state of the union (the pierse union, that is)

ugh. caring for two kids is kind of kicking my ass. especially when clay is gone. then they really kick my ass. and when clay is home, if they aren't kicking our asses, we are usually kicking one anothers ass. ugh. i'll be honest...we have a rough time caring for very small children. we love them and each other, are incredibly grateful & thankful for them and each other, but somehow they don't bring out the best of us too much of the time...neither in our behavior toward them, or toward one another. we're working on it.

that said, i flew solo yesterday and we had a GREAT day. bedtime went well, and both kids were in bed by 8:30. i felt like singing "iiiiiii am a champion" last night. tonight, both kids in bed by 8:30 again, but I feel like i just ran a marathon with a horrendous time of 12 hours. not that i've ever run a marathon. but if I did it would probably take me that long. and i'd be proud that i finished, but not so proud of my performance. time outs were had, and time outs were protested. hitting occurred at bedtime (she hit me...we don't ever hit her) so there was no story. there was too much tv and not enough quality play time. she pushed gus. twice. a second attempt at ballet class ended very quickly in tears. and resulted in no naps for mom & luce. and a prematurely woken up gus. the lone highlight was fun play-doh before lunch. we had a play-doh birthday party with cake, ice cream, brownies, milk, donuts and decorations. mom, dad, luci & gus attended. gus's servings were very small, because he's just a baby. it was lovely. but it was cold & rainy so there was no outside time...and the girl needs her outside time. and we have most of the day on our own tomorrow before Clay gets home. i'm crossing my fingers for a better performance. and praying for patience and an attitude of gratitude.

random things about luce i forgot in the last post...
-she can spell Luci Pierse and also knows what street we live on
-she can count almost to twenty. at some point twelventeen and niventeen start recurring...sometime after fifteen. and yes, she says twelve correctly & in order. interesting, no?
-she can say her abc's (almost accurately) and can identify all letters & numbers 95% of the time.
-she did her first identifiable drawing last week - of a smile face. i'll scan it & post it here one of these days.
-she pretend nursed Dobby today. she pulled her shirt up, hugged Dobby close, and then proclaimed it was time for the 'other side'.
-and despite our horrendous day, she did tell me that i was a nice mama, and so i should 'clap for yourself, give yourself a hand' (from the Little Einsteins)

gustopher notes-
-we are still feeling out nicknames for him...beyond gus, that is. gussy, bugaboo, gustopher, G, lil man and sweet boy are all being tossed around at this early point
-he's finally stopped screaming for an hour or more after every feeding. now he screams maybe just 15 minutes, and just after a few feedings instead of all of them. maybe the Zantac has kicked in now 2 weeks after we started taking it, or maybe he's just getting stronger...don't know, don't really care, just am grateful for his increased comfort and my resulting decreased anxiety.
-he usually eats every 2-3 hours, and eats 3 times a night. he often stays awake for longer than i'd like after at least one of the night feedings.
-he spits up A.TON. like projectile. even more than luci did. it is very mucousy, and comes out his nose...poor lil man. he gets freaked out when that happens.
-he likes the swing
-he already self soothes at times...that-a-boy ;)
-he'll sit contentedly in his bouncer/swing/crib for quite long periods if he's not fighting a burp, reflux, poops or exhaustion/over stimulation
-had an eye infection that seems to have finally turned the corner to recovery. think lots of neon green matter.
-likes to be swaddled if he's tired or over-stimulated. other than that, he doesn't need it.
-he's a good eater. my milk supply could feed a village of infants so we are struggling with that, but i'm playing with different methods to get it down and we seem to be making progress. i remember with luci at 3 months everything got much better so i'm keeping my eye on what i hope will be the 3 month prize...easier eating & the ability to start sleep training.
-he grunts & groans a lot, but has started to make little contented noises while nursing...after he's finished choking on the crazy let-down, that is.
-reflux makes him a crazed, head bobbing, back arching, leg pushing, hand flailing fool. it is not so fun. and sometimes it catches him off guard and instead of being mad he makes the saddest little frowny face you ever did see...it melts my anxiety away and just makes me sad that he's in so much pain. i usually tell him that reflux is a 'dirty trick' when he frowns like that. (a favorite Myrtle the Great saying). eating should not cause pain...it IS a dirty trick.
-he may have given me a social smile yesterday. a few, actually. but it hasn't been repeated so i can't be sure. he does track though and he thinks his mama & sister are beautiful...i can tell by the way he looks at us ;) and that smile??!?!?! it is going to break hearts!!! (just not your mama's heart ...do you hear me, boy?)