Cash is definitely two

Cash has had some major ups and downs lately. it started at Grammy's house when he was a real handful but i wrote it off as him being out of his element, out of his routine and tired/jet lagged. but now that we've been home for almost a week he is still experiencing some major mood swings. When he's sweet, he is sweet and loving and likes to share and "pet" cooper and mommy and daddy but when he's bad, he's bad. He will get so frustrated and kick and scream and cry. I encourage him to use his words and tell us what is wrong but sometimes i'm not sure he actually understands what is wrong.
we're hanging in there with him, trying to be understanding but today he had to get in trouble when he was being a royal terror.

the awesomeness that is the Chan-man

while we were gone Chandler spent a good part of his weekend alone installing (or having a plumber install) a water softener. this was something we had talked about for years but never done anything about. we would mention it when the dishes would have spots or when the shower door would get caked in scum but it wasn't until we started having serious skin issues with Cooper that we really started talking about it. Cash has really dry skin too but never rashes, just more of the purpley eczema type skin but the scary, hot rashes on Cooper really made us take some action. this wasn't a cheap or easy installation because our house didn't come "wired" for a soft water loop and the device itself is a hefty investment. we decided that we would take the majority of our tax refund and put it toward this. and I LOVE IT. only a couple days in and already the boys' skin is softer and lotions seem to soak in better. the dishes are spotless and the towels are fluffier. we are really onto something here.

thanks honey for putting this in motion!

glow worm

i don't know why i didn't think of it when Cash was a baby but when i have Coop all swaddled up he totally looks like a glow worm.
i tried to unswaddle him for the night but that didn't work and he ended up waking up a couple times. so back to the baby burrito and we're all sleeping soundly again.
my guys totally are night pee-ers. Cash has "hhuuuuge" morning diapers and sometimes will soak completely through an 'extra-strength night time diaper'. Cooper is the same way, he wakes up with hhuuuuge diapers too. granted i don't do any night time changing and he eats 8oz before bed. i think his favorite time is when i take off his diaper and let him "air it out" in the mornings.

speaking of: i love the mornings since i've gotten them figured out. (before now they were just a chaotic mess). i get, pretty early, and get all ready for work, packed up, bottles made, pump parts cleaned, clothes laid out, etc. and then at about 7am we'll hear "knock, knock" (the actual words, not knocking) coming from Cash's room so Chandler (the only person he will allow to open his door in the a.m.) will go in and get him and i'll go into Cooper's room to get him. Cooper is usually awake and smiling at his baseball bears hanging from his mobile. This morning was no exception and i was greeted with a big huge gummy smile. Cash then came in and climbed up his stool and said, "good morning Cooper - aren't you cute."

Cash is really excited to go to Grammy's house - although he seems to be very excited to see Sophie and Pop (and he probably wont see a whole lot of either of them - but he'll be too distracted to notice). I talked to him for a long time on Saturday afternoon as we had our lunch in the grass. we talked about how Daddy wasn't going because he had to stay home to take care of Slider and go to work. we talked about how we were going to go on an airplane and watch Elmo videos. we talked about taking Cooper with us and we talked about who we would see. I asked him, who is at Grammy's house. He answered with a huge "aaaarrrcherrrr!" and then listed wiley, sarah and bobby.
(side note: Cash has a bit of a thing for Archer right now and wants to watch his flikr videos a lot. he also points out pictures around the house and when you ask him who the picture is he will tell you its Archer - even if its not.)
Last night as i was reading Cash his stories he said, "we're going to Grammy's house...in the car". so we have a little work to do getting him to understand we'll be flying - not driving. but maybe i can get away with it since we'll "drive" to the airport.
i'm not worried about flying with 2 of them but i'm terrified of Cash missing his daddy about a day into the trip and having nothing to do about it. i really, really hope that we can keep him busy enough to not worry about it but the boy is so attached to Chandler that it is a huge concern. we'll just have to call and skype a lot!

Cooper 4 months

DSC04924, originally uploaded by carolyn_martin.

Cooper is 4 months old!

Cooper did a great job today at his 4 month check up. He's a big (but not too big), healthy and happy boy. Sylvia and I devised a plan to sneak him out without Cash noticing so I met her in the garage at 11:15 - it worked like a charm. We didn't wait long and as I was getting Coop undressed to be weighed and measured i noticed that the dreaded rash was back. We talked about all the possible reasons and I always have the right answers so it remains a mystery:
Q: what soap are we using?
A: I rarely use soap on his skin, when i do it is Dove.
Q: what laundry detergent?
A: All free & clear.
Q: Do you double rinse?
A: Yes.
Q: What lotion do you use on him?
A: Almond oil, California Baby (gave him a rash), Aveeno (gave him a rash), Olive Oil, Aquaphor (gave him a rash).
Q: Do you keep him wrapped up?
A: not any more since he can get out of the swaddle.

so, we had a good laugh about how he's just a pasty white kid with sensitive skin who will probably always have some level of skin irritation - welcome to the club Son! and we got a prescription for an ointment that will help calm his rash. And we are going to try Eucerin cream.

He got 4 shots and a drink and is all vaccinated and ready to roll around in the dirt with the kids at daycare. He isn't exactly rolling all the way from front to back yet but rolls and shimmies and shakes his way around and cannot be trusted.

The biggest news is that he's got a little tooth poking through! I can't believe it. I'll have to check the tapes but I think Cash was 6 months when his little teeth started to sprout.

4 month stats:
weight: 15lb 11oz
height: 25 1/4"
head circumference: 41.9cm
(just barely bigger than Cash except Cash has a big ol' noggin and Coop's is a smaller by >1cm)

We can start him on some starter foods if we want but to me he still seems too young and i'm not in any hurry. he's doing great and we'll see Dr. Gobel in 2 months.

I sneaked him back into Sylvia's and raced back to work.

Cleaning

DSC05009, originally uploaded by carolyn_martin.

Today i decided to wash the carseats. Wow, good thing i did. it was one of those situations where you think its not that bad and then you peel back a layer and realize how bad it actually is. in those crevices was a years worth of snacks and crumbs and muck. they came out wonderfully and i actually got them put back together and back in the cars. I think its probably good to take your car seats out and put them back in every now and again to make sure they are strapped in correctly.