Heart Break Face

Grandma Ginger Visits

What the Experts Say…
Mauer should have mastered “hand play”
Stretch his limbs all the way out
Hold his head higher than his bottom
Bear weight on his leg
Hold his head steady when held
Roll from back to side
Make swiping reaches
Hold & shake rattles
Grab clothes and/or hair of others
Suck fingers and fists
Draw out vowel sounds like, “aaah,” “eeeh,” “oooh”
Cry differently for different needs
Begin to laugh
Learn Cause & effect (if you hit it, it will move!)

Whew! That is a lot of stuff to learn and do!
This week, we watched Mauer roll over from his tummy to his back three times. He was quite surprised the first time he did it! He also likes to roll from his back to his side. That way he can look at toys or watch TV. He really likes to “stand” when we help him balance. He love, love, loves his hands. If they aren’t in his mouth, he is looking at them and thinking about putting them in his mouth. We noticed that he found his feet; we had to bust out the rattle socks! We have also noticed that he is very interested in books. When we read to him, he looks at all the pictures.

He is also really interested in the TV! I have told him countless times that it will rot his brain. The only thing on the list above that he hasn’t done is laugh. We are DYING to hear him. He is so close!

Grandma Ginger has been at the house since Saturday. She is on Mauer duty during the day. I think the two of them are having a great time together! He will be sad to see her go on Saturday. Grandma “G,” as she likes to be called, has helped rid the yard of dandelions this week. She has pulled two 5-gallon buckets worth so far!

Boys will be Boys

What Mauer has been up to
He’s starting to have conversations with us.
He’s on the verge of laughing.
His new toy of interest is a silk scarf. We let it float to his face and play peek-a-boo.
We’ve been putting toys in his hand. He doesn’t really know how to let go so he’ll hold a rattle for several minutes.
His first Twins game will be May 31st at Safeco Field in Seattle (To be enjoyed with Grandma Margaret, Greg, Uncle Kyle, & Uncle Jared!!)

Over the weekend
On Saturday, Erin had to work. Mauer helped make buttons for preschoolers to recruit families for fall enrollment. The event at the mall was called BLOCKFEST. Later in the day, we went to celebrate Sophia’s 9th Birthday. Erin works with her mom, Mercedes. Then on Sunday, Daddy got up early and met up with his relay team to run the Mt. Si ultra Marathon. That is 59 miles divided among a team of 5. Meanwhile, Mauer watched mommy do yard work. For some reason, Mauer thought pulling weeds was pretty funny. He did not enjoy his time while Mommy pruned the nasty hedges in the backyard though.

Daddy’s last week of Paternity
Mauer enjoyed his time with Daddy. Daddy enjoyed his time with Mauer. It gave them both time to hone their boy skills. Todd taught Mauer how to change oil, fix toilets, and stain wood. Mauer taught Todd how to fart and poop like a man, as well as change “blow outs.”

This has been a relatively uneventful week although it has been exhausting for all of us.

Saturday we met up with our friends, Alan and Angie. We thought it would be fun to hit the farmers market for the opening weekend of the season. Unfortunately, it was cold, windy, and rainy. We had a bite to eat and that’s all we could handle! Alan just returned from his deployment in Iraq. We just found out they will be stationed in Florida starting in July. :(

Grandpa Steve had an accident… Steve was using his miter saw and accidentally cut through the top of his left arm between his elbow and wrist! He took a trip to the ER that resulted in stitches and instructions to visit a surgeon to repair four tendons, which control his fingers. Surgery was completed on Tuesday night and determined to be successful. We imagine it will be a long road to complete recovery over the summer. Jenny & Cary mailed him the book, “One-Handed in a Two-Handed World.” Thank goodness, now he‘ll know how to fold his socks with just one hand. Todd talked to Steve today and the only thing he couldn’t do by himself was hit “control-alt- delete” to turn on his computer.

For Easter, we went to church. This was our second (consecutive) week of going to St. Michael’s. After church, we had lunch at Michelle’s house. She’s our old neighbor. She invited two other friends, Renee and Jamie too. We enjoyed lots of great food including ham. Mauer kept his spiffy outfit clean all day, I’d call that successful!

Monday was my first day back to work after 10 weeks. My desk was filled with nice quotes, flowers, and candy. How sweet! They also created a cozy spot for me to have privacy for pumping. The staff that I supervise are gone for Spring Break. This was nice for me to ease back into work. I have been able to get caught up to speed.

Todd has been enjoying his time home with Mauer. The first day was rough, Mauer decided that he didn’t like the bottle. They wrestled with feeding for several hours. Poor Mauer, he was so hungry but wouldn’t take the bottle. Poor Todd, he felt so helpless. Each day has gotten better and better. We were very thankful that Mauer didn’t have to face this struggle with a daycare person. I think Todd is better at staying home than me. When I got home from work on Monday, Todd made an angel food cake and Tuesday he made chocolate chip cookies!

Tuesday morning Todd bundled Mauer up and walked to Sage’s Brunch House in Olympia. They went to celebrate Todd’s co-workers birthday.

On Thursday, Todd brought Mauer to my office for lunch.