They are always near. Just in case they are needed.

Or in case some sucker might give them attention.

Loyal, intuitive and not afraid to ask for what they want.

Maybe my kids learning from them isn’t such a bad thing…except for when Caden tries to lap up his water from his cup…and rolls around on the bed scratching himself.   So long as he doesn’t start pooping in the yard I think we are in the clear.

Dogs.
Best Friends and Great Roled Models.
Kind of.

He has been waiting to go, go, go since he was born.

At last those legs of his that are always kicking have made contact.

Toys, remotes, dogs and brothers beware…

He’s coming for you!

So last Friday, when it started to thunder he climbed on this pillow and curled up as tight as he could to hide.

Caden curled up with him to give him smooches all on his own.  He then looked at me and said “Cheeeseee Mama.” So the camera was found and used and caught
maybe one of my favorite pictures ever.  Just a little comfort for his Bo pup.

I have the privilege of being Caden and Everett’s “mama”.

Of being the one to hear their cries during the night,
but their first coos & words during the day.

Of being the one to receive their sicknesses from direct coughs,
but to also receive their smooches from love.

Of being the one to hold them when they are sick or sad,
but to be held by them for no reason at all.

Of being the first one they whine to, but the first one they cry for.

Of being the one who stayed up with them all night
but got to snuggle them close bringing peace to us both.

Of being the one who is tested to her limits, but teaching them to test theirs.

Of being the one to document their childhood and milestones for them to see,
but get to experience it firsthand each and every day.

Of being the one to show them love but being given an unconditional extraordinary amount back in return each day.

I have the privilege of being Caden and Everett’s “mama”.

Happy Mother’s Day!

And he is taking orders.

One by One

 Or Three by Three

He Will Serve Anyone…And I Mean Anyone!

 Whether you have your ID or not.

You’ll have to take up the tab with him though.

I had no intention of dragging Easter into three separate posts, but the different festivities and pictures would have made for a single one the size of an encyclopedia so I am finally wrapping things up for you with a final installment on Easter. I know you are just glued to your seats so I will start you with my favorite picture from the hunt.  I love that both of my boys are in it with their adoring Pa Pa and the success of a found egg.  So much happiness in one shot!

After digging through his basket some more we loaded up the car and made the long 15 minute trek over to Nonna & Pa Pa’s house for brunch.  If you remember, Caden LOVES his Nonna & Pa Pa.  He gets quite impatient in the car when he knows we are going to see them, repeating “Nonna? Pa Pa?” over and over again so we have to reassure him that yes we are going. It is like his own version of “Are we there yet?” on steroids.  He recognizes the route and always starts giggling and wiggling in his seat as he sees their neighborhood come up.  It is pretty cute.

Carolyn as always made a delicious brunch with more food than we could manage and wonderful conversation.  She had glitter eggs hanging from the kitchen light fixture that Caden loved pointing out and making sure we knew they were eggs.  While we were talking I took Everett outside to get a few pictures of him with his basket.  Little did I know he was going to be infatuated with it and start pulling things out.  Here I thought he would have little interest!

So I hung out there with him so he could dig and discover and chew on his bunny in true Easter excitement glad to see that even if for only that moment the efforts of putting a basket together for him were in fact appreciated and fun for him even if he didn’t know it was an Easter basket.

Caden wandered outside and started to spot a few eggs giving us the heads up that it was time to start his hunt.  With his bucket in tow (even though Carolyn had put together a cute little basket with ribbons on it just in case) he and his Daddy started out searching for eggs.  Surprisingly, he was a little hesitant at first and not as interested as he had been the week prior.  Colter guided him and he picked them up almost as a chore.  Then, all of the sudden it clicked. “Egg? Egg! Egg? Egg!”  he started looking, and I mean REALLY looking for more eggs.  He grinned and giggled and dropped his eggs in his bucket with the childhood glee you imagine he could have.

The hunt took a humourous turn when he discovered that they opened.  Now, he was not at all interested in the few pieces of candy Nonna had put inside them (that’s my boy) but he was thrilled that they opened because he could open them just like his mama.  How you ask?  Why by cracking them on a hard surface of course!  We couldn’t help but laugh as he picked up eggs and held them in his hand trying to bust them open by tapping/hitting them like I do when I cook.  I mean they are eggs right?

Found Some!

Pre-Cracking Them Open

Success

Too Many Eggs for Two Hands

"Over here Dada"

Everett reached for a few that Pa Pa showed him…and the plant too. So technically he did have some hunting success as well.  Thankfully, Everett was content in Pa Pa’s arms so we could focus on Caden’s fun instead of keeping him a happy camper!

Caden hunted and hunted taking his Daddy with him all over the yard and in the playhouse exclaiming “Egg!” everytime he found one and then asking “Egg?” as soon has he had dumped one find in his bucket and was ready to find more. “Here Dada!”

It was such a nice morning and weekend full of traditions started and family love.  I am anxious to see what happens when the boys start competing for eggs…Caden will have to pick up his pace!  So there you have it.  It only took me a month and three posts but you have seen Easter 2012 Kazmann Style. Phew!

 We shall call him sleepless-giggles-grabby grabby hands-cryface- wiggle.

There is your six month update, that about sums it up! See you next month!

Okay fine, you want the “deets”, though details are hard to summarize with inconsistent Everett.  As soon as I can say one thing such as for 4 days he seemed to be starting to nap and eat what he should (4, 7 ounce bottles  plus a couple small onces at night) he went back to refusing to eat (13 ounces in a day), vomitting, not sleeping etc.

So, lets focus on the fun stuff!
This has been the longest, fastest six months of our lives! Contradiction much?

Everett officially psyched me out as I told you last month he was cutting a tooth.  It still hasn’t cut.  I have determined that his gums must just be really thin there because honest, I can see it and if I rub one way I call feel it but it hasn’t come in anymore than that.  Such a tease!

Speaking of teasing, he loves to be tickled or played with in a teasing manner.  He will giggle, and giggle and then start full laughing if you keep going.  I can’t help but think how sure I laugh when I am being tickled but I hate it and just want it to stop.  Hopefully that isn’t what he is thinking!

In general, when he is being held he is the happiest boy you ever did see.  Constant grins, snuggles into your shoulder and kicks of excitement.  Now that he has made a lot of progress towards sitting up all on his own he really enjoys sitting up on your lap in the crook of your arm or with minimal support as he looks around.  It has made us wonder if he is going to be one of those kids that is a lot happier once they have more independence/movement.

If I am being truthful, I should have said when he is being held by Colter or I.  Unlike his brother at this age, Everett has “stranger danger” fear.  You so much as lock eyes with him and he goes into hysterics. HYSTERICS.  Make you want to babysit right?

Like his brother though, Everett discovered Thrasher this month and is in love.  Okay, he had been watching him and Bo, but this month he really started rolling and scooting for him as well as grabbing him for snuggles when he is near.  I think Thrasher is equally pleased to have someone who loves on him again.

Everything still goes in his mouth and he reaches and grabs for everything. Everything.  His hands and mouth have to be occupied all the time with a toy, his hands, your hands or the nearest thing he can pull to himself. (your plate, cup of coffee, dog tail etc.) Baby proofing things he can and cannot eat is harder when you have a toddler who wants his toys out but they are toys Everett can’t chew on!

Yes, he has started scooting but it is more of this rolling, wiggle scoot.  Put it this way, he has figured out that if he sees something he wants he can work his way to try and get over there.  So, the wheels of movement are turning and now right at turning six months he is trying to make his body obey!

His body will finally let him roll back and forth tummy to back and back to tummy as much as he wants.  He could do both of those individually but hadn’t put together going from one to the other which has “helped” his sleeping because he doesn’t feel stuck now.  Did I say help his sleeping?  Maybe I should specify.

This picture would be this first time in his life that he spontaneously fell asleep.  He was having a full,content day and lulled to sleep during my shower.  Caden did this all the time.

He is still up every 2-3 hours a night. Hooray! (No I don’t have a newborn, I have a six month old.) I know what you are thinking, “You need to sleep train that kid and let him cry some.”  It isn’t that. Honest. When he is “working us” for snuggles in the middle of the night etc. that will come in. He is up because he is hurting.  Holding him doesn’t comfort him right back to sleep as he twists, arches, moans, and whimpers himself back to sleep.  Since he often can’t eat enough during the day still he is also sincerely hungry at night at times needing a full feeding.

It seems as though as soon as we get a few good days where we think we are finally figuring something out (and then he falls asleep on the bathroom floor) or making progress we go right back in.

A trip to the GI doctor (a whole other medical post is coming) resulted in a difficult switch to prescription hypoallergenic formula despite 5 1/2 months of me eliminating everything from my diet to take out allergens.  This switch did help some and had to be done before we could see if we needing to keep prodding into what else is going on – which we do.  However, the switch allowed us to finally get him in his crib and not back and forth from the swing to crib to us to bassinet all night to keep him content hour to hour.  He is significantly more content and spitting up less (why he stays in his crib) but still not eating or pooping enough and fighting food/the process of digesting entirely too much. More hunting will continue!

I am trying to not let his challenges tie us to the house, but with the unpredictability and lack of sleep it is hard.  If he happens to fall asleep for example, I am in no way going to wake him up with the mindset that it will be okay because he will nap later.  if he hasn’t slept yet though I will gladly throw him in the car in case he falls asleep while driving!  See, unpredictable. Everyone enjoys it when we get out though so if we can make it happen we do!

I just wish for him we could figure out his trouble so he could have more reasons to be the be the happy giggly baby we see when he isn’t having a reason to fuss.  When I watch him I can see the sillyness behind his eyes already as he laughs at Caden, calms and grins to being sung to (Rock A Bye and Row Your Boat are favorites), or reaches for books as we read.  Unlike Caden he has already become mesmerized by the TV, especially if it is a kid show but like Caden he loves being outside. Loves it.

Don’t forget to see Everett’s first Easter experiences here and here with one more on the way which took place this month too!

For comparison sake here are some links to Caden when he was six months old.

Seriously…how were we all not terrified by this concept?  Since Everett wasn’t hunting this year, his egg hunting bucket like his brother’s was his basket as well.  I kept it simple with homemade sock bunnies for each boy, a couple books for Caden, chew toys for Everett – yes, like a dog and “Boo Boo” bunnies for the boys as well.  I enjoyed picking out a few things I knew they would each enjoy and would have been purchased by us anyway so it wasn’t much of an extra expense!  Cute, memorable, fun and cheap – perfecto.

“What’s this I see in my yard? Look Mom, Look Dad!”
(as he kept pointing to us to make sure we saw too)

Growing up, my mom had the best time hiding our Easter baskets from us before church.  When I say hide, I mean “made completely invisible”.  My brother and I would spend forever searching the house high and low for the goodies she had for us that year. Often, we would find each other’s basket but in true sibling fashion refuse to let on as to where it was other than to taunt the other with, “I know where your basket is! I know where your basket is! Nanny, Nanny, boo boo!”  It was never the expense of the basket but the design, the game of it and knowing the standard treats we could count on over the years – Peeps, a carton of Rainblo Gum Eggs, a large chocolate bunny, a stuffed animal of some sort and one small “gift” such as a cassette tape. Yes, I said cassette tape -  you have a problem with that?  The tradition of a basket in addition to church as they grow is something I look forward to carrying on with.

This year, I knew would be Caden’s first year to be “surprised” by the appearance of a basket. Instead of just giving it to him I decided to “hide” it in the middle of the yard so that when he went outside it would be waiting for him.  Decked out in his favorite Goodnight Moon PJs the allure of a basket of fun did not get lost on him.  First stop…the Elmo book of Itsy Bitsy Spider.  Favorite song + Favorite Character (who he has never ever seen on TV or anything so I have no idea why) = giddy. “Elmo! Elmo” Itty, Itty”

Next stop? Sock bunny.  Don’t be surprised if you see these exact same bunnies in their baskets next year. Not re-made, just re-purposed!

Some “choo-choo” slippers, sure to get a grin and a snuggle. Look at that grin.  I mean come on, kid grins are the best.  I didn’t put out many eggs for Caden this year because his Nonna & Pa Pa wanted to at brunch and I didn’t want to overload him.  Better to have one good happy experience than be forced to for no reason.  So, I put a few out around his basket with some little fake chicks inside etc. since he doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, nor does he need it!  He carried his basket into the house after announcing to his that he was cold and proceeded to continue tearing apart his basket and checking out his new treats.

Where was Everett? Being held by Dad.  We were saving his basket for brunch time entertainment.

Just as with the Christmas holidays I love being able to start the traditions with our little family each year in the mornings before joining in with our extended family to continue celebrating.  I was so excited for Caden to get to have some joy with us and then be able to share his joy with Nonna & Pa Pa too which you will see next!