3 and a half weeks

Life is going by fast. Tilly is growing fast and strong, gaining maybe a pound a week. She is a very calm baby, not getting upset, onlyl occasionally a little protest about a diaper change. She's also very grunty, all night long she seems to be making noise, not sure if she's uncomfortable or just trying to figure out how her insides work. When she first came she seemed to calm if we sang to her. I feel like I can almost garauntee I can put her to sleep if I hold her and march, so maybe she lives up to her name: Strength in battle, our little valkerie. Finn is starting to feel a little jealous, he's not liking that someone is always holding her. (He has also been sad that he himself won't be able to give birth) But overall we're adjusting well. Oliver tells everyone that he trained her to hold onto his finger. The first few weeks she was still breathing quickly, but we took her in and the Doctors weren't worried. I am not getting nearly as much time in babyland as I would like. Still, the chances when I get to just sit and hold her, or in the middle of the night when I'm patting her back down after changing her, are very sweet. I feel like she looks intelligent, when she stares into my eyes it feels like there are gears turning, at least until she makes one of her funny cross eyed looks. One of her most common expressions is a very tiny mouth, like she's trying to learn to whistle. She's very strong, able to hold her head up for a good amount of time, ever since she was born. Francesca has commented that her head was smaller than that boys, so maybe it's not that she's exceptionally strong, maybe she just doesn't have as much weight to contend with. Commonly, I change her at 11 when I go to bed, 1am and then she grunts for an hour keeping me u, then Finn calls me in at 4 and needs me to sleep in his bed, then Francesca changes her at 5, Oliver wakes up at 7:30 and gleefully goes and visits everyone, waking up Finn who now literally kicks me out of bed, so I go and switch with Francesca I cuddle Rose while she cuddles Finn, and then we're off and running into a new day. Starting to find the balance, a few weeks until school starts, we're all doing well overall.

Finn practicing with a sling

Matilda Rosalia

Matilda Rosalia, we are all doing well, Mama and baby and the rest of us are happy and running around crazy. I don't want to spend anymore time posting because I want to spend it with her, sorry. 

 

1st outing

last outing while still inside

everyone helping with labor in their own way

 meeting the new sister

 new parents again

 proud big brother

1st reading book

August 2013

Oliver and his good friend Amanda putting on a play.

Finn getting in on the act.  
Oliver y su amiga Amanda hacer una obra de teatro y Finn tambien

And Finn wanted a beard.
Finn quiere un barba

First day of Kindergarden for Oliver.
El primer dia de escuela

2012 Group Camping

Spring lake Group Camping 2012

Primavera 2012

hay un ano que no pone un nuevo video, lo siento, nos vidas son muy occupado con los dos ninos lleno de energia. Estos videos estan de Enero, Fevrero y Marzo, y puede ver Finn aprende mas y mas como caminar (y bailar). Tambien puede oir sus palabras "ayuk" para "look" 'ver' y "throw" para tirar. En un video pone la pelota a su oreja porque Mama usa su mobil para hacer el video. En un otro video toca su palma con su dedo, que es un palabra de lengua de manos significa "mas". Tambien puede ver en los mas temprano que Finn prefiere a ir mas lejos a mama para usar ella a ayudar el a ir al pelota.

Que suerta estamos.


A year since last posted a video, we're run off our feet with these busy boys. These are vids from Jan Feb & March of 2012, you can see Finn getting better at walking (and dancing). You can hear his words "ayuk" for look and his version of throw, and see him communicating with vehement head nods. He holds the ball up to his ear because his mom is using a phone to record him. You can also see how he prefers to get mama to help him walk to get a ball, instead of going the smaller distance on his own. e

Birthday

Finn is 1! We were down in San Diego and he got his first taste of cake at Grandma's insistence. Did great on the traveling. Finn and Oliver seem to be having more and more fun together, cracking each other up. Still hard for Oliver when we play the walking game, when Francesca and I sit apart from each other so that Finn can practice walking between us. All of a sudden Finn has gotten walking. He's not totally independent, but really it's all in his head. He was toddling a few steps from one of us to the other, and diving for our hands, but now he's slowed to down to a more walking pace. If I take my hands away in the middle of a room he squats down immediately. Interesting how cautious he is. But he is cruising all over the house solo now using the push car as a walker. Francesca says he's also got crawling figured out, and can travel around that way too (although he did still face plant yesterday.) So really the only thing holding him back is caution, which he'll probably put away within a week. He's been sick and has a really hoarse voice. Other morning he woke up and said "hello" as he lay there looking at us.

Finn has finally gotten fed up with needing someone to move him to where he wants to go. When he see's something he wants he thrusts his arms up imperiously and thumps his feet like he's walking, with occasionals "eehhh"s if we don't come quick enough to help him walk. So he now can flop his way across a room to get an object, starting from sitting he bends in half til his forheads on the ground, then he slips out his legs and flops around a bit making a little progress, stretching and twisting, then sits up again, 2 or 3 of those can get him where he needs to go. But he's also working on walking, pulling up on the couch or the coffee table, and working on squats, going up and down. Really he can walk fine, he just doesn't believe it and prefers to use us for balance, but he seems to have the balance himself if he would just trust himself. He loves the little push car that Oliver used, zooms all over the house with that right into walls, so far we still spot him, but he moves fast without us touching him. Francesca and I play a walking game where we sit apart from each other and try to get him to walk from one to the other of us, trying to get our hands away, and he's getting more and more steps before he starts heading towards a face plant. So probably he'll have crawling and walking at the same time.

He's been gaining words too. Has Daddy, and apparently said Bird very clearly. Says Hi clearly. Has Ouch, where he also pats his head. Oliver had a cut on his finger and said "ow ow" when I pulled a pajama shirt off, and I looked over and Finn was patting his head.

He's super into the kitties, loves to try and pet them, which they surprisingly will tolerate for a small amount of time. He is loving books and will go and clear a shelf off if given the chance. One of his favorite things is to sit in the rocking chair and point at the books, it's his spot.

Still really into a lot of different foods, but also still revelling in pincer grip grabbing things, then holding them over the side and letting them fall. Or picking up his plate and turning it over above his head.

Had a little cold recently, which didn't bother him too much. And he's been drooling along with the cold. So he's been giving super slobbery kisses.

Oliver and Finn still get along pretty well. Oliver gives him hugs, and Finn loves to watch Oliver's antics.

Almost a year, it's gone soo fast.