She's Too Big!

I can't believe it.

Peanut has her first tooth.

She has been quite cheery lately given that she was getting ready to cut a tooth, but I guess that's just her nature.

Here she is last night, kickin' it in her highchair with the foot propped up on the side...

The Boy didn't get any teeth until he was almost a year old. I spent months 6 - 12 with him saying things like, "He is going to get a tooth any minute..." "He is teething, that's why he's acting like that..." and then no tooth would ever show up. So I just assumed that Peanut would be the same. People lately have been saying that she was teething but I just laughed and repeated how The Boy didn't get teeth until almost a year so I was sure it wasn't anytime soon. But there you have it. My big girl. I am a little scared for my boobs...

The Boy does NOT have H1N1, thank God. He just has a nasty cold. The poor little dude was up ALL.NIGHT.LONG coughing last night. Like I seriously don't think between the two of them that I slept more than 1 hour at a time. I am exhausted. I feel bad for the poor little dude though. I used the humidifier and have him some Children's Benadryl (I know...SCANDAL!) and that helped him sleep for a few hours at a time. Unfortunately for me that is when Peanut decided she needed a binky, or needed to eat (I think that was around 4:00am...the time change has screwed us all up!). So I was up all damn night long.

I am pooped. But my baby has a tooth. I can't believe it. Sigh...

Damn Media Coverage

If I hadn't heard so much about this whole H1N1 flu thing I probably wouldn't be freaking out about it. Thanks media outlets! There is a possibility that The Boy has the evil flu. Or he just has the normal flu. Or he has some other sort of funk that has yet to be determined. But he has had a high fever for over 48 hours (very unusual for him), has the full-on body aches, is very lethargic, is refusing to eat (except for Pediasure...God bless that Pediasure...), is complaining about a sore throat and is coughing. Could be...pretty much anything at this point. But since I have a 6 month old baby at home we are going to get it checked out. If it turns out he does have H1N1 then the baby will get Tamiflu (or whatever the name of that drug is) to help ensure that she does not get it. Our appointment is tomorrow at 10:30am.

But before that things were okay. Here are the two kiddos on Halloween...

It is important to note that while I think my daughter looks ADORABLE in her flower costume, she didn't seem to find it amusing in the slightest. My child, who seriously does nothing but smile all day long, absolutely REFUSED to smile while wearing this outfit. In fact some would say she felt the need to give me the stink eye...
But I don't care. I think she looked fabulous. Although this is coming from the person who dressed up her son in a chick costume for his first Halloween and then had the nerve to take professional pictures of him so as to torture him for the rest of his life...BWAH HA HA HA!!!

And for the record, I did actually try and get professional pictures of The Girl in her flower costume, but she was having NONE of it. I guess it was my fault. In one setting I wanted to accomplish three things. 1) The Girl's regular 6 month pictures. 2) Shots of both kids dressed up in their holiday outfits in an attempt to get a Christmas card picture. And 3) Shots of both kids in their Halloween costumes.

Let's guess how far we got. First of all The Girl got a total of a 15 minute nap before the pictures and needed to eat. So while we got a couple of shots of her for her 6 month pictures, there are NO pictures of her with a big ole smile on her face. And my child smiles. Oh yes she does. But does she smile when I am paying big bucks for the professionals? Apparently not. So we got a few shots, but none with the grin. This is the closest I got to a smile...

Then I changed the outfits and that was pushing things. We got no pictures of the two kids alone. And we got one picture of me with both kids. I think I look about 300 pounds in the picture and The Girl is arching her back trying to get to my boobs. It is a great shot. (Insert sarcasm here...) We didn't even attempt the Halloween costumes. I have another appointment at a MUCH cheaper place for this Friday to try again. Although with Mr. H1Nsomething I don't think that is going to happen.

We did get one shot that I love though. Seriously. Look at that face...

Is It Wordless Wednesday?

No? It's not?

Oh. Cause I kinda think these photos speak for themselves...

(I love how the "hood" is a little askew in the last one...just like my boy...just a little off...)

The Very Brave Boy

I know a lot of people who, when describing their children, use phrases like, "Man, that child is fearless!!"

We have never uttered those words in our house.

My boy is most decidedly NOT fearless. In fact even after I spent hundreds of dollars signing him up for a gym class, for the majority of the class he did his own thing and often told the teacher, "No tank you, I watch" when prompted to join in the class. We spent much time in occupational therapy classes trying to build his muscle tone and got frustrated as the child refused to do anything that did not involve both of his feet being firmly planted on the floor.

He does not like the dark, he does not like loud noises or surprises and for the most part he doesn't even enjoy spontaneity. He was always the kid who sat quietly in the sand when we went to a play ground, ignoring all the brightly colored play structures. And whenever we were invited to a birthday party, the parents inevitably told me, "There will be a bouncy house there, he will love it!" I just smiled and told them that for the most part, they weren't his thing. And in my head thought, "There is no way in hell that my child will ever set foot in one of those things."

A couple of weekends ago we took The Boy (and The Girl) to a Pumpkin Patch. One of their cousins is a little boy who LOVES Halloween because he loves Haunted Houses. So when we all went to a Pumpkin Patch with a Haunted House his cousin asked, "Will [The Boy] go in the Haunted House with me?" I smiled and told him that he could ask him himself but in my head I thought, "No way in hell." Sure enough The Boy refused his request and I ended up walking through the house with my nephew. As I came out I said, "Yeah, there is no way he would go in there." It wasn't overly scary, but there were lots of skeletons and lots of black lights and I just didn't assume he would be into it.

Much to my surprise, about a half an hour later he asked to go into the Haunted House. He made me hold him when going through but he did it! I was SO proud of him. And then he wanted to go through AGAIN. He did it several times and each time letting me get a little further away from him. The last time he went through he went through alone with his 4 year old cousin. I could not believe it. I was so proud of my little dare devil. Then just this past weekend we went to a little Halloween Carnival. There was another Haunted House so of course he wanted to check it out. This one was much scarier but he ended up loving it. His previous cohort in his 4 year old cousin was even too scared for this one once they started shooting off cap guns, but my boy held strong. Even the 6 year old cousin didn't want to go through, he was the only one out of all of his cousins that did it. And he did it twice!

And then? He officially blew my mind. He asked to go into a bouncy house with his cousins. He crawled inside and held on for dear life to the netting on the side. Then he crawled back out. And back in. And back out. Finally he did a few little jumps while holding onto the side before crawling out the last time. But he did it. I cannot believe it. It might be that he is just getting older and more brave, or it might be that he is feeling peer pressure to be like his cousins now that he's older and can understand these things. But whatever it is, I am SO proud of my little dude. I couldn't get photographic evidence of the Haunted Houses because, well they are dark and stuff, but here is proof of the bouncy house. Complete in his Spiderman costume. He told me afterward, "Mommy I am a very brave boy." Yes you are my little dude.

Saturday Bullet Points

• Today is the last day of the 9 days without my mother. I have proved to myself that I can take care of my two children COMPLETELY by myself (The Ex was even in New York all week long so it was seriously JUST.ME.), although it is so exhausting I am not sure I could keep it up long term. But that being said, both kids were fed well, were bathed every other day and in general survived.
• My Mommy arrives home tonight at 9:05pm and it is not a moment too soon.
• One of the fish in our fish tank died last night. When The Boy noticed it today he told me he was so sad that "Charlie" was gone but that it was okay because he was "one with God." Huh? Apparently that is what they teach them at school about death because those words have NEVER come out of my mouth. But whatever, works for right now.
• Today marks the first time I have ever heard my Boy speak with masculine and feminine definitions. He told me that I wasn't allowed to draw a Spider (so sad about that!) because girls don't like spiders. They only like Princesses. I nearly fell off my chair before he got a rather long lecture about how ALL girls don't necessarily like Princesses and how some girls DO actually like spiders. Good lord.
• The Boy is still firmly entrenched in his love of all things Spiderman. I am MORE than done with this phase. Bring on the next phase. But it doesn't show any signs of stopping. Currently he is coveting all the "bad guys" from the Spiderman series. Here he is with a picture of Doctor Octopus, or as he is known in this house, "Doc Ock." (Note the Spiderman shirt and the Spiderman bed spread in the background...sigh...)

• The Girl is growing up WAY too fast for my liking. She can already sit up and here she is on all fours rocking away, getting ready to crawl. I am NOT happy about this. Seriously. She is already scooting backwards all over the place. Leave her alone for a few minutes and you come out to find her wedged underneath the couch or the ottoman. It is too soon. Plus, I never had to actually baby-proof the house for The Boy. You just told him no and he went on his way. I am pretty sure that is NOT going to be the case for this one. She is everywhere. Even now if you hand her one of her toys, she chucks it across the room and reaches for the remote/iPhone/glass of water etc. She is a handful.

• She had her 6 month well baby checkup a few days ago. Here are her stats: 16.2 pounds (a little over the 50th percentile), 25 1/2 inches (a little under the 50th percentile) and her head was 43 1/2 cm (around the 75th percentile). I know I have said this before, but it is just so weird to have a child that is right around "normal." I don't know what you are supposed to talk to the doctor about at the visits when this is the case. It is fabulous, but just so...out of the ordinary for me.
• I need some advice, internets. Either I don't remember The Boy doing this, or else he just never did. One of the other "cute" new things The Girl is doing is blowing raspberries. She puckers up those little lips and lets the spit fly. It's charming. EXCEPT, of course, when I am feeding her. If I am attempting to feed her anything besides apples or pears (which is not a well rounded nutritious lifestyle) she puckers up those little lips and blows. Food goes everywhere. She thinks she is hysterical. I don't remember what the protocol is at her age. Right now I am telling her a firm "NO" and then pushing the spoon against her lips so she can't blow as well. It isn't working so well. Anyone have any other ideas on how to make her stop and just eat the damn food? Here is exhibit A of her last night after my attempting to give her green beans with rice cereal. Note the splatter of green everywhere, and also note the big ass smile indicating that she thinks she is a comic of epic proportions. Any ideas?

Happy 6 Months Old Peanut

Dear Peanut,

I really cannot believe that you are six months old. That's an entire half of a year. It just seems crazy. I know all mothers say this, but it really does just go so fast. Too fast. And you're my last baby! So can you do me a favor and slow the hell down a little bit? I would appreciate it...

It seems as though the changes from five months to six months are just huge. It is like in this last month you have become this "kid." I mean I know you're still a baby, but you are most definitely out of that helpless/just laying around/only milk drinking phase. You have things to do and places to go! And you want to touch it all. And put it ALL in your mouth. You are affectionately known as "Grabby McGrabberstein" in our house. If you can reach it, you are taking it and promptly putting it in your mouth. And those toys? The ones that are actually meant for your mouth? Well, you aren't so much interested in those anymore. You would prefer to grab my iPhone, the remote control, the fork...anything and everything that I would prefer you leave alone. Something tells me you are going to be a bit more of a challenge than your brother was. But that's okay. I am up for the task.

The biggest change this month has been the addition of solid food. Much to the amazement of everyone who knows me I am actually making all of your baby food. I know, right? I have found that it lessens the sadness of my not being the only thing providing you with nourishment anymore. If I have a hand in everything that goes into your mouth then somehow I am still providing for you. You liked food from the start but were a little confused at the concept that you actually have to open your mouth to get it in there. But we have passed that hurdle and you now open like a champ. You are pretty indifferent to rice cereal (although I force it on you at every meal because I want you to get the iron) but you LOVE you some apples and pears. You have also tried peas (didn't mind the taste but Mommy couldn't get it smooth enough for you so you don't love it) and sweet potatoes (again not thrilled with the consistency but will eat it if it is mixed with enough rice cereal or breast milk). I also made you a potato/broccoli puree this weekend and again, you don't love the thickness of it, but will eat it when mixed with something else. But right now nothing beats those apples and pears. You swoon over them!

You are still nursing and we have successfully made it through six full months of only breast milk. I am so proud of both of us for accomplishing this. I love our breast feeding relationship and am sad that it is getting less and less face time, but you are growing up. And this is what happens.

Your daily schedule right now begins with nursing once in the early morning (around 5:00am), and then you blissfully go back to sleep. You wake up and nurse again around 8:00am and then hang out with brother playing with toys until around 10:00am when you go down for a nap. Once you wake up you get your first solid food of the day, usually rice cereal and either apples or bananas. Then we usually leave the house and run errands or have lunch and you are always completely charming during these outings. Everyone I interact with constantly says to me, "Is she always this good?" Yes. Yes, you are. We have a nursing break at around 1:00pm and then continue whatever it is we are doing for the day. By about 2:30 or 3:00pm you are pretty tired and we usually nurse before you go down for your second nap. Sometimes you take a good nap, but usually not so much. You aren't the greatest napper in the world my little one. But you make up for it in other areas. If we get a good morning nap usually the afternoon one isn't so hot. Around 5:00 or 5:30 you get your second serving of solid foods for the day. Usually rice cereal and a veggie. Then you stay in your high chair and chill with your brother and me while we eat dinner. Then bath time. And at 7:30pm we begin the process of going to sleep. I change your diaper and put you in your sleep sack and take you out to the living room and nurse you in the dark. Then we rock in our rocking chair for another 10 minutes or so (you used to fall asleep during this time but now you look around and arch your back and play) and then I put you in your crib. I turn on your mobile and white noise and leave you to dreamland. You always chat in there but never fuss and are always asleep within about 10 minutes. You usually stay asleep until around 5:00am but sometimes wake up in the middle of the night for a binky replacement, or if you are starving, sometimes a snack around 2:30 or 3:00am.

In terms of milestones, you have hit a few this month. You can sit unassisted for about 30 seconds. You haven't yet mastered rolling from your tummy to your back, but if placed down on your back you immediately flip onto your stomach and start reaching for things. You are already up on all fours and "scooting" backward. Please stop this immediately. I am NOT prepared for you to crawl. Seriously. Cut it out. Really not ready.

Second to your Mommy, your brother is still your most favorite person in the world. You love to be near him and to hang out with him. He watches out for you too. He checks on you all the time and is always there to just "have your back."

Here you are showing off your sitting skills. And the bib? That's for the drool. Oh, the drool. It is everywhere. No sign of teeth yet, but man are you the drool master.
You went to your first Pumpkin Patch this past weekend. And when I tried to get the mandatory cute photos of you, you were far too busy shoving hay and dirt into your mouth to look up at me and the camera.
Here is an example of the trouble you get into with your brother. I have no idea how you made it inside his tent. Perhaps you "scooted" there, perhaps he dragged you. But either way you were not unhappy about it. As I said, you love being part of his action.
And finally, here is your monthly bean bag shot. That smile, my beautiful daughter, that smile could light up a thousand skies. You smile with your eyes and your entire face. You really mean it when you smile. It is physically impossible to not smile back at you. I have proof. I have yet to see someone NOT smile back at you when you flash this beautiful grin.
I love you more than words can say my little Peanut. You are the best addition to our lives anyone could ever ask for. These last six months with you have been more fun than I ever could have imagined. I can't wait to see what the next six month brings. Happy half birthday my love!

My Life in Pictures: 6 Months Old

Today my little Peanut is 6 months old (monthly post to follow). But since she is a half a year old I thought we should take a little stroll down memory lane and check out her "bean bag photos" since she has been born.

Here she is on the day she came home from the hospital: April 23rd, 2009:

And here she is on her one month birthday: May 20, 2009:
And here she is on her two month birthday: June 20, 2009:
And here she is on her three month birthday: July 20, 2009:
And here she is on her four month birthday: August 20, 2009:
And here she is on her five month birthday: September 20, 2009:
And here she is this morning, her 6 month birthday: October 20, 2009:
I love you more than words can say my little girl. I am so proud of the baby you are growing up to become. Here's to many more!!