Author: Becky

Moms of littles, you know how it is.

You’ve gotta go!

But with little ones needing your care, there is no time. Finally, you can’t wait any longer.

That was me this morning, sprinting up the stairs (why don’t they put bathrooms on the main floor in these rowhomes??), as I called to Mara, “Watch Carissa! Make sure she doesn’t climb the stairs or get the knives off the table!”

I had hardly got into the bathroom, when the door opened. It was Carissa! Ahhhhh!!

“How did you get up here?!” I exclaimed, wondering what had become of her 4-year-old babysitter.

All of a sudden, Micah appeared behind her. “I walked behind her the whole way!” he beamed proudly.

I was so relieved (although if she had fallen, she likely would have taken her 3-year-old brother down the stairs with her).

“Were you looking out for your sister?” I asked him, so pleased.

His eyes absolutely lit up. It was obvious that he sensed that this was his moment. He was the hero.

“Yeth!” he exclaimed. “I was looking out for her! I was the big buh-dult [adult].” For some reason, he likes to add consonants to words that begin with vowels, as in “I’m going to puh-ttach my sword to my bat and make a two-blade!”

In any case, I’m so glad there’s another buh-dult around here for those times when Mommy needs to use the bathroom.

I remember when Micah was a couple weeks old in the NICU, and his umbilical stump fell off. I was there that afternoon, and the nurse handed it to me and asked if I wanted to keep it. At the time, I thought it was pretty gross. No, thanks. (People actually save those?!)

But today for the first time in four babies, when David’s came off at 2 weeks, 2 days old, I was tempted to keep it. . . Don’t worry, dear–I didn’t. I was just tempted to.

The umbilical stump always seems like a sign of just how newborn a baby is. . . Meaning, it was mere days ago, that this was the lifeline from the baby to the momma. . . And once the baby grows past that, it’s not long before the “snuggling” stage ends too. . .

Oh, wow, I’m getting all sappy. Over the umbilical stump!  . . it’s the end of an era for us. . .

If your 3-year-old son repeatedly tells you that his tummy hurts and he “needs to go to the hospital,” prepare yourself for his diaper’s contents to exceed its capacity . . . and his pants’ capacity. . .

Expect his Crocs to be a mess–inside and out–and just plan to clean the living room too . . .

The poor boy cried and screamed. . . It seems that his tummy really did hurt.

Micah, Carissa and I have (had) a stomach bug this week, which I guess is one reason I can be thankful the baby isn’t here yet!

On a brighter note, I put him in the bath, and in the middle of getting washed, he declared, “I need to sit on the potty and go poop right now!”

After what had just happened, I figured I would give him the benefit of the doubt. And what do you know? He did #1 and #2 in the potty and then said he was all done and wanted to get back in the bath!

I think there will be some potty training going on here in the next few months!

Just an hour or so later, he had another similar diaper (though not as. . . global in its impact). The poor poor child was really suffering with the diaper rash, and he just cried and cried when I wiped him.

He’s such a screamer–always so dramatic. I tried to calm him, telling him I would put cream on it, which only escalated things because he was sure that cream hurts too.

Finally all clean and dry, with fresh clothes, he slid off the changing table, still sobbing, so I called him to me and held him in the glider rocker for a few minutes.

Through his tears, he pulled his thumb out of his mouth, and between heaving sobs, he pleaded, “Mommy, can we pray about my diaper rash?” as if it were cancer or a severed limb.

I wiped his eyes, brimming with tears, and prayed that God would heal his rash, and I thanked Him that He is Jehovah Rophe, God our Healer, who cares about each of our needs whether big or small.

After that, Micah was all better. He hopped down from my lap and went off to play.

At first I was almost amused. But then I realized how often I’m all torn up–so much drama–about something that in all reality is rather insignificant in the scheme of life.

I thought of how, in the midst of Micah’s sobs, he wanted to ask God for help and then he walked away–leaving it there, with God.

I’m sure Micah thoughts aren’t really that developed yet. I doubt he can really even comprehend “leaving a burden” with God. But I was reminded that in my moments of drama, that’s exactly what I need to be doing. Calling out to God in faith. And then leaving it there with him, trusting that He cares and that He will answer in the way that is very best for me.

She won’t be the “baby” much longer. . . and that’s not just because her little brother is due any day now.

Carissa is growing and changing so much! and I love it!

I’m not so much a “baby” person–although, of course, I have loved each of my “babies” more than words could tell!–but I love it when they began expressing themselves verbally, feeding themselves (yay!), showing preferences for various foods and interest in specific toys or activities. Carissa is at that very special age.

She has always been my happiest baby, the easiest baby, and while she remains “happy,” she is very passionate, so we are beginning to see other–less-desirable–passions take shape and starting to deal with those too.

But one of my favorite memories–just a few days ago–was after Daniel sneezed. It was a humongous sneeze, and afterwards, to be funny I guess, he kind of warbled this high-pitched (and very loud) jungle sound. Carissa thought it was absolutely the most hilarious thing she had ever seen. She laughed and laughed–and laughed–and did not stop laughing for the longest time!

I’ve seen our other kids get laughing, then realize it’s cute, and manufacture more laughs–for laughs–if that makes sense. But this time it was so obvious that she was completely tickled. Before long Daniel and I were laughing with her. As she kept laughing. I wanted Daniel to sneeze again, just to see her overcome with laughter like that again!

Almost every day, I tell Daniel, “She makes me laugh–all the time!” God knew I needed her at this stage of life!!!

Playtime

I’m sure with an older sister and brother, Carissa learns a lot about “play” from watching. Over the past few weeks, it has been amazing to see her transforming into a little toddler. She literally tries to do anything they do, and thankfully, she’s pretty spunky so a little fall here or there doesn’t shake her up too much. (I guess we’ll know later whether there has been any lasting damage!) The kids love to run across the couch and fall onto the other arm–she’s right there with them, laughing the whole time. They like to jump from the chair to the ottoman to the couch–so Carissa does too. Occasionally she falls, but like I said, she gets right back up and tries it again.

Many times she will fall and hold her arm or her foot or her back (or put a hand on her forehead) and simply say a solemn “Owww,” before getting up and running back to try again.

She loves:

• Stirring a pot (full of necklaces) on the play kitchen stove
• Putting “food” in and out of the play microwave and waiting for it to get finished (or sticking things in the refrigerator and going back to them later)
• Playing Ring-Around-the-Rosies with Mara and/or Micah
• Climbing all over the playground at the park or the playland at Chick-Fil-A, although a bad experience on the slide with Mara (bonking her head all the way down) has left her a bit mortified about the slide
• Pretending to talk on a cell phone, which could be a toy phone or a lego or even a domino–which is fun, because she pretends to “dial” by touching the little dots!
• “Singing” or shouting into the microphone
• Feeding her “baby” in the high chair with a bottle–or a bowl and spoon, saying “num, num, num” after each bite
• Singing her “baby” to sleep, rocking back and forth (if sitting in her crib) or side to side (if standing)–sooo sweet!
• Chasing Micah through the house with his lightsaber, and of course, sword-fighting with him, complete with sound effects!
• Dancing to any sort of music, whether from an annoying toy or a CD or the radio–she loves to dance! and it is hysterically funny, completely uncoordinated but oh-so-full of unbridled joy!
• Playing with her Radio Flyer wagon/walker: getting in and out, pushing her dolls or toys in it, taking the sides off
• Favorite toys include the shape sorter, the Fisher Price Zoo, the “beads and the white flower” (see picture), gears, baby dolls, and balls!

I have realized that I haven’t read to Carissa nearly as much as I read to Mara. So I have been trying to read at least one book to her before bedtime. Her favorite is definitely “Happy Baby Colors.” But it’s fun to see her sit down with a book like “Look and Listen” and make all the animals sounds or a book like “The Little Engine That Could: Numbers” and watch her pretend to “count” the items on each page.

Some of my favorite playtime stories:

• She and Micah will sit and roll the ball back and forth to each other. Before she rolls the ball, she asks, “Ready?” just like I apparently do. And then (this totally cracks me up!): As she rolls or throws the ball, she will say, “Bock! [bonk]” With each of the kids, Daniel and I have always played “ball” with the kids, and in the middle of the fun, we will bounce the ball off the kids’ heads just for fun, saying, “Bonk!” All our kids just laugh, and of course we laugh, so it’s become a fun  little thing we do quite often. Again I had no idea exactly how often! Carissa rolls the ball and says, “Ready?. . . Bonk!”  I suppose you have to be there.
• Seeing Carissa walking through the house, with Micah’s Phillies baseball cap hanging down over her eyes, carrying the ball, saying “Ball! Ball!” trying to find Daddy or Micah to play “ball” with.

Foods

Although she eats pretty much anything and everything, she is my healthy girl! My all-things-fruits-and-veggies-girl!

• At her first birthday, she ate probably more broccoli than cake! She loves her veggies.
• Give her mixed vegetables, and she will pick out–of all things–the lima beans and eat them first! (Is this my child?!)
• She loves fresh red/green peppers, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, and even onions! Cooked peas, green beans, black beans. . . Not carrots or corn as much, but I think they are still hard to chew.
• She loves grapes–wow, she loves grapes!–peaches, strawberries, oranges, but oddly, not blueberries. She will chew them, and then spit out the “skins.”
• She eats an entire banana almost every morning for breakfast, and begs for more throughout the day. I limit her to one/day. For breakfast, in addition to her banana, a piece of toast and a sippy of milk, she will eat something like this: a fried egg; a bowl of oatmeal and applesauce; a one-egg omelet with cheese; a couple pieces of french toast/waffles (no toast on those days).
• Her favorite lunch seems to be PB&J sandwiches, and she typically eats a whole one, cut into tiny squares, and served with veggies and yogurt.
• She will eat hot dogs and fries, not the healthiest, but she does like them. I struggle to get her to eat chicken nuggets. (Quite frankly, all meat has the potential of being left on her tray. Not sure why.)

Overall, she is a great eater! and I love it that she is mostly feeding herself by this stage.

She loves to “go!”

Anywhere.

If someone leaves–without her, she often bursts into tears and begins a conversation in jibberish, pointing at the door and the window, trying to explain how terribly she had wanted to be a part of whatever was happening.

She loves going outside: stroller rides, riding in the van, running/pushing her Radio Flyer down the sidewalk, going to the park. . .

So lately, when I’m packing up the diaper bag and calling to the older kids: “Put on your shoes” and “Do you have your sunglasses?” and “Go potty one more time,” Carissa will be “jumping” around the house, in the way that only a 16-month-old can–more like crouching down and stamping her feet–as she shouts with the most humongous smile ever: “Ready[to] GO! Ready [to] GO! Ready [to] GO!” over and over. . . until finally we are walking out the door.

Verbal:

• Common words: Baby, ball, bye-bye, nigh-nigh (night-night), down (yes, she thinks she’s already in charge of the dogs), cack-ca (animal cracker), bippy (bottle/sippy), mick (milk), jeez (cheese), peppa (red pepper or cucumber). She still signs “all done” and “please” but now she can say them too.
• If she says, “Baby” (and particularly if she is sad or tired), it often means “Baby wants her . . . [special blanket, doll, or sippy].”
• She has names for all of us. She has said “Daddy” very clearly for probably 6 months or so now; it was one of her very first words–and it wasn’t “Dadda”–she went straight to “Daddy!” (always with an exclamation point, especially when he comes home from work, she runs through the house shrieking, “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” and doing the same “jump”/”crouch and stamp”). She says “Mommy” too, which is good, since “Mara” is “Mama” and could otherwise be confused with “Mom-ma.” She calls Micah “Bubby,” which made me realize how often we call him “Buddy”–I had no idea! And occasionally I will hear a “Min-ah” word, similar to the way Mara used to say his name. She is “Baby.” She has always been “Baby.” And I’m not sure exactly how to fix that within the next three weeks . . .?
• My favorite, of course! “I love you,” with a little lip-smack of a kiss planted on my cheek! Nothing better!

I love you too, Baby!

With Babies 2 & 3, Mara has always been the doting big sister. Thrilled to have a brother. And again thrilled to have a sister.

When I got pregnant with #4, she insisted that Micah needed a brother, and he would be so happy to have one, which we understood to mean that she too was thrilled Micah would have a baby brother.

Recently, Mara’s tune has changed a bit. She’s started saying things like “I don’t know. I just think our family is perfect the way it is,” or “We have Mommy and Daddy and Mara and Micah and Carissa–and that’s just perfect.”

Not sure where these ideas are coming from, but they don’t sound like Mara! (Possibly from the Clifford The Big Red Dog episode where Emily Elizabeth’s cranky friend Jetta has a new little brother.)

So you can imagine my joy when Mara told me today, “I have a surprise for you!” and handed me a card that she wrote.

It’s hard to read the way Mara wrote it, but I’m always intrigued by her attempts to “sound out” the words by herself! Despite the look of a bunch of jumbled letters, her attempt at writing does make sense on some level.

I told Daniel I feel badly that her teacher (I) have been slack in keeping up with teaching her blends and ladders that would help her learn to read. But all in time.

Daniel was intrigued that she shows “complete disregard for spelling, punctuation and all spacing conventions.” (Okay, she is only four!)

Maybe adding spacing to what she wrote makes it a bit more decipherable:

“Dear Mommy We R Ol Ixsid Too Se V Bab Buvr Luv Mara.”

Translation: “Dear Mommy, We are all excited to see the baby brother! Love, Mara.”

Yes, my dear Mara, we are excited!

I think I’ll keep this one for Braxton’s baby book.