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Daphne

Theo

Suddenly, 2 months!

September 24, 2014

Baby Theo turns 2 months old today. 2 whole months, how about that?

theo 2 months

Caring for a newborn for the fourth time has been quite the adventure. You’d think all babies are the same but they’re not. I mean, they all need the same things, like nappy changes, feeds, burps, cuddles and naps, but so differently. With each baby, it’s like learning a new dance and we’re slowly discovering our rhythm; a little twirl here, a step there, a double reverse spin finale. Each one is always new and exciting.

But you know what’s always the same? How intense it is. You get to the end of every day feeling tired to the bone and all your days and nights roll into one endless whirlwind of non-stop baby duty.

You’ll just be doing your thing, trying to find your groove and suddenly, they’ll decide to grow up on you. One day they’re all glassy eyes and skinny chicken legs and next thing you know, they’re a squishy ball of yummy baby fats.

I don’t know if this makes sense but babies, they take a long time to grow up suddenly.

Here’s a little bit about my littlest man Theo, at exactly two months old.

  • He’s developed a very respectable set of chubby thigh folds. You know how my mission with each newborn baby is to fatten them up for chewing? Fat baby thigh folds are the measure of my success. This baby at 2 months? SUCCESS.
  • Coos and gurgles at everyone. If you talk to him, he’ll respond with his special brand of baby gurgling, maybe even throw in a smile. He’s going to be a talker, this one.
  • Most definitely loves his daddy more than any other human in the world, including the one person who carried him for nine months and gave birth to him. His lovestruck gazes and sweetest smiles are reserved for his papa. What? No, I’m not bummed, why would you think that? No, not bummed at all…
  • Because the only exception to the favourite daddy rule is when he’s hungry. Or tired. Or needs momma’s cuddles. Then it’s mom time only.
  • After a rocky start to nursing, he’s latching on like a pro. We’ve got a great system in place now, and a firm understanding of how this works. I bring the boobs and he brings the hungry baby tummy.
  • Slept for 5 hours straight a total of 1 time. It just happened one night and I woke up feeling like it was my birthday and christmas and all the awesome days in the world smooshed together. It hasn’t happened again since – I’ve tried replicating everything I did that night but I guess it’s just not meant to be.
  • Motor function at about 30% tops. He tries to bat at toys but usually ends up smacking himself in the face, poor kid.
  • Most of all, adores his siblings. He knows they’re his people and loves watching them run around the house like he can’t wait to be part of the gang. Patience, young padawan, you’ll be trained in the way of the force soon enough.
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kids in motion

From the weekend

September 22, 2014

1. Parks are more fun with friends.

It’s been too long since we had park day and I’ve missed park day. The kids get to run around climbing and swinging and sliding till their cheeks get all rosy and it’s all just a whole lot of fun.

But what’s even more fun? Park day with friends. LOOK, FRIENDS!!

park day

2. Baby Theo had his first park day and he loved it! He spent most of it on the mat watching kids zip around him doing fun park stuff with great interest. And then he started flailing his arms and legs wildly like he was trying to get in on some of the action.

“WHY IS THIS NOT WORKING?? MOVE, LEGS, MOVE!!”

theo

Also, is it me or is this baby getting deliciously chubby? Fat babies are so nom. Or as Kirsten says, “he’s so juicy I can’t even stand it.”

3. Finn and Theo = BBFs = Best Bros Forever.

It’s so sweet that these two littlest ones are getting along so brilliantly.

theo finn

Not like it’s a competition or anything but if there was a competition about who’s best bros with whom, these two would also be in the running.

finn tru

And wait, sisters are super rad too. I once asked Kirsten if she had a favourite brother and she said “I have 3 favourite brothers!”

tru finn kirsten

4. How do I know this kid is mine? Finn took one step in the sand and immediately scrunched up his face, yelling “It’s so dirty, MOMMA IT’S SO DIRTY, MOMMA CARRY CARRY HELPPP!!!”

No prizes for guessing who he got that from. Ewww, sand is so gross.

eww sand

***

That’s all for now. Peace out, yo!

peace out

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Kirsten

The proud wearer of sparkly pink earrings

September 19, 2014

So hey, guess who went to have her ears pierced?

Good try, but not me – I’ve already got mine done some 20 over years ago. Never mind that I haven’t worn earrings for the past 20 years, the important thing here is that I could if I wanted to. My mom was a visionary because it’s a good skill to have, if you can call it a skill. The ability to put sharp objects through my earlobes. I’m sure it’ll come in handy someday.

Right, yeah, this sweet little girl is now the proud wearer of these dainty earrings. And yes, they had to be pink, it’s not up for discussion. The only question was whether she wanted them pink AND sparkly, and pay attention, y’all, when given a choice between boring or sparkly, the correct answer is sparkly. Always sparkly.

pretty ears

ready for earrings

Seriously, how pleased does she look? I consider it my life’s greatest achievement that I produced a daughter who’s waaaay into pink and sparkly earrings.

It’s like a personal growth opportunity for me here, learning to appreciate the pink and sparkly things in life. Maybe one day, I might even sport a matching pair. One day, that is not today…let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.

She teared up during her last vaccination so I was half expecting that there’d be some tears during the ear-piercing but she took it like a champ. Truett, who was there to provide moral support, was all nervy for her (and covering his own ears) but she just furrowed her brow and put on her game face. She looks so grown up here, I think I’m the one tearing up a little.

ear piecing in action

On a sort of related note, I had no idea how difficult it was to find a ear-piercing place around here. We went around asking the shops in the Tampines area and the only 2 we found were kind of dodgy.

One was a charming (and also dusty) little shop along Tampines central. There was a huge sign (it was so old the edges were turning yellow) that said something like “Safe and Hygienic ear piercing, no Hep B or other viruses” which unfortunately, didn’t inspire a great deal of confidence. In fact, it seemed exactly like the kind of place one would go to if one wanted to get Hep B or other viruses.

The other shop was less germy and I’d probably hit that joint if I was in search of a row of nose studs plus a belly ring. I wanted neither of those things.

My sister finally found a place in town that seemed least likely to cause a horrible infection. It was also the most extortionate but like I always say, there’a price to pay if you don’t want to get syphilis.

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