A tsunami of words

Maybe about 4 months ago or so, I was starting to get a little concerned because Tyler didn't really have a lot to say. It wasn't that he didn't make any noise - because he certainly made plenty. But, not much that really indicated he was trying to actually say any real "words"!

However, recently, my fears have been relieved a bit - because not only is he now attempting to say a whole slew of words, but he seems to picking up new ones on a daily basis!

So, just in case you meet him soon and try to have some sort of conversation, here's a little translation manual of Tyler-speak to help you understand the gibberish you get in return...

• Dah: Dog. Or it could be another animal that looks like a dog in that it walks on all fours and has fur.
• Wha-dah?: "Where is the dog?" Or more specifically, where is Loki... he isn't usually looking for Max when he says this.
  
• DAAAaaaaaaahhhhhh!: He found Loki.
• DAH!: "Max/Loki, come here!" They usually don't, since they haven't quite figured out yet that they are "Dah".
  
• Baby: Austin, or some other baby.
  
• Daddy: Daddy, or mommy, or someone else.
• Momma: Mommy, or daddy, or a picture of some other random woman.
• MOMMA!: "Mom! I want something... NOW!"
• MOMMAAaaaaaaaaaaa!: Just walked in the door, or around the corner and saw mommy.
• Wawa: Water.
• Cocka: Cookie. This could be a cookie for humans, or also a dog treat. Probably not the best word for him to be using, but unfortunately, he prefers it to any other variation on "cookie".
  
• Jue: Juice
• No, no!: Max is trying to steal some of Tyler's food.
• Amo: Elmo. Often only seen within our home on diapers. However, he did point out an Elmo towel at Toys R'Us today - transference in action. Lovely.
  
• Oh-no!: Most frequently heard when reading books on his own, accompanied by hands pressed to cheeks (think "Home Alone" movies).
• More: Possibly the most annoying word in his vocabulary, usually used within a succession of 4-5 "more" repeated concurrently with about 2 seconds separating each.
• Apple: Apple. Or applesauce. Or fruit in a cup.
• Baw: Ball or anything round.
• Ooo-ooo: Monkey. Actually, it just means he's seen a monkey - but he doesn't actually say Monkey yet, just what he knows a monkey is supposed to say.
• Woof: This one should be pretty self-explanatory. Typically said in a mocking fashion around Max or Loki.
• Chee: Cheese
• Peas: Please
• Tanku: Thank you. We're pretty proud of this one... but yes, he actually does try to say thank you (although once in awhile he does need a little extra prodding)
  
• Up: Wants to get in his chair, or be picked up, or get out of his chair, or on the bed, etc. This is his newest addition to the word library.
  
• Bobba: Bottle, as in milk bottle. This is not as commonly heard, but has occasionally slipped out.
• No: Nose.
• Eye: Eye.
• Ite: hot - even if it's not really hot.
• Mine: It belongs to Tyler.
• Cah: Car, taking a ride, or truck.
• Uh-oh: Austin just woke up or is crying.
  

These are all we could think up right now, but a warning here is that just because he doesn't say something, doesn't mean he doesn't understand it - or won't be trying to say it soon (often when you least expect it.) In fact, he's become quite the little helper around the house when you ask him for things like "Find a binky for your brother.... or Put the bottles in the sink... or Can you pick that up for me?"

At this rate, though, he'll be able to say all of those things for himself within the next month or two... That's our boy! :)

Of course, in re-reading this post, I just had to make this quick addition at the end to ask: What does it say about us that among our toddler's first set of words are the sounds a monkey makes, attempts at saying "cheese" or "cookie", and the phrase "Oh-no!"?

Scary, ain't it?

Baby's got a new set of tubes...

Austin finally did it - he got his new set of tubes!

He surgery WAS originally supposed to happen on February 20 (as noted in one of my previous posts), but Austin conveniently came down with a case of RSV around the 17th. This meant anesthesia would be risky, which in turn meant surgery (even one as quick as getting tubes) would have to wait.

Side-note: just in case Jeff confused you by telling you that RSV is "Baby SARS". It's not.

"Respiratory syncytial virus is a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages ... infection can be severe in some people, such as certain infants, young children, and older adults ... RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia in children under 1 year of age in the United States."

And now back to today's update.

The pediatric surgery center schedules their surgeries based on age - youngest first. So, thanks to Austin's young age, we were blessed with an especially early arrival time of 6:15 am. (I'd like to note here that on a regular work day, I'm barely even awake by this time, let alone out of the house with or without a baby!)

After Austin and I got to the center, I filled out the paperwork, handed over my credit card to pay more than you'd ever expect to pay for what essentially amounts to two tiny rubber bands, waited for a brief period of time, then moved on with Austin to our designated waiting "cubby".

This is where they check Austin's vitals, ask some additional questions about him, and then leave you to wait for the actual physician to arrive before they take the baby away for surgery.

Austin was quite the little charmer! And he passed all his tests. Then we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Apparently, our ear doctor (a really nice guy, by the way - he did Tyler's tubes too!) had accidentally overslept and arrived about an hour late. I guess doctors are human too.

Now, just to give you some reference though.... I was doing all this waiting with a baby who not only had to also wake up super early, but also had his last meal and drink at about 8pm the night before. (He couldn't eat/drink anything after midnight due to today's surgery)

Typically, this would be the makings of a full-blown nightmare. But, with Austin, well, he just took it as an opportunity to catch some more z's, much to everyone's amusement that passed by. This wasn't really an area conducive to sleep, but I certainly wasn't complaining!



After the doctor arrived, performed the surgery (which takes all of about 5 minutes) and briefed me on the event (remarking on just how small Austin's ear canals were), I was led in to the recovery area to stay with Austin, who was just waking up from his anesthesia - content with the little burst of narcotics they had also given him to help ease his transition to the wake

He was even still pretty content after spewing his freshly finished bottle of milk all over both of us. Yuck.

Looking at him now, you'd never know he even had surgery today! Now, we just get to wait and hope this ends our merry-go-round with ear infections.

Here are some additional pics from our wait period, compliments of my Blackberry...

I think I'll call him Mat....

After about 5 hours, 50 some-odd Snookies, one sore back, two sore arms, a few new blisters, one incredibly stuffy nose, a horrible headache, one stressed out passive-aggressive dog, and a huge pile of leftover fluff, I have successfully achieved one 75% mat-free dog!

What about the other 25%? Well, I can safely say it just ain't gonna happen. You see, Loki hates being groomed. And by "hates", I mean... a grooming session with Loki is almost always a full-on contact sport that typically ends with Loki in a pretzel hold between my knees, trying desperately to get away, while I'm simultaneously trying desperately to get even one brush stroke through his Rastafarian-like coat of hair.

Because, unlike Max, who joined me as a puppy open to learning about the potential joys of grooming, Loki came to me slightly older, slightly more worldly, and much more cynical about what a brush and scissors mean to his sense of security.

So, in recent years, we've reached a compromise that seems somewhat fair to all. We avoid the regular games of tackle grooming, and instead opted to make it a once-a-year event in which Loki just gets sheared like a sheep. Less stressful for all involved. I prefer him in a full coat of fur, of course, but the stress for all involved to keep him that way just isn't worth it in the end. This makes us all one big happier family.

Unfortunately, the plan didn't work this time. Loki has gradually been turning into one huge walking mat - and spring shearing time is just too far away to hold out much longer. A few signs that it was time to break our grooming arrangement?

• You take him to the vet's office and feel the need to proactively defend his matted appearance, explaining how stressed he gets by being groomed, and that you instead just shave him down once a year.
  
• You also feel compelled to let them know that if a stray is brought in that looks like he's been on the street for quite some time, it's probably your dog - and that despite his appearance, you really do love him!
• Every time the dog passes by you, you feel compelled to start picking apart mats of fur with your fingers - which in turn means he decides he should probably stop walking near you!

So, today, I just couldn't stand it any more and decided to tackle the Loki. I expected this to be a brief encounter, as is usually the case. But, he must have decided the good outweighed the bad. He gets some special one-on-one attention (rare these days with the two babies), lots of Snookies, and the freedom to once again move a few limbs - but just puts up with a bit of stress in the process.

Of course, one thing you learn early on with these dogs is that if you get one in the position for grooming, and you have their cooperation, the last thing you want to do is break the momentum and get up, or allow them to get up.

It took all my willpower to take advantage of this rare Loki opportunity. Because, you see, while I was grooming Loki, I could also hear all the chaos that was ensuing among Jeff, Tyler, and Austin downstairs....

Sure, there was some laughing, crying, and singing - all pretty typical.... Then there was "Oh no, TYLER! Oooo... " And about an hour later, came the intriguing, "No Tyler ... Tyler NO .... TYYYYLLLLEEERRRR ..... NOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooOOOOO! #$%#*@#%$@!!!!!" This was promptly followed by the sound of Tyler crying, Austin crying, then the vacuum cleaner.

Hmm... Now, you know that can't be good.

I held my ground with Loki... but later had to get the scoop on that one... Evidently just after his bath, Tyler decided to use his plate full of dinner leftovers as a frisbee in the living room. 'Nuff said.

Gotta love kids.

But, on the bright side, Loki looks good.

Just a quick update...

Since my last blogs were about poor little Austin's ear issues, I just thought I'd post a quick little update on where we are now.

Austin has finally finished all his rounds of antibiotics, and we were able to get in pretty quickly with our lovely ear specialist - the same guy that did Tyler's tubes last year.

After I explained little Austin's situation, I believe his exact words were, "This is practically a phone-in consult!" - meaning that basically it was a no-brainer that Austin has an issue with his ears, and we really need to consider doing something about it.

Because of Austin's age, I was warned that, most likely, the tubes would fall out early and we'd probably need to repeat the procedure down the road. The tubes can last anywhere from 6-12 months on average, but if they fall out before the ears are ready to drain on their own, then you need to redo it to keep those ear infections at bay.

Another interesting bit of trivia I learned is that evidently there could be a tie between Austin's fever/infections and his eczema! The doctor said that often eczema can be a sign of a hyperactive immune system - overresponding to the stimuli. So, that would probably also help to explain why he reacted to severely to the ear infection.

Anyway, here's where we now stand... Austin is indeed joining his brother in tubeville. His surgery is scheduled for next Friday the 20th. They do the surgeries based on age, so most likely, Austin will be the first that morning. In and out, probably done before 8am, I would guess! Then, I'm actually taking a vacation day to stay home with the little guy while his brother runs off to play with friends at daycare.

Pretty routine procedure - so we don't expect any issues...

And that's it for now! Just thought you all might want to know the latest and greatest on the little fellow - especially since I have had no time to make a real blog update recently. Sorry about that!

Time for a BIG sigh of relief!

It looks like Austin's health is now headed in the right direction.

After a few days with a rapidly rising fever, and daily visits to the pediatrician for checkups and antibiotic shots, it seems we hit the peak of the scare when Austin topped out with a fever of 106.5 the other night.

Calling it "impressive for such a small baby" (and not meaning that in a positive way, of course), it appears the fever even sparked much concern in our pediatrician - who then promptly ordered further testing on the little guy. The flu test came back negative right away, and we had to wait till early evening for the results of the bloodwork to make sure he didn't have an infection in his bloodstream.

Turns out, to everyone's great relief, he tested negative for meningitis. So, it looks like all this stemmed from the ear infections, and the possibility, of course, that he may have picked up a bug of some sort on top of it.

And since by that time he was now willing to smile again (a glorious site considering how he'd been prior), and his fever seemed not as toasty, it did look like things were taking a turn for the better finally.

This morning, with Austin feeling much cooler in the head, we headed to see the Doctor for his last scheduled daily checkup for this illness.

Noting that his color has drastically improved, his fever appeared to have receded, his bloodwork came back clean, and he was more alert and attentive, we were released after one more shot of antibiotics in the baby thigh (much to Austin's chagrin.)

However, due to the severity of this latest round of ear infections, we were sent on our way with a prescription for another round of antibiotics (starting tomorrow), and the instructions to have him checked out by an Ear/Nose/Throat specialist as soon as possible (most preferably within the next two weeks) to get Austin started on the road to tube-ville.

Hopefully, once those tubes are in place, we'll be spared from another event like this one!

And yes, Austin does still have messy ears right now that are keeping him a bit on the irritable side, (they definitely won't be going away overnight) but at least the overall issue that was making it so much more serious appears to have subsided.

Feelin' hot, hot, hot...

Um... unfortunately, not talkin' about me with that title... Actually, it's a bit more literal in reference to our littlest one, Austin.

Poor little guy got evicted from school yesterday with a slight fever. So, grabbing my laptop to work from home, I picked him up and we went to spend the afternoon at home. But, what began as a slight fever certainly didn't stay that way.

By mid-afternoon, a butt-check had him at 103.2! Poor little fella was melting. So, I stripped him down to his diaper, gave him some baby tylenol and a spongebath, walked around a little with him outside, and gave him some milk. Then, I let him hang out in his diaper for a bit to cool off (every baby's dream, really).

It seemed to work, because he calmed down a bit and didn't feel so much like a little roasty piece of coal.

Oh - and I had called the doctor's office too. Since he had just been treated last week with antibiotics for an ear infection, the nurse made us an appointment to stop by this morning to see our pediatrician.

All was calm... until 1am... then, Jeff and I awoke to the pathetic little wails of a baby in agony. Jeff changed his diaper, I did the butt-check, and this time he registered 104.6. So, we gave him more tylenol, a bottle of milk, then moved him back to his bassinette once he seemed to be falling back asleep.

This morning, it was off to the doctor's office. Surprisingly timing it just right, Austin had a bit of an exorcist moment right after I had finished undressing him. I was able to avoid me, his clothes, and the floor - getting it all on the papered patient bench. (i was really proud of that "save", thank you very much!)

Verdict appears to be the ear infections are raging away. But, since he had just shown he has a propensity to not keep all his food in his belly right now, Austin was cursed with having to get his new antibiotics via a shot to the thigh muscle. Ouch.

Having gone through those shots in the muscle through all those fertility treatments that led to our blessing of Tyler, I completely knew about the pain that Austin was SCREAMING about at that particular moment of time. And needless to say, he was one pissed off baby after that.

Now, we wait to see if he needs to get another one tomorrow (for which we have tentatively scheduled a 9:30 am appointment. ) Unfortunately, doesn't look good, as his temp was back up over 104 this evening - and that's with the Tylenol and wearing just a diaper.

Let's just say Austin's not a very happy camper today. But, on the positive side, he really enjoyed the strawberry icee he got to eat as part of our efforts to make him more comfy.

Bopple... Apple... Apple... Apple...

Tyler has suddenly hit that age of todderdom where they apparently start learning things really quickly...

Here's a few of some of his latest surprises:

• When he has his nightly container of applesauce, deciding that "applesauce" was probably too complicated, I had been saying "apple" constantly as I feed it to him. Two nights ago, he finally started to say "apple" himself when pointing to it! Of course, we didn't have the heart to tell him the first night that it was really mixed fruit that time, and not apple... but nevertheless, this is HUGE for Tyler... :)
  
• Replacing the trash bag liner in the kitchen trash can... Well, he doesn't actually change out the trash bag himself (although THAT would be pretty sweet!!) - but he is now more than eager to hand you a new white kitchen trash bag to replace the one that was in there previously when he sees you taking out the full one from the can. So cute!
  
• "Woof!" Yes - now instead of just pointing to Max and Loki and saying "Dog!" every time he sees them, he actually barks at them. This would be cuter, though, if it happened any time other than when Austin is napping in the same room, because once the dogs start barking back, it's just pure pandemonium.
  
• Getting undressed. We're not all that thrilled with this new fascination of his. In case you haven't picked up on it from the pictures, we all spend a lot of time in our jammies at home. It's easy, it's comfortable, and hey - why get a kid dressed just to stay home all day! But, toddler sleepers are always constructed with a big zipper down the middle. And Tyler has decided that it's now cool to walk around the house looking like Elvis with his zipper opened down to his belly button.

Anyway, that's just today's quick update as I procrastinate just a tad longer on that growing number of articles I must now get back to writing for work...

And don't forget to check out the video bar to the right of this blog page! I listed the top video of Austin babbling in my last post, but if you check out the video below it, you can see Tyler and his brother playing with the recliner. We sure are lucky when it comes to those two. They really do love each other a lot, and it shows more and more each day!

"... but you should see what I did to the other guy...!"

Check out Tyler's new shiner....

I'd like to tell you a great story about how Tyler got it... defending his little brother's dignity against the daycare bully - who Tyler then proceeded to beat to a pulp...

I'd like to... but I can't. Because unfortunately, the truth isn't nearly that exciting. In reality, it all came down to Tyler versus the footboard of our bed. And, as you can see, the bed won.

To make matters worse, the very next day at school, another toddler then proceeded to bite Tyler in the hand - breaking the skin! (which of course led to the addition of a new "accident report" to our growing collection....)

I don't think his caregiver caught on that I was only joking when I asked if the other kid had been vaccinated for rabies...

At least it sounds like we have a month for his eye to heal before the next picture day - which is evidently in mid-February. His last round of pictures were a wash since they took place the day after the "dumptruck incident". Maybe we can just lock him in a padded room until then...

And on another Tyler-related note, apparently his presence is having quite a big impact on Max and Loki these days... 6 pounds' worth of an impact, in fact!

At yesterday's vet appointment, I discovered that since their last appointment, both have put on a solid 3 pounds each - which can probably be directly attributed to Tyler's open-door policy on snooky distribution and leftover fishing after toddler meals. Max is now a very solid 57 pounds and Loki is up to 60 pounds (their heaviest weights ever!!)

As for Austin, well, he's recovering from his latest round of ear-infections, still battling baby eczema, and is definitely not a fan of green beans according to the daycare.

But, it does seem that, within the past two days or so, he has found a voice by which he can now complain out loud about his problems. In fact, he really only seems to partake in this babble when he is growing visibly bothered by something at that moment.

Here's a sample that occurred as he was rapidly growing bored with his playmat earlier today...



And since we know the grandparents and relatives want to see pics, and lots of them, here are a few of Austin and Tyler from today and the past week.... Actually they're mostly of Austin since a toddler with a shiner doesn't really look too happy in pictures... Enjoy!

The Birdman Returneth...

When Tyler was Austin's age, that sweet gurgling and coo-ing was not really his forte.

Tyler preferred, instead, to screech really loudly in an annoyingly-birdlike manner. Apparently, he picked that up at school from his friend, Enslow.

Austin, however, has always been more baby-like and easier on the ears with his coos, gurgles, and baby dinosaur-like grunts.

Until today.

Tyler has decided to pass on that valuable skill he learned from his friend in months past to his dear little brother.

Nothing like the "lovely" sound of two little boys screeching back and forth to each other on the living room couch.

We are so screwed when they get bigger.

A new year, a new post!

To help celebrate the start of the new year, and my very first post of 2009, here are a few fun shots taken Christmas Day 2008.

Austin & his new furry Grover (Mmmmm.... tasty, but could use a touch of applesauce!)



Tyler takes his new Big Wheel out for a spin (Whatever happened to the handlebar tassles the kid in the car commercial has on his Big Wheel?)



It's all fun and games till the dogs join the party... ("We'll only let you pass if you give us Snookies - and lots of 'em!")



Nicole, Jeff, Tyler, Austin, Max, and Loki wish everyone a happy, healthy, and wonderful 2009!

All grown up, but too short to go!

As 2008 draws to a close, I thought I'd race the clock to try to get at least one more post up (so at least then I could say I got two new posts in for the month of December... which sounds only slightly less pathetic than just one!)

Let me start off by saying that Jeff and I are pleased to announce that we are in fact just raising two healthy babies, and not, in fact, a family of black holes (as some may have interpreted my last post as implying).

In fact, according to Tyler's and Austin's most recent trip to the pediatrician, they are moving up the baby growth charts quite smoothly and uneventfully. Whew!

First, let's take a peek at Tyler's new stats... At the tender young age of just 19 months (that's slightly over 1-1/2 years for those who don't like speaking in months), Tyler measured in as follows:

• Length (or should we be calling it height now??): 35" -- This means he's now taller than 97% of all the other toddlers his age. Although we're not growing black holes, it appears that we are raising at least one kid who's part weed.

• Weight: 28 lbs. -- Weighing at the 77th percentile of others his age seems rather respectable for little Ty since, as just stated, he's also quiet a bit taller than the average toddler-bear!

• Head: 47 cm, which puts him smack-dab in the 50% of his age group. Not bad considering he started life closer to the 10% range.

Now on to our gurgle-boy, Austin... We were a bit more concerned about how Austin would measure up considering he's developed quite the affinity for food - which almost borders on an obsession...

• Length: 25-3/4" -- Unlike his sprouting brother, Austin is not quite as gifted in the area of height. He's only taller than a mere 75% of his cohorts.
  

• Weight: 16.2 lbs. -- Not as scary as we were expecting, so he must be pooping more than we think. This also puts him in line with 75% of his peers - which sounds pretty good to us right now!
  

• Head: 42.5 cm. Just like his brother, Austin is smack-dab in the 50% of his age group.

Considering that at around Austin's age, Tyler was in the 97% for height, 50-75% for weight, and 25% for head, I'd say it's safe to assume that, at least until he starts working off some of his milk gut with baby push-ups and marathons, Austin is destined to be the slightly shorter, slightly rounder baby of the family.

But, chubby as he is right now, he sure is a cutie!

As for Austin's first Christmas, well... it's a bit of a blur for him. All he knows is that Tyler has now found more objects to toss in his lap when he's lounging in his swing or on his boppy. He really likes his new toys - like his musical snake, singing flowers, and stuffed Grover - but would probably prefer to play with them one at a time instead of all at once.

Tyler, on the other hand, is just starting to finally "get" Christmas. Or the toy/present part of it at least. He had a great time discovering all his new treasures. Some of them he still has to do a little growing into, unfortunately, like his new Big Wheel and Fisher-Price Smartcycle - but he still likes trying them out (just can't quite reach the pedals yet...)

Okay... on that note, I must quickly end my post for today or I'm going to miss my December window of opportunity!

How do you fill a black hole?

Okay, so earlier today while clearing my head from lots of stuff I've been working on at my day job, I decided to take a peak at the much more frequently updated blog of Austin's second cousin, Henry (although you might know him better as Barnabas Monkeypants).

In the blog, Henry's father laments the fact that Henry is a hoover - sucking up anywhere from 20-36 ounces of milk each day - and that Henry's doctor was none too pleased.

Henry is just shy of 4 months old. Austin is almost 5 months old. So, where am I going with this blog post? Well, if Henry is a hoover, then Austin is a black hole.

You see, when it comes to food, Austin could probably gulp and eat little Henry under the table - in fact, I'm starting to think he might just decide to eat little Henry instead! I guess this could explain why Austin's become a bit more rotund than Tyler was at this age.

For example, here's Austin's intake for today alone...

• Five 6-ounce bottles of formula (with a slow nipple, of course, because Austin prefers to savor his milk and gets really ticked off if you try to pull a "fast one" on him...)
• 1-2 tablespoons of baby cereal
• 1 container of Gerber bananas (level 1 foods) - divided between 2 feedings
• 1 container of Gerber sweet potatoes (level 1 foods)

At least Austin's cut out his last bottle of milk in the evenings preferring to sleep instead (he's out, on average, from about 7:30pm until we wake him up the next day at 6:30am - definitely inherited his mommy's desire for lots of sleep...)

Yes, as stated in a previous post, Austin doesn't just LIKE his baby food, he DEVOURS IT! Lunging for each spoonful like a vulture attacks its prey.

In fact, last night at dinner, Austin's bumbo seat was positioned about 6 inches from a container of carrots that only people with teeth could enjoy. By the end of the meal, Austin was leaning precariously close to the carrot container, had grasped the end of the spoon in his hand, and had opened his mouth as wide as possible in anticipation.

Fortunately, Jeff caught him before he could proceed any further and moved the carrots to a safer distance from the little toothless vulturette - but that just sent Austin into a raging bout of tears. So, I caved and gave him the rest of his baby bananas from the fridge. Then, he demanded more and proceeded to chase it with a full container of Gerber apples.

I'm really serious here... this kid knows what food is, wants it now, and thinks he knows all about how to get it!

Tyler still hasn't mastered the concept of using utensils... but was almost shown up by his 4.5 month old little brother. How sad is that??

So, needless to say, both Tyler and Austin are due for their checkups this Friday (Tyler @ 19 months; Austin @5 months). Should be interesting to see how the little guy measures out on the scale... But, I'm a little nervous about where the results will land!

Should we start taking bets now on what percentage range his weight will fall into?? Hmm....

Inspector Gurglet

Lately, a lot of people I know have been having babies - mostly because the 10 or so other pregnant women I work with have all recently started to pop themselves. And since I create and send out the monthly electronic newsletter for my company's corporate services team, I get early dibs on seeing the photos of most of these new arrivals.

However, what it's really made me realize is just how quickly time goes by with a baby. I look at little Austin and can't help but think how cute and little he is. But, then when I see how much littler the newborns are in the pictures coming through my work email, Austin suddenly looks so much bigger (and he is, of course).

Yes, Austin is now just past 4 months old... although sometimes it still feels like he just joined us. And at just 4 months old, the changes we see in him are impressive.

They say you shouldn't compare your kids... but when they're this close in age, it's impossible not to. I'm not talking about debating if one is better than or smarter the other - there would be no winner since they're both our little angels and both so incredibly unique from each other... but looking at how differently they interact with the world as they age.

One of the biggest differences that I've noticed with Austin, from when Tyler was this little, is his attention to detail in the world around him. I guess you could say that Tyler's more a big-picture guy.... but Austin's more about the many little pieces making up that big picture.

When Tyler was a 4-month old, as much as tried to entice him, little toys and stuffed animals never really held his interest for long. And now, even though we tuck him in each night by putting a baby blanket in one of his arms and a stuffed monkey in the other, Tyler still could probably care less if one of those was missing for whatever reason.

Austin, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. He's already found himself a "lovey". It's a cute little ladybug his grandmom gave him, which we appropriately just call "Ladybug". Austin doesn't just grasp Ladybug. He fiddles with Ladybug, snuggles Ladybug to his face, sucks on her nose, and gnaws on her antenna (unfortunately, gnawing on Ladybug's antenna is also something Max likes to do... which means that we're actually already onto Ladybug #2, with Ladybug #3 hidden away in a safe place in case of another antenna emergency).

But, it doesn't end with Ladybug. Austin also now pays very close attention to other things around him - tags on someone's shirt sleeve, designs on a T-shirt, a bib around his neck... He loves to tinker with stuff, move it around with his hands, investigate how it feels and how it moves. When holding a different toy the other day, a stuffed dog, he spent about 5 minutes just twiddling and focusing on the toys little ears.

Now, that's not to say that Tyler was never interested in these kind of things... just that I don't have a big recollection of him doing these sorts of investigations.

Difference #2 has to do with baby noises. Tyler loved to babble and laugh as a baby. He still does, in fact. Austin, on the other hand, has been more of a cryer until recently. Now, he too loves to laugh. But, a key thing we've noticed about Austin is the bevy of "baby noises" he actually makes. They say babies coo, gurgle, etc... we never noticed it with Tyler. But Austin really does coo and gurgle. He's also the inspiration for our "I wanna be a baby dinosaur" song - because, yes, he actually sounds exactly as you would imagine a baby dinosaur would sound. He just makes the absolute cutest baby noises you've ever heard! Tyler, on the other hand, seemed to have passed the baby noises pretty quickly, and if you've seen his very first YouTube video, you can see he moved right into giving full speeches in babble.

And the third main difference we've noticed centers around food. Tyler likes his food - especially anything sweet. In fact, for a toddler, he had a very hearty breakfast this morning of 2 sesame street cereal bars, a handful of teddy grahams, a banana, and one Pillsbury Cinnamon bun. (Okay - not the healthiest, I admit - but it was mommy's day to get up with the pipsqueaks and after battling a fun stomach bug for the past week, she was in no mood to put forth the effort needed to make egg and cheese burritos as she had originally been planning). But, as a baby starting on baby food, it took Tyler a little while to get started. His first feeding had him covered in sweet potatoes because he just couldn't get the concept of the spoon needing to make it in his mouth.

Austin, however, seems to have that part down pat. In trying to give him sweet potatoes for his first foray into baby food, and applesauce on his second, Austin showed that he not only understood the concept, but he was going to help you out by lunging for the spoon to get it in his mouth even faster. Unfortunately, this approach also leads to the ending of a baby whose face is covered in baby food. But, needless to say, he's big on the idea of moving beyond just bottled fluids. And if you had any doubts, the crying you hear when all the baby food is gone should help convince you otherwise.

So, those are the latest updates on how Austin's been changing... but here's a brief snippet into Tyler.

Tyler's now moved on to trying to feed the dogs, much as we feed Austin. The other day, he was caught red-handed trying to feed Loki water from his sippy cup after having laid a burp cloth across Loki's back. Interesting image... I was really sorry I didn't have my camera handy for that one - but by the time i grabbed the camera, Tyler had moved on.

He's also gotten more concerned about helping out his little brother. Upon hearing Austin cryig upstairs one day, Tyler went to Austin's swing, took out his brother's binky, and carried it all the way upstairs to his brother without putting it in his own mouth! Isn't he such a sweetie??

Anyway, that's all the news we have to share today. It feels like I've been typing forever, so I guess it's a pretty long post as well. So, if you're still reading, then thanks! And hopefully, we'll have more stories to share soon. I intended to add a bunch of pictures to this post too, but just realized how late it is - and since I have a really long work day ahead of me tomorrow, it looks like the pictures will have to wait... Maybe I can get them up later this week...

Monkey see, monkey do...

I've recently realized just how different raising a puppy is from raising a baby.

Okay... before you start to question my sanity... of course I realize that they really are nothing alike - after all, one is a furry animal, and the other is human.

But, being that my only past frame of reference in raising something to become a "grown-up" was raising Max to become a bigger furry animal, a few things have caught me a little off-guard in the department of raising little humans.

Most notably, they observe and actually learn things even when you aren't trying to teach it to them.

Max knows a lot of stuff for a dog. He is great at letting me know very clearly when he needs more water. He knows when we've spotted a bug, and promptly runs for cover. He can even open doors with the right kind of doorknob (although he doesn't really care to close them.) But, what Max doesn't do is continue to learn once he's done figuring out the minimum that he needs to get what he wants. Once he's done, he turns himself off and putters away.

Tyler, on the other hand, doesn't do that. Even when you think he's tuned you out and is off in his own little world, he is secretly still absorbing information from his surroundings. In other words, you have to always be on guard with a baby around, unlike with a puppy.

Here are some recent examples of things Tyler has learned to do on his own through this silent observation:

• Give hugs... and lots of them... to everyone. Today, his daycare teacher asked us if he hugs his brother a lot at home. After we responded that he does and that he also likes to hug the dogs a lot whether they enjoy it or not (they typically don't) - she commented that he often chases his friends around in school to hug them too all the time. Apparently, this might not be a good thing (or at least that's kind of the impression I took away from the brief conversation.)
• Respond "Uh-Oh" when Austin starts to cry. This one, I'll have to admit, Tyler picked up pretty quickly from his parents. Funny kid.
• Hold Austin's bottle for him. Sometimes, he squishes it with a little too much pressure into his brother's face, but Tyler definitely has a new sense of joy from helping to feed his little sibling.
• Feed Snookies to the dogs. Unfortunately, however, he hasn't learned to stop at giving them each just one. The dogs love this. We don't.
• Brush his hair with daddy's brush, using a water spray bottle to help wet it down. Too bad his aim is off though, and he usually just ends up with a wet face and hair that really doesn't look much different than when he began.
• Fill a cup from the fridge water dispenser. Fortunately for us, although he seems to understand the process, he doesn't use enough pressure to actually make the water come out.
• Use a revolving door. The tricky part is getting him to stop revolving with the door and exit from it.
• Properly use a phone. Or at least a play phone. Now, unlike before when he would just press buttons, he holds his play phone up to his ear as if he's having a real conversation!
  

The funny part is that you don't know when or how he learns some of these things... and there's not really much going on to indicate he's even paying attention - until one day you just happen to catch him doing something new. Something you know he had to have learned just by watching you. Scary.

So, that's Tyler... but what about Austin? Well, he's turned a bit of a corner. The daycare people now talk about what a joy he is - what a happy baby he's become! Astonishing!

Sure, he still has his moments on occasion, but for the most part, he's been a pretty content little guy. He still loves to have people sing to him and dance with him. His favorite song is most definitely the "Stinky Stinky Baby" song (although the Chicken Dance is quickly gaining steam). And, he loves his bumbo seat - for which we've learned giving him a bib is a lifesaver since the bumbo seems to make him extra drooly.

Austin's also really anxious to grow up. They say the second baby develops quicker when it comes to some of the major milestones, but with Austin, you can really see it. He is determined to sit up on his own - and gets really frustrated when he can't do it. He's also incredibly close to crawling - something that took Tyler a really long time to master.

While it's cool to see Austin picking up on all these things so quickly, it's also kind of scary and sad. Not because "he's growing up so fast" (although that in itself is a little depressing), but more so because it means that soon we'll have to chase two of these little beings around the house instead of just the one. And that's a truly frightening thought!

What I think I hear you saying is...

Well, really, with Austin, we haven't got a clue what he's saying. But now that he's finally found his voice, we're one step closer to something!

About a week ago, a faint babble from across the room let us know that Austin has finally decided he has some things to say, and is more than determined to say them.

He also laughs a lot more now too - especially if you sing to him. Austin seems to have a real ear for music. His favorite songs right now are "Stinky Stinky Baby" and "I Wanna Be a Baby Dinosaur".

Just in case you'd like to sing these tunes to your own brood, I've included the words below...

Stinky Stinky Baby

Stinky stinky baby
Stinky stinky boy
Stinky stinky Austin
Makes a lot of noise
... and poo.

I Wanna Be a Baby Dinosaur

I wanna be a baby dinosaur
I wanna roam and stomp and ROAR
I wanna be a baby dinosaur
ROAR-ROAR-ROAR-ROAR-ROAR!

Truth is, neither is really a real song. Just a bunch of words we put to catchy little melodies. But, Austin doesn't care one bit. He's an equal-opportunity laugh-er.

I leave you now with some parting words from baby Austin...

The legend of the tiny chicken...

Legend has it, that if you open your door on Halloween to find a tiny, quiet chicken with big eyes staring up at you, you will suddenly find all your candy missing...

Actually, Tyler did quite well with his first Halloween working the street.

His busy day started with school. He was asked to bring his costume. So at 7:45am, if you happened to be in the lobby of the office building that houses his daycare, you would have caught a glimpse of a little chicken toddling down the corridor. By the time I arrived to take him back home for the evening festivities, he already had a pretty good start on building his candy collection (they must have gone trick or treating through the offices upstairs).

Once we got home and finished dinner, the chicken and monkey were prepped to hit the streets. The typical scenario at each house (at least at the beginning of the evening) was as follows:

• Chicken walks up to the front porch, big plastic pumpkin tightly gripped in one hand.
• As parent presses doorbell, chicken points at doorbell and grunts (wanting to press the doorbell himself - even though he's too short, and doesn't press it hard enough when lifted to its level)
• Door opens, house occupant presents bowl of candy to chicken.
• Chicken doesn't say a word... just looks at big bowl of candy until prodded to take a piece.
• Chicken gingerly takes something from the bowl, places it in plastic pumpkin, then stands staring at stranger until directed away by parents to the next house.
  

Occasionally, the chicken would be stumped when told to take even more candy from the bowl!

Eventually, the chicken got a little braver. He didn't say a word to the people at the houses the entire evening, but he did try to walk into a couple homes. And at one place, he even tried to share the goodwill by taking a handful of his own candy to place into the candy-givers bowl.

However, for a little guy who didn't say a word all night, he came home with quite the bounty. Even Austin was offered candy along the way, but gracefully declined, as it wasn't in a liquid form.

Unfortunately, while Tyler came home loaded with candy, all his parents came home with were sore, tired bodies from carrying a monkey, a chicken, and a big plastic pumpkin-head throughout the neighborhood. (If you think the chicken walked the entire way himself, you are grossly mistaken... besides the fact, if he did, we would still be out there trying to make it to the rest of the houses!)

Overall though, my concern that Tyler "might not get it' were completely unfounded. In fact, he seemed to completely enjoy the fact that dressing up as a silly, poofy chicken got him so much of that good sugary stuff!

Why did the Monkey and the Chicken cross the road?

To get to the candy on the other side!

Well, craziness at work has left me with no time lately to update the blog... but since it is Halloween, I thought I'd take a quick moment just to give everyone a sneak preview at tonight's attire. Hopefully, I can find some time this weekend to provide a few good stories on Tyler's first Halloween. We do plan to try taking him to at least a few houses on the street. Oh boy!

"Great Day!"

At the daycare that Austin and Tyler attend, the caregivers fill out daily report cards for each child. Although they tend to be a bit more straightforward and generic in toddlerville, infants get personalized details about how their day went and a brief blurb about something they did that day.

When Tyler was in the infant room, a majority of his reports would begin with "Great day!". If his day was so-so, it would begin "Good day." Once in awhile, it would say "Okay day," and if it was a really bad day, it would just start with the day's activity description, with no mention of what kind of "day" it was.

Up until this point, Austin has had mostly "good" days, and a few "okay" days. But, this past Friday, he finally got the coveted "Great day!" Yay!! Apparently, he also spent the day listening to different types of music. According to Ms. Stephanie (his caregiver), Austin hates rap (made him cry... makes me cry too though) and he likes Country and R&B. Go figure!

The 3-month milestone!

Hard to believe the little guy is already 3 months old! He's growing so fast, and time is really flying! He's adopted a new buddy - a little stuffed ladybug he got as a gift. Tyler's never been into the whole "lovey" thing, but Austin apparently is. He loves to cling to the little bug and gnaw on his antennas.

Tyler's New Chair

As for Tyler, well, if you read my last post, you can see he's ready for his own "big boy chair". So, that's what we did last weekend. We got him one. And it's a nice one too! Ironically enough, most of the pictures we took today actually have Austin in the chair, but not to worry - Tyler loves his new chair and really does spend far more time in it than his brother (who only visits it when we want to get a cute picture of him lounging in it).



And the final news of the week is that we seem to be running a baby infirmary. Austin has now had his second ear infection in his short lifetime of 3 months, and Tyler picked up his own bug of some sort (at least we're hoping it's just a bug and not the result of numerous concussions from all his run-ins with furniture this week.)

Three strikes and you're out... so if Austin gets another ear infection anytime soon, it does indeed look like we could be headed for tube-ville again, just like his big brother. In the meantime, we're hoping those fevers stay away so Austin and Tyler don't get evicted from daycare again. Neither Jeff nor I can really afford to miss anymore work at this moment in time!

And since I have so many pictures of little Austin in this post, here's a few gratuitous ones of Tyler romping through the beautiful weeds that were growing in our back yard until Jeff mowed them all down today.