Baby Steps in Boston: November/December

Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Beginning of Winter!

I am clearly very behind on updates, but it has been such a whirlwind the past two months.

To start the craziness off, Riley had not one but FIVE birthday celebrations throughout November. We had a joint birthday brunch party with our neighborhood friends, a joint 2nd birthday party with her cousin Bonnie, a birthday party on her actual birthday with family/friends on Camano Island, a tea party with our mommy-group friends in Boston, and a little get-together birthday with her Aunt Karen and Uncle Tom. Riley doesn't really sing, but she sure knows all of the words to Happy Birthday right now (and sings it in the bathtub every night). She is one lucky girl...

Our trip to Seattle was a success. It was so nice to spend some time with my family and their new dog Juno (although it took Riley some time to adjust to her energy!). Traveling with both babies is pretty tough right now though, especially now that they are on a pretty predictable sleep schedule. They were up between 3 and 4 every morning, so we had a hard time feeling too rested...

The girls are doing wonderfully right now....

Let's start with Riley. We recently took her pacifier away (aside from bedtime) and her language has exploded (lesson learned). She is so much fun to talk to, and I can't explain how gratifying it is to be able to communicate with her. In addition to feeling like parenting is fulfilling, it truly feels rewarding. There is a little bit of give and take now. We have spent two years giving and giving (willingly and lovingly of course), and now we are getting back in the form of hugs, questions, words and signs that a real relationship is forming with our daughter. When she says "I you" (I love you) it melts us from the inside out... when she asks "wassat?" (what's that), it is so much fun to answer her and feed into her curiosity. And the conversations are very profound... they typically sound something like this:

Me: "Riley, we are going over to Matty's house."
Riley: "Mahey's house?"
Me: "Are you going to play with toys?"
Riley: "Play. Toys. Mahey's trains?"
Me: "Yes, we will play with his trains."
Riley: "Snack? Tinkerbell snacks?"
Me: "The Tinkerbell snacks are all gone. I'm sorry"
Riley: "Allllllll gone. Mama's car? Bye bye home. Wassat?"

Clearly the conversations are not particular cohesive, but hey, they are conversations!

She is the definition of a two year old. Very extreme emotions and very unpredictable. One moment she will be writhing on the floor in a fit of laughter, and the next she will be sobbing uncontrollably because she wasn't allowed to eat any more toothpaste (huge family battle right now).

As challenging as it is to be on the Riley roller coaster all day every day, I thank God every night for letting it be me that gets to be her mother along for the ride. I guess you could say that I am proud to call this spunky, sensitive, empathetic, stubborn, silly two year old my daughter.

And then there is Nora. I could just gush about her cuteness. I don't think I have ever seen such a smiley, happy baby as Nora. All we have to do is look at her and her entire face lights up. She loves anyone and everyone, but she has one favorite person of all... Riley. Nora is obsessed with her older sister. She can stare at her and laugh at her for eternity. She is constantly grabbing at her and reaching for her, and usually ends up chewing on her. It is adorable. I can't wait for these two to play together (and I think it will happen sooner than I thought!).

Nora is nearing the six month mark, and is sitting up, rolling over, and itching to crawl. She is entering that phase of frustration... she wants to be on the move, and wants to be able to get to all of the toys out of her reach.

Although they recommend waiting until six months to feed babies solid foods, we honestly couldn't. Nora was ready to eat by five. She is constantly grabbing for our plates and food, and gets very angry when she can't have something. I think I am going to try something called baby-led weaning with her. The basis is that we should offer normal foods (slices of fruit, bread with melted cheese, etc.) that are in the shape of a finger so that Nora can hold onto them and gum them. It fosters independence, reduces frustration, helps them develop their motor skills, and ensures a broad taste palette. It already seems to be the way to go with Nora - she hates being fed mush... she prefers teething crackers and fruit that she can hold.

For a month or so, Nora loved to be snuggled and wouldn't mind being set down on her play mat. Now, she doesn't like to be left alone (she gets bored, not lonely), doesn't like to be set down (she hates not being able to move), and is only interested in being held and walked around. It is pretty tough in the Poole household... Riley needs constant attention (well, supervision to be precise) and Nora needs constant entertainment. By 4pm I want to crawl into bed and be done with the day filled with baby demands.

Nora is doing fairly well with sleep. Although she wakes up once or twice a night, it is usually a result of hunger (it typically happens when she doesn't drink much of a bottle before bed). She also goes immediately back to sleep without any rocking, shushing or soothing... When I put her down for naps or bedtime, I have been putting he down awake (to avoid the trap we got in with Riley), and more times than not she settles herself to sleep on her own. It is awesome.

The only sleep issue we have right now is with Riley. She was a rockstar sleeper until a spider incident a week or two ago. In a nutshell, over the course of 45 minutes THREE spiders appeared on her wall while she was trying to fall asleep. I killed each one I saw, but for some reason there was always another one hiding. Now she hates to go to bed and has been crying in her sleep. The worst thing though is that she is climbing out of her crib. Last night she climbed out five times... and then she goes and brushes her teeth, or finds the remote in our room to watch a show, or digs through our drawers... It is insanely unsafe and unsettling, so we are in the process of getting a lock put on her door.

Overall, I'd say things are going pretty well. One of our biggest struggles right now is that we are unable to accomplish much of anything. I honestly don't have any time during the day to do anything aside from keep my kids fed, clothed, entertained and rested. Just getting dinner for Charley and I on the table is difficult. The house is a disaster at the end of the day... Charley's hours are insane, so he doesn't have time (weekends aside) to do anything after work. I have a million thank you cards to write, emails and texts to respond to, closets and dressers to organize (my kids wear the same four outfits because I haven't gone through their clothes to see what fits)... and on top of that we have preschools to choose, basic errands to run, etc. And nothing, and I mean nothing, gets done aside from instant, necessary priorities (food, bathing, cleaning up spills, etc.).

It is aggravating because I always prided myself in being somewhat organized. I like to write long thank you cards (which only gets harder and harder with kids). I like to have a clean house (impossible). I like to have clothes that fit right (but shopping is not easy).

Anyways, it is overwhelming but at the end of the day I know it is fleeting. These moments with our babies are short lived and precious, and our family and friends understand. In a few years I'll be sitting down writing thank yous and emails with a quiet house when the girls are at school, and I'll miss the chaos around me.

So for now, Charley and I are just trying to get through the thick of it and enjoy it!

We are so very lucky to have these beautiful little girls, and we wouldn't trade it for the world (or a clean house).

The holidays were wonderful. My family was here for a long time, and Charley took time off of work, so there were plenty of extra hands for a few weeks. It was amazing.

We baptized Nora and have tons of pictures, but I'll save those for another day!

Riley's great Aunt Karen and Uncle Tom bought a rocking polar bear for Nora. Riley thinks if she maintains this stoic face that nobody will notice she is stealing her sister's toy.