The Cannon Family

The Cannon Family

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Our two month blob

In my last George update I was anxiously awaiting his 6 week mark because I assumed he would take after his older kin and sleep through the night. I was sorely mistaken. I don't know if it's because he doesn't have as much of a routine and they did or if he's just a mama's boy who needs to snuggle all night long. It's been hard to get him on a routine as we are constantly in the car running errands or carpooling the kiddos to and from school.
I can't complain though. George is dreamy. He might not sleep a full six hours during the night yet but when we are nursing at 4 a.m. he will look up at me and in his raspy little voice start cooing about his dreams. I am totally smitten by this little man. I only wish I had more time to just snuggle and enjoy him with out older sibling chaos looming in our midst.
At his 2 month check-up George weighed just over 12 pounds. He's 56th percentile and 19th for height. Short and pudgy. A regular Georgie Porge. He's very squishy and I love squeezing and kissing those cheeks. I was told that breast milk gets creamier with each child and in George's case, I guess it has. He's getting milkshakes 8 times a day. You'd be chubby too!
George has started delighting us all with little coos and big smiles. Just after eating he'll look up at me and give me the biggest grin. "Thanks for the milkshake Mom." He isn't one of those babies that has to be held all the time. If he's been fed hel kicks his legs on a blanket for a while. I think he likes looking at the ceiling fans. He also loves being held in the Bjorn front pack. He doesn't mind walks in the stroller. We've gone to pick Sadieup from school a few times and he was a champ! However, he HATES driving in the car. It takes forever to calm him down enough to sleep so we usually hear shrills from the little man until we get home to find him drenched in sweat and red in the face. He's not afraid to show some emotion:-)
I forgot how much babies clinch their fists. Every time I try to open his hand I'll find big balls of lint in between each finger. I try to bath him more frequently just to get rid of the smell his clammy fists make. G loves to chew on his fists, even if they're smelly. I don't want a thumb sucker but he seems to really enjoy his fingers. I try to stick a binky in his mouth when I see him going for the fist but he loves it and self soothes himself that way.
Jack loves it when we bath George because he gets to play in the sink with his favorite toy...water! Normally Jack is pretty oblivious to George. He'll often times get angry when I give G a rattle that once belonged to him or swaddle him in a blanket J thinks is his.
He's pretty tough. Although I haven't witnessed this myself, Chase and the kids both swear they saw him roll over. He's also getting pretty good at squirming out of his swaddle and apparently out of his swing too. One night while I was reading books to Sadie (Chase was at the church with Jack), I heard a shrilling cry from George downstairs. I thought for sure he was asleep because he always sleeps in his swing. When I raced into the bathroom I saw my sweet little George face first on the tile floor!!!!!!!!!!!! I just about had a heart attack. I don't know how he got out of that cradle swing with that tight swaddle around his arms and legs but I will NEVER put him in there without his seat belt ever again. I guess he's growing muscles faster than I thought he would. Luckily he didn't even have a scratch and after catching his breath, he gave me some sweet little coos and smiles. Phew!!
Other than a few qualms, Jack seems to really like George. He asked to hold him for the first time this month. He hasn't been too interested in doing this before and I didn't want to force it. I knew J would want to hold G one day, especially after seeing how much Sadie loves holding him. Anything Sadie loves, Jack loves too:-)
George loves to be around people. If I'm in the room when he's in the swing, he'll crank his neck to look at me. He doesn't mind hanging out on the floor with some toys as long as he knows someone is around. My mom says he's like her cat Walter. Just wants to be part of the party and don't even think about leaving him out of the spotlight. He really loves Sadie. He lets her hold him forever and will sometimes just fall asleep in her arms while they sit on the couch together. It's really sweet how much she enjoys having him around...even though he's not a girl:-)
As I mentioned before, George isn't much of a sleeper, at least for long periods of time. For a while we had him sleeping in his boppy pillow, swaddled and on his side. He was in our room and we moved him into our bathroom for less noise during the night. We decided that the boppy pillow was both unsafe and a "sleep prop" so we took it away and made him sleep on his back cold turkey. He was not pleased about that. If I can't get him to sleep in his crib during the day I will swaddle him and put him in the swing. This is also a "sleep prop" but sometimes Mom doesn't care because she's desperate and needs to get stuff done without a baby hanging in her arms.
For a while I couldn't get him to sleep at all in his crib during the day but lately he's been getting better. He'll usually only give me 30 minutes in his crib and will then give me another hour in his swing...if I'm lucky. Now we have made the drastic move of putting him in the office so we can sleep a little better. He makes this sound that resembles a squeaky door. It keep us both up at night so the office will be his room for the time being. Let's hope his 3 month post will say he's sleeping 8 hours every night because I could sleep a full 24 hours if he'd let me:-) Quite a delight, our little George and we love him to pieces!!

Monday, March 19, 2012

This is how we find them


Sadie and Jack can't seem to get enough of each other lately. Jack can't wait for Sadie to come home from school and Sadie is equally as excited to hang out with her little bro. Going from 2-3 kids is SOOOO much easier than 1-2 or 0-1. Sadie and Jack take such good care of one another that it leaves me ample time to snuggle my little George. Apparently the day doesn't have enough Sadie/Jack hours so they must continue on through the night. We hear them giggling up there and will occasionally tell them to go to bed. But, secretly we hope we'll find them like this.....all snuggled and cuddled in Sadie's bed.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Seven is Heaven

Prior to this year, the number seven has only ever meant one thing: ELWAY! I love that orange jersey (and yes the old uniforms are way cooler than the new ones). Growing up, number seven was a highlight reel, leading the Donks to 34 fourth-quarter comebacks, throwing for 300 touchdowns, and helicoptering towards two Super Bowl trophies. I've always loved number seven.
2012 brings a new Number Seven into my life though: MY SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY WITH TOOTS! I love that brown-haired, green-eyed, luscious-lipped woman. In our seven years of marriage, there have been many highlights. Most often, though, Toots has been the one leading me by example, cheering me on in my accomplishments, and making life exhilirating. I've always loved Toots, and I've loved our seven years together.
In honor of the great number seven, here are seven times seven reasons that I love my Toots!
#1: She's an icon of style (even when she's pregnant)--I mean, check out that Christmas sweater and those red and white polka dot socks!
#2: She knows how to knit; and knits the best baby hats ever.
#3: She fills out a bracket for March Madness (and usually beats me).
#4: She makes delicious chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies.
#5: She dances all crazy-like (even when she's pregnant)!
#6: She knows how to decorate my office and make it look all professional and stuff.
#7: She likes Austin, just like me.
#8: She's sophisticated, and shows it by driving a Volvo.
#9: She makes friends everywhere she goes.
#10: She eats healthy foods and makes me eat 'em too!
#11: But she still buys me Mexican Coke stashes for Christmas.

#12: She likes canoeing on Town Lake.
#13: She serenades me with her B-E-A-UTIFUL voice, and sometimes even in Spanish!
#14: She watches three, yup, three kiddos all day!
#15: She has a perfect smile: She could be the Twizzlers "Makes Mouths Happy" mouth, since she has perfect lips, smile, and teeth.
#16: She makes the most delicious vegetable lasagna and a quiche that even a manly man like me will desire.

#17: She can cut a mean snowflake! Seriously, though, every holiday is a blast: house decorations, activities and surprises for Sadie, Jack and George, and treats galore!
#18: She is intensely passionate, and not afraid to show or share her feelings.
#19: She hates barking dogs, and is not afraid to tell the owners they suck.
#20: She can play cards with her toes!
#21: Susan Harris (The Firm) is her workout idol, and she swears following her is the only way to get in shape.

#22: She looks hot in a straw hat.
#23: She craves waterskiing, same as I.
#24: She likes Torchy's, P.Terry's, and Chuy's (all fantastic Austin restaurants).
#25: She enjoys hiking and backpacking, and isn't afraid to take the kids along for the ride.
#26: She has an insatiable desire to photograph every moment of Sadie, Jack, and George's life!
#27: And she is an incredible photographer, despite never having had a lesson or class on it.
#28: She finds amazing bargains on craigslist, including our dinner table and chairs, which she found for $100. She has also found our armoire, several decorative chairs, our kids' play table and chairs, the microwave, baby and Sadie's furniture, and many other knick knacks.

#29: She looks hot in short or long hair, and does not need no stinkin' makeup to do so.
#30: She buys me new clothes, including my new favorite shoes: sperry topsider boat shoes.
#31: She will watch the Utes with me (well, at least sometimes).
#32: She puts up with my crap (well, at least most of the time). Seriously, though, she puts up with my forgetfulness, arrogance, silliness, slobiness, stupidness, and my insatiable desire to watch and follow sporting events.
#33: She bought me my own body pillow.
#34: She loves to go on walks in the neighborhood, and likes to discuss the architecture and landscape of each house along the way. Someday I'm going to buy her a house--and she's going to have a blast making it her own...

#35: She makes Halloween costumes for the kids! Can you believe these? They are ridiculously cute and cool, and of course perfect for Texas! I am incredibly impressed with her talents and mad skills. It helps that she has darlin' kids to model her creations!
#36: She loves chillin' in her beach chair, whether it's in on the driveway (watchin' the kids play on their buses), in the backyard (watchin' the kids play in the sandbox), or actually at the beach (watchin' the kids run in the surf).
#37: She loves classical music.
#38: She plays classical music, and is my cohort on cello/piano ensembles.
#39: Her "What's Up Pussycat--whoa whoa!" dance is very silly, and makes me laugh every time.
#40: She will always be the best at Pounce (that's the cardgame that her family plays).
#41: She makes leprechaun footprints and green pancakes for St. Patty's Day.
#42: She puts love notes in Sadie's lunchbox every day.
#43: She kicked her Afrin addiction just by giving birth.
#44: She has a special place in her tolerance level for Jack--since he's her "little Chase".
#45: She would win American's Next Top Model, if she ever tried out. She would also win American Idol, if she would ever try out.
#46: She gets more joy out of watching the kids eat treats (ice cream for Sadie, marshmallows for Jack), then I think I got out of watching the Red Sox win the World Series. She is seriously so in tune with and so in love with our preciouses.
#47: She wants to backpack through Europe one day. And we will--probably around our 30th Annniversary--but it is on our calendar.

#48: She wants to be a lounge singer one day.
AND #49: She gave me these three little butt nuggets:


HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TOOTS!! SEVEN REALLY IS HEAVEN!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Patty Picnic

We had a fantastic St. Patrick's Day. Adorned in "pinch free" attire we headed to the greenest place we could find...the park. We brought along our kite and soccer balls too.
The kids (minus George, who sat around in his "blobness") probably ran a total of two miles after chasing the soccer ball and sprinting around the field with the kite.
Dad and George got a little nap here and there. We learned the hard way that George doesn't like to be awake all day. He wouldn't eat and screamed so much when we got home we had to strip him down to his diaper and give him some daddy "chest time."
We really enjoyed watching Sadie fly the kite. Jack wasn't as interested as he was in kicking the ball into the post while shouting "GOAL" over and over again. Sadie was absolutely determined to make that airplane fly. She figured the best way (for her) was to just run! If she ran the wind would keep it up. Poor thing was sore the next day from her mini marathon.
After finally getting the older, sunburned chiddlers to bed, George slept like this while we watched Forest Gump. He was tired! I never really celebrated St. Patrick's Day but now that I'm a Cannon whose family comes from the Isle of Man, I feel we need to represent:-) Happy Patty's Day to all!

St. Patty's Day

Those silly leprechauns wreaked havoc on our home this year. They left green footprints all over the floor.
They emptied Mom's purse looking for gold. Jack was clearly alarmed and distressed over the whole saga.
But what REALLY made him mad was finding they had knocked over his basketball hoop. How dare they!!
They also knocked down our chairs and strung green yarn all over the house!!
And to top it all off, those nasty little men used our toilet and forgot to flush!!!
"How did they get in here?"
Clearly, this was a desperate situation....
They turned our pancake batter green and somehow they turned Mom and Dad's eggs green too!


Jack decided that even though they pulled the outrageous stunt of knocking over his b-ball hoop, the leprechauns are "nice" because they left behind some golden coins and nuggets...filled with chocolate of course.