"2 Babies Under 2"

My days of being able to affectionately say I have 2 babies under 2 have officially ended, and it honestly makes me really sad! Eli turned 2 years old on October 30th, and I still get can't over the fact that he's not my little baby anymore! In the last few months, he has been growing like CRAZY, and our worries about his unique developmental pace have pretty much dissipated. For a kid who likes to take his time, he certainly had no problem growing his word repertoire to almost 100 words in the last 3 or 4 months alone! He's also very adept at throwing wonderfully age-appropriate temper tantrums and whimpering "ooohh noooooo" if a nap time is missed or he doesn't get his crackers (aka "crack"...aka "rocks"). His favorite things are reading books, singing (ABCs, Row Your Boat, Twinkle Twinkle or "tka tka," Jesus Loves Me, and Itsy Bitsy), eating (the variety goes from pesto/hummus/greek olives/curry chicken to ONLY crackers, depending on the day), talking to Meme on Skype, playing his musical instruments, taking care of his baby sister (i.e. stuffing her pacifier in her mouth or throwing it at her, jamming her bottle down her throat, squeezing the life out of her feet, etc. - all the things a good big brother should do), water play, building blocks, talking on the phone (which can be any available object), and giving Mama and Dada plenty of hugs and kisses. Everyone complains about how tough the "terrible twos" are, and I understand that it has it own set of challenges, but I think they are the farthest thing from terrible. Eli is so interactive, not just with us, but with his sister and his friends at school. He's been going to a "pre" pre-school two times a week for about an hour to get some nice exposure to socializing, structure, different types of play, etc. They have a combination of typically-developing kids and kids with special needs, and I love that Eli is learning compassion and patience in addition to social play skills . Also, he made a great friend next door. Our little neighbor Finley is 18 months old, but they follow each other around like the best of friends, and hold each other's hands wherever they go.

Eli really continues to be such an amazing light with his own special giftings as he grows, and it warms my heart to see how he touches all the lives around him, including mine! Little Eden is not so little anymore! She turned 6 months old on October 24th, and for a petite little thing that had so many issues with colic/reflux/breastfeeding/bottle feeding/gaining weight, she is just as chipper as you can imagine! She is also officially OUT of the sub-5th percentile for weight, and finally closer to the 25th percentile. Still doesn't sound like much, but her chunky little thighs and tummy says it all - she is one healthy little chica now that she finally decided eating isn't her mortal enemy. Beyond that, she has been rolling in both directions since about 3 months, can scoot all over the floor, sit up independently for extended amounts of time, and even babble imitatively. She is ALWAYS moving!! EGADS. I tried to tell people while she was still in the womb, but no one believed me that she moved any more than any other fetus. Yeah. I hope infantile arm/leg flailing isn't an indicator of childhood ADHD or something. On a good note, she continues to sleep 10-12 hours through the night, which started at about 10 weeks, and in combination with Eli's amazing sleeping habits, gives Jake and I a consistent "adult-time" every night after 7:30 or 8pm. It's amazing. AH. MAZE. ING. Other than that, we are now working on solid foods. She didn't care for avocado, but loves sweet potato, and I recently steamed/pureed up a bunch of carrots and spinach, so we'll see how those go in the next few weeks. She finally decided to take a bottle about a month ago, and now she even holds it herself, which is quite nice. I'm still breastfeeding throughout the day, but she takes either pumped milk or formula by bottle about 40-50% of the time. It's been nice to add "date night" back into our vocabulary again. These days are going by FAST, but I wouldn't trade them for anything, and as much as I miss each day that goes by with my "2 babies under 2," I am so excited about all the new things that each day holds, and the growing relationship between my sweet babies. "Blessed" doesn't even begin to explain life right now!

I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. EVERY DAY I will praise you, and extol your name for ever and ever. -Psalm 145:1-2

Linden Lane - Before and After

We are finally feeling settled in our new home (though we still have a LOT to organize in the garage and in the 2 rooms upstairs!). Here are some before pictures as we were moving in:

Living room


Bathroom



***********AND THE AFTER PHOTOS (we still have some work to do, but it's getting there!)*********

Looking at kitchen from front entry


View from the kitchen to the back of the house


Dining room


One end of the living area - office


Living room



Hallway from dining/kitchen area to the bedroom area


Bathroom (note - new paint job, cabinets are lined and filled with linens, new doors hung - new floors to come soon!)


Master bedroom



Nursery





View from the nursery into the hallway


Hallway (stairs across from laundry)


View from hallway into dining room


Looking outside from living area (Toby is chillin)


Back deck

Approaching the 4-Month Mark

First of all, I can't even believe it's been 4 months since we first met our precious Eli! EVERYONE tells you how fast time passes when you're watching your little one grow, but you don't really understand until it's happening. I've actually caught myself saying tearful goodbyes to some of my favorite little outfits as he outgrows them! It's the weirdest experience because you're simultaneously mourning the tiny infant you fell in love with that you'll never get to hold again, but also falling deeper and deeper in love with this new, bigger, more interactive, smiling bundle of joy! Kind of like every stage is a sad goodbye and an exciting hello all at once. And it can happen in a matter of days right now! Weird! But a blessing nonetheless!

Well, we are finally through with what most people would consider "early infancy"! This is the time that the pacifier size changes, you start using new bottle nipples with a faster flow, some people start introducing rice cereal and solids, and babies are finally starting to play with toys and interact purposefully with the world around them! Right now Eli is about 15 lbs and already wearing 6-9 month clothing (but that's also because he's so long!) He is doing SO much lately - I barely have time to blog about it to keep friends and family updated! But here are some of his favorite things right now:

1. Rolling - originally he would only roll from his left side to his back, but now he's doing it with both sides, and even though he hasn't QUITE gotten the front to back thing down yet, he can do it from his tummy as long as one of his arms is moved out of the way! For whatever reason, he has been bearing weight on his legs since he was born, and even jumping and making crawling movements with his LEGS, but he refuses to use his arms! Instead he prefers to spread out his arms like a plane during the short time he tolerates tummy time!

2. Singing and talking!! This boy KNOWS music!! He sings along at church - friends and family have confirmed it! And he LOVES to dance when music is playing. I'll hold his hands to balance him while he's standing, and wave them around to the music and he will CRACK UP! I loves it when his little eyes light up when we dance around to worship music in the mornings. I'm hoping and praying that Eli will be a worshiper! We all thought because of his calm, gentle little spirit that he'd be a quiet baby...HAH! He rarely cries, but WOW does he love to talk! Especially in quiet environments like church. He coos, hums, squawks, and even says, "MA!!" over and over! Perhaps he'll be less like Jake and more like his mommy in this regard...

3. Using his hands - I guess a lot of babies are motivated by toys around this age. He could take them or leave them (he'll sometimes reach out to grab something, but is perfectly content to just observe). However, he likes to sit at the piano with me for at least 10 or 20 minutes and use both his hands on the keys to make sounds. He also finger painted his daddy a picture for daddy's birthday - his very first piece of artwork, and he was concentrated on moving his little fingers around the paper for nearly 30 minutes! My favorite thing about his hands is when he gently grabs onto my shirt/chest or fingers while I'm feeding him, or even during play. While he's not the biggest cuddle-bug in the world, he LOVES just a simple touch from his mommy or daddy.

4. Laughing!! About a month ago, he started laughing!! And I think his giggles actually surprised him at first! He would giggle and suck air into his throat making a rather loud noise which would then surprise him, make him jump a little, and then result in more laughing! The things he finds funniest are moving fabric/cloth (yeah...I know, hilarious, right?), peek-a-boo, and other people laughing. Sometimes, he'll just start laughing at nothing apparently. We were in the mall the other day and Jake was holding him facing outward while I went to get a coffee. When I came back, he was cracking up for no apparent reason, but looking straight ahead. I tell Jake that I think he still sees angels. Interestingly, he doesn't seem ticklish at all! He might be more like his daddy in that respect (who is SO ticklish that it doesn't even tickle anymore; it almost hurts!).

5. EVERYTHING in the mouth! Yeah, we're beginning to suspect some pre-teething behavior given all this drool and trouble with eating (which is also due to a recent thrush infection..ugh!). But it's rather cute to watch him gnawing away at his hands/fingers while making squealing noises during a diaper change. He also enjoys eating my bare shoulder and chewing on cold things - particularly fabric (like a cold wash cloth). So far though, we haven't seen much fussiness and he's still sleeping 9-10 hours at night so we're hoping that if it IS due to teething, he'll come through it pretty easily.

6. Standing up - with all the standing he's done since the time he was born, it's no wonder that his favorite toy right now is his stationary jumper. Being upright/able to look around combined with a way to balance and jump at the same time is HEAVEN to him! And he likes the little toys, lights, and music, too! I wonder sometimes if he'll be an early walker, or at least do less crawling and proceed right to walking since he's apparently not a fan of using his arms so much. We'll see!

Some of his least favorite things right now are tummy time, Orajel (yeah, we tried that because of the teething stuff...didn't work out so well), getting into his car seat (never really an issue until recently), and cuddling. He is ALL ABOUT looking around and taking everything in, and if you force him to face you tummy-to-tummy, he'll spend most of the time burrowing his head into your chest or head-butting your face in rebellion (though he'll rarely actually cry about it). He is bright-eyed, curious, and ready to take in the world around him! And a lot of people are finally saying that he's starting to look like me instead of an exact replica of his daddy! I'd say it's finally about 50-50 now!

A Photo Story

We hired a doula for our birth, and we got SO much more!! Patti Ramos was not only a support and encouragement in the tough weeks leading up to the birth, but an amazing stronghold and advocate during the birth itself! AND the icing on the cake? She's a professional photographer who happens to take breathtaking photos that truly capture the amazing and beautiful process of giving birth! We were fortunate enough to have her there with us telling a story of how Eli came to be through photos! I've chosen a few of my favorites to share! Please be aware that it was a water birth, so view at your own discretion (everything is decent, don't worry!). All photos Copyright - Patti Ramos 2010. Enjoy!! :)