Letters to my baby, Baby Girl

Dear Harriet,

You laughed for the first time yesterday. I had laid you down on a blanket, while we watched Avery's soccer game against RNS. It was a beautiful fall afternoon. The sun was shining and there was a light, cool breeze blowing. You were so happy to be lying on your back in the sunshine, stretching out your arms and legs after spending the afternoon at Costco, cozily snuggled in your sling. Avery's principal came over to meet you and as soon as she bent over to talk to you, you gave her one of your award-winning smiles, where your nose and eyes scrunch up and your neck rolls threaten to swallow up your face. Your smile grew so big that you could no longer contain it and the sweetest giggle I have ever heard, well probably since your big sister, Zoe was your age, erupted from your plump, pink lips. I couldn't help but squeal:

That's your first laugh, Baby Girl!

I can't believe how quickly you are growing up, Harriet. You turned 3 months old this week, you occasionally sleep through the night for us, you have lots to say, you no longer stay in one spot anymore as you use your feet to push off from and slide yourself around the play mat on your back, you are trying to reach for your toys and sometimes you are successful but sometimes you are not, and today, you wore your very first pair of jeans. Let me tell you, baby girl, you rock those jeans! 

I love you, Harriet, with all my heart. It makes me sad that sometimes you have to put yourself to sleep when I am dealing with your high maintenance brother, but thank you for being so self-reliant, and thank you for being goofy and sticking your tongue out all the time. It makes me smile.

Love, 

Mom

xoxoxo

That tongue!

zzzzzzz . . . .

You are such a chatterbox and gosh, I love that roly poly belly of yours!

Rock'n the jeans, girlfriend!

p.s. I say it all the time but I think we are going to be the bestest of friends someday.

Harriet, Harriet, Harriet

Miss Harriet turned two months old yesterday. I am so smitten with her, and I am having a blast dressing her up in pink and dresses. She is the perfect addition to our family. Here are a few things you may or may not know about Miss Harriet:

• Harriet's first nickname was Thing 5. We now call her Miss Moo, Hattie the Fattie (her siblings), Baby Hulk, and Mighty Mouse.

• Harriet is our best sleeper. She sleeps from about 10pm to 4am each night. 

• She is our noisiest baby. She grunts and groans every morning from 5am until we wake up. She also snores and moans.
• On her two month birthday, Harriet cooed for the first time; not to anyone in her family but to my friend Jenn at church. 
• She HATES the car and her car seat!

• She is our strongest baby. Through sheer determination and frustration and an intense obsession with nursing, Harriet has wiggled up to me in the bed on her belly, she has rolled over from back to belly (not intentionally and very inconsistently so I do not view it as reaching one of her milestones), and she has been able to hold her head up since she was one hour old. 

Hence why we call her Mighty Mouse!

• When she was born, she was covered in vernix. None of our other babies were born with it, and my mom, who worked in Labour and Delivery for years as a nurse, suspects that Miss Harriet was younger than 39 weeks due to the vernix and a few other notable features like a lack of eyebrows and a lack of cartilage in her ears. 

• Harriet loves to snuggle and like her big sister Zoe, she is extremely fond of her mama. This fondness for mama is very insulting to her siblings.
• She has already eaten big people food . . . Eeeek! And no, it was not thanks to the toddler. One evening, I was nursing Harriet at the supper table (she is obsessed and I was starving!). When I looked down to see how she was doing, I noticed a piece of rice lying right beside her mouth and before I could grab it, she sucked it in!  
• She has the BEST smile in the whole entire world, and like her mama, she scrunches up her eyes when she smiles. 

• She makes the SILLIEST faces!

Harriet, I love you with all my heart. We needed another girl here at Shenanigans Inc. and I am glad that girl is you. Happy 2 month birthday, Baby Girl!

You really are beautiful!

Baby Brain

We have all heard of baby brain, and most people believe that women who suffer from this are dealing with slower than normal brain function; however, since I am currently suffering from baby brain myself, I have realized that this is not the case. In fact, I believe that all the carelessness and forgetfulness we attribute to baby brain is due to the fact that our brain function is currently in overdrive. A mama's brain is keenly aware of all that is going on around her and especially what is going on around her baby or babies, as in my case. She is scanning her surroundings for potential danger and she is ready to react in what ever way that is required of her within a millisecond. Being in this reactive state all the time is exhausting. Throw in weeks of disrupted sleep on top of it and you have the new mama fog, the state of  feeling separated from the real world and being utterly encompassed within the babysphere, a universe centered upon the most basic of human needs: love, nourishment and excrement.

This is where I have been the past 8 weeks, so please forgive me if I do not speak in coherent sentences, if I appear to not be following your conversation, or if I appear disheveled and confused. The sole purpose of my existence is currently wrapped up in making sure that Miss Harriet knows she is surrounded by people who love her, that she chubs up to the point where her rolls have rolls on them, and that she is not lying in her own waste, WHILE keeping Leif (aka the Toddler) actively engaged in order to prevent mass devastation to our abode and serious injury to the currently defenseless Miss Harriet. So, I ask you: could any of this be accomplished on limited brain function? I think not!

In order to maintain the PG-rating of Shenanigans Inc., my insane breastfeeding cleavage has been edited out. You're welcome!

They are totally worth a heavy dose of baby brain  . . .

Where Art Thou, Bob?

My attempt at using the blog as Leif's baby book is failing miserably, and so excuse me for a moment while I list a few of his milestones:

• you are our earliest walker! That's right you started taking steps at nine months. The most we have counted you taking in one stretch is seven . . . so far.
•  in the month of August you had your fist hornet sting and you went to your first drive-in movie theatre, which was kind of neat because it was a first for both of your brothers too AND your sister still has not gone.
• you love to climb stairs.
• Grampy Skov-Nielsen taught you how to use  your hand as a gun, and let's just say, you picked up on that skill very quickly. You now spend your days shooting everything you pass, complete with sound effects. You are such a boy!
• you try to bark like the dog when we are outside
• you love to eat sand, and pretty much anything else we will feed you - pizza (no cheese), hummus, brocolli, hamburgers, pancakes, ham sandwiches, rice, peas, apples, etc. No baby food for you.
• at your doctor's appointment in August, you weighed a whomping 17lbs. 4oz, and you were 28" long. (Sorry, baby, but you are Webster through and through - small, but mighty!)
• your newest word is baaaa for ball, which is really not a big surprise because you love balls, and your favourite game is rolling a ball back and forth with somebody.
• I also swear you say the word book, but that could have something to do with your current fascination with the "B" sound,

which is great lead in to today's post. . . . .

Lately your favourite word is Bob. You call out for Bob as soon as your eyes open, when we are playing in the backyard, when we are driving in the car, and when you are standing at, or in, the dishwasher. We have no idea who Bob is, but you are frantically searching for him.We don't even know if you know who Bob is, but we are all eagerly awaiting for that day you finally find him because we are quite curious to find out what you need to tell him.

Recently, we visited Halifax because Zoe had an appointment at the IWK, and you were even calling out for Bob in a local park there. Unfortunately, Bob is not in Halifax either, but you did capture the attention of many people passing by, and you very much enjoyed entertaining them.

Bob!

Where is Bob?

Bob!

This is so very disappointing.

I have to say, Leif, you sure make my days much more interesting. I love you, baby.

Oh, and if you know Bob, could you please tell him that Leif Webster has an urgent message to pass along.

. . .  tee hee!

Trouble with a Capital "T"

Leif, Leif, Leif . . .

Let's just say that last week was exhausting! It seems that God really does make the bad ones cute because as you proved this week, your off-the-charts cuteness is matched only to your off-the-charts love for all things mischievous. Don't believe me? Well, I've got proof, and lots of it . . .

So, I went back to bathing you in the sink. I thought this would be an ideal set up because you have been trying to climb out of your baby tub and the sink is deeper. For some reason, I thought this would make it harder for you to stand up, and like so many other times in my life, I was wrong.

Not only were you able to stand up, but you were also able to throw plastic cups from the counter onto your poor, unsuspecting Scouty . . . I kid you not!

Just look at this face! I should have known you were on the brink of stirring up some shenanigans.

 At least when you are in the sink you are at somewhat confined (even though at times it is like wrestling a greased piglet). Now that you are mobile, and moving much faster I must add, there is no end to the trouble you can stir up. You continue to throw the books off the bookshelves and to play in the dog's dish, but new to this week was climbing into the dishwasher . . . I kid you not! and pulling out the dishes, clean or dirty. 

And getting into the clean laundry, which wasn't so clean after you scrubbed our fur-covered floor with it.

I blame the black diaper . . .

Then to top it all off, you have started to bite your siblings! Nooooooooooooo! Please don't be a biter, baby. Please. Avery was, and your mama found that very stressful. Thankfully, though, in spite of the little hell-raiser that was spawned this week, you are so incredibly scrumptious that I often forget all about your mischievous antics during moments like this:

When you fell asleep on my lap at Grammie's

When we shared a peach for supper on the soccer field:

And when you tasted one of the plums from our very own plum tree for the first time. I should also mention that this is the first time since we moved into our house six years ago that this tree has produced fruit. I figure it was just for you!

So, I think it is safe to say I plan on keeping ya . . . for now . . . tee hee!

For My Boys

Today was really hard. Leif was sick all weekend, which meant I had the pleasure of tending to a clingy, whiny baby who was only able to sleep for half hour stretches before he would wake up screaming. I love my boy, but man, it was rough! Luckily, he woke up this morning without a fever, but for some reason, and perhaps it was simply due to the fact that he was so excited to be feeling better, he refused to nap. Every time I would put him down to sleep, he would wake up fifteen minutes later. Then, because he is no longer content to just sit or be held, he was on the move and his mama needed to keep an eye on him:

Look at me, mom! I'm walking around the furniture!

Look at me, mom! I'm playing in the dog's dish!

Look at me, mom! I'm playing in the cornstarch that I just dumped out all over the floor!

Look at me, mom! I'm pooping on the floor!

Look at me, mom! I'm eating pieces of peaches that I threw on the floor last night!

Look at me, mom! I'm eating your pink stick-it notes!

He was just oozing with mischievousness today!

I think you get the picture. Needless to say, I was done. Oh, and to top it all off, our basement bathroom backed up. Yep, that was my day in a nutshell. Fun!

But, it was also tough because two weeks ago, Derrick and I decided that this fall we will be sending our bigger boys back to school, and today was the day I posted all of our homeschool curriculum up for sale. Don't get me wrong, I know with all my heart that this is the right decision for everyone, but seeing our beloved books, the ones we have pored over together, being sold made it very real to me. Our homeschooling days are over. But, like I said I know this is the best decision. Avery has been missing his friends, and he is keen to learn languages, so he is going to start the half year french program and eventually go onto french immersion (hello! Wasn't this the very program I removed Elliot from school to avoid? Yep. And all I can say is they are different kids with different needs and different strengths) Elliot, who always intended to go back for high school, wanted to ease back into public school amongst friends and in a smaller school community. And my other boy, the one who demands constant supervision to ensure not only his own safety but Scout's as well, is no longer homeschooling friendly. I know many amazing moms out there who have homeschooled and are currently homeschooling with infants and my hat goes off to each and every one of them. They have my deepest respect, and I really hoped I could be like them, but I'm not. We all need to know our limitations and homeschooling the boys with Leif was definitely pushing my limits. And so, this fall, I will be sending my boys back on the big, yellow bus. I am sure there will be a tear shed, but I also think there will be some singing and dancing going on as well:

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Let's be honest; I will be dancing all week long! Seriously, though, I have loved teaching my boys for the past three years. We had a lot of laughs, we made some wonderful friends, we learned a ton, and we created a lot of memories, but I am ready to close the book on this chapter of our relationship. I am eager to see how they do in school and see what directions they take. I know they are both ready! But, I guess the real question is . . . is MCS ready?! . . . tee hee!

Yep, it was a rough one here at Shenanigans Inc., but it doesn't change the fact that I love what I do and I love the boys I do it for.

awwwwww . . . I've got some pretty handsome boys.

Oh, and don't fret, Baby Girl is staying home again next year, so I won't be completely bored. 

Leif's Life (According to my IPhone)

I admit that I post a lot of pictures of Leif on Facebook and Instagram, but they are just a smackeral of all the photos I take of him during the week. I can't help myself; this kid is adorable! And he LOVES to have his picture taken. So, according to my Iphone, this is what Leif's life looked like this week:

• Monkey costumes on a hot, humid morning . . . sorry, baby, I couldn't resist.

• Swimming with cousin Ava . . . let's talk about this Elmo hat . . . I love it!

• Sometimes you just need to be caged.

• It's really hard to get any errands done when this little face is staring back at you . . . baby, you are made for baseball hats!

 

• Some weeks it feels like we live in the van.

• Another playdate with cousin Ava.

• Your current favourite toy is a water table that our friends, Blee, Jack and Heather, gave to you. Thanks guys!

• Lots of late night soccer games. I always feel bad picking you up out of your car seat when you are fast asleep.

• Too many late nights on the soccer field. This morning you woke up, crawled over to my legs and fell back to sleep. I didn't mind at all . . .

• A little afternoon snooze, curled up beside mom, while we listened to the rain beat outside our bedroom window.

• Ugh! Did I mention you are crawling now?

• Today you insisted on going out (in the rain) to play with your water table . . . again. Since I am still pretty smitten with you, I granted you your request.

And I am so grateful that I did. I can't wait to see what next week brings us, Leif!

Happy weekend, everyone!