Friends

I feel like I've written my fair share of posts about "how hard mothering two is... blah blah blah."  In the middle of those hard days, I always thought:  "This has to get better, otherwise people would never have more children."  

Friends and family, I think I am slowly but surely reaching that place.  I am finally beginning to reap the benefits of having two children who are both young and close in age.

This picture (^) was taken last week while Emma stayed in the bathroom after nap time (I told her she could keep her nap diaper on as long as she stayed in there).  I placed Little Byron outside the bathroom, put a few toys between them, and the rest is history...

They sat there playing peacefully with each other for about 30 minutes.  Every once in a while I would peek in on them to see that they were in no mischief.

This is just one of many recent examples.

Yesterday, while Emma was sitting on the potty doing #2 (and taking her sweet time while at it, btw), she requested that LB sit outside the bathroom so she could see him.

This morning, while getting ready to go to MOPS, I sat Byron on the playroom rug, and Emma went over there with him.  While she didn't know I was watching, I saw her hug him and kiss him and say:  "I love you baby Byron."

So thankful that they have each other.

Makeup

While doing some Spring cleaning around the house the other day, I decided to finally discard some eye shadow makeup I hadn't used in well over a year.  I thought it would be fun to give it to Emma for a little bit for her to play with.  I honestly thought she would try to put some on her eye.  She instead decided to put it all over her face.  Like this:

Behind every great big sister, is an adoring baby brother.

 Even mommy got some nice makeup, courtesy of Emma Girl.

Sick children

We've had a rough couple of days.  Two sick children, combined with little sleep and Daylight Savings have made for two days I wish I could completely erase from my life.  The stress that comes with sick children is beyond words, and trying to force antibiotics down their throats twice a day is not for the faint at heart.

I've already talked about LB's ear infection in a previous post.  So on to Emma...

Emma began coughing during the night over the weekend.  This evolved into a cold, then mucus coming out of her eyes, and finally a double ear infection.  She was so pitifully sick yesterday, that even though she has been weaned from her pom for about 6 months now, she asked for it again.  I could not bare not giving it to her, if this meant she could be comforted a little.  I found an old one, and I was amazed of how quickly she took it in.

(thankfully, it does not look like she has regressed with it.  We put it away again this morning and we have not talked about it since)

Memma has been able to help me a little through these hard times, and when she is not around and Byron is still at work, between the TV and Little Byron being entertained in his crib, I have been able to hug and comfort my little girl.

more books!

We saw my sister two weekends ago, which meant we finally got our Christmas gifts from family in Mexico.  One of the gifts were these four books given to Baby Byron from my Aunt Susy-- my dad's youngest sister.  Of course, Emma loves to read them herself, and when she asks--

E:  who gives those?

Me:  Tia Susy.

E:  Tia Sucio? 

(ha ha!)

 

Reading books together in the kitchen after breakfast.

Rolling pin

Emma received her long-awaited Christmas gift from Oma-- a little rolling pin!  She was happy to get to use it soon after getting it, helping mommy crush some graham crackers for a cheese cake.

Sit-up

As of last week, our little man can now sit-up on his own.  This milestone has allowed life to become slightly easier, since I can now set him up wherever without him becoming aggravated at me (the way he did when I would lie him down on the floor).

I love how they both have the same facial expression.

And a general update on Baby Byron:

-  He is 7 months old today, and hates to eat anything other than his mama's milk *sigh*  I have tried all sorts of things, the most recent one breaking down and buying some (expensive!) baby wafers and cereal (I never bought these for Emma, but a desperate, and sleepless mama will do anything at this point).  

-  He has been an incredible sleeper since he was 6 weeks old.  For months and months he would sleep 8-10 hour long stretches.  But recently, he has regressed to waking 2-3 times at night.  He wakes up screaming (also very unusual).  We put him on some antibiotics (related to an ear infecting), and things have improved, but still not where I wish they were.  I also think that him still being exclusively breastfed is affecting his sleep (or lack there of).

-  Little Byron can also now stand up on both feet on his own if we hold his hands.

-  Still no teeth.

Kangaroo pouch

Last Sunday, after getting Emma ready for church, we all of a sudden saw her walking around with this elephant inside her dress.  Walking around saying:  "baby kangaroo, Emma carrying baby kangaroo."

I have no earthly idea where she learned about kangaroos and their pouches, but apparently she has!

(does she seem incredibly grown-up in this picture, or is it just me?)

6 months

Once again, better late than never--

Baby Byron's six-month Johnny Bear picture.

My handsome boy!

Six-month check-up numbers:

Weight:  17 lbs 10 oz (55%)

Length:  26 5/8 inches (50%)

Head size:  17.5 in (80%)

As you can tell, we make very average-size children (Emma is very average as well).

Emma's Johnny Bear pic

Emma's numbers

Boy cousins

I kept cousin Ames the other morning for a couple of hours.  Emma and Ames are incredible friends, but Ames has a special spot in his heart for his baby cousin Byron.  Ames is a typical little boy-- never stands still.  He is a bullet!  I had to take a nap after he left, and let me tell you something-- I do not take naps!

I thought this was a funny picture, because this moment (him holding BB) were the only four consecutive minutes I saw him be still.

Though Emma and Ames are good friends, I do wonder if Ames' good relationship will shift towards BB away from Emma as time goes by.

Funny faces

One of my favorite books I've been reading lately is The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarckson.  It has been an incredible blessing, and has encouraged me as a mother beyond (almost) anything else I've heard or read in the past 2.5 years.

One of the things that hit home for me in reading this book was learning how to make the "mundane" special.  How to make every-day things memorable for our children.

With the idea coming from a post I saw on a college-friend's blog, I decided to begin making "funny faces" (as Emma likes to call them) for our meals.

Meal time is more exciting and extra special, simply because I now take a little extra time putting some "love" into our little girl's plate.

My Bible-reading girl

I was in the kitchen the other day, and all of the sudden heard a little voice say:  "Jonah, Jesus loves, Joshua, Jericho, Baby Jesus."  I turned the corner, and this is what I found:

A little girl "reading" her baby brother's bible Poppa gave him on his baptism.  

My heart is encouraged when I see this for so many reasons:

1.  Children imitate what we do, and the fact that she imitates us reading our Bibles is incredibly uplifting for this tired and worn out mama.

2.  This is what it means for our children to inherit our Faith-- that they would never know what it's like not to love the Lord with all their heart, and that one day they would own that Faith as their own.

3.  Emma is beginning to seek Jesus' help.  I don't think she knows she is doing it, or what it means for her to do it, but we have been trying to teach her to pray to Jesus to help her get through her difficult terrible-two tantrums.

ps-- if you read between the lines of #3, you'll know that mothering this little girl has been a bit of a challenge lately. 

My Boy

Love this sweet little face!