Months Six & Seven were like Heaven

Truly... my sweet boy has officially stolen my heart and I loved every minute of the past two months with him!  He is happy and fun and we have established a beautiful bond during these first six months of his life!

It is soooo fun having a boy and experiencing their differences from girls.  David is so much more physical!  He loves to wrestle with and growl at his toys, he loves to bang on things and swat at things.  He smells like a boy, but in an oh' so wonderful way, and he is so emotional, has a temper, etc... He is also sweet as candy and his little smile melts me in a way that words just cannot describe!

David is working on the usual milestones.  He started sitting on his own a week shy of his eight month birthday, he is starting to rock on his knees and can hold up his own weight in a standing position against something. I think he is going to be an early walker for sure, he has always loved being upright!

Like his sister, David is very verbal and tries to mimic many of my sounds.  He says, "mmmm" when I feed him and he is starting to try and say "mama".  He recently copied me sticking out my tongue to make a tootie noise and has not stopped sticking out his tongue since.  He is fussing less and tries to verbally let us know when he wants or needs something instead of just crying.  He loves to laugh, especially at his sister!

David already loves balls and likes to get a reaction out of his toys.  He seems to enjoy all of the things that Margo wasn't crazy about... He likes things that light up and make noise, his play gym and he loves the activity cube with round beads on the wire.  He doesn't love his books as much as Margo, but is beginning to show more interest and if it is soft and can fit in his mouth, he is in heaven!  A baby spoon is one of his favorite things and I always let him munch on his after meal time!

David is sweet as pie and his smile lights up a room and lights up my life.  I am so happy to have a beautiful little boy to turn my world upside down!

Milestones Galore for the Girl I Adore

When I go back and look at pictures and videos of Margo in the past six months, I cannot believe my eyes... she has changed so drastically and is truly growing up from a baby into a little girl.  For the first time, I feel a bit of an aching to have my baby back and with that comes a flood of sentimental tears as I learn to become a mama in this next phase of my darling's precious little life. 

Me and my girl!

Her hair has grown so long, it is time to finally get a haircut.  She has finally learned to play independently, something I have been wishing for for a long time... be careful what you wish for as they say.  She gets so immersed in her amazing imaginary play that she doesn't want to help mommy or walk to the mailbox with daddy... when in the world did this happen?

Little things have changed.  She is sitting in booster chairs at restaurants and uses adult sized forks and spoons at home.  She can turn on the water and knows which is hot and cold.  She can brush her teeth quite well on her own.  She has discovered she is big enough to get out of her bed and act like a crazy little monkey maniac at bedtime--fortunately we nipped that in the bud with a week of stickers and a weekend campout in her new tent.  There are so many things she can do "all by myself" now with a little problem solving and ingenuity.  She takes her stool to turn on a light or get something she wants off of a higher shelf or converts the sofa into a car to transport her animals to their imaginary school.

I could probably go on and on and could save so much for her three year post which is just around the corner, but she has had some BIG milestones too...  Margo is officially potty trained!!  I had my grand plan in place to have the diaper fairy come visit as soon as Margo's summer school program was over.  She had something different in mind.  A new friend (yet another milestone for my socially inhibited girl) had left quite an impression on her at school since she was the only one in the class that wore big girl panties and this got the wheels turning.

So one day Margo just decided she wanted to use the potty.  Thank goodness I am anal to a fault and already had the items for her treasure chest purchased, I just had to put it all together.  I composed a letter from the diaper fairy with a great incentive plan to get treasures from a box, set out a box of pull-ups for the nighttime and washed a brand new set of Minnie Mouse panties.  She was so eager that a few M&Ms probably would have done the trick, but after our first failed attempt I was over-prepared.  The Diaper Fairy swept in during the night, took away all her diapers and away we went.  Save for one day of bad accidents and some fears over pooping on the potty, she did fantastic and she was 100% trained, except at night, within about one week.  She has the occasionally bit of wet panties as she catches herself immersed in play, but she finishes on the potty and can control herself from having a major accident.  We have no trouble at school or in public, thank goodness, and she is able to nap in her panties.  She doesn't even use a potty seat or a stool.  I am truly proud of her and I only wish I had listened to the advice I was given to wait until she was good and ready.  One of many 1st time mommy lessons...

Yaay for using the potty!

The Diaper Fairy's Letter

The contents of her treasure chest from the Diaper Fairy.

The other even bigger milestone, in my opinion, is Margo saying goodbye to her beloved "sha sha" (her pacifier).  In the past month we have battled a rash around her mouth and nose that I think was made worse by the pacifier.  I wanted her to be ready to give it up and also wanted to hang on to her last little bit of baby ways, but it just wouldn't stay clear despite RX creams of all sorts and two trips to the pediatrician.  We have talked A LOT about her being a big girl and not needing the pacifier and in the past week I pushed it a little more because of the rash and told her Dr. Duble was probably going to make us get rid of it.  Margo's ability to reason is incredible and the more we talked about it the more she was ready, but I know she was sad too.

We have now gone four days and three nights without her sha sha which she only used at nap and bedtime.  Tonight was the first night she cried for it, I told her to be brave and that they were gone now and we couldn't get them back.  Bless her little heart, I cannot write this without crying... she relinquished her tears and I gave her extra lovies and rocked her an extra long time and indeed, she was quite brave.  She always is.  Margo is a good girl, she has an incredible little nurturing heart and her little spirit shines so bright in everything she does.  She is resilient and handles change and stress very well even though she can also be sensitive at times.  She has had her moments, but I think she acts out much less than what is average for a child her age. 

With her sha sha's in her tent.  She always had to have two.

One of her last night's with sha sha and I never take pictures like this.

I see Christ in every ounce of her being and it has touched me deeply to know how very very much she loved her pacifier, yet she was so courageous in giving it up.  She would have sucked it all day had I let her and it was her favorite thing about getting in bed.  Our home is pacifier free now since David does not take one and something so simple and silly as a pacifier is going to be sorely missed.  It has been such a fixture in our home and Margo's life and it means my baby is growing up. 

I have suffered a broken heart a million times over since becoming a mommy... the illnesses and boo boos, the losing my temper when I shouldn't have moments, the fears and anxieties and so much more, but this one has me really pining to have my baby back.  I wish I could take her her sha sha and let her enjoy its comfort one last time, but I too have to be courageous and show her that I am proud and strong.  Being a mama is the greatest gift on earth and it does not come without pain, but oh' how the joy outweighs the pain.  Seeing the satisfaction on my sweet girl's face over her recent accomplishments makes it all so incredibly worthwhile and my heart bursts with pride for my girl that I so so adore!