First Tooth

Elizabeth's first tooth cut through on Monday.  I don't have any pictures because it is on the bottom and she covers it up with her tongue every time she opens her mouth.  If this one is any indication, teething is going to be harder with her.  She had a fever for a little over 24 hours before it came through and has been really stuffed up for days (although it is always possible that she simultaneously has a cold).

Five Years Old

Nicholas turned 5 on Monday!  5 is such a big landmark.  He is entering the next phase of life: elementary school, team sports, and a host of things I haven't even thought of yet.  And his birthday presents reflected this new stage: magic tricks, a bike, a bank for his allowance.  I am excited for much of this new stage but also wistful to leave the preschool years behind.  In the preschool years I could shelter him and protect him and everyone cut him a lot of slack.  I hope the world out there is good to him.

Since this blog is really my only record anymore, here is a brief snapshot of Nicholas at 5:

• He alternates between little kid and big kid.  He isn't in the middle, but rather is one and then 2 hours later is the other.  He can be super responsible and helpful but he also has meltdowns and needs Mommy hugs when his feelings are hurt.  He almost always rises to the occasion and is awesome when it counts and we put him in all sorts of situations where he does way better than a kid of his age could be expected to (full-length musicals, for example), but getting out of the house in the morning is often a disaster.  His favorite things to watch are HGTV, the Food Network, and Frozen.
• He loves his little sister but resents how much attention she gets.  He seems to have decided (although I'm sure it wasn't that conscious) to try to get attention as it reflects off of her.  Which is to say that if people are paying attention to her or commenting on how cute she is, he will jump in and try to make her smile (often by acting like a maniac).  It makes complete sense--if he can show that he is her favorite and she is a rock star, then that makes him special too, right?
• His memory is amazing.  He can memorize whole songs and complete dialogs from movies after hearing them just a few times and gets the intonations spot on.  He has been watching an instructional video that came with the magic tricks an aunt and uncle gave him for his birthday and when he performs the tricks he does the magician's complete shtick (including often the instructional commentary)!
• He can read quite a bit but it is hard to know how much because it is virtually impossible to convince him to sit down and read a book to you.  But he was able to read the titles for most of the songs on the Frozen soundtrack listing and most of the words on the birthday cards he got.  I wish I understood his resistance to books.  He loves being read to but refuses to read them out loud to us.
• He is at his best when he has a job to do or is learning something new.  He is one of the best behaved kids on the teeball team and I have yet to see him get caught up in other kids' craziness or attitude.  It is like looking at the Nicholas of 2 years ago and night and day from his behavior at soccer just a couple months ago.  My best guess is that it has to do with the fact that he is paying such close attention to what is happening in the game and the instructions he is being given.  Similarly, he has been amazing with learning magic.  It keeps his attention for hours if we let him go and he is extremely focused.
• His writing and spelling have gotten pretty good, but as with reading, it is a battle to get him to use them and practice.
• He absolutely loves playing outside.  And I'm pretty sure his favorite thing to play outside is baseball with Daddy.
• He can do so much himself when he is willing to (and when we give him the space to).  My goal for the summer is to be better about reassessing what he is actually able to do and letting him try.  He has recently begun asking to make his own breakfast and he can actually do quite a bit.  And if he can have a job that involves taking care of Elizabeth in some way, it is heaven for him.  Empowerment.  I need to get better at it.
• He has a sweet heart and absolutely takes my breath away sometimes with kind gestures.
• He has lost two teeth (the middle bottom two) and the new ones have almost completely grown in.
• He is super excited about kindergarten and getting to go to elementary school.
• He is really excited about the new house, but not about getting his own room (because he loves his baby sister just that much).  I think he is most excited about having a back yard and all the outdoor activities that come with it.

From 2014 May

Something Else

"Can I change your diaper without you eating the changing pad?"

A day with Elizabeth.

Show and Tell

Nicholas took Elizabeth to show and tell today (favorite bug="Bug-a-boo") and it has prompted me to reflect on what a good big brother he is and how much more he is able to really do in that role now that she is older (and sturdier).  He plays with her, gets her toys, feeds her (even when we don't really want her to have more puffs), reads her stories, and yesterday even tried to blow her nose (FAIL).  I'm so proud of him!
Show and tell:

From 2014 May

From 2014 May

From 2014 May

And other recent examples:

From 2014 May

From 2014 May

Elizabeth's Baptism

Elizabeth's baptism was a week and a half ago but I just haven't had time to write a post.  We had such a great weekend.  Both sets of our parents were in town and Elizabeth's godparents and their son came in for 4 whole days!  You know that they are great friends because we had 7 people (including 3 kids under 5) in 900 sq ft for 4 days and it was wonderful and we were super-sad to see them go.

I wish we had been allowed to take videos (or even pictures) during the mass itself because Elizabeth was a trip.  She sat through the homily holding onto the pew in front of her and staring intently at the priest.  She then was silent and focused during the baptism.  The priest joked that maybe she'll be the first female priest, given how interested in the whole thing she was.  (And she does tend to love grace before dinner!)

My mom made Elizabeth's baptism dress and I am absolutely in love with it.  She used the same pattern she used for Nicholas' baptism outfit and I love that they are similar and yet unique:

From 2014 May

From 2014 May

I couldn't find any pictures from Nicholas' baptism that showed the full outfit well, but this one gives a pretty good idea.  It has the same pleated front and collar as the dress, but the sleeves are straight instead of gathered and it is shorts instead of a dress.

A few of my favorite pictures from her baptism:

From 2014 May

From 2014 May

From 2014 May

From 2014 May

6 Months

Elizabeth is 6 months old!  And getting so big so quickly.  Even just in the last 4 days since she turned 6 months she seems to have made some additional leaps forward.  So here is a snapshot of Elizabeth at 6 months:

• She is sitting up on her own with no support.  And just in the last week she has gotten sturdy enough that we no longer put cushions around or behind her.  In fact I'll now sit her up with some toys and work on something on the other side of the room, far out of arms reach.
• She is starting to try to figure out how to crawl.  She is nowhere near having it yet, but she gets her feet up under her and seems to know that there is a way to move from that position, given that she gets very mad that she isn't moving.
• She is eating soft table foods (small pieces of banana, canned yams) and the baby finger foods (puffs, yogurt melts, rice crackers) and she much prefers these to being fed with a spoon (which she tries to steal).  Or a bottle.  Or nursing.  Nursing is becoming more difficult because she wants real food or to just be looking around.  If she keeps this up much longer she won't have a choice because my supply will adapt.  But she really should continue to get the bulk of her calories from breastmilk for the next few months.  She just wants to be a big kid so badly!  But with no teeth there are limits to what she can actually eat.
• She loves her family so much!  She gets so excited to see us when we come to pick her up at daycare and it absolutely melts my heart how happy she is to see me and how clearly she asks to be picked up (by panting and wiggling her legs frantically).  And she worships her big brother.
• Speaking of wanting to be a big kid, she likes Nicholas' toys more than most of her own.  She still plays with them the same way (by chewing on them).  Her favorite toy right now is Nicholas' doll house and the Little People that go with it.  And, actually, Nicholas has outgrown it and never plays with it anymore so it may be time to start referring to it as her dollhouse.  Given how far apart they are in age it surprises me how many toys will actually just transition from one to the other.  That is probably a sign that we left toys out longer than Nicholas was really playing with them.  But it has come in handy when we've had friends with younger kids over.
• She has liked to sleep on her side for awhile now and usually ended up that way even though we put her down on her back.  In the last week she has started sleeping on her belly instead.  This of course sends me into a panic but I'm not sure what to do.  I rolled her over a few nights when I found her that way but then that wakes her up, I spend somewhere between 20 minutes and 2 hours getting her back to sleep, and then she rolls back onto her stomach almost immediately anyway.  Have we mentioned that this girl is stubborn?  I do sneak into her room with a flashlight to check on her quite often, but I'm not sure what else to do.
• In just the last week she has started sleeping much longer stretches.  The first night I thought it was a random night, but she has now done 4 of the last 5 nights only getting up twice.  We shall see.
• Elizabeth loves jumping!  Nicholas loved the jumper but he mostly used it as a place to hang out and play with toys.  When he jumped it was almost accidental.  Elizabeth jumps up a storm.  I am contemplating getting her one of the jumpers that attaches to the doorframe and put it in the kitchen doorway in the new house so she can jump and I can keep an eye on her while working in the kitchen.  Of course by the time we move in she may be on to a completely different phase.
• She is constantly in motion.  She is incapable of being still.  Joe says she gets that from me.  She wants to be held but spends the entire time she is in your arms leaning to get to things.  When on the floor she is constantly twisting and rolling.  We have given up putting her down on a blanket because she doesn't stay on it.  This was all sorts of fun when travelling.
• We have started putting her directly in carts at the stores since she has become such a good sitter and she loves it!  So much to see!  And everyone talks to her!
• Everyone comments on how smiley Elizabeth is and she really is super-smiley and happy, but that does not equate to easygoing.  She is smiley but she is also spunky and strong-willed and feisty and independent.  She knows what she wants and she is determined to get it.

From 2014 May