Six Month Old Esther

• At her six month checkup Esther weighed 14 pounds 11 ounces and was 25 1/2 inches long. She seems so small to us compared to Austin at this age (he was over 19 pounds) but she is sticking to her growth curve so it's all good.
• Esther's hair is nearly as light as Austin's. Funny, his started really light and darkened up, hers started really dark and lightened up but they seem to have just about met in the middle.
• Esther managed to roll over in a cloth diaper this month. It was in front of Daddy, so he finally got to witness her new skill in person. STILL no video of this, though, and not for lack of trying.
• Laying on her back and nibbling on her toes is one of Esther's favorite activities. She can only do it when she's not wearing a diaper, though, so most days I let her hang out half naked for awhile during at least one diaper change. This has allowed me to put away much laundry that would otherwise remain in a basket.
• Esther is now a decent bottle drinker. I put her through bottle boot camp a few weeks back and made her take some milk out of a bottle first thing every morning before letting her nurse. It seemed to work. Hooray!
• Up to this point, Esther has had nothing but breast milk with the exception of a tiny bit of formula in the NICU. Time to start solids!
• Oops, that is not quite true. I gave her a tiny bit of banana off my finger the other day. I think she liked it.
• Esther's naps are short more often than they're long these days. I don't like that one bit but am not sure what to do about it.
• Esther still likes to be swaddled while she sleeps. I worry a bit about her becoming too dependent on it but I think we'll let her have it a bit longer.
• She still sleeps in our room but I think we'll kick her out soon.
• Much like Austin did at this age, Esther loves to chew on things. Favorite things to chew on include "The Duckling Book" and her toy cell phone.
• Esther likes to play peekaboo with a burpcloth. Sometimes if I let her hold on to the cloth, I swear she's covering up her own face and then pulling the cloth away. I think she's brilliant, naturally. :)
• Austin is Esther's favorite person, hands down. Everything he does amuses her. We walked up the stairs behind him the other day and she laughed the whole way. Watching the two of them have a "conversation" is one of my favorite things these days.
• Esther is halfway to her first birthday. I know, can you believe it?

Yummy?

Austin ate his dinner enthusiastically tonight. (Apparently the secret to getting your toddler to eat his pasta and meatballs is to let him put pecans and cranberries on them. Our salad toppings, if you're wondering. But I digress.) So Daddy told him he could have some dessert. "Eat some dirt!" Austin responded enthusiastically. So we gave him some "dirt" and he was a happy camper. :-)

Like a Pro

Esther is six months old today, so we figured bring on the food! Good old rice cereal was the entree du jour. Her first meal went extremely well. There were the requisite confused looks, but on the whole Esther seemed to figure out what to do with the strange stuff on the spoon pretty quickly. At least 90% of the food ended up in her tummy. Here's hoping she takes to peas and green beans just as readily!

Conversations With Esther

At the risk of my blog turning into a list of "cute things Austin says," I'm going to post more cute things Austin said today. (Aimee, the more verbal he gets, the more I understand why you started a whole blog just for this sort of thing!)

1. (in the bathroom this morning, where Esther usually hangs out in a bouncy seat while I shower) "Esser, you paying with toys in bouncy seat?" (then turning to me and Zach) "Esser say yes."

2. (this evening while sitting with Esther in Daddy's lap; Esther was trying to grab his sippy cup) "No Esser, it my cup, you can't have it, it too big for you to drink."

"Dorge Pay Tumpet?"

At dinner tonight Zach was telling me how he is going to meet with a former student, Jon, tomorrow afternoon. Austin broke in and said "Maybe Mike?" Zach and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows--Mike is a current student in his studio. Zach explained that Mike has already driven home for the break. Austin continued "Maybe Kelsey?" (Another current student.) No, Kelsey has driven home, too. "Mike pay tuba?" No, Mike plays euphonium, Daddy explained, but funny, he's going to take tuba lessons this semester. "Maybe Dorge (George) pay tumpet?" (Yet another current student.) No, George plays the tuba.

Okay, we have the students over to our house a few times a year, and these particular students are great kids who are active in the studio, but who knew they and Austin were so tight? I think Austin's been sneaking off to the music building after bedtime. :)

Art

Austin is not so much into art. He would rather load crayons into a dump truck than color with them. But that doesn't stop us from trying occasionally.

We gave finger painting a go on Friday. I thought Austin might like that because of the mess factor. He certainly seems eager to smush food around with his hands (and we frown on that sort of thing, generally) so I thought this would be a special treat. Well...

Do you see the delicate amount of paint on his hands? What you see in the picture is all he did before telling me he was "done now." I spent more time setting up the table than he spent painting. Oh well.

But today we hit on a winner. Apparently Austin is more into paper crafts. He loves loves loves the scissors I just bought him. He cut paper for half an hour. To each his own medium, I guess.

Giving

I have realized in the past how easy it is to let oneself forget the real meaning of Christmas in the midst of all the holiday tasks, but never more so than now, with a two year old in the house. Earlier this month I asked him what Christmas was about and he promptly replied "Timas tee" and "Timas yites." (Christmas tree, Christmas lights.) Right, time for some instruction. So I've been trying to have lots of little conversations about Jesus' birth being the reason we celebrate and it seems to be sinking in.

But even a two year old can't help but notice that presents play a large-ish role in this holiday. So we're teaching him that we give gifts to each other because God gave a gift (Jesus) to us. I thought it'd be nice to let Austin choose a gift for Esther. I asked him what kind of present he thought she'd like. "A pink pe-sent." Um, let's not think about the color, what do you think she'd like to play with? "The duck book." Yep, no doubt she would like that because we already own it. Better make this choice more visual.

We had to go to Walmart this morning to pick up Christmas cards (nothing like putting things off to the last minute) so we wandered over to the toy section. I'm sure you will not be surprised to hear that Austin's first pick was a large dump truck. I finally located a shelf of appropriate baby toys, reminded him that we were thinking about what Esther would like, and I think he made a nice choice. Doesn't even use batteries. :) Now shh, don't tell Esther what she's getting.

"Silent" Night

I put Austin to bed about 15 minutes ago. I can now hear him humming Silent Night from his bed. Loudly. Oh, the irony.

Austin's New 'Do

Austin got his first home haircut this morning. It went...okay. He was scared of the clippers, I think. He sort of huddled in Zach's lap while I used them. I was a bit worried that I would make him look ridiculous and we would be making an immediate trip to have a professional fix him up. We're happy with the end result, though. My baby boy looks so grown up.

Post-haircut Austin with his "treat." I thought this situation called for a little shameless bribery.

Trip Pictures

As I've mentioned, we traveled a lot in November. Our kids are pretty good travelers, I'd say. All four of us drove to Charleston, WV, and then I flew with the kids to Texas. Here's a glimpse.

Hanging out with her favorite frog on the big comfy bed.

What a balanced meal: Easy mac, baby carrots, and...hush puppies? We needed an excuse to get ketchup from a fast-food restaurant (for Austin to dip his carrots in--hey, he's two) and we just like them.

Playing by the door while Esther napped. Austin was a good sport about this sort of thing.

In Texas now, with Gran, Pops, "Uncy Heath," and Grannie Hardy.

Scary how fast Austin picked up Gran's Ipod touch and figured it out. I'll be asking him for help with the computer before I know it.

Favorite activity: throwing rocks in the pond with Pops. Can you see the cute boots they bought for him so his shoes wouldn't get wet?

Helping Gran cut out pastry leaves for the pumpkin pie.

Just cute.

The youngest and the oldest: Grannie Hardy is ninety-seven! I am so glad Esther got to meet this godly woman.

Five Month Old Esther

• Don't have any height or weight stats for you. I'd guess Esther's somewhere between 13 and 14 pounds.
• Esther became a great sleeper this month...and then un-became a great sleeper. Near the beginning of the month I started waking her up before going to bed myself for a feeding, then we trained her to sleep through the rest of the night. The crying was pretty minimal and we enjoyed the fruits of that training for a few nights. Then we traveled and all those good habits disappeared. Waking up 3 or 4 times a night while we were away from home was all too common.
• Esther spent nearly half of this month away from home. First we went to West Virginia with the whole family, then we (just me and the kids) spent Thanksgiving week in Texas with Zach's family. Esther is a pretty good traveler--she handles long stretches in a car or airplane well.
• Esther rolled over for the first time this month, tummy to back AND back to tummy a few weeks later. So far she has only done it while wearing disposable diapers. Cloth seems to give her too much of a hurdle to overcome. Sadly, her daddy has yet to witness her do it and I haven't caught it on camera.
• Esther's hair seems to be getting a bit lighter. I am kind of sad about that, although she is still beautiful of course.
• The range of sounds that Esther makes is expanding. She talks to herself sometimes in her crib. I like listening to it even if it is keeping me from sleeping.
• Esther has liked to put her hands in her mouth for awhile now, but this past week she's been doing it like her life depended on it. Not to mention chewing on anyone else's arm/shoulder/fingers or her own clothes...whatever is available. Teething?
• Esther really likes her playmat. If she is well-rested and well-fed, she can play on it for as long as fifteen minutes.
• Esther still takes four naps most days, although I think she is transitioning to three.
• Esther is still not a bottle girl. Sigh. I feel like we've tried everything. I'm glad she's almost old enough to learn to use a sippy cup; maybe she'll drink milk out of one when I need to be gone.
• We left both kids with a "real" babysitter for the first time this month. (our beloved Emma; when she goes to college next year who knows what we'll do.) It did not go so well, probably because of the bottle issues described already.
• I really love my little girl. Lots and lots and lots. :)

A Little Trip, By the Numbers

7--days our family spent in Charleston, WV

14--rehearsals and concerts Zach played with the West Virginia Symphony

80--approximate decibel level of the sound machine that allowed our children to sleep soundly in the same room, more or less

2--playgrounds visited (and loved) by Austin

8--number of giant inflatable indoor bouncing apparatus at Jump Craze, possibly the best idea for kids (and moms) ever

3--members of the Collins family who came down with colds during our trip (I'm the lone holdout...expecting symptoms any minute now)

19--peanut butter sandwiches consumed by the family in our efforts to save money. Not much of a hardship; we all love them.

$3.49--cost of a small mocha, apple dippers, and the right to hang out in the Playplace for awhile at McDonald's; in other words, a small price to pay for sanity on a rainy day

1--mommy who is happy to be home but thankful for the little mini vacation she got to take with her family

Gracious

This morning was rough. Austin woke up at 5:45, seemed to be constantly disobedient, and refused to amuse himself. Basically he acted like a two year old. I was frustrated, annoyed, weary...and tempted to respond like a two year old myself. Then he started humming "My Jesus, I Love Thee." The last line goes "If ever I love Thee, my Jesus, tis now." So appropriate. A Sinclair Ferguson quote that the Girltalk blog posted a few days ago came to mind: "How many of us will get to the throne and with a twinge of regret say 'If only I had known You were this gracious'?" And in that moment I was so thankful that I serve a gracious God, gracious enough to atone for the sins of this mother and child.

Four Month Old Esther

• At Esther's four month checkup she weighed 12 lbs. 10 oz. and was 24 inches tall.
• Esther is a calm, happy girl. She smiles a lot--her smile is big and open-mouthed. She still doesn't do what I would call a real laugh but she definitely makes sounds to let you know she's excited about something.
• Esther can carry her side of a conversation. I love talking to her and hearing her little coos in return. She is quite expressive.
• Esther's favorite toy is her Infantino frog. (Austin had one, too, which he practially wore out from chewing on it so it's nice that Esther was given one of her own.) It's one of the few things that she can manipulate into her mouth--lightweight enough to pick up yet lots of convenient parts to get a grip on.
• Esther tolerates tummy time in short spurts but then starts complaining. Consequently I probably don't give her enough time on her belly--she is nowhere near rolling over. Perhaps she's destined to be a late roller/sitter/crawler like her big brother.
• When you carry Esther upright against your body, she wraps her arm around your shoulder and holds on pretty tight. I love this.
• Esther became really good at falling asleep this month. She goes down at night around the same time as Austin and falls asleep within minutes if not seconds. She falls asleep pretty quickly for naps, too.
• Esther is not quite so good at staying asleep, especially at night. She has been waking up twice at night to be nursed all month. At least one of those feedings is really short so I know it's more for comfort than nutrition, but we're not quite ready to let her cry it out yet. (Just picking her up and comforting her doesn't do much.)
• Esther usually takes four naps a day. Most naps are an hour long but occasionally we hit the jackpot and get a two hour nap or longer. How or why those long ones happen is a mystery to me.
• Esther still doesn't take a bottle very well. That is frustrating to me because it makes going out in the evening difficult. (For our church small group, my book group, etc.) We have tried different bottles, different positions, distractions, no distractions...doesn't seem to make much difference. She likes her mommy best.
• Esther is growing up too quickly. Of course. I will probably write this every month.

Halloween (Updated)

Austin loves Bob the Builder. (or "Bob da ba-da," as he says.) It's an unusual day if he hasn't asked to watch a Bob video by 9am. (I don't always say yes, but he asks.) So of course that's what he was for Halloween. We gave him the toolset this afternoon, kind of an early Christmas present so his costume would be properly accessorized.

The bucket is filled with tools. By the end of the evening it had a bit of candy, too. Austin was unusually willing to eat a good dinner tonight when candy consumption was on the line. :)

Esther was a ladybug. My nickname for her is Esther Bug so I really wanted her to be one this year. I didn't find an appropriately cheap/tiny storebought costume so I got (slightly) crafty and made my own. Considering that she wore it for about five minutes, it was a wise choice. She cooperated by laying on her tummy happily while I took pictures.

When I first posted this I forgot to include a picture of Zach in his costume. We made it for the Tubaphonium's performance of Frankentuba, in which all the studio members dressed up. Pretty awesome, if we do say so ourselves.

Occupying Austin

Things Austin really likes to play with right now

1. "puzzy piece" (puzzle pieces)--not necessarily putting the pieces in the puzzle boards, but putting them in his shopping cart and dumping them out. Again and again and again.
2. crayons--again, putting them in the ziploc bag and dumping them out. Coloring would be so ordinary.
3. my salad spinner--He asked to get this out of the cabinet this morning. In several sessions, he has played with it for at least an hour. And it's not even 10:00 yet.
4. socks--baby socks fit so conveniently into his little basketball hoop.

Who can understand the mind of a two-year-old? I sure love this one, though.

And the secret ingredient is...

Admit it. Somewhere in your kitchen or pantry, there is an ingredient tucked away that has been there a Long Time. You bought it with the best of intentions. You were going to make something healthy/delicious/exciting. But you didn't, and the ingredient is still there.

For me, that ingredient is chickpeas. A bag of uncooked chickpeas, to be specific. I don't even remember why I bought it. A desire to make hummus, perhaps? Maybe it was on sale? Who knows. But this week I decided enough is enough. It's time to cook with chickpeas.

Allrecipes.com (the best recipe site out there, in my opinion) has a handy feature where you can put in ingredients you want and ingredients you don't want in a recipe. Input chickpeas: yes, tahini: no (to avoid getting 3000 hummus recipes) and I came up with a bunch of tasty-sounding stuff. I feel a little bit like I'm on Iron Chef! Mr. Chairman, here is what I have to offer. (Note: I cooked the raw chickpeas according to the package directions before making any of the stuff below.)

Dish 1: Roasted Chickpeas

I followed one reviewer's advice and dry roasted the chickpeas instead of using oil. Not sure that was a good idea. Or maybe I just didn't roast them long enough. They came out a bit soft, not crispy, and they were pretty bland--seasoning didn't stick to them. I would be willing to try this again using oil.

Dish 2: Quinoa with Chickpeas and Tomatoes

I had all the ingredients on hand for this (gotta love that), except that I had to sub lemon juice for lime juice and I chose to use garlic powder instead of raw garlic. Oh, and I left out the cumin--it just didn't sound like a cumin-y dish to me. The results: very tasty. I ate is as a side dish for lunch but it was so filling that it could stand on its own. Zach loved it, too (he took some to school for his own lunch) and commented that it would be tasty with some feta thrown in.

Dish 3: Garbanzo Bean Chocolate Cake

This was not actually part of my original chickpea recipe search; rather, I found it when I was looking for a dessert to make for a friend whose son eats gluten-free. I made a cake for myself first to make sure it was tasty. (Gotta love a good excuse to make a cake.) It was pretty yummy, not to mention easy. And much higher in protein than your average chocolate cake.

Thanks to my two cakes, I ran out of chickpeas before trying the final recipe I wanted to make, Chickpea and Pasta Soup. I will get around to it someday. Perhaps next time I make a rash purchase of a bag of raw beans. :)

Little Bit of Learning

Austin and I did a shape sorting project this morning. He did a good job putting each shape in the correct place and loved gluing the pieces down. (It was his first experience with a glue stick. That aspect went better than I expected.) He is so proud of the finished product! Several times today he has pointed to it and said "Done!" (as in, Look what I've done!) It's so true; kids are learning sponges. I love being able to help him learn stuff like this.

A Conversation with Esther

I'll admit, I have not taken as many videos or photos of Esther as I would like. Grabbing the camera is just not at the top of your mind when you have a two year old running around, no matter how adorable Esther might be at any given moment. Every parent of multiple children out there knows what I mean.

But today while Austin napped, the camera was nearby and Esther got a few minutes alone in the spotlight. Nothing particularly special happened but I know her grandparents will love this so I decided to post it. Sorry this doesn't happen more often, baby girl.

Sweet Brother

While we were playing upstairs with the kids after dinner, Austin suddenly left the room. We heard him going down the stairs saying "right back." Then...

This was totally unprompted. Austin is so sweet to his little sister! (Okay, so he probably knew this would also get some attention from Mommy and Daddy, but still.) And if you can't tell in the video, the basket of toys is on the third or fourth step. He started carrying the whole thing but apparently decided it would be better to take the toys a few at a time. I just love this little boy!

Monday Morning Prayer

Thank you, Father, for turning an exhausted Sunday night mommy into a refreshed Monday morning mommy. Thank you for being there when I come to the end of myself.
Thank you for giving me so much joy in being a mother today. Thank you for all the spontaneous hugs, kisses, giggles, and smiles I've received.
Thank you for growing my baby boy into a loving, caring big brother. Thank you for a little girl who already looks up to her big brother.
Thank you for rearranging my priorities. Thank you for giving me eyes to see that kicking a ball in the backyard is more important than today's to-do list, that playing peekaboo is more important than having a spotless house.
Thank you for all the patience and strength you give me...and for teaching me lessons in my impatient and weak moments.
Thank you, Father, for all the blessings of this Monday morning.

Reading to Esther

Here is the video of Austin reading to Esther that I mentioned in my last post. The story is David and Goliath, in case you're wondering. Esther is a good listener, don't you think?

Three Month Old Esther

• No official stats from the doctor's office this month but according to Wii Fit Plus Esther weighs around 11 1/2 pounds.
• She must be getting longer, too, because I have had to move her up to 3-6 month sleepers. Most of her 0-3 month daytime clothes still fit, but there's something about wearing cloth diapers with pajamas...she just needs more room.
• Esther's beautiful eyes are still dark blue. Perhaps for good?
• I no longer think Esther looks like a newborn. She doesn't make so many scrunchy newborn faces anymore. Sigh. But now she makes a whole new set of adorable faces.
• Esther is a smiley baby now. Sometimes she smiles when I come to get her out of bed. You melt my heart, little one! No real giggles yet, but she makes cute breathy sounds that will turn into laughs soon, I bet. She also coos a lot. Sometimes I swear she's saying "uh-huh" when I ask her a question.
• Esther eats 6-7 times a day. She is such a fast nurser! That is quite helpful, with a two year old to keep track of. Bottles are a different story. She'll take one, reluctantly, but is pretty slow. No way to know for sure, but I think she eats significantly less from a bottle than when she nurses.
• If she is awake, Esther usually sits in her bouncy seat in the corner of the dining room while we eat meals. She spends most of her time watching me. At the risk of sounding conceited, I must admit that I love this. I think she loves her mommy.
• Esther definitely hit a few rough patches, sleepwise, this month. For a few weeks we were enduring 3-4 hour crying spells as we attempted to put her to bed, at least a few times a week. That does not bring out the best in me, as Zach can attest. (Sorry again, honey.) I think that is behind us now, though. We have been trying to teach her to put herself to sleep with a gentle sort of "cry it out" plan that involves periodic visits to comfort her after 5, then 10, then 15 minutes. Most of the time she falls asleep during the 10 minute interval, which means within 15 minutes of being put down. Then she usually wakes up to eat once during the night.
• Esther can hold onto things like her little toy keys now, if you help her grab them. (And by help, I mean wrap her fingers around them.) But then she'll hold on for awhile.
• Esther pays lots of attention to Austin when he's nearby. She turns her head to see what he's doing. (No wonder, he's usually the most exciting thing in the room.) I have an adorable video of Austin "reading" to Esther while she just gazes up at him. But that's another post, hopefully coming soon.

Blessings all Around

Austin, Esther, and I all caught a cold this week, so naturally there has been a lot of sneezing in our house. Yesterday morning Austin started saying "bless you" to himself after sneezing. By evening he seemed to realize that something wasn't quite right with his pronouns; I overheard him sneezing and then saying "bless Au-tin!"

Pink Lady

Oh no!

I was unloading the dishwasher this morning when I heard the sound of a plastic bowl hitting the floor, with a little voice saying "Oh no, da mok fall!"

Well, as you can see it was a bit more than milk that fell. Luckily Austin had already finished about half his cereal when the accident occurred. He was quite upset so I got him more cereal and cleaned up the mess. Then I went back to the kitchen to resume my task. Minutes later I turned around and Austin had somehow dumped the second bowl of cereal in his booster seat. (I'm thinking his little plastic bowls scoot across the table much too easily as he tries to get a spoonful, perhaps?) Anyway...another cleanup. And it wasn't even 7am yet! Did I mention that in the middle of all this Esther woke up and started crying from upstairs? Sheesh.

But...God works all things together for good to those who love Him. I was aware in the midst of this that here was an opportunity to be patient and loving to my young son, and with His help I think I was.

But maybe we'll have toast for breakfast tomorrow...

Scary Morning

Austin had a seizure this morning. Let me assure you right off that he is fine now, but it was terrifying as it happened. Austin woke up a few times in the night coughing, and by morning had a runny nose so we thought he just had a cold. He felt slightly warm but was playing and eating more or less normally so we weren't worried. But just before lunchtime Zach laid him down to change his diaper and the seizure started. He yelled to me to call 911. By the time I got off the phone with the dispatcher, the seizure was over but an ambulance came and took us to the ER. The doctor there diagnosed it right away as a febrile seizure, one brought on by a fever. We thought that sort of thing only happened with really high fevers. Austin's was only 101.7 but apparently the seizures happen when fevers spike suddenly. They gave him Motrin and monitored him for awhile to make sure the fever went down, then sent us home. He has an ear infection, it turns out, so he's also on an antibiotic to take care of that.

So...not fun. Poor little guy, he was exhausted, scared, and not feeling well at the hospital and cried most of the time he was awake; thank goodness he was able to fall asleep and nap next to me for awhile. He had monitors strapped to his chest and a pulse-oxymeter on his toe. (Strangely familiar...) Now that he's home, though, he is obviously feeling better. He's upstairs playing right now.

We have since learned that febrile seizures are genetic and quite a few people on Zach's side of the family have had them. Austin may be prone to them for the next few years so we will need to monitor any fever he gets and control it with tylenol or motrin. Scarily, though, the seizures can happen when a fever initially starts; you don't necessarily get a warning. We are just praying that he will not have any more of them.

I just have to mention the kindness of God on display in this situation, though. If one of my children had to have a seizure, the circumstances couldn't have been any more ideal. Most days at 11:30 in the morning I would be by myself with two kids and dealing with this alone would have been horrible. But Fridays Zach comes home early, and this particular Friday my in-laws are in town, including my nurse MIL. She knew what to do with Austin while we was seizing, and she, Bill, and Heath were here to take care of Esther while Zach and I went to the hospital. I am so thankful.

SwaddleMe Fail

Two-Month-Old Esther

• At her two-month checkup this morning Esther was 21 3/4 inches long (yeah, same as last month's measurement, which was probably wrong) and weighed 9 pounds 15 ounces. Some of you have given birth to babies who weighed more than that. I tip my hat to you--I will stick with my six pounders, thankyouverymuch.
• I'm sure it's because she was early, but Esther still looks like a newborn to me. I can tell she's longer and heavier, but she still makes newborn faces and, well, just looks tiny. I love it.
• Esther has long, dark eyelashes. Jealous? I am.
• Her eyes are still dark blue.
• Esther's schedule is unpredictable. One constant is that she is still quite sleepy. She usually takes a couple looooong naps during the day and several catnaps.
• She continues to be a pretty good sleeper at night; she has slept through the night five or six times now. Woo hoo!When Esther is awake, she likes to be held. In a certain way that I often cannot figure out. (Translation: she can be kind of fussy.) She is not often happy to sit in her bouncy seat and watch life go on...I am thinking she needs to get used to it, though, with Daddy going back to work full-time this week.
• I think I got a real smile this week. Maybe. Hard to tell.
• Esther makes cute little cooing sounds when she's happy.
• We started cloth diapering Esther this month. She was too tiny for our diapers the first month and frankly, we wanted to get used to life with her before adding the work of cloth. But we started...and then our washer broke about a week later...so we took a two week break...and as of a few days ago she is a cloth-diapered baby again.
• I can hardly remember what life was like before this little girl was part of it!

The Answers

Just for fun, here are the answers to our little quiz. Jamie, it turns out you speak Austin pretty well. :)

• ice wah-wee, peas=ice water, please
• dup tuck, wok, duht=dump truck, rocks, dirt (because any mention of a dump truck is inevitably followed by a reminder of what one carries)
• doggie=digger
• Bom, Wenny=Bob and Wendy (from Bob the Builder, for those of you without toddlers)
• ba-na-wa=banana (We hear this more than any other word, I think. I bet Austin would eat five bananas a day if we let him.)
• mok=milk
• foffie=flower (Recently he's been using this to mean waffle, too.)
• dup high=jump high (He doesn't jump any other way, of course.)
• Au-tin fwing=Austin swings
• ca-ca=train

Siblings

It seems like about a dozen people have asked me lately if I think Esther looks like Austin did as a baby. I decided to pull out a picture of Austin at two months to compare side by side. No one would mistake them for twins, but I definitely see some sibling resemblances. (And awww, they're both so stinkin' cute!)

Flower Child

Wardrobe styling by Gran :-)

Around Here, We Speak Austin

You might remember that a few months back we were considering having Austin tested for speech delays because his vocabulary was so limited and he didn't seem too interested in trying new words. In the midst of our deliberating, though, he has gone through a language explosion. To the best of my (limited) knowledge, he seems to be speaking like the average two-year-old now.


And like the average two-year-old, probably 75% of what Austin says is only understood by me and Zach. Here are some of the phrases we hear most--can you figure out what he's saying

1. ice wah-wee, peas


2. dup tuck, wok, duht


3. doggie (yes, it can mean a dog, but has a second, completely unrelated meaning as well)


4. Bom, Wenny


5. ba-na-wa


6. mok


7. foffie (hint: these are often "peek" or "yeh-yee")


8. dup high


9. Au-tin fwing


10. ca-ca

Austin also strung together his first four-word sentence this week: "Bah eat bock guhn." Loosely translated, "The sheep is eating the green (Duplo) block." (We were pretending it was grass.)

Nope, we're not worried about this boy's talking any more. :)

"Reading"

Before bedtime and naps we read a book with Austin. He definitely plays favorites--lately The Foot Book is his choice. Obviously he's heard it a few times...

Who Needs Seven?

Austin is learning to count. I just love to hear his little voice going "one, two, fwee..." He is pretty accurate, although not perfect, as the video shows.

The book, by the way, is called Dog's Colorful Day by Emma Dodd. It is a great book for learning numbers and colors. We got it from the library and are enjoying it a lot.

"Masterpiece"

We have had our first crayon-on-the-wall incident.

Austin doesn't really even like to color very much, so we were kind of surprised when he pulled out the crayons and started to color while we made dinner a few days ago. He was happily coloring on paper last time we checked. And then...

Thank you to whoever tipped me off that Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are made for stuff like this!

Last Night...

...Esther slept for almost seven hours! I fed her before I went to bed, a little after 10, and she didn't wake up until almost 5! Since I only dozed between then and Austin getting up, it practically counts as sleeping through the night. Woo hoo!

Oh, the irony. I think Austin was about seven months old before he slept seven hours straight, despite my obsessive reading and re-reading of a certain book, looking for clues as to how I might get him to sleep better. I have adopted much more of a laissez-faire attitude with Esther. She eats when she wants and sleeps when she wants and look what happens--I get a Babywise baby without trying!

Family

One Month Old Esther

Esther turned one month old on July 28. (Her due date, incidentally.) Of course time always goes by too fast with a new baby but I think it is especially true since she only came home to us a third of the way through the month.

• At her one-month checkup (which was this morning) she weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces and was 21 3/4 inches long. Way to go, baby! She has really jumped up on the growth curve since she was born. Dr. Jabir says she looks "excellent."
• Esther is a very sleepy baby. Most days she is awake for a few hours in the morning, then sleeps until evening, waking up only enough to eat, then is awake for a few hours before Zach and I go to bed.
• That whole "I set an alarm " thing so she wouldn't sleep too long at night? That didn't last. She is still far easier at night than Austin was, but now she sleeps anywhere from two to four hours between feedings at night. Sometimes she settles right back down to sleep, sometimes it takes a bit of time.
• When Esther decides to eat, she is a good nurser. But sometimes it takes her awhile to decide to eat, even when she is clearly hungry. She doesn't like to open her mouth very wide--I often pry it open for her. (That sounds harsh; I'm talking a little nudge on her chin, people.) I keep hoping this is just a phase but so far it persists.
• Esther has dark hair that is getting a bit thicker. Have I mentioned on the blog that I was hoping she'd be a dark haired baby? Looks like I got my wish. :)
• Esther's eyes are dark blue, at least for now. People with dark hair in our families generally have brown or hazel eyes, though, so we're curiously waiting to see if her eyes change.
• I thought pottying during a diaper change was a baby boy thing. Wrong. It's just not as messy. Visiting relatives who volunteer to change her, you've been warned.
• Esther is quite tolerant of all the love she gets from her brother. That love includes lots of kisses. (He leans close and goes "mmmmma!") It also includes several very near misses of the "don't sit/fall/lean on your sister" variety.
• When people hear that we've named our daughter Esther, they often ask if it's a family name. Now that's not the real reason; Zach and I admire the Biblical Esther and also had a close mutual friend in college named Esther who was a wonderful woman of God. She holds a special place in our hearts because she thoughtfully told me "You and Zach should get to know each other; you have a lot in common" just before we met. BUT--it turns out that Esther is a family name. One of my aunts has done a lot of genealogy research and she told my mom that our Esther has a great-great-great-great-great grandma Esther. What do you know?
• Practically everyone says that Esther is a beautiful baby girl. We think so, too. :)

My Firstborn

I have some cute pictures of Austin that I have been meaning to post for a long time. But it's never too late for cuteness. :)

Gran and Pops visited us the week before Esther was born. Austin was delighted, of course. They brought some great toys for our backyard (Pops is trying to make Austin into a little golfer), played outside tirelessly with our little bundle of energy, and read the train book (pictured below) as many times as requested. A good time was had by all.

The week before that, Zach and I took Austin to Idlewild, a local amusement park that claims to be the #2 park for children. Not an empty claim; there is a huge area of rides just for little ones and a "Storybook Forest" area that brings dozens of nursery rhymes to life. I was a little nervous before we put Austin on his first ride: would the round-and-round motion make him sick? would he wait for the attendant to undo his straps and lift him off? But my worries were groundless. Austin loved the rides and was happy to let all sorts of strangers (park employees) help him get on and off of them. :)

One more pic...we got out Esther's carseat a few days before she came home from the hospital. It sat around the house until needed. It makes a great recliner, did you know?

Accomplishment

I made my first solo trip out of the house with both kiddos yesterday. I know this is nothing to my mommy friends with three, four, etc. children but it was a big step for me. We went to the library. They have a kitchen set and a train table that Austin LOVES so I knew it'd be good for an hour or more's amusement. We made it in and out of the library without any toddlers attempting to run away (Esther was in a stroller, Austin was not) and experienced only one small tantrum when Mommy said it was time to leave the trains and check out our books. Only one reference book was unshelved while Mommy was checking out, and the unshelver was brought back by a request to load the books into the stroller basket. I'd call it a success!

Settling in with Esther

A few decades ago, Esther's mommy came home from the hospital wearing this. It's a little big for Esther but she looks sweet wearing it.

Austin loves to give Esther kisses. He leans over and says "mmm."

Girly clothes! Love it!

She's not a fan of baths so far.

As a parent, you hear the phrase "Every kid is different" a lot. And now I can personally attest to the truth of that statement! Esther is NOTHING like her big brother was as a newborn, and for the most part that is a wonderful thing.

Example 1: For his first few weeks Austin was really only content to sleep if he was being held. This was particularly the case at night. So nighttime feedings were inevitably followed by an hour or more of walking around the room with him, putting him in his bed, hearing him cry, picking him up again, etc. (Sitting and rocking, not good enough.) Esther, on the other hand, eats, gets changed, and falls asleep. Quietly. Quickly. And so I fall asleep, too. Um, I didn't know that was even possible. Bliss!

Example 2: Austin wanted to eat really often. Like every two and a half hours, or possibly more often. Day or night. Esther nearly always goes three hours between daytime feedings, and at night it's rarely less than three and a half. Occasionally I have to wake her up (I set an alarm for myself) after four hours because at her size and age, the pediatrician says she shouldn't go longer than that. I find myself thinking "Is this real? Am I going to wake up from a dream in a few days?" Because it really doesn't seem like a baby should be this easy.

Esther has been home for a week now and I am just so in love with my little girl! I had forgotten how sweet cuddling a newborn is. How many cute faces a new baby makes. How you marvel at how this tiny person was inside you such a short time ago. A baby is such a miracle!