More than Mothering

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Hunk is 8 Months Old!

Would you just look at this little hunk in pinstripes? He makes my heart sing. All of my children do, but he is the last and everything seems to be a little more sentimental because of that.
Can you tell this guy loves his daddy. I love looking at him while he' s admiring something.

For the most part, he's still a pretty cheery boy. Nothing makes him more happy than playing with somebody!

Yes, his sisters are quite entertaining. And they all still love to play with him. They're so lucky to have each other!

When he's not sitting around being cute or playing with sisters, he is usually asleep at some ball game, in the carrier, on daddy.

This is a classic position for this boy. Sleep hug, anyone?

Sometimes he actually stays awake while at the ball fields--this was at Brownie's soccer practice. He sees the baby in the mirror on my phone. He loves that baby!

Oh yeah, he's mastered the art of face making! He sticks out his tongue all the time. And sometimes he chews on it!

He's experiementing with food more. He has gnawed on some apples, and he enjoys puffs. And we learned the hard way that he cannot have eggs. After scrambled eggs one morning (only a little bit and they were very cooked), this happened--

Blotchy rash.

Hives.

Tongue sticking out... lol!

And thanks to a mama on my baby FB group who makes organic lotions, I have help treating whatever skin issue this is on his leg. But honestly since he hasn't had his formula in a month or so, his skin problems have completely healed. He was on a regular formula and had these problems, so I switched him to soy a few months ago (he gets mostly breast milk, but formula is a back up). Well, once we quit it all together his skin was clear. Crazy, huh?

By the way, this was the before and after the lotion-- just three hours between the pictures.

And speaking of what he drinks, he slowed down his eating about three weeks ago. I normally was only able to pump one bottle ahead. So I'd pump something at 11 am and he'd eat it at his next feeding. Well, I don't know what happened, but he slowed down so much I sometimes I had 6 or seven bottles in our fridge. I got worried, but he really wasn't dropping pounds. He did get sick during this time with an ear infection and a respiratory infection, so that helps to explain it.

I know that normally, babies might slow down their eating around this age because they get some calories from solids, but not this boy. He has only had a few containers of solids. And just recently, he decided he was too big for mom to feed him with a spoon. So, now we just cut up some of our food and let him try it. He has had chicken, some bread, green pepper, a little bit of orange--and I think that's it. And the above picture proves that he can indeed hold his bottle, but he usually opts for whoever is holding him to hold his bottle. He's rotten (in a very good way)!

And here he is with a fry. I think he liked it. Little stinker!

This boy adores a couple of baby apps on daddy's phone. He really focuses and concentrates on this rattle one. The little shapes move around and make noises, and this just fascinates him! The other app that he loves is some weird one that has a floating flower and plays a Jewish gangster song.

And I'm going to lie here and say he's a total mama's boy. He does love me lots (it's totally mutual), but if daddy walks in the room I cease to exist. I'm still making peace with this (mostly just by hogging the baby away from daddy--insert evil laugh)! In reality, I'm very blessed to have a husband who loves his kiddos as he does. It's a good thing!

So, these pictures that follow were taken when he was about 7.5 months old. These little overalls were brand new from Grammy, and I just needed to get his pics taken in them one afternoon. Which turned out to be handy because when he turned 8 months he was sick. So I didn't get the best shots of him that day.

But these turned out adorable.

One little story I don't want to forget about this day...

While he was sitting on our bench, it was kind of hard to get his attention. But every time a car drove by, this boy would immediately turn his head toward the car and watch it until he could no longer see it. He did this EVERY. SINGLE. TIME a car passed by.

Big boy standing up.

And once we moved to the grass, I couldn't hold his attention for the life of me... no, I take that back. I couldn't GET his attention for the life of me.This is the only shot of about 100 where he is looking in my general direction.

Grass is fascinating if you've never really noticed it before.

It doesn't need to be handled with care.

He's embracing his inner Kansas Boy by chewing on cud.

Oh, sorry buddy. I will never compare you to a cow again... PROMISE!

The pictures I took on his actual 8 month birthday--please ignore any nose crusties you may see.

He's a happy boy--even when he's not feeling his best!

Smiley guy!

Again, thanks for ignoring the snot crust.

So to sum up this boy...
He weighs 19 pounds. We switched to size four diapers. He's wearing some 9 months and more 12 month clothes. He's eating like a big boy. He can't do eggs (at least for now). Everything still goes directly to his mouth. Cars are cool. So is grass. So is daddy, sisters, sometimes mama, and always daddy's phone. The end.

I love you sweet boy!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Boushka Turns 4 Years Old!

What a beauty!

My precious girl turned four years old recently--okay, it's been a month, but I'm going to give her a proper birthday post now!

Here she is on her special day, heading to school for her birthday celebration.

I simply cannot believe that my fourth baby is four years old. I don't know how time flew so fast. I just don't believe how incredibly smart and loving my little doll is these days. She surprises me all the time with things she says, what she knows, or just how truly kind her heart is.

This is my little bean who has been so lovey her whole life. She nursed the longest of any of my children. I put an end to it, but I'm sure she would've continued well beyond those 13 months. Since then, we've discovered she kisses in her sleep. How absolutely adorable is that?! I've heard of many people doing random things in their sleep--but kissing is a new one. I think it's just a sign of how genuine a lover she is.

Boushka completed her first year of preschool this year. She adored her teachers--I actually think it was mutual! She also made a bunch of friends--many of which came to her birthday party. Much to my surprise, she's very quiet at school. She didn't like to sing or dance with the class (I'm not too worried--Peach was like this in her 3yr old class and now we can't get her to stop showing off and talking). Which is funny because at home she is talking literally non-stop. The girl doesn't have a quiet moment. She talks, and talks, and talks! Sometimes, we actually have to ask her to stop for a minute and take a breath. I love that she's always thinking. She's very analytical.

And while she's obviously analytical, she's also very silly. I like to think she got the best of her mom and her dad. Daddy is more of a thinker than a silly-heart. And while I can be analytical, I tend to think with my heart--and I'm often accused of being silly. Boushka is equal parts of both--what a perfect blend. She makes the funniest faces--she does this often enough that her entire family mimics them and we all laugh. She can be creative too, but a silly, "thinker" is a better description.

Now that she's four, we can start activities like dance and soccer. She has her heart set on one or the other every week--it changes all the time. Oh, and gymnastics is often requested as well. We'll have to wait and see what she ends up choosing--whatever it is, I can't wait to see her try.

When school starts again, she will be a peer mentor at a new preschool. I'm so excited for this new adventure for her. I really think it'll help bring out some of her leaderships skills--Lord knows she has them. Now we can put them to use.

She may be a little girl stuck somewhere in the middle of all these siblings, but she certainly stands out. She has some of the longest lashes I've ever seen, but that's not the only thing about her that stands out. She's a cuddler by nature, and I like to nurture that in her. She can also argue anything to its death.

The reason I note this is because when she was only hours old, she still didn't have a middle name. When I finished my post-birth catnap, I asked Matt to hand her to me so I could get a good look at her. During labor I had Matt write down all the names we considered for her middle name. Then I told him that once she was born, we'd get a good look at her and pick one. Well, I looked at my 10 hour old baby and saw her name printed in big letters for a law firm. I know this sounds really weird, but I promise you this. From the list of names, I picked Layne because it fit with her first name nicely, and it's the name that sounded lawyer-ish. Turns out, this kid was born to be a lawyer. We honestly joke about this odd fact all the time. But I love who she is and that she'll stand up for her opinion no matter what. She's a little fighter with spunk for sure.

Boushka- Thank you for choosing me to be your mama. It is a responsibility I don't take lightly. It has been an absolute pleasure watching you grow from a tiny 7 pound baby with crazy dark hair, to a lovely little girl who talks as much as she cuddles (who also now has very long, blonde hair). You certainly make life interesting and you keep me on my toes--in a good way. I feel like as long as I have you around, my mind will stay young. Thank you for being such a sweet sister to all of you siblings. And most of all--thanks for my midnight kisses. You're a treasure!

Love, Mama

And just like we do for all the kids in this family, we had a special birthday celebration when she woke up on her birthday. She got her goodie bag and balloons of course. I also took her picture out on the driveway. That night she invited Grandma and Auntie over for her speical dinner--mac 'n cheese with broccoli and daddy's chicken strips. And of course we all had some left over cake. She also got to open her presents that night. We loved celebrating our newest four year old. What a big girl!

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