Kimba

June: 8 months

June Bug is 8 months old! Or was! I am continually behind, and this blog is slowly turning into an all-June-all-the-time blog. Some day I'll figure out how to rearrange my life so that a few other things get accomplished besides feeding, clothing, and cleaning. 

June decided this month that maybe she'd try something besides sitting on her bum all day. Like, hey! Rolling! FInally she figured out how to get from back to tummy (tummy to back came a week or so later). 

Except there are consequences for that. The first time she did it (I mean first time since she did it around 4 months!) was during a nap of course, and then after a few minutes of thinking she was pretty awesome, realized she couldn't roll back over to her favorite side-sleeping position. It was an annoying few weeks actually, trying to decide if I make her cry or go in and roll her back over. After a while she gave up and would just Face Nap. 

It's a thing apparently, and it has consequences. 

She Face Napped, causing her mother some anxiety, for several days before she figured out how to roll back over. And I rejoiced. 

But! The best new trick? Especially beloved by her Daddy? Her first consonant sound, Dada. 

 

There's so way Caleb can resist her now. It was bad before, but it's all over now. He'll do and give her anything. 

Another new development is that we moved her to the tub, she out-splashed the kitchen sink. I liked bathing her there, but the bonus is that now the kids can bathe together, which they both love. Here's a horrible photo of her first big girl bath. 

She loves those little foam Boon toys. They're the perfect teethers too! She spends 98% of her bath with one dangling out of her mouth while she plays with the rest. She's a kook. 

She started to get really good at rolling around toward the end of the month and can pretty much roll and turn herself enough to get anywhere. Not crawling yet, but just barely started to push up a bit! It won't be long before she's getting into everything. Suddenly I'm looking around the house and realizing I didn't think about baby proofing when I unpacked. It's about to get real around here!

She's still up about twice a night, or maybe once if I can get her to go back to bed until 7. She's loving sweet potatoes and pears, apples and butternut squash. Looooves rice cereal, which is crazy because it tastes like nothing. She's such a little sweetheart, loves to be held and will even cuddle a little, which is something Wyatt never did. And we love it. She loves her Daddy, loves Wyatt, gets so excited to play with them when Caleb comes home from work. We just love our little Missy and can't imagine life without her!

June: 7 months

7 months! So many things happened in just one month, and of course the holidays made it all go by so quickly. 

Probably the biggest milestone was trying food. She took to rice cereal right away, loves it in fact, which is so opposite of how Wyatt was. She tried peas first, and as expected, didn't love it. I've been adding it to rice cereal every now and then, and she accepts it. Mostly. What is it with peas?! They're fresh! I puree them myself! With Wyatt, he hated them until he could eat them whole and has loved them ever since. Crazy kids. 

Apples and sweet potatoes soon followed, and she enjoyed both of those. Although sweet potatoes remain her favorite! 

June was also involved in the sickness, (pinkeye and then a cold a while later) and sadly, during the cold she also cut a tooth! But! I didn't know! So she suffered through without any Tylenol or Oragel. Poor girl. She wasn't a happy camper and cried every time I wiped her nose or walked away. 

The drama is here, people. Girl drama! This girl gets her feelings hurt and a cuddle is the only way she'll calm down. She'll have periods of time that I can walk away and do something in the kitchen while she plays on the living room floor (we have an open floor plan and she can see me even!), but largely she isn't happy with it. She'd much rather be up in her Bumbo in front of me while I work, or better yet, in my arms. Girls. Apparently. 

She also sat in the front of the shopping cart for the first time, at her first Trader Joe's visit, naturally. 

She rather enjoyed herself, but it hasn't happened since because it's been SO DANG COLD, she's much warmer cuddled in her infant seat with the blanket on that strapped into the front. So that's where she's been and probably will continue to be until it warms up a little bit. (It was under 30 degrees pretty much this entire month. Most days in the teens.) 

She's perfected her sit, awhile ago actually, but has yet to roll. Pretty much at all. I mean, she did it several months ago, but not consistently. She's still perfectly content to sit and look adorable and play with what she can reach. So different from Wyatt, who at this age was rolling all over the place and getting ready to crawl. She's taking milestones slow, and we're kindof okay with that! 

She is the sweetest little girl, and loves being near by and playing with Wyatt, and looooooves when Daddy holds her and chases Wyatt around. If the boys are playing, she gets very excited and wants in. 

Oh, and I had to share this. My sister turned June into an elf at Christmas. We all died. Cutest elf ever! We love you, Junie Bug!

December Advent

December! What a whirlwind, in more ways than one. More baking than I've probably done in my life, that Costco bag of flour definitely came in handy. 

My mom gave me an early Christmas gift, an adorable advent calendar, and each morning Wyatt ran to it to find a little piece of candy and a slip of paper with a fun Christmasy activity on it for us to do today. It was a lot of fun, though we shot ourselves in the foot with it. 

Wyatt woke up before 7 all month long. Shocker! 

We had fun anyway. Despite the fact that all month long I ran on very little sleep. 

How about a months worth of activities and pictures? Yes? 

It was, as you can see, an excellent month regardless. Wyatt decided he'd like to start the advent all over again. I told him mommy needed at least a year break. 

(hint: click on the pictures to see a larger version)

June: 6 months

Well, the last month (and a bit more) could basically be summed up with one word: sick. This household has had colds, pink eye, sinus infections, and pneumonia. It's been a doozy. Here's hoping 2013 treats us right!

Well, I'm a bit late, but I'm going to try and restrict it to just her 6 month mark. Because I'm anal like that. By 6 months she was FIIIIIIIINALLY napping better. Huge, gigantic relief for this mama, let me tell you what. Usually an hour to an hour and a half at 9 am, and then again between 12:30-1. A 3rd nap happening between 3:30-4ish, for about 30-40 minutes, and then down for the night between 6-7. I know it's crazy, but here I am, Kid #2, and still a stickler for schedule. We're a little more fluid with her third nap, on weekends it often happens in the car, but sleep is so important. Thus, the kids and I have been home bodies these days. We do all our outings between her naps, and usually just in the morning. Most days though, we don't leave at all. I'll save up my Target run and go by myself after the kids are in bed. 

That's when you know you're a mom, when solo Target outings are exciting. 

Her nights are still the same, up around midnight and 4-5, but she started sleeping in until 7 again. 

Her 6 months stats are 16.9 lbs and 27 inches. Still big and tall! Although she did level out a bit in the weight department. 

She's sitting up very well, but STILL not rolling. No teeth. Just content to sit and be an adorable little blob. 

June went on her first long car ride, we drove to Colorado Springs to spend Thanksgiving with my cousins. She did fantastic on the way there, only getting fussy during the last hour. The way back? Well. She remembered the car, let's just say that. 

So I sat back there, squished between her carseat and Wyatt's, doing whatever I could to keep her happy. She did great there, in fact, that's where she started taking her long naps. Specifically, the morning we were all waiting for her to wake up so we could head to the zoo. Naturally. 

She did get to meet her fellow little cousin, the next generation of friends! Maybe one day we'll send them back and forth to visit each other the way I used to do with her mom. 

We're smitten with this little June Bug! 

Blogher & P&G: Gift of great skin!

 

This past year has wreaked havoc on my skin. We've got the stress of building and moving in to our home, the stress and natural consequences of being pregnant and then having a baby, and then of course, consistent sleep loss for the last 6 months and counting. It's no wonder it looks like it's taken a beating - it has! 

Also not helping? Nearing 30. 30! The point where I need to start taking my skin care seriously. I can't continue to use super cheap products hoping to see results. It's sort of like me saying I'm going to be better at posting - but then continue on in my lazy way. 

Still trying! One day it'll happen again. With frequency!

So I'm excited about BlogHer's recent pair up with DDF, and I love that they have different products for different skin types and issues. It makes sense to go with what works for ME, instead of buying something wrong for my skin. 

I filled out their skin care questionnaire and they recommended products for my personal skin type and concerns. Dry skin! With some uneven-ness. Their products are on the pricier end, but they've got an awesome promotion going on, the second product you buy is 50% off! Head on over and use promotion code 2013DDFSKIN. It's good until the end of January, and they always have free shipping. Which is awesome, for some reason I hate to pay for shipping! 

Their second promotion, and the one I'm most excited about, is their *fantastic*, greatly reviewed Revolve 400x, a micro-polishing system. It has different heads, one for every day cleaning and polishing, and one use twice a week with their microdermabrasion polisher. Originally $98, they're giving it to BlogHer fans for only $45! Also good until the end of January, use promotion code DDFMICRODERMA, and again, enjoy their free shipping. I don't currently own a microdermabrasion tool and have been wanting one for awhile. Sounds like waiting actually paid off! That never happens to me. 

Love that this is rolling out right before the holidays - perfect for those last-minute-gift-buying husbands! Or hey, get it yourself and give yourself the gift of beautiful skin.

Happy New Year to me! 

June: 5 months

Another month! Thankfully we're over the sleep regression, she's back to sleeping at night. Woo! Which means I am too. She's usually up around midnight and sometime between 4-5. And lately she's been trying to get up at 6, and I've been forcing her back to bed until at least 7.....hoping that ends soon cause it's not awesome. She stays on schedule, and I am awake at 6! 

Ideally I'd like us all to sleep in until 7. Both my children seem to be on a mission against it. 

Her naps are now all over the place. Mostly 30 minutes, which is KILLING me, and killing our schedule. Sometimes she'll sleep for 45 or even a rare hour and twenty. Last Saturday she slept for 2.5 hours....it was so crazy I finally went to check on her and it woke her up. Who knows how long she would have kept sleeping! Unfortunately it was short lived. Though I'm working with her, which means making her cry a bit till she falls asleep again. Let me tell you, that's not for the faint of heart. I go in occasionally and put her binki back in, but oh man it's hard to hear her cry! 

Caleb can't handle it. He just gets her up if I'm gone. 

She loves that piggy. Sweetest thing. 

She is still not rolling. I mean, she's done it, but seems to have no ambitions to do it again. Back to front though, she's about 90%. And somehow she manages to move around if I leave her on the ground for a few minutes. I was just realizing today how fast this is all going, just a month until we can start giving her cereal! Until she starts to sit up on her own! Until she's halfway to 1!! 

How is she already this big!? 

She's been teething lately, gumming everything she can get her little mouth on and turning into a little fuss bucket in the afternoons. She wants to be held and she wants to chew your finger off. 

Man, she's so sweet though. She started blowing raspberries which is probably the cutest thing ever. She also sucks on her two fingers, as shown, which produces the worlds most adorable sound.  

Yes I'm her mom, and yes I am biased. 

Yesterday, in honor of her 5th month of life (and mostly because momma was gonna be busy taking care of a drugged up Wyatt) we brought up the bouncy seat. This is about when we put it together for Wyatt because we were moving into our new house in California and I needed him to be entertained for a bit so I could unpack. 

She loves it, likes to be able to see us and what's going on. 

She loves Caleb and Wyatt and gets so excited when either of them are around. She's the sweetest little girl and everyone at this house is just smitten with her. Junie Bug fever! We've all caught it. It's hard not to, she's irresistable. 

Just for fun, I've been going back to read through Wyatt's monthly updates, look how similar and different they are! Wyatt was napping longer and had found his feet already. June hardly requires her binki except at nap times, and it's clear here Wyatt had it alot. They do certainly come with their own little personalities, don't they? 

We feel so lucky we get to be her family. 

Waking up

They said he'd probably sleep for a good part of the day. The anesthesiologists assistant told me to make sure and wake him every hour, to check on him and make sure he's not up all night. The anesthesiologist said today would be a hang out day, a lay on the couch day. 

You wanna know how long he was groggy after the appointment was done? Approximately an hour and a half. By two hours, he was getting back to his old self again. Requesting food. 

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The dental work went as planned and when they let me back in the room to be with him as he woke up, they went over everything I'd need to know and then we just sort of sat there trying to get him to wake up a bit. It wasn't really working. He'd move, sometimes try to sit up, only to go boneless and start softly snoring again. After a few minutes I gave up and just told him we were going home and heaved his little body up and into my car. I chatted with him on the way home, told him how proud I was of him and that we were going home and Daddy would be there for a bit. He answered by occasionally opening his eyes for a second. 

We got him home and set up a nice little bed for him on the couch. He moved around quite a bit, and tried to sit up - a no no, since he was still mostly boneless. Since June is also teething, Caleb could see this might be difficult alone and said he'd stay until she went down for a nap. This proved to be wise, since not 3 minutes later he threw up. And then went back to sleep. 

Caleb continued to read to Wyatt out of his Lego Star Wars sticker book, Wyatt only having enough energy to slowly point to which character he wanted Caleb to read to him about. Then he'd close his eyes again. It was kindof adorable. 

After I fed June and put her down I came out to find Wyatt awake and talking. He wanted food. Are you surprised? I gave him some of the Jello Jigglers I made him (this being the first time I've ever made them...did you know it calls for 4 boxes?!) and he proceeded to wriggle them and slur his words about them wiggling. While Caleb and I ate lunch he'd hold up his bowl, which still lying on the couch, and ask for more crackers. That's what he ate all day long, crackers. Trader Joes Cinnamon Storybook crackers. Nearly the entire bowl. I did once get him to eat a little cottage cheese, but mostly he just ate crackers until dinner. 

Those crackers fueled him though. He was a little wobbly for a bit, I had to keep telling him to lay back down so he wouldn't fall again, but his mind was alert and he wanted to play. Minutes after Caleb left for work he was using his green blanket as a Sea Monster costume. The little dude was back. 

Going under

A month ago Wyatt had his first dentist appointment, a milestone for sure, albeit a bit late. Meant to do it a year ago, but it kept getting put on the back burner, behind building our house, moving into our house, putting a yard and sprinklers in, and having a baby. 

He did awesome, no fear, sat up in his little chair giggling at Kung Fu Panda on the screen above him and chatting with the hygeniest about being Spiderman for Halloween. 

His teeth however, weren't so cooperative. 

Appears he has my poor enamel, and despite brushing his teeth twice a day since his first tiny tooth popped up at 6 mths, he has several cavities. Two deep enough that they require a baby root canal. It was either that or pull them, but they just so happened to be his two front teeth. 

Naturally, right? 

And I just couldn't do it - couldn't have this kid walk around for the next, what, 3 or 4 years? Longer? Without his two front teeth. Maybe partial vanity, but mostly for his own sense of well-being. I know what it feels like to be made fun of for your looks and I promised myself ages ago if I could help it, I would do whatever it took to help my kids avoid that. 

Since he's so young, nearly 4 (on Sunday!), he's going to be given anesthesia. Both nerve-wracking and relieving for me, but the worst part for him? He won't be able to eat in the morning. Clear juices until 7:30, and then nothing until after his 9:30 appointment. 

You don't want to be here tomorrow morning when I remind him he can't eat. It's not going to be pretty. 

So tonight I told him he could have whatever he wanted for dinner (in hopes that he'd actually eat it and fill up) and of course he picked macaroni and cheese. Surprising? No. 

With grapes and Trader Joe's Cinnamon Letter crackers. (A current obsession) Wish us luck! Hopefully the only noteworthy happening will be some funny loopy footage. 

Chilly

Spent a wonderful cozy evening with family in Heber. Wonderful end to a crazy snowy weekend! Hope your Sunday was just as lovely! 

Gift Guide for Her

I love to shop. A Lot. And since I don't have millions of dollars (and I could probably spend millions) I find myself doing a lot of window shopping. Online shopping. Catalogue shopping. I love finding pretty things, even if those things are a little ridiculous and frivolous. I could spend HOURS in Paper Source, for instance. Nothing in there is really needed, but everything is gorgeous and well thought out and perfect. 

So I thought I'd start putting together little gift guides for the holidays, both practical and unpractical. Of course. Enjoy! 

1 Mochithings Poste Smartphone Wallet 2 AreaWare Alarm Clock 3 Jonathan Adler Hedgehog 4 Khujo Hollyhock Cardigan 5 Chanel Rainbow Polish