The Sisters… An Update

Grace just posted a life update on her kiddos… Got me thinking it might be a good idea. I'll try not to get too sappy.

M - Mother, why am I here???

E - Mother, seriously? Another picture?!?!

E
- Loves school and is missing it during the summer
- Sings Christmas songs pretty much any day of the week - mother's daughter in that regard
- Loves to swing super high and sing random songs from school
- Screams bloody murder at the sight of a dog
- Builds Legos almost everyday
- Claims she wants to do ballet but then at the last second changes her mind

E instructing R on how to trace bodies

And it is not going as planned

R
- Call her sisters Bill-lis and Mon-Ka (one of them is not a fan and the other thinks it's hilarious)
- Hates peanut butter but loves peanuts
- Not a huge fan of showers and really not a fan of the sprinkler much to big sister's annoyance
- Commandress of numerous bumps and bruises and scrapes but generally no worse for the wear
- Mostly potty trained but her laissez-faire attitude to wet undi-wears is not helping her cause
- Loves playing with E but does not like getting yelled at by her so she will stick with M who is happy to get the attention

Flower child

Girl has the craziest way to sleep

Sisterly love

Except when you pull my hair

M
- Sleeping through the night some times - making me really love the mornings she actually does
- Eater of lots of food - those little squeeze food packs are awesome and she's the first Kibbe to use them
- Loves throwing her sippy cup on the floor. Repeatedly
- Not much into sitting up or crawling or growing hair
- Best naps are taken while at work while in the bathroom with the fan on - nothing like a cool dark room with white noise , ya know
- Sometimes will hold her breathe for no reason. Maybe she'll be a swimmer one day

Haha, nope not crawling today

So stinking cute

Hello : ) 

What are you looking at?

M - 6 months ex-utero

Alternatively titled… Six months with three kids ages 3 and under

“To hurry through one’s leisure is the most unbusiness-like of actions.”  

~ G.K. Chesterton

It is super hard to believe that it has been months since M was pitocin-ed into this world. She is such a joy and a little trooper and so easy going (unless she's hungry). 

Her big sisters love her a lot. I was letting E hold M and R started freaking out because she did not think she was going to get a turn. 

R has especially taken to M. R wants to have M right on the floor and she will say "Hi baaaay-beeee" or "Its OooK, M. Its oooookay!" 

A few weeks ago R was calling M - Mon-keee which was super funny even though R has pretty much gotten the hang of M's name. 

M is rolling over a lot. Not much into trying to sit up but usually she kind of rolls to one side. She still likes a good rock in the swing but prefers the exer-saucer, mat or just sitting in her bouncy seat so she can take in the views of the big people. Today M took a nice long, fun, giggly swing on the swing set. I think I know where she'll be spending her summer afternoons. 

At work M enjoys naps in the cool, darkness of the bathroom (in her carseat or bouncy seat, mind you) with the fan on. Not much of a consistent afternoon napper (which I take the blame for). She's has not slept through the night yet but has gotten close a few times. 

I am THRILLED that in her first 6 months M has had a total of 6 oz of formula. Yes. SIX. I have a good stash of pumped milk in the freezer that I have not even touched but you know… it is liquid gold, right? I've been letting her try bananas and sweet potatoes occasionally and tonight she got cereal and sweet potatoes. Our highchair on wheels is getting the boot because it is DESTROYING the floors so a strap-in chair highchair is on its way. 

To me she still seems so little and I pull out an outfit for her to put on and she does not fit in it because it is a 0-3 month. I cannot understand how she got to be six months old! I am sure I'll be saying the same thing in another six months!

M is 3 months!

M is 3 months old now.

Let's think that over… my baby is 3 months old. Now how did that happen? Time is flying because it seems like I was just pregnant. Okay not missing being pregnant of course but still I am having some trouble wrapping my finger around having a 3 month old. But I'll try and move past that.

M is such a relaxed little trooper. She is patient with me and her Papa and her big sisters. She only gets super mad when she is hungry or when she is tired and does not want to be in her carseat (but then she falls asleep almost immediately in the car).

M has been rolling over for a few weeks now?!?!? Not consistently by any means and she surprises herself when she does. She is either really alert or really sleeping. She has the brightest eyes and if you talk to her you'll likely get a cute grin. She'll coo back at you a lot if she's laying down.

M has been kind to me at nights. She wakes up once or twice a night to eat and then goes right back to sleep. She will take a bottle which did take some coaxing. She is still 100% breast(milk) fed. Probably the longest time any of my girls have gone without supplementing with formula so I am thrilled about that. I have not done anything in particular in the sleep training department other than getting ready for bed and feeding her and putting her down. She'll fuss for 5-10 minutes but then usually goes to sleep (I say that now and she'll probably up and do something CRAZY this week).

She's been a great little worker bee. She has been good for me at both offices and let's me get my work done. She's been to Charleston with me and Papa for a work trip.

Her latest trick is she likes to get really stiff and stand up and look around. I cannot wait for her to be strong (and big) enough for the jumpers that hang from the doorways. She is going to go to town.

She survived Turkey Day and Christmas and got lots of love from her family especially her cousins. She has a friend up the street who is going to be such a great playmate and she does not even know it yet.

The jury is still out on who she looks like. E and R are so so so very different it will be interesting to see if she'll be in between them or what. She still has the sweet little layer of fuzz on her head that I like to runny cheeks over. I've never had a fuzz-head baby so we've been using the hair bow strap for special occasions.

Monday Musings...

Well people it happened. It finally happened. Well not finally kinda of more like, really? Already?

Friday M rolled over. Like it was no big deal. Just arched her little back and whoooooop…. rolled right over and thought she was the cool kid in town for doing it. And continues to roll from tummy to back and loves it EXCEPT when she bang her head on the floor because Mama did not put a blanket under the mat… {bad mom}

AND while we are venturing down the road of really???? how about M rocked it out and slept from 9-6 Saturday night?!?!? Crazy, right? YES! Now I don't have any expectations she'll have continued repeat performances any time soon but here's to uninterrupted sleeeeeep!!!!

Finally, can we discuss how R's birthday is less than a month away. I mean the girl will be 2. That is also mind boggling!!! I think she's good for an Elmo and Abby cake. Maybe with yellow frosting? Not sure which of her little friends will come and I don't think she'll mind too much. I am thinking we (Lee and I) will take her somewhere or do something just with her because the thought of another toy-object in our house is - - - well let's not get complainer-ish - - -

So with my newfound sleep I have been reading this super interesting book which I'll tell you about on Wednesday and I've been making good progress on Papa's stocking

I think we have a winner-winner-chicken-dinner for M's stocking….

Like it? Got any other ideas???

Wisdom of Chesterton - Loyalty

"We are all in the same boat, in a stormy sea, and we owe each other a terrible loyalty"     ~ G.K. Chesterton

So getting M to use a bottle was a bit challenging the other day. Getting breastfed babies to use a bottle can be a process of teaching. One time M fought it, one time she took it with no problem but Papa is going to be responsible for M for a few hours in a few weeks while I'm working so M needs to be on the bottle-taking train ASAP.

Sunday I went running and I came home to a frustrated M and Papa because someone was screaming at the bottle. I got M calmed down - she likes sitting in the bouncy seat while I take a shower? (yeah I don't get it either) - and then I sat on the couch with her and the bottle and we had a little heart-to-heart that went like this:

M - {whimpering at the bottle}
Me - It is okay; its the same stuff (I had pumped)
M - {screams a little}
Me - {smiling trying to make eye contact}
M - {gnaws on bottle, makes silly faces}
Me - M, it is okay. You aren't cheating on me

Fiercely loyal? M, I am flattered. Yeah we are in this whole motherhood boat together. So does that make me the captain and M (and E and R) the sailors?

After a few more minutes of fighting the bottle M took the bottle without too much of a fight. We'll be having bottle practice times every night for the next few weeks!

While I'm on my M soapbox, she is so cute and getting so so so big! I cannot even believe it. She can be super smiley and coos when you make eye contact with her. She loves it when I say, 'Did you make a stink'? She thinks it is super silly and that gets big grins out of her!

7 Quick Takes - An M Update

It has been 5.5 weeks since she's been born.. here's what's going on with little M

--- 1 ---

Just within the past week M started to smile. It is precious. I have unsuccessfully been able to capture said smiles.

--- 2 ---

M is a great little sleeping partner. She'll get up twice in the night to feed and then go back to sleep which translate into lots of sleep for Mama - I am forever grateful for the sleep 

--- 3 ---

I really have taken pictures of her with our real camera. She's generally okay with having her picture taken and she was pretty okay with having her Christmas picture taken - but no a fan of all the commotion while trying to take a sisters pic!

--- 4 ---

M is generally really quiet and a great little trooper a work - mainly because she sleep a large chunk of the time. She likes to sleep in the Beco carrier which I'm pretty okay with. Sometimes I can get her to sleep in the bouncy seat but I enjoy the snuggles in the Beco too.

--- 5 ---

Every morning is an adventure. M is super patient - with me - as I get the big girls going for school (most of the time Papa has been around). When he is not and M is hungry and R is hungry and E is doing her morning thing... it can get a bit dicey. So I priortize needs and screaming levels. R usually takes the cake and if I can get E and R eating then M has a long stretch of eating time.

Then its off to the races at school drop off. Can we say drop off line when it is 35 and pouring? In my dreams : ) Well fortunately M sleeps through most drop offs courtesy of the JJ Cole Bundle Me car seat insert. I just zip that up put a blanket over the whole carseat, lock it into the stroller, E and R scream (sometimes) over who is holding onto which side of the stroller (because that's the only way to survive a busy parking lot with 2 mobile kids), and we walk. I really need a picture of myself every morning I get them into school because seriously it is a feat. 

The big girls love M. They are very concerned when she cries or when she eats. First thing R does in the morning is search for the 'baaay-beeeee' - instead of her cup so M is provide excellent distraction!

--- 6 ---

I seriously was unsure about loving M's name before she was born - maybe because the boy name we had was over the top fantastic - guess we'll save that one for a raining day. Anyways, as soon as I saw Papa hold M and talk to her and call her M - I knew it was perfect. I love to watch him with M. The way he talks to her and loves her (and the other girls) is awesome.

--- 7 ---

I cannot believe how big she is getting and how much she is changing. At two weeks she was already 1 pound more than her birth weight. I can't imagine how much she is now! No one can figure out who she looks like - so you'll just have to stay tuned to find out!

                                                  

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!