Wednesday With My Littles

Mara's First Bubble Bath

Mara loves the Curious George book where he makes “lather and more lather and MORE lather!” And she’s always asking for bubbles (in the kitchen sink or in her bath), so I thought she would LOVE a bubble bath. Tonight was her first one! And I’m learning that maybe she likes to live these things out vicariously through others in books, rather than experience their uncertainties in real life.

I started filling the tub and then went in her room to take off her clothes and change her diaper. When we came back, the entire tub was covered with bubbles! and instead of being super-excited as I had anticipated, she seemed troubled as I set her in the tub. “Where water go?” she asked. Then she swooshed the bubbles aside with her hand, and seeing the water still underneath, she said delightfully, “BOO, water!” It was really cute!

Then she was disturbed about the effect the bubbles were having on the toys. “Guck eyes!” she said sadly as she held up the duck (whose eyes were covered with bubbles).

“Well, help him out!” I said. “Rinse the bubbles off!” After that, she got so excited and she must have spent 45 minutes playing in the tub.

———–

Today Mara had a PB&J sandwich for lunch (her favorite). She pointed at it and said, “Sandwich! Sandwich in Mara’s book.”

“Yes, you’re right! There is a sandwich in your book,” I agreed. In “Wings on Things,” there are two children eating sandwiches for a picnic lunch, while bees swarm around them.

Then she said emphatically: “Bees–in our house!”

“Bees?” I repeated. “In our house?”

“Yeah,” she insisted.

“Where are the bees?” I asked, still not convinced.

She pursed her lips and squinted, looking off to the side. Then suddenly her eyes lit up and she said, “GONE!”

I replied, “Well, they must be gone, because I certainly don’t see any bees in our house!”

At the time, it was pretty funny.

———-

A friend from church came over for awhile this afternoon, and Mara of course wanted to entertain her. Mara put her Hello Kitty stickers up on the wall by the stairs and pointed at three of them. “M-O-B. Mara,” she stated.

This is always how she spells her name. I told Daniel, She thinks she’s part of the mob.

No matter how many times I say, “Mara. M-A-R-A.” She still repeats: “Mawa. M-O-B. Mawa.”

—————–

We had tortilla chips at dinner and Mara was munching on one beforehand. I was at the kitchen sink, and could see her reflection in the window pane.

She was headed straight to Micah in his walker, holding out the tortilla for her little brother.

I said firmly, “NO, Mara! Micah is not old enough for chips!”

So she looked at Micah and said, “No chips, Micah! No soup, Micah. ONLY Mara.”

She had tried to give Micah her sippy cup of milk earlier in the day, and I told her that Micah couldn’t have that kind of milk until after he turned one. So now, that’s what she tells him. “SOUP, Micah! Atter ber-day ONE!”

————

Little Micah, on the other hand, just kept eating! Today he ate a Gerber 1st Foods container of Peaches with oatmeal for breakfast; 2 ice cubes of peas with oatmeal for lunch; and 2 ice cubes each of sweet potatoes and bananas, as well as more oatmeal for dinner! And then he lowered his head down and began knawing on the high chair tray, as if I had fed him nothing all day! . . . He still looked ravenous, but I really couldn’t see feeding him more at that point!

So Fast . . .

onmonitorOn Tuesday I got a call from Jefferson’s apnea people, saying that Monday’s download showed no true episodes and the doctor who reviews Micah’s downloads is recommending that he come off the monitor!

offmonitorI was so excited! Especially since Sean had said that some of the airlines don’t allow the baby to fly with a monitor. . . and we have tickets to visit my family in South Dakota in the middle of October! So I wasted no time calling the pediatrician and getting the final okay from him. Here are the pictures: what I carried around BEFORE and AFTER!! (“After” is so much simpler!!!!)

And Tuesday night, Micah went to bed for the first time in his life without any wires or tubes on or in his body! It was great to see the little guy lying there in his cradle, just like any other little baby! . . .firstnightwomonitorHe really is getting so big! His feet reach the end of the newborn-sized sleepers now. It won’t be much longer before I have to pack away his “newborn” clothes with the “preemie” ones. The past couple of weeks, he has started really smiling, and almost laughing. It is wonderful that he is a normal baby now. He’s also started enjoying the Baby Einstein activity mat, kicking his legs and waving his arms to activate the lights & start the music. Sometimes this summer it seemed like this stage would never come . . .

“It goes by so fast,” people keep telling me. So I want to write it down and remember it all.

Saturday Night with Micah

Tonight was the first time Micah didn’t cry at all for his bath! He used to cry as soon as his feet touched the water. Then he got over that, and would start crying when I poured water on his head to wash what little hair he has. And, until tonight, he always cried (at some point) during the transfer-to-baby-bath-towel-and-getting-dressed process. Until tonight.

I could hardly believe it. He almost seemed to enjoy his bath! He is growing up.

Before he went to bed, I was nursing him and he kept looking up and catching my eye with the biggest smile his little face could contain! I could hardly stop laughing, which meant he could hardly stop smiling. . . so of course he couldn’t concentrate on nursing. It was the sweetest moment!

I hugged him and told him he was the little boy I’d always wanted. I told him that I pray that he will grow up to love God with all of his heart and I pray that we will be great friends some day when he is all grown up. I told him I’m sorry for the things I’m sure I will do that may drive wedges between us, and I told him to know through it all how deeply he is loved–by God, and by Mom & Dad.

I had to look away, or he would never stop smiling, and he would never finish nursing!? . . . My precious little Micah-man. . .

Memories of Mara

We went to Mercer’s Cafe the other day. We love Mercer’s! I will always remember it, especially, since it’s the place we went to celebrate on Sunday, November 18, 2007, the day we found out I was pregnant with Micah. It’s a great little local breakfast cafe, one we both enjoy! Daniel loves the coffee. I love the atmosphere.

This particular day was not special. Just wanted a good breakfast without having to cook, since our house is still in boxes and we have two small children.

We walked in–Mara, first, as a guy held the door for her. She was really booking it! She knew where she was going, and the guy holding the door gave her this look of surprise as she ran past him. We barely sat down, when a waitress walked by. Mara whirled around in her seat and shouted, “WAH-wah!” [water]

We looked at our 20-month-old daughter in amazement, and I said, “Mara, say ‘please’!”

I guess she always hears us order water from the waitress after we sit down, and she didn’t see any need to wait around!

Of course, she wanted to pray after we ordered our food and it didn’t come right away! She holds out both hands (we hold hands when we pray), then bows her head and says “Oy, oy, oy, oy” in a hushed tone.

Then she’s making friends with the cops that are sitting next to us, and the two older ladies behind us.? There’s not a shy bone in her body!

. . .

Tonight was so incredibly special. I don’t even think I can express it adequately. It was the first time Mara seemed to do something for something else, at her own expense.

The glider rocker is in Micah’s room, so before Mara goes to bed, I take her in Micah’s room to rock her and sing to her. Unfortunately, Micah cries (SCREAMS!) for several hours–usually right at Mara’s bedtime. So while I’m singing soft bedtime songs, Micah is screaming at the top of his lungs in the cradle next to us. Mara was tired. She was leaning on my chest, sucking her thumb. But after one or two songs, she sat straight up and said intently, “Min-uh! Min-uh!” [Micah! Micah!]

Then “THL-loor! THL-loor!” [Floor is one of her new favorite words, and this time she was asking to get down on the floor.]

So I let her get down and she stood by the cradle, saying, “Min-uh! Min-uh! Min-uh, nur!” [nurse] She was very intense, nodding her head and squinting her eyes, as if desperately hoping I would understand. She wanted to get down on the “thloor” so Micah could nurse. She knows that makes him quiet . . . My heart really melted, and I just looked at her for a couple of seconds. I couldn’t believe she was sacrificing her own time with me, for Micah! Then she started making the “fish” face, demonstrating “nursing,” in case I didn’t understand!

I picked up Micah, sat back down, and let him nurse, and that calmed him down right away.

“Min-uh! Min-uh! Nur!” She beamed a huge smile . . . I want to always remember.