Six Months, Sports Camp, and Stage Moms

Okay, do any of you miss my marathon blogs? Well, I have great news for you! ; ) I haven't bogged in forever, which is horrible because so much has happened. So, here is a little (or long) glimpse into our lives so far this summer.

Cici turned 6, then 7 months, and is now half way to 8 months! She is eating solids as of 6 months and gobbles up her food, even spinach gulash, which looks about as good as it sounds. I'm making her food, just as I did Evelyn's, and I really love doing that for her. She is still in the 25th percentile, which means she is just a little peanut! She is 7 months, but wearing Evelyn's 3-6 month clothes-which is perfect for summer. She is sitting up and talking much more. Not as much as Evelyn did at this age, but she is definitely not silent. She is not crawling, or even seeming interested in doing so, but Evelyn didn't crawl until 10 months, so that doesn't surprise me. She also hasn't started teething yet, which is nice. Basically she is in the sweet spot. She sleeps through the night and is past all that newborn fussiness, but is not yet able to move and get into things, nor is she cranky from getting teeth. She is very mellow and often content to just sit and play by herself. I bring her to the office with me and she gets passed around during staff meetings, then sits on the floor and plays with sharpies while I work, then falls asleep for the last few hours. Not bad!

Then, Sports Camp! It's a good thing Cecilia is a mellow baby, because Sports Camp kinda rocks our little world. The month of July is my busiest work month-many times I work double my hours-to help put on a big sports camp for kids in the community around where our church neighborhood. It's an awesome experience but I was more than a little nervous about it because it demands so much time and energy from me-which means takes time and energy away from being a mom and wife, and just being Kristin! However, with lots of help from friends, family, incredible volunteers, and a ton of support from Bard, I think this was the most peaceful and successful Sports Camp yet! I had nearly a hundred volunteers for Sports Camp, over 160 children so the week of camp was quite a sight to see. Evelyn has been at camp every year, but this was the first year she participated, even though she is still too young. She loved every minute of it, was absolutely exhausted and even slept in til 9am! Bard plays one of the characters for our "Half Time Show" and she thought it was hilarious that her dad was "Super Summer"-and especially loved when he threw out candy : ) I think she is used to seeing me speak to large groups of people, so that didn't really matter to her, but the fact that I threw out candy too-every evening-blew her mind since I've only given her candy a handful of times during her little life. The expression on her face was priceless! She loved the sports-and could even do some of the activities, although after hitting the baseball-for the first time ever-she ran after it instead of toward first base : ) She told us that her favorite sport was soccer, which made both her mama and dada quite happy : ) She learned all the songs and is still singing them and was pretty much spoiled by everyone there, so no wonder she had a good time! All in all it was an exhausting, exhilarating week, one that I am both glad to be over and thankful to have experienced. See you next year Sports Camp!

The first month of summer Evelyn was also able to attend a little summer camp put on by her preschool teacher and took a ballet class-from a teacher other than me-for the first time. She loved summer camp and it gave me freedom to get work done while knowing she was safe and having fun-success. Ballet class was a different story as almost every time I peeked in on her she was running off to do her own thing, taking another little girl's scarf, or ignoring the teacher-fail. The last day was parent observation and I really wanted to get a few pictures and a little video of her. Parents could only come in for about the last minute of class but one minute felt like a lifetime and I left so upset with Evelyn that I didn't really even want to talk to her. I don't want to be a stage mom who just jumps in, pressures her daughter, drives the teacher crazy, and is all around miserable, so I'm trying not to let my daughter's behavior (technically misbehavior) define my identity, but since I am a dance teacher, for Evelyn's age group, and have long wanted to see her in dance class, it was a bit crushing. I know that one of her strengths is her energy and social excitement, but when she crosses that line into being a rambunctious busy body, it's a bit hard to stomach. Hopefully through consistent discipline and educational discussions, she learns where that line is and not to cross it. I have to find my line too-of being involved but not over bearing, of letting her shine on stage but not becoming a stage mom. We'll work on balance together.

Speaking of balance, I'm actually writing this blog while on vacation in New Hampshire. Bard's family is from the East Coast so we are all out here together having an amazing time. Stay tuned-that will be the next blog. Now, off to cocktail hour!

4 Months!

Happy 4 months my sweet girl! Okay, so she is now almost 5 months, but who's counting? Time has really flown by this last month and I wanted to take a minute to blog how she is doing. Soon she'll be sitting up, crawling, and eating real food and I have to capture these moments before they are gone!

She's changed a lot recently, grown out of her newborn look, which is sad but adorable. This is really a fun age because she has started to engage with her surroundings-reaching for and playing with toys, rolling over, talking and laughing, smiling when she hears her name, and the most important-going to sleep on her own! She also just started getting upset when she can't get what she wants-normally a toy that I took away for whatever reason, or something that is just out of her reach. Well, that is a lesson we all learn I guess! Evelyn is delighted that her baby sister is more interactive and loves bringing her toys. Evelyn even gives Cici her own toys, which I'm sure won't last long!

Cici is smaller than Evelyn was at this age, in the 25th percentile-Evelyn was 50th-and not quite 13 pounds. She still seems to be a bit more attached to me than Evelyn was but is overall pretty mellow-content to just sit by herself and very calm, as long as she is not tired or hungry. One funny aspect that I've been observing more and more of is that she is noticeably different when Evelyn is around. If Cici is by herself, or it's just Bard and I with her, she talks and coos pretty much non stop. But if Evelyn is there, she is quiet and just kinda watches Evelyn with huge eyes and a look on her face that is both confused and amused! I think it's hilarious and wonder how it will play out as they get older.

Another difference is that Cici spends more time with me. When Evelyn was this age, she went to Grandma's house while I worked at the office two afternoons a week. Evelyn still does that, but Cici comes with me to work so that Evelyn can have some special Grandma time. Cici also is with me at church on Sundays. Evelyn was usually in the nursery for both services, but because of Cici's schedule, she usually goes in one service and then I have her in the baby carrier for the other service, while she sleeps. People at church complain that all they see of her is her legs! Cecilia is still a bit more of a mama's girl than Evelyn ever was, still being a bit cranky sometimes for babysitters and even giving Dada a hard time now and then. So it's interesting to wonder cause or effect-how is she affected by spending more time with me?

Even though it can be stressful to have her with me so much, I find myself enjoying my time with her, more (or perhaps differently) than I did with Evelyn. I'm more relaxed about her, and how she is doing, and I now appreciate how quickly this time will go by. Besides, she is such a little sweetheart, how could I not just snuggle her?!

My Baby

No, not Cecilia. Evelyn is my first and will always be my baby : ) But, she turned three last month so it's getting harder and harder to see her as a baby-and at the same time it's getting harder and harder to see what a big girl she is becoming. The past year has seen so many changes for her, it's unbelievable to look back on last April and see how far she has come. But I'll try!

Physically she is still in roughly the 50 % for everything-an exact mix of me and Bard : ) And I've seen her gain a lot of confidence in this area over the last year as well. She was never strongest in her gross motor skills, but has lately really started to focus on these skills. Which unfortunately means she is climbing on things she shouldn't, giving me heart attacks and needing constant supervision. I think I would be happier if she went back to focusing on another area of development!

Except verbal skills. Anything but more talking! I remember when she first started talking, it was so cute. It's still cute, and if you spend any time with her, you will quickly realize that she has great verbal skills and can carry on advanced conversations. Can and does. Constantly. All day. All night. Yes-I hear her talking in her sleep. In many ways I'm proud of her-her verbal skills really are good, so I don't mean to complain. But it is so exhausting! She wants to talk about everything-she is very observant and asks questions over and over again. And over and over again! A lot of it goes along with being social, so she will ask questions that she knows the answer to-just to start a conversation again-which is very common for this age. We've taught her to say "Excuse me" if Bard and I are talking with each other. So pretty much every dinner time we hear, "Excuse me, what are you talking about? Can I talk too?" It is pretty funny. And I'm sure when she is a sullen teenager and I can't get more than one syllable out of her, I'll look back longingly on these conversations. But sometimes I just want to hear myself think!

Speaking of socially, she is still our little social butterfly. She has developed friendships with two little girls in particular at her preschool. Last night we were picking flowers for her teachers and she had to pick her friends flowers too and then was chanting their names as we walked into school. So cute! It's fun to see her friendships develop and wonder about all the people she will be friends with over the coming years.

One thing we are watching her with in regards to social behavior, is imitating naughty behavior. She is quick to notice other children around her making the wrong choice and will then follow them. I've lived enough years on this planet to know that will not serve her well! So we talk about what her friends did and making her own choice - the right one. I'm sure this is a conversation that we will be having for years to come.

Lately Cecilia has been going down for a nap right when Evelyn wakes up, and typically sleeps the rest of the afternoon, so it's Mama and Evelyn time. She is very into artwork and has spent hours coloring, playing with play dough, stamps, painting, etc. This has been really fun-to see her develop the skills to draw circles, start to color pictures, and be interested in creating objects that she sees around her. Unfortunately I am not an artist so when she asks me to draw things like giraffes, she just might be disappointed : )

But, when she asks me to help her write letters, that I can do! Yep, she is learning to read and write! She knows all the sounds of her letters-actually has for months-and is very interested in how to spell words, tracing her letters, and sounding them out. Although she certainly doesn't have it down yet-last week she took her foam letters and placed several in a row and then said to me, "Q2E73K. What's that spell Mama?" It's very fun : )

Most of the time, this is a super fun stage. She is so engaging and says the most hilarious things. A few days ago she asked me if Miss Susan (my midwife for Cici) could get more babies for us and when I said no she said there were 4 more in my tummy. No. I have not had fertility treatments! It's so fun to experience life through her because everything is fun and exciting. It's definitely exhausting-for the past 6 months she has decided to fight nap and bed time, making each one a battle, almost every single day. And she will go for negative attention if she is not getting positive attention. And don't get me started on how difficult it is to get her to eat any meal in under an hour! But despite how draining it is, there is a certain sweet simplicity that I know will be lost as she gets older and we fight less about how much broccoli she needs to eat and more about where she is eating and who she is eating with. Tonight we took a family walk after dinner and she delighted in every moment; wanting to race with her dada, jump over sidewalk cracks, check on baby Sissy, and be swung through the air as we both held her hands. Everything was magical, the magic of being three.