Friday, April 20, 2007

grandma is here!

we talk to my mom every day on the phone. i'm sure she's sick of hearing from us all at this point but she still came to visit us for a week (and is taking us back with her for 3 weeks). mia jumped all over her right away and hasn't stopped with the "grandma grandma grandma!" it's as though they see each other all the time. i hope we manage to catch some of their connection in pictures over the next couple of weeks. it's fun to watch mia when my mom does something that mia thought only i did. i play with mia just the way my mom played with me. sing the same songs. tell the same stupid jokes. so thanks, grandma, for making me a good mom. teaching me the fun and the love to share with my kids. grandmas. they are awesome.

in other news - gideon's been here for 9 weeks now. can you believe it? probably. but i can't. as of this week he is 13 lbs. 15 ozs. holy crap. mia was 14 lbs. 4 ozs. at 4 months.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

mia-isms

#1

mia: i have a question.
dad: what is your question mia?
mia: don't talk about ducks.

#2

not today daddy, maybe tomorrow (while shaking her finger at you).

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

where do the days go?

i'm not quite sure how over a month has gone by since last we checked in here. i'll do my best to record the things that have happened. the things that have changed. and the things that make my heart stop every day.

mia - a month in review

she's 2.5 years old now. pretty soon she won't be a toddler anymore. she's a big girl now and she'll be the first to tell you that. i thought that she might regress a bit more than she has. that she would want more cuddling and babying. but no. i even try and tell her that she's my baby girl. that she can be a big girl and still be my baby. she's not buying it.

she's throwing a lot more tantrums these days but i think that is more a combination of the boredom of being at home all day, knowing more of what SHE wants and trying to assert her independence.

the hilight of the year so far as been going to a wiggles concert. that's right. a wiggles concert. and oh my god! did we ever have a good time! josh got 2nd row tickets for us and our friends, conchita and josie. it was so funny watching the girls try and figure out what the hell was going on. it took 15 minutes or so to get them to stop looking at the giant tv screen and realize that THE WIGGLES ARE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!! it was the best concert ever.

she's non-stop with the talking. non-stop. it's pure crazy making most days. but oh, her imagination! it's really getting fun to listen to her play in her room or talk to gideon while i'm out of the room. right now i have to fight with her every day to go to the park as she would rather spend an hour in her "pretend park" (her room) making castles and serving me wooden sushi for lunch.

the holidays have come and gone for the spring season, too. we had a nice passover with seders at both josh's parents' house and a friends' house. matzah everywhere! we spent easter alone at the house and josh made sure that mia had an easter basket and hunt of her very own (while gideon slept inside). photos are on flickr - please cruise on over there if you get a chance.

gideon - a month in review

in 2 days my baby boy will be 2 months old. he is already not quite as schlumpy and squishy as a newborn. holding his head up more and more throughout the day. he's strong as an ox. kicking and trashing his arms about. my fierce little warrior. just thinking about how quickly he's growing makes me tear up.

his baby acne went from bad to worse to terrible cradle cap that spread to his face and ears. i think he might have mild excema, nothing terrible, but still, no fun. the acne has cleared up. the cradle cap comes on in spurts and we're keeping the rash to a minimum by not letting him get too hot. but still, his face isn't baby smooth. he's a guy, what can i say?

at 5 weeks he started smiling on his own. by 6 weeks it was all about mama. and now he's giggling, screeching with joy (as well as shrieking when unhappy) and responding to tickles from his big sister and i. and what makes him laugh the most? filling 3 diapers in a row (waiting until the next one is on before pooping again, of course) and peeing all over the wall, changing table and himself). because that? is hilarious.

he loves baths. either on his own on the floor of the tub or floating with me in the deep water. and for a moment afterwards, while josh lathers him with lotion, he is soft.

he hates being in the car when the car isn't moving. initially he hated being in the car at all because he was in the infant car seat (at the highest setting) but we took him out of that really fast and put him in the same car seat that mia's in and he's like a fat man in a lazy boy. comfy and happy. as long as we're moving, that is.

he loves being in the pouch. all curled up tight against my chest. carrying him in the pouch and nursing him to sleep are the two things i will miss most when he's grown.

also loving? the stroller. we have this awesome phil & ted's stroller where he gets to lay down, unrestrained, and either sleep or look up at me while i push him. it's awesome.

he's not sleeping through night yet. it's not killing me yet but soon it will be. one can only take 3 hour stretches of sleep at a time for so long. it's gotten a lot better since we moved him into his own room, though. that's right, people. he's in his own room. it started with me not being able to sleep with him in my armpit anymore. so we moved him to the mini co-sleeper attached to the bed. but he was too big. everytime he thrashed about he would end up with his face pressed against the side and try to nurse. and get pissed off. and scream. and end up in my armpit again. but oh, he's loud. and he trashes about. so for 2-3 hours we'd lay there awake while he slept loudly and violently between us until 20 minutes before he needed to eat again. so yeah. he's in his own room now. we had to buy a velcro swaddling blanket for him because he's too big and strong to hold in a recieving blanket. and now he's happy and quiet and in his own room. it's funny that i would have felt terribly guilty with putting mia in her room so fast (she didn't go in her crib for 4.5 months) but i don't here. i'm much more realistic. he's happy and asleep. i'm getting 3 hours now. all is good.

so that's it. a month in review with tons and tons of stuff that i missed, i'm sure.