glorious days with the whole Randel family together under one roof including The San Diego clan.  Swimming, Baseball, eating eating eating, sparklers, swings, arts & crafts, it was endless fun 24/7.  Watching Max & Ben play and bond with Thea & Helen was truly heartwarming, and something I'll never forget and can't wait to do more of!!

Some pix...

Maxin and relaxin...

The other night, Charlie and I were running around doing the post-dinner crazy dance (get two baths ready, put away food/clean dishes as much as possible, calm Ben who is end of day tired, take Bobo out, put two to bed, etc) and I look over to see the below...
Max sees Charlie do this often, and he quietly copies it. I'm glad I finally got a pic. The best part is that I know he isn't doing this for a laugh because no one is watching. He just wants to be a big guy like dad. Cracks me up.

And in Benny land, I think he is looking more and more like Max these days. Nice to see the little chubster looking like the rest of family! He is smiling, cooing, laughing, and becoming his own little person. He is such a joy.

Rolling, Growing, Peeing and More...

Ben is growing and changing so fast. He had two milestones pretty early - smiling (on purpose) and rolling. Both happened around six weeks and I thought they were just a fluke and we wouldn't see them again for a while. But he smiles all the time now - especially when Charlie yells "BEANO" which Max is now imitating. And rolling is regular as well (unless I'm trying to video tape) from front to back. This one took me about six days to capture.



He is also growing FAST. We went to his two-month appt and he jumped from the 25th percentile to the 50-75th. He is now 12.6 lbs and 23.5 inches. Amazing to me how fast they can grow in height. Wish I could get an extra 3 inches in two months!! I'm so proud that he is now a big chubby baby...it just wasn't very "me" to have a skinny guy ha.

And in Max news...


The potty training has officially begun. They're putting him in big boy underwear at school which is nice because he is learning the process, but it is also creating some anxiety (he is my kid after all) and he has started telling me the potty isn't comfortable (or his new description of things he doesnt like, "it feels cold"). So we'll see how it all plays out. I keep thinking the potty training will just "happen" without much forcing or negotiating but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Xmas and Beyond

We had such a wonderful holiday season with visits from both families.
First, we got Grammy & the Manuel clan for Xmas. This year was really fun because Max was into it - he had been learning the songs of the season and singing them and began to sort of understand the concept of Santa. He wasn't at the point of hysteria yet, which was nice - he would actually appreciate and play with a toy before opening the next one! And we all had such a wonderful few days with tons of help (and fun playtime for Max) from all the girls!! Including his new hobby of "surfing", which we'll never hear the end of. And major props to Charlie for cooking an amazing FEAST for everyone.
That visit was soon followed by one with Mom and Phoebe, thank gosh. We've been so lucky to have so many visitors and so much help. This trip can be summed up by the night Charlie and I were laughing because we were sitting at home (with Ben) eating leftover pizza while Max was on a fancy date at BLT Steak with two lovely ladies! He is such the prince when people are in town, taking over South Beach :) He really loved having sleepovers at Grandma's in his "chaise" and waking up Phoebe every morning to play!
We miss everyone so much now, I just keep counting the days until the next visits...

The Witching Hour

The only time Benny seems "Cranky" is during the cliched witching hour - around 6/630, just before last feeding and bedtime. It doesn't happen every night, but we've had a few lately.

So, in true Max form, I've decided to start dancing with him and he enjoys it just as much as his brother did. This time, though, I have a companion - and Max has some seriously good moves. Charlie caught us all jamming out to Van Morrison the other night.

Newest Member

Well, it took me seven weeks but Benjamin Joseph Manuel, born November 16th at 11:31 am weighing 7lbs 7 ozs and measuring 20 inches, is now officially part of the blog!

Too much to catch up on...I'll start with the Benny birth recap and the next blog post can be about the holidays and visits :)

Benny's birth was much easier than Max's - C Section minus the labor - but the recovery not so easy. For the sake of historical remembrance, let's just say mom's system had a hard time kicking back into gear. I'll never forget my hero, Charlie, and how he took care of me, not to mention my parents and how they alleviated the "Max issue" entirely (he couldn't have had more fun)! Mom and Dad - a million THANK YOUs. And Jimbo, you really rose to the occasion doing it all on your own for a few days!

We were so lucky to have the whole family come to town for Thanksgiving so we could celebrate together. I don't remember much of it, but I'm so glad Uncle David, and Phoebs and Shaun made the visit (luckily Uncle E was already here)! Mom somehow managed to pull off an enormous feast almost entirely on her own and everything was delicious. I spent most of the time nursing in the bedroom - thanks for keeping me company, Phoebs :)

And of course, the following week, Julie took care of us all. I don't know how she does it, but somehow she cooked, cleaned, nursed me, and cared for/drove/ entertained Max. AMAZING.

Thus far, Ben has been such a wonderful baby - pretty much only cries when he is hungry and seems genuinely at peace with his place in this scary world. Charlie keeps commenting that I seem a to be getting a lot more joy out of it this time around. I would agree that I'm a lot less stressed (minus hormonal + exhaustion mood swings) - the little things don't bother me as much (crying, sleep habits, eating habits, etc) as I know they'll change fast. The LEVEL of joy is the same (no slights to Max), but its certainly present more often . And I know to enjoy this time with Benny and how much I get to cuddle and coo at him and just gaze into his eyes, because soon enough I'll go to kiss him and his hand will automatically raise in protest (Max's latest trick). So, yes, I kiss and nuzzle him basically 24-7 (for the most part, that's not an exaggeration). Charlie calls him my boyfriend...

Max has been so wonderful with Ben - loves to pet his head and kiss him and say "It's OK Benny, I'm here" (even when he isn't crying). In fact, he wants to touch him so much he runs in from playing outside and immediately shouts "I washed my hands!" (so he can touch Benny) when he quite obviously has not. Every night when I ask for my good night kiss from Max, he goes right to Benny first. He hasn't seemed to mind the new addition too much either, just has to tell us once in a while that he's a baby too and he really likes to steal Benny's blankets; even when he is using them.

So that's the first intro - much more to come when I can get on the computer again (which is tough, considering the whole 24-7 holding thing).

Some first Pics below...

Last Days...

We are in major baby-prep mode, this will probably be the last post before he arrives - and the last post starring just Max Manuel!
In honor of Max, I wanted to share this video, as it shows one of my FAVORITE things he does. He is very very into reading (such a Randel) and has memorized a few of his books. It's really amazing how much he knows - especially the difficult Dr. Seuss ones. You forget he isn't reading, just reciting from memory. And since he can combine it with his other favorite activity, nose-picking, its a real win-win :)
I got him to read his Time for Bed book on camera, it's a cute one, especially with his little inflections and "jokes".

Trick or Treat!

Max had a great Halloween - he was Buzz Lightyear...didn't care much about the costume. But as soon as he realized he got candy, he was very gung-ho.
They held a party at his school - see pix below. NONE of the kids seemed to enjoy it (this pic is the ONLY time he smiled). I guess it didn't really make sense to them why all their friends were suddenly unrecognizable and they were supposed to gather around, sit still, and take pictures.
He did enjoy all the presents they gave e-o, though - no candy (thank you school), fun stickers/bags and toys that kept him entertained for a few days!
Halloween night we went trick or treating with our friends Jess, Chris, and Sofia (the adorable bumble bee below). Surfiside was PACKED even with a rain storm and it was so much fun walking through the streets seeing tons of people and letting Max sprint up to the doors for candy. We all had a great time and Max told everyone he got to eat FIVE candies!

Nap Time Review...

A few weeks ago, I was shocked to hear Max singing a song in his crib I'd NEVER heard before. "A is for apple, so juicy and red...B is for Baker who makes all the bred". (Actually, the apple is "yuicy"...he has a Cuban teacher). He went all the way to H, perfectly sounding out the letters and recalling what they stood for.

Listening to him talk to himself as he falls asleep is one of my favorite things in the world. You can tell he is reviewing, downloading, and trying to fully understand the things he's recently learned/done/experienced, etc. We just read a Dora book before nap that translates English words to Spanish, and this is what he is saying from his crib right now:

• The name "Max" is the same in Spanish and English
• How do you say Elephant? El Pollo? No, that's not right.
• Dada is spelled "D-A-D-A"
• Mama's name is Becky

Yesterday, I had to tell him it was his last minute of painting, then he had to take a nap. A few minutes later in his crib, I hear:

• "Bunny - this is the last song we are going to sing, then it's time for nap"...and he proceeds to make up words to his alphabet song "L is for Lawrence the Lion who lost his voice".

I got some of the alphabet song on video...it's better in person. Nevertheless, I think it's pretty cute.

Football

Football season is upon us, and Max is already into it. He is a major Jets fan, of course (back-pack, sippy cups, clothing, etc) and loves cheering about the Jets (see video).

In fact, this weekend he and Charlie went to get us bagels and the guy at the store (a Jets fan) gave him a Jets teddy bear, which he decided to bring to show and tell at school today. (The teacher must think we're a bit over-the-top with the Jets thing)...

Last night, he got a special treat and got to watch game highlights (while eating Gogurt). As you can see, he has obviously been listening to Charlie watch football - we had no idea he had picked up this "phrase". A bit redundant, but was pretty funny to hear him come out with this...

Tina/BBQ

Still running behind on the blog, but don't want to miss posting such cute pictures! We were so lucky to have a super fun visit from Aunt Tina. Max knew she was here JUST for him and took full advantage! And I took advantage of all the help she offered - all that rest time, how spoiled I was! Major activities included:

• Pool time/snack bar almost every day
• Asking Tina about surfboards and skateboards - her topic of expertise, he decided
• Doing "hang loose" together
• Waking up each morning and asking where Aunt Tina was and when she was coming out (what, you don't wake up at 6:15 am)?

We also hosted our first BBQ, which was very exciting. Charlie finally got his own grill and we even have outdoor furniture -woohoo! Not much indoors, but patio is looking good :) Uncle "Eyi", Sofia, Chris, and Jess came over and it was a fun time! Max and Dad did some side by side grilling (in their matching Jeter shirts) and Max and Sofia did some side by side cooler-diving.





Wouldn't be a party without an appearance from Nick Nolte...

School!

So, we are on our 8th day of school (subtract for holiday and two sick days already) and Max's progression has gone as follows:

• First Day: Didn't quite know what was going on, walked into school no problem. At pick up, he cried when he saw me and said "I couldn't find you at school!". Heartbreaking.
• Second Day: Definite tears when I dropped him off (there was a hysterical kid next to us which didn't help), Amanda picked him up and he reminded her that he couldn't find me at school. Although he does keep telling us that when he cries, Ms. Aly gives him a hug and he feels better.
• Third/Fourth Day: Begins crying as we pull into school saying "No School! Mama no go back to work". Nuclear meltdown at drop off, crying and holding on to me. Mommy meltdown ensued (i.e. crying hysterically, calling Charlie and saying I hate this school, what did we do, our baby is miserable, I just cried all over the only shirt that fits me, etc.), immediately followed by a picture from teacher of Max playing happily.
• Time off for weekend & cold, and I made Charlie drop him off for Day Six. A couple of tears Charlie said but nothing major.
• Day Seven: Same as Day six when I dropped him off
• Day Eight (today) - happened to be "pizza day", which we talked about all morning. Get to the gate, Max asks to wear his back pack, walks away from me towards class room - doesn't look back. I hear him saying the words "Pizza day" as he ignores my "bye Maxie! Love you Maxie!" and he waits to hold the teachers hand through the door. Ahhhh, I've never been so happy to be ignored in my life.

So, I think school is good and he has now adjusted pretty well (as long as every day is pizza day). He has gone from saying he doesn't want to go to school in the morning to talking about how "its good to play at school", telling us about the other kids, asking to bring toys into school, and saying he isn't going to cry anymore.

Meanwhile, the teacher says he is awesome and extremely smart (no surprise). Some of her anecdotes:

• She explained to the class that zero means nothing. Max then pulled her aside and said "Ms. Aly, what does 1 mean?". She was very impressed, said no one has ever asked this before. Dear Max - 1 means the number of sane parents you have.
• She laughingly told me they had a "horrible" conversation, wherein Max asked her loudly HOW DOES SHE MAKE POOP, then how does mommy make poop and how does Dada make poop. She couldn't believe she had to keep repeating "they pull their pants down, sit on the toilet, etc.". (I can't believe this is the first time she's been asked this question, meanwhile).
• Max apparently has started peeing on the potty at school cuz the other kids do it. He has done it twice at home, mainly by his own push. New potty training style: completely ignore the issue and let him figure it out.

By the way, he still reiterates that he can't find me at school...I wonder where he is looking?

As a side note, I feel HORRIBLE that my CT wrap-up included no mention of Phoebe and Shaun, especially since Max has SO Much fun with them and talks about them both quite a bit. On that note, last night Max asked me if he has to "share his food with Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Shaun?" Random? I think this stems from a joke Jimbo made that he'll ONLY share with Max and no one else. Either way it was funny to hear who is on his mind....

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL PICS (for all those requesting pregnant pics, here is my "enormity"...

Family Love Part 2

We had such a wonderful trip home to CT - I only wish we could have stayed longer. Made me sad that we don't live there and get to see everyone more often. But in a short 3 days we saw extended family and lots of friends - all who we miss A LOT!

Max has been talking about all of his cousins, Grandma & Jimbo, Claudia, Luca, and George, and Aunt Suzie quite a bit (he often tells us he took a plane to "connetitut").

Highlights of the trip include:

----Max's First haircut!! Thanks Grandma...his stylist.

----Max loving on baby Henry (and talking about he and Baby Grayson A LOT after we left) - good to know he likes babies. Side note: the other day I told him he was cute and he said "Baby Grayson so cute"! haha.

---Playing with Luca - especially when Jimbo took them out into the rain to run around, then promptly left them. Thanks Dad.

---Reading stories with Grandma & Jimbo (and getting Jimbo to fall asleep while telling the Three Bears).

Some lovely pics from our lovely trip...

Giving Baby Henry a Kiss...

COOKIE CUPCAKES (Thanks Stew Leonards....you've changed his life).