evolution of a bromance

When I found out we were having a second son, I was pretty excited.  Although I'd love to have a girl at some point, I loved the fact that I'd have two little guys who could be best buds.  With Aaron, I didn't know what to expect as a Mommy to a little boy and it turns out, I love it.  So my thinking was that two boys would be double the little-man-fun with the added bonus of watching them grow up as best friends.

Unfortunately, my daydreams of peaceful domestic boy-related bliss were somewhat tempered by Aaron's kind of lackluster response during my pregnancy to Sam's imminent arrival.  I kept telling myself that it was an abstract concept for him to grasp, but the fact was that he was pretty indifferent towards the idea of a baby in general.  He basically ignored any babies of our friends and pretended like he couldn't hear me when I'd talk about a baby living in our house.  We even bought a baby doll, in the hopes of encouraging some kind, caring feelings.  Nope, he was only interested in the fact that the baby doll would toot and burp after a bottle.  Nice.  And then when Sam first arrived, it was kind of like pulling teeth to get Aaron to acknowledge him.

Exhibit A

Here's the fake smile version, after I made turned off the TV and said, you can be done holding Sam as soon as you SMILE AT MOMMY.

 

Can you tell he's humoring me?  Delightful.

Then slowly, he started feeling Sam out.  Kind of like with an unfamiliar dog, Aaron would just put out his closed fist in Sam's direction and then look at us like, is this safe?  After a few tentative fist bumps, Aaron saw Sam was pretty tame and warmed up.


Then suddenly, somewhere around early February, Aaron decided he LOVED his brother.

And these days he cannot get enough of Sam.  He loves to tell us what Sam is doing at every moment and will stop playing every so often just to run over to wherever Sam is and check him out.  Poor Sam is patiently enduring a lot of friendly poking, although Sam's not always quite so forgiving when Aaron wakes him up from a deep sleep.  Me neither, really.  House rule is "You wake it, you take it."  Aaron's not buying it.  Bummer.


A few cute brother interactions lately...


We've been trying to help Aaron understand why Baby Sam cries.  He tends to laugh at him, which we're trying to curb, since uh, it's not nice.  The other day, I was in the kitchen, Aaron was playing in the family room and Baby Sam was napping in his swing in the living room.  Sam woke up and started crying.  Aaron ran from the family room and grabbed my hand in the kitchen, yelling "Hurry Mommy, Baby Sam is cwying!  He needs us!"  And he pushed me, with dripping wet hands, into the living room to help Baby Sam.  

He also runs to inform us, on a regular basis, "Oh no Mommy Baby Sam losed his annuder binky!"  Translation:  Sam's pacifier fell out.  The debate is warring within me...do I teach Aaron to put it back in and save myself some trouble but subject Sam to more invasive poking?  Probably not, right?



Aaron's also been repeating phrases that he picks up from us, my mom and other random sources (usually Mickey Mouse).  The other day we were getting ready to leave the house and Sam was crying in his car seat.  Aaron bent over the car seat, rocking it, and said "Aw, whatsa matter suhweetie?"  He calls his brother "suhweetie", "bud", "Baby Sam".  All cute.


Anytime someone is holding Sam and playing with him, Aaron climbs right up and wants to snuggle right up next to Sam.  He likes to hold Sam's hand too.  I would love to know what Sam thinks of all of this.  

Whenever I try to take pictures of Sam, Aaron is RIGHT THERE to participate.  Even though he doesn't want any pictures taken of himself.  Instead, about half of my pictures of Sam have a big ole head in the picture too.  Sam generally ends up looking kind of bewildered.


I could go on all day about these two brothers...but I won't.  I'll just show you.  Because these pictures, they speak much louder than any words.

 

 I had propped Sam up to take some pics of him. 

 

And Aaron can't resist a chance to love on him.

 Poor Sam.  Utterly bewildered.

 But he really does like it too.

 There's that tongue again!  And they are holding hands.

 That's nice, Aaron.  Use your brother's head as a prop.  

 Contemplating his brotherly love.  Uh, sure.

 This makes me laugh.  Okay, maybe they look a bit alike here.

 And here.  Teehee.

 Same face again.  These outtakes are better than the final shots.

Is this a comedy routine?

 Sam's bewildered again.  But cute.

 That was my victory shot.  Two smiles...not both looking but I'm not picky anymore.

 Anytime I put Sam on the floor to play, he has an instant playmate by his side.

 
Whatcha doin Baby Sam?
 

 You are twelve weeks old, Sam.  Time to start reading.

 Okay, Aaron will read to you for a little while, but you better get your act together and start pulling your own weight soon.

 This just melts my heart.

 This is blurry but seriously...every.single.time I put the kid down.  And a lot of times when I'm trying to take photos of Sam...there is a mysterious brown head bobbing into view or casting shadows.  But I'll take best buddies over perfect photos anyday.

 Patting Sam through tummy time.  And when he cries during tummy time, Aaron just lays his big ole noggin right down on Sam's back.  Not so comforting but at least it keeps him from rolling out of tummy time everyday.

 Look, Aaron's baby sitting.  

 Nugglin (snuggling) wif Baby Sam.

 Snuggling quickly turns into poking.  Aaron saw us pushing on Sam's nose and saying "Boop" to make him laugh.  And now he pokes him.  A lot.  While yelling "BOOP!"  Usually while Sam is sleeping.  Cute, right?

 Boop!  Sam seemed to like it...this time.

 Giving kisses.  Sweet.

 Playing soccer together.  Aaron's super into soccer...so, obviously Baby Sam wants to play too. Obviously.

 
 

 This would have been a real winner if my camera strap hadn't fallen in front of the lens.  Sigh.

Like I said, best buds.  Just like I had hoped.  

We're really trying to tread the fine line between keeping Aaron from annoying/disturbing/injuring Baby Sam and keeping him full of love for his brother and interacting with him.  I'm allowing more poking than I ever though I would, simply for the fact that I want Aaron to want to play with Sam.  We'll just pray that he continues to think he's the bees knees when Sam starts to crawl around and steal Aaron's stuff.  But since I don't allow crawling until nine months, at the earliest, we've got a few good months left.  (Did you hear that Sam?  I do.not.allow it.)

three months

Sam is three months old!  How?  When?  I'm so confused.

To be honest, I'm still a bit confused that Sam's already here.  He's here AND he's three months old?  Still processing...

It's been a very enjoyable three months though.  I remember feeling exactly this way with Aaron - that three months sounds so short, but it feels like you've always known this little person.  And life before them?  A distant memory.

Sam is such a sweet addition to our family.  He's a pretty easy going little guy - good sleeper at night and an extremely good eater.  His daytime naps are leaving a bit to be desired, but it's hard for me to know what's "normal" since Aaron spent the first four months of his life napping on me or on the couch next to me.  So, um, clearly Mama's the one that needs some work in the daytime nap department.  We'll give Sam a free pass on that one.

I say that he's an extremely good eater because, well, the kid does not miss a meal.  In fact, he prefers to add in one or two here and there.  At his two month appointment, he weighed in at 13 lbs 1 oz.  For comparison, Aaron was 13 lbs 7 oz at two months.  But, if you'll recall, Aaron started out TWO POUNDS BIGGER than Sam.  So Sam's rate of growth is kind of impressive.  And I feel like he's sky rocketed since that appointment, since he's bypassed most 0-3 month clothes and is rocking out his 3-6 month and even some 6 month outfits.  All the better since we LOVE the chubbies in this family. 

He started smiling around 6 weeks (I have the date...somewhere...) and started giggling around 2 months.  His giggle is infectious.  He really loves the sound of Aaron's voice, so he'll usually start smiling and giggling whenever he hears Aaron laughing.  He does NOT enjoy Aaron's high pitched squealing but I can't blame him since NO ONE does.  Except Aaron apparently.  


As you can see from the last video post, he's also a chatty guy.  He coos and chats a LOT.  Aaron wasn't much of a coo-er, so this is new and fun for us.  Sometimes I hear Sam in his swing in the living room, and when I go in, thinking he's crying, he's really just having a very loud and animated conversation with the mobile animals.  

 BFFs

He's so social - he LOVES to smile and laugh at people's faces.  He's also a bit of a hot and cold baby...smiling and laughing one minute and literally the next minute he's hysterically crying.  But, again with being social, he's almost always consoled by some good ole fashioned snuggling.  Except when he's not...and in those times, eating never fails.  So basically, what I'm saying is at three months, our Sammy man is a jovial, personable chap with a bit of a temper and a very big appetite.  I love it.





And, to catch up on pictures...

 six weeks

 it's hard being six weeks old

 seven weeks

 get used to it, bub.  you're only going to get cuter, so i'm not going to stop.  in fact, i'll probably get more annoying (think bunny ears) until you can get away from me.  so cheer up or practice crawling.

 thanks.

 i love that face.  (and ps - this is the only time when i think he looks like aaron...awake, not so much.)

 happy to be seven weeks.  first photographic evidence of the smile!  and please ignore the 10.  someone was stealing my photo props numbers.

 trying to catch the smile again.

 he smiles with his whole face.  isaac calls it his cartoon character smile because of his eyes.  too cute.

 kind of eh about 8 weeks, i guess.  or maybe he though i should be more creative and get a new prop.  ha, you're lucky you got these photos, mister!

 posing at 8 weeks.  prodigy.

 gah, he kills me.

 8 weeks and just about 2 months.  no numbers.  when the cute happens, i've learned to just run for the camera.

 oh hey, mom.  i know you.

 twelve weeks.  i'm back!

 giggly baby.

 okay, when he's not giggling, this face is pretty common.  usually if aaron's in the room.  he looks like he's about to cry, but he's really not.  he's kind of...bewildered with a furrowed brow.  seriously, i'd love to know what he's thinking.

 he sticks his tongue out.  a lot.

 blurry, but so happy i couldn't resist.

 he likes to blow bubbles too.  to his brother's infinite enjoyment.

 happy.  and side note: it's incredibly hard taking pictures of a baby who can't hold his head up.  the lack of neck is not so cute.  i apologize if you feel like you were straining your neck in most of these pictures to see him.  i'll try to work on different angles, but again, the lack of neck muscles makes it harder than i would have thought. 

oh, and you know, playing soccer.  good form, eh?

That's Sammy in a three month old nutshell.  As we speak, life is settling down, the weather is getting nicer, daylight is getting longer and Sam is staying awake for longer periods of time.  All of those factors combined should equal more blog posts...but let's not make promises we can't keep. 

sammy smiles

I have a bunch of pictures of Sam to upload, along with my commentary on how things have been going in the past three months...but life.  So you'll have to keep waiting for that.  I can promise that the anticipation will make it sweeter (but probably not any less boring unless you are related to this child).  

Until that time, here is a video of our dear, sweet Sam.  We're still trying to find our daily rhythm with this guy.  He's generally pretty easy going, but when he's displeased, he'll let ya know about it.  Loudly.  But these smiles and giggles, they make it worthwhile. 

He's usually happiest right after he eats (like his daddy) but this particular instance just about melted my heart.  I had been out at a meeting for the evening and Isaac was holding down the homefront with the boys.  Sam was due to eat when I got home, so I was a little bit nervous that I'd be walking into some good ole hungry screaming.  (Baby Sam actually scweams, according to Aaron)  Instead, I walked into the room and this guy just LIT up.  Full on giggles, smiles and coos.  Here, see for yourself.

And, it should be noted that he started screaming hysterically approximately two minutes after this video ended.  He's kinda hot and cold, that one.  But adorable.  Obviously.

two and a half

 (Another that is backdated and posted for posterity.  I'm guessing it wasn't exactly written on Aaron's 2.5 birthday, but I've posted it to that date, just to keep everything in order.)


Aaron is two and a half.

Again, I say...How?  When?  I'm so confused.

We've been going back through a ton of pictures and videos from when Aaron was Sam's age as we are remembering all of the fun milestones and experiences.  Which makes it even more surreal that Aaron is now closer to THREE than he is to TWO.  And everyone knows, two year olds are still babies.  Three year olds are little boys.  No, thank you, I'll keep my baby, if it's all the same to you.

But alas, he must grow.  Even if I drag my heels, kicking and screaming, he will still grow.  And he is.  He's been moving in leaps and bounds over the past six months.

Some highlights:

1.  Full, creative, independent-though sentences.  He thinks 'em.  Then he says 'em.  Then (most of the time) we understand 'em.  Crazy.  People, he is thinking his own thoughts!  Making connections, drawing conclusions, asserting opinions (overrated).  He's a PERSON.  Kind of all of a sudden.  It's amazing to watch.  (And incredibly frustrating...see above mention of asserting opinions.  Still overrated.)

2.  He's a smart cookie.  He's been obsessed with letters since about 15 months (as previously well-documented) and so it's only logical that he's obsession would lead to spelling words, spelling sentences, learning to write and learning to read.  He's memorized a LOT of words, including all the basics like CAT, DOG, BALL and some of the harder, random ones like MONSTER TRUCK (thanks Isaac).  For about two months around the birth of Sam, I almost went insane answering his constant question "What we gonna spell next Mommy?"  He wanted to spell all day, every day.  All day, every day.  Have I conveyed that to you yet?  ALL.DAY.EVERY.DAY. Thankfully, as he started to branch out into some other toys (puzzles!) the intensity of the spelling has lessened, but boy, were those some rough weeks.  So he spells, he sounds out words and he's tentatively starting to read some of his Dr. Seuss and Curious George books.


3.  He's a techie.  He had developed a pretty deep love for my mom (Tutu)'s iPad since she got it last summer.  So, we decided to get him an iPod Touch for Christmas, which is basically just a tinier iPad.  He's got a bunch of cool apps that help him write his letters, spell words and read books.  He can also watch some seriously sweet old school Sesame Street songs on there.  Capital I is a perennial favorite.


4. He's a big brother.  Um, duh.  But I mean it more in the sense that he's really embraced being a big brother.  He loves Baby Sam.  A lot.  Probably more than Sam is comfortable with, just now.  He always wants to know where Sam is, what he's doing, what he's thinking.  He wakes up from his naps and says "Let's go see Baby Sam".  He gives kisses, hugs and the occasional forceful poke.  We're trying to walk the very fine line of allowing him full access to Sam, in the hopes of fueling his sibling-love fest and trying to protect Sam from bodily injury and annoyances.  I've said it before, but we weren't too optimistic about Aaron's capabilities as a big brother but he has, once again, proved us wrong for underestimating him.  He's a better big brother than I could have imagined or hoped for.  Minus the screaming...


5.  Speaking of screaming, he's quickly nudging over the line between delightful toddler and THE TERRIBLE TWO's.  I don't really like that term, since a) he's not terrible and b) I hear it's not just the twos that can be "terrible" (hold me) but you know what I mean.  He's realizing that he can make decisions for himself, he's completely lacking any kind of self control and he's stubborn.  So we have moments each day, some days more than others, of hmmm...less than delightful behavior.  




(And there it ended, abruptly.  I'm laughing at myself, because my current recollection is that Aaron was, by comparison, a DELIGHTFUL two year old.  Three got harder.  Four was harder than three.  Five has been the hardest so far, which I now know, means that while I'm laughing at the mama of this two year old, the mama of the fifteen year old will be laughing at current me.  None of it seems as hard in retrospect.  I'm still working on the meaning of life...stay tuned.)

a glimpse

And so it begins...

These are the conversations in our house these days...


"Baby Sam, dis is the yetter "D".  "D" is for dance.  Do da Hot Dog Dance, Baby Sam."
"Baby Sam, dis is the yetter "M".  "M" is for milk.  You drink milk, Baby Sam."
"Baby Sam, M-I-L-K.  Sound it out, Baby Sam.  Muh, ILK.  That spells milk!  Gweat job, Baby Sam!"

"Oh Mommy, is dat Baby Sam?  Baby Sam is so cute.  He so cute.  How sweet."

"Baby Sam wanna play toys wit Aaron?  Play toys, Baby Sam, play toys with Aaron!"

"Mommy, Baby Sam is CWYING.  Baby Sam is CWYING, Mommy.  He cwying.  He is REAWWY HUNGWY.  Baby Sam is REAWWY HUNGWY, Mommy."  (Note: Sam is usually asleep while this is being proclaimed.)


No wonder Baby Sam sleeps so much.  But how sweet that his brother loves him so.

a dream

(Backdated and posted to the date it was written)


February 8, 2011

Last night I dreamt that we were at a party in a random backyard somewhere.  A lot of people we knew were there, but mostly I remember being there with Isaac and the kids.  (And it might have been my grandparent's backyard...I think)

So, somehow, it turned into the kids at the party playing a game of sorts, kind of putting on a play on a stage in the backyard.  Isaac sent Aaron up to play with the other kids, even though he was one of the youngest there.

At one point, we were sitting in our seats on the deck, and I looked over into the yard next to us and realized there were several wild animals hanging from harnesses above the ground.  One of them was a lion, who was not happy to be hanging in the air.  So he broke his harness and escaped into the yard.  

I remember everyone else thinking that it was okay because there was a fence between the two yards.  But it was NOT okay with me that there was a lion loose and my baby was by himself somewhere in the crowd.  So I ran up onto the stage, in the middle of the play, and pushed my way through the crowd to where Aaron was standing backstage.  I grabbed him up in my arms and ran to find Isaac and Sam to get into the house asap.

Then I woke up.  

And I thought to myself...We are NOT sending him to preschool. 

And at 3am, that made perfect sense. 


(I have zero recollection of this dream...but I still feel mildly nauseous when I think of sending Aaron into large groups of people without me.  First born syndrome?  Maybe.)

six weeks

Poor Sam.  He's six weeks old...with a lot less photographic evidence than his brother to prove it.  I really am going to try harder to stay on top of his documentation.  I'm sure the photos will pick up once he's a smiley, happy dude who sits still for the camera.  Oooh, I can't wait to have a non-mobile subject again!

Anyway, the lack of pictures does not mean that I can't try to keep a better written record of Sam's early days.  So here's some info on the man.

Most important - he slept for six hours straight on the eve of his 6 week birthday!  Big props from his mama for that one.  He didn't have a repeat performance last night, but he did sleep a five hour stretch, so I'm not complaining.  

Sam had his one month appointment last week (a week late because of his vaccination schedule getting a bit delayed) and he weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs 14 oz.  For those of you keeping track, he was 7lbs 8oz at birth, which was in the 32% for new babies (still pretty impressive since he was four weeks early)  At this appointment, his new weight has him in the 66% for babies his age.  Sweet growing bud.  He also grew another 1.5 inches to bring him to 21.5" tall.  Kind of makes me shudder to think what size he would have been if he'd been growing that month on the inside.  Monster baby.

He's started tentatively smiling at friendly faces, although he's still pretty stingy with the smiles.  Especially for his mommy.  Tough crowd.  I seem to remember Aaron being fairly stingy with the smiles at first as well, so I'm not concerned, since he turned into a pretty happy guy in the end.  

Other than that, we're still pretty much in the eat, sleep, poo days.  Sam is starting to have longer stretches of wanting to be awake, but for the most part he's a GREAT sleeper, with many naps during the day and good stretches at night.  He's pretty consistent about wanting to eat around every three hours during the day, but he's more than willing to let us know if he gets hungry earlier than that.  He's got a loud shrieking cry when he's annoyed, but he's usually easily consoled.  He does have some gas issues (tmi) that we are hoping are just something he'll outgrow as his digestive system continues to grow and develop.

Truthfully, I was really terrified that I was going to have a really difficult second baby, since Aaron was so easy.  But, so far, it seems like we've been blessed again with a good eating and sleeping baby.  We're so grateful!  The transition from no kids to one kid definitely rocked our world much more than this new transition from one to two.  Maybe it's knowing what to expect...or knowing that the tough stuff is only temporary.  I'm really looking forward to all the milestones I know will be coming up in the next few months and watching these two boys grow together as brothers and best buds.  Two little guys seems pretty perfect to me right now, but check back in with me when Sam actually starts moving!  Ha!