The McGloin Family

Big Boy Crayons - January 29th, 2012

For the past few years we've been using jumbo sized crayons for Colin. I did that because he kept trying to eat them and this helped, slightly. The other day I realized he probably uses regular crayons in school and maybe it's time for big boy crayons. 

I took them out after nap time but Colin was upstairs with Ryan. So I took them for a test drive. I know it's terrible that I didn't let Colin christen them, but I really have never been able to resist brand new crayons. They are just so bright and beautiful. Jasper usually wants nothing to do with crayons, other than snacking, but he too gave them a shot. I don't think I used them up too much, chances are Colin won't even notice what a jerk I am.

Jasper has a very short attention span these days, so coloring was boring after about 2 minutes.

I see people feeding their kids whole pieces of pizza, fruit, cheese, chips, all the time. So today I tried out a whole piece of pizza with Jasper. He chewed on it forever, it was very cute. I think he really liked it. I liked it until he shoved the entire thing into his mouth. We'll have to hold off on whole pieces for now. Actually, he gnawed on an entire pear yesterday and that wasn't so bad, but I won't do that with anything he can actually shove in.

Do you notice anything chunky funny about this picture?

Peek-a-boo.

Colin loves to see himself in videos, so we've been taking more of him. This one includes a very disheveled me. In my defense, I'm a slob and I pulled a muscle in my back, so fixing my hair was on the back burner. The back thing is just a bad excuse, I don't groom too much at home. Note that Colin is eating strawberries. Thats one of the things he'll eat. I never thought our guy that we had to hold food back from would become so picky.

Please enjoy this snippet of our monsters wrestling. And no, we don't usually have both boys in here and actually only use the pack n play for naps. In case you were wondering.

Looks like we have a warmup on our hands, so enjoy the beautiful weather.
Mia, Ryan, Colin and Jasper 

Two Black Socks - January 28th, 2012

Who has two black socks and won't stop asking for more bread? This guy!

Here he is telling me he's three years old.

Seriously, you have to admit he pulls off the whole suave look quite nicely . . . Especially for a kid in a diaper and black socks.

Jasper kept stealing the bread and loading up his entire mouth. It just tells me he's not ready to portion out his own food. Both our boys tend to shove all of their food in. Actually, Colin is getting better at taking small bites and chewing.

Then he told me he was on his bicycle.

When it was my turn to sleep in Ryan took these. It's a sort of fun loving cage match.

Jasper likes to jump up and down like a little monkey.

The old ankle grab.

Head lock.

And then the trusty head plow. Don't worry, for the most part Colin is very gentle and Jasper is mostly hugging.

Most of my friend's with blogs have girls. They're always all dolled up and clean. I mention clean because most times Colin gets away before we can wipe his face and we just sort of let him. The boys do have cute clothes, they just choose to go pantless or nude. It's like 25 degrees today and since breakfast Colin has refused everything but socks. At least his feet are warm.

Which reminds me, stay warm and wear socks.
Mia, Ryan, Colin and Jasper 

Mister Monkey Business - January 27th, 2012

Colin had preschool today so it was just us home working and Grandma Barb watching Jasper. After a nice nap Jasper changed into this adorable getup.

Also, our little buddy still cries daily before school. Getting his socks, shoes and coat on can be a challenge. It breaks our hearts. Today Barb dropped him off. She said on the walk over she asked where they were going and he said Chalk Preschool. Then when they got there he went right up the stairs and to his room. He washed his hands when he got in and turned to play at a table with four other kids. At that point he was hiding a smile. Me thinks someone knows his crying has an effect on us.

Here is Jasper waving out the window and saying hi. He was pointing to Pippi as she sat on the deck. When Grandma walked by to take some garbage out he was super excited. 

Hiding in the curtains.

Jasper, I love your sweet profile.

If you ever come to our house and your things go missing, this is a good place to start looking.

Colin was so happy when we walked in to take him home from school. He even hugged his teachers, I love watching that, its so cute.

We always have a snack and water with us. Otherwise, forget it, the walk would be unbearable. So today when I grabbed some things from Trader Joes I got him some pretzel bread. He loves that stuff. I gave him a big hunk when we got to the stroller. He was ravished. You would be too if you boycott any real meal  you are offered. I'm convinced Colin lives on hummus, crackers and strawberries. Plus, the occasional pizza. So I'm sure he skips lunch and only eats at snack time.

Anyway, he ate the bread and wanted more a block or two from the house. It was basically the worst two blocks I've ever walked. He was so mad that the bread was gone. By the time we got in the house he was out of control and even threw a book. So, I gave him a time out. He was crying at this point but managed to calm down long enough to hug me. It makes me sad when he acts like this. I know he's just tired and hungry. Doesn't hunger make everyone mad? So once calm I ran for the hummus and oyster crackers. He gradually became our friend again. I'm thinking something with protein would probably be a good idea for the walk home, or speed walking. 

Then we had dinner and he was all smiles and jokes. I like that guy way better. By the way, Jasper, please don't go through this phase. Alas, we all go through it. Oh well.

Good night Mister Monkey Business and King of Hummus. And King of Hummus, even when you're mad and crazy we love you to pieces
Mia, Ryan, Colin and Jasper 

Two Ears! - January 22nd, 2012

When Ryan has his papers laid out on the table Colin likes to join him. I was tempted to clean these up, because as you can see he was still pretty sloppy from lunch and he no longer wears a bib. I started to, then I got lazy.  The reality is he's pretty fast these days, so washing him up isn't always easy.

Check out Pippi behind the gate. We put her back there now because the boys like to fee her and she's been getting sick a lot. When she's sequestered like this the tummy aches seem to disappear. Plus, I've seen the boys feed her, so I know whats up.

Jasper has been running around saying "Hi!" to everyone. At first I thought I was imagining it, but I'm pretty sure he's saying hi to us. Plus he waves when he does it.

Mom's Lil Heartbreaker. Enjoying a great read.

Reading and pointing. For awhile he didn't really see the point in reading and now he's hooked. He likes to hand us books to read, but he gets to turn the pages and does all the pointing. Colin loves reading, so we hope Jasper does too.

He likes to climb up these steps and pull books out of a little bin we keep at the top of the stairs. Ryan thinks its funny because if Jasper sees me watching him climb he goes faster. Then when he gets to the top I grab him and he laughs his rump off. Maybe he thinks he's doing something wrong and is laughing because he got caught. In any case I love his laugh.

Look at Jasper and George. Last May I took a picture of these two together and Jasper was much smaller.

 Colin has been saying funny things lately. He can be a bit bossy. Today when Barb got up from dinner he yelled, "Sit down grandma!" I assume he said that because we are constantly telling him to sit back down. It was kind of a riot. He's also been taking things and telling us there are two of them. Two strawberries, two cups...Then he took the two cups and said, "Two ears!" I made him repeat because it was so funny.

His vocabulary is really growing and he's repeating a lot. At breakfast he told me the strawberries were big. They were by the way. Here he is not eating the Chinese food we ordered. I said, "Colin, eat this pea pod." And he promptly said, "NO PEAPOD!" I know I shouldn't laugh at this stuff, but it's so rapid, it makes us laugh. Plus, we've waited ages for him to speak more freely.

I almost forgot, Colin is the puzzle king. This morning after breakfast he put three puzzles together. I helped, but only with a few pieces. Thats pretty darn cool.

We're beat. This week and weekend wore us out. Both boys had fevers and now we all have colds. Seriously, I've had more colds this winter than my entire life. That may or may not be true, but it feels true.

Have a great week,
Mia, Ryan, Colin and Jasper 

Sick Day - January 20th, 2012

So Monday I jokingly called Monday our funday. Turns out it was a funday. Or at least more fun than Wednesday and Thursday. When I was at work on Wednesday I got a call that Colin woke up from nap time with a fever. His teacher said he was breathing kind of heavy, had a fever and was stuffed up. So Ryan ran over to get him. He was fine, but really stuffed up and warm.

Yesterday Grandma Barb noticed he was getting warmer and was a bit out of it. So after work Ryan and I ran him over to the dr. She said he was breathing heavy because he was so stuffed up. She also noticed his tonsils were a bit swollen. When she went to look in his ears he seemed bothered. I guess they were clear, so no ear infection. He threw up on the way home, but I think that was more from too much saliva. He was better after that. 

Incidentally, he did have a hearing an vision test at school. He did fine until they tried to put head phones on him, hated it. Could be due to not feeling well. He also hated the eye patch part of the test. The person administering the test said he seems to have no hearing or vision problems. She added that lots of kids his age hate the ear phones and the patch, so at this point we just go on as we have been. No big deal. I'm chalking it up to immaturity and illness.

So in addition to his cool air mister we have been putting saline in his nose. It seems so be helping. Today his fever was down, his nose is runny (better than not being able to breath,) and he's much more chipper.

Jasper doesn't really care too much for the TV. Looks like he might be getting more interested. Not to be the worst parent ever, but if I was able to occupy him for 30 mins while I made dinner or did anything else for that long, it wouldn't be the worst thing ever, right?

This guy cannot resist hugging his brother and wrestling.

Look at the admiration. It makes me want to eat them up.

Yesterday Jasper had his third visit with the high risk group. The hospital likes to follow preemies to make sure they get therapy should they need it. So we went yesterday. Jasper charmed the nurses and Drs. with his big smile. He was so happy, until they took his vitals, HATED IT! Other than that he was great. He walked and played with the occupational therapist. We've seen the same one with both boys. She's very sweet and great at her job. She had Jasper do some small puzzles and other tasks. He did great. Barb and he do puzzles every day. The OT said she remembered Jasper from his first visit. She said they came to see him and were amazed by all he was capable of. She said she saw no need to adjust his age at this time. He was right where a 13 month old should be. 

The nicu Dr. basically said the same thing. All of his abilities are within the normal range. He was going to discharge him but decided to see him in 6 months. That works for me. Should Jasper need speech therapy, like his big brother, I'd like to get him started at 18 or 19 months. So far he loves to babble and some things he says sound like words, but a little boost always helps. 

We're so pleased and blessed by the good news. Going to these appointments can be scary. I felt pretty good yesterday, especially when the appointment was over. So we'll go on as we have been. One on one time is important for these guys and we try to get in as much as possible. I feel lucky to spend time with them. These smarties teach me something new every day. And we all know you're supposed to learn something new every day! Right.

Have a safe and toasty weekend,
Mia, Ryan, Colin and Jasper 

The Fonze - January 18th, 2012

Colin used to be my personal model. I followed him around and snapped pictures all day. Then he started avoiding the camera. Those were dark days for me. And then smiley Jasper joined us. And wouldn't you know it, Colin is back to posing for me again. Oh the circle of life.

Anyway, from time to time I go back to the archives and find some of my old favorites. Here they are.

So cute it's like he isn't real.

Would you look at that, he was already getting his charming glare. And wow, what a sporty dresser.

Just before his eyes turned brown. Still captivating.

Cuddling me back when I was his favorite. Now I'm only his favorite when he's hungry. It's OK, I still love and respect him.

Hey, there's my sweet boy.

Ignoring me for George. Jasper doesn't understand the lure of the boob tube. He will, but for now he's all mine. ALL MINE!

Do you know why Colin took this picture? Because I paused the tv, thats why.

The other day Jasper was climbing on the mega blocks table. He looked like a he was surfing. Of course he was also dancing, always dancing.

Tonight two fun things happened. Colin gave me his tiny thumbs up. He really concentrates when he does it. I like that about him, very intense like the Fonze. I can picture him walking into Al's Diner and giving the jukebox a little pop to change he song. He's that cool.

Jasper and I were listening to music and playing with weebles. Yakety Yak, was playing. I turned to him really quickly and said, Don't talk back! At first it caught him off guard, and then he was roaring with laughter. I did it over and over. I love his belly laugh, it's contagious.

Stay warm,
Mia, Ryan, Colin and Jasper 

Monday is Our Fun Day! - January 16th, 2012

Yay, yahoo it's Monday. Isn't Monday the best . . . OK, so it's not our favorite day of the week, but it wasn't so bad. Of course Colin started crying as soon as I said his teachers names. I do that on the mornings he's going to school, more to slowly ease him into it. Not working so far. He was so upset getting ready. I ended up having to put his boots on twice, he kicked them off the first time. Once I took him into the classroom, he was crying on and off. The teacher looked at me and said, "You know when you leave he's fine." Actually, he teared up when I said goodbye, but was simultaneously engulfed in playing with a set of trucks and cars, so I scooted out.

He learned a lot and was a good and happy boy all day. I ended up with a massive headache, but it was nice out, I wasn't swamped so that evens it out. We were all in a great mood when I came home and there was food in the crock pot, courtesy of Barb. Not having to cook is another plus. And Colin went in the potty twice. He's doing great at that, but still not always telling us when he has to go.

As you can see he was a barrel of laughs. He ate zero of the dinner I put on his plate, but he did drink two glasses of milk and had tons of strawberries, I take what I can get. At one point he was drinking Jasper's milk out of his new sippy bottle. It made me laugh and when I told him it was Jasper's sippy, he also laughed and said, "Sorry." Not hysterical when I re-tell it, but funny because he knew he made me laugh and that saying sorry made me laugh harder. I wonder if my Colin who didn't have tantrums 10 times a day will be back soon?

Help, I can't find my best friend Colin!

Oh yeah, there he is!

Nothing like being wedged between a table and a basket of blankets.

This little beauty was shot when Colin almost snagged my camera. We all know how badly that could have turned out.

Finally, a picture of Jasper hugging/wrestling Colin.

And being ignored at the same time. I kept wondering why Colin's back was all wet and realized it was courtesy of this guy's slobber mouth.

Have a great week. Looks like yucky weather here so stay warm.
Mia, Ryan, Colin and Jasper 

Thumbs Up - January 15th, 2012

This chilly weather is making us all tired. In between staying warm and napping we've been doing some other stuff.

Colin started going to preschool 3 days, as opposed to 2. I've noticed when we pick him up he's been more outgoing and a bit more chatty.  About three months ago Colin's speech therapist asked me what my goals were for Colin. I said I ultimately just wanted to have a conversation with him. I wouldn't say we sit and chat it up, but he wants to tell me things now. What things are, where things are, what he wants to do, what he thinks is funny, little by little we're getting there. 

Tonight at dinner he was holding Jasper's fork and his own and announced, "Two forks." It was funny to hear, but also true. So in addition to counting all the time, he actually can put it into practice.

He also likes to give the thumbs up. Its so cute seeing him raise his tiny thumbs. Our guy is so special to us and tickles us with his antics. And, he seems to slowly getting more interested in eating again. By that I mean eating more than hummus, crackers, bread, cookies, cake, apples and bananas. So thats a good thing. You can see the proof on his spaghetti covered face.

Jasper is just so independent and at the same time, so loving and cuddly. He loves taking Colin's froggy, drinking Colin's milk and pulling Colin's placemat over to steal his food. With such and open and loving face, this kid gets away with a lot, even with his older brother.

We're still working on getting him to crawl down stairs. He seems stuck on just walking down. Amazingly, he almost does sometimes.

Just wanted to tell you those few fun things. We're pretty lucky. As I sit here and look at them in the monitor, I feel so lucky to have them and get to know them.

Hope you have a great week.
Mia, Ryan, Colin and Jasper. 

Dancing and Other Friday Stuff - January 13th, 2012

Fridays are kind of busy for us. Both Ryan and I work from home that day, plus it's a bit of a cleaning day for me. I like to change all the sheets and wash as much laundry as I can. So it can get a bit hectic. Plus, I can hear the boys playing and it's hard to resist not seeing them. Then when I see them they don't want me to leave. All very good problems.

Today was different though. Colin recently started going to school an additional day. For now that day is Friday, hopefully Thursday soon. So he was gone. It's an easier day for Barb and eventually whoever takes over as nanny, but for me it was kind of sad. I like seeing my buddies on the day I work from home, but we really want to get him ready for next year when he'll be in five days a week, so it's better this way. It was a quieter day and hopefully easier for Barb. She works her tail off and all alone certain days, two days with just Jasper is a nice day of rest. 

I took lots of pictures of him today and a few videos. In this one he's dancing, sorry it's sideways. I was trying to capture two things, one of him dancing and one of him trying to hug/wrestle Colin. I got the dancing on video, but by gumption that wrestler is elusive. When he eats he dances a little and whenever there is music on he likes to dance. It's very natural and sweet. Here I captured him reading.

Then eating . . . a book. What's new right? He's either eating the real stuff or eating books. Also, I think it may be time for another haircut. It's been about two weeks and he's due for another. We used quick grow on their hair.

Today his beautiful eyes were green. They tend to change.

Um, when did Pippi turn into Marmaduke? Jasper loves to pet her so you might think that brought her over. Really it was the mini Nilla wafers he was eating.

Checking out the activity in our backyard. Per usual nothing is happening.

Nothing but a whole bunch of awesome baby!

Yay, then we picked up Colin. He was very sad every time we dropped him off this week, but his reports of each day were always great. He cries when we leave and then turns very happy. His teacher said he was a great listener and very happy today.

See the arrow pointing to the treat container? There are Cheerios and oyster crackers in here. Jasper kept circling the table. Once Colin was gone we found him eating the treats. Whenever Colin would turn back around his hand that was reaching over would slowly retreat. This happened a few times. Both Barb and I witnessed it and I must say, it was hilarious. He is too stinkin' cute,  funny and hungry. Always hungry. Colin was the same, he too loved to eat. Now he's on a food strike. Glad we fattened him up when he was small. We're essentially doing the same thing with Jasper.

Can you tell me what is different about these last two pictures?

Thats right, Mr Nudist demanded we take his shirt off. These dudes love being naked. Brrr too cold for that.

When Colin comes home from school I love to ask what he did. He rarely tells me because he's too into playing. Today I remembered that his activity was to make a frog, so I asked him about it. He kept playing and drinking his juice. I probably asked about 2-3 times and he finally turned and calmly said, "Yes, yes, yes." Then turned back to play. It was slightly sarcastic, annoyed and also funny. 

Walnut Room and Underwear - January 8th, 2012

Grandma Lorraine loves going to the Walnut Room at Macy's. We've been going since I was a little girl and it was still Marshall Fields. The restaurant is really beautiful. We would go when I was little and stand in a giant line hoping to be seated under the massive tree. Then you'd order lunch with a hot chocolate and take your mug home. Its a fun tradition and my mom still loves going. I have a box of mugs to prove it. Fun fact, Grandma Barb used to go when she was a college gal. She'd go with her friends. This was her first trip back since then. 

Colin likes to see all the trees. He refused to eat, not the biggest surprise. Jasper ate rolls, squash soup, pot pie and lots of dessert. It was fun and I think we all enjoyed ourselves. Colin got this Toy Story 3 garbage truck. He refused to share and Cameron was very understanding. Today when we were at the park Colin and two little girls fought over the steering wheel of the train. I stood there watching and trying to get him to share. There was a dad there laughing that teaching a kid how to share is the worst. I concur.

Aunt Lorri gave Colin some purse size coloring books and sticker sets in his stocking. Those came in handy. Colin used them all up. 

Aunt Lorri was feeding Jasper soup. She was surprised he would eat it. We weren't the kid is an eating machine. Grandma Lorraine looked quite pretty in the red sweater Aunt Helaine gave her for Christmas.

Grandma Barb back at the Walnut room. I bet it looks the same as it used to.

Jasper blowing raspberries along with his aunt.

Colin heard his buddy Ewan has been getting used underwear by wearing them over his diapers. How cute! I love them.

He liked the idea A LOT!   

After this we went and did all kinds of errands. We went to Ulta, the hardware store, Express and finally Trader Joes. By the time we hit TJ's the boys were ready to get out. I shopped quickly along with Barb. We fed them pretzel bread the entire time. Colin loves the stuff and requests it as soon as we step in. Then we surprised Colin with the park.

He played chase with a really cute little girl who told me she was 2yrs 8 mos. Then she told me she would be 5 soon and then she'd go to school. She also told me she wakes up at 10 o'clock. They played chase and raced to the slide to see who was faster. Colin won every time. He would run up the stairs and straight down, he didn't even stop to sit down. That my friends, is the only way to win the fast game.

We came home to have lunch and Jasper yelled for more and more strawberries. People, these kids are making me deaf. Now I'm watching Colin nap by doing downward dog in his bed.

Have a great week. Hopefully this warmer weather will stay awhile.
Mia, Ryan, Colin and Jasper