East Sixth: McCutie Update

I took a bit of an accidental hiatus over the past two months. Mostly due to the craziness of the holidays, going back to work, and managing two kids when I'm home. I have to say I am egg-sauce-ted at the end of the day and go to bed at 9 or 10 every night. But, on the good side, I'm absolutely LOVING being a mom of two; there has been nothing more wonderful in my life than the gift of becoming a mom!

So here's an update for McNugget @ 18 months:

Dear Baby Girl,

You've grown up so much since becoming a big sister. Your vocabulary now includes all the animal sounds ("moo", "gobble gobble", "neigh", "who who", "ahh-ahh") and body parts we can think of (head, knees, eyes, cheeks, toes) , the words "please" ("pease") and "thank you" ("dando"). You know everyone's name "mama", "dada", and "duunda" of course; but also "troder", "am-e" (gammy), "juju", "alie" (valerie), "car" (sean), "poppop" and "ninnie" are all favorites too.

And for those words you're not saying just yet, you're still expressing yourself ("love you" is a blown kiss followed up by a real kiss and hug) and pointing correctly to almost everything we ask you to. You could finish the shape sorter at 13 or 14 months, and follow rather complex directions (please put mommy's shoes in the middle basket) - and know which bins your toys are supposed to go in (cars go in one bucket, balls in another).

Now at 18 months and 25 lbs, you've been a pro at climbing on chairs and up and down steps (with us by your side of course!) and are starting to get into trouble. The day before your brother's christening we had to take you to the ER for your first set of stitches (you fell onto the bottom step and put your tooth through your lip).

You've officially hit your jealous stage, and are looking to us for extra attention. You have started hitting and pushing a bit, but never maliciously - only for our attention. (After hitting, you always immediately smile and stroke our hand / face and say "niiiiiiice"). But you're absolutly crazy about your brother when its just the two of you - or when you see him at school (and he's pretty sweet on you as well!)

You're starting to get a little crazy about asking for the binky ("ginky"), so we'll be trying to get rid of it in the next few weeks/months. Most of our evenings are spent coloring, stacking blocks, reading, wrestling and playing with your cars. You do love to help out with vacuuming and dusting as well - so we may have to invest in a play broom soon!

Christmas was so much fun, it actually took us DAYS to open up all your toys. You're just crazy about Elmo, though you know all his friends too, so we had a lot of fun picking out elmo pjs, elmo plates and cups, elmo slippers and a new elmo toothbrush for you. And you were the flower girl in your Uncle David / Aunt Ninny's New Year's Eve Wedding - where you completely stole the show walking down the aisle by yourself.

At school you've started to play dress up and use the play kitchen, and in general are excelling at almost everything we put in front of you. You've known your shapes for months, so we've starting to learn your colors and letters the past few weeks. You love when I sing songs to you (itsy bitsy spider, ABC's, and Old McDonald) and can even do some of the motions with songs like "if you're happy and you know it" or "teddy bear, teddy bear"). We've also been working on you getting yourself dressed / undressed. You can pull your socks, shoes, and shirt off if we get it started for you; we're working on the pants now!

Night time is still pretty easy; you let us know when you're tired by twirling your hair. Daddy gives you a bath after dinner, you get a few books read and we say your prayers to you, and then we rock you for a few minutes until you point to your crib.

Last week you wanted me to paint your eyes with one of my makeup brushes, so of course I love to "paint" your eyelids (don't worry, the brush doesn't have any make up on it!) cheeks, and nose as we get ready in the morning. You just love the feeling of the brush and try to peek with your eyelids closed so you can see what I'm doing. As you've aged you've started to look more like me (even though you still have blond hair and blue eyes) and I am so excited about that. And when ever I wear something sparkly (like a shirt with sequins or a nice necklace), you like to touch it gently and say "oooohh". It is so wonderful to have a girl.

Those are the moments I love best; when its still me and you snuggling or playing together. You're so very wonderful and bring us so much joy everyday.

And here's an update for McMuffin @ 4 months:

Dear Boss-man:
The day you were born showed me how much a heart can expand in one day. And every day since then has been another in the best chapter of my life. Before 2 months you were rolling over and smiling. At two months we heard you laugh. The doctor says you physically are more than a month a head of schedule - with the most amazing head control from the day you were born and tummy time at daycare exceeding 50 minutes now (spread out over several sessions each day of course)! At 3 months you started to stand on us when we held you and play in your jumper. That's also when you really started "talking" a lot more to us.

For as physical as you are, you watch your sister and everyone else a lot more than your sister did at your age. We even find you going out of your way to watch the motion of the TV whenever its on in a room. You're still not keen on your binky (which may help us get rid of them for your sister), and you like stuffed animals and blankets much more than she ever did.

You giggle when I "bite" your belly and rarely spit up. You're not completely sleeping through the night yet, but we certainly have gotten quite a lot more sleep than in your first and second months - somedays you can now do stretches from 10 - 4:30 (usually followed by a few days of 10, 2, & 5 am feedings). You're still breastfeeding, and sleep besides our bed in a pack-n-play. While you're still what I'd call a good sleeper, our next goal for you is to help you sleep through the night.

You such a happy baby. You never cry unless you're hungry, though you're not quite happy when people touch your head (no hats for you!), and sometimes get scared at really loud noises (picture wide eyes, quivering lip, and a wail of a cry!). Bath time makes you really calm (unless of course we scrub your head) and you love the feeling of the water. Diaper changes are also a favorite of yours- I think its all the individual attention and eye contact. You can hold things like a rattle and are always trying to put things in your mouth (which also makes you drool a lot the past few weeks!) I imagine we'll have to start rice cereal soon (but I'm not ready for that, so we'll wait as long as possible!)

Like your sister you have my rosy cheeks and are middle of the road for weight (15.5 lbs). Also like her you're above average in height and headsize! To me your best features are your eyes and your smile. I can't get enough of either of them. You are the most beautiful boy I've ever seen - and you look so much like your daddy, though you remind me in certain photos of my own dad.

When we're at home, you spend most of your time with me, and I can't get enough of you (even at 3 am!) I love that one-on-one time providing for you, and am not ready for you to grow up so fast. While with your sister I've been excited about each milestone and anxious to see 'what comes next', I'm a little sad to see yours get here so fast.

Thanks for showing me how easy it is to share my heart - and for being the best little man a mom could ask for.