moor, please: 3 weeks and Counting

Corben is now 3 weeks old and he weighed in at 8 lbs 12 ounces (50%) yesterday at his appointment. 3 weeks isn't a regularly scheduled appointment. At his 2 week appointment, Corben was 7 lbs 15 ounces (50%) and 20.5 inches (50%). He had another test for jaundice and his level creeped up a little to 14 so we had to go back to the doctor this week to make sure he was back on the downward trend. At 3 weeks his level is 12 - so better. We had a bi-furcated test run to see if it was direct or indirect jaundice. No results yet. Anyway, other than being a little tan, Corben is doing well. He eats about every 3 hours (except he can go close to 5 at night) and he sleeps a lot. Sometimes in his bed (longest stretch there is 2 hours) sometimes in the bouncy or swing (he seems to like both of those for limited periods - no more than 30 minutes each). He takes a paci better than Connor or Cora. He hated his first real bath after the cord fell off. The next bath was preceded by screaming but once the water came he was liking it. Not loving it - but liking it. Cora hated her first several baths and now we can't say the word bath out loud or she will start stripping off her clothes and running to the bathtub. Seriously. Corben is a pretty good car traveller (my standard of pretty good is that he doesn't scream the entire time!). He loves his big brother and sister. He lets them hold him despite the fact that Cora is only 19 months old and frequently thinks that he is a pretend baby she can pick up and throw around. I try to get photos of all 3 kids so I can prove that they didn't always look alike. Corben has blonde eyebrows and I'm sure it is just a matter of time before he is blonde like his siblings. My mom seems to think Corben will have brown eyes and dark hair though. In any event, my attempts at a cute 3 kid photo haven't been too "frameworthy". We even had professional photos taken this week and I'm not sure we got one of just the 3 kids. When I say "Look at Mommy" how come no one is looking at the same place?

See how Cora is trying to grab the baby back? Speaking of Cora, oh this child is making this a stressful week! She has been a great sleeper since about 9 or 10 weeks old. She sleeps just like the book said she would - 12 hours or about 8 to 8. This has changed our lives for the better and has been a wonderful, reliable schedule. Recently, she has been fussing much more when we put her in bed for a nap or at night. She usually calms down within a few minutes and goes right to sleep. At nap yesterday she climbed out of her crib, twice. The third time she tried I told her "no" through the walkie talkie feature on our monitor. After 45 minutes of trying and hearing "no" she gave up and took a decent nap. While she rested I frantically googled what to do. Crib tents (which we used to own but it didn't fit our crib so I gave it away) have been recalled. The suggestions online were funny. I think I am going to try a combination of tricks, including a sleep sack (so she can't get her leg over the edge) and turning the crib around so the high part is now in front. I ordered the sleep sack so last night I turned the crib around and watched her on the monitor like a hawk until she laid down. She slept just fine once she decided she wasn't getting out. Unfortunately, the sleep sack has a dual purpose. Cora has decided that she likes to take off her pj pants at night. I was a little concerned she would be cold but otherwise wasn't too worried. Until she took off her diaper too. Really? It has only happened once and somehow the diaper was dry and so was the bed. But I figure with the sleep sack that will be hard to do as well. I'm obviously just not ready for her to be able to wander around her room. I need like 8 more months, please! On a positive note, Cora's language is really picking up and she is repeating words we say all.the.time. She loves the word "dropped". It complements "Uh Oh!" so well that it is a common phrase. She has a few sentences like "Come with me" and she will grab your hand and lead you down the hall, "This is trash?" is another favorite. She still creates and searches for trash just to ask if it is trash so she can throw it away. She is really good at playing by herself and she will usually sing softly while playing - I mention softly because Connor loves to sing but he sings more like he has a microphone at all times. Cute and Sweet but not quiet.

Connor and Cora are playing well together. They of course fight over 1 toy when there are 50,000 other toys - even fighting over 1 lego when there are identical ones within arms reach. But, they do have mostly sweet moments - dangerous but sweet. Hugging each other (which turns into dragging each other down the hall, falling, butting heads, etc). Cute but I would prefer not to go to the ER. Just me. Connor has learned to play Checkers and is actually really good at it. He seems to tire out after about 17 minutes so if you can last that long, his concentration fades. He got to go to see the Dinosaur exhibit at the zoo with my parents

(Love this face!)
and then had a visit from Grandma Cathy and Pop Pop which included a Globetrotters game. He also filled out a NCAA bracket and is in competition with Colin and me to see who wins (grand prize is choosing dinner take out). Connor picked Florida Gulf Coast (I did too b/c Georgetown always disappoints) so he is off to a good start. He is also really into math. My mom got him started on a computer math program and he has answered more than 2,000 problems since Corben was born (need I remind that was 3 weeks ago). It was Spring Break this week here and I must say that it has been nice having all 3 kiddos but I'm looking forward to a semi-normal week when school starts back (even if only for a few days). Easter is next weekend (which means Caitlin comes really soon!) More photos and Renovation photos soon - promise. . .