MDG Turns TWO

I don't know when or how it happened, but MDG turned two!!!!!

(Ok, that's a lie, it happened on Dec. 2nd, but the how is still confounding me. Like, he was just born. I was just pregnant. He should still be my baby. Period)

A little bit about my MDG

He's big. He weighs almost 30 pounds (twenty-nine point something) 78% and measures right at 36in - 91%. Head size in the 50% but we blame that on J-Man :)

(Unrelated, anyone see that link going around facebook that using sideways smileys is not cool anymore? Just like using periods in text messages. Oh well. :))

MDG still doesn't really like to eat. I don't know how he's so giant when I swear all he does is drink milk. When I told the doctor he has four cups a day (actually five lots of days - I'm just not great at being 100% honest with doctors) she gasped aloud. So that's one goal, less milk. More water and food. He loves broccoli though. And fruit of all kinds. He's warming up to meat and other vegetables. He must eat at daycare. But when all else fails and your totally kid-friendly meal gets spurned while PDG inhales it and asks for seconds, MDG will go for a well-rounded plate of string cheese, yogurt, krab, clementines, and a gallon of milk.

He talks a lot now. He sings a version of the ABC's that just repeats ABC over and over, but he can throw in other letters when you sing with him. He thinks every letter he sees is a P and counts "one, two, seven, three" more often than not. He's expanded his color guessing to go "green? purple? green? blue? green? purple?" To help him out we often ask him about something green or purple when he gets frustrated.

When you cough or sneeze he'll ask if you're ok, and also right after he tackles J-Man. Before he tackles J-Man he'll usually ask "ready?" too. The answer doesn't affect the impending full-body flinging. He likes to help "wakie up" the Santa and snowman decorations in our yard, and will ask if it's good morningtime when I go in at 5:30 to get them dressed. He pops up with a smile and is ready to start the day. I'm telling you, he may look like an H, but he's got G genes dominating in the personality.

He's pretty into Super Y, Daniel Tiger, and Elmo on TV, and then anything his brother is playing with for toys. He had a brief scared-of-bugs phase a month or so ago, but unlike with his brother's, I was totally calm this go-round.

MDG continues to be our passionate child with the high highs and the low lows and no middle ground. He lights up our lives and I can't imagine life without him. Happy (belated) birthday to my darling, not-so-baby boy.

MDG Summer of Crazy

The summer was hard for MDG. We're still not completely sure why. I suppose that the 18-21 month time frame is pretty overwhelming for babies. They're trying to talk, and failing, They're trying and failing to do just about everything independently, and no one knows what the heck they want.

this day apparently, he wanted an entire tub of aquaphor

At Big Sis's house, there was no pack n play or high chair, so he got thoroughly confused. Papa H started lying down with him on the air mattress for every nap and bedtime, which got him crazy spoiled. Then he got to sit on someone's lap at every meal, which got him even more spoiled. Throw in a couple tantrums and this mama was about to lose her mind.

Everyone there knew MDG as this happy-go-lucky fun kid, and then here I was with a little monster. Yes, we understood it was a phase, we aren't totally clueless, but the phase was passing slower than it had with PDG.

I don't think it helped that there was no daycare structure to his day. I tried the Camp Nicole approach, but things are always different with mom than with acaregiver. At church, when I tried to drop him off with his brother in Nursery, he flipped out. Lots of babies cry, and they're used to it, but this was the sort of irrational screaming that meant they came and found me to say either I stay with him down there or he'd have to stay with me in my Sunday School classes.

that's the wax from one of hundreds of cheese snacks we ate this summer

When it came to meal time, he mostly just wanted cheese. Not much else. Maybe yogurt. Some milk. Really he would've been happy if we just bought a cow for the backyard to be his own personal dairy supplier.

No matter what we were doing, he needed me. At the park, in the living room, walking from the van to the house. If I wasn't touching him there was a good chance he was crying. Even around other people he loved.

When he climbed out of his crib I thought I'd lost my mind. PDG never did that. PDG never did anything I mentioned in this post. PDG was this weirdly easy kid that I thought was a typical kid and now I had a typical kid that felt like an off-the-charts psycho. Had I changed? Was I a totally different parent? Could I fix it?

Nope, nope, nope. Turns out, kids are different. I should know this. Big Sis reminds me of how different she and I are all the time. My parents probably turned to each other almost daily back in the mid 80's saying, wow, Nicole sure is different than Big Sis.

At any rate, we did survive it. He's now back sleeping through the night in his toddler bed. He doesn't try to run out of the room purely because he's awake; instead he lies there patiently with PDG until given the go ahead to come out. He sits in his own grown-up chair at the table where he doesn't eat everything, but he does eat more than in July. He'll stay in Nursery with his brother as long as I disappear ninja-style while he's distracted. If he cries, he can be calmed with some snuggles.

The only battle still remaining is probably the scariest: the car seat. He unbuckles himself. We thought he was mad about me still keeping him backwards, so I gave in last week, two months short of turning two. And yet, still, I found myself pulling off the highway a few days ago because PDG (my resident whistle-blower) announced MDG was being unsafe. Sure enough, happy as a lark he'd still chosen to undo the clip and couldn't put it back together himself. If he were older I could reason with him better. As it is, it's tough to find the balance of scary enough discipline to fit how scary the consequence of this could be. I have no idea if I'm handling it right at all.

I'm hopeful, in the end, that this is part of a stage too. One that ends super duper fast.

MDG 14 Months

Whoa, January, where'd you go? Did I miss you while hanging out in the bathroom with PDG? Or sleeping in during all those unnecessary 2-hour delays? Maybe you happened when this guy grew up even more?!

Seriously, this is getting to be too much.  MDG is adding words now. Like his super-talkative big brother. "Mama" and "eat-eat" (his caregiver uses that term a lot, like 'ok boys, time to eat-eat, put away your toys') are the newest on the list.

No new teeth, still four and four, but his appetite is getting intense. Just ask anyone who has ever fed him berries.  Or popcorn. And, my curiosity has almost taken me to give him a straw and a gallon of milk and see what happens. Except, I think he might drink it all and throw up. Which I'd have to clean up. And my doctor would have to remind me only 24-30oz maximum, not the 35-40 he'd prefer, is all this boy actually needs.

with our friend Baby C

He's got rhythm. He's got a fast little waddle. He's got pulling his pants down in inappropriate situations. He's his father's son.

(you decide just how related those last four sentences are. just kidding. or am I?)

 But for real, he's still our social, happy baby big boy who sleeps hard, plays harder, and smiles hardest.

MDG at 13 Months

MDG is well into life as a toddling one year old, and I almost forgot to stop and record it.

What is he up to, you ask? Pretty much whatever his brother is into. Which of course leads to plenty of tantrums and yanking of toys, followed by a "remember to share" chat, and a sharing dance by mama when PDG finally remembers that MDG is now big enough to enjoy playing with all the same toys he does.

MDG is a decent eater, but still not into meats. And when presented with a food he prefers over what's in his mouth currently, he continues to spit out his entire mouthful in order to upgrade to the new offering.

Sleep is going pretty well and through the night most nights. (excuse me while I knock on every piece of wood I can find). Teething turns everything upside down, but we're holding steady with four up top and four down bottom, so hopefully we get a break for a few months before molars.

Car rides are less scream-filled than they once were, but we can't quite quit the paci. It's just so easy to clip it on him and ride in peace. Or do anything in peace. Maybe next month?

Still just "uh-oh" on the consistent words front. And some sort of "take it/thank you" noise whenever he gives us something. We get the occasional "dada" and lots of "ahhh"s to the right tunes starting songs like the ABCs, Old McDonald, or Wheels on the Bus. I'm starting to think his first real words will be lyrics, not dialogue. Which would be cool. And definitely not inherited from me.

So onward and upward in his 18mo clothes and looking so grown. My big little baby boy.

One Year of MDG

Our little baby is a big boy!

It seems like only yesterday this tiny little being sprang into our lives, melting our hearts and destroying our sleep. And yet, here we are a year later, unable to fathom our lives without this toddling little music-loving, kiss-giving, drool-sputtering boy.

As with PDG, we kept the celebration pretty low key, with just a couple friends and then Mama and Papa H.  MDG devoured the entirety of his cupcake so quickly and carefully I found myself looking around for where he might've dropped it. His big brother and friend did manage to open his gifts for him when the grownups were distracted, but a little retaping and then MDG got a turn as well.  All in all, a simple birthday success.

As for what he's up to...

MDG took his first walk across the room later in the day on his 11 month mark.  He'd been toddling a couple steps here or there, but from that first walk onward, his lopsided crawling became a thing of the past.

His third top tooth poked through last month, with hints of more just barely under the surface. It seems enough to get him interested in meat - which it's weird that he doesn't love considering his carnivorous brother and father. Otherwise, still a good eater and an intense milk guzzler (which the doctor kindly suggested we start to curb back from his whopping 35oz/day intake recently)

J-Man cut off his hair in anticipation of the birthday (though not before Christmas Card pics) Lollipops calmed the crying at times, but clearly not 100%.

Oh, but his sleep is finally good. Like, for real good. Which is only making this weird nostalgia I have for pregnancy and more babies all the more confounding.  No - we still don't plan on having more. But, this is the exact age PDG was when I got pregnant with MDG and now I remember why it was so easy to jump back into that madness. When they sleep and give kisses and eat food and get excited to see you at the end of the day, why wouldn't you want more?

Except, you know, money and time and a billion other totally acceptable reasons.

So for now, it's total toddler takeover in the G house.

MDG at 11 months

MDG is just one month away from being a year old.  Ready for the highlights?

This boy is still a bad/medium sleeper. But, you know, we're getting there. Maybe he will sleep all night one day.  Like, really all night.  Not wake up just long enough to wake up his mama before going back to sleep and leaving her wide awake with her thoughts at 3am.

Either way, he eats pretty well. Not the meat-lover his brother is, but definitely vocal about his hunger needs.

He loves when his brother wrestles with him, and when he's being ignored uses his lopsided crawl to chase PDG around.  And speaking of mobility, MDG has started taking up to three steps at a time... when the mood strikes.  It's nothing for him to stand for up to a minute before deciding whether to try to walk or speed-crawl elsewhere.

His top front two teeth are in with some drool overload signaling more top teeth on the way. As for words, we're stuck at "uh oh" and whatever that noise is he makes when he realizes he's somewhere that echoes.

Crazy to think that in a month he'll be eating cake and turning into a toddler.

MDG is 10 Months

Confession: it's been almost a month since I've written.  It's been a madhouse getting back to work.  Our delayed terrible twos are setting in, MDG still (doesn't) sleep like a maniac, and I have the displeasure of working with someone who really stresses me out.

But, despite that, time keeps passing and this baby boy of mine is another month older.

Biggest change of the month would have to be that he now stands on his own for up to thirty seconds.  Yikes.  Is he gonna walk this month? Am I ready for that? Remember when I thought PDG would never ever walk? Now all I want is my sweet boy to just stay a baby. Mama's not ready for a toddler.

Well, unless it's a toddler who sleeps awesome.  Then maybe.

Speaking of, we just seem to take two steps forward, one back.  Now he sleeps until 3:30 or 4, wakes just long enough to cry out and wake the rest of us, before settling himself back down and leaving us lying there hoping to maybe drift off again before the alarm clock.

We've pushed him up to 12month clothes to accompany the onset of fall-ish weather. This change also makes him look so big-boy-ish I can't handle it.

His laugh is still contagious, his smile unrelenting, his hair wilder by the minute, and his desire to have and do everything big brother PDG has/does is unstoppable.

It's enough to make me say uh-oh.  After which MDG will probably say "uh-oh," because that's happening too.

Where's my baby and who is this ten month old child?!

MDG at 9 Months

Baby MDG is 9 months old now! Can you believe it?  Neither can he.  See?

Here's what he's up to:

He still has two teeth, but lots of drool like more might come soon. He continues to love his paci, and has even started to take his puppy wubbanub that PDG calls Clifford. I mean, every red dog is named Clifford when you're under ten, right?

He crawls that one-legged hybrid and is super fast. He pulls up, cruises around, reaches down to pick up things, pushes those walker toys, and can climb our whole set of stairs.

He loves playing with his big brother's toys, and luckily doesn't mind when PDG steals whatever he has and gives him a less cool replacement. Also, he likes to grunt at PDG, as if he's having a conversation, so PDG will grunt back. It's best when we're in parking lots and they both are making echoes. No "mama" or "dada" babbling sounds yet, but it's cool. The milestone stress is far less this go-round.

I won't know his height/weight stats until the 12th, but he's big. He eats pretty much nonstop. Fresh tomatoes are a current favorite, but like big brother, he loves it all. He even smacks his lips to demand more. If it's food, he'll eat it. Heck, if it's mulch, he'll eat it. Babies...

His curls are in full force, making J-Man ask me when we can cut them. The answer? Not for three more months!

He finally mastered sleeping through the night this month. Like, for real this time. Holy moly, it's amazing. The 5am feeding is still pretty frequent, but 7pm-5am is totally doable. Not just doable - lifechanging.

Life is good and we're rolling along.

Weaning and Woes

I have a confession to make. I've basically given up breastfeeding.

I don't think I've had any doubt more overwhelming with either of my children than "am I feeding them right?" Even now with PDG eating full meals and telling me if he's hungry and thirsty, there's so much to doubt. More organics? Juice vs water vs milk. Happy meals? Candy? But none of it tops the doubts of breastfeeding the first year.

Now, I love breastfeeding. I love the bond it creates. I love knowing that my body can nourish another. I love the way my bras fit. I love burning calories. I love not making bottles at 2am. I love feeling like I AM WOMAN.  I love how quickly I can resolve tears - any kind of tears. I love how their gulps slow and slow until the latch gives way and the milk coma sets in. It can be wonderful and empowering and comfortable.

But, truth be told, I kinda hated breastfeeding too. I hated how much it hurt those first weeks. I hated feeling like only I could feed the babies, not J-Man - at least, not without planning and pumping. I hated wondering how much he'd eaten and did he need the other side too or would he just throw it up all over me. I hated when I finally realized that he actually wasn't getting enough and instead of feeling awesome started feeling I AM NOT WOMAN ENOUGH.

Ugh.

Why do I do that? Why do so many of us do that? I should be thinking for the last eight months I've nourished and raised this infant into a crawling, laughing, learning machine. He is beautiful and strong and developing just right. Be proud. But, because I love beating myself up, I'm battling the thought I have failed him.  

Perhaps what is worse is that, because I didn't have this problem with PDG, it feels like I am particularly neglecting MDG.  I keep trying to figure out why my supply didn't keep up. Perhaps because I had to go back to work at 7 weeks because I didn't choose to be a SAHM because it wasn't for me? Is that how I failed him? Or because I'm on birth control this go-around because while I love my two boys I don't want any more. Is that how I failed him? Maybe I didn't drink enough water. Or I didn't remember to take my vitamins some days. Plus I took one night off a week so that I could sleep - obviously selfish.

Probably, though, it's a little bit of all of it. All of it, except of course, the calling it 'failing' part.

Logically, I know I didn't fail. Even now that he's almost exclusively on formula, he's being well fed. He's getting nourishment. I still hold him and love him and feed him.  

I wish I had the right words of encouragement for people who ask me about breastfeeding. Has it been a crazy journey that ended up with two healthy boys? - yes. Would I do it again? - yes. Was it easy and pleasant? - sometimes. Was it awful and hard? - sometimes. 

But regardless of what I'm doing right or wrong and how much I judge myself, for the first time in three years I'm pretty much back to eating for one again.  No pregnancy, and only one nursing session. (Yeah, I didn't give up the 5am feeding. Let's face it, I will always love sleep more than walking to the kitchen to make a bottle. Always.)

I just realized, and decided, that a happy mother matters so much more than the detail of where the milk came from. So for the past ten days I've weaned from five feedings to just one. That one I'll keep for as long as it feels right.  

I'm just trying to follow my favorite advice I received: Do what feels right; nothing is a problem until it's a problem, and then you fix it.

Here goes nothing.

MDG at 8 Months

On a more uplifting note.... MDG is eight months old!

So, what is he up to, you ask? Way too much. He can pull himself up on anything, and stand while holding on with just one hand. He claps when you clap and sometimes waves when you wave. And, as always, smiles nonstop.

He cut his first tooth during our trip to see Big Sis and is working on #2 as we speak.

His sleep went in reverse right at 7 months, and he's back to waking once or twice for a paci. He's also sharing a room with PDG now, so we haven't been letting him cry much. Not sure if we'll keep that no-cry strategy up during this month or not. Those early wake-up calls are just around the corner again.

He eats pretty much everything now except the common allergens. He downs a pack of baby food at every meal plus usually some cheerios or puffs and any bites of our food that he can manage.  We're looking forward to sharing more and more finger foods next month and moving away from purees.

Somewhat related, his nursing appetite has outmatched my output, so he takes a small bottle of formula at nighttime too.  This switchover will keep happening throughout the month as we have decided to wean fully before going back to school.  I'm sure I'll write more on that later.

Still no babbling, but given how much PDG is talking these days, maybe he just doesn't know how to interrupt!  Just lots of heavy excited breathing, wiggling his wrists, and smiling when he wants to say he's excited.

Such a happy, happy boy.

Seven Months of MDG

During this past month of insufficient blogging and school year ending and heat waves and me time and June and all, our baby MDG grew up some more. It just keeps happening!

Seven months old.

So, what is he up to? Well, for one, he learned to crawl in June. Way earlier than PDG did. He started rolling one day and then doing a roll-sit-roll combo a couple days later and then wham-o, he had it all figured out. And by the 7-month marker he even figured out how to pull up to standing on certain objects and do a little bear-crawl too. Time to re-baby-proof everything.

 

He started getting the hang of solids more and more. He's added in some non-purees like bananas and sweet potatoes as well as the Gerber puffs and yogurt bites and fruits in that pacifier-mesh-thing. Not as excited about veggies, but you can usually trick him by mixing in some sweet fruits, or alternating bites so he doesn't know what's coming next.

His sleep continues to follow an algorithm even the greatest mathematicians couldn't break. Some nights 7-4 then back down for more sleep. Some 7 to 12 or 1, frantic screaming until nursed, then back down til 5:45 then up for the day. Some nights other random awakenings just to find the paci. I've given up figuring it out. We do give an extra two ounces of milk from a bottle after I nurse at night now, just to make sure his belly is full enough to make it through the night. I can't tell if my body is adequately keeping up with him, but that's another whole post about breastfeeding and self-doubt of its own.

His hair is coming in more and more, and even starting to curl!

He now sits in the tub with PDG for bathtime without any sort of support.  Usually it's a lot of giggles before a quick shift to I'm-tired-get-me-out-of-here cries.

The best part about this month has been just how much the boys have started interacting with each other.  They make each other laugh and melt my heart.  MDG watches PDG's every move, mimics what he can, laughs when he can't, and lights up whenever he enters the room.  Sure it's annoying that PDG now wakes up earlier because he hears MDG get up somewhere in the 6am range, but what better way to start a summer morning than to see one boy in his bed, the other in his crib, and both giggling and wiggling as they watch each other?

MDG at 6 Months

This guy turned six months old!!!

First, the stats. He weighed in at 17lb 4oz (44%) and 27.25in (76%). Long and lean I guess. Head size somewhere in the 60s for percentile but I never pay much attention to that one.

The doc gave him some toys to 'play' with and I guess he did well. Grabbing, using both hands, turning towards the sound of a bell, putting everything right into his mouth.

now both boys can play with toys at the park

We have a go-ahead for more solids which I think should make him happy. While I love some aspects of nursing, the every two hours schedule he set has been a pain at times, so knowing it will gradually dwindle over the summer is good news. So is the idea of no more pumping over the summer! My fellow nursing teachers are all expressing this same excitement for vacation. (Expressing. Ha! No pun intended.)

As for MDG and his development, he sits like a champ. He still pretty much only rolls belly to back but prefers to get up on hands and knees and rock like nobody's business. Will he ever go anywhere? Time will tell. For now we get a kick out of watching.

He hates peas, loves fruits, and is neutral on cereals. He enjoys baths when PDG doesn't splash too much, and he smiles at everyone, even when he feels crummy.

He's finally sleeping until 3:30 or 4 most nights, when healthy, and that makes life grand.

Overall, things are looking up. Hello 6 months. Let the fun months begin!

Go to Sleep, MDG

When people ask me what the hardest thing about being a mom is, I usually answer with one word.

Sleep.

I'm a nine-hours-a-night gal.  I like my sleep.  Correction, I love  my sleep.  In fact, I have trouble surviving without it. Just ask J-Man.

No, don't.  Please.  He might be too honest and I can tell you that me without sleep is even worse than me without food.

So before MDG was born I tried to brace myself.  I remembered that with PDG we pretty much suffered for four straight months.  When he would wake, the only way to get him back to sleep was nursing.  On nights when he'd wake four or five times, that was a whole lot of nursing.  And a super sleepy mama.

With MDG I figured it'd be the same.  He'd wake a bunch.  I'd nurse him a bunch.  He'd fall back asleep.  And at four months he'd figure it out by crying some and life would be a dream.

Well.  Not quite.

First of all, MDG didn't fall back asleep.  He just didn't.  And he didn't necessarily wake because he was hungry.  It has all been very confusing.  When you're operating on minimal sleep, 2am confusion is pretty infuriating.

We've tried everything.  The bassinet, the pack-n-play, the swing, the carseat, the couch, our bed, swaddled, unswaddled, short naps, long naps.  They all would work.... sometimes.  And they all didn't work with any consistency.  Maddening. Belly-sleeping seemed the best bet once he got neck control, but even that was ruined by his learning to roll over only one direction.

Eventually we got to the week of MDG's four month birthday and decided it was time for some crying.  Let me preface this by saying that if you are against your baby crying and you can function as a family with resolving every whimper through the night, I fully respect your decision.  I couldn't.  My family couldn't.  So we buckled down for a little loudness in the hopes of "short term pain, long term gain."  And no, I don't like hearing my baby cry.  I just wasn't functioning.

We didn't let him go more than a half hour at a time, but he figured out bedtime right away.  That was easy for him.  Give him a paci, plop him on his belly, give him 3-5 minutes of squirming and a little fussing and he was out.

But, then came an hour and a half later and he'd be rolled onto his back screaming.  Then two hours after that. Then another hour and time to eat.  Then another hour.  Then maybe two more and time to eat.  Then another hour and I might as well get up and start my day.  Try teaching classes of 30 teenagers after that night.  Again and again. 

By the end of the week I was starting to think that crying it out was way worse than the rocking and nursing routine we'd had before.   How could that be?  With PDG it had worked like a charm. I had resisted, but the doctor had been right and he really started sleeping.  But MDG, not quite.

So when finally on the sixth night he woke once at 10 for a paci and then once at 3 to nurse and that was it, I nearly jumped out of bed with a song when my alarm sounded.  I bounced around my classroom.  I felt good. No, great.

Of course, it's been about six weeks since we started this venture and it's been two steps forward one step back the whole way.  He's weaned himself down to no feedings at night, but still clings to the rolling over and losing the paci troubles.  And that darn stomach bug threw a wrench in everything back in April.

I just keep telling myself he'll learn to sleep some day.  Or he'll be like his dad and eventually discover mindless charms like Aqua Teen Hunger Force or nerdy NPR podcasts to lull him to sleep each time he wakes at night.

And one day, I know because it happened with PDG, I will wish he still needed me at 2am.  I'll lie in bed with the silence of the sleeping house surrounding me, remembering when he fit in the curve of my arms, with no words to convey his wants, only eyes too bright for the hour of the evening and the satisfied smile of having every need met in a gentle sway.  I'll laugh at myself for missing this.  And then hopefully I'll reread these notes and get the nostalgia I need to take off my rose-tinted glasses and go back to bed myself.

MDG at 5 Months

Amid the fun of my birthday and the Bloom, baby MDG completed yet another month.  This little 5 month old keeps on growing like a weed.

Sure, PDG got to celebrate 5 months in Puerto Rico, but MDG got to celebrate at his grandparents' house with a giant parade, so it was still kinda exciting.

As for updates, he had to have a weight check after losing weight from that awful stomach bug, and thankfully he jumped back up to 48th% again at 16lb6oz.  He had us worried when he had dropped 3oz in two weeks instead of his more typical gain of 1lb/2wks.

He's started solids again, and by his month-marker had attempted pears, peaches, bananas and sweet potatoes.  So far a good, albeit messy, eater.

He sits unassisted for a decent while before giving up and letting himself topple over.  He loves to chew on things, particularly ponytails and fabric.  He's still pretty partial to MAM pacifiers. Oh, and he still hates the carseat most days.  It's not uncommon for PDG to have to tell him "stop it" multiple times on any given car trip.

Sleep is another post in itself.  The fifth month wasn't a magical sleep month for him, though he did drop to one feeding a night, with a couple other wakes just for the heck of it.

Other than the carseat and when his brother handles him too rough, there's little to keep this baby from smiling.  He's one happy kid, and the older he gets the happier this mama is getting too.