Mighty Miio at 3 months

Miio is 3 months! He has become quite smiley. He will make a little squeal when he gets really excited. He wears size two diaper and size 3 m clothes. He seems like he has equal portions of heigh and weight. He isn't chubby but he seems big, Troy often comments on it.

Just in the last week, I feel like our naps have started to go very well. There are still some 45 minute naps but overall, they are nice 1.5-2 hour naps. He is still in our closet. We moved him to his own room for few nights but when Troy's parents visited, it was just easier to have him in our closet. We had some rough nights when he would only sleep in my arms, so there was no way I was walking around in my Gs multiple times back and forth between rooms. 

He still sleeps in the bassinett. He is officially the slowest to transition to a crib. Aleksi still sleeps in the crib so we got another one from Jess since Lily isn't sleeping in it anymore. We haven't put it together yet and dont have the mattress for it yet. I think Miio can only do another week or two in the bassinet because he will be too long for it. He often sleeps double swaddled. We bought another swaddle blanket with a rice bag on the chest to mimic the pressure of a hand. We aren't impressed because Miio would get unswaddled super easy but we are still using it on top of another swaddle...maybe it helps. 

Miio has had two nights when he was up only once, he has had many nights when he is up twice and also many nights when it is 3-4 times. I try not to analyze it too much. Troy has stepped up in the past two weeks and helps out so I don't resort to nursing him back to sleep. 

Miio does well in the car seat. He often falls asleep in it and stays asleep which makes going from place to place easier. 

He has fallen asleep at VillaKids and most of the time, it has been a positive experience. Once, he cried for the whole 30 minutes which made me upset but luckily it was an outlier experience. It still is a bit stressful for me to drop him off there. 

He likes it when you rub his head. I have been able to get most of the cradle cap off his head! He has started taking baths and likes them. Aleksi, and Eerika sometimes, love to climb in with him. 

He likes to eat his hands and chew on my knuckles. He has started to drool and still spits up a ton. 

The big kids sure love him. And I am grateful that he didn't end up being colicky. I wish I wasn't so sensitive about people's perception of my babies. 

We love Mighty Miio. What a blessing he is. 

My boys

While there is definitely sleep deprivation and things aren't all perfect around here. I dont think anyone has once said anything bad about Miio and the extra work and attention that he requires. Aleksi still asks to hold him and he loves the fact that Miio is smiling and more attentive. Saku also has stepped up and become quite the help. 

And Troy has been amazing with middle of the night help. 

This stage is exhausting physically and mentally and I feel like I am not the best version of myself and it is hard for me, but as I look at these pictures, I am reminded how hard work and those sleepless nights are so worth it, and manageable as long as we get few good nights in between, and one day these kids won't need me so much anymore and I know I will miss it. 

quick update

I have about seven minutes to write before it is 10 pm and I feel like I should be in bed so I can maximize the sleep I get. 

Troy's parents came to visit two weeks ago. That's right. They have been here for two weeks. I think it is officially the longest visit from them. While there were few moments of, I need my space and time with Troy and I need some sleep, it has been so wonderful to have them. I know it has meant a lot to Troy to have his parents stay with us.

We went to visit Swink and La Junta where Vern grew up. It was cool to see the apartment where Troy's parents lived as newly weds. The house that Vern's dad build. The elementary school and junior college that Vern attended. We also stopped by a farm that belonged to a guy whom he knew from his childhood and we walked away with two cantaloupes and a water melon. Plus Eerika and Saku got to play with the barn cat. 

They put up a curtain rod for me for the black out curtains in the kids' room. Barb cooked many dinners. Vern supervised kids who got up before Troy and I got out of bed. Vern mowed our lawn twice. And this weekend, we got some shelves put up in the garage. I feel like the relationships with my kids and them have been strengthened. Grandma has given Miio some good snuggles and held him so I could get some stuff done that required both hands. 

The kids had their first day of school today. Last night they were both pretty nervous since they were starting the Spanish immersion program. This morning Eerika seemed to forget all about the nervousness and quickly got ready for school. Saku had a hard time getting out of bed and he was more serious on the field, where the classes met. He was very aware of the fact that he is behind in his Spanish understanding skills. However, both kids were happy when I went to pick them up. Well Eerika was happy until it started to hail and she got pounded by some hail. She was upset about it and then she said that she got "yelled at in Spanish for talking" but she couldn't understand what the teacher was saying.She was also sad because she didn't get to see Saku very long during lunch. I am sure the day was overwhelming for both of them. Plus Eerika has been amazing about helping with Aleksi as they sleep in the same room. Last night I found her giving him a drink of water when I woke up to his crying and coughing.  She can be bossy and she can bug her brothers accidentally and on purpose but she really does have a very kind heart. 

Mökki and Palju

Aleksi learned two important Finnish words during our second week here:  mökki and palju. 

here and now

I have been more so recording life events rather than journaling how I feel about life. Both of them are important but I just love reading back to the times when I truly wrote down how life was for me rather than just talking about what we have done. 

Tonight I feel very content. The kitchen got cleaned and the floors mopped. The rooms upstairs are mostly clean. I was able to finish putting mulch down yesterday so the backyard is one step closer to being finished. While I have never been perfectionist, it can really make me feel frustrated when things are unfinished. 

This week has been good. Monday started with Troy staying home and working on the garage shelves with his parents. I was able to go to gym and not worry about getting the kids into Villakids and whether Miio would be happy there. Aleksi was in heaven and in a good mood all day as he got the attention from Grandma and Grandpa. Miio took three amazing naps and was happy except when the saw was being used. He spent a lot of time with Grandma which made her and Troy and I very happy. It is important to us that Troy's parents and dad and Paula really get to know our kids and have a relationship with them.

For some reason, I had felt very angry and resentful towards Troy the previous week. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation, we had some awful nights with Miio, maybe it was the lack of personal time and space together as Troy's parents were here, maybe it was the stress of life and the constant noise. I'm not usually an angry person but I just felt angry and unhappy. However, we talked about it. It didn't resolve over night but this week I have felt happy and loving and not angry at all. It has been a big blessing for all of us. 

Miio is such a sunshine in my life. Yes, he can be demanding at time like tonight when he sort of fussed the whole time we were at Missie's for dinner. But when I sing to him or talk to him, he gives me the biggest smiles. He loves baths. He nurses and then looks at me with me biggest smile.  It is amazing how quickly he calms down in my arms and while I don't have any desire to do that multiple times a night, it is such a sweet thing to be that comfort to him. Miio sometimes "sings" when I sing to him. 

Aleksi is loud and demanding and funny and learning all the time. He is all boy.  He loves to show his butt, and say the word butt. He loves to be outside and ride his skuut bike. He is wanting to be a big kid so bad. He loved Grandpa and handled Grandpa's teasing well. He is in the tough spot of not really napping but also not really doing well without napping. He loves to stall and be distracted when you want him to do something that he isn't a fan of. It can frustrating.  He keeps talking about all the things that he wants for his birthday: monster truck, nerf gun, roller blades, pocket knife, green bunk bed, fidget spinner. 

Eerika is sweet and she is fire. She has been emotional this week. She hasn't really complained but by the end of the night, she can get very tearful about things that shouldn't warrant tears. She is liking Spanish Immersion. She wanted to read scriptures tonight on her own and did great.  She truly wants to help and sometimes she pushes her help so much that she and the person who does not want her help end up unhappy. 

Saku has been doing really well in many aspects. He learned a lot of responsibility from swim team this summer. He had two meets where he raced the 25m free style and backstroke. He has mastered rollerblading and has enjoyed bike ramping with Isaac. He loved rafting and even went tubing in the river. His anger burst as fewer and he has described his school days as "awesome" with the immersion.