“This is my friend, Beckham.”
Jackson, to anyone who visits our yard or visits on FaceTime, even if they’ve already met Beckham. He switches back and forth saying “friend” or “brother.” And then usually it’s followed by an introduction to the dog: “And this is my brother, Luc!”
I finally decided to venture out with the boys this morning. Justin had an important presentation to make at a (virtual) meeting, the power was out and I was out of coffee — OK, mostly because I needed coffee!
Jackson was beside himself with excitement just with getting into the car. We have not driven him anywhere since early March before things first shut down.
“Look! My mirror!” he said, climbing into his car seat. “My cupholder!!!!!”
I couldn’t help but think of all the struggles we used to have getting him to sit down in his seat, and now here he was so happy to do it.
Then it must have jogged his memory again about the “old times” when we would do fun things outside the house.
“Remember we listen to music from music class? And we go to gymnastics?” he said.
Once we hit the road, we had only gone about half a block and then I heard him say:
“It’s so beautiful!”
What is??? The outside???
Followed by:
“This is so much fun, Mommy!”
Still not even a block away from home.
Followed by:
“Is this fun, Mommy?”
I’m not sure, haha.
The plan was to drive to the Metra station (after picking up coffee and munchkins!) and watch the trains go by. We never even got out of the car.
At one point a long freight train passed us, and it was carrying a bunch of huge, bright green tractors. Oh perfect! I thought. This actually is pretty cool!
I kept asking Jackson if he could see it. I couldn’t quite tell if he could from the vantage point in the back. I had asked him earlier if he wanted to sit up front with me to watch, but he said he wanted to stay in his car seat. Because car seats are so exciting now!
Finally, just as the very end of the train was passing by, Jackson tells me:
“Well, I can’t see it. But I can hear it.”
I couldn’t believe it. After all that, he didn’t even actually see anything!
And yet he still had a fabulous time. He kept talking all about his exciting trip to the train station!
Jackson insisted on taking the cushion from my rocking chair again to use as a pillow. Still can’t believe he actually fell asleep on it.
Me: “Nice job walking Luc.”
Jackson: “Oh, thank you. Nice job walking Beckham, Mommy.”
Me, Jackson, Beckham and Luc on a walk.
I bought a bunch of beans and poured them in a bin for Jackson to play with along with various scoops and measuring cups. It was such a hit (and kept him busy for quite awhile) that I was going to suggest it to my friend who has a son the same age.
Little did I know it would attract some uninvited guests!
I left the bin outside on the deck while I put Jackson down for a nap, and next thing I knew there were two raccoons up on our table and munching away.
I couldn’t believe it — they were dried beans and they weren’t out there for very long. And don’t raccoons only come out at night?! Later, I realized Jackson had poured some water in the bin, and it was a really hot day out so I think they did start to “cook” to some degree — or at least give off a scent.
It looked like a mom and a baby, and while they were cute, they were a little too close for comfort. I was nervous the mom was going to get aggressive with her baby there. But once we turned on some music, they ran off.
And then my super easy kids activity turned into such a chore! I had to throw away all the beans and then disinfect all the bins and utensils.
I put my hand against his feet, not pushing but just providing some resistance — and off he went! I’m in trouble, lol.
I had to grab something from Jackson’s room, and he was sleeping with his hands behind his head — just like what he used to do when he was a little baby in his crib!
I was sold on this one after my friend explained how there is no plug so you can move it around easily and put it anywhere. And then apparently the babies have fun bouncing themselves.
Also it folds flat for travel! Even though we probably won’t be doing that any time soon…
The playroom is finally clean! This needs to be documented because I know it won’t last long.
A new strategy: I left out this little “scene” below that Jackson created. I’m hoping that by leaving out some toys, he won’t realize the room is now clean (and needs to be immediately destroyed).
The rest of the house is, of course, still a disaster zone. But one room at a time!
Jackson, while stirring water in the bucket:
“It looks like my… my… my… my… my immersion blender!”
Jackson has actually been listening at nap time again… hopefully we made it through the worst of it!
Unrelated, but seeing this mop reminded me of when Jackson referred to me as “janitor” all throughout my birthday. (“Happy birthday, Janitor!”)
I should add that it was a reference to a Curious George book, haha.
Jackson, picking up a circular thing: “Last but not least, a Blippi CD! Compact disc.”
Had to go back to Jackson’s daycare today to pick up all of his things. It’s so crazy to think about how abruptly this all exploded back in March. I picked Jackson up one Friday, to never return again. On that final day there, I left all of his stuff (a bin full of clothes, wipes and whatnot) as usual without thinking twice about it. At the time, I think we were expecting it to be only two weeks or so… oy!
Jackson often wakes me up (and the baby) in the morning by running into the room saying, “I just want to say hi to Beckham!”
In the bathtub, Jackson was just spreading a washcloth across his face and pretending it was his mask.
Watching the Cubs-Sox game, and it wasn’t until the 6th inning when I realized it was a replay of the game I saw yesterday…
Baby brain strikes again!!
P.S. — Baseball just started up again, and it’s soooooo eerie with the stands completely empty!!!
Grandpa Dardick on FaceTime: “I have a picture of you on my desk.”
Jackson: “Oh, that’s so kind!”
Jackson, finishing his lunch: “OK, I’m going to go wash my hands.”
(Goes and puts his peanut butter-covered hands in front of Luc’s face.)
Me: “Jackson, that’s not washing your hands.”
Jackson: “But my hands are clean!”
I’m totally kicking myself for not pushing for 6 weeks of paternity leave right from the start for Justin. How did I think 3 weeks would be good?! Six should be the bare minimum!
Ohhh, hindsight, lol.
Jackson took the chair cushion off of my glider and said he wanted it as his pillow. I can’t believe he actually did fall asleep on it!
After struggling to get Jackson in bed for his nap, I finally told him I was going downstairs and started to close the door behind me.
Jackson: “But Mommy! But Mommy! Wait! Wait! Wait!”
Me: “What Jackson?”
Jackson: “Don’t forget to eat your vegetables!”
Me: “Jackson, a couple more minutes and then it’s time for your nap.”
Jackson: “OK, that sounds perfect!!”
I took Jackson for a walk today for the first time in a REALLY long time. Possibly since the Shamrock Hunt back in March.
I know I took Luc out for a walk by myself on his birthday in April (his bday present!), and I don’t think I’ve been out since then either. First I was pregnant and paranoid. (Our sidewalk gets busy — too many people out there!) And then just too tired with a newborn.
Either way, we’ve been quite literally sheltering in place for awhile now.
So once we started heading down the street today, it’s almost like it unlocked all these memories for Jackson of times when we, errrrr, left the house…
“Remember when we saw bagpipes at the parade? And we ate delicious donuts?” he said from his stroller. (This was referring to our last outing before the shutdown.)
“Remember when I did gymnastics?” (Open gym at the park district.)
“Remember when we went to the children’s museum?”
One after another! This poor kid.
I know it’s wishful thinking, but I hope this means Luc will start behaving better!
Threw a load of laundry in the washing machine. With only a few minutes left in the cycle, it dawned on me that I never added the detergent…
Now I’m beginning to question how many times I may have done this, thinking I was washing the clothes. Have I EVER put in detergent?!?!?
Jackson, responding to Beckham crying:
“I think Beckham is saying he’s hungry. Beckham, wait patiently for Mommy.”
Today Justin and I are celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary! It was so hard to believe it’s been five years that I had to fact-check that number.
It’s been our tradition to mark the occasion with a free 7-Eleven slurpee. But stupid coronavirus got in the way again. 7-Eleven canceled the promotion this year.
And we’re too scared to go get a slurpee anyway. Sounds crazy to even write that out…these are certainly strange times.
I’m sure I will be saying this every month… but, I can’t believe a month just went by! It already feels like he is growing up so fast.
A couple of highlights from Beckham’s first month:
First, his sleep!!
I worry I will jinx it every time I say it, but Beckham has been a pretty good sleeper. He sleeps sooooo much better than Jackson ever did at this age. Beckham gives me much longer stretches at night, and that has made a world of a difference.
The other night he went 4.5 hours before waking up and I was like whaaaaaaat is happening???!!! But usually he’ll go about 3-4 hours initially and then maybe 2-3 hours after that. Jackson, on the other hand, was waking up every 1-2 hours all night long. If I ever got even close to a 3-hour stretch, I felt amazing the next day. So Beckham’s sleep schedule has been a welcome surprise.
Also, I don’t have to do anything special to put Beckham down at night. No rocking or anything. I just lay him down in his bassinet, even if he’s awake, and he’s totally fine. I can’t remember what age Jackson was, but I definitely remember rocking him in the middle of the night waiting for him to fall in a deep enough slumber so that he wouldn’t wake up once I put him down. Maybe this stage is still coming with Beckham, but so far so good. Knock on wood!!!
Next, his poop! Omg… it’s crazy. He is definitely much more of a pooper than Jackson was. I am always amazed when I have to do TWO diaper changes to get through one feeding. And this happens much more often than you’d think!
I remember when I was getting all of Jackson’s old baby clothes ready, I was surprised by how nice and clean and “new-looking” all of his onesies were. I don’t think these outfits are going to fare as well through this baby, lol.
Overall, Beckham has been a pretty easy baby so far. He loves staring at Jackson, mirrors and his black and white picture book. And snuggling in his baby wrap.
For some festive snacks, Jackson “painted” strawberries and pretzels with white chocolate and then dipped them into blue sprinkles. We were just a little behind schedule… only a few days late, haha.
Woke up at 6:30 a.m. today to the sound of somebody playing the harmonica in his bed. (Hint: It wasn’t Justin.)
I was one of the lucky ones to score a blow-up pool in the pandemic, as most of them were already out of stock by the end of spring. But it took us forever to finally get it up and running.
I finally declared that we were getting the pool set-up this afternoon. Hooray!
There was rain in the forecast, but I calculated that we had enough time for a nice little dip before the storm was set to hit.
But then…
We cleared a spot and spread the pool out in the grass only to discover that the pump I borrowed from my parents wasn’t the right size.
I checked the instructions for insight. (You’d think one wouldn’t need instructions for an inflatable pool, but here we were…)
“Oh, it says to be careful dragging the pool around because it could tear,” I said to Justin.
About a half a second later, the pool tore on our makeshift fencing on the deck. Probably in multiple spots.
So then we were trying to patch up all the holes — hoping duct tape would be good enough — and fill the thing with air. After lots of scrambling, we ended up finding a pump for an air mattress that did fit into the plugs.
Finally, Justin began filling our sad, half-deflated pool with cold water from the hose.
“OK, Jackson!” I said. “Let’s go get your bathing suit on!”
And then we heard the thunder.
Jackson quickly climbed in with his clothes on — and slippers, too! — before we had to drag him inside.
So much for our pool day. Hopefully we’ll have better luck tomorrow! (Also, time to order some pool patches on Amazon.)
Beckham looooves the wrap!
And so do I! We use it all the time. I don’t know how I could possibly chase after Jackson (inside, outside, upstairs, downstairs, this room, that room, sitting, standing, etc.) without it.
Jackson, referring to Beckham: “What should we name this baby? Beckham or CiCi?”
Me: “Oh, what do you think?”
Jackson: “Let’s name him JJ.”
I am SO missing the days of being able to trap Jackson in his crib. He runs away at nap time now! It’s so hard to get him in his bed (and stay there). And to think I used to just so easily lay him down in the crib and be done.
Today, for example, I was trying to change his diaper before his nap, and he ran into the nursery and hid under the crib. I was wearing Beckham at the time, so I couldn’t get under there and get him. And he thinks it’s soooooo funny.
Actually the other night Luc grabbed something he shouldn’t have had, and then he ran and hid under the crib, too!! These two are killing are me!
Jackson seemed fine when we first brought Beckham home, but I started noticing a change after Justin went back to work. I think initially he didn’t mind my attention on the baby because then he just went to Justin for everything.
But once Justin started working again, and my attention was still on the baby, that’s when Jackson started acting out more.
He would flip over and dump out Luc’s water bowl nearly every time he passed it. He would drop things inside my coffee mug. And he’s been really rough with Luc. Plus as I mentioned above, nap time has become horrendous.
I’ve been googling “how to get your toddler to listen” and trying every method in the book. Nothing really seems to work.
Another recent battle: Jackson barely eats anything any more. He says he just wants a “snack.” I tried just calling everything a snack even if it was say, spaghetti for dinner, but he was too wise to that.
I hope this passes soon! Now I’ve got him and Luc both teamed up against me, haha.
The CDC just now released a report showing pregnant women are, indeed, at a higher risk for COVID complications.
To say we got confusing and conflicting information in the first few months of the pandemic is an understatement. Sometimes they said pregnant women were fine, sometimes they said otherwise.
It seemed logical that it could be worse for us — our immune systems are suppressed and, especially in the third trimester, our lung capacity has decreased. So I just operated under the assumption that this was bad. And who knows what could be passed on to the baby?
Some of the initial advice was based on a startling low number of cases. Don’t quote me on this, but I want to say the first study was based on 9 births in China, and the second one only around 40 births. And that was the best we had to go off of!
It was encouraging to hear babies born from infected mothers seemed to be OK, but there was still not enough data.
By the end of May, researchers in Chicago discovered the virus was causing damage to the placenta. So scary!!!
It’s crazy to me that some people can be so comfortable and confident about COVID when things have already changed so much in only the first few months it has spread. And the new report only goes to show how little information we still really have.
The latest story from ProPublica:
“After months of asserting pregnant women were not at high risk for the coronavirus, the CDC recently released a study with sobering findings for expectant mothers. Experts say the data gaps are almost as worrisome as the results.”
Lately every time Jackson goes down for a nap, he tells me as he’s laying in bed and I’m walking out the door:
“Mommy, don’t forget to eat your vegetables!”
I told Jackson it was was the Fourth of July today, and then he asked what we were going to do. Uhhhh… nothing.
Earlier, when I was pregnant, I was so focused on the delivery and getting through it safely, that it’s really just starting to hit me now how sad this summer is going to be without being able to do any of the fun things we are used to. Of course, I’m happy that we are all healthy, but it still sucks being stuck at home and not seeing friends and family.
For July 4th, there’s normally a parade — with bagpipes, marching bands and donuts, Jackson’s favorites — and then we watch fireworks in Evanston at my in-laws’ high-rise, where you can see firework displays from all the suburbs all along the horizon.
This year all the parades and fireworks have been canceled.
I saw on Facebook that the Glen Ellyn fire department was going to drive through the town in the afternoon, so we were trying to carefully listen for sirens from our backyard.
Sure enough, at one point we did hear sirens going off, so we all sprinted to the front yard as fast as we could. I could see a fire truck coming down May Avenue towards our house. But as it hit the intersection, it turned down another street before reaching our house.
We all started running again down the sidewalk, chasing after the truck. A bunch of kids, on the other side of the street, were also running to their front yard trying to get a look.
Once Jackson got to the corner, we could only see the very back of the truck going up and over the hill. You could see the flashing lights for about two or three seconds.
Later, Justin was out in the front yard with Jackson when apparently they saw one firework go off. Jackson ran to get me to show me the spot where he saw it.
To me, it was the saddest thing: one firework and barely a glimpse at a firetruck. But Jackson has been talking non-stop about those two things! He was SO excited!
And he keeps wanting to just sit in the front yard to wait for more firetrucks, lol.
“Remember the donuts at the parade? Those were really good.”
Jackson, randomly referring back to the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
I was reminded today that when my Grandma had a newborn (my mom), she also had: an 11 month old, a 2 year old, a 4 year old, a 6 year old and a 7 year old.
Meanwhile, I’m dying over here after one day with just the two.
Seriously, how did she do it????
A friend of mine texted me asking how I manage to feed myself with two kids now. Admittedly, it was the second day in a row of just eating pretzels and Oreos for lunch. Even worse, Jackson just ate pretzels for lunch followed by Cheerios for dinner.
Justin, trying to get Jackson to get in his room for bed time: “OK, I’m gonna go read a story to Lamb.”
Jackson: “OK, that sounds great!”
(stays put)
Jackson: “Mommy, can you hug Beckham?”
Me: “Aww, does he need a hug? Will that stop him from crying?”
Jackson: “Yeah, plus I can’t hear the music.”
When the missing gym shoe is under the crib — not just on the floor under the crib, but shoved between the metal bars holding up the mattress.
“Here it is, Mommy!”
Of course! Why didn’t I think to look there?!
I was feeling so good because I somehow managed to change Jackson and get him down for a nap while baby wearing, but then I took Beckham out of the wrap and he was completely covered in poop…and so was I!
Justin was supposed to go back to work today (still working from home, just the end of paternity leave). But his company blocked computer/email access during his leave, and he discovered it’ll take 24 hours before he’s allowed back in to the system.
That means I got one more day of help — hooray!!
While I was still pregnant and he was deciding how much time to take off, I thought three weeks sounded like a good chunk of time. It was longer than he got for Jackson.
But now that three weeks have passed… what was I thinking??!?!?! Six weeks should be the absolute bare minimum!!
Me: “Last chance for dinner.”
Jackson: “Last chance to run fast!”
(runs away)
Before Beckham was born, I was trying to find something to replace our Rock-n-Play, which had been recalled. I’ll need somewhere to be able to put the baby down, I thought.
Now that he’s here, I discovered Luc’s dog bed works just fine. So cozy!
(Jackson gave him Soldier Teddy Bear to sleep with — how nice!)
