Did I Blink or Something?

-Seriously, I think that I must have blinked or something, because all of the sudden, when I am looking at Molly, all I can think is, “Where did my new, little baby go?!!!”

-Don’t get me wrong, she’s still plenty young…our days of nursing, sling-wearing, cuddling, bite-size food-feeding, staying in one spot on the floor-playing, and generally being a well-attached baby and mama are still going strong. It’s just that, all of the sudden, I realized that, while she is still a “baby”, she has turned a developmental corner. She has left “infant” behind in the dust, and has “toddler” in her sights in the distance.

Here are some observations:
-She doesn’t mind having her clothes changed. As a newborn, every time there is a clothes or diaper change, it was full on water-works. The change in temperature and comfort were SUCH an insult to little Miss Molly Moose Mouse. Now, she thinks it’s no big deal. It’s like she’s thinking, “Alright…clothes change…no biggie…I can roll with it, Mama!”

-She WANTS to be mobile. She’s not quite ready to crawl yet, but she is very aware that there are things out of her reach, and if she stretches VERY far, she can get some of them when she is sitting. And on her tummy, she is finally starting to reach for things and play on her tummy, rather than just fuss that I insulted her by laying her on her tummy on the floor instead of sitting her down.

-She is SO good with her hands and has such good dexterity. I remember Ben being good with his hands at this stage, but I think Molly might have him passed. She tries to put rings on a stick, and is so good at picking up small objects, and putting small things into rather small containers and holes. She can also pull things out of really teeny spaces, as well.

-She has gotten so patient. Ben went through this stage, as well. Although there are times that she wants/needs more attention, there are also lots of times that I can just sit her on the floor with some interesting toys or objects (ex: a whisk from the kitchen), and she will just quietly play and explore for such a long time. I love to watch her be so thoughtful in her play (and I love keeping her busy for a quick break sometimes, I’ll admit it!) And if I am in the middle of a chore, such as dishes, I can just keep encouraging her and keep giving her new things, and she will just keep going without much of a fuss, usually. *Actually, BOTH my kids are really good at this. Ben has been great lately at trying new things and really engaging in his own play for long periods of time.

-Molly has really started to enjoy the swing in the back yard. Thanks to our wonderful families, we have gotten the back yard cleaned up and useable, and my dad even built a swing set for the kids. We now have 2 swings out there, and it is so fun to go out and put both kids in swings and see them laugh and interact with each other while they are swinging.

-She loves to laugh. She's not cracking up all the time or anything, but it is much easier to make her laugh than it was to make Ben laugh. Part of that is because she has such a great older brother around, always eager to try to make his little sis laugh!

Random Thoughts...

Just a few quick stories to share:

-In yet another indication from Molly that she is more than ready to eat, she just doesn't like the home-made organic food that I give her, she got a hold of some "Fruity Cheerios" from a kid at a playgroup last Friday, and gobbled them right up! Oh, what a terrible mama I am...feeding her this terrible organic stuff, where there are glorious foods such as "Fruity Cheerios" out there in the world!!!

-Ben woke up last night after he had been asleep for about 45 min because he had to go to the bathroom. This is really unusual, so Aaron (who went to get him) was, at first, tempted to be frustrated, but quickly changed his mind when, as Aaron picked up the warm, groggy, and cuddly little boy from his bed to take him to the bathroom, Ben said, "I am the snuggliest, sweetest boy in the whole world, aren't I, Dad?" while leaning his head on Aaron's shoulder. ADORABLE!!

-Molly gave Ben some kisses today for the first time! Usually she is trying to lean away from him because he is just a bit too much for her, but today he kissed her and she thought it was so funny. She laughed out loud, and then leaned in to him several times for more kisses. Such a sweet couple of moments!

-Molly learned to scoot backwards when she is sitting up today. She can only do it if she is barefoot and on the hardwood floors of my parents home, but, hey...it's a start toward mobility!!

-Ben has been talking about being "brave" a lot lately. A quick example, when he first started going to the Zoo with Miss Robin (his Monday morning babysitter), he was too scared to go on the carousel. But they went again today, and he told me that he "was very brave and sat on the carousel" all by himself! And when he had to get a bandaid on his finger for a little cut, he told me, "I will be brave, Mama, you can put the bandaid on."

-Molly has starting randomly raising her right hand. I will be holding her and we will be walking into a room, and she will just raise her right hand as if to say, "Into the kitchen, we go!!" She will also do it to people sometimes. Recently, she did it to Uncle Martin, as if to say, "Hey! What's up? How's it hanging? I like you, Uncle Martin! But don't think I want you to hold me...just Mom can hold me...but I did want to give you a quick shout-out and say hi!"

-Ben has also been using some "big" words lately. My favorite is: participate. I said once that I was frustrated because I needed him to participate when I was getting him dressed, and now he loves to use the word, though it sometimes comes out "lissipate". He also tried to say "ridiculous" this week, though it first came out "redicleeous". And "regular" becomes "reg-lee-er".

-Ben has also been exploring the idea of time lately. 2 examples: 1. If there is something I want him to do that he is not interested in, he will look at his pretend watch and say, "Sorry, Mama, I don't have enough time to put on my shoes. Sorry." 2. If we give him a time-out, we will tell him he needs to sit for 2 min. He will often then yell, "NO, not two minutes...three minutes!!" Sure thing, buddy, three minutes is fine with us;)

-Molly isn't saying her first word or anything, but she is starting to cry "mamamama" specifically sometimes when she is upset. I remember Ben doing this at around the same age, and it is just unbelievable to think of my little Molly-Mouse gaining so many skills and moving toward saying her first word!!

Is there anything better than a Daddy?!!

I know my kids love me...I am blessed as a mother to have such wonderful kids and to have them both very well attached to me. But I do need to point out, also, that Aaron is a "Daddy Extraordinaire!" Here are a couple of pictures and thoughts:

*For the first few pics...my question is this: "Is there anything more tempting than a Daddy on the floor?" If you want to get your kids to pay attention to you, all you have to do is lay down in the middle of the living room floor. Within seconds, your kids will be stuck to you like glue!

*Next is a picture of bath time. I do quite a bit of the parenting around here, being a stay-at-home-mom and all, but there are certain times that Aaron is the go-to guy, and bath time is one of them. Now that the kids can bathe together, it is so sweet to watch from a distance and just see how they respond to him and hear how wonderful he is with them

*Also included is a pic of Aaron with Molly. Though I am still her true, true love ;), she is bonding much more with Daddy. Every night now, Aaron puts Molly to bed. He takes her in her room and they have a sweet routine that they do and she always relaxes and usually falls asleep on his shoulder as he snuggles/walks her down. They both seem to really love the time together and the routine they have worked out!

Molly-Mouse

Molly has been developing so much lately!
Here are a few highlights:

-She is not crawling yet, but she has figured out the idea of "mobility". A couple of days ago, she figured out how to turn herself to the left and right while sitting up. She can spin all the way around now! I left her in the living room with Ben when I was doing dishes the other day, and overheard her making some noises. I came back in, and found her facing the opposite way from how I had left her. At first, I thought Ben had moved her, but then as I sat down next to her, she moved her legs and turned toward me! It's so sweet to see her learning! And now, when she wants me to pick her up, she will launch herself toward me. And when she is sitting and something is out of reach, she has started trying to lean forward and get onto her belly to get it. Though she can't quite do it yet, but I'm sure she's close!

-If she wants to nurse now and I am holding her, she will just start leaning down and to the side until I pick her back up to keep her from falling out of my arms and then sit down and nurse her! So cute.

-She still doesn't LOVE to eat exactly, but I think the problem may be with what I am serving;) Aaron and I decided a long time ago to try to feed the kids all organic/all natural foods until at least their 1st birthdays. So Molly has been mostly getting home-made and store-bought organic purees. Well, we were at a Chili Dinner this weekend, and my dad was with us. He was holding Molly and she was getting a little fussy. He asked if he could give her a saltine cracker to play with. I figured, "Sure, why not? She doesn't eat any of the solids I give her and only seems mildly interested in the purees, there is no way she will eat any of the saltine." Well...she ate 3!!! So this whole time it turns out that she just wanted a good, salty, buttery, bleached-flour cracker!! Who knew!??

-She has started taking some wonderful naps. Not every nap, but, if we have quiet days at home, she will sometimes take naps from 1.5 to 2.5 hours long. It is SO nice! Ben and I can get some great play in, and I can get some work done around her. So great!!

Gym Class Pics

Here are a few pictures from a gym class that Aaron and Ben took at the YMCA this summer. It was such a great experience. In regards to the importance of kids having both a mother and a father: I have noticed that Ben is MUCH more physically active and experimental with Aaron. He will try things with Daddy that he would never try with Mommy. So after noticing this, and acknowledging that Ben's nature is to sometimes be a lot more cautious than his peers, I suggested that Aaron do the gym class with him as some special Ben/Daddy time.
It worked out SO well. Ben learned all kinds of new things, and in general now is much more physically comfortable with trying new things. Enjoy the pics!