JOSIAH - 23 months:
Josiah is one month away from turning the big 2. We've already gotten quite the sneak peak lately of how terrific and terrible these twos can really be. One minute he's offering hugs and kisses and being delightfully entertaining...the next, he's ignoring and defying everything that we say, screaming, and bursting into tears out of nowhere. It's been a spectrum of emotion these days, but at least it's no longer directed at his baby sister. After about two weeks of resistance he's come around! Now, he runs over to her to hug her (a bit too tightly), will ask about her ("why baby sister cwying?"), and play around with her toys. He even loves sitting in her bouncer, to the point of nearly breaking it with his 28 lb. body!
Josiah is our little parrot and repeats everything he hears, so we are trying to be more careful with what we say. Some of his new phrases: "ok, I will", "gimme" "you too", "wait", "let's go", "where are you?", "one mo", "no way" "okee dokee", "not nice" (referring to food thrown on the ground), and "oh boy". He's also stringing together longer sentences and will use gibberish like "nukka nukka" as a filler for words that he doesn't know. He is also picking up more Spanish and Korean and will use it depending on who's around him. For example, he says things like "me llamo Josiah", "hola chica", and "muguh" (to eat, in Korean).
Speaking of food, his favorites these days are Korean miyuk-gook and miso soup. The first time I gave him miso soup, he lunged at the bowl and wouldn't stop slurping! He's also obsessed with strawberries ("strawberro") these days. They are our best bribing tool when we're desperate! He's getting very particular about things in general, so it's become a constant negotiation these days. For example, he likes to pick out his clothes and shoes ("oh cuute!") and will not budge until we give him the exact color sippy cup he wants.
We haven't really attempted potty training, and to be honest, I'm in no rush to deal with 'accidents' and middle-of-the-night potty runs. However, his diapers are pretty nasty and he's become extremely unwieldy and uncooperative when changing him. So it's a trade-off. Every now and then, we'll have him sit on the potty just to understand the concept. Even when he does nothing there, he'll have us all clap and cheer for him. Another thing that we are dreading is weaning him off his "binky". He will not go to bed without it and will even insist on picking the exact one he wants. I know we just have to be tough and go cold-turkey one day, but we keep putting it off since the binky makes bedtime a cinch. And I'm not ready to deal with that regression. Perhaps we'll try when he turns two, which is when we also want to attempt some disciplinary tactics too. Not looking forward to it...
SAMANTHA - 6 weeks:
Lil' miss Samantha couldn't be more different than her boisterous, crazy brother. She seems pretty tough and serious (as far as babies can be) and hasn't yet graced us with a smile or a coo. She keeps her eyes closed most of the time, even when awake, or will occasionally give us a pirate wink. It's rare when both of her eyes are open, so it's such a treat when they are! This has made picture-taking pretty challenging, as she will close her eyes the minute we take out the camera. (Remember that episode of HIMYM where Barney could never take a bad picture? It's the opposite for our little girl!)
I used to think she was a chill baby, but she's turned out to be pretty high-maintenance these past weeks. She's a tease...she will be calm one minute, and then will burst out into high-pitched screams the next. She likes to be held 24/7 and will fuss until she gets what she wants. Even the bouncer, swing, and pacifier only temporarily soothe her. And these days, due to gas and stomach pains, she seems to be constantly screaming, kicking, jerking her body around, and scrunching up her face until it turns purple. It's pretty dramatic and makes nursing sessions even more exhausting. I'm hoping this will get better as her stomach develops a bit more. Luckily, as fussy as she can be during the day, she's been pretty good at night. She's been waking up twice to eat, but hasn't really kept us up otherwise.
Samantha, or "Boticelli" as we sometimes call her, has become quite the chunker in these past few weeks. While our pediatrician was initially concerned by her weight loss in the first week, she's now exceeded his expectations by climbing up to the 99th percentile! Not sure how this happened, since she still continues to be an inconsistent eater. But it seems like she is following her brother's footsteps in this department!
Our little lady isn't very ladylike after all. She's pretty noisy and constantly makes grunting, snorting, and farting sounds throughout the day. She's strong too - I've had my arm scratched up with her nails and my necklace practically tugged off a few times! And even though she's been blessed with a full head of hair, the downside has been grease and cradle cap (think baby dandruff) that's required lots of bathing to keep her fresh. On top of that, she's been plagued with baby acne all over her face and neck sweat. So all-in-all, her vanity has suffered quite a bit! I'm hoping all this will go away soon. I miss the pure baby smell.
Josiah "feeding" his baby sister |
Yup, I turned 34...one year away from 35. Am I really that old? It doesn't really bother me though, probably because I don't really believe it's true!
I had a great birthday, starting with dinner with my wonderful family and a night out in the city with the hubby. It was so liberating to be out without the kids! After being cooped up at home for 6 weeks, it felt so nice to get some time to myself. We indulged on delicious sushi and sake, which was the first real alcoholic drink I've had in almost a year. Man, it tasted good. But I forgot about the effects of alcohol and woke up with the worst headache.
6 weeks of maternity leave have already come and gone, and I'll soon be dipping into my vacation and unpaid time off before venturing back to work in August. In some ways, I'm eager to go back because I miss having structured and me-time during the day. I miss simple things like having coffee and conversations at work. However, I'm not in any rush either since going back will require figuring out childcare arrangements and being in a constant, stressful juggling act. So for now, I'm in this limbo and trying to make the best of my remaining 9 weeks that I can.
Even though this is my second time going through it, I can't say this time at home has necessarily been much easier than the first time. Even though I'm still really sleep-deprived, that part of it has just sort of become the "new normal". In fact, it's amazing how my body just jolts awake every 3 hours like clockwork, regardless of how exhausted I am. More than the physical fatigue, I struggle with the mental and emotional discipline of being at home all day. I really miss having structure and interaction during the day and realize how much I need to *achieve* to feel good about myself. Even though I'm at home really just feeding and holding the baby, the hours seem to just pass by so quickly. And it sounds so ridiculous, but it's hard to find the opportunity to even shower or groom myself, let alone do anything productive throughout the day. I can't even imagine how much crazier things would be if Josiah wasn't being watched by our nanny during the day! So I have to be thankful for that.
Clearly, I'm not feeling in my element these days, but I've resolved to make these remaining weeks count and try to enjoy them a bit more. Maybe I'll even venture out into the city one day with the baby! I just have to push myself. After all, I know one day I'll look back and miss having this time, as simple and uneventful as it may seem to me right now.
Sounds like you're quite tired, and really busy, but... Years from now you will look back on these golden years with wistfulness and nostalgia (probably)! Your kids look great... And 34's not old at all, 34 today is like 24 of yore. But lemme know what I should getcha for your birthday... Unless you want a pincushion or something like that... :)
ReplyDelete