B & A Stories: Current and Past Happenings, Pt. 1

On Monday, we spent over an hour playing hide and seek with the kids. Rather, Ben and I competed against each other to see who could out-hide the other person with their kid-partner (I had Emily, he had Andrew and we switched who had Amelia with each game). It was fun. More fun than I've had in a long time.

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Amelia turned 2 months like 2 weeks ago. I can't believe that only 2 months ago she was a tiny newborn. She is not so tiny anymore. She is also not colicky anymore. She has turned into a sweet, happy baby.

Weight: 11 lbs. 4 oz.
Height: 23 in.
Head circumference:

- turns her head when she hears any of her family members' voices - mine, Ben, Emily and Andrew
- smiles when we talk to her
- coos and semi-giggles when playing in her bouncy seat
- gives a little scream when she wants us to play with her
- enjoys tummy time by lifting her head and smiling at us
- likes to be swaddled
- sleeps with me at night and at nap time
- likes to be held at all times (which is why she sleeps with me instead of in a crib)
- nurses every 1.5 - 3 hours, including at night
- takes around 4 - 5 "naps" during the day (rarely sleeps longer than 2.5 hours, even at night)
- loves bath time and taking showers with her dad

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All the kids got sick this week, starting last Saturday. This has resulted in sleepless nights and grumpy children. Currently, only Amelia is feeling really crappy. Emily and Andrew just have snotty noses.

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Over the summer, when life crashed around me because I was pregnant and on bed rest and everything that went with that, lots of stuff happened that I failed to record. I'll have to break it up into a few posts, but I will catch up soon.

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Event One: Bye Bye Binky

Emily said good-bye to her binky (pacifier). She has been attached to that thing for so long that I can't believe I failed to talk about it. It was her solace at night forever and she would use it all day if she could (which I let her because I was pregnant and tired and we had just moved). We had tried various things, only allowing her to use it at night; singing Elmo's song, "bye bye binky;" telling her that she is big and doesn't need a binky (which didn't fly because she actually doesn't want to be a big girl); and promising all sorts of presents if she just let go. Nothing worked and I gave up.

Bu one night, when we couldn't find any (which is very typical of pacifiers) we decided to wean her off of it. When she asked for it, we told her we didn't have any and we couldn't go to the store to buy one. We held her. We played music for her. We promised a special treat in the morning.

And she made it through that night. Then another, and another, and another. Soon - and remarkably so for her and me - her binky was a distant memory.

Event Two: Messes

Pregnancy plus school left me very occupied. So much so that Emily and Andrew were quite adept at taking advantage of my busyness and making as many messes as possible.

Exhibit 1a: Flour

One day, while I was in the bathroom, Emily and Andrew got into the flour and decided to cook. The result left me praising our wood floors.

Exhibit 1b: Make-up

The kids have found my make-up on several occasions, but one particular day they found it and used every last bit, destroying at least $50 dollars worth of product. It was quite depressing. (Still can't laugh about that one.)

Exhibit 1c: Bubbles

Andrew and Emily like to dump all the soap into the sink and make a huge bubble mess. This has happened several times but I haven't always taken pictures of it.

Exhibit 1d: Eating

Not really a "mess" but sometimes the kids' messy faces have me laughing.

Exhibit 1f: Camera

Not really a mess either, but Emily does get hold of my camera at time and takes random pictures.

Event Three: Zoo Trips

During the summer, we visited the zoo at least once a week (sometimes I made trips during the week as well). It's possibly our favorite place to go during the week. We've gone so many times that the kids can tell you where each exhibit is. Smart kids.

Event Four: Park Visits

When things weren't so crazy, and I wasn't put on bed rest, the kids and I made sure to visit our park regularly. (Our park is over 2 miles, a dozen hills, and 4 busy streets away which means that I can't walk to it, unfortunately.) It was fun. I miss being able to do that.

Event Five: Haircut

Andrew had his annual hair cut over the summer in which we cut off his long, curly locks. He was devastated. I thought he looked so cute.

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I have other pictures from the summer which I need to post.

Random Pictures 1: Bath Time

Bath time is a favorite time around here. It was especially nice when I could barely move so I would sit on the toilet and let them play.