Life With My Bear & Roo

A lot has been going on and a lot is about to go on...

Our little roo turned 5 months old last week. She also started sleeping through the night (Can I get an amen?!...). She is still stubborn about going down at the end of the day but I'm not going to complain. I'm sleeping through the night and she's a happy girl when awake ~ that's all a mommy can really ask for.

Ah, yes, the pretty baby with the big gummy smile is all happiness and joy and it makes those hard first three months all seem worth it now. Colic, thrush, reflux, it has all slowly melted away and my beautiful roo is purely herself these days. She babbles frequently; still very expressive and spends most of her awake time busy playing and experimenting with whatever toy she can get her hands on. She is becoming a little scientist.

But the most wonderful thing of all is that over the past few weeks bear has become really loving towards her little sister - sharing her toys on occasion, offering her one of her favorite blankets, playing with her.

We actually had a small tea party all together earlier this week and roo grabbed the princess cup right up to her mouth; she's been watching us, she knows what to do!

Roo is certainly ready to start baby food! I've been really lax about it, offering rice cereal here and there... This time around I'm just not that crazy about it. We had so many tummy issues before, I'm just not ready to jump into it like I did with bear. And I can't decide for the life of me what food to start with. I'll get it together soon, roo will remind me! She frequently stares at us simultaneously with Acadia: drool slowly dribbling down her chin, eyes glazed over, ready to pounce at any sign of a roll away crumb.

And lets not forget what's going on with my sweet bear, who has been busy with potty training. It's up and down. She is ready, she knows when to go and she is very good at controlling her bladder. But she is having a hard time letting go of the diapers. After a few days of going number two on her own she has slowed down again. I'm not going to push her, it seems like the more I let her take control of the training the more willing she is to work on it. I just hope we can say goodbye to diapers soon.

Here are some favorite moments from the past two weeks:

Bear Says:

Bear finally went number two on her own and the first person she told was her little sister:

"Roo! I did it! I went poopies in the potty!" 

While at the doctors bear told the nurse all about how we went to Disneyland over the weekend:

"We watched the parade, went on Nemo, watched the fireworks, but we didn't want to get stuck in traffic..."

After explaining to bear that we can't give roo coins because she could choke and that choking could mean that we would lose roo forever, bear responded:

"And then we would buy a new baby at the hospital?" 

Silly old bear... roo's are not for replacing!

Events:

-Bear got her first haircut this week. I had been putting it off for a long time. I love her baby curls and was afraid it would all disappear with the cut. But it was time, she had obvious dead ends and the tangling in the morning was getting old. After a few days with the new trim it seems that her curls have stayed, thank goodness!

I took bear to the best place to get a first haircut; a 100% kid's salon with rocket ship seats, movies and toys. Easy peasy, my bear's hair was trimmed in no time. It all ended with a lolly pop so I'm pretty sure she won't fuss the next time I suggest we go.

-Tonight bear and daddy are camping with friends. The house is quite, my baby roo is sleeping and best of all I think it's almost clean in here!

Upcoming: 

Wednesday we head back to the northeast; first for a game at Fenway and then to my parents. We'll say goodbye to daddy on Sunday and spend the rest of the month at my parents. I'm looking forward to getting back to my hometown and hanging out with family and friends. But most of all I'm excited for roo's first big trip. Her big sister had already flown three times and camped twice by this age, it's about time she started catching up!

So long!

bear's mom

Bouncing Back To Basics

We took the fisher price jumper down from the attic this weekend so little miss roo could start her bouncing and playing journey in the circular baby saucer. 

And roo, just like her big sister, loves it! It was pulled down on Saturday evening; we cleaned it up and then let roo explore her new gym for the first time. She is just starting to actually jump today, three days later. The new view and toys kept her pretty distracted and it seems that she still doesn't fully realize that it is her that is making the jumper bounce up and down.

So now it is Tuesday and roo happily jumps, plays, gurgles and drools here beside me as I write. It's quite in the house, bear is sleeping and we're both enjoying the afternoon buzz. I have pushed roo's jumper up to the back door so she is essentially outside. She is contently watching the birds fly by, her doggy sunbathe and the leaves flutter in the breeze. You can tell that she is amazed by everything she takes in; her facial expressions show her little brain cranks churning away as she adds this new experience to her brain's 'baby files...' 

I sit and watch and imagine who she's is going to turn into. She looks a lot like bear did at this age with about half the baby chubs. I find it hard to imagine that within a year she'll be talking to us and running right along with her big sister. Life will change again as I will have two toddlers to keep up with. 

This Sunday marks 5 months. How can it be almost 5 months to the day already? 5 months! And, at times, I still find it hard to believe that I'm already with two... even one.

  "You are a miracle..." 

The first two years with bear almost seem like a blur at this point, as we begin to settle in with roo. And even though she's only 5 months along, she belongs to this family as if she's always been here.

And my bear continues to adjust too. You can tell in some way the bouncer is bringing my sweet bear right back to infancy. She can't get enough of the sweet little bouncy tune that goes along with the jumper. And it brings me back too. Back to bear and our first experiences together. 

And today I am happy, bursting at the seams with it!

xo

bear's mom

I jumped the sleep gun...

It's been a while since I've written. We made the silly mistake of putting our computer in the bedroom, where the baby is still sleeping, leaving me no possibility to write. I've been dying to write! So much has been going on! The experience of being a mother of two is both exciting and over whelming at times. And surprisingly, a little isolating... but I'm working through all this. "This too shall pass..."

Little Miss H is now 4 months old, actually she's just a few days shy of her 5th month. We have been working on her sleeping; it took me multiple attempts over a month or two to get her to nap on her own. It still is not easy! She still tends to fight and fuss through one nap and recently started to stay up after her night feedings to play, which is unbearable at times! But I suppose it's best that it's this way the second time around. For some reason I've just accepted that I'm not going to get the sleep I need anymore... Unless I go to sleep at 7pm, which isn't possible. Some nights I'm lucky and I make it there by 9pm and miss H only wakes once briefly ~ those are the really good nights.

By four months bear was sleeping through the night and taking three predictable naps a day. I thought I was the baby-sleep-whisperer. I had conquered the biggest struggle of baby-hood! Getting baby on a schedule! So I figured with H that she would do the same; OH HOW I was wrong! It's as if the second child humbles you, those things you thought you were better at than others, well that's just your own inexperience. I know they are laughing at me now up in the heavens...

It's OK though. H is teaching me a lot. She's teaching me to go with the flow, because that's all I can really do right now. I may steer this ship but I certainly don't run it, two little people do (and sometimes my four legged yellow-haired child too...).

There's something wonderful about having a second though. It's teaching me again to be a better person and to enjoy the simple, beautiful things in life. And for that my beautiful children, I thank you!

xoxo
bear (& roo)'s mom