Tales of Baby McCabe

Saturday, April 2, 2016

Spring!!

Where are you, spring weather? We had you a month ago, but now we're back to winter. We miss you. Please come back into our lives.

Things are busy as ever in the McCabe household! Nolan has been busy impressing us with his drawing skills. All of a sudden he has a love for drawing and has been creating some masterpieces. I love his little drawings and have been saving some special ones in his keepsake file folder bin. Nolan had a rough patch recently, being in a sour mood and getting very emotional (ok downright angry). He seems to have snapped out of it and is our happy, sweet guy again. Please stay for awhile (and never go away), happy, sweet Nolan!

William has also had a rough patch, mostly due to two year molars and stopping the pacifier. We were sort of forced into stopping the pacifier because we forgot to bring it with us when we stayed overnight at grandma and grandpa McCabe's. He did so well we stuck with it, but unfortunately it coincided with a top molar coming through. Oh my we had some tough times. We still do, because hey, he's 2.5. But he is getting used to not using it. Liam's 2.5 yr checkup went very well. He is 36" (50th%) and the skinny-mini is just about 28 lbs. I'm so happy he is 36" because that is the magic number for many rides at the MoA and MN state fair, which he talks about virtually every day. So I'm so happy he can go on more rides this year! He'll be ecstatic.

Isaac will be 4 months in a few days which is insane. I don't know where the time goes. He is the most easy going, sweetest baby ever. I'll have ten more if they're just like him. One night this week he actually slept from 9 pm - 7 am! I probably just jinxed myself and now he'll enter the dreaded 4 month sleep regression and wake up every 2 hours.
Isaac has his 4 month check up in a week. He probably doesn't weigh much, because he's a wiry, skinny dude, but he's definitely growing. He wore a 3 month outfit that fit fine a few weeks ago but is short on him now. Isaac just learned to smack his lips and has been happily doing it over and over. Little cutie. Or little "cutie guy" as Nolan calls him. Except when Isaac cries, then Nolan says he is not a cutie guy. But Isaac crying is very rare, like a Bigfoot sighting. Isaac rolls front to back and has rolled back to front once, but got his arms stuck under him. He wants to be a mover and a shaker and can turn himself around while on his back. He wants to keep up with those big brothers, who just dote on him!

William: Ikick [isaac] sleeping?
Me: yes, he's sleeping
William: taking catnap?
Me: yes, he's taking a catnap
William: why [not] bear nap?

lol so cute...he still loves bears and pretends to be scared of them. "A bear!!!" And runs off

One night while saying prayers to Liam I told him to close eyes and go to sleep.
William every night after: "Eyes open!!!" And widening eyes. Stubborn kid. He doesn't get that from me...or his love for chips. Today he ran through the house yelling, "More chips, Mommy!" Or his grunting "Ugh!" When taking to/answering us. Also his "What?!" In an incredulous and annoyed voice. It's like he knew me as a toddler and is imitating what I did. Taste of my own medicine, I suppose :)

Nolan just loves to give kisses to me and Isaac. He's such a lover.
Nolan: mommy, you look sharp and fancy. But sometimes you don't look sharp.
Well, thanks, Nolan! No dessert for you tonight. Ha

Also, Nolan's preschool teacher asked me if Nolan was getting a baby sister. Because he told her he was. 😳 Nope, no Irish twins here! Maybe some day he'll get one, but not anytime soon. I had to have a chat with Nolan about not telling people that. Lol.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Isaac Richard

Isaac Richard is here and is already 2 months old! He was born in another quick delivery, but thankfully not as fast as Liam's. Labor began around 11 pm. We got to the hospital at 1 am and I was dilated to 7. I was able to get the epidural (amazing relief... You don't realize how nice it is to feel the absence of pain). After pushing through one contraction Isaac was born! He was 6 lb, 14 oz, and 19". He has his own look to him, which is fun. He does look more like Nolan than Liam, though. He has been the calmest, easiest baby. He is on omeprazole for reflux, but other than that he is very healthy! He adores his big brothers and they adore him. Both boys are so, so sweet with him. I sometimes have to tell them to back off and give Isaac room to breathe!
Isaac is now 11 lb, 7 oz, and 22.75" long. He does pretty well with tummy time and loves to talk to the hanging toys in the activity gyms. He is such a sweet addition to our family, we couldn't love him more!

Nolan is 4 now and is acting more and more like a kid and less and less like a toddler. He is doing very well in school and has made best friends with a boy named Owen. Nolan is very stir crazy right now with winter weather and with staying home more than usual with a newborn. He needs it to be spring! As do I so he can get more energy out. We have gone skiing once with my dad and are hoping to go again soon. Daredevil Nolan just wanted to bomb the hill. Does that surprise anyone?

William is doing well, too! He is almost 2.5. He loves to count and always negotiates with us to play for longer or get more cookies. We say one more minute, he says no, 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 minutes while counting on his fingers. He can count from 1-10, then skips to 14-20, then 25-29. Liam also knows the alphabet and can identify most letters. He has mostly learned through puzzles and watching/listening to Nolan. He definitely looks up to him! They get along really well, but also get on each other's nerves as all siblings do.

I'm going to try to post more often now that Isaac is a little older and not as needy. Still haven't figured out the picture thing yet. I'll post pics as soon as possible .

William quotes:
"fly to the moon"
"Just one minute"
"Mama" in amused voice
"Wee!!!" As he's being carried around
"Why?!" In amused voice
"I touch head!" "I touch hair!" Referring to Isaac
"I see somefing"
Liam called GG papa on his play phone. He said he was eating cheese and said, "Love you too!" Before he hung up. :)
"I see baby brudder."
"I see Ikick."

Nolan quotes:
"when will I be five? When is my next party?" He said as his party was ending.
"I am fearless Nolan!"
"Isaac, do you want to play with me when you're bigger? That would be fun! And what about candy land? And chutes and ladders? That is fun. It's really long!"
"We can find fossils and make them into dinosaurs on the iPad. Do you want to do that?"
"What's your favorite color? Do you want to go to the zoo? There are butterflies. There are some beauties. You can feed the giraffes. They're really tall."
"I'm so happy we have a baby."
"Goodnight, sweetheart." To Liam
"I'm so glad we have our Isaac."
"I'm going to give you a big hug because I love you so much!" Said to me
"I don't want to stop kissing you. I just love you so much!" Said to me

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Blogging break

Obviously it's been quite a while since my last post. We had a fantastic summer filled with lots of swimming at wading pools, going to parks and the splash pad, walking around the maze at centennial lakes, playing outside, going on play dates with friends and cousins, visiting both zoos, and going to the lake. Summer flew by and we were sad to see it end.

So far this fall has been pretty darn good, too! Nolan started preschool in September, Tuesday and Thursday mornings. He was apprehensive at first, but he is really enjoying it. I'm so glad! It's been good for him to get out of the house and have something all his own to do. He is making friends and is already learning so much. His dinosaur themed 4th birthday is coming up in three weeks. I can't believe he'll be 4! He's still our hilarious daredevil with the biggest heart. He cracks us up with the things he'll randomly say or do (dancing naked In our window, telling Pam to "Measure my butt!", and being naughty at swimming lessons and yelling, "I'm sinking! I'm sinking!") He keeps us on our toes!

William turned two last month with a construction themed birthday. He is talking more and more, stringing lots of words together. He loves to count. He will skip 7 and 8 when counting, so I'm working on that with him right now. He still loves cars and trucks. He has really gotten into puzzles and can do 24 piece jigsaw puzzles on his own. It's so fun to watch him. He is just the sweetest boy and always so calm and patient! Jason and I have been taking him to swimming lessons. He absolutely loves swimming, but gets so cold! The poor guy's lips turn blue. The school needs to figure out their heating. William has recently gone through a growth spurt and now is 34.5", which is the 54th%. I'm sure his height will keep fluctuating, but I'm so happy he has made it this high on the growth charts.

Our biggest news is that we are adding another sweet boy to our family! In about two months (due date is December 6) we will be a family of five. The boys are so excited for the new baby. William isn't convinced it's a boy, but he's a little young to totally get what is going on. Nolan had also thought this was a girl, so he has made us promise that the next one will be a girl. Ok, buddy! We don't have much control over that. Haha. He also told me that he wants to have 100 brothers and sisters. Way to dream big, Nolan, but that's not happening. :)

But both boys love babies and have gotten lots of experience with their new cousins Hadley and Morgan. They're both so sweet with babies so I can't wait to see them with their new brother. Nolan sings to my belly and kisses it. William got to hear the baby's heartbeat at my last appointment and is still talking about it. It will definitely be a crazy, busy holiday season!

Here are a few pictures from the past few months. I have more recent ones, but the app I've been using to upload has changed and the pictures aren't showing up on this blog. Hopefully that will get figured out soon.

Last pontoon ride of the year

Liam and Hadley

Williams big present! Both boys love it

Construction party

Love him!

Paw Patrol at the state fair

Trolley ride at Lake Harriet

Nolan's last day of soccer

Feeding giraffes at Como Zoo. so cool!

MN Zoo

Splash pad

Nolan meeting Morgan

Backyard fun

Linden Hills wading pool

Handsome guys

Shooting some hoops

Silly Keegan

Fun at Mamie and Papa's

Monday, July 6, 2015

Catch-up

It's been so long since my last post. We thoroughly enjoyed June and many different summer activities. Such a different June than we experienced last year! We've gone to parks, the splash pad, a few wading pools, the MN Zoo, a bunch of walks (with Nolan cruising on his balance bike) and the lake.

Both boys are doing well. William is entering the tantrum stage that comes along with two year olds. Since he's a few months shy of two, I'm hoping it will come and go quickly. Fingers crossed. Ha. He is saying more and more and putting 2-3 words together. He's such a sweet boy, very affectionate and loving. Sleep isn't his strong suit right now, though. We're probably going to take away the pacifiers when he turns two, so I'm hoping after the initial shock, when he gets used to it his sleep will get better.

Nolan is really growing up. He makes jokes and talks more like a kid now than a toddler. He really thinks things through and comes up with clever ideas and comments. He's mastered his balance bike. We have to give him some practice on his training wheel bike now. For the most part he really listens to us and behaves pretty well. Both boys are very energetic. They definitely wear me out! But they have been getting along really well. Well, for the most part. They do get on each other's nerves as all siblings do. But their bond is really growing. It's awesome to see.

The 4th of July was a crazy, fun, busy weekend. We went down to the lake on the 3rd and had fun playing at grandma and Papa's, going on a pontoon ride, and playing on the Gibbs' lily pad. Nolan was a brave boy and jumped into the lake on his own off the lily pad (with his life jacket on of course) and kicked around a little bit. He had been clinging to Jason the whole time he'd been in the water, so it was a big step for him. William got in the water a little bit too, which was fun. Keegan also jumped in and did a panicky doggy paddle until Jason helped him back into the dock. Silly dog needs to practice swimming.

We had a huge scare that evening though, when Nolan begged to go down to the docks before bed. We went down there for just a minute, so we didn't put life jackets on. Nolan impulsively jumped onto the pontoon and then tried climbing off onto the dock. I was in the process of telling him to stop and wait and that I'd help him, but he slipped into the water. It's all a blur to me, but I yelled twice for Jason and ran to Nolan (I was very close to him) and just as I was bending down to the water he popped his head up. I reached and grabbed his shirt and pulled his head/shoulders above water. He spit some water out, but didn't cough. He had the look of death in his eyes. Jason grabbed his arm and pulled him onto the dock. Nolan (and Jason and I) were shaken up, but Nolan didn't cry. He just said, "I'm all wet! I want to go up to Grandma's now." I am thankful that it was shallow water, that Nolan had been in swimming lessons and had instinctively held his breath, and figured out how to come back up to he surface. We had a bunch of talks about how he did a good job doing those things, but that he's not allowed to get on or off a boat without an adult helping, and that he needs to be right next to us on the dock. I get so much anxiety just thinking about him falling in and getting the image of him under water. It makes me sick.

Moving on from that horrifying incident, the 4th was a happy day. We went back home and dropped Keegan off, then headed to the Richfield parade. The boys were thrilled to get handfuls and handfuls of candy and enjoyed the different floats and people in the parade. They were also so happy to see their cousins again, Abigail, Anika, and Johnny, who had been in Hawaii for the last week. They were also happy to see my parents, too, of course. After the parade we went to the Sowl's 4th of July party. Nolan had fun running around with my friend Heather's son, Grayson, who is also three. It was fun seeing and catching up with friends and eating good food. The boys crashed hard that night, and Jason and I watched the St Louis Park fireworks from our backyard. They put on a really good show.

Here's the photo bomb!