Baby at Play

MK is 10-months-old now. She thinks she is big like her siblings. She tried walking last month. Had a nasty fall and is a bit scared to try it again. I'll be honest and say I am glad she is deciding to wait. She is standing up a lot, which makes me think she might fool me and start walking any day now.

It's amazing how the littler ones learn so much from watching the older ones. She is trying to put the big Legos together. She will sit there for a while trying to do this and is holding it the right way. I am guessing it is a coincidence that she is holding the pieces in the right way. Then today at church she got a pen out of my purse. I was going to take it from her, but something said, "Wait. Watch her to see what she does." So, I did. She got a bookmark from out of my scriptures and began to hold the pen with her thumb and fingers. She held it like a seasoned writer. I was amazed. Then she tried to write on my bookmark. Of course, nothing was written since I clicked the pen closed. I watched her for a while to see if I wasn't imagining it. Sure enough she was trying to write. She "played" at writing on the bookmark for....mmmm, I'd say about ten minutes.

I can't wait to see what other things she learns from her siblings. SJ walked faster and talked faster than the other two. Now MK is playing like a big kid. If we have another one, I wonder what amazing things he/she will be doing?

Talking to Yourself

Babies can get away with so much. Can you blame anyone for allowing them this freedom? However, if an adult did the same thing people would think you were loosing it. For example, MK strolled up in her walker to the oven door. She saw her reflection and began to talk to herself. A little while later she was yelling at herself and banging her hands against the door. It was funny and cute, but would it be funny and cute if you saw me doing the same thing? I'm guessing the answer to this would be a BIG FAT NO.

Walker

MK woke up from a nap. Because I was doing the dishes, I put her in the walker. She stayed in the living room, but after a while she was crying. I kept telling her to come into the room, but she would not come. She tried to move, but this only made her more upset. Then I noticed both of her legs were coming out of the same leg hole. Poor baby!

Paper Cuts?

For some time now I was waking up with scratches on my arms. I started seeing them show up on my neck and other areas of my body. Last night I found strange paper cuts on my hands. Maybe I cut myself while doing the dishes? Did I do it while sharpening the knife? I was careful and I know I would have felt it or done worse damage if it was the knife. It just did not make sense to me at all.

I figured it out when I got up to feed MK. I put her in bed to nurse her, which I had been doing for some time now. As I was drifting off to sleep (I thought I was staying awake the entire time during her feeding), I felt a sharp pain on my arm. Yes, she was scratching and pinching me while she ate. I think I know the answer to a question I had asked long ago..."Do kittens hurt their mothers when they nurse?" It's time to give her a manicure before she can turn her "attention" to my face.

MK's Smile

It's hard for me to imagine undergoing what my baby, MK, has gone through with dealing with two surgeries at such a young age. I was expecting baby who constantly cried (I write while she is currently crying in frustration. She can't get to me in the walker. The rug is in the way.), but she surprises me by being the happiest baby I have had to date. She could be hungry and waiting for food, but still manages to smile. My friend told me she worked really hard to get that smile and she is not going to waste her beautiful mouth on frowning. It's no wonder Christ said for us to be like a little child.

Baby Kisses

My little one, MK, has been kissing me lately. She kisses my nose, chin, cheeks, eyes, but it is precious (at least to me it is) because she just opens her mouth. She gets slobber all over me, but I can tell she enjoys kissing me. She laughs every time.

Soon to be 2

My soon to be 2-year-old daughter is having a 'I wish I was still a baby' phase. She gets under the floor play mat and makes the same baby sounds as our 6-month-old. She even manages to get inside of the jumperoo, but then whines when she can't get out.

Poor baby! She has it worse than my other children did when a new baby came along. Where does the time go? It seems like only yesterday she was a little baby herself. I have to remember she is no longer a baby, but a toddler.

Bugs Life

My 22mo was watching 'Bugs Life' and when the ants started clapping and shouting. She joined in on the fun and squealed and clapped. Does she think they are real?

Gray Hair

My oldest two like to pull out my gray hairs. They think it's funny. Sometimes I don't get kid humor. My 22-month-old decided to give it a try one day and proceeded to pull at a handful of hair. She was doing this while jumping onto my back. Ouch!

Baby Toes

My baby girl is starting to play with her toes. This is such a fun time when a baby starts to realize their hands are able to do things. She scratches her head when eating, started kicking her leg and now is playing with her toes. Babies are amazing! OH! She likes to touch my face and I must admit I like it too.

Blinking Eyes

My Child2 loves her 1-month-old baby sister. She is constantly hugging and kissing her. Child4 now sees her coming and begins to brace herself. When I am holding her I can feel her little body tense up and her eyes begin to blink like a hummingbird's wings. Flutter, flutter, flutter!!! I am not sure if it's because of Child3's hugs or not, but you would be closing your eyes if you got poked by a 18-month-old too.

From Brown Skin to ???

Lately, my third child has been putting things in her mouth. Her latest "treats" include: crayons, dirt and dandelions. On Saturday, she was outside playing and came inside with a black hands, mouth and face...thank you potting soil. Today, she was happily sitting on the couch eating a crayon. Her lips, tongue and cheeks were a lovely shade of green, bright green. Thankfully, the dandelions just decorate her lips and face with petals.

My only worry is to find her eating the following: poo, a bug, pee infested anything, and a dead thing found in the yard. I cringe to consider cleaning these off her cheeks, hands and mouth.

Baby Lotion

I was resting in bed (recovering from mastitis, which is very painful) when my 18-month-old daughter came into my room. She likes to lay in the baby's bouncer. I think she is missing her mommy and wants her to get out of bed now. This birth was not kind to my body. Whenever I get up and walk around I have to go right back to bed or sit down.

I could hear her playing quietly and speaking to herself from inside the bouncer. Suddenly, I began to smell the sweet scent of baby fill the air. Curious, I turned to find my third child had spread baby lotion all over her hair and face. She had a soft pink growth at the end of her nose and her curly hair was pasted to her head. She looked up and smiled sweetly and proudly while she began to add more lotion to her hair.

I began to laugh and took a picture. The other children ran into my room to see what was so funny and laughed too, but Daddy was not happy at all. I guess he figured my laughter and the camera encouraged her wasteful behavior. Perhaps he is right, but it was very funny. The best part was when she began to pose happily for her picture. My future lotion model.

New Baby (4th Baby)

I am happy to report the nursing is going well and she is gaining weight. This is a concern because she needs to be able to fatten up before the 'big surgery day'. I realize how strange the following statement is going to sound, but I must add this is how I feel. I really don't want her to have surgery because I am OK with her face. I don't mind the cleft at all. However, I know what pressures women have in society...well, people in general to look a certain way and so, for her benefit she must have the cleft repaired.

I am nervous about the surgery because I have never really left my babies in their first year of life with anyone outside my family. Even when left them with family it was just the amount of time it took to get to the movie theater (5 min.) and the normal movie time. Plus, I've nursed all my children and couldn't leave them alone for very long. Surgery is a burden to your nerves, well, I am thinking it will be since this is my first experience with a child needing one. The idea of how she will look afterwards is unsettling in the extreme. I really don't want to think about it.

We find out next week what will need to be done. We will be going out to meet her treatment team. Then I will not be speculating, but know for sure what we are 'in for'. She is a determined child. Her spirit is strong. She has already begun to master lifting up her head. She tried doing this a few days after birth. It's amazing to me. I know she will have the fight in her to get through this little bump in the road and any other wrench life has to throw at her in the future.

Baby Einstein

I put in Baby Einstein for the baby to watch (everyone is at church) while I tried to get some things done (that is if my swollen feet and legs let me). I did not realize it was scary for her. She did not like the star or the moving stuffed animals. She began to slowly back away from the computer screen until she was in another room. The funny thing is that she did not take her eyes off of the screen. I eventually had to sit with her to watch it. She was so happy I was sitting next to her she began to give me kisses.

E-I-E-I-O

Last night after we put the baby in bed, she took a while to sleep. We heard her talking then she began to sing. She loves Old McDonald's Farm particularly the part of E-I-E-I-O. The only thing better than children singing is a baby singing.

After Time Out

When my oldest daughter got out of time out and while I was telling her what choice to make to keep her out of the corner. The baby came over to her, looked up and saw her face. Then she gave her a hug and a kiss. She loves her siblings.

She is always trying to cheer them up with hugs and kisses. She is such a happy baby!

Choking Baby

The other day I was sitting on the couch (seems like the only thing I can do lately) and my baby came over to sit next to me. I feel she knows her time is running out. She suddenly got up and began to choke me. Then I realized she was hugging me. Then she leaned over and began to give me a series of wet kisses. I just love my baby. She is such a good and loving girl.

Nap Time

I actually got all my children to nap this week. It was a nice change. I tried to nap, but couldn't...joy! So, I watched an old movie on Netflix.com, which was nice since I never get to watch chick flicks. Everyone woke up, started running around the house, but the baby stayed in bed quietly playing. Suddenly, my daughter comes into my room and said something you never want to hear. The baby had taken off her diaper and decided to play. Nice! What a wonderful surprise!

It took me a long time to bath her in our tub. I couldn't reach her (thanks to the giant belly I'm sporting these days) and I was trying to keep her from touching me at the same time. Yuck! Our tub is really high and my belly kept getting in the way. Daddy is currently fixing their bathroom (in all honesty he is trying to figure out how to do it). Someone decided to flush lots of paper, a toy or something. While trying to fix it, Dad turned it into a disaster area and it's now off-limits. The joys of family life! Sometimes things don't go right, but you can definitely laugh about it later.

Diapers

Lovely, just lovely....I went to get my baby out of her crib when she woke-up from her afternoon nap today. She was playing for a while after waking up; then started fussing and calling for her "Mamma, Mamma!"


I went in and smelled why she was calling me. The only problem was that she took off her pants and diaper. Thankfully, she did not play in it like my other daughter did when she pulled this stunt. You've just gotta love it when they try to be helpful.