We are doing well at the Perreault Household. Andrew is loving “Baby Leah.” He loves to watch her get changed, take a bath and is always telling mom “Leah eat” when she cries. He likes to try and put her pacifier in her mouth, too, but she won’t ever take it from him, so he just always decides, “no want that.” The challenging part with Andrew has been bedtime when Ryan isn’t home at bedtime. He still needs someone to lay by him or sit in the room at bedtime and Leah has not allowed it. It’s like she knows it’s Andrew’s bedtime or something – she will be quite all evening, but as soon as I have to attend to Andrew, she is fussy or wants to eat or something else that requires my undivided attention. So I will tell Andrew to stay in bed while I check on Leah, and sure enough, Andrew will come out of his room a million times. It is actually quite funny to see him “sneak” out. He thinks he is so tricky, but yet he is so noisy as he does it, I know he is coming right away. After a few times, the funniness wears off and the whole situation becomes very frustrating. I hope and pray that he will get better or Leah will be a good sleeper by the time basketball season and the long roadtrips roll around this winter. I should mention that if both parents are home, bedtime is much smoother. I guess our little toddler just knows how to push mom’s buttons.
We had Leah into to have a rash checked out on her face and chest. The doctor said it was just baby acne and it will run its course, but could take several weeks. It’s getting so dried out now and there isn’t any medication to help with it. They did weigh her at the visit and she was 11 lbs. She is getting chubby cheeks and rolls on her legs now. She’s on a pretty manageable schedule now, too. She sleeps 3-4 hours at night and then wakes to eat. Generally, she will go right back to sleep, but there were a couple nights in a row where she was wide awake in the middle of the night for almost 2 hours. Silly girl. Mom and Leah are pretty lazy in the mornings, but we try to get out and do something in the afternoons. We’re going to have her try to transition to her crib in her room. She is getting a little bit cramped in the bassinet, so maybe she will enjoy having a little more wiggle room.
Andrew, Leah and I went to Union Lake in mid-July to meet up with some of my high school classmates. They came from all over with their kids to meet… Washington DC, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota and two in Minnesota. How awesome that we could arrange our schedules to meet. Loved seeing all of you!
We also took a trip to the Chicago area to visit Ryan’s mom. We toured Wrigley Field while we were there. It was fun hearing the history of the field and some of the stories that go along with it. Discovery Toys was having the annual convention there, too, so I went to some of the events. Leah joined me. Luckily, being a toy company, they are very family friendly and happy to let you bring your newborn. I must say that I got tons of comments from everyone and people were so helpful. She was great, too – no fussing. Andrew, Ryan and Grandma Connie went to Lincoln Park Zoo during one of the sessions. It was really hot and humid, so that was too bad because I think it would have been more fun if they weren’t melting. There are so many cool museums, the Shedd Aquarium, Navy Pier, Lake Michigan and the Zoo, I really think that we will enjoy visiting as the kids get older and able to have fun in the Windy City… not to mention the SHOPPING. It will be fun when Leah is old enough to take to the American Girl store and when the whole family can see the Twins beat up on the White Sox and take in a Cubs game and get there via the “L.”
On the way home, we took a tour of Target Field in Minneapolis, too. All I can say is AMAZING!! We got to see the visitors’ clubhouse, dugout, the field, rooftop deck, the club and champion level areas. We are already planning Leah’s first birthday party up in one of the suites. (In our dreams!) We can’t wait to go to a game there sometime.
Overall, the traveling went pretty well. We thought we would be stopping for Leah and Andrew would be entertained by movies, music and books, but it was the opposite and Andrew wanted to get out, sit on Dad’s lap and told Ryan to stop driving a couple of times. He did really well though – we changed his schedule up so much with naps being later or shorter and nights being late, so a few meltdowns should be expected.
We had Leah baptized on Sunday. Jason and Angela are her Godparents. Pastor Kris Gorden baptized her – he was the same pastor that married Ryan and I and baptized Andrew, so that was pretty neat. We have outdoor church in the summer, so it was cool to have the baptism outside. The weather was picture perfect. We had a nice group at our house afterwards to help us celebrate.
We hope the summer slows down now! It’s going way to fast. I think Ryan only has two more baseball tournaments to umpire, so that means the end of summer is coming and he will be revving up with the fall sports starting at NDSU.
A couple quotes from Andrew -- he slips and falls and says "Oopsie daisy." Then he found something amusing and goes "Oh, dear." He is quite the chatterbox and will get mad if you don't listen to him with your undivided attention. "Mommy, listen me!"
Thanks for checking in.
