Category: Kids & Parenting

Sibling Love

Published by dee on September 23, 2008

You know what I love even more than my two kids? My two kids together.

Evie worships her big brother right now. If he’s in the room, she is most likely watching him. She’ll start laughing out of nowhere and when I look up to see why, she’s always looking at him. Other people can make her laugh, but no one can make her laugh as easily as Zach can. All he has to do is look at her the right way or say something to her and she starts giggling.

Last night I was having a hard time getting Zach to bed so I took Evie with me and sat on the edge of his bed to talk for a few minutes. Evie kept diving toward Zach so I decided to let her lay down with him for a couple minutes. He wrapped his arms around her and they immediately started giggling together. I grabbed the camera, snapped a few pics of them together, and then told Zach that it was time to go to sleep. He got mad when I told him I was taking Evie away and begged me to let her sleep with him. Of course I couldn’t let her, but it was still sweet that he wanted her with him.

The entire time I was pregnant with Evie I looked forward to these moments. I love watching them together. I can’t wait to watch them as they get older – laughing, telling secrets, and all those things that brothers and sisters do (even the fighting). There is nothing I love in this world more than my kids and to see them loving each other is more than I could ever ask for.

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Evie – 6 Months

Published by dee on September 18, 2008

Dear Evie,

You are six months old today. As I watch you grow before my eyes I really wish you would just stop. Well, maybe just slow it down a bit. Life moves very fast and I feel like I’m missing so much of your baby days. I know the memories will all melt together soon and I’ll have a hard time remembering the softness of your sweet baby skin and the feel of you rooting toward my chest. I took some time tonight to go back and read about your brother when he was six months old and it felt like it was decades ago, yet it also seemed like it was just yesterday that he was doing many of the same things you are now.

Physically, you are developing so fast. You can sit up on your own now. You haven’t quite learned to pull yourself up to a sitting position, but if I sit you up you can hold yourself up for while. This seems to work better when you have a toy in front of you. Otherwise you just topple right over so you can roll toward something interesting.

You are trying really hard to figure out how to crawl. You can get up on your hands and knees now and even get your belly off the floor, but you haven’t quite figured out how to move once you get there. That’s just fine with me really. I’m not in a big hurry to get the baby gates out. You also seem to really like being on your feet. If I hold you up you will stand and jump up and down until my arms give out. I’m sure it is only a matter of time before you are pulling up on your own.

Over the last couple of weeks, you seem to have figured out what to do with those two bottom teeth you have. I’m not sure if your brother told you or if you figured it out on your own, but teeth are for biting. Now we just have to teach you that they are for biting food, not people (or cat tails). Those two little bitty teeth? They are sharp! Just wait. It won’t be long before you get some real food that you can use them on, but until then let’s save the biting for the teething rings and toys, okay?

Speaking of food, you are doing just fine with the eating. You are weighing in at just over 20 pounds now. You love your food and are starting on the number two baby foods now. The only thing I’m a little concerned about is that you have started refusing your bottles sometimes at day care. You are ready to nurse as soon as I get there to pick you up, but you just don’t want the bottle. If you keep it up, we’re going to have a bit of a problem because you can’t go eight or more hours without your milk and I can’t drive across town in the middle of the day to nurse you.

You are getting more and more vocal and I can tell you want to talk so badly. I don’t think you’ve uttered any real words yet, although it does sound like you “hi” every once in a while. A couple nights ago you said something that sounded like “maaaa” but there wasn’t a second “ma” to finish it off. Don’t worry, you’ll get it soon. Reaching out your arms and crying as I walk by is good enough for now.

Even though I wish you would stay tiny forever, it is so much fun watching you discover the world around you. You are very observant these days. You love watching yourself in the mirror. You also love your toys. I have to move them all out of the way to change your diaper because you will twist and turn and stretch until you have a toy in your hand otherwise. You love your dolls and stuffed animals, but you seem to love your brother’s toys even more. He’s not too thrilled when he catches you slobbering on his cars though.

Over the last month we’ve been trying to enjoy the little bit of summer we have left. We took you on your first trip to the lake where you enjoyed riding on Grandpa’s boat. You attended your first Royals baseball game (and then your second). We also made a trip out to Deanna Rose Farmstead where we saw lots of cool animals. Out of all of those, I think you probably enjoyed the boat the most. You got some great naps out there on the water.

I can’t believe half of a year with you has already zipped by. I know I always say it in these letters, but time really does go by so very fast. I need to remind myself to slow down and enjoy every moment just a little bit more because I don’t want to miss a thing.

Love always,
Mama

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Five Months

Published by dee on August 18, 2008

Dear Evie,

Another month has past (entirely too quickly) and you are now five months old. I’m going to try to keep this letter short because it is late and I’m sure you will be waking soon to nurse (again).

I can’t believe how much change can happen in only a few short weeks. When I wrote the last update you were just figuring out how to grab at things and roll over. Now you are rolling all over the place and playing with your toys like an old pro. You have even been trying to work on those beginning crawling stages. You can get your knees up under you and push forward, but you haven’t yet figured out how to get your arms up at the same time. I’m guessing it won’t be long though.

You are getting so much stronger. You want so badly to sit up but you just don’t quite have the back strength to hold yourself up yet. You can sit by yourself for a few seconds, but you lean over far enough that you can chew on your toes. Of course, you may be doing that on purpose because you really seem to like your toes these days.

A few days ago I gave you your first taste of squash (the baby food variety). You weren’t at all impressed with that and screamed at me until I gave you some of your beloved rice cereal/apple juice mixture. I eventually got you to eat a few more bites of squash. The next day you didn’t mind the squash so much. Since then you have also tried sweet potatoes and applesauce and loved them both.

A little over a week ago, we took you on your first trip to Dallas, Texas. You got to meet most of your extended family on Daddy’s side, including your great-grandparents Mama Goodie and Papop Albert. You also got to meet Vivian and Clyde, some friends that are very special to Mommy. I don’t think you got put down more than once or twice the entire time we were there. Everyone wanted to hold you and they were so impressed by how happy you were. The last couple of days in Dallas you did start getting pretty fussy though. At first I just thought it was the change in routine, but then I realized you were teething. A couple days after we got back in town your first tooth finally popped through your gums. The second one seems to be well on its way too.

You are getting more talkative every day. You love to make noise. I love to listen to you gurgle and coo when you are play. You have also started letting out little squeals now and then and I can already imagine you as a teenager squealing for your favorite boy band. This morning you woke up really early and decided that mom and dad needed to wake up as well. You were lying on the bed between us and kept reaching out and hitting us on our faces while babbling on. When I finally woke up enough to pay attention to you, you smiled at me and said something that sounded like, “Ma!” Mama would have been better, but I guess I’ll take what I can get.

Of all of the amazing things you have started doing this month, the very best part of it all has been your laugh. I’ve never heard a better sound in my life. The really great part is that nobody can get you laughing like your big brother. He loves to talk to you in the car on the way home from day care and always gets you laughing. Hearing my two kids giggling together in the back seat is quite possibly the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. I can only hope that you will continue laughing together for the rest of your lives.

Love always,
Mama

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Randomitis

Published by dee on August 7, 2008

What? You’ve never heard of randomitis? That’s what you get when you are so busy all week trying to get ready for an out of town trip that random thoughts are flying around your head like flies on a dead animal. Then you throw it all together in a blog post because you simply must get it out. Time to pull out the trusty bullets.

Last weekend we went over to my sister’s house to hang out because Zach had been begging me for two weeks to go to RyRy’s house. He wasn’t going to quit until he got his fix so we went over and hung out and let the boys have some play time. It was a pretty uneventful evening. Then, as we walked out the door to load the kids up in the car I heard a buzzing sound and then felt a smack to the face. A giant locust flew right into my face, hit my cheekbone and then just kept going. It hit hard enough that it was still sore the next morning.
I forgot how hard it is to pack for an out-of-town trip with a baby. We’ve done a couple of overnight stays, but packing for four entire days is much harder. I’m just hoping I have enough diapers. As long as we have milk (which fortunately comes with me) and diapers we’re ok. Anything else we can live without.
I realized this week just how much I rely on the hubby to get me through the evenings. He usually has dinner ready (or almost ready) when I get home with the kids in the evening. Then we split up doing the dishes, baths, etc. He worked long hours this week so he could take some time off which means that I was on my own for dinner and bath time. My kids are so used to eating as soon as we get home that they just didn’t understand why they had to wait for food. I tried to fix a decent meal Monday, then I just gave up. I picked up fast food Tuesday and microwaved some left overs last night. I didn’t get to eat at all until after both kids had been fed and then I had to rush through it so I could get baths and everything else done. Single parenting is definitely not for me.
I think my son killed my desktop computer last night. He really likes to push the bright blue button on the front, even though I’ve told him over and over again not to. Last night when I was busy with Evie he walked over and pushed the blue button. I heard the computer turn off and he admitted it when I questioned him (even after he had just been yelled at for ripping my wallpaper border in the kitchen). When I went to turn the computer back on it didn’t even so much as laugh at me. It was dead. Now I’m just praying that my hard drive is still okay. It should all be backed up but I haven’t checked my backup files lately to make sure that it is running correctly. Hubby and I both use our laptops most of the time, but we use the desktop as a file server so all the important info is on there, including all of my pictures for the last five or so years.
Even though I was stressed out by my kids this week, they still managed to remind me exactly why I wanted another one. On the drive home Tuesday night Zach was bored and started talking to Evie in the back seat. She must have smiled at him because he said, “Sister likes me.” Soon after that I heard the glorious noise that is baby giggles. Zach was talking to her and making faces and she was laughing up a storm. Before long there were full-on baby belly laughs coming from the back seat. Zach was loving it and I thought my heart was going to just explode from the love I felt at that moment.
Evie is getting much more demanding these days. She wants to sit up all the time. She loves her Bumbo and exersaucer. She grabs at absolutely everything. She can no longer sit in my lap while I eat because she grabs at my plate, my fork, my arm, and anything else within reach. She’s really having fun with her toys though. Oh, and she also reaches her arms out when she wants to be picked up which I love, but also hate. I feel so bad when she reaches out for me and I can’t pick her up right away.
My new craft site is doing well so far. Thanks to a couple of people Stumbling it, I’ve had a really high number of hits since the launch. I just hope I can keep up with it this time around.
I’m really looking forward to our unexpected trip to Dallas this weekend. Hubby’s dad called and asked if we could possibly come down for a visit if he met us in Dallas and things just happened to work out so we can. His dad is bringing hubby’s grandparents and nephew along and we’ll get to see Aunts and Uncles and Cousins as well. It should be a fun trip and a nice little getaway if we don’t go crazy on the 8+ hour drive with two kids in the car.

Ok, if you’ve read this far then I think you deserve to be rewarded with some cute pictures, no?

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Learning New Tricks

Published by dee on August 5, 2008

Evie has been working on a new trick. She would really like to sit up on her own but she can’t quite do it yet. I was trying to take some pictures of her this weekend in her pretty purple dress so I sat her in the corner of my sister’s couch so she could sit up with a little support. Apparently that wasn’t good enough for her. She wanted to sit ALL the way up and she kept trying over and over again. I got some very interesting pictures of her efforts, including the one above that cracks me up every time I look at it. I never did get the shot I wanted, but I did get a cute shot of her matching shoes!

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Being Mommy

Published by dee on July 31, 2008

Anyone who knows me knows that I simply adore my kids. They are my life. Nearly everything I do in some way, shape, or form is for them. Even when I’m not with them, they are always on my mind. I love them. I love being their mom.

Being able to carry, nurture, and birth a baby is a privilege and a true gift. It is an amazing experience. I loved being pregnant both times (at least up until the last few weeks). Seeing my newborn babies for the first time are moments that I will never forget. I love holding them, feeding them, caring for them. Heck, I don’t even mind changing diapers that much.

Nighttime feedings, nightmares, monsters, and middle of the night water requests (followed by trips to the potty) aren’t that bad in the big scheme of things. Tantrums, stomach aches, and band-aid obsessions all pass in time.

Story time, rolling on the floor, racing cars, splashing in the tub, and hugs and kisses while snuggled on the couch will all be fond memories in a few years when they are too grown up to do those things with Mommy.

But, while I’m spending all this time loving on my kids and being Mommy, I’m missing being me.

Before I became a Mommy there was so much more to me. I was learning to play guitar and aspired to be part of an actual band some day. I read books and magazines (and actually finished them). I could take part in an intellectual conversation and know what I was talking about. I spent hours learning about web design and hand coding web sites. I listened to adult music. I wrote both online and offline about things other than children. I went to rock concerts regularly. I slept for more than 3 hours at a time. I cooked meals that required more than throwing some chicken nuggets on a pan and putting them in the oven. I spent hours snuggled on the couch watching movies with my Hubby. I actually got to eat an entire meal while it was still hot.

These days there is no time for those things. I spend my weekdays at my job, where my time belongs to my boss. Then I go home where my time belongs to my kids. I’m completely exhausted by the time the kids get to bed. Hubby complains because there is no time for him. I complain because there is no time for me.

There is something to be said for the old tradition of the man bringing home the bacon and the woman staying home to raise the kids. I feel like I would have so much more control of my life if I could have those extra 9 hours of the day at home. I could have the time I need to play with my kids and not feel guilty when I needed to put them to bed at 8:00 so I could have some me time. I could keep the house picked up so it wasn’t a mad rush on the weekend to get laundry done and find the floor underneath all those toys. I might even have a little time to myself during nap time. I know there would be other difficulties that come along with it, but it sure looks good from where I stand right now.

I know I make it sound bad, but the truth is I began this post because I wanted to talk about how much better things have gotten recently. Somehow it turned into a big stress dump instead. But things really are getting better. For the last 13 months, my body has belonged to someone else. My brain has been zapped from pregnancy and then lack of sleep. But now Evie is becoming slightly more independent. She still owns my boobs, but the rest of my body is slowly coming back to me. She doesn’t have to be held all the time. She can play alone for a few minutes in the exersaucer or roll around with her toys in the floor. She goes to sleep easily by 8:00 every night and if I can actually get Zachary to bed I do have a couple of hours of me time. I’ve actually had time to do some sewing and work on some blog designs. I feel little bits and pieces of the old me coming back and it feels good. I can even laugh instead of getting angry when I tell Zach to go to bed and he says, “But I just went to bed last month!” It still isn’t easy, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

I guess like any job, this Mommy thing includes both good and bad. Fortunately, the pros of being Mommy greatly outweigh the cons.

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