The Kiddos

Cecily Grace Gough 

2.5 Months

• This little girl is such a blessing to our family.
• What a chatterbox!  These aren't just gurgles, I almost half expect her to speak in fully formed words.  She is especially chatty in the morning and right before falling asleep.
• Such a smiley baby.  Always happy to see her Mommy - what a confidence booster.
• Was born at 8.3 lbs. and fell down to 7.6 lbs. before leaving the hospital.  A month later she jumped up to an awesome 12 lbs.!
• For the past two evenings she has been sleeping for 8 hours! Whoa, right?  I can't expect perfection from her all the time, can I?
• She's a mover for sure.  No wonder I felt those kicks so early on.
• She loves the sound of the piano.  We realized this as she was crying in the RS room and I began to play and she stopped immediately to listen.

Oliver Joseph Gough

23 Months

 

• He is one happy little man and I love him for his naturally kind and sweet heart. 
• Any boo-boo requires a kiss until it no longer hurts.
• This awesome dude loves his itsy bitsy spider and twinkle twinkle little star. 
• He's into this youtube song by Super Simple Learning.  The format goes as such: "Do you like broccoli? Yes I do, Yes I do. Do you like ice cream? Yes I do, Yes I do.  Do you like broccoli ice cream?  No I don't. Yucky!" It's hilarious to see him crack up.
• This kid loves Trotro in French.  I'm not quite sure of how much he actually understands.
• He's using all sorts of words now and of course only repeating words only when he feels like it.
• He enjoys hopping, jumping, and has even done a skip once while playing with Dad.  Mom was impressed to say the least.
• He loves his sister and says "hello" to her multiple times a day, brings her toys, gives her suffocating kisses, and is her protector and body guard.  When friends and strangers alike have come over to her car seat he'll stand his ground in front of her and clearly announce a "No!".

NYCB Tribute to 9/11

I thought this was a beautiful tribute and had to share . . . even if  a month late.

(Found on the blog ablogaboutlove)

Welcoming Fall

Oliver takes after his Mom and loves to spend time outside.  It takes much convincing to get this kid back in the house.

Cecily at one month old and already 11 lbs. (just ignore my penguin pjs).  I'm loving my time at home with her and Oliver and am constantly reminded of how lucky I am that I don't have to return to work.

It's been all Halloween crafts up in Gough household for the past couple weeks.  When crafting starts to feel tedious Oliver makes my efforts worth the time with his expressions of excitement - a cute little "Ooooo!" accompanied with a finger point towards the object designated worthy of such an exclamation.

Yo Gaba Gaba has been reintroduced into our household after a six month hiatus.  Who needs tranquilizers when oddly shaped and brightly colored giants are willing to dance and sing for twenty minutes at a time?  They're totally psychedelic man. 

Suiting Up the Little Man

Isn't he just the most handsome little man ever?  About two months ago my parents came out to visit and brought a trunk load of gifts and hand-me-downs.   And along with the items came a wonderful wardrobe of dress clothes and jackets for Oliver from my sweet cousin Kim.  The majority of his clothing is now almost all second-hand or gifts from family.  Since moving out to Illinois for John to become a full-time student I've honed my frugality skills and am now proud to admit that I am now a garage sale junkie.  Oliver is wearing a shirt bought at a garage sale for $2, a tie bought on sale for $2, the vest and slacks were hand-me-downs, and the shoes (brand new) were bought at a garage sale for $2.  Although the outfit doesn't necessarily match - I think he still looks pretty good at $6!

I'm really just so grateful for how sweet of a kid Oliver is and how willing he is to roll with the punches.  Early in my pregnancy we had a nicely filled schedule with outings and play dates.  However, with the end of my pregnancy much of our daily activities have been confined to our apartment and movies are unfortunately now a part of our daily repertoire.  But he takes everything in stride.

Today he refused to take a nap.  A tragedy for any SAHM really.  I took him to his room at the usual 10:30am.  He laid down calmly, rubbed his eyes and drank his milk while I tucked him in and laid his kangaroo nearby.  A few minutes later there was some babbling.  And then half an hour later there was still more babbling (many ya-ya-yas) and so out we came.  And by 5:30pm he was feeling the lack of sleep.  When I refused to read a book as immediately as he requested he became upset and threw the book - however, within three seconds he and I were able to turn that tantrum into a giggle fest.  He rolled on the floor and we would call giggles back and forth as if it were our own secret language.  With a half an hour left before Dad was out of class I had little left I could think of to do to interact with Oliver and with a recently inflamed hip and ankle any activity would have to be confined to me sitting on the couch.  And I refused to allow myself to turn on any kind of t.v. or to resort to any kind of media app (even a learning one).  So Oliver obliged and ran and picked out a few books to read at my request (for the third time today) and then, even though he was dog tired - he played fetch.  I threw the ball, he ran and caught it.  It just amazed me that he had such a great attitude when he was already upset and tired.  I couldn't be any luckier and love Oliver so much and at times wish I knew how to move past my own limitations and love him even more.  It sounds corny and all - but he definitely deserves it.

Sweet Corn Festival

Messy corn face.

Awesome tiger painted by our neighbor Joy at her face-painting booth.

For the last weekend of John's break (all two wonderful weeks) we made an excursion to the sweet corn festival in Urbana on Saturday.  And we were pleasantly surprised!  The festival was a mere ten minutes away, parking was free and across the street.  Entrance was also free, each booth was easily accessible, the temperature had dropped to something much more mild and bearable, and there was plenty of seating available to take time to munch on our reasonably priced goodies.  

It was a nice evening out as a family and I have to say that I was truly ecstatic about Oliver getting painted.  He would look down at it intermittently and make his raspy Tiger call.  "Roar" he would say, and John and I roared back in response.  Praising him with our smiles for attributing the right call to the animal on his knee.  

I recalled to John that as a kid, face-painting was always the best part to any outdoor festival.  I remembered getting a butterfly painted as a kid and refusing to wash it from my face upon returning home that evening.  Not until the morning did I concede to my Mom that it was fading and no longer in the shape of a butterfly, but blotches of paint in pink and purple that I reluctantly washed from my face.

Although festivals have their downsides, like the drunken lady badgering me for eating a pulled pork sandwich instead of the fried fish from the stand she was sitting next to and the crowds the Sweet Corn Festival was a success!

The thought that I ought to blog more often occurred to me when making a comment on another blog.   I then proceeded to read the few posts I made on Manhattan Mornings while living in SI and I wished that I had documented more of my experiences while living there.  The little details that I did record made my memories of NYC and SI much more vivid than what I could recall off hand.  I'd still like to record current family events, but I tend to enjoy recollecting memories and am hoping, in an effort to encourage myself to blog more, to record a memory weekly.  Although, I guess anything in the past is considered a memory, but if I approach it as recollecting rather than recording current activities it seems to make it more of an enjoyable hobby rather than a burdensome task.  And so there we are.  Of course as I write this Oliver is running circles around me asking repeatedly "This?  This?  This?".

Cecily Grace Gough

The following are the good and bad of Cecily's pregnancy:


The Good:

I've gained less weight than my pregnancy with Oliver.
I do not have gestational diabetes.
First trimester  nausea was far more minimal than it was with Oliver.
Der Guervain's hasn't been a problem at all.
Prenatal vitamins haven't made me ill.
I feel Cecily move quite a bit.
Smelling essential oils like lavender is very calming.
The summer has been temperate and the heat has been manageable.
I haven't felt faint like with Oliver. Every subway ride was a challenge.


The Bad:

Carpal tunnel in my right is bad enough that it's been numb for the past three months.
Stretch marks have made an appearance for the first time.
I'm slightly anemic, so I will see stars, crave ice, and am addicted to soap, detergent, and lavender.
Ulcers in my first trimester were extremely painful.  That combined with nausea, made each meal a challenge to eat.
Restless leg syndrome in my second trimester made resting, riding in a car, and sleeping difficult.
Exhaustion was pretty intense during the first trimester.
Braxton Hicks contractions in my third trimester are prevalent (mostly due to the fact that I dehydrate very quickly and need to be drinking water consistently).


The Same:

Swollen like a balloon.
Symphisis Pubic Dysfunction (SPD) makes walking painful - especially after resting.
Breathing is difficult, and randomly feel short of breath even when resting.
John has been wonderful, patient, and supportive throughout - helping and giving where needed.