It's fall!

Eight months.

Betsy is coming for you. So she can claw her way up your body. And stand up. And, no, she doesn't want to sit down, thank you very much.

 

 

Eight months old everyone. It keeps happening - she keeps growing up. Our littlest roommate is hard at work getting all her baby stuff done.  WILL YOU JUST STOP IT AND STAY LITTLE FOR AWHILE LONGER??!!

She crawls when she is in the mood. She is not terribly interested in doing it too much or in getting anywhere fast. What she wants to do is stand. If you are near her, be prepared for her to lunge for you and climb her way up your body with her little monkey hands. The view from way up high that standing up affords her is too addicting.  Yet, she is not so steady at standing. She wobbles like a drunken sailor. And falls over a lot. 

 

Her pincher grasp is getting much better (though not quite there yet) which is great for meal time as she is able to feed herself easier. But that also means she finds the tiniest little things on the ground which go directly into the mouth.  When she discovers the cat food, we are in trouble. 

 

She is NOT the easy little lump she was 6 months ago. But she is definitely more fun. And sweeter every day.  We are so lucky to have this little blue eyed girl to complete our family. 

 

 



 

 

This blog needs new pictures

So much hair. (okay, not really, but it's there!)

grape sculpture

Oh, hi.

soccer tricks

Married for seven years. Only 78 more years to go.

!!!

GO PUMAS!

Could she look anymore like her dad? Hello little Andy.

Seven months

(evidence of teething that kept me up a lot last night)

Well, hello beautiful girl.  Could she be more beautiful? Somehow this little pumpkin is seven months.  The girl is a full fledged, 'I want to get my hands on everything I can', baby.  She pulls our hair all the time. Andy gets woken up in the middle of the night to clenched fists ripping out his chest hair only to find a smiling little angel face looking over at him.  Oh well.

Betsy bullet points at 7 months:

• She is 17 pounds now (Curtis was maybe 19 pounds at one year)
• The girl likes to eat - pretty much everything we have given her, she has liked
• She would like to exclusively feed herself but is still working on that pincher grip
• She has two lower teeth and the top will be here any day. (see picture above)
• She still doesn't sleep through the night (sigh)
• She is trying her hardest to crawl - she gets on her hands and knees and rocks but only manages to go backward.
• She has no interest in rolling over - she does it, but it always seems to be an accident. 
• Curtis is still her favorite.
• She has the cutest butt on earth.  

two wheeler

And just like that he can ride a two-wheeler.  Andy held on for a few minutes and he just got it and took off by himself. That boy.

How are the kids? The kids are alright.

First off - new blog name? What do you think? It's been long overdue for a new name.  Although I love the Good Boy Blog - we have to make room for little b b marie too.  So our initials sound good together.  I don't know - maybe it will change.  THEN I started messing with the format and I can't get it back to the way it was before, so there you have it.

Also, I'm happy to report that Kindergarten is going very well. We are getting into a routine and it feels more normal. We all have to be ready to go and out the door earlier, so it's an adjustment. We just have to work on getting to bed on time.  CJ seems to love it from the little information we can get from him.  A big relief for me is that he really likes the school daycare. I think he enjoys all the attention the big kids give him.  Today he brought snack for his kindergarten class which also comes with some cool privileges like being a line leader, hitting a gong (?), and he also got to bring a book to share.  Currently his favorite book in the world that we have to read every night (and I find in bed with him when I check on him before I go to sleep) is:

Alternate title "The Story of Curtis"

Aunt Sally brought this book to him because she knew that this book was written about Curtis. The only difference is the boy in the book is named Peter, so when reading this book you have to change his name to Curtis. UNTIL the point in the story when the main character turns back into a boy, then we have to say Peter because there is no way that Curtis would turn back into a boy. Sheesh.  Anyway, I hope the rest of his class likes the cat book. 

Finally, Betsy Marie is still a super sweet baby.  She eats food now and couldn't be happier about it.  She likes to hold bits of food in her little chubby fists and try to get them into her mouth.  Pretty much everything we have given her she has liked.  It's super fun having a baby who likes to eat!!! I hope she keeps it up.  I love giving food to a kid and having them gobble it up!  She has two bottom teeth now and they are really starting to show.  We are enjoying cute little tooth-y grins.  She sits up and is working really hard on moving her body across the floor.  She can scoot herself backward but hasn't mastered the forward motion yet.  We are all in trouble and about to test out just how baby proofed our house actually is.

 "Hey Betsy, I'm eating a raspberry"

"I don't eat raspberries, I make raspberries"

First day of Kindergarten (or how to get your heart broken in 5 easy steps)

He did it. He started Kindergarten.  We have two days under our belts and we are ready for more.  Look at this boy.  He is the sweetest thing in the world, don't you think?

 We were all really excited for  his first day.  We love his new school and are so happy he gets to go to there.  He was picked by a lottery and when we got the letter that he got in Andy and I felt like he got into Harvard or something.  And he has a great teacher!  Mr. Gurney starts each school day singing songs and playing the ukelele - how awesome is that?!  His three main rules and focus for the year are: Be Safe. Be Happy. Be Kind.  These are things we talk about a lot at our house and I think this will be a good fit for Curtis.  

And Curtis did so great on his first day.  He found his name tag and cubby and took his place on the rug among the other kids with no problems. He didn't seem too nervous and when it was time for the parents to leave - he turned and waved and I had to run over and steal a quick kiss on my way out the door.  

I got this, mom.

As for how to get your heart broken part, here is what you do:

• Step one: Find out you are pregnant and completely fall head over heals in love with a little ball of rapidly dividing cells the size of a poppy seed. 
• Step two: Give birth to said cells in the form of a round headed, red haired baby boy.  Spend all of your time staring at, kissing, cuddling, smiling at, and thinking about the new center of your universe.  
• Step three: Raise this boy the best you can.  Love, love, and love on him.  Try to provide him with a safe happy home to grow up in and develop into his own little amazing person.  Try to encourage his confidence and individual spirit.  Work your butts off to provide for him and his baby sister even though you wish you could be spending your time with them.
• Step four: Get your boy ready for kindergarten. Pack his lunch in his new Star Wars lunch box inside his new black cat backpack.  Take cute pictures. Try not to let him see you tear up.  Drop him off. Watch him exude confidence as he waves goodbye. Think about what he could be doing all day long.
• Step five: Race to school after work to pick up your boy from the school daycare.  Walk in the door and see your kid sitting by himself because all of the other kindergarteners have been picked up already and everyone else in the room is older than him and know each other.  Then the first thing out of your big brave kid's mouth is "You took a really long time!".  Heart. Shattered.  Try not to burst into tears in front of the day care teachers.  

Oh this kindergarten thing is really hard on me.  Honestly, it really took me by surprise and I didn't realize how much anxiety I was holding onto about it.  Instantly I wanted to find a way to quit my job so I could be there everyday to pick him up at 11:45. And volunteer in his class all the time. And not have Betsy in daycare at all.  I had a lot of tears that first night. Being a grownup sucks sometimes. 

BUT, I know things will be fine.  Tons of kids spend their days in daycare when their parents work full time.  It's GOOD for him to see both his parents work hard.  And life isn't supposed to be easy all the time.  Curtis is an amazing boy and will find his place in this new school in no time at all.  He has an incredible opportunity to be at this school. AND his dad may get to volunteer one morning a week in his classroom and that makes me really happy.  I will volunteer as much as I can too. AND his teacher keeps a blog so we get to see what they are up to each day. 

The second day of daycare pick up went much better. He was having a great time playing with the bigger boys and seemed really happy to be there.  After a good nights sleep and the perspective a new morning can bring, I think I can let go of some of the crazy and go back to being excited and happy for the new year. 

 Mr. Gurney's statue in front of the school

Andy and Bets - yay for kindergarten!

(also, can you believe how much these two look alike?)