Are things getter better in the car?

Whoever invented rear facing car seats did not drive their kids around all the time! Augh! It is so hard to not be able to see the kids and for them not to be able to see you!

Nic has been unhappy in the car since day 1! He screams and screams and screams! It is really quite upsetting and deafening. Jac bears up under it really well - sometimes he even falls sound asleep while Nic is screaming.

I am hoping things are changing though. Yesterday I took the boys to Kangaroo Kingdom in morning like normal. I gave Nic his new teether, which is called Teething Bling! He seems to like the bangle in particular. I also gave him a few toys to play with. And he didn't cry! And then he fell asleep on the way back from KK on the way to Daddy's office for lunch!

And then he didn't cry on the way back from Daddy's office to our condo! Amazing!

In the evening we took the boys to Costco to do a little shopping and Jac talked all the way there. It occurred to me that Jac had either stopped talking in the car for the last 7 months or I had not been able to hear him! Yeah! I love his "Jac" talk!

Jac "driving" Mommy's car

Jac has discovered that standing behind the driver's wheel in Mommy's car is really fun! Especially when you can push all the buttons on the dash!

Step up and step down

Jac took a step up and down a small curb outside our house today! I did not get it on video as I was not expecting him to do it! This was the first time he has done a single step up or down while standing.

Griffith Park with Madeline and Caitlin

We had a great time with Madeline and Caitlin, Jac and Nic's cousins, in LA, at my parents' house. The girls are three and five, so a little bit too much older than Jac and Nic for them to interact with too much although there was some annoyance from the big girls over Jac's desire to see everything they were playing with!

We spent an afternoon at Griffith Park where they have pony rides and train rides. Madeline and Caitlin had a good time riding the horses but Jac was not too sure about them. He did enjoy the train ride as did Mr. Nicie.

Jac also had a very good time wandering around while we waited for the train ride while the girls played hide and seek.

For more pictures click here.

Mr. Smiles waking up

Mr. Nicie has been Mr. Smiles lately. His little personality is really starting to blossom. A lot of times now when he wakes up he is all smiles. He kicks his legs and waves his arms, and smiles and coos! So sweet.

March for Babies - April 25, 2009

Thank you to everyone that supported us financially and otherwise for the March of Dimes, March for Babies. As it turns out I was asked to be the Family Ambassador for the walk and give a speech before the walk. I spent my scant free time (read 3 am!) last week working on the speech which I delivered prior to the walk on Saturday.

The March for Babies that we participated in was much smaller than the one I did in LA last year. There were probably 500 or so people there (compared to 20,000 or so at the LA one!)

Last week we had very nice weather, until Saturday, the day of the walk, when it was 40 degrees, 96% humidity, and cloud covered. The walk started at 9 am and I had to be there at 8 am to get ready for my speech. We dragged the kids out of bed at an ungodly hour and arrived to a cold and dreary walk site. We kept the kids in the car as long as possible and then I did my speech. The speech was long, 9 minutes, but people stood and dutifully listened! Fortunately I was the only speaker so they didn't have to stand for too long!

After my speech, we got Jac into the stroller, Nic into his carrier on my chest. I cut the ribbon to start the walk and off we went. We started out well - and then Jac and I both started to fade. We were both having a lot of tummy pain. We managed to walk about 3 miles (the whole walk was 5 miles) with the kids - Jac unhappy and being carried by Daddy while I carried Nic and pushed the stroller. It was pretty miserable but we did our best to "earn" the donations that I had collected.

We were so bedraggled we didn't even manage to take any pictures!

Nic at Kangaroo Kingdom

We have been spending a lot of time at Kangaroo Kingdom since we got back from LA. It is such a great place to for us to go. The kids are safe, they can play, and I can take one to the bathroom to change their diaper without worrying too much about the other one!

Nic is enjoying Kangaroo Kingdom more and more as he closes in on seven months! Here he is checking himself out in the mirror.

Sleeping!

Warms the bottom of a mother's heart! Both of my boys asleep at the same time!

Nic holding his head up

Nic is doing a better job of tummy time now and holding his head up. In these pictures and video he is at our pediatrician's office looking in the mirror by the exam table. I remember when Jac did tummy time just like this!

Catalina with Matthew, the girls and the grandparents

We went to Catalina Island today with Matthew, Madeline, Caitlin and Grandma and Grandpa. We had a very nice time. The weather could not have been any better! We walked around, enjoyed the sights, ate some really good french fries and went in a glass bottom boat with Madeline. Fun was had by all!

Jac wore a hat for the first time today. I bought it at Target and it says "Safari" on it. He was really good about wearing it and looked incredibly cute in it. We were bad parents so he got a little sunburn on his arms where we did not put suntan lotion on him - lesson learned!

Jac got seasick on the way over in the boat and threw up a few times but he was fine on the way back. Nic did not seem to have a problem either way.

Jac playing around the edge of the pool

My parents have a very nice pool in their backyard and Jac has discovered the joy of it. He likes to stick his hand in the pool and splash around - and then taste the water. Shortly after this he leaned over a little too far and fell into the pool - right where he was playing - where it is only around 10 inches deep. He was scared but fine - and I was kind of glad he did it so he maybe learned he didn't want to do it again!

Cute little Nicie

Nic has been eating more solid foods while we are in LA. He does pretty well with pureed things and he is game to try anything we give him! Here he is sitting in the high chair that we have attached to the counter - it is a little big but he looks so cute and happy in there!



We also took a Jacuzzi with Madeline and Caitlin and Nic enjoyed that also.

Nic cracking up

Two days ago my long time friend Maria came over to visit. It was great to see her and very scary to realize that we met 18 years ago! Oh man!

We were sitting on the couch playing with Jac, Nic and my niece Madeline. Madeline and I were throwing blocks and Jac was watching. Nic was sitting against Maria and thought that the tossing of the blocks was hilarious. I have heard him laugh many times but this is the first time I have heard him really just crack up. It went on for several minutes! It just struck his funny bone!

Final call for donations for the March for Babies

I will be participating in the March for Babies to support the March of Dimes next Sunday (April 25th) in Colorado. The March of Dimes supports very important research to support the health of babies. I attended a presentation that they held while Jac was in the hospital and it was very enlightening. It made me realize how lucky we are that Jac was born where and when he was because of the changes in technology to support premature babies in the last 20 years. If you can spare even 5 dollars to support the March of Dimes I would be very appreciative. Every little bit counts to help little ones like Jac survive and thrive.

Jac is walking and almost running now

Jac's walking has improved so much! He almost never crawls now - the only time he does it is if there is something that is too big for him to get over - and he gets down - goes over it - and stands right back up! I took a video of him going most of the way around the outside of my parents' house. He can navigate over most things and go up and down inclines - coming down an incline he is sometimes almost running! I can't wait for Joseph to see him in a few days - he has been watching the videos - but he is going to be amazed anyway when he sees it in person!

Jac and Nic at In-N-Out

On the way back from Las Vegas we stopped at In-N-Out for lunch. Nic is now gumming foods so I gave him a french fry to gnaw on. Jac has now learned to dip his foods so he was dipping his french fries in ketchup! Whoa! Messy!

Grandma and I have taken to putting Nic on top of the table while he eats. I call him "Hands" because he grabs everything within his reach. It is almost impossible to hold him while you eat because he has a long reach and he will grab anything you are holding. He is a great sitter now so the top of the table works pretty well. While Grandma and Jac were waiting for our food Nic sat on top of the table and played with Grandma's cash!

Jac and Nic wearing Uncle Wayne's hat

Last Thursday I was feeling very ill and the family pitched in to help make sure the boys were taken care of. It was so great to be in LA with so much family that could swoop in and help out!

Uncle Wayne was a huge help and spent most of the day at my parents' house helping out, even after I was feeling better. He is wonderful with kids and it was really fun to have him around!

He put one of his hats on both of the boys with very cute results!

Easter in Las Vegas

Cousin Kelly with (from left) Jack, Harry, Blake, Jac, and Nic

Grandma and I took Jac and Nic to Las Vegas for Easter Weekend. We went to visit my Aunt Patricia and her daughter Kelly and her three boys! We had a great time! We went to a fabulous Easter brunch at the Loews Lake Las Vegas. Jac played with Kelly's three sons and wandered all over while Kelly's oldest son, Blake, watched him! I am always so thankful when there is someone around to watch Jac so I can sit down and eat, even if my waistline would prefer that I follow him around.

We got to spend a lot of time talking with Aunt Patricia and Cousin Kelly which was fabulous and it was great fun to watch the boys interacting. Kelly's youngest is 4.5 so Jac and Nic were out of their league but I am so glad that they are getting to know one another. I hope we will keep this up as they get older. Family is so important!

Aunt Patricia, thanks for having us and I hope we will see you soon!

Twitter logins for the boys...

Sadly, I couldn't get Google accounts for the boys under jacchiu and nicchiu (I originally tried and failed for Jac, and I can't remember if/when I initially tried to do the same for Nic.)

But, at least the boys now have their own twitter accounts as jacchiu and nicchiu... Maybe they'll thank me... Or maybe Twitter will be a distant memory on the 'net by the time they're old enough to care.

(From Mommy) I would like to note that we did get them jacchiu.com and nicchiu.com so they can be like Mommy and Daddy!

Jac cracking himself up

Jac has taken to giving even more speeches and he is now cracking himself up. He is telling jokes - and then laughing. He is hilarious to watch. He seems to particularly like to tell Grandfather his jokes but anyone will do!

He is also walking up a storm. He is getting faster and more confident every day.

Happy 21 month birthday

Jac is 21 months today! Wow! The boys are now 21 months and 6 months!

Jac has definitely entered the terrible twos. When he doesn't get what he wants he now throws a mini-tantrum. He gets over his tantrums pretty quickly but he sometimes kicks and sometimes hits his head on the floor. He is really testing to see if he can get what he wants by getting upset. It is hard to watch but important that we respond correctly so that he learns he cannot always have what he wants (because he generally gets what he wants!)

He is generally such a happy little guy and he gets more and more social every day. He says hi and bye to people when we are out. It is really funny and interesting to watch him interact with people. He likes to walk around restaurants (he will sit for a while but he would much rather get down and walk) and people somehow seem to get out of his way and stop and watch him walk by. He goes up to people and looks up at them and stares. Hilarious. He gets such a variety of reactions. Some people seem very discomfited by it and some give him big smiles and say "hi."

Happy 6 month Birthday Nic

Nic is 6 months old today! It is amazing how quickly time flies. He is not rolling over yet but he is thinking about it. If you put something by his head he will turn himself to try to get it but he doesn't go all the way over for it. He is talking more and more - more different sounds.

He still cries a lot. Last night he got too tired because he woke up and it was really hard to get him back to sleep. He cried really hard for a while until I played him his baby crack, "Wheels on the bus by Mad Donna", from YouTube, and got Daddy on a video chat on the computer.

He loves it when I put him down in the bathroom floor and talk to him. He smiles and laughs and kicks! So cute! He does the same thing on the changing table.

We call him "Hands" now because he grabs everything! When he and Jac are playing he grabs everything he can reach. Sometimes when he is sitting and playing and something is a little too far away he will try to reach for it and fall over. When he falls over he stays in the same position he was in when he was sitting!

He still does not sleep well. He flails around and just isn't very settled. I am really hoping he is going to grow out of this sooner rather than later.

We are still going strong with breastfeeding and he is a big guy! 18 pounds! We have tried some pureed things with him and he is only moderately interested in them. Jac, who never used to eat them, eats them when Nic does though!

He does not like the car seat. It is still a very rare car ride that Nic does not cry in the car. Sometimes "Baby Crack" or Mommy or Grandma or Daddy live signing of "Wheels on the Bus" will keep him from crying but not always. The amazing thing is how Jac will fall asleep while Nic is screaming bloody murder.

He is heavy and dense. I am getting tough arms from carrying him around! I have guns!

We got a double Maclaren stroller and Nic will ride in it some but I still end up carrying him a lot. It is so cute when the boys are in there together.

I think I expect more from Nic at 6 months because he is so big! Not fair!

He is so cute and he and Jac look more and more alike the older Nic gets. I am asked all of the time if they are twins - constantly really.

As hard as it is sometimes to have Jac and Nic so close together in age I am very glad they are. I am so looking forward to life as the Mother of two very interesting little boys who I hope will be very close like me and my Dork Child! It gets a little more fun and a little easier everyday!