Presidential visit and Marine Corps Birthday Ball

 

As most of you know we got to meet President Obama!  We knew that he was coming for awhile and Brian was very busy at work as the embassy prepared for his visit.  This was the 3rd time he has tried to come to Australia.  As a part of his trip he set aside time to come to the embassy and speak.  We sent in an RSVP about a week ahead of time to let the embassy know that we were planning on attending the meet and greet.  The day of the meet and greet, Caleb, Elias and I arrived very early.  We knew there would be an area where you could stand to maybe get to shake the President's hand.  So for the first hour, we stood in line to get in the embassy.  We had to go through the secret service security, there was a long lis of things you are not allowed to bring.  Because we go there so early we got a spot right at the ropes.  There we stood for 2 hours.  Brian was not pleased with me!  We had a small bag of snacks and toys to entertain the boys.  Elias took a small nap while Brian was holding him.  Caleb played with the book and cars we brought for him.  It is amazing how resourceful you can be in a small area when you need to be.  I even nursed Elias in this small area (yes there were people all around).  I just sat down and covered up.  By the 2 hour mark Caleb was getting tired and anxious.  It was not an overly hot day, but since it was midday the sun was very strong.  Brian was wearing a suit and always holding 1 of the boys, so he was very hot!  By the time Obama came out, Caleb was done and started crying.  Obama was about 1/2 hour late!  The ambassador spoke for a couple of minutes and then Obama spoke.  I can't remember a lot of his speech, I was holding Caleb and trying to calm him down.  But he did thank the families for moving to support the embassy workers and I appreciated that.  Then the moment of truth came!  Obama came to shake hands.  He first went to an area of kids who were chosen to meet him and then he came to our area.  When he got to us he was shaking Elias hand and I just kind of thrust Elias at him! haha!  I don't know if he wanted to hold Elias or not, but I had it in my mind that he was going to!  When I saw him coming I gave the camera to Brian and right when Obama went to turn Elias around, our memory card filled up!  I have not used the small camera for months and head not checked it ahead of time!  After he shook our hands and gave Elias back we went to get water and wait until we could leave.  Both boys took a good nap that afternoon.  Which was good because then we had to find someone who got a picture of Obama with Elias!  I emailed the CLO (the person who arranged the meet and greet) to ask if their photographer had gotten the shot and she said he was blocked.  So I asked Brian to put out a mass email asking if anyone got a picture of a baby in a red hat with the president.  Luckily 5 people wrote back and we got 4 pictures!  But now Elias is known as the baby in the red hat! :)

Last weekend was also the Marine Corps Birthday Ball.  Brian promised me that while we were here we would go once.  He did not want to go last year, so he had to fulfill his promise this year.  It was a great time!  I had to buy a formal dress which was no easy feat here.  But I found a store in the city that sold formalwear  and they had great customer service, so it was not too bad.  A lady from my church offered to do my hair.  She did it in a french twist with some curled bits on top.  Another lady from church offered to watch the boys.  It was really cool seeing the Marine Ball traditions, seeing the colors come in, watching them cut the cake with a sword, feeling ancient as the youngest Marine ate it.  The food was good and I got to do some dancing.  Not with Brian of course, he does not like to dance :)  It was a very late night and I still have not recovered in sleep.  But it was really nice to get all dressed up and go out with my hubby!

Although these were both uniquely American experiences, neither would have happened for us if we were not in Australia.  Obama does not do meet and greets in Gaithersburg, MD and Brian is not a part of the armed forces so we would not have a chance to go to the Marine Corps Ball.  So, thanks to our posting here we got to celebrate and appreciate our American culture more than if we were in America!  

happy 6 month birthday Elias!

Tomorrow (11/17) Elias will be 6 months old!  It has gone so fast!  I took him to the pediatrician yesterday and he was 16 lb 2 oz and 24.5 inches.  The pediatrician does not want to see him again until before we move, he will be 13.5 months.  He looks much chunkier than he is.  When the doctor first saw him yesterday he said "wow, what a boofer (Aussie slang for chunky).  But when he weighed and measured him, he said "wait, he is not a boofer at all!"  He is in the 25th percentile for weight and 3rd for height.  He has only grown 2 centimeters since he was 3 months.  I am a bit concerned that he is not growing taller, but there is nothing I can do about it.  I am just praying for a growth spurt!

He can roll over both ways and loooooves to roll.  He will roll from one end of the room to the other and then back again!  He is working on sitting up, but he is not quite there yet.
He is eating solid food.  He started on rice cereal 2 weeks ago and loves it.  He is up to 2 servings a day of 2 ounces each.  This week he had his first veggie, zucchini, which he also loved!  I think he is going to be a very good eater!

He is cooing and talking all the time and loves to be held.  He also is getting quite attached to me.  If he is playing on the floor and I walk past and don't pick him up, he will whine until I do.  I am trying to enjoy that attention now, because I know that in a couple of months he will become a daddy's boy like Caleb.  Caleb is by far his favorite toy!  Whenever Caleb is around he will reach out for him and he loves the attention Caleb gives him.  If Caleb is around he will watch whatever he is doing, it is like t.v. for him!  What crazy things will my big brother do now!  Caleb is still very good with him.  He loves to give Elias toys and he likes to feed him as well.  I am thinking though there might be some trouble when Elias can crawl and get Caleb's toys.  Caleb already gets annoyed when Elias kicks his books while nursing.

Although Elias had a rough start he is very healthy now.  His reflux went away at around 4 1/2 months and his milk protein intolerance went away at about 5 months.

Elias is a very happy baby.  He loves to smile and laugh.  After the doctor shared his concerns about Elias' growth he said he was not overly concerned because he is such a happy guy.  I am very blessed to have such a sweet baby boy!  Happy 6 month Birthday Elias!

Our day by the numbers

After reading some of my friend's blogs I was inspired to chronicle our day.  So this was our day.

11/10/11 - Today's date

5:00am - Elias first feeding of the day 

6:30am - Brian gets up

7:00am - I got up

7:40am - Brian leaves for work

7:45am - Elias woke up

8:05am - Caleb woke up

6:15pm - Brian got home from work

8:00pm - Caleb went to bed

9:20pm - Elias went to bed

10:15pm - Brian and I went to bed

3 - times Brian got up with Caleb or Elias - it rained last night and the storm woke Caleb and Elias needed the pacifier and to be reswaddled twice.

32 months - Caleb's age

5 months - Elias' age

8 - times I fed Elias, (6 times nursed, 2 servings of rice cereal)

4 - times I fed Caleb (breakfast - cheerios with milk, 1/2 banana  snack - granola bar  lunch - chicken, carrots, blueberries  dinner - green beans, roasted potatoes, carrots, he was offered meat, but refused)

8 - diapers I changed

17 - the number of songs Caleb sang but

31 - the amount of times he sang - the song he sang the most, Dr. Knickerbocker number 9 (the Wiggles)

10 - times Caleb said "I be silly!"

2 - times Caleb sent himself to his room -yes I wrote that right, he disciplines himself when he is angry with me!  

9 - hugs Caleb gave Elias

8 - books we read to Caleb and Elias but

12- times the books were read, normally Caleb has us read each book twice 

3 - times Elias rolls over during tummy time (he had tummy time 3 times today so he rolled 9 times today).  He can roll both ways, but always gets very upset when he finds himself on his tummy again!

22 - letters Caleb identified while we were cleaning up his magnet letters (he missed L, V, Y, Z - not bad for a 2 year old!)

10 - numbers he identified - at first he missed 6, he mixes it up with 9.

4 - times Elias spit up on me, this is not the amount he spit up in total, just on me!

3 - naps Elias took for 3 hours in total

1 - nap Caleb took for 2 1/2 hours (this is not normal, it is the first nap he took all week!)

2 - loads of laundry got washed and dried but only

1 - load was folded and put away, the other is in the dryer. 

1 - new skill Elias did today, he started blowing raspberries!  He is so cute!

unmeasurable - the number of times Caleb and Elias smiled or laughed today.  They both smile and laugh all day long, there is no way to keep count!  

out of the mouth of Caleb

I have been posting a lot lately about my troubles potty training Caleb.  So I thought I would post some cute things about him too :)  Here are some of the cute things he has been saying.  First you have to imagine it in his voice and substitute all your "l" sounds for "y" sounds.

As we were leaving Questacon after saying good-bye to a friend he said to me "I had fun playing silly with Lily!"

This morning when he woke up he asked for his koala who did not make it to bed with him last night.  He found him in the playroom and said "I missed you last night koala!"

One afternoon we were reading the Easter story.  On the back of the book is a picture of Jesus talking to a group of people.  He pointed to Jesus and said "Murray, Sam.  .  " to which I said "Caleb, Jesus is not a Wiggle."

Every time Elias spits up he says "Mommy, Yias spillded!"

He also adds "ed" to most words now and says "fellded, saided" and speaks some toddler ebonics.  When he was telling Brian who he played with that day "Ben be there, Peter be there, Elias be there, Mommy be  there, and I be there too."  My favorite is when he expresses when he does not want something he says "no, please!" (instead of no thank you, I love it!)

We have a deal that when he sleeps during naptime he can watch the Wiggles during lunch.  So when I walk in the room after he sleeps he says "I took a whole nap, watch Wiggles now!"

Thanks to Brian he loves to point out when he farts or if he thinks anyone else has.  This happened once while we were at a nice afternoon tea with ladies from the church,  Thank goodness they did not understand him!

Whenever you ask what he wants to eat he will think and then say "ummm.  .  .  french fries, chicken, sauce".

Randomly during the day he will say "Yaaaay Maryland,  Boo Duke!"

He is such a goofy little boy!  

a long overdue update

Wow, it has been a long time since I have blogged.  So this will be more of a hodgepodge blog.

First, today is 9/11.  So you might be wondering what Canberra is doing to remember that day.  There is a ceremony in a park today hosted by the American embassy.  There was also a flag ceremony at the embassy a couple weeks ago, there is a flag for each person that was lost around the perimeter of the embassy.  Brian is going to help set up for the ceremony today and then attend it.  I decided not to go, I am afraid Caleb might get loud or Elias might get hungry or not want to go to sleep.  So I think it is better that the boys stay home as to not ruin the somber mood of the ceremony.

Last week Brian was away.  It was my first week with the boys on my own all day.  I was very nervous.  Elias does not sleep very well during the day and Caleb is very attached to Brian.  But in all it went well.  Most of you who follow the blog are also my friend on facebook, so you saw my updates each day, so I won't go into detail with it.

Elias is finally starting to improve.  I think he is coming out of his reflux.  It is funny how similar he and Caleb are!  Caleb started coming out his reflux at 3.5 months and Elias is just about 4 months.  He is not screaming nearly as much as he used to when going to sleep.  He is also putting himself to sleep during his daytime naps now.  He will sleep in his crib anywhere from 40 minutes to 2 hours at a time during the day.  I normally have to hold him at least once if he has only taken a short nap in his crib.  But it is so much nicer than having to hold him for every daytime nap.  He finished the last of his medicine yesterday morning.  We have another refill but I am hoping he won't need it.  He will also start rice cereal this week, yum!  He is growing so fast!

My silly boys, Caleb 2 1/2     Elias 16 weeks

Although it seems Elias and Caleb are very similar I can already see how their personalities are so different!  Caleb has always been very physical.  He started being independent at 8 weeks, wanting to be on the floor playing.  He rolled over at 11 weeks.  He was also very demanding.  If he wanted/wants something you know about it right away and he will bother you about it until he gets it.  Elias is so much calmer.  During tummy time he does not try to roll over or work on lifting his head.  He will lay there, talk to himself or suck on his fingers until you turn him over.  He is also pretty content to do whatever.  He is happy to be held or in his bouncer or on the floor.  The only time he makes a fuss is when he is hungry or overtired.  Luckily they are similar in that Caleb was a very happy baby and so is Elias, Caleb was also very talkative and Elias seems to be that way as well.

I think this picture shows their personalities well.  Caleb is a complete goofball and Elias is just sweet!

I have some ideas for some new blogs.  I will try to update more often!

the hang of it - maybe

I am 7 1/2 weeks into being a mom of 2 boys and I think I might finally be able to handle it! (although now that I have it in writing something is bound to go awry!) Last Monday we went to the pediatrician for Elias' 6 week check-up and we told him the issues that Elias was having with reflux. He gave us losec and it really seems to be working. Elias is in his crib sleeping now! I was also able to put him down during the day 3 days this week! What a blessing!

I think part of the reason I am doing so well is I have had a lot of help. Jeff (my middle brother) was here this week and Caleb had a blast playing with him. So during the day I really only worried about Elias. Jeff is here for a month, but is off exploring other parts of Australia. We will meet up with him in Sydney in a couple of weeks and then at some point he will come back to Canberra for a bit. I think he is going to see more of Australia in 1 month than we are in 2 years. It has been so great seeing him! I love having family in the house! In 3 weeks Marc and Betty (Brian's parents) will be here, we can't wait!

Elias had his first smile last week, on his 6 week birthday. Everyday he smiles more and more. It is so fun to see his personality come out. He seems to be more calm than Caleb - as he puts up with a lot of Caleb's antics. Caleb loves to play with Elias. He is always taking Elias's hands and making him wave at me, ("Hi Meghan!" - how funny is it that Caleb makes Elias call me Meghan and not mommy!) showing him how to clap, or how to hit the animals on his bouncer. Caleb also loves to give Elias big hugs and do tummy time with him. Elias has yet to whine or cry when Caleb does any of this. He just looks at Caleb and smiles :) I really hope that they can continue to develop a good relationship!

Other than the craziness in the house not too much is going on here. It is the dead of winter, so it is pretty cold. Unfortunately I think I have gotten too used to Canberra weather and I am freezing when it is 50 degrees out! I know I will be in for a shock when we get back to MD winters!

We went to the embassy to celebrate the 4th of July. They had jumping castles and slides for the kids. It was of course an American themed party, so there was batting cages, hot dogs, hamburgers, American movies and music playing. It was nice to go, but very cold since it was all outdoors!

We are coming up on our 1 year anniversary of being in Australia. It has been a great year! But now it is almost time to start making plans to head home. I love it here, but I miss my family and friends in MD a lot!

1st week alone

This was my first week of having the boys on my own during the day. My parents were here for 3 weeks and it was a great visit! We showed them around Canberra but also spend a good amount of time at home. They were so helpful! My dad played with Caleb and Caleb completely wore him out each night! My mom was so helpful with Elias. It really helped me recover from surgery. Plus it had been 10 months since I had seen them, so it was so good seeing them. 3 weeks was not long enough, I miss them so much already!

So Monday morning came and I was pretty nervous. I was starting to get the feeling that Elias had reflux. He was starting to show a lot of the signs that Caleb had when he had reflux as an infant. He will not sleep on his back during the day, when I put him on his back, no matter what the state of sleep he is in, he wakes up almost immediately. So, he wants to be carried all day, unless he is in his car seat. He also needs to be upright after a feed, or he will vomit. Also I notice he spits up a good bit, but will swallow it back down. So I was afraid that Caleb would not be ok with me holding Elias all day. Luckily Caleb has been wonderful! I have tried to keep to the same routine as before Elias was born (Monday - playgroup, Tuesday - Bible study, Wednesday - MOPS or library, Thursday - library if we don't go wednesday, Friday - free). He really enjoyed introducing everyone at playgroup to Elias. He also did really well at MOPS. When I told him we were going that morning, he cried and then cried again when I dropped him off. But luckily the Pastor of our church was in the toddler room and Caleb really enjoyed playing with him. I even heard him squealing from the other room! It was such a relief and an answer to prayer!

I took Elias to a GP on Tuesday to get medicine for the reflux and he gave me a prescription. So far I don't know how well it is working. I can put him down while he is awake in the bouncer or propped up on the boppy. But he still will not sleep on his back during the day. We go to the pediatrician on Monday for his 6 week check-up and if things still have not improved I might ask for a stronger medicine. I love my cuddle time with Elias, but holding him all day is really taxing.

Here is a picture of the 6 of us at the hotel in Sydney before my parents left. Also a picture of Caleb and Elias. Caleb really loves Elias! he is really sweet with him and includes him in almost all parts of his day, making sure he goes everywhere we go and doing all we do! In the picture he is making Elias wave at the camera :) The last is Elias (5 weeks) - almost smiling it was after a sneeze. I think a real smile is not too far away.