January 31

What a long day!

We started this morning with a birthday playdate for one of my MOPS friends. Caleb was delighted that he got to come! He has been a fussy, whiny bear lately, so I was delighted to get him out of the house and allow other children to entertain him!

Despite his grouchiness of late, he was really sweet with Lily while he brushed his teeth.

Lily just wanted to get that toothbrush into her mouth!

Gentle baby caresses. He loves her so much!

These two are so sweet!

(Not sweet is that bruise on Lily's temple, which I think she got by tipping over when she was sitting on our wooden floors. Ouch.)

No pictures of our playdate, but Caleb was such a mess when it was time for us to leave that I'm contemplating not taking him to any more playdates for a while.

This afternoon, silly things happened at our house. 

All three kids played happily in Lily's room. Daisy stood on a stool, announcing, "Class, it is time for a field trip to the pool!"

Then she wrapped a blanket around herself ("this my swimsuit!") and jumped into the "pool" over and over again. Meanwhile, Caleb read the latest issue of National Geographic, and Lily sat and watched, baffled by her siblings.

Lily trying to get my camera. Funny girl!

Then it was time for me to make dinner, but Daisy kept wanting me to put that darned blanket "swimsuit" on her. Finally, exasperated, I suggested that she could put on her real swimsuit all by herself.

Apparently neither she nor Caleb had ever realized this was an option.

They raced to put their swimsuits on, then came up with a game where they were both superheroes: he was Rubber Man and she was Polka Dot Girl.

Caleb's Rubber Man pose.

He's wearing swim trunks, a swim shirt, cape, and sunglasses.

This was Daisy's first Polka Dot Girl pose.

After a bit of thinking, she determined this was a better pose. I'm not sure I agree, but I do sense some superhero fierceness in her face!

After dinner, we headed out to check out the YMCA. We ended up swimming and signing up for a membership. The kids were so excited, and I confess - I am, too!

January 30

This morning, I momentarily forgot that today was a preschool day and started excitedly telling Caleb about the fun things we would do.

Then his little face began to fall, and he said, "But I have to go to preschool!"

Oops.

(I blame the lapse on Lily's erratic sleep habits, which had us up til midnight, when I finally gave in and pulled her into bed with me. Then she woke up at 4 (after nursing all night) with a leaky diaper. In my bed. Yuck. And then I put her back to sleep in her crib and she slept until 8 am. I have no idea what is going on with that child, but I sure wish she'd do whatever it is she's doing consistently, so at least I'm not confused all the time.)

What did we have planned today? Well, after we dropped Caleb off at school (we were late because he lost another set of mittens. He's lost 3 pairs so far, and I resorted to sending him to school wearing hot pink butterfly mittens) Jenny came over!

Daisy was so excited to have Jenny over, but without Caleb to run the show, she was shy and hesitant. I've never realized they had that dynamic before, but it was pretty clear today. She wanted so badly to interact with Jenny, but didn't know where to start! In the end, she started by getting out matching baseball caps for her and Lily.

Lily wasn't hesitant at all, and immediately began gnawing on Jenny's necklace. Babies always seem to love Jenny's jewelry and braids!

The girls and I worked on a little project for Jace, and both were super-excited to have scraps of minky dot fabric to play with. Lily chewed the heck out of hers!

She also had a lot of fun with her activity table. Since she's not yet pulling up or standing very well, I took the legs off. She was so proud when she figured out how to make it make music!

After dinner, it was Daddy entertains the kids so Mommy can have a break family reading time.

I was impressed that all four of them managed to sit in the same chair! Chris chose this book at the library last night, and it's pretty cute.

After they were done reading (and re-reading) Sergio Makes a Splash, Lily dove into B is for Bear. It's a perennial favorite in our household. Apparently Lily found it to be compelling and suspenseful.

"Whoa! No way! D is for duckling? Those ducks are so soft and fluffy! Wow!"

Goodness, she's cute! Now let's hope she sleeps tonight!

January 29

Well. Since Lily's sleep has been a topic lately, I'm pleased to report that last night involved a 5-hour stretch of sleep, followed by a 4-hour stretch, both of which were in her crib.

BUT, I spent a good 45 minutes nursing her in between those two stretches. Is it worth it? I'm not sure. But the girl slept until I woke her at 8:45 because we had to leave for a playdate.

That's Lily with my friend Kris, with whom I shared a job my first year teaching. It's crazy to think about!

We had so much fun at our playdate, but the late waking plus the excitement of being someplace new meant that sweet Lil didn't take her morning nap. She fell asleep in the car on the way home, but even with a few extra minutes with the car parked in the garage, she maybe slept for 30 minutes. Later, I got a 90-minute nap out of her... and that was it for the day. Boo.

While I prepped dinner, I let Lily play in the front room with the big kids. I'm pretty sure that's a major milestone!

Caleb worked diligently on a tower, and at spreading his cars all. over. the. room. 

I adore this picture of Daisy. I think it's her sweet curls and the way her face fills the frame. And maybe those cheekbones.

But this picture is just so perfectly Daisy that I love it, too. I'm not even sure what she was doing, but I love the impish expression on her face.

After dinner, it was decided that I would put Lily to bed early while Chris took the kids - in their jammies - to the library. But before they could leave, they had to clean up. Chris told Caleb to put away this marvel of architecture, but Caleb really wanted to keep it out. 

It was his "Car sleeping place", and he did not want to put it away. Finally, I suggested that he grab my camera and photograph it, so that he could remember exactly how it looked. Surprisingly, he liked that idea.

He also took this close-up. Funny kid.

Lily really enjoys watching her siblings.

And Daisy enjoys mimicking her brother. He did this same thing at preschool yesterday, and they both think it's the funniest thing ever.

At 6:30, Chris and the kids left and I started trying to put Lily to bed. At 7:30, they returned and Lily was still awake. I had spent an hour nursing and rocking her, to no avail. It happens to me on a regular basis, and it is the most frustrating part of having a 6-month-old. Well, that, and the fact that her favorite thing right now is scratching, pinching, and tugging at my tender skin while she nurses. Ouch. I think she finally fell asleep around 8:15, nearly two hours after I started trying to get her to sleep. 

*sigh*

But it's just a season that will fly by so quickly...

January 28

Caleb had preschool this morning, and Lily went down for a nap as soon as we got home and slept until it was time to pick Caleb up, so Daisy and I got to have some quality time together. Hooray!

We decided to make a birthday card for GREAT Aunt Maggie, whose birthday is on Sunday.

Daisy had some definite ideas about what constitutes a good birthday card. (Hint: it involves feathers and glitter...) After the card was done, Daisy got to work writing some "notes" for Aunt Maggie.

"Look, Mommy! I drew a line! See?"

She was so proud of herself!

"We need to give this to Maggie."

When the card was finished, we went to pick up Caleb. He was in fine spirits when we returned home.

This was a picture we took to send to Jenny, because she got this shirt for him.

He also chose to wear his pants backwards to school today, just for fun. And when we picked him up from school, he insisted that I put his hoodie on him backwards, and his coat on normally, so that he had a hood from each direction. He was absolutely delighted with his creativity!

Chris signed the big kids up for a Lego event at the library tonight, so Lily and I had some special time while they were gone. 

This is a nursing baby selfie. Ha!

And there's a happy baby selfie!

As usual, Chris took some pictures with his phone of their activities. 

Daisy with Legos.

Caleb returned home to tell me that he was "A little bored with the Legos."

Lily wasn't bored, though!

Hi, cutie pie! The light was so gross in her room that I brought out my new reflector to see if it would help. It did.

And Lily was fascinated!

January 27

Today was another Do-Nothing Monday, which I think we all know is my favorite day ever. After Lily went down for her morning nap (FYI, there was no 5-hour stretch last night, but she slept in her crib for 95% of the night, so I call it a win.), the kids and I decided to try a new muffin recipe. Since it called for mashed bananas, I let the kids try to peel the bananas on their own.

Funniest. Thing. Ever.

Daisy was grunting, "I. Can't. Get. It. Open!"

They were so funny that I took a quick video of their methods:

After they had success, they quickly peeled all three bananas.

You can't tell it in this picture, but the two children are sharing one chair. I'm amazed that it works!

Daisy even got to beat the eggs!

The muffins were delicious, by the way.

Sadly, Lily's nap timing meant that there were no overlapping naps for me today. But, she and I got to have two solid hours of quality time while the big kids napped.

Yay for Mommy/Lily time!

Yay for playing with Caleb's cars when he's not there to take them away!

She was actually rolling the cars back and forth. See the red one in her hand above?

Zoom!

She tried her darndest to get it back, but she just couldn't reach. Does this show you, though, how my first two children ended up scooters, rather than crawlers? I'm curious to see if Lily will follow suit!

Also, she has become remarkably more stable when it comes to sitting. She can bend, twist, and turn now without tipping over. What a big girl!

Later I was prepping dinner when I came back to check on the big kids. I discovered Caleb and Daisy, both sitting in Caleb's bed reading books in the late-afternoon sunshine. By the time I came back with my camera, Caleb had jumped down to fetch another book and the moment was gone. Still, it was lovely.

And then Lily showed me that she can totally take care of herself. She grabbed the NoseFrida, put the sucky part in her mouth, and started suctioning out her own nose! Well, not really. But it was a valiant attempt. Soon she'll be changing her own diapers, too!

January 26

Last night, I blogged about wishing I could trade Lily in for a baby that sleeps.

And then, after a rocky start to the night, she went on to sleep for five straight hours, wake to nurse for ten minutes, then  go back to sleep in her crib until 8:00 this morning.

I guess she didn't want to be traded in!

I'm not sure if it's a fluke, or the nasty cold she still has, or if it's something that is actually happening, but she has slept a five-hour stretch the past two nights. It doesn't sound like much, and it certainly isn't "sleeping through the night", but for this tired mama, it's HUGE! I'm hoping and praying that it's a real thing. We'll see. Tonight has already been better than last night: she's been asleep for two hours now, allowing us to watch Downton Abbey in peace.

But the poor girl is still seriously miserable with her cold. Chris and I were scheduled to play with babies in the nursery at church today, so we had to go despite Lily's illness. Luckily, my amazing mother must have been up early and read yesterday's blog post. When she learned how sick Lily still was, she texted me, offering to come watch the baby while we went to church.

Really.

It was fantastic. 

So Lily got to stay home and snuggle with Grandma and sleep when she needed to sleep, while we all enjoyed church. It was wonderful. We returned home and Mom read  to the kids while Chris and I prepared lunch.

This makes my heart happy:

I know Mom will hate this picture of her, but it is so sweet and precious to me. She came over early this morning, without taking time to get herself ready, just to help us out. I fully realize how blessed we are. And seeing Daisy snuggled up with her and Caleb leaning to be part of the moment makes me feel even more blessed.

Later, while the kids napped, I took advantage of the momentary break from winter to go for a run. When Caleb and Daisy woke up, I sent them with Chris to the lake, so Caleb could play on the beach. (Despite the freezing temperatures of late, Caleb has been begging to go to the beach for the past week.)

Here are some of  his iPhone pictures:

Happy Daisy at the beach. Even though it was nearly 60 degrees today, the lake was still frozen.

This picture is gorgeous, but it doesn't even begin to do justice to the beautiful sunset tonight. The sky was on fire with oranges!

Caleb found this big stick and christened it "Bessie", after the giant road-paving machine in Cars. Apparently he was pretending to pave the beach?

Doesn't this photo make your heart stop? My husband is a pretty talented photographer, even with his cell phone!

While they were gone, Lily and I tried a new carry with the wrap. 

Baby? Where's the baby? Oh, wait. See those little feet peeking out on either side of my hips?

This is double rebozo with a shoulder flip. I love that wrapping allows me to wear Lily like a backpack, with nothing going across my chest or front. I also love the MacGyver-factor of wrapping; there's something inherently satisfying in being able to use a strip of fabric to hold my baby close to me and keep her happy. So often I feel unprepared as a parent, and this feels like one little way that I can always be prepared. Weird, I know. 

But more importantly, Lily loves being wrapped. She seems to feel snug and secure, and I think she likes being able to watch everything I'm doing. Wrapping makes dinner time so much easier, because Lily is happy, and with her on my back I feel like it's safe to cook and chop and do what I need to do.

In other words, wrapping is my new favorite thing. And now I'm itching to get more wraps so that I can try new things!

Someone else loves wearing babies, too!

Daisy came to me after dinner, asking, "Mommy, will you put my ERGO on me?"

Isn't she sweet?

And there's a blurry Lily, fresh from the bath.

And Lily, dazed by the flash on my camera.

Lots of pictures from a happy Sunday. Now to bed. Let's hope that baby of ours stays asleep!