bedtime

in our house, bedtime goes something like this:
bath. way easier to bathe both at once. except riley can't "swim" as well.
bottle (for macie. except tonight she only wanted an ounce. which turned out to be because matt had just fed her before i got home from work. oops. awesome communication).
books (2 for riley, 1 for macie while rocking).
bed. macie usually grabs her nuk, rolls over and closes her eyes.
riley? not so much. we go up. put on a diaper. feed squish the fish. say prayers. cover up.
then the questions start.
"mom? mom? just testing"
"i need to say goodnight to dad again"
"can we go see the stable where jesus was born? is it knocked down? can you check?"
"tomorrow can we find tigers fighting on the computer?"
"did i have a long day today"
and on.
and on.
and on it goes.
no amount of ignoring (he just yells louder), or deferring until tomorrow (he just keeps talking through my pleas) or answering (there are ALWAYS more questions) work.
he eventually tires. at least he has so far. and i do have to give him credit..he is far more creative than the standard "i have to go to the bathroom" "i need a drink"

playing catch-up

a lot has been going on in this house:

first...macie is crawling! the beginning of the end. she first did it on june 17th (and i was too lazy to write about it). at first she would only crawl for food (puffs a few feet away). now she'll do it for a toy or to get to someone. in just a few days she has really started to get the hang of it. and is quite pleased with herself. oh and we found her standing up in her crib a few mornings ago when she woke up.

we got a puppy. (what? you crazy people. what is wrong with you?). well, to avoid sounding defensive, i will simply say that i love dogs. we want our kids to grow up with dogs. it isn't the "perfect" time. but it never will be. he's 8 weeks old and 8 lbs. riley and macie are entralled.

riley has been enjoying his summer so far. we've been doing some swimming. lots of baseball. he has a new friend that just moved in across the alley. it has been a godsend. they play practically every day. awesome.

yesterday was father's day and i think matt had a nice day. it was a little busy. two get-togethers. but he had a nice day with the kids.

we went to door county with my mom, my brother and the kids last weekend. riley had a blast swimming. the kid is like a fish. traveling with two kids, though? not so much fun. if macie wasn't sleeping in the car, she was screaming. riley was inquiring about the remaining distance as soon as we left our street. great. still a nice time.

that's about all i have time for right now. need to shower and get the kids ready for the day..

sibling rivalry

riley is going to be in for a rude awakening. pretty soon, too.
"mom. i took (insert cool, fun, shiny toy here) away from macie. but i gave her this (insert sharp, unfun, boring, rock-like thing here) instead."
fair enough. take something, trade something.
macie couldn't care less. she doesn't know what's going on.
all is fine and dandy.
until macie knows what's going on.
and doesn't want that rock that riley gave her so he could have the cool thing that has flashing lights and makes noise.
so right now riley's all "i can take something cool away from her. and give her some piece of crap. and i don't get in trouble. sweet"
just wait, little boy.
pretty soon you're going to have to get more creative.
or make some sacrifices.
and it's not going to be pretty.
riley can share. he's actually pretty good at it. usually. sometimes.
but little siblings can be a bitch.
they want everything you have. "you don't want that car? me neither. what, now you do? GIVE IT TO ME"
i can hear the screams of protest already. judging by riley's stellar ability to whine (man, can that kid whine) and macie's scream that would drown out a flock of 10000 seagulls, i think i'm in for it.

7 months

i'm sitting here feeding macie a bottle (because i woke her up to change her. oops) and thinking about our late night feedings that seem so long ago. at the time, i would have given just about anything for macie to sleep through the night. now i kind of miss them. i don't miss being so tired i just wanted to cry. but nighttime is one of the few times macie is cuddly. she doesn't stop from 7am until 7pm. but in the middle of the night she would just snuggle.
now she's 7 months old!
per the precedent i've set:
*6-12 month clothes (usually. but sometimes she wears 3-6. why can't all baby clothes follow the same sizing guidelines??? i'm talkin' to you, carters)
*size 3 diapers
*sleeping from 7 or 8 pm until 4:30 am (at which point daddy has to replace the nuk). then she's up at 6 or 7 to eat and back down until 8. too bad riley doesn't sleep until 8.
*i was planning on writing about my awesome napper who takes 3 or 4 naps a day (an hour or so for each). but she apparently disappeared, only to be replaced with that icky baby who screams in her crib for 45 min ("let me out. let me out. i'm so tired i can't keep my eyes open. but let me out") until i give up and come in ("there you are. it took you longer than it did this morning. what's up with that") and her sneer of accomplishment.
*macie is sooo close to crawling. she gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth, just willing herself forward. then she falls. and screams. or she scoots herself backwards. and screams as she goes.
*still a champ at sitting. she got a compliment on her posture from an er nurse (more on that later) like we work on in at home. "no! why are you slouching! what are you, a 5 month old? back straight!"
*oh, um, she pulls herself up on things. yea, great. like riley's bed rail. or her toy basket. or people. just try and make her sit. or, godforbid, lay down. then you're really asking for it. when riley was a baby, i couldn't wait for him to hit all of his milestones. sit! crawl! walk! talk! now i know what i'm in for. would it be bad for me to start pushing her down? yea, i thought so. i just won't tell anyone about it.
*still trying to get her off of her soy formula. soy. you know. that stuff that was supposed to be better than god himself. and now apparently it has hormones and you shouldn't drink it. that's the stuff. well, macie has other ideas. everytime we try to switch, she's fine for like 3 days. and we're all "ooo. finally. look at this. she's fine". then she farts. and screams. and farts some more. back to the soy. with some breastmilk mixed in.
*da-da-da, ba-ba-ba, du-du-du. just a sampling of the babblings of macie. brilliant, i know. she's not a huge talker, though. when she wants to she does. like when she sees that goofy glo-worm. or when she's mad. she doesn't cry when she's mad that often anymore. just yells at you. when ry was a baby he used to talk and talk and talk. constantly (still does). just like he would laugh. all.the.time. you have to earn macie laughs. they're expensive, apparently. and reserved for family. just like her smiles. "mom. how dare that lady smile at me"
*pretty much loves all food now. squash, sweet potatoes, avocado, pears, apples, peas, green beans, oatmeal, rice cereal. oh and baby mum mum rice rusks. she can hold them herself. and they just dissolve. she shakes when i bring the box out. sooo exciting. don't you dare walk past her with a bottle, though, unless she can have it. you will not hear the end of it.
*growing more enamored with riley by the day. and vice versa. the other day, macie was being particularly unruley and i told riley we were going to have to take her back to the baby store. he was not happy. at all. he told me that, no, she lives here. i gave in and let her stay.
*i have given up on the swing. i figured if it hasn't grown on her yet, i'm probably out of luck. at least i have the memories of riley swinging happily in it to compare to the ones of macie screaming and panting in it. she does like the exersaucer and her jumper. as long as you watch her in them. or anything. she'll sit in her highchair. if you watch her sit. she'll sit on the couch. if you watch her sit. she'll even chew on things. if you watch her chew.
*she has this awesome (not) new arching thing. she does it when she doesn't want to sleep. or be held. or get dressed.
*macie is getting less cuddly by the day. if she doesn't want to be on your lap, you better hope you have a good grip, or are standing above something soft. constant motion.

likes: being watched. at all times. her family (must.find.family. must.know.where.they.are.at.all.times). anything that isn't a toy. food.
dislikes: sleeping. being buckled in anything.