Monday, October 18, 2010

Sorry, Amelia

Bored with choosing his own mismatched outfits each day, Marley has moved on to dressing Amelia, as well. "She should wear the polka dot shirt with a cupcake on it, the pink flower pants, and this pink sweater. I can do the buttons for her. She can't do it because she's a baby."

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Pumpkin Patch

Stay tuned for more pictures from our trip to the pumpkin patch!

5 Months

Five Month Old Amelia

15 lbs, 26 inches

Five Month Old Marley

13 lbs, 24.5 inches

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Poo-splosion!

As we rushed out the door this morning to make it to story time at the library, I realized that I had forgotten to reload the diaper bag. Oh well, we weren't going to be gone that long... Can you tell where this is going?

Story time was fine, lots of books and songs about pumpkins, which got us really excited about going to the pumpkin patch with Sarah next week. The librarian loves Marley because he likes to exclaim things like, "Wow! That was a really great story!" after she's done reading each book. On our way out, I was happy to discover that there was one diaper left in the bag! So I changed Amelia before we headed to the grocery store.

As we drove I could hear Amelia back there filling her diaper. And filling. And filling. I debated what to do in my head. I could just go home. But, we really needed milk, and the store was right there. I thought about just carrying her in her seat and trying to be quick, but I knew she'd just look up at me the whole time with those big eyes saying, "Mommy, help! I'm sitting in poop here!"

So, I put on my Mom Scouts uniform (figuratively) and pulled into the QFC parking garage. The best thing about our Forester is the hatch back, which makes an excellent changing table. None of this would have been possible in the Neon. Marley and I carefully assessed the situation. Not only was Amelia's diaper FULL of poo, so was her shirt. And her pants. And socks.

I wish I could have recorded Marley's narration as I wiped up poo. I think it went something like this. Note: to get the full effect, you'll have to imagine each statement being repeated 10-12 times. "Why did Amelia poop on her clothes? Why is Amelia trying to grab her poop? Why does Amelia have poop on her legs/hands/back/feet? Why does Amelia like to poop in her diaper? Is Amelia going to poop on me? I don't want Amelia to poop on me." And so on.

While, I didn't have any diapers left, I did have lots and lots of extra clothes. I was also armed with wipes, plastic bags, and most importantly, an extra diaper cover. Once she was all cleaned up (more or less), I fashioned a diaper out of an extra t-shirt and pants of Marley's (shirt diaper with a pants doubler - quite a trim fit, actually). Insert more questions about why Amelia's wearing his shirt/pants, and statements about how he doesn't want her to poop on his shirt/pants. I added the cover and clean clothes and... Voila! Good as new (more or less).

We did our shopping and made it home with no leaks from the shirt/pants diaper. And Amelia got to have a good long bath. Now to go deal with the bag full of poo items...

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Marley likes pink

Marley plays with trucks and baby dolls. He likes superheroes and princesses. He dresses up in lion costumes and fairy wings. But, I know this won't last forever. In fact, I bet a year from now, he'll be able to assign a gender to each of those rolls. Maybe he can already. I don't know, I haven't asked. I'm sure one day he'll want to dress up like a ballerina in a pink tutu, but he'll know that pink is "for girls", so he won't. And that makes me sad. Right now, Marley is just as likely to want to wear a head band, like Mommy, as he is to want to shave his face, like Daddy. It's endearing, and sweet, and innocent. And I wish he could stay like that forever.

Okay, that got a lot sappier than I had planned:) I, actually, came here to show you this photo of Marley demonstrating his intense love for the color pink. He loves pink so much, in fact, that he often likes to remind us at random times. For instance, at the dinner table:

Jeff: Please pass the salad dressing.
Marley: I like pink.

He has assigned the rest of us "favorite" colors, as well. For some reason, I got purple. Purple is only okay, in my opinion. I would much rather have blue, or green, or red. But, no. If there is anything purple to be had, I get it. No amount of protesting will convince Marley that my favorite color is not purple.

Anyway, back to the photo. Yes, that is Thomas the Tank Engine wearing one of Amelia's old sleepers. A bit creepy looking, an armless/legless train wearing pink pajamas, I know. But, whatever makes the kid happy, right?

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Progress Report

Amelia had her 4 month well baby check up yesterday. She did great for her two shots. She let out one big cry, then popped her thumb into her mouth to soothe herself. Here are her stats:

Weight: 14.5 lbs (55th percentile)
Length: 25.75 inches (85th percentile)
Head circumference: 39.5 cm (8th percentile)

She's rolling over both ways now, scooting all over the place, grabbing for toys, and bringing them to her mouth. She sleeps 8-10 hours at night, wakes up to eat, then sleeps another couple. She LOVES her big brother and gets a huge smile on her face every time he comes near. She is becoming very vocal and has the cutest little squeal and giggle.