Jesse's Third Birthday

We did something a little different for Jesse's birthday this year. Instead of a big party, we decided to do something fun together as a family that we wouldn't otherwise do. Since Jesse has been pretty intrigued by the Willis Tower for months and months (maybe even the whole past year, but I can't remember when it all started), it seemed a no-brainer that we would take a trip downtown and go up to the top.  Of course, we made sure Jesse liked this idea, which he did :)

Jesse's birthday was on Sunday this year, so we decided to go on Saturday, so that we didn't miss church and also because he could get in for free until his third birthday. We took the train downtown, which is also a special treat for Jesse. This did force us to walk nearly a mile from the train station to the Willis Tower in the cold, but Jesse stuck it out and made it, and Max rode snugly in the baby carrier.

The tower opens at 10 a.m. and we arrived a few minutes early, to be greeted by a few workers showing us pictures of what it would look like from the top with zero visibility (it was a very cloudy/rainy/dreary day). They wanted to make sure we knew that the view would be mostly clouds and that tickets were still full price. I felt like they probably thought we were silly to be going up on such a day, but I told them that it didn't matter because we had promised it for Jesse's birthday (and there was no way we were going to let him down after hyping it up for so long). It was nice that I let it slip about his birthday, because they told us to be sure and let them know at the ticket counter so that he could get a special present for his big day (he got a huge button to wear, which you can see in the pictures). The nice thing about going on such a cloudy day was that we didn't have to wait in line for tickets and it wasn't crowded at all at the top.

We spent a little while perusing some of the exhibits down below (as much as a 3-year-old would allow) and watched the short video, and then we got in line to ride up to the top. Jesse was pretty excited the whole time, and as soon as we got to the 103rd floor he ran straight for the big glass boxes that hang above Wacker Drive.  He had no fear at all, but I, on the other hand, could barely put one foot over the edge.

Since his own Mother refused to get out on the glass ledge for her son's special birthday adventure (and James couldn't handle more than a brief walk on it), Jesse made some new friends out there. These tourists were eager to get their pictures taken with Jesse. At first he said no, but then he warmed up to them and obliged.

After spending a little while in the tower we headed across the street for a lunch at McDonald's, and then we walked back to the train station to catch our ride home.

It was fun and memorable to celebrate Jesse's birthday this way, and he definitely had the time of his life.

Even though we didn't do a real party, I wanted to do something special with our community group Sunday night, since that was his actual birthday. Two of Jesse's best buddies are in our group, so it was kind of like a mini-party without the decorations and games. We usually have dinner twice a month with our group, so I made all of Jesse's favorites: hot dogs, homemade macaroni and cheese, strawberries and blueberries, and chocolate cake. Jesse looked so happy when we all sang "Happy Birthday" to him (actually, he started us off with the singing...ha) and he got to blow out the candles for the first time.

Max: 3 Months

Max's third month was full with Christmas, travelling to Arkansas, and his first illness.

The Sunday after Christmas when we were driving back from Arkansas both boys began getting congested and by Monday Max seemed pretty pitiful and miserable.  He continued to get worse throughout that week and by midweek he was wheezing and having trouble nursing because he was having to work so hard to breathe, so we took him to the doctor and they confirmed that he had an RSV/bronchiolitis infection.

RSV can linger 3-4 weeks in babies Max's age (and it can also be pretty serious, so we're thankful it never got that scary for him), so we will be going in for a follow-up next week to make sure he is completely over it and in good shape for the CT-scan on the 23rd (which had to be rescheduled since they didn't want to sedate him while sick) and for his surgery, which is scheduled for January 27th. I am praying that he will be 100% by then, because our Moms are planning on flying in the weekend before the surgery to help, and also because I am just ready to get this big surgery over and done with, as it is something I have been dreading. He was back to his normal self after 5-7 days, but the cough and chest congestion lingered for a couple weeks. Right now he seems totally fine to me, but we will see what the doctor has to say next week.

Anyway, enough about sickness. Here are other things that Max is up to.

Stats: He was somewhere between 17 and 18 pounds when we took him into the doctor right before the 3-month mark. His length was 25.5 inches.

Eating: Eating is about the same this month. I think he eats probably 6-8 times in a 24-hour period. He doesn't eat during the night, but it's not unusual for him to wake up sometime in the 5:00 hour to nurse and then go back to sleep. I feel like in the past month he nurses much less for comfort than he did at the beginning, because if I try to feed him too soon, he gets very angry.

Night Sleep: He has continued to sleep great at night, although that did not hold true (understandably so) for his illness, when he was waking sometimes 5 times per night.  We have gotten him to an earlier bedtime, so now he goes down around 8:00 and sleeps until sometime between 6:00 and 8:00. Typically, he doesn't wake at all, but if he does, it is around 5:00.

Daytime Sleep: His naps are so-so. While we were in Arkansas his naps were terrible and we couldn't get him to stay asleep for more than 30 minutes most of the time, but he has adjusted back to a better routine now that we're home, and he is taking decent naps, though they are not fantastic. I think he naps 4 times, though sometimes it might be only 3. His best nap happens first thing in the morning.

Play: Max is really enjoying his play gym these days, and he also loves to observe everything going on around him from the bouncy seat. Over the past week he has been working on grasping objects (like his links) and he loves to study his hands and fingers. He still really dislikes tummy time.

Temperament: This little guy has me puzzled.  He began life just like his brother, very particular and quite fussy/hard to please, but with a few exceptions over the past few weeks, he has become quite the content/go-with-the- flow kind of baby. Even with his illness, there were only two or three days where he acted really miserable.  After that, it's like things flip flopped; he became super happy during the days, but a horrible sleeper at night. I'm hoping we can have both, so we'll see if this peaceful temperament thing continues. I just can't get over it when he is content to sit in the bouncy seat for nearly an hour while we watch tv or while we make dinner or play with Jesse...it's not something I'm used to from my experience with Jesse.