Welcome back!
Dear “Rora,”
I can’t believe 10 months has passed since we first welcomed you into our lives. You have grown so much — and time has passed too quickly!
Your favorite toys are NOT baby toys. You love Little People and baby dolls and some of the most random toys like Lala’s “robot” – a McDonald’s type toy that’s actually an astronaut and does nothing spectacular. I have a feeling you love it because Lorelei loves it.
Your smile and laugh is infectious.
Your eyes are a deep blue and are so expressive. You use them well to sense other people’s feelings. I’m so curious to see if you’ll keep your blue eyes – your paternal grandfather has them and so does your maternal grandmother. By this age, Lala’s eyes had turned a dark steely gray.
You nuzzle with your head as your way of showing love. You enjoy uncovering our faces from under your blankie as we play “peek a boo.” Lorelei is still your best friend, and watching you two play brings a smile to my face. Just looking at her makes you smile (and her, you).
However, you’ve also begun asserting your own…(what shall we call it…) independence. Today, as you and your sister were both upset (you because of teething, her because of allergies), you both wanted in my lap. So, I set you both on my legs and as she leaned her head against my chest, you reached over, trying to move her face away from me. Your little face crumpled when it was made clear that Lorelei would have to share my lap. You also refuse to sit somewhere (as opposed to being held) that you don’t want to by arching your little back and throwing your head backwards.
Unlike your big sister, you are definitely a mouth explorer at this age. –As in, you pick everything up and it goes straight to your mouth. It’s funny to walk into a room to see you with a doll sticking out of your face.
You’ve also begun teething and now have FIVE teeth. The two bottom center teeth came in first and then one beside those and very recently, you got the top two in. (Those last two were NOT FUN. You sprung a 102.5 fever for a few hours and had me really worried, I wasn’t sure what was going on!)
You crawl and get around well but are showing no interest in pulling up. -Pulling things down from a table, sure. Pulling yourself up? Why bother?
You are doing well with mushed up foods, but you always want a follow up with breastfeeding. Your father and I left for a weekend and we had formula as a standby but you HATED it. So, you chose to only eat your food and drink water and juice from a bottle. Although, when we got back, you were DEFINITELY happy to see me again 
You sleep all night, now, in your room. Every once in a while you’ll wake up and have a night feeding but it’s RARE. I welcome those rarities though. I need my sleep, but your cuddles are so special.
Funny girl, you hijack your baby doll’s pacifiers and bottles and take them as your own.
You are so special and we can’t wait to see your personality develop.
Love always,
Mommy
It must be a funny (pitiful) sight to see me “running.” Really, it’s almost amusing at how quickly I become out of breath as I try for the first time in my life to really start running. I was told running would be hard, that it’d take months – if not years – for it to really integrate itself so well into my life that I could actually relax as I run. That’d be nice.
But, for now, I’ll feel like I’m about to die as the breath is sucked straight out of my lungs and the cold air burns them instead.
The funny thing is that I’ve been CRAVING running. It sucks while I do it, but then I can’t wait to do it again. Maybe I’ve just developed a masochistic personality.
Regardless, I’m trying to drag Steven into my new lifestyle. It’s something we’ve talked about for …since we’ve been married, but we never seem to keep up the whole “active lifestyle” for more than a couple of weeks. This time, I bought a board game (called The Fitness Challenge) and it seems pretty cool. The main idea for the game is to try to get in 3 workouts a week and there are points and prizes (real ones) and all that jazz…
I’m feeling particularly pumped that so far this week, I’m winning. The bad news is that that’s because Steven hasn’t done a workout this week yet (which is okay, he still has 5 days). The good news is that I’ve gone from working out 3 days a week, to trying to cram more in. Like 4 days a week. I’ve started dabbling in p90x. Dabbling, because most of the system depends on a pull up bar, which requires a sturdy door frame. I don’t really trust these door frames and am not committed to losing our security deposit over a freakin pull up bar. My walls are made of some really sturdy cardboard (not wood), so I really doubt the doors and frames were splurged on. In fact, I have a sneaky suspicion half of this place was super-glued together (which I may or may not have done some of the repairs myself).
I was feeling rather confident after I finished my p90x Ab Ripper with no pain or soreness. I felt like a superstar (that had been jipped of a workout) when I felt nothing the next day. But 2 days later, I feel it. It may have something to do with the extra pushups I did and the run…but, when Steven asked me to scoot underneath the baby bed in order to reassemble it, I suddenly realized that most of my muscles were on fire. Except my feet. My feet seemed fine. That was it.
In other news, you really can RUN through a bank drive through to deposit money. And yes, that was me. I like to multi-task (and they’d already locked the front doors).
In more news, the baby’s bed has been moved to the girls’ room. Lorelei is ecstatic and at 7:30am, they both woke up and were giggling and having fun. I’m excited, yet…not…why can’t they sleep til noon?
In even more news, Lorelei is nonstop hungry. I’m happy she’s eating but am now wondering if this is a developmental stage or one really large tapeworm.
Lorelei,
You are 2 years and 9 months old. You’ve mastered the fine art of dressing yourself (except for shirts, they’re pretty confusing). You adore watching shows and have somehow developed a little smarty pants attitude. And then, there’s the whining. Somehow, you instinctively know that if you repeat the same word in the same whiny voice, it’ll drive anyone near you CRAZY. You adore playing dress up and shopping and girly things like: new clothes, lip balm, fingernail polish, and shoes. You still like taking showers and baths and look forward to bedtime stories (even if you do try to get out of the bedtime part of it). You have a new obsession with gum and have started eating normally again. You went from eating very little to continuously saying, “Mom, I hungry!” Things you’ll eat right now are: yogurt, fresh fruits (pineapple and blueberries and mandarin oranges are your favorites), pasta, pizza, and the like. We’re trying to keep things healthy for you – little or no chips, soda and candy. You don’t seem to mind too much, except for when you see someone else eating them. Potty training is kind of…not really happening. Which, has more to do with me than you, I think. We did the big kid panties one day and you peed 6 times in 2 hours, and I realized I’d have to attach a potty to you to keep up with you. You love playing outside in your little cars and love playing inside with your barnyard uno and candyland games. And, then…there’s your sister, whom you adore.
Aurora,
You are 8 months old now. You eat “solids” (2nd stage) and have started to crawl. I started feeding you solids later than I could have because I ‘m a little reluctant for some reason. Your favorite thing EVER is your sister. You now hate the bumbo or anything else that keeps you from roaming around. You throw major tantrums when we lay you down for a diaper change, and sometimes holding you is all that makes you happy. With that said, you’re still a happy baby. You are now sleeping the majority of the night in a swing. You wake up to eat and we let the batteries run down so it only swings you at first. Soon, you’ll be practicing spending the night in your crib, after we move it to your sister’s room.
Girls, I love being your mommy and feel so blessed day in and day out…even through the tantrums (yours and mine) and meltdowns. I love listening to you, Lorelei, as you try to express your thoughts with words, and how you try to incorporate things you’ve heard us say (even when it’s not the best word usage on our part). As I watch the changes in each of you, as you morph into two distinct personalities, I wonder what’s in store for us. And, I hope you always remember this feeling…
Of sisterly love…
1. Regardless that you never stuffed your bra in highschool, you might suddenly find yourself doing so. You may even want to buy stock in nursing pads, I’m just sayin’…
2. My number one requested item on my baby shower list POST-BABY? Fitted sheets…because um, yeah.
3. Right after that? Towels.
4. Cabbage leaves? Don’t work. Unless you WANTED to smell like rotten yuck, then of course, by all means…
5. The La Leche League leader was quite possibly born with no feeling in certain areas of her body. Or, it’s a man. Because, I can think of no other logical reason they would tell you that it won’t hurt at all…unless you’re doing it wrong. Because it will. Badly (if it’s your first). But, it DOES go away in a couple of weeks.
6. They sell books on positions…for nursing. Most of which, might be dangerous with a newborn – and a very sleep deprived mama. (Plus, I found it hard to do some of them just because of logistics…until she was a little older…so don’t feel bad if you have a little trouble. It’s not just you. It could quite possibly be just me, though.)
7. A sexy nursing bra? HAHAHAHAHA.
8. By the way, you’ll have to replace those suckers (nursing bras) quite a lot if you get one that’s more substantial than a bit of cloth – which I suggest you buy unless you just love wet spots (which are apparently not sexy to most men.)
9. You don’t have to buy the specialty nursing tops…but it sure makes things easier at first when you’re learning how to be discreet and not show everyone your stuff.
10. Pretty evening wear doesn’t usually equal nursing friendly. Actually, it makes things kind of difficult. It may end up resembling something like a chunky cloth necklace in a locked backroom before the evening is over.
11. Some people are stupid and think it’s okay to suggest you should feed your baby in the bathroom. It is 100% fine to tell them that you will feed your child in the bathroom after you see THEM eat their meal from on the toilet.
12. Although your husband might have faked remorse over not being able to share the nightly feedings with you, he may not actually jump in when it finally comes time for solids. Occasionally, it is normal for a man to forget how to do things…you know, like hold a baby spoon.
13. There is a fine line between nourishing your sweet child and becoming a human pacifier. It’s up to you where you stand on that one, and you may find yourself weakening your resolve. Like, in order to get some peace and quiet before your head explodes, for example.
Lorelei has become more and more interested with the potty – from shouting that she needs to go in the middle of Walmart to wanting to chill out on hers for periods of time. She wants to. Really wants to. The only thing missing? Being able to summon the great yellow and …yeh.
For some reason, Dr. Phil appeared on our television the other day (I call him Dr Duh) and the issue of the moment was POTTY TRAINING. OH STOP THE WORLD! Apparently, the parents were afraid their 2.5-3 year old little boy was going to be 10 before he could use the potty. I know I’ve joked about it before, but REALLY?
Sometimes I worry about different developmental things a little, but would the world really crash and burn if your kid didn’t poo in the potty til he was 3.5?
Anyways, Dr. Duh’s magical moment of secrets was this: “You guys just don’t know his currency.”
(They were trying to bribe him with stuff like preschool…stuff he didn’t want)
Lorelei’s currency is pretty simple. Presents – whether it’s fresh baked rolls, fruit, spending time with mommy watching a movie, playdoh, or “a new house.”
For the past few days, she’s done great with not peeing in her diaper at night, something we didn’t talk to her about or ask her to do. She just did it! The potty was made available during the day and we supply her books while she waits, trying to get the hang of things. But, for the most part, there was nothing.
She WANTED to. Oh man, she wanted to. She just didn’t know how to make it come.
Until this morning.
And, then…we played with surprise playdoh.
……………….
In other news, Aurora developed a runny nose and cough last Saturday or Sunday which has since morphed into a very wet icky cough that brings tears to her eyes. She coughs incredibly hard, sometimes even to begin choking. So, after lots of calling around and then finally a resigned post on facebook, I decided to take her to the ER. Not because it was an emergency but because nobody that I called could see her because they weren’t accepting new medicaid patients – however, they thought I should definitely take her to see someone…just not them. You know, just in case it happened to be in her chest.
Luckily, a friend came to the rescue and got us in to another practice and this morning, Rora saw a doctor…well, a nurse practitioner.
She has an upper respiratory infection but it’s all upper and not in her chest. Which is GREAT. She is showing signs of a beginning ear infection, but nothing huge yet. We came home with good news, a peace of mind, and some just in case meds in case a fever should spike or this not go away on its own.
“Mama! Rora bites you! No, baby!” Lorelei said with great worry as she came into the room, seeing me breastfeeding her baby sister.
“No, sweetie. Rora isn’t biting mommy. Mommy is just nursing and Rora is eating!”
(Pause with Lala still looking concerned.) i realized quickly that I’d used the term ‘eating’ which sounds a lot like biting and chewing and knew I had to backtrack quickly.
“You see, mommy has baby milk in here,” I said, being sure to emphasize BABY lest she get any ideas and putting my hand over my breast. “Rora nurses and drinks mommy’s milk when she’s hungry.”
Lala responds with a knowing look and i mentally hand myself a reward, proud that i explained to my toddler that the baby was not actually devouring and hurting mommy. Until she (quickly) followed up with…
“Lala, milk!” She said, hands over her own chest.
“No honey. Just mommy. Just mommy has milk.” I began.
“Oh!” She said, clearly getting more excited. “Lala [has] juice!!” She exclaimed, pulling the neck of her pajamas back so she could peer down them.
“No, Lala….” I began, but stopped dead in my tracks when she replied with “Mommy, uh huh. Yes.” And looked at me in that knowing way that told me this wouldn’t be a battle I could win.
Okay, kid. I’m praying you forget this little “lesson” as you rub the sleep from your eyes today. But, if you don’t, I have the duct tape ready to tape your shirt securely in place should you decide everyone needs to know about where juice comes from, or God forbid you get the idea to “share.”
OOPS.
Thought this was pretty great (from an email forward)…
The Window Through Which We Look
A young couple moves into a new neighborhood.
The next morning while they are eating breakfast,
the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.
“That laundry is not very clean”, she said.
“She doesn’t know how to wash correctly.
Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.”
Her husband looked on, but remained silent.
Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry,
the young woman would make the same comments.
About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a
nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:
“Look, she has learned how to wash correctly.
I wonder who taught her this.”
The husband said, “I got up early this morning and
cleaned our windows.”
And so it is with life. What we see when watching others
depends on the purity of the window through which we look.
