Cash Musings on Christmas

Mommy: "Cash, what are you going to ask Santa for Christmas this year?"
Cash: "Hmmmm (thinks for a while)...Trick or Treat!"


Second attempt, a few days later...
Mommy: "Cash, did you think about what you're going to ask Santa for today at school?"
Cash: "Hmmmm (another long while of thinking, this time with finger on chin)...Presents!"
Mommy: "What kind of presents?"
Cash:"...Good presents!"

2.5 Years

12/12/12 marks Cash's half birthday to a big 2.5 year old.  I like half birthdays - they're a fun little way to celebrate a little milestone especially since almost every day during these toddler years we get another milestone out of Cash.  From 2 to 2.5, Cash has gained a lot of independence, both naturally and by his own making.  He now likes to dress himself right down to his socks and shoes, pull up his own pull-ups, brush his teeth, change out the dvds when he watches movies and the list goes on and on.   Sometimes we still try to do things for him but Cash will quickly let us know that it's "my turn" or that something we're trying to do with him or dress him in is "too baby" and we back off.  He's a big boy now and everyone needs to know it.

We don't have his well check up until tomorrow but I can already tell he's gone through a recent growth spurt as all of his pants are too short.  We're finally solidly in 2T clothes.  He's still skinny and weighs around 26lbs but we recently had a chat with his pediatrician and we think we've finally figured out the root of his non-eating and have a plan to work with it.  Mainly it has to do with his strong-willed little personality so we're learning how to change some of the parenting "techniques" that we thought were fairly universal but never worked for us and are adapting some of the ways we talk to him and discipline him so that he will hear and accept it better.  Overall though, he does seem to eat a little better when we make it less of a battle and more of a laid back experience with some dessert bribery sprinkled in the mix.

Ross and I think that it's awesome that he's strong-willed.  Because on top of that, he's assertive, confident, a daredevil, funny, social, and extremely charismatic.  When he walks into his schoolroom every day, all of this friends turn and yell "Cash" with big smiles on their faces like they've been waiting for him to show up so the party can start.  He's a sweet, sweet boy too - right now his favorite thing to demand is a "hug and a kiss" from daddy and mommy before he leaves for the day and we happily heed to that demand.

We are just weeks away from Cash being our one and only to Cash being a big brother, one of two little boys.  Cash makes our hearts so full that it's hard to imagine that there will be room for another one in the mix.  But just knowing how amazing Cash is and how much he has taught us about being parents and finding the joy and laughter in every situation makes me realize that because we have so much love for Cash that we will have the same for Austin. And Austin will be extra lucky because he'll have all that extra love from such an amazing little boy like his big brother, Cash. 

35 Weeks

Stick a fork in me, I'm well done.  And don't let the work out clothes fool you - I basically went to the gym this morning, walked on the treadmill for 15 minutes and promptly froze my Y membership for three months.

Here's Cash and me, one day over 35 weeks.  Cash is real excited about it, until we mention Baby Austin, then he generally doesn't want to talk about the situation.   I haven't written an Austin post in awhile but there have been quite a few developments on the baby front, as one would expect with just a little over a month left.  Probably the biggest one is that, just like big brother, Austin is breech and doesn't seem to want to turn.  Even though everything I've read on the Internet about consecutive breech presentations indicates that essentially there is some sort of uterine/pelvic structural issue involved that makes babies more comfortable head up, my midwives seem relatively unconcerned and think he will turn on his own.  I remain skeptical.  So much so that I'm currently going to a chiropractor who is using the Webster Technique to try to get Austin to turn.  With Cash I tried acupuncture and moxibustion and it was, for lack of a better term, a bust. so I figure I'll give the chiropractor a try.  Basically he cracks my pelvis to realign it and then works on a few trigger points on my belly.  I'm fairly certain that Austin didn't turn after the first visit but I have another one tomorrow so maybe that will get him moving along.

If Austin doesn't turn, we'll probably try a Version at 38 weeks with the doctor associated with my midwifery practice.  I explained my history with Versions from Cash (how he didn't turn the first time but promptly did the second when I was given a spinal) however I was informed that they don't administer spinals for Versions no matter what but that I could maybe be given a shot to relax during it if I wanted.  I think I will want.  I also kind of doubt that I'll be able to get multiple goes at it this time around so we are really keeping our fingers crossed that the chiropractor and natural stuff works because I'm not so sure about my ability to relax enough without anesthesia to get the Version to work.

Austin moves A LOT!  I'm not sure why I notice it more this time - maybe little Austin's head is harder - but he darts that thing back and forth across my upper abdomen so much that it gets hard to breathe.  He's also a hip kicker, specifically the right one.  He gets the hiccups at least once a day like Cash did and those are always amusing.

We pretty much have everything in place for his arrival except doing a mass cleaning of the house and buying a supply of newborn diapers.  We've been told that Austin is on the smaller side like Cash was so I'll probably need a Costco box of the newborn size.  Last time around we figured, like with most babies, that size 1 would work and bought that size in bulk only to have to go out and promptly buy newborn size right after Cash was born.

Thanxmas 2012

We were lucky that I wasn't quite far along enough in this pregnancy to be banned from flying for the Thanksgiving holidays, so off to Texas we went for the annual Thanxmas celebration.  We were especially thankful that Charlie, Fiona and Lucy were able to make the trip this year and Cash and Lucy got in some good cousin time and bonded over a mutual love of Cheerios.  Wednesday night was the annual Christmas celebration with the Young/Melone family with manicotti, sausage and peppers and then a mass opening of presents that was fun and ridiculous at the same time:

On Thursday we went to Aunt Melinda and Uncle Alan's for Thanksgiving.  I think the highlight for Cash wasn't the food (which he ate practically none of) but his cousin Addison's pink jeep that drove around and also which earned him the nickname of "Crash" for his "driving technique" of pushing the gas while looking everywhere but forward.

I didn't get any pictures but one of Cash's favorite things to do was climb up and give his Beep Beep Baba hugs and kisses.  He's big on giving a "hug and a kiss" right now and is always up to climb around so it was a win/win for him.

We had a great time and can't wait to bring Austin with us next year!

Cash's First Halloween

Yes, in actuality 2012 is Cash's third Halloween.  When he was 5 months old he was taken to day care in a pumpkin costume, last year we stuffed him into a monkey suit and he went around getting candy at school, but this year, his third Halloween is always the one that I'll consider his first real Halloween because this is the first year he could say "Trick or Treat"!  And really, going up to a door, yelling "Trick or Treat," and getting handed candy in return is what Halloween is all about.

I decided awhile back that Cash was going to be a cowboy since my friend Candace had sent him an adorable cowboy hat for his birthday in June.  Plus I knew that I could pull together the outfit with real clothes/already owned items.  I figure I have a number of years of expensive costumes in my future so lets be cheap while we still can.  Luckily, Cash is obsessed with Toy Story and Woody so he was thrilled to be a cowboy and practiced saying "YeeHaw" for weeks.

On Sunday night, we went to Trunk or Treat at our church.  Cash was a little overwhelmed at first but quickly got acclimated to going around and getting candy.  He then ate some candy and went a little crazy running around the church gym.  On Tuesday we finally carved our pumpkin.  Cash was less interested in that then he was in trying to take pictures of the event on my camera. 

On Wednesday, he got dressed up for school and trick or treated at the company where the day care is located.  He brought home so much candy that it didn't seem like he needed to go out again.  However, I'm so glad we did let him go out because he had an absolute blast.  Ross took him to a few houses around our neighborhood while I stayed back to hand out candy and apparently he just loved it.  He wanted to go to every house but after Ross told him that he could only go to the ones with lights on he started calling them "spooky" houses and would run up to the door to yell "Trick or Treat" and always remembered to say "Thank you" afterwards.  When he came back, he immediately wanted to dump his candy bag out on the table to survey his loot and we happily let him eat some M&Ms which seems to be a new favorite candy.

All in all, Cash had a great first real Halloween and has already asked us when he can go "Trick or Treat" again.

Big Boy Underwear!

For the past couple of months at school, Cash has been "trying" the potty out every day.  He's had a few successes at school and at home, but we hadn't gotten around to any formal training yet.  The other day, however, as we were walking in the Toddler clothing aisle at Target, Cash was insistent that he wanted the Toy Story underwear he spotted on the wall.  I've been reading a book that teaches potty training specifically for boys and it says to not ignore signs that he is ready and I figured an almost tantrum level determination for underwear was a sign.  Plus, as a lover of shopping, I admired his ability to pull the trigger and not waffle on the purchase - I mean, there were Cars underwear on the rack as well but a man knows what he wants.

So, in following the method of the book, we've been starting him off on a slow course of training with about an hour every other day of "underwear time".  Saturday was our first try and Cash was excited to hang out in his new big boy drawers:

Unfortunately, the first go around was not terribly successful.  After multiple reminders to let Mommy and Daddy know when he needed to go potty, Cash didn't quite grasp the concept that underwear is not a diaper and proceeded to obliviously pee all over our bed while watching an episode of Olivia.  So I think when we try again we will have a little more reminding and a lot more plastic sheeting.

Cash on the Farm

A few weekends ago, I had to leave on a work trip to Pittsburgh on a Saturday (a rare occurrence) so our neighbors invited Ross and Cash to a friend's farm nearby for an annual camp out.  They just went for a few hours and didn't stay overnight, but Cash had a great time playing with the "big kids" and, apparently, being a little Casanova with the 3 year old girls.  He was quite taken with one and tried to give her a kiss before leaving.   Maybe next year we will all be able to go!

26 Weeks

Well here we are - 6 1/2 months through with the third trimester on the horizon.  My belly has grown a lot in the past few weeks and I'm more than noticeably pregnant at this point.  At my last prenatal appointment the weigh in scared me straight, hence the fact that I'm back in work out clothes for this picture.

Is it ok to say that I'm pretty much over being pregnant already?  Well, I'm saying it.  I'm over it.  I'm not sure if it has to do with my job being more stressful this time around or with having Cash here to take care of and run after along with my very limited (if any) "free time" to just lay around and enjoy the growing baby inside of me but I just feel more exhausted this time around - mentally and physically.  I have my last work trip before maternity leave coming up this Saturday and I'm hoping that after that's all said and done I can find some sort of respite and force myself to de-stress a little bit.  

Baby brother Austin is doing well and he is extremely active.  More active than Cash I think.  Last night I was sitting on the couch and it felt like he was bicycle kicking around the entire perimeter of my stomach.  I've started to go through some of Cash's old clothes to figure out what we have and we seem to be doing ok in the footie pajama department as well as some early spring time clothes.  I also was able to snag a pack and play at a recent consignment sale for Austin to sleep in during our rooming in months so we've got some more bases covered and I'm able to check some things off of my pre-baby list.  Cash is still happy when he refers to Austin and we're still pretty sure he thinks it's a purple kangaroo in mommy's belly.  However, as long as he doesn't freak out at the mention of a baby brother (of any species) then I feel like we're on the right track.

All boy

Cash came home from daycare yesterday with a busted nose.  Like caked with blood, swollen on top with a cut busted.  Apparently he was playing trucks on top of the playground "stage" and took a tumble off of it flat on his face.  He cried a bit and they put some ice on it, but apparently after that, all was well.  This is one day after me going to pick him up on the playground and watching him get whacked in the back of the head by a little girl on the swings after he ran directly in front.  That mishap flattened him on the ground and caused about 30 seconds of major crying before he begged me to get down and hang off of the monkey bars with his best bud Ethan.

In general, Cash just "plays hard" as Ross and I like to say.  I took a picture of his banged up legs since this is pretty much what they always look like nowadays.

He's just starting to become such a rough and tumble, climb up high just to jump and crash down little dude.  He'll whine a little if whatever he did stung but then he just gets right back up and does something crazy again.  Plus, he's always making a mess, either with all the sand in his shoes from playing or from constantly wiping his face during dinner.

We love our little man so much but if Austin takes after his big brother, I am in for it!

Austin Devon Inman

Well we have a name for the new one...and it's not even close to one of the two names that I mentioned in the previous post.  Ross and I had a bit of a name epiphany on our trip to the Berkshires for our friends' wedding and we (me) realized that I wasn't in love with either Travis or Lucas.  I had tried to get fully on board but something was holding me back.  Ross wasn't so passionate about either of them that he was amenable to my next suggestion: Austin.

Austin has been on my list for a long time as a name that I love and always come back to.  I almost did a last minute switch on Cash's name to Austin when I thought that Cassius/Cash was a bit too out there.  However I'm glad that Cash is Cash and now, that this little guy will be Austin.

There's no real reason behind the name, although I did recently find out that it was the name of my grandfather Watson's youngest brother.  However Ross is content with the fact that it can reference a "hero of Texas":

Since that really doesn't matter to me, I like to kid him and say that this is our son's namesake:

He's pretty easy on the eyes.



We've told Cash about the name of baby brother and he was immediately on board.  He talks about "Baby Brother Austin" often and can say the name well.  However, we do think that he may believe that this is the baby brother that is coming his way:

Good old Austin from the Backyardigans who is now referred to as "Baby Brother Austin" whenever we watch the show.  Cash is in for a big surprise when a tiny baby, and not a fun-loving purple kangaroo, shows up at his house in January

Skype time with Daddy

Ross has been traveling for work this past week so this is the best way we have to get some Daddy-time in the evenings for Cash.  Cash is pretty used to Skype - we use it frequently to talk with Old Grandad and Beep Beep Baba - but it's not the same as having Ross home with us.  This is the last of his week-long work travel trips for awhile (though he still has shorter ones on the books through the end of the year) so for that we are thankful.  Unfortunately, I'm off to NYC for work next week so I guess it will be Mommy Skype time for Cash for a few days.

We often wonder about the effect that our work travel has on Cash since there hasn't been one month go by this entire year where one or both of us hasn't had some sort of trip, usually more than one.  I would say we travel more than any other full-time working parents I know and when I've described our situation to other people I'm usually met with faces of concern, or confusion, or the phrase "Oh, that's a lot".  I usually just smile and say, "yeah, well, neither of us really has a choice and Cash seems to handle it really well," and I can honestly say that's the truth.  Cash does handle it well for the most part - we always explain where we are going and how long we will be away and he doesn't seem to get terribly upset about it (more often, just a little mad) and he loves checking in with our daily phone calls and Skype sessions.  But I'm more than thrilled that we are under 24 hours until Ross will be home and I know Cash is too!

Recent videos

Just a couple of recent videos of Cash.  Above is Cash and his babysitter the other night.  She's great and made this for us while we were out.

Below is us at dinner the other night.  It perfectly illustrates that while we try to feed Cash a balanced diet, he will always just eat whatever has the most cheese on it.

Last summer outdoor tubbys

We sometimes do outdoor bath time with Cash and tonight we had probably our last one of the summer times.  Cash generally loves tubby times but he loves outdoor tubbys even more.  Next summer he'll get to have outdoor tubbys with baby brother which will make it even more fun!

Surprise, Surprise...

In probably the least shocking news of the century, we found out last Friday that Hoss the sequel was another little boy.  I feel like I've basically known all along and while a few people had said along the way that I couldn't be so sure it was a boy, I was sure.  My pregnancy felt exactly the same and also, there's that little fact that all first born Inman sons have only had sons for generations.  You can't argue with genetics folks!

After I allowed myself a brief mourning period for hair bows, nail polish, and future dance recitals, I can definitely say that we are ecstatic to bring this new little boy into our family.  Plus, if anyone has ever needed a little brother, it is Cash.  He needs a little wrestling, mischief-making, curly-haired partner in crime.  And this one seems like he will be a solid partner - the ultrasound tech couldn't stop remarking about how active the baby was.  He's also already in a breech position just like his brother, so yeah, mischief ;)

We've narrowed down our name pics to two solid choices and are going back and forth between the two right now.  Both end in "S" which is how we have decided we want to make our childrens' names go together.  The first, Travis, has the pros that it isn't at the top of the current name lists and can honor a hero of the Alamo (that's a Ross "pro" by the way...) and the cons that I think it sounds a bit 80's and it seems like we're trying too hard to start the newest country sensation, Cash and Travis.
The second, Lucas, is also Latin like Cassius and can be shortened to Luke.  On the other hand, it's gaining fast in popularity and Ross can't stop singing "Lucas with the Lid Off" whenever we mention it and that may prove to be really annoying.  No matter what, the middle name is Devon.


We should make up our minds soon because we want to start calling baby brother by his name to Cash so that he can start bonding a bit with the baby.  Currently he is starting to undertand a bit more that the baby is in my belly and not in my wrist and seemed excited about the crib across from his bed being where baby brother will sleep...until he started saying "My crib, MY CRIB!" at which point I just dropped the subject.

So we can't wait to meet you Travis/Lucas!  January can't come fast enough.

Guess what we find out tomorrow...

Can't wait to tell Cash if he's getting a little brother or a little sister.  Probably a brother, but we'll all act surprised.

Moving on up...

Well, we are about 3 weeks away from move up time at daycare.  Cash will be moving from the Toddler class up to the Young Preschooler level on August 27th.  The teachers that Cash has had at the Toddler level are so wonderful that I'm a little sad this is happening but he is getting bigger and it's time for him to learn more and experience new things.

His teachers gave me his year-end assessment today about the skills that Cash has learned this past year.  He was marked as "complete" for every fine motor skill, every emotional and social skill and every language skill.  The only "working on task" that was marked was balancing on one foot for 5 seconds under gross motor skills, but really, some adults can't do that so I think we are fine.  At the bottom his teachers wrote:
"Cash has a great love of books.  I bet we have read Brown Bear 100 times.  He does a great job answering yes and no questions.  He is into puzzles too.  Cash does a great job helping cleanup.  I look forward to seeing him grow and develop in his new class."

Enough to warm a mother's heart - especially one that loves books as much as I do.  And also, the working mother in me was happy that none of these comments were surprises - I knew that he loves books and puzzles, is great at cleaning up (when he's in the mood) and saying yes and no.

We can't say enough how happy we are with the daycare that Cash goes to every day.  He has so much fun and loves playing with the other kids and his teachers and he learns so much.  We can't wait to see what he learns next year as a Young Preschooler.

Wallace Park