Hosanna!

Tonight the girls were playing outside, and they started pulling the weeds growing by the driveway that were almost as tall as they are. Then they started waving them back and forth and shouting, "Hosanna! Hosanna!" I'm kind of proud that they remember the story from Easter but embarrassed that we have weeds the size of palm branches.

Separation Anxiety

There has been much research and and literature written on separation anxiety. This is where the child cries when mommy leaves and feels unsettled until she returns. I haven't seen much on the mommy's separation anxiety. I sent Big Sissy to Aunt YaYa's house tonight--by herself--and I'm feeling a little teary and unsettled. The thing making me feel better is that she was SO excited all day. Even in the car on the way to our meet point, every time I looked at her in the rear view mirror she had this huge grin on her face. She loves Aunt YaYa, AND they're going to Six Flags tomorrow. She's been there once, just before she turned 2, but she doesn't remember it. The teary moment came when she gave me a hug and asked, "Mommy, are you going to miss me?" *gulp* "Cause I'm going to miss you, Mommy." *blinking back the tears* Little Sissy was a little sad about staying home until she realized that after Little Buddy went to bed she was the queen of our house for about an hour. She was climbing all over us, getting held, and loving all the attention. It's really a win-win situation tonight. Big Sissy gets all the attention there and Little Sissy gets all the attention here--temporarily. I might have mentioned the mommy guilt I feel for not being able to give them more attention individually at this moment...

We took Little Buddy for his 6-month doctor visit today. I just giggled the whole time because he was so happy and bouncy, even while he was being examined. When the doctor tested to see if he could bear weight on his legs, they looked like they were dancing together. Dr. H called him a "Bubba." I'm not sure if I like that, but it does fit right now. So far he's been called Bubba, Bruiser, Buster, Buddha. Why do chubby people get called "B" names? Maybe I should protest when Hubby calls me Babe... ha. So this will cease to be cute when he's about 3, but right now I can't get enough of his little chubs. He's actually moved from the 94th percentile weight down to the 84th percentile and up to the 90th percentile for height. So in theory he should look thin, right? I don't think I understand this percentile thing. Anyway, he was definitely not so happy and bouncy when he woke up from his nap. He is sore and cranky. Hopefully he'll sleep off all the poison we call immunizations tonight (the media is really getting to me on this subject).

I'm off to find my pacifier (something chocolate, maybe?) until my baby returns.

Happy 6 months, Little Buddy!

Little Buddy is 6 months old today. I can't believe how time is flying by. He's definitely showing some personality now. He loves to laugh--even fake laughs--and is still very laid back. He can sit up pretty well for several minute stretches, but still falls over when he gets excited and starts flapping his arms. He cries when mama leaves the room sometimes now, and definitely recognizes when a stranger tries to hold him. Still no rolling over, although he's been in "rolling" boot camp for several weeks now. He loves to look at his hands and hold onto his feet. He is very cuddly and feels very secure when he holds onto my hair. Everything goes in his mouth now. Tonight he had my Sam's Club receipt mostly destroyed before we even got to the door where the little old man stands to make yellow marks on your receipt.

Let's see...what did we do to celebrate? Oh, yeah. I left for the whole evening and Daddy put him to bed without a bottle. Happy Birthday, Little Buddy! :) The bottle thing was actually an accident. The bottle was warming while Daddy was reading stories to the girls, and then next thing you know he was just dead asleep in his arms. I'm pretty sure I won't get to sleep all the way through the night tonight. I had a great time with my mom and sisters, though. We went to P.F. Chang's. I'm in love with the crispy green beans. They're like onion rings without the bad breath. Perfect.



I'm off to take a little nap before Little Buddy realizes he's starving and rings the dinner bell. Good night.

Interesting Juxtaposition

I really just wanted to use the word juxtaposition in a title. But I was noticing as we drove down the river road and a CRAZY man on a motorcycle kept swerving in front of us and zooming past (can't let a minivan pass you on your cool motorcycle, after all) that he wasn't wearing a helmet. I guess the law in IL allows for this kind of irresponsibility. Then on the other side of us, on the trail next to the bluffs, there were bicyclists. They were very spaced out and not in danger of running onto one another, but they were all wearing helmets. I found this very interesting. There has been a lot of awareness about bicycle safety in the last few years, but I would dare say it's much more dangerous to be going 80 mph on a motorcycle with no helmet!

Highlights from our Weekend

My parents babysat Little Buddy for a few hours this weekend so we could take the girls to Raging Rivers. It was the first time I had left him anywhere (outside of the church nursery) while he was awake. I figured he wouldn't take a bottle; I was right. My parents were troopers, though, and walked him around, bounced him, took him outside, and tried to appease him until we got home and I could nurse him again and put him to bed. It is really tricky trying to do an outing between feedings, especially when you have to drive to get to the thing you're doing. So I fed the baby, we loaded the girls in the car and drove 35 minutes to Raging Rivers. They were having a work party event for my dad's former place of employment, so we stood in line to get our grub, then we literally had about 30 minutes to play before stood in line to get our free popsicle and had to head back to get Little Buddy down for bed. Luckily the girls had a blast, got a popsicle, and didn't know you're really supposed to stay at a place like that all day. They loved having one-on-one attention and lots of water shallow enough to just run around in.

Other highlights: my dad's "nature walk" with the girls. They were gone so long I thought they might have had heat strokes, but it turns out they were in the backyard admiring wild flowers, katydids, and deer poop. This is strangely very fun for my little tomboy girls. Big Sissy was also enamored by Dad's shed, which is really "like a really big farm or barn or something where he can keep all his tools." I realize what city kids I'm raising when deer poop is the most amazing thing they've ever seen. On a side note, this was really obvious when we went to Indiana over the 4th of July. They got to pick fresh peas out of the garden and feed them to the baby chicks. It was like walking on the moon...the awe, the wonder. I guess I've never ACTUALLY walked on the moon, but I can imagine. I'm a little sad they may never have the experience of walking to school through the woods and chasing their band instruments down the creek like I did. Now that I have to pay for instruments and such, this is probably a good thing, but I'm longing for a taste of country life at this moment.

Back to the highlights: REAL breakfast on Sunday morning (no dry cereal all over the van...yeah!), tons of friends from high school to visit at church, good games of Rummikub with my parents (this is what they do daily now that Dad's retired. The game is a permanent fixture on their dining room table), watching a deer out the kitchen window, and lots of extra people to love on our kids. Little Sissy thinks Papa is supposed to always lay down with her for naps now. Somehow spending the night--even one night--with grandparents makes the visit feel so much more special and unhurried. It was so refreshing and relaxing--just what I needed.

Our Progress...

...after 3 weeks of feeding Little Buddy baby cereal. This is not very encouraging.

Slap Happy