its a grind

in other medical news, four-year-old jude made his trip to the teeth doctor.  we tried a new dentist recommended on a local online mom community.  this dentist was a great experience for mom and jude.  harry got to miss out and stay with a sitter which may have added to mom's positive experience.

jude at the dentist

turns out new dentist's kid attends same preschool as jude.  he encouraged me to let jude run around and explore his offices before we began the visit. he wants it to be a positive experience.  dentist also does not fill cavities in children there, instead they go to a pediatric dentist. from what i hear that could be less positive experience.  did you know some dentists now use mini straight jacket type restraints on young patients?  so glad i never had this happen as a kid. yikes.

back to jude. his hygienist was helpful and friendly.  jude breezed through the cleaning. he was excited to pick the flouride flavor- strawberry- but less excited about actually holding oversized goopy trays in his mouth for a few minutes.

time to pick the flouride flavor

unfortunately we learned that jude is grinding his teeth. the dentist said its more than he likes to see for a 4 year old.  but because he is young there is not much they can do.  i admit i thought jude's teeth were still growing in. didn't realize some of the shape is him grinding them down.  i'll have to research this online more when i get a free minute.  oh wait, that doesn't happen very much.

afterward the dentist i got to take jude on our first trip to chuck e cheese.  not too crowded in the middle of a weekday.

chuck e cheese reward

after some pizza and way too long watching the show which i'm surprised to say was too soft to actually listen too, we played a few games before heading home with a clean smile.

411 on harry

the oak park millers have been busy squeezing the most out of summer.  that, along with dr dave's vacation, meant baby harry got his one year check up at 13 months instead.

Harry 12 months at Blackberry Farm Park

we're happy to report all is normal and still smiley with our youngest oak park baby.  harry might add that he has a few concerns about the shots he had to get. but its not his blog so...

waiting for dr dave at pedios

here is the 411 on baby harry:

height: 31 inches  75th percentile

weight:  21.8  25th percentile

head:  13  10th percentile

doctor dave says the next few months will involve more teething, walking and climbing.  we are amazed at our little boy growing up.  thanks to george the dog harry has a firm grasp of the word dog and he kills at baby babble.  harry admires most things his big brother does except when they involve taking his toys.  he is friendly, finally a good sleeper and growing up too fast.

our minimal summer vacation budget has a bright side. we are enjoying a ton of local adventures, like our recent trip to 31st street beach.  we hit the sand mid-morning and found few crowds and an overabundance of lifeguards.

colorful splash park at 31st street beach, chicago

jude loves chasing seagulls and had plenty of opportunity here.  we love to see him develop his friendship skills. he went up to another boy to see if he wanted to join in. the bird hunt went well til other boy's mother decided to yell at said boy whenever he got 20 feet away.  perhaps next time she can get off the blanket and walk with them like me?  hmm.

but we had a nice time on the sand, digging a sand castle wall and water pond.  jude gets bored quickly despite my enthusiasm.  he soon decided to see what happens when you poke holes in the sand wall.

jude with our sand water fort

i wish these photos were not sideways.  a google search says others have this issue with blogger and photos. but i decided watching jude upside down in the photo is kinda cute, right?

one-year-old harry is finally over the whole eat sand thing.  he pulled up on the stroller like a pro and moved his trucks.

harry watches the gear at 31st steet beach

after plenty of sand we took a walk to look at boats in the marina. that's when we discovered the cool colorful splash park and playground. next time we'll include plenty of time to hang there.

that toddling town

hard to believe its been over a year since we visited one of chicago's best summer attractions-- millennium park.   it simply got overlooked with baby harry and busy challenging life at home.  so glad we made the trip this week. it was lovely.

this time mom came prepared with swimsuits and a towel for the boys.  jude didn't remember his previous trips to crown fountain.  but he giggled as i explained at home that we would see giant people faces with funny lips in an 'o' shape. and that when the 'o' appears, water shoots out.

Crown fountain - Millennium Park - outdoor water playground

in typical jude fashion, he surveyed the park, carefully walked around at first and then took off running, splashing some bigger kids but not getting into the big downpours at the glass towers.  harry spent the first part enjoying a snack lunch.

harry's first visit to crown fountain

after snack it was playtime for baby.  when i first sat him on the wet stone surface harry cried. but then he realized he could smack the ground...and it made a splash!  harry soon took off in a high speed crawl around the busy fountain.  

i wish i had a picture of harry's water adventure.  tourists were actually taking pictures of my little man moving so fast among big kids.  but i am learning it is much harder to get good photos of your second kid.  i walked over harry at times, even holding out my arms to protect him from excited running children. but then i also needed to track and engage jude. which meant no time to pull out camera!  

lest you think it was all about water, we also enjoyed the great Target family fun tent.  if you visit chicago, you have to check out this free activity zone. the fans make it feel air conditioned. the rubber surface was great for harry to explore. jude enjoyed story time with a guy sitting in a cartoonish oversized chair. reminded me of the old lily tomlin as edith ann sketch on sesame street. 

target family fun tent - stories, big blocks!

we then hit the hoola hoops and the giant blocks.  jude is still not really into crafts so we skipped those. i remember jude's first preschool teacher saying with emphasis that she 'tries' with him and crafts.  i wonder if harry will be the same?

so now to mom's favorite moment of the day.  the grant park symphony open rehearsal in pritzker pavilion. they sounded amazing. jude actually asked if we could stop and listen for awhile.  

music break

listening to live classical music somehow clears my head and makes my heart happy at the same time. what a great treat in the middle of our day! thanks grant park symphony.

checkin out the rehearsal at pritzker pavilion in millennium park. great sound great seats

after a quick change to dry clothes, we made it to the car by 1pm.. jude crashed before we got back to oak park.

sleepy boy

one + one = really hard

i recently ran into a neighbor who just had her second child.  her older son is 3.  she is exhausted, not sleeping and trying to cope.

i was quick to say that parenting is really hard.  she smiled and looked relieved that someone else struggles too.  

i shared with her how it basically kicked my butt for the first seven months of harry's life, trying to figure out a new baby while raising a 3, now 4-year-old, and making even more adjustments to married life and home.

fortunately kids are cute.  who can resist smiley boys with chocolate ice cream faces?

harry's first chocolate ice cream. jude with sugar high

we have reached the age where jude and harry giggle and entertain each other.  it is mostly jude entertaining, and harry trying to crawl, cruise or grab jude.

brother share a laugh

i am glad to share these fun moments on the blog and facebook.  i am also glad you don't see how often i feel so tired i want to cry, get frustrated or even yell.  but after connecting with my baby-raising neighbor in our struggle,  i want to make sure you know...it happens.

these days are long.  in a twist, having a lot of time with the boys comes with extra pressure.  pressure to plan activities, help them learn and force...i mean help...jude write his letters or do a craft.  sometimes i wish mary poppins would pop in and i could be the flighty but passionate mom-with-a-cause, while someone else fixed my kids and cleaned my house.  but then i'd be jealous that i wasn't a part of the big musical numbers. so that's not happening.  guess i'll have to keep praying, learning, and practicing responding like a grown up..

a quick plug for a book that is helping me:

Mom Connection by Tracey Bianchi:   my favorite tips from her- eat simple dinner on the porch one night a week to  see the neighbors, chat with the dog owners, etc.    Another one- when you're in tears or about to lose it, listen to yourself and stop. put the kids in the crib or their room and take 5 minutes to recover.  helpful for me to silence the guilt of taking a mom timeout. 

enjoy your own difficult but amazing days.  bedtime is not that many hours away, right?