The Great Outdoors

We are loving our new backyard. I’m sure by most people’s standards it’s fairly pathetic as far as backyards go. I’m sure you probably can’t even call it a yard because there is no grass. But it’s the most we’ve ever had. It’s all we’ve ever had—we’ve always lived upstairs and only had a tiny porch. It’s got a planter, and there’s enough room for Ben to ride his bikes and scooter. And it’s completely enclosed, right off the kitchen. So for us it’s perfect. Ben spends a lot of time out there, gardening, playing basketball, riding his wheels, playing with his toys, and generally being in Heaven. I’ve also enjoyed the space and time to play with my camera. So I’ve devoted this separate post just to show off our backyard, my kiddos, and my emerging (but probably still lame) photography skills. You’re welcome.

Miss Emma, Five Months

Yesterday our little Emma Bug turned FIVE MONTHS. FIVE MONTHS. That's almost a half a year. Holy Moly. We no longer have a newborn. Instead, we have a big, huge, old infant. Okay, she's not big and huge. Weighing in at 14 pounds she's in the 25th percentile. And I guess five months isn't old per se. But seriously. How has that much time passed already?!?!

Emma is a sweet little bug. She's very serious. She watches everything, taking it all in, with a look of judgment. She does smile and laugh, but only on very special occasions. She likes to be held, but she's not much of a cuddler. Her favorite activities are rolling around on the floor butt naked and watching her brother play. She loves to be outside. She's a very picky princess. Some days she eats her cereal, some days she doesn't. She prefers the most expensive bottle and the most expensive pacifier. She is generally very good-natured and pleasant, but when she wants something or is unhappy she's quite vocal and passionate about it. Her daytime sleeping pattern is much better now--she takes two good naps a day, at predictable times. The night, on the other hand...let's just say when she's a teenager I'm looking forward to going into her room and crying for 30 minutes every two hours.

This morning she woke up particularly early and crabby. I ended up deciding within an hour to just put her back down because she was clearly needing more sleep. I laid her on the changing table to change her and she just instantly passed out. Crazy kid. So I just lifted up the changing table pad and put it in the crib. She slept for about 15 minutes, then woke up. I picked her up and she passed out again in my arms. So I put her back down. This is really her first time sleeping unswaddled, and her first time sleeping in her crib. We've tried it before and it was disastrous, but that was a while ago. I figured today is as good as any to give it another shot. So right now she's in her crib, unswaddled, moaning and whining. This is all very new to me, as Ben never really did the swaddling thing or the pacifier, and he slept in his crib from day one. So any tips on this little sleep transition would be appreciated, because I'm flying blind here.

In other "milestone" news, Emma has all kinds of things going for her. She's always been crazy strong, and it's starting to pay off. She can stand really well holding on to my hands, but she's bearing all the weight and my hands are just for balance. She's sitting pretty well using my hands for balance. I think she'll be doing that on her own any day now. She's a serious rolly poly. She's really good at rolling. The only thing is that she will roll herself from her back to her tummy, then be really upset because she doesn't like being on her tummy. She keeps trying to crawl. She just wants to be so advanced. She started eating cereal a few weeks ago, although not consistently. Last night she had her first bites of sweet potato. Loved it. I'm hoping all these solids will translate to more sleeping at night.

Update: I fetched Emma. We cuddled. She fell back asleep. I gave her a little lovey and put her in her cradle, unswaddled. Probably better to do one thing at a time. She's been sleeping for 20 minutes. Here's hoping!

Update (2 minutes later): She’s awake. It’s going to be a long day, isn’t it?

So that's our little bug. We love her to pieces.

Smokey Joe Turkey and Christmas Face

I am woefully behind on posting. It probably doesn't seem like it because I've been posting a little here and there to tide you over. But we've had quite a month. I've had a good dozen posts a-brewing, but who  has time? What with the laundry and the cooking and the fun-having, I just can't find the time energy desire to talk about, well, anything. We've been busy little bees, and I have been a smidge under the weather. So if the kids are both napping, so am I. But I've had things to tell you. Like how Alton Brown almost burned down my kitchen with his turkey recipe (Don't worry--there was no actual burning. Just smoke. A lot of smoke. And a quick lesson that, as it turns out, our kitchen exhaust fan is crap. But the turkey turned out delicious.). Like how Emma still wakes up every 2-3 hours at night (sometimes every hour), and I sat on the couch and sobbed my head off one night because I'm so friggin' tired and I'm not sure how much longer I can handle this before I totally lose it. Like Emma's Christmas face: a lovely teething rash/winter rash combo. Or Ben's total obsession with candy canes, and how he's broken more than I even thought we had because maybe he thinks I'll let him eat it if it's broken (I don't). Or Ben's other obsession with the short Christmas movie Prep and Landing. Or his unreal recall and comprehension abilities. And the fact we made it through the holiday without going to Urgent Care or the ER or any other medical facility of any kind (except to pick up Emma's omeprazole refill, which is apparently the hardest medicine on the planet to make). Also, my reunion week wherein I'm getting to spend time with friends I haven't caught up with in ages. The next few posts (who are we kidding--the next several months) will be photo-heavy and narrative-light. Then again, you probably like that better. My children's faces are much more interesting than my prose. So for this post I shall simply give you miscellaneous snapshots of December in general. Or something. And they are in no particular order because both of my cameras recently started over with their numbering, so all the pictures in my file are out of order. This kind of gives me hives, but I have to deal with it. Maybe someone should hold me.

My bestie Heathyr from way back in sixth grade is out for the week. Yay!

Benjamin has been very helpful in demonstrating how Emma's presents work. So selfless.

Emma has been loving her brother. She thinks he's the bee's knees.

This is what our bedroom looked like for a couple of weeks. This is what happens when you do this.

My brother turned 30, and we had some family come down and celebrate. Emma was a hit.

Here's the ol' 30 year old.

Boys are weird.

We've been spending a lot of time outside in our backyard. Ben plays while Emma and I watch.

We went on our second annual Christmas Lights Walk on Balboa Island with my parents.

Ben insists on having Emma in the tub with him. It's so cute. Last night I bought her a little seat so she can actually bathe with him and it's a little easier for the parents.

We've gone on a few walks/bike rides around the neighborhood.

Love this face.

Ben is working hard on his garden.

The kiddos and I went for a treat at Starbucks one morning. I heart Christmas break.

Emma's Christmas face. Festive, no?

This goes with the top picture. (Remember the out of order thing? It would probably be faster to just move the pictures, but it's too late now.) Emma was a champ while we were out late with Heathyr and her family.

 

 

 

 

Ben and James. They are six days apart. We love that, because Heathyr and I are three days apart. But it made for an interesting meal. Sorry, El Torito.