Baby Blog

As is the way with Boston, March and the end of winter dragged on and April and the beginning of spring flew by. In March, Sebastien took two ski lessons at Blue Hills and declared that he loved it. He also had a hearing test at Mass Eye and Ear with a follow-up ENT appointment that showed fluid in one ear that was affecting his hearing. (We go back in July to see if it has cleared on its own or if we need to take further action.) We had a few birthday parties for friends at school – including one at Yiorgo’s house where mid-party, Sebastien threw up buckets all over everything he was wearing and my shoes. Stomach virus? Not sure, but not my favorite moment as a parent. In April, we had the 20 week ultrasound for baby number three where everything was declared a-ok. We started a “Playtime Players” class with both boys and finished up our session of swimming lessons. Archer met up with Willa at the science museum while the big kids were in school and we had lunch with Belle who was probably very thankful both her kids were at daycare after Archer’s restaurant antics. We spent a sunny but chilly day at the Franklin Park Zoo, attended the Charlestown Easter egg hunt and spent Easter and Patriots Day down in RI. Sebastien went to his last FUSE camp over April vacation and started his hip hop dance class with Meryl and Ella.

Archer, at 19 and 20 months, you are going through a bit of a shy and clingy stage, especially to me and especially if a man with a beard is anywhere in view. Despite excitedly declaring “soccer class!” whenever we pass the yoga studio, you refuse to participate in soccer and stay firmly glued to my lap. (The coach has a beard, so this is not totally surprising, although you are only slightly less attached to me at music class.) You are currently obsessed with the “Halloween Moon” book and “Sheep in a Jeep” is a close second. You love doing puzzles and are surprisingly good at them, especially Endless Alphabet on the iPad. You love “Wheels on the Bus,” especially the “shh shh shh” part and songs in general. You want a snack (or “nack”) all the time, and usually cheese. Your current favorite foods other than cheese are cashews, fruit (especially melon and strawberries), “wogut” (yogurt), pasta with butter and parmesan, toast with nutella, bagels with cream cheese, waffles with butter (and by god, they must have visible butter on every bite), veggie straws (your gymnastics snack of choice), fruit gummies and squeeze applesauce. You have a pacifier in your mouth almost all the time, which is something I’m going to have to put an end to soon. You do this funny little pacifier spin move pretty often and we’re not sure why. Nervous habit? Gorillas are your favorite animals; walruses are your favorite sea creatures. (Sebastien’s are cheetahs and “octopus or squid or colossal squid.”) You are suddenly very attached to your two stuffed monkeys and carry them out of your crib every morning. You’ve started to shake your head and say “noooo…” in this sad little whiny voice. Yeses are less frequent. Your first two word phrases, which happened around April, were “bye bye dada” and “help mama,” which is very telling.

Sebastien, we have been pushing you to try new foods and you generally freak out before you finally agree to try something new. Most of the time you say “yuck” before you could possibly have tasted the food but there are a few new things that have stuck: kale chips, toad in the hole (toast with a fried egg in the center), strawberries and cheese omelets. You’ve been doing totally awesome at school and really love going. Your “favorite friends” are Alani at FUSE and Nate at CNS. We bought you a two wheeler in April and you transitioned to riding on your own after just a day or two of practice (a big plus for starting on a balance bike!) You’re still a little nervous on the narrow sidewalks and have trouble going up and down hills, but on the flat playground, you can start, ride and stop all by yourself. And we’ll close out this post with another round of Sebastien Says:

“So when is the baby gonna hatch up?”

“Don’t forget to put the wrapping paper on it [the leftover pasta] so it doesn’t get any mold.”

“That’s the biggest number in the world!!” [about me turning 33]

“It happened yesternight.”

[Me: It wasn’t TOO too long ago… about six years. Right before you were born.] “Well I’m four and three comes before four, and two comes after one, so that’s a long time for me.”