Nothings

An old-ish woman who was with us in an elevator yesterday asked if Vivi is a boy or a girl.  After I told her, she informed me that she looks more like a boy.  When I repeated that I was quite sure that my child is a girl, she said, "Huh, isn't that funny...She really looks like a boy."  Um, okay weirdo.  

I forced my daughter to eat chicken nuggets for the first time.  I mean, there were tears involved.  Once she tried them, she was fine, but I'm pretty sure this means I'm the worst mother in the world.  

There may be nothing in the world as satisfying as picking the boogers out of my baby's nose.  It's like a game.  Yes!  Got that sucker!  Yet, for some reason, Madeline's runny nose has started to gross me out.  Perhaps it's because she no longer let's me pick them out for her...

There is a mouse in our living room hiding under the bookshelves. This made for a very stressful morning for me and Maddie.  Vivi didn't care.  Eric basically laughed at me from the safety of his work where there are no mice.  We hid at the library for hours.  Now I have traps set in just about every corner of our home because that sucker could be anywhere.  Meanwhile, I'm trying to act normal so I don't freak out my child.  Being an adult is hard. I'm gonna get you, Mickey!  

Maddie Bear Says

M: (Dancing around the dining room.) Let's have a party in the dark!  Oh yeah!  Oh yeah!

Me: A party in the dark?  We wouldn't be able to see.  That's silly!

M: Oh, yeah that would be awkward.  

M: (Talking about an infomercial featuring facial cream for the elderly.) I can't use that.

Me: What?

M: That stuff.  

No.  Yeah, that stuff is for old people.  Not for kids.

M: But you are old.

Me: True...

M: So you should get that.

M: Mumma, bigger is better

Me: But being little is fun.  Think of all the fun things you can do.  You can crawl under tables, Dada can pick you up...

M: Yeah, but when I get bigger I can clean the toilet.  

M: My nose is like a boat.

Me: Why is your nose like a boat?

M: (with finger in nose) Because it has an inside.

M: (crying hysterically because she's scared of something in her closet) That pink thing!  There!

Dada: This? (pointing to a pink, fuzzy romper) These are your sister's clothes, Madeline.

M: (immediately stops crying) Oh. I thought it was a real bunny.

M: If there was a Disney Store on our street we could go there all the time.  

M: (after listening to me change the lyrics of Notorious B.I.G.'s Hypnotize to include Vivi's name) 

Vivi Vivi Vivi can't you see, sometimes Mumma's very busy.  

Vivi: Nine Weeks

All I've been blogging lately are baby/kiddo updates.  I have plenty of thoughts swirling around, but no time and little desire to sit down and write.  Yet, I love looking back to the posts from M's baby days, so I'm doing my best to record Vivi's big moments too.  Sigh...second child syndrome.  

Vivi had her two-month checkup this morning, which means...shots!  She handled the whole thing pretty well considering she was jabbed in the thigh three times with a needle.  Ouch!  Honestly, she was more upset about being placed on the scale.  Our girl does not like to be naked or put down.  

She is a long, skinny baby.  While she's still in the 60th percentile for length, she went down to the 37th for weight.  This is quite a fall, but she's healthy and eating well, so the doctor was not concerned.  She weighs 10 lbs 12 oz, which is about a pound more than when she was weighed last month.  

Meanwhile, she's still a happy girl most of the time.  She loves to smile and to "talk" to me.  We think the noises she makes when she's mad or upset are the funniest.  It's like she's giving us a run-down on the woes of being a baby.  Oh, the drama!

Bedtime is starting to go more smoothly. She had a few long stretches of sleep this week, and we haven't had to use the rocker.  Last night, I actually was able to leave the bedroom by 8 pm to hang out sans children for an hour before bed.  

Waking hours are starting to fall into a rhythm as well.  She naps and plays around the same times each day.  

She caught a little of big sister's cold earlier in the week.  Her cough had me worried, but it only lasted for a day.  

Dada has been home on vacation all week.  He's had to spend most of it shoveling us out of all this snow, but it's so nice to have him home.  It will be sad to see him go back to work on Monday morning.  

As I write this, he's bouncing Vivi around the house.  She woke up cranky...Probably the vaccinations making her fussy.  Poor baby.  

Dear Madeline: February, 2014

Dear Madeline,

First off, I can't believe how grown up you've become.  I look at pictures from this past fall, and you are taller, slimmer, less baby-faced already. Then I watch old videos, and your voice has matured; your vocabulary has expanded.

I am left staring at you, mouth agape, wondering where my baby went.  Who is this little girl that lives with us?  What happened to my chubby-cheeked Maddie Bear?  

It's funny.  Since I'm not a huge fan of the newborn stage, I'm urging your sister to grow, grow, grow.  Meanwhile, I feel like shouting, "Slow down! You're growing up too fast!" in your direction.  

Yet, you are very much a little kid..solidly entrenched in the terrible threes.  I'll stop just short of labeling you as obnoxious, because that would probably make me a bad parent.  It's just that you do a lot of obnoxious things.  You're seriously testing your limits and pushing our buttons.   

Every direction we give you, from picking up your toys to using your fork, is followed by a "Why?"  And you usually don't accept the rational answers we attempt to provide.  I've found the words, "Because I said so," coming from my mouth way more than I'd like.  

You love Vivienne so, so much, and are such a good big sister.  She was crying while I changed her diaper this morning.  You held her hand and said, "Don't worry, Vivi.  I'll be right here for you."  Aww.

Sometimes you love her a little too much.  There is such a thing as too many kisses, especially since you recently had a cold.  We've had to chase you away from her from time to time.

You like playing in the snow, which is good because we've had a ton of it.  You're obsessed with the movie Frozen.  We listen to the soundtrack daily, and most of your pretend play involves Elsa and Anna.  You color a lot, and still like puzzles.  

We love your sweetness, sense of humor, and even your feisty side.  

Love,

Mumma

Vivi: 8 Weeks

Our littlest Valentine is eight weeks old today.  Eight weeks?!  Such a big girl already!

Vivi is such a cuddle-bug.  The only place she wants to sleep is on us.  

We started working on her bedtime routine this week.  Of course, it's not working yet. She wants to be held...not left in a bed!  As soon as we put her down, she wakes back up, and the cycle of soothing repeats.

We've continued to use the Rock n' Play several nights a week out of desperation.  She can sleep for a seven hour stretch while bundled up in her rocker.  She still wakes up every two hours in the co-sleeper.  Boo.

I'm not stressing over this though.  It's okay that it's not going smoothly because eventually it will.  She won't be sleeping on us or in her rocker when she's twenty.  Madeline eventually figured it out and so will Vivi.  

She's getting stronger.  She tries to sit up constantly.  She likes to sit on our laps to coo at us or to observe the room.  Her neck control is pretty amazing already.  We'll be breaking out the ole Bumbo before we know it.  

On the other hand, she hates tummy time.  At first, she didn't mind it, but she's caught on to its misery.  Now she cries and grunts the whole time.

She doesn't like bath time much either.  She looks up at us in horror.  What in God's name are you people doing to me?!

Unfortunately, she's ace at spitting out the medicine.  She somehow manages to hide it somewhere in her cheek.  Just when I think we're done, she blows bubbles and out it all comes.  

When I do manage to get her to swallow the vile stuff, she's a lot happier.  So relieved it's working!

I was staring at her face this morning as she aired me her morning grievances through a series of grunts and groans, and I noticed how much older she looks. She's moving away from that scrunched newborn look.  Instead, she looks like a real baby.  

Most of her newborn clothes no longer fit, but she's still swimming in the 3 month size.  Baby is a growing!  

Parenting Currently

This week I have sore muscles in my neck, back, wrist, and thighs.

Been hitting the gym?  

Ha.  No.

Been shoveling snow?

No.  That's what Eric is for.  

My injuries are the result of bouncing my 10 lb baby loaf of bread around the house at all hours.

On the bright side, I weigh about five pounds less than I did when I got pregnant last April.  Who has time to eat while chasing Maddie Bears and bouncing Vivi Birds?  Not me!  

Vivi: 7 Weeks

Vivi is the sweetest baby ever.  Just look at that smile:

I get to wake up to that every morning.  Mornings are her happiest part of the day.  I swear she bats her eyelashes at me too.  She flirts.   

Madeline was a very loving baby too. She loved everybody.  It didn't matter who was holding her as long as she was being held.  But I feel like Vivi reserves her happiest smiles for me.  She eyes everyone else suspiciously before giving those smiles away.  Mumma is her favorite.  

She's been a bit fussy again this week.  I forgot a dose of her medication one evening, and she was miserable the following day.  Parenting fail!  

Most of the time her fussiness is not unbearable.  It's just normal baby angst.  Why can't I figure out how to control my arms?!  Why is nobody listening to me?!  Pick me up NOW!!  No, don't hold me that way!!

I feel confident that this will blow over in another month or so as she figures out how to be a little more human.  

Plus, Eric has found a good way to get her to sleep at night if she can't settle herself down.  He swaddles her like a burrito, plops her in the Rock n' Play, packs two blankets around her, and rocks her silly.  At first, she gets pretty angry about her arms being pinned, but within a few minutes, she gives in to sleep.

Last night she slept in her rocker for five hours until she was ready to eat.  Then I was able to return her to her co sleeper without any fussing.  We only use the rocker method in emergencies because I want her to get used to sleeping in a crib, but it takes the edge off for now.

I'm currently typing this one-handed because heaven forbid I put Vivi down for naps.  Madeline is at school for another hour, so it's very quiet in the house.  I'm feeling like a lucky Mumma this morning instead of a hot mess.  I have two beautiful girls.  Life is good.   

Maddie Bear Says

Pointing to my head: "Look, Mumma!  You have white hair!"

"Mumma, you're growing as big as Dada."  

Madeline's been keeping things real since 2010.