October marked 5 months for you, Baby Bear. We love you more this month than last... but we are so very, very tired. In the past month, you gave up naps. You gave up falling asleep easily at night. You gave up staying asleep at night. Hence the name "Baby Bear". No, sweet baby - I don't want to hang out with you from 1 am to 4 am.. awake. Daddy has been the secret weapon - many nights he has come to my rescue, stashing you down in the basement (with him as well, of course) and that's where I find you two - snuggled into the couch, you tucked into the crook of his arm. The last week or two seems better... or maybe I'm just finding peace with 4 hours of sleep a night and lots of baby holding. ;) 5 months... you are rolling from tummy to back, reaching and grabbing, squealing and gurgling. You've fallen a bit out of love with sucking on your fingers or a pacifier and, as I think about it, the drooling may have slowed? Or maybe that's wishful thinking. You have been described by a stranger on more than one occasion as "a little pixie!"... your relationship to us has also been questioned on more than one occasion as your looks continue to resemble you, and only you. After having two babies before you who mirrored each other's appearance in so many ways, I assumed number three would follow suit. You did not - your hair is getting lighter, your eyes are still blue, your complexion remains fair. You, my love, are beautiful. The past month also put you back onto the growth chart. Breastfeeding is oh-so important to me and we've had our struggles. This journey over the past month has included a lot of pumping to try and increase my supply as well as a trip to an ENT two weeks ago to have your upper lip tie and tongue tie clipped. We both cried during that procedure - you were crying your "mad" cry because of the swaddling and hands in your mouth. I was crying my "pitiful mom" cry. The whole procedure was quick and the recovery was practically nothing. You are up to 11 pounds, 14 ounces (2nd percentile) and almost 26 inches long (16th percentile). You have been in perfect health and that "tickled" look on your face tickles us everyday - Gran and I saw your first playful sense of humor: I was holding you and you kept leaning back, arching away from me. Each time, in a stern-ish voice, I would say "Anna" and you would move toward me, make and hold eye contact, then slowly start leaning back again, with a very, ornery grin. And guess what - the big sisters still ADORE you (which I attribute partly to the fact that they are very sound sleepers and have been unphased by your nightly shenanigans). I can only imagine what you're going to say back when the time comes...
Speaking of the big sisters...
These two. You ladies are into dolls and dress-up, Star Wars and Dolphin Tale, reading and writing, tree-climbing and bike-riding and playing in the mud. As important as our schoolwork is each day, you are both chomping at the bit to get outside from sun-up to sun-down. I cannot imagine the amount of time you've spent high up in the tree out front lately. In fact, every time we leave the house goes something like this: "Come on, Abby! Let's go out first!"... "Wait for me, Elise!"... "Abby and Elise! Please get out of the tree and into the car!". You girls have been unruly, obnoxious, impatient, and high maintenance. And I say that with love. But seriously - who cares what shoes you wear or if your hair won't lay down flat or who answers the phone first or who checked out which book from the library or if Daddy says it's almost 2:00 when it's 1:46. We have days with school that I throw in the towel and we head to the park. Granted, my lack of sleep might be a contributing factor but even on those days, we are learning. I am learning. This year of homeschooling, while it's proving to take more patience that I ever imagined, is going to teach me so much about your personalities, your learning styles... and about my parenting. You both LOVE activity - Abby, in dance class, your movements are graceful and coordinated; Elise - you climb trees with incredible confidence and strength. You both LOVE words - Abby, your little brain rhymes and has rhythm... you actually came up with the words to one of my new songs for Baby Sing and Sign. Elise, your little brain hears each sound in words so precisely, making you a strong speller. Right now, Abby - you're reading Ramona the Brave; Elise - you're reading Trumpet of the Swan. Our "together book" is The Long Winter. I bought two new books for you from the Wrenly series a couple of weeks ago - on the day they arrived, you finished reading them before dinner that night. You've made countless rainbow loom bracelets and paper-doll clothes galore. Seriously - at my prime in making cards, I thought I had a paper obsession. You two have paper EVERYWHERE! Scraps cut from magazines, drawings and sketches, notes and lists. Amidst all your madness, however, you two are still so incredibly sweet. Abby - you reprimand me every time I call Anna "rotten". Elise - just yesterday, you traded your piece of candy with Abby because she just really wanted the one you had. For art studio class last week, you dressed alike and decided to be "twins" for Halloween that day. Good thing you're both very jack-o-laternish with those missing front teeth. You girls are really something else.
October 2014 also included our 29th annual pumpkin carving party and Halloween. The pictures from these events tell it all:
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