C Update - 10 Months

Dear C,

Hey big ole 10 month old!  This past month I think you've changed more than any of the other months combined.  You're getting all sorts of rolls again, which absolutely delights me.

(It also provides you a few extra places to hide your cheerios).

You're starting to talk a lot more, which is pretty awesome.  So far we have "Mama," "dog," "uh-oh" (particularly when she drops something completely on purpose.  It's a good thing she's cute), "el-o!" (Often said holding something to her ear like a phone, "hello!"), and "bye!"  I love watching you discover how to make sounds and delight in how those sounds make words.

 

You're pulling up on everything and cruising all over the place.  On several occasions, you've used my legs to stand up and stayed up on your own for a few seconds before plopping down again.

 

You're consistently sleeping through the night (FINALLY!) with only one waking and that's recently been because you're sick.   I can't even begin to tell you how amazing this makes me feel.  Except for the first few days, my body didn't know what to do with itself and I totally felt worse than when I wasn't getting sleep.  Weird, eh?

 

You put EVERYTHING in your mouth.  Every-Thing.  Lately, if I catch you about to put something in your mouth that shouldn't be there,  I can call your name and you usually hand it to me instead.  Small blessings, considering some of the things you get your hands on.  Why do I need a vacuum, I have you!

 

You still prefer me to anyone, though your Daddy is a very, very close second.  I love that you'll snuggle up to him just as easily as to me, most times.  I can't say he complains about it either :)

 

(I promise she's FINE in this pic.  Shaun was taking some pics of our slings and wraps for a future post and caught me mid-placement (mid-wrong-placement, actually, but that's neither here nor there).

I still can't believe you're so close to being one.  And walking.  And getting into things.  Eek!


Stay silly, Second Born.  Love you always,

Mama

Shaun's Lunch

Shaun fixed himself quite a pretty lunch the other day.

 

Broccoli, asparagus and jalapeño sauteed in a pan with a smidgen of olive oil.  Then, some kidney beans and fresh tomato.  A bit of salt and pepper to top it off and... lunch!

Except that the jalapeño was so stinkin' hot that poor Shaun had to sweat his way through the bowl.  

Don't doubt his tastes though, he loved every minute. 

Anything To Get Them To Eat Their Greens

My oldest does a good job of eating a vast variety of veggies. C's a bit pickier. So I try to be creative in presentation and sometimes it actually works.

Yesterday, I made a "green" smoothie* and accidentally dropped some ingredients on the floor. I started cleaning up but got sidetracked by a kid who needed help in the bathroom "RIGHTNOWRIGHTNOW!" and a baby who wanted DOWN from the high chair.

I put C on the floor, picked up my smoothie and sat down for a minute. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed C making a beeline to the corner of the kitchen but didn't think anything of it until I saw her pick something up and cram it into her mouth.

"C!" She looked at me, grinned and picked another thing up off the floor and ate it.

As I got closer to stop her, I noticed that she was picking up pieces of frozen spinach.

And yes, when I saw that? I admit. I hesitated on stopping her. Because really, GREEN FOOD! And wasn't this just a unique presentation? Hehe.


**(A green smoothie is a fruit smoothie with a few handfuls of spinach thrown in. You can get a considerable amount of spinach into the smoothie with absolutely no taste change whatsoever. Seriously! Give it a go if you need to get some greens in your kiddos. Or if you want to add a little healthiness to your own day).

Bottoms Can Have Preferences Too

I was sitting in a chair, trying to get a few things accomplished while the little one was sleeping and the big one was supposed to be playing.

But Bean was having a hard time finding something to do, (why do we have all of these toys again?) and I gave her the options of sitting on the couch to read or sitting on the floor to play.

"But Mama! My bottom doesn't want to sit on the sofa or the floor! My bottom wants to sit on YOU!"

Alrighty then.

Must Be Dreaming, Right?

Last night I put the kids down early to bed and they were both out within minutes. I smiled to myself and though, "Hmmm, tonight might actually grant me a good night's rest."

My peaceful dreaming was uninterrupted at 1:15am when a pair of little eyes peered at me in the dark, "Mama? Mama? I'm COLD!" And bleary eyed, I pulled her between Shaun and I and tucked covers all around her. (Her room is by far the coldest in the house at night). She rolled to her side and nestled her back against me. But apparently that wasn't close enough, so she rolled back over and nestled into the crook of my arm.

That lasted for about 11 seconds. Each successive position was deemed unsatisfactory and she thrashed around for what felt like an hour before I sat up and said, "BEAN!" Apparently, she was thrashing in her sleep because she was utterly confused as to why I was shouting her name. Resettled, she actually stayed still for more than 5 minutes. Success.

I drifted off to sleep only to be awakened a mere hour later by Miss C and a cough that signaled the arrival of the dreaded croup. I rushed in her room and picked her up to see if she'd relax enough to stop coughing. No dice. So we trotted into the bathroom and turned the hot water on high. The heat lamp cast a soft red glow through the room and her cough immediately settled with the steam got thick. She was the calmest, cutest croupy baby I'd ever seen. She'd lay her head on my shoulder and coo and when something would catch her attention, she'd pop back up then pat my face and grin. Super sweet.

A quick bottle to hydrate her and she was back to sleep within 45 minutes.

I crawled back under the covers and tried to turn my brain off enough to sleep.

Dozed off.

Back to thrashy-ville.

Then back to croup-land.

And back to thrashy-ville.

On the surface, it was a horrible night of sleep. Actually, it was a horrible night of sleep no matter what way you look at it.

But.

Motherhood is most certainly not all spring and roses. The only thing that keeps me sane after nights like those are realizing that there are those moments within the madness that make it all worth bearing.

Like Bean's sweet scented head nestled under my chin. Or C's hands reaching for me when I walked into the room to get her. Bean telling me, "Mama, you're WARM!" and nuzzling closer. And C's sweet smile every time she would look up to check that I was still looking at her. (She likes the attention... just a smidge).

I can take care of munchkins, no matter when it happens to be. And if I look at it the right way, I can do it with a smile and a feeling of contentment, knowing I'm right where I'm supposed to be.

Besides, all this nighttime care should earn me a killer retirement home sponsored by the kids, right?

Snow Day

We are in the midst of a lovely snow storm. (It's still falling!) Anyway, we're enjoying our time together as a family so I'll be back to my bloggy normal-ness tomorrow :)

Time Lapse of 9 Month Old Toy Tornado

This is super cute.  Having a 9 month old, (woah, nearly 10 months!), I know what kind of chaos they can create.  But really, watching them discover things is a pretty amazing experience.  I say this guy has it easy though..  add the skills of pulling up and cruising to rolling and spreading toys out like a maniac and you've got a mess in half the time.

Anyway, enjoy!