A Calm Friday

The kiddos did great today.  Both of them slept decently.  Bubeaner had some talking-in-his-sleep incidents, but otherwise actually slept 13 hours.  That's impressive for him.  But he did sleep in the pack-and-play in our room.  But, as long as he (and us) sleeps through the night, we really don't care WHERE he sleeps so long as he sleeps.  Well, we might care if he is 12 and still sleeping in our bedroom.

Bubita did quite well too.  She did not sleep 12 hours but came pretty close.  She also did not sleep in her bassinet.  What is up with our children refusing to sleep in their beds?  Strange kiddos.  Or maybe just normal....

All that basically meant we had a pretty good, calm Friday.  It also helped that we really did not have any activities planned for today other than Bubeaner's dance & tumbling class.  We actually had some issues with the first part of the class.  Momma made the mistake of taking away the box of raisins, with the last three raisins, from Bubeaner right as we got off the car.  We may have just as well pinched the child for all the screaming and crying.  It was three raisins!  Bubeaner cried in class, refused to participate and at one point even attempted to play with the props.  That's a big No-No for coach Michelle.  We ended up just sitting outside the classroom watching everyone else have fun. 

In a strange way, it was a little reassuring that other little kids that are normally well behaved were having meltdowns too.  Misery likes company?  Or maybe just a reminder that kids are just kids and they sometimes have bad moments.  Bubeaner did participate in the second part of the class.  He did great.  In fact, he actually tried the balance beams several times along with jumping on the trampoline.  Bubeaner is light years away in his motor skills from when we started the class just a couple of months ago.  He even tried, TWICE, rolling on this huge wheel that forced him to do a somersault at the end!  Twice!  Did we mention he did it twice?!?

Well not to be outdone, Bubita decided to show off her mad skills on the walker.  She was doing great moving back per usual.  When suddenly she saw Momma and decided to follow her... moving FORWARD.  We thought it might have been a coincidence so Momma moved 90 degrees to the left and several steps back.  Bubita changed direction and took steps towards Momma again.  So just to make sure it was definitely NOT a coincidence, Momma once again moved 90 degrees to the left and several steps back.  Bubita did it again.  She now has enough coordination and strength to move herself in whichever direction she pleases.  Lord help us, the girl is MOBILE!

For now both little ones are sleeping.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be another enjoyable day.

Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Every Where

Everything in moderation.  That is a good rule to live by all the time.  Wish we had thought of that before buying 70 pounds of pumpkins.  And it did not help matters that Momma decided it was too much pumpkin to just throw away.  So now, the house reeks (smell is too mild) of pumpkin.  But at least Bubeaner enjoyed helping out preparing them for and the seeds. 

Actually Bubeaner was not thrilled with scrapping the seeds and other gunk.  At one point he actually cried.  In this, he is his mother's son.  Momma was completely grossed out... and she had no problem dissecting a cat in school.  Bubeaner did stick around to supervise our work.  He did enjoy cleaning the seeds.  Well, Bubeaner mainly enjoyed playing with the water.  The best part was that he was helping out.  He loves helping out.  Immediately after, he enjoyed (and needed) a bath.

He was in a much better mood today.  It could be because he actually slept through the entire night!  We are not sure if it was because he slept in the crib or some other unknown factor.  We don't care.  He's sleeping again.  And as things work in our home, that means Bubita did not sleep last night.

Bubita is still doing great with her naps during the day.  However, last night for some reason she woke up at 1a and then again at 6a to eat.  We are hopeful that this may be due to a growth spurt.  She was still in a good mood during the day.  There are few things that really upset Bubita so long as she gets food when she wants.

And thankfully, most of our day was like that today.  Living with children, we are finding out, is like dealing with Texas weather; it changes drastically day by day.  It's never boring.

Deja Vu

So, we took two steps forward and now are taking one step back....

We tried Dr. Z's tips and they worked.  Bubita is taking several 1-1.5 hour naps during the day.  It's wonderful.  And Bubita slept longer, almost 13.5 hours, the last two nights too and in her bassinet!  Previously, she had to sleep in her stroller.  She's also been doing great eating more solid foods.  Bubita has been eating half a container of apple sauce.  She could probably eat the entire container if we let her.  We are starting her on other foods, a different one per week, next week.  We might start with homemade pumpkin or sweet potato puree; we have quite a bit of it at home.

Today was a pajamas day.

 That's usually code for 

not-a-good-day-lets-keep-them-in-pjs-and-hope-for-the-best. 

Of course, some how that inversely correlates with Bubeaner's digressing on almost every aspect.  He had been sleeping so well in his big boy bed, but the last few days Bubeaner has been waking up multiple times during the night crying or wanting to play.  Twice, someone (we rotated) had to sleep in the room with him.  Unfortunately that also meant that parents, along with Bubeaner, did not sleep well.  This makes for cranky parents and REALLY cranky Bubeaner.  He has been acting up a lot.

Boobers (aka Sandy) is the only one not having issues, yet.

Doesn't she look strikingly adorable?

We are not sure if it's directly related, but Bubeaner has also been eating less.  A lot less.  Even his favorites are not working.  Oh, he still eats but mainly one semi-decent meal a day only.  And we have been having to hound him to drink his water too.  Usually, he drinks about 2.5 sippy cups (20+ ounces) a day.  The last two days he may have had one sippy cup a day... maybe.  He has also been complaining of "ouchies" on his head and today his lower back too.  We are not sure if he is really in pain or if he's just using his new favorite word.  (This past week he has been using ouchie a lot any time he has hit himself, fallen, or even for things that cause him discomfort.  He also knows Momma thinks it's adorable when he says it.)  Sigh.

Don't let that cute face deceive you. 

We really wish children came with a manual and translation device really would be useful too.

For tonight, Bubita is sleeping back on her stroller after refusing to go to sleep at 6, 630, 7, 730, 8, 830...  and Bubeaner is back to sleeping in his crib.   Tomorrow we will see what happens.

DEJA VU
(Doesn't it look familiar?)

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The Wiggle Worm Strikes Back

"Ah, sister.  You were wise to keep her from me."

The stare down continues.  Who shall prevail?

A truce is declared.

Phew, that was hard work.

Love is a CHOICE!

Eight years ago Dad and Momma vowed to love, comfort, honor and keep each other, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon each other our heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others for as long as we both should live.

 2002

Moving into our first apartment

Since then, we have learned a deeper appreciation of the vows we spoke that day.  We understand them a little better.  We know we have a long way to go still.  We have also learned the importance of putting our marriage first not letting work, hobbies, other responsibilities, and yes, even our precious babies, from devoting special time to our marriage.  We've surrounded ourselves with other couples who help us grow in our marriage.  Because the most important thing we have learned in the last eight years is that LOVE IS A CHOICE!  And every day, we choose to love each other and live the vows we made years ago.

2007

Pre-Babies, enjoying the Irish countryside

And in the end, that is the best we can do for our children allowing them the opportunity to grow up in a family with both of their parents hopefully learning that it is a blessing to find a partner to walk along with you in this life.  But that marriage is a commitment that requires daily work and a conscious effort to love one another.
 

2010

We are grateful for the years we have faced together and look towards the time ahead of us grateful for the many blessings in our lives, for each other, for our children, and for our parents who taught us by example.

Fall's In The Air

We woke up to a nice cool fall day.  It actually helped speed us up this morning.  We were running a little behind getting to Bubita's 2-month appointment.  And that was before Momma realized both car seats had to be reinstalled after Coco's spa day (tune up and cleaning).  For some reason, it always takes twice as long to do it when we are in a hurry.

Someone is feeling a little left out perhaps? 

Dr. Z is going to fire us one day for being late.  We are hoping she's giving us a break since we used to be early when it was just Bubeaner.

Bubeaner did great today.  He was not scared, though he was not necessarily completely at ease with the nurses.  Bringing him in to the doctor's office when Bubita has the check ups has helped ease his anxiety about the place.  Today he even stayed in the room while Bubita got her vaccines, or her ouchies as Bubeaner called them; he was adorable and kissed her afterwards.

Still amazed he can fit his legs in the Bumbo.

Bubita is doing great.  Our little baby is not as little as we like to pretend.  She measures 25.5 inches in length; a little tall for her age since she's in the 95th percentile still.  But she has trimmed some of the extra weight, not that it's noticeable from the beautiful double chin, chubby cheeks and ticklish thunder thighs.  She's now almost 14 pounds putting her still above average in the 75th percentile.  Her noggin is still larger than most at 16.25 inches (75%) but not as large as Bubeaner's.  Everything else looked great: reflexes, eye contact, ears, nose, heart, throat, etc.  We were definitely able to confirm that two little bottom teeth are coming out.  We got a good view of them when she cried during her vaccines.

Ah, his father's son!

He must add salsa to everything.

Dr. Z gave us some tips on getting Bubita to take more naps during the day which we will try immediately.  She also gave the thumbs up on solid foods.  Bubita has already been taking 1/4 of a tablespoon of applesauce for almost a month with her Prilosec.  Now she can have 2-3 tablespoons once a day.  And we can start trying other foods!  Bubita is going to absolutely love it.  She complains every night  after she finishes her medicine.  It will also make it harder when we eat around her.  Bubita already makes us feel bad because she stares at our food and us eating during meals.  But she will probably already be upset with us because of the formula.  Dr. Z gave us some tips on getting Bubita used to drinking the formula hopefully allowing Dad and Momma to take a couple-only little break sometimes in the future.  She suggested we try combining a small amount of formula with breatmilk at least once a day slowly increasing the amount.  Dr. Z said that even if that did not work, Bubita would eventually give in and take the bottle if that was the only option.  We are still skeptical about this.

From her other symptoms, it appears that Bubita may just have some allergy issues rather than full out asthma.  Phew.  That means that for now we only have to worry about the lactate and soy allergies.  And this may be temporary just like Bubeaner who now enjoys eating cheese and yogurt every day, if not every meal.  (And who says God doesn't have a wicked sense of humor?)  This leads us to Bubita's BM problems of the last month.  Bubita now has normal BMs after trying the lactation consultant's suggestion of either pumping 5 minutes before nursing or starting nursing on the same side all day, alternating on the starting side every day rather than every feeding.  It appears she was getting not enough hind milk.  Of course, that still did not explain the green color.... at least it didn't until Dad caught Momma eating a chocolate bar last night and asked about the MILK chocolate she was ingesting!!!

Bubita being tormented tickled by her aunt.

About a month ago, about the time Bubita's problem started, Momma bought the candy for Bubeaner's birthday party and Halloween.  And since then she's been sneaking a piece of candy here and there.  For an intelligent woman who watches every ingredient of anything she puts in her mouth because of Bubita's allergies, this can only be explained as a brain fart.  Meme'Licia was nice and said it may just have been a subconscious block since Momma wanted chocolate.  Why couldn't the block have been over a nice blue cheese crumble on a steak instead.  Sigh.  So, Dr. Z was correct.  It was, in part, Momma's diet.  At least now we know and can address it.  For now no more chocolate for Momma, and hopefully no more problems for Bubita.

Bubita might have cared had she not been feeling poorly after her vaccines.  She gets a low grade fever and sleeps most of the day.  Poor munchkin.  We hate to see her unwell, but we do it hoping to prevent her even more problems.  This is also the reason we debated going to visit great aunt Raquel today.  But her sister great aunt Bani was in town visiting and she leaves tomorrow morning.  We don't know when we will be able to visit her so we made the 40-mile (60-90+ minutes, depending on traffic) drive.

 Now, this is the way to get love.

Bubita with aunt Raquel.

It's during these excursion that we remember how far away we actually now live.  But it was worth it to spend a little bit of time with them.  Bubeaner even behaved a little.  He entertained the aunts with his antics.  At one point he tried and finally succeed in seating himself in the Bumbo!  The boy has scrawny, but cute, legs.  And Bubita was in a pretty good mood too.  It did help that they had both had their baths before we left and were in their comfortable pajamas.  The nap on the way down probably did not hurt either.  Bubita napped for the entire 90 minutes.  Surprisingly it was not that difficult to leave; we were worried about Bubeaner having a meltdown and Bubita crying all the way back.  Bubita was asleep within minutes and Bubeaner was not far behind.  The transfer to their beds once we arrived was pretty easy too with minimal interruptions and problems.  Now, let's just hope for a restful and peaceful night's sleep for all.

Trick or Treat

Phew!  We are glad night is here and both babies are finally sleeping.

Mom and Bubeaner getting make-up done

Bubeaner, as usual, started the day way too early.  But since we needed to make it to church that was not a problem.  However, with getting ready and feeding Bubita we actually missed mass at our new church.  So we headed to our old church.  We needed to be in that area of town anyways to pick up Momma's car from the shop.

Finally in costume

 And getting into character too.

Aunt Pau was able to join us which Bubeaner really liked.  Other than that Bubeaner was a little pill during the service.  At one point he was actually crawling and dragging his body on the floor!  Thankfully, we had decided to stay in the foyer.  We finally took him to the nursery.  Bubeaner walked along happily until the very moment he saw the nursery door.  At that point he started crying.  He recognized the ladies from his visits during the women's group on Thursdays but it did not matter.  Thankfully he was not crying when we returned for him.  But he started as soon as he saw us.

Chillin' with Dad before trick-or-treating

Our original plan for lunch with aunt Pau had to be cancelled once Bubeaner fell asleep in the car after mass.  And we know better than to mess with his nap.  So we hurried back home in the hopes that he would continue with his nap once we arrived.  Most of the time we can transfer him and he'll continue to sleep.  Today was not one of those days.  He woke up as soon as we parked in the garage.  We moved him to his bed and he stayed there.  Bubeaner just did not fall asleep; he talked, sang, even played, but did not sleep.  Sigh.  We knew then it was going to be an interesting afternoon.

Even Sandy was made to participate

Bubita on the other hand actually took a nice long nap today.  Not sure why, but we are grateful for it.  She's (Momma's) been really missing her long afternoon naps.  She also did so well during mass.  Of course, she had to eat as soon as we got there.  But we are used to it.  It does not matter which mass we attend; Bubita eats as soon as we arrive.  It's one of her quirks.

While Bubita slept, Bubeaner cried, fought Momma on his lunch and later his snack, kicked Dad during his diaper changes, chased the dog and pretty much cried on and off for most of that time.  Surprisingly he did allow Momma to paint his face for his Halloween outfit.  It did lead to more crying afterwards but at least he was in costume.  The entire family dressed as skeletons including Sandy.  The only one that refused, probably because he was the only one that could refuse, was Dad.  He wore his Cowboys jersey.  Dad said after today's game it was the scariest costume he could possibly wear.  The other neighborhood dads agreed.  But even so, we looked pretty cute.

We sit outside to wait for trick-or-treaters. 

It's easier than hearing Sandy go crazy each time the doorbell rings. 

Dad took Bubeaner trick or treating around our neighborhood while Bubita, Momma and Sandy stayed behind to hand out candy.  We had a good time.  Everyone was outside chatting and taking pictures of the kids in costumes.  It gave us a weird Stepford vibe but it was fun.

Bubeaner and Dad finally made it back home with a bag full of candy.  He finagled a couple of lollipops and a twizzler or two.  Refined sugar AND no nap.... not a pretty sight.  But he was able to help Bubita hand out candy for a little while longer.  Actually we were surprised not to have any issues with Bubita.  Other than gnawing our knuckles almost to the bone (she's most definitely teething), she really enjoyed sitting outside people watching.  And Sandy loved getting petted by almost every little kid in the neighborhood.

Our skeleton crew....muahahahaha!

And even though there was a meltdown while removing his make-up (thank the Lord for awesome make-up remover), another meltdown while changing his diaper and putting on his pjs, and another final one after reading the fourth book and putting him to bed (he usually gets only one story a night), Bubeaner is now peacefully sleeping.  Bubita is snoozing in her stroller.  And Sandy is snoring (loudly) on the recliner.  And peace reigns in the house.  All would be perfect except for the Rangers being behind in game 4 of the World Series.  Well, it all can't be perfect.

Excitement and Exhaustion

Excitement and exhaustion are two sides of the same coin.  And today we had both in spades which could explain why both babies crashed soon after dinner.  Well, that and the fact that Bubeaner thought 5a was a fun time to get up today.  As cute as he was, it's not so fun to wake up to "Dadda! Poopoo!" 

Of all the things at the airshow, this is what caught his attention.

Bubeaner really enjoys spending time with Dad.  And he especially loves the weekends.  Today, after the morning wake up call, both went to get their hair cut.  No girls allowed.  They both came back looking so handsome.  Bubeaner was sporting a faux-hawk.

We had planned on brunch today rather than lunch.  We needed Bubeaner to take his nap earlier; he's a little crabby when he does not get his nap.

Chillin' while Dad and Bubeaner admire the big trucks

Today Bubeaner and Bubita went to their first ever airshow.  Momma and Dad grew up going to airshows and L O V E D them.  And, it seemed like the perfect place for Bubeaner since he is obsessed with planes.  We purposely planned on going for only a couple of hours because both are so young.  It would not be fun if Bubeaner and Bubita were overtired and sunburned.  We remembered the best part of the airshow was always the Thurderbirds/BlueAngels.  And they always performed at the end.  So we headed out.

Poor Dad was trying to keep her shaded AND to protect her little ears.

We were actually pretty prepared: compact, light folding chairs; stroller; sippy cups; umbrella for shade; hats; sunscreen; hats.  Perfect.  Timing?  Perfect too.  We arrived with enough time to check some planes and then get into place before the Blue Angels took off.  The only problem?  We forgot just how loud and low they fly.  Bubeaner was not thrilled.  In fact, he was pretty distressed after a particularly low fly by that actually moved us. 

One of the few times he smiled during the Blue Angels show.

Bubita was not happy either, but mainly slept through most of the show.  Bubeaner was a trooper and made it through.  He even managed to enjoy a little bit of the other planes on display after the Blue Angels were done.  God willing, we plan on going back next year.  However, we will probably go early in the day and enjoy some of the less dramatic flying demonstrations.  Oh, and we will definitely remember ear plugs for the little ones next time.

Skeletons accessorize too

Afterwards, we made it back just in time to change Bubeaner, Bubita and even Sandy into their matching skeleton Halloween costumes.  Our new community organizes a trick-or-treating parade for children.  And it turns out it's actually a mile long, even though it feels like 10 miles since we were carrying Bubita.  (Bubita had had enough of the stroller after the airshow and drive home.  A little side note:  he actually informed us BEFORE he actually did it that he was pooping while on the drive home.  And he made sure to ask for "Dadda".  Momma enjoyed that.)

This was supposed to be just the babies and dog.

But we had a meltdown when we separated Bubeaner

from his candy bag.

Bubeaner was not sure about the whole bag and strange people all around.  At least he was until he realized people were putting CANDY in his bag.  Candy!  Oh, he was in 7th heaven.  Before we could decide what he was going to be allowed to eat, he had a lollipop in his mouth.  It was actually a good thing since he takes forever to finish lollipops.  By the end, he had gotten the hang of trick-or-treating.  The problem turned out to separate him from his candy bag.  Man, little boys have a strong grip when they want something.  And he voiced his complaints!  We are pretty sure everyone in the neighborhood heard him.

Aunt Pau and Bubeaner

Happy again since he had his candy bag back.

Thankfully, a quick shower followed by a quick supper helped distract him.  At least for now, the bag is forgotten hanging in the mudroom.  We will see how tomorrow works out for us.  But at least for now, both babies are sleeping after a fun and, definitely, exciting day.

Learning Curve

Momma and Dad were startled awake to the sound of a door closing.  The immediate panic was eased 1/2 a second later as we realized the alarm was not going off and the dog was not barking.  A 1/2 second after that we both realized the possible culprit:  Bubeaner!  He had gotten up and was opening and closing the playroom door.  Why?  Not sure.  Why not go in and play?  Still not sure.  But it did reaffirm that the baby gate was a good idea.  Who knows what he would get into if he could roam the house unattended. 

The only other thing we are having an issue with his new bed place is his sleeping.  Well, not the sleeping so much as the moving he does while sleeping.  Bubeaner would move so that his head and, most of the time, even his body, touched the edges of the crib.  The problem he still looks for that even though he has moved to the big bed.  We have been using pillows to create "barricades" so that he does not fall of the bed or get a crink in his neck.  Surely, at one point, he is going to stop moving so much.

And, in a change, Bubeaner was the one that woke Bubita up this morning.  She had slept 12 hours!!! Woohoo!  Bubita was in her stroller all night.  Not sure if it was coincidence and she was working her way back up to sleeping that long or if sleeping there eased her reflux.  Either way, we were thrilled.  We are trying it again tonight.  We are hopeful she'll have a good night especially since she refused to take any naps today. Although she did fall asleep during part of the pumpkin patch visit and during our evening walk.

Pretty soon we are going to have to move our evening walk up an hour or two.  Today was a little chilly already even though the sun was still out.  Bubeaner even wore a little pull up.  And Bubita had a hat on and was tucked in a blanket in the baby carrier.  As the weather gets colder the little ones may get too cold if it's late.  And of course, our hope is that they also start going to bed earlier as the days get shorter.  We have noticed that Bubita may be working her way towards that earlier bed time.  She gets really sleepy around 5-6p every day.  So it could be a possibility.

The pumpkin patch was fun.  It was not as crowded as last weekend.  Bubeaner actually got in some of the bounce houses.  He is not jumping yet, but he bounces up and down now.  And he really surprised us when he went on the TALL slide bounce house.  It took him forever and a day to climb up.  And once he was at the top we thought we would have to go and get him.  Bubeaner was not sliding down.  But some older kids started jumping at the top and slowly he bounced, bounced, bounced his way to the slide and all the way down.  He just got up and went again.  After that, Bubeaner would actually go down by himself.  But he was no fool, he slid face down, legs first.  Bubeaner even tried the hay ride too.  He was not too thrilled with it, but loved the horses along the route.  It's nice to find activities around our area we can enjoy. 

Pumpking Carving

Well, we are not completely back to Bubeaner and Bubita sleeping through the entire night, but we are close.  Bubeaner did great again last night.  He might have even slept a little longer, but Bubita was making so much noise that she woke him up.  We heard Bubeaner calling out for his Bebe from our room.  This time he was at the gate when Dad got to him.  It appears he was trying to make a break for it and had thrown Lovey over the gate.  He had decided there was no way of escaping (yet) and was trying to rescue Lovey.

Yo Momma!

What's going on?

Thankfully, we were able to get them back to sleep for almost an hour in the morning.  Bubeaner was playing when he just climbed on our bed and zonked out.  Just like that, with feet hanging off!  As to Bubita she had to be bundled.  She had been able to sleep with just her sleep sack for a while.  This was great since she outgrew all her swaddlers.  But, for some unknown reason, she's back to needing to be swaddled in order to sleep.  So we found the blankets our friend T made for John and a couple of his NICU blankets.  They are the only ones large enough to swaddle her effectively.  Interestingly, no matter how tightly she is bundled Bubita finds a way to free her hand.  We are finding she's a lot like Momma in many, many ways.... And Momma is scared.  The grandparents?  They are enjoying this a lot more than should be fair.

Mmm, yummy.

We were still trying some of the suggestions from the lactation consultant and were getting good results.  That combined with less beans in Momma's diet appeared to be eliminating all our problem symptoms.  At least we were until this afternoon.  She had to take her afternoon cat naps in her stroller because increased reflux kept waking her up.  Tonight she's sleeping in there too.  But we are confident it's just a little step back and are actually improving.

And Bubeaner is also deciding to change his diet.  He goes through phases.  For a while, he could not get enough tomatoes and carrots.  Later he would not even touch them, but ate so much string cheese and hummus we had to buy them at the wholesale store.  There were no worries about his calcium and protein intake.  Now, he is done with them and, surprisingly, back on veggies.  And Bubeaner is suddenly not into milk.  He absolutely LOVED his milk.  We could not figure out what caused the change.  Then we remembered Dr. Z changed him from whole milk to 2% milk.  Bubeaner does NOT approve of the change.  Surely less than 16 ounces a day of whole milk should not be too bad for him.  We see Dr. Z on Monday for Bubita's 4-month check up and will ask her then.

Mine! Mine! Mine!

We are still amazed that Bubita is going to be 4 months already!  It really does feel like we brought her home just a week ago.  Time is going by even faster with Bubita than with Bubeaner.  How is that even possible?  As much as we want her to stay little as long as possible she just keeps growing and growing and growing.  We just count our blessings; she's our little princess.

Today we were admiring her tummy control.  She's able to lean forward and force herself back up to sitting position just by using her abs.  That is impressive.  She got a work out today.  Last night she was finally able to grab a hold of her feet and so today she kept grabbing them.  Of course, one of those times she over corrected.  And Momma was so enthralled watching Bubita she failed to catch her.  Bubita was not thrilled, but at least she only hit the armrest of the recliner.

What?  What's wrong?

We are not sure when babies are diagnosed with asthma.  But she does wheeze and cough like asthma; it's in the family so we know the difference, but are hoping for the best.  At the very least we know that Bubita has more allergies than Bubeaner and Momma.  Most mornings she wakes up sneezing her little head off.  Sigh.  But then again, most people suffer from allergies in this area.  We'll just keep an eye on it to make sure it does not change.

This afternoon we worked on some Halloween projects.  Bubeaner made a drawing with some stickers.  And he also glued on eyes, nose and mouth to a construction paper pumpkin.  Bubeaner's pumpkin actually turned out a little scary.  We signed and dated them so that Dad can take them to his office.  Bubita provided moral support and encouragement.  She was quite vocal, but she was mainly busy trying to eat one of her toys.

There is always time to play with your sibling.

Bubeaner also helped a little while Momma carved out two little pumpkins.  He was not sure what was going on until he saw the faces.  The moment he saw them he said "baza", short for "calabaza".  We also toasted the pumpkin seeds.  Our time was a little bit off and the were a little brown but still tasted good.  Even Bubeaner agreed.


We take a little walk around every evening before dinner after we've put away all the toys and taken baths.  We've been doing it often enough that Bubeaner is starting to recognize the neighbors and kids and slowly peak out of his shell.  And there are plenty of kids for him to see; there are 40 houses in our little neighborhood and 53 kids!  And that is part of the reason we love our neighborhood.  It's nice to walk out and see other parents out enjoying the evening, chatting with each other while watching the kids play on the street.  Yes, kids still play on the street!  In a large metropolitan city!!!  Love it!

Bubeaner a little tired after finishing his artwork.

His is the one on the right.

Tonight our bedtime routine was a little different.  We took a little earlier walk and ate a little earlier.  And Bubeaner was even allowed to stay up a little later.  Exceptions had to be made; the world series started today.  And everyone loves to watch some "ballball".

Oh, Beautiful Elusive Sleep

Bubeaner did great sleeping on his own last night on his big boy bed.  He did not wake up during the night.  And this morning he did not stay in his bed when he woke up, but he did not attempt to leave the nursery either.  We wondered if Bubeaner would go into the play room or at the very least go into the hallway to the baby gate.  So far it looks like he's making the adjustment without a problem.  And we are trying to adjust too.

He had a pretty good morning.  His favorite part every morning, other than breakfast with Dad, is playing pretend with Dad.  Bubeaner loves to walk around in Dad's shoes.  There is a specific pair that's his favorite.  And a time or two he has made Dad change shoes.  He also has to go through the same grooming routine as Dad including trimming his beard.  Thankfully, it's not a razor in case he ever gets a hold of it without us around.

Bubita was not as easy going as her brother this morning.  She woke us up a few times during the night making smacking noises.  And she did actually wake up to eat at least twice.  That coupled with Bubeaner's normal early wake up time meant we did not get a lot of sleep.  And unlike us, Bubita did spend a good part of the morning sleeping. 

But Bubeaner and Momma enjoyed this special one-on-one time together.  We played and worked on learning our colors.  We also did a bit of organizing all the toys in the playroom putting away toys that Bubeaner is still to young for or that he has outgrown but Bubita has not yet grown into.  It was a good morning.  He did complain at lunch that he had an ouchie on his head.  Headache, perhaps?  In any case, Bubeaner took a good 2.5 hours afternoon nap.  Unfortunately, he woke up crying setting the tone for the rest of the afternoon and evening. 

Bubita refused, as she has lately, to take a long afternoon nap.  So she spent part of Bubeaner's nap enjoying one-on-one quality time with Momma.  The girl cracks us up.  She has developed a loud squealing laugh.  Thankfully, she works her way up to it so we are not taken by surprise.  How can such a little girl make such a high-pitched squeal?

Bubeaner had his swim lesson today.  He has improved so much from the first lesson.  Not only did he not cry at all today, but he actually ran towards the pool.  (Scary, but a good improvement.)  During class, he successfully blew bubbles in the water, and kicked.  He even worked on learning to float on his back and using his arms to propel himself forward.  Bubeaner was not keen on that idea of floating on his back.  But he did enjoy watching his legs and feet as he kicked.  Now that he is comfortable with coach Morgan, they are going to concentrate on getting out of the pool and other pool safety issues.

And, as a perfect way to end the day, Dad was able to join us for our daily evening walk around the neighborhood.  That and a quick dinner and both little ones were in bed on time.  Hopefully tonight we will all be able to get a good night's sleep and be ready for another good day tomorrow.

Bubeaner Birthday Bash: Aftermath

The decorations are put up.  Grandma, aunt Pau and uncle Ivan have gone back home.  And Dad returned to work today.  And just like that Bubeaner was back to his normal routine sleeping through the night and waking up at 6am.  Bubita's routine was still suffering from the weekend; she woke up twice during the night at midnight and 3am wanting to eat.  We are hopeful for tonight.

Thankfully, both were able to have good naps after a nice relaxing morning.  Bubita spent most of hers dosing in and out.  Bubeaner, on the other hand, was still playing with his new birthday gifts.  Of course, he did take time to help Momma clean using his new sweeper/vacuum cleaner.  He loves that thing.  And the best part is that it actually works; it's a win-win situation for all.

Bubita is still having some problems with her BMs.  Liquid fluorescent green poop is not a good thing in our opinion.  The lactation consultant believes Bubita may be getting too much fore milk and not enough of the hind milk causing this problem.  She suggested pumping for 5 minutes before nursing Bubita.  We are going to give this option a try before attempting the pediatrician's suggestion again.

Yes, it may be true that most babies will eventually eat once they get hungry enough.  But if Bubita is half as stubborn as her mother, well, we may well end up taking her to the hospital due to dehydration.  The girl just does not like formula.  OK, she HATES her formula.  And out of all formulas, it's one of the most disgusting.  The doctors even agree with this.  Bubita has absolutely no problem taking a bottle so long as it's breast milk.

The other option (a modified version of the pediatrician's suggestion) we might try is to have Momma just eat an extremely limited diet (yes, even more limited) for a week while still nursing Bubita and see if there is any change.

Thankfully, in other areas, Bubita is thriving.  She loves her walker.  We were surprised when she started moving (backwards) on the third day of using it.  However, we assumed Bubita was not aware she was actually moving it.  Today she proved us wrong.  She was happy so long as she could move backwards.  Bubita would start crying the moment she got stuck between furniture or hit the wall.  She knew she could move.  WOW!  She continues to amaze us.

Bubeaner is also doing great.  His vocabulary is increasing exponentially every day.  He can talk in English, Spanish, an interesting Spanglish version, and still a little bit of gibberish we call Bubeaner language.  Most people can even understand most of what he says.  However, there are many times when only Momma or Dad can understand what he says.  Some of his words have just a little tiny difference in pronunciation. But we are so happy he can now communicate so much better his needs and wants.

He's learning some etiquette and is now saying "mas" followed by something that might be "por favor" when he wants something.  And he also uses complex sentences!  He's definitely entered the questioning stage.  Most of his longer sentences involve asking how something works or what it is.  Bubeaner also appears to be interested in why someone wants something.  He's pretty nosy. 

And, we cannot fail to mention his big move.  Bubeaner is now sleeping in his big boy bed.... alone!  We did a trial run with uncle Ivan sleeping there.  No problems.  So we decided to try it again tonight.  He was actually really excited when he saw us pull out the trundle and got in without a problem.  Momma checked on him several times and he was awake for a while.  But not once made a move to get out of the bed and wander around.  The baby gate is up just in case.  If this continues to work, we may be moving Bubita to the nursery in a couple of weeks.  Maybe.

New Tricks

We have been asking Bubeaner to make a lot of adjustments in a really short time.  He is normally so shy.  We are not sure if all these changes are good for him or just make matters harder.  Bubeaner's refused to participate much in his new swimming and dance/tumbling classes.  However, we know he's learning because he e comes home and repeats everything from the class.  But the moment he's in class he shuts down. 

This week we saw a change. 

He still cried when we dropped him off at the church's nursery when Momma attended the women's group.  But we could hear him singing down the hall when we returned to pick him up.  The ladies at the nursery said he cried a lot less and interacted with them and the other children.  He looked like he had really enjoyed his time there.

And at dance/tumbling class, Bubeaner actually participated in the activities.  He was actually one of the first ones to do some of the activities without a glitch.  In the past we are usually the last ones because Bubeaner either refuses to get up and do them or he gets really upset if we have to stop to let other classmates take a turn.  No crying or fussing this time.  He even helped out coach Michelle when she asked for volunteers to help put the props up.  Bubeaner went by himself without Momma.  He didn't even look back.

He's also talking a lot.  But now we actually understand what he's saying.  He says new words during every conversation without our prompting.  Some words we haven't even practiced with him for a while.  He's just actually having conversations now.  He's saying words in both English and Spanish.  Bubeaner also knows the numbers 1-10 in Spanish.  Two is his favorite and the clearest - maybe because we are practicing since his birthday is coming up - while 6, 7, and 10 all sound pretty similar.  But it's progress.  And he's also been singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."  His favorite part, and the most easily understood, is "up above so high."

Bubeaner enjoys admiring himself on the mirrors at dance/tumbling class.  But for the first time, we noticed that when he noticed the animals on his shirt he did not reach out to touch them on the mirror.  He touched them on his shirt.  He's definitely now aware of self.

We love watching as our children discover the world around them.  It's like we are rediscovering it with them.  Bubita has recently been extremely fascinated by her left hand.  She stares at it all the time.  She is also getting so much better at grabbing items within her reach.  Today, we could not stop her from moving a burp cloth so she could gnaw on it.  In so many ways, maybe because we know how fast they grow up, she appears to be growing so much faster than Bubeaner at that time.  With Bubeaner we were eager for the next stage.  Always wanting the next step.  With Bubita we want her to slow down.  We want to savor every little aspect of her current stage.  It just goes by so fast!

Although this weekend is not going by so fast.  We are sick.  OK, so not everyone is sick.  But it appears that Dad, Bubeaner and Bubita have all caught a cold, stomach bug, or something of that sort.  (Momma lucked out... or maybe not.  We are still debating that.)  We have no idea where we caught this bug.  In the past, the bugs came mainly from Dad's work.  But nowadays, it could be from gym class, dance & tumbling class, swimming class, play dates, and even the church nursery.  Sigh.  And, of course, there really is no realistic way to prevent Bubita from catching it.  Thankfully, they do not have a fever.  Our hope is that it's a short-lived virus/bug.

We did discover that Bubeaner takes more after Momma when sick; we used to think he was more like Dad.  Dad, and as we found out Bubita too, "sundown" when they are sick; they feel worse as the day progresses.  This is the more common occurrence.  However, Momma and Bubeaner feel the worse in the morning and tend to feel better as the day progresses.  Bubeaner was playing with his toys as normal by the end of the day.  He was so active we feared he would not settle down to bed.  Thankfully that was not a problem. 

Bubita on the other hand is having a hard time going to sleep like Dad.  They both look like they are a little miserable.  (Actually Dad is the one that looks the worse.)  Bubita has settled down a little now that she's swaddled, fed and being rocked to sleep by Momma.   She has been extremely needy all day.  She's also been cluster feeding.  We are not sure if it is due to a growth spurt or a need for comfort/soothing.  It may be a little of both.  Hopefully, we will all have a better day tomorrow.

Swimming Play Date

Today was a great day though we all ended up exhausted.  Bubeaner and Bubita had their first play date at the new house with H, Meme'Licia's granddaughter.  Bubeaner does not see her too often, but he's had fun the few times she's been in town.  And today he gave her a nickname: Laylee.  Although it really is just her name a la Bubeaner. 

Move over Ms. Universe there's a new beauty in town

We decided to entertain the children by taking them swimming.  Actually, they were just going to play in the splash park, but we could not get it to work other than in one zone.  Bubeaner and Laylee did not appear to mind at first, but then they were drawn to the pool.  We were concerned about the pool because both little ones love the water and are definitely not afraid of it.  In previous occasions we have gone the ratio of adults to children has been in our favor.  Today we were outnumbered if Bubita was counted. 

We traded the flower headband for a cute, yet functional, 

hat once we went outdoors.

We were right to be concerned.  We had to keep our eyes on them at ALL TIMES and EVERY single SECOND.  At one point Bubeaner decided to walk into the pool and just keep walking.  Meme'Licia was right behind him.  But we assumed he would stop walking once the water got to his chest, then his shoulders, then his neck, and sure he would stop once it hit his mouth.  Nope.  Apparently Bubeaner believes he can walk underwater.  Now, this all happened within seconds.  And Meme'Licia was at hand to rescue him from himself.  It happened so fast we are not sure he even swallowed any water.  Silly boy!  And silly adults for thinking common sense worked on children.

Bubeaner and Laylee playing in the pool.

The rest of the time was a little more relaxing since Bubita decided to take a nap in her stroller.  Man-to-man cover was a lot easier.  Amazingly after 5 private swimming lessons we could still not get anything out of Bubeaner.  He refused to blow bubbles, kick or pretty much do anything.  He did, however, enjoy floating on a "noodle" and jumping in the water with Momma.  We will just have to continue with the lessons and hope he's learning something.

An exhausted Bubita napping after her first trip to the pool.

Upon our return home, Bubeaner had a meltdown.  We are not sure as to the cause but it was not pretty.  It was a struggle to change him, rinse him off in the shower and dress him.  He only partially calmed down when he got a hold of his lovey.  He must have just been exhausted.  We were sure he was not going to make it through lunch before falling asleep.  We underestimated the power of a play buddy.  He not only finished lunch but even went off to play with Laylee afterwards!  (Laylee's nap time starts an hour after Bubeaner's.)  However sleep eventually won out.  After a little while he stopped playing and informed Meme'Licia he was going Night-Night and promptly went into the nursery, got in his big boy bed and went to sleep.  By himself!

Bubeaner insisted it was a Cookie Monster towel

rather than a dragon.

It was also an exhausting day for Bubita although she spent most of the morning napping in her stroller.  This was her first time in the pool.  And she was able to wear her very first swimsuit, a bikini.  She looked adorable.  And not uncomfortable.  However, Bubita was not convinced about the pool.  She most definitely did not like the inflatable turtle we had hoped she would use.  Bubita would have none of it.  She wanted to be held preferably with her body out of the water.  This proved a little difficult.  Bubita ended up being carried while being covered by her baby towel.  It was light enough to not get Bubita too hot but still offering her protection from the sun.  Maybe Bubita will eventually warm up to spending time in the pool.  She definitely enjoys her tub and even the shower.

We spent the late afternoon finger painting, coloring and playing

with Bubita while she did tummy time.

And that morning nap may have messed up her schedule.  Bubita had already refused to go back to sleep after the 6a feeding.  Instead she stayed awake until 10a and slept for about an hour.  When we got back she slept about an hour after each feeding in the early afternoon, but never took her long afternoon nap.  This probably explains why she had problems going to sleep at bedtime.  Bubita fought it until 930p; she's usually asleep by 630p-7p. Hopefully she will sleep through the night.

Bubita fuming about tummy time.

By all accounts Bubita should be exhausted.  Not only did she spend some time in the pool but we also worked on Tummy Time for quite a while.  She HATES it.  Absolutely hates it.  But  we are not discouraged because Bubeaner hated it to until he got the hang of it.  And it should be a little easier for Bubita since, even though she does have a large head, it is proportional to the rest of her body unlike poor Bubeaner who at that stage still had a preemie body.  But for now, she spends most of her time crying and screaming.  It did help a little today trying the play gym mat.  Bubita was entertained by the different colors and toys.  We also enjoyed watching, and videotaping, Bubita purposefully grasping at different items on the mat. 

She never complained during the brakes from tummy time.

BubeanerBubeaner sleep walks.  He was standing in his crib sucking his thumb; he looked awake but was completely asleep.  Dad just gently laid him back down and covered him up.  We are not too surprised since it runs in the family.  But we will probably have to put up a safety gate outside the nursery to stop Bubeaner from wandering through the house unsupervised while we sleep.  He already gets into too many things when we are awake to worry about when we are sleeping. Today Bubeaner managed to open the pantry door, get the peanut butter crackers, and close the door when he was done.  This is the reason we have door locks on some tactical doors.  Unfortunately, Momma forgot to lock the pantry door in the morning.  And Bubeaner was smart enough to do it while Bubita ate when Momma couldn't really do much.

Bubeaner self-portrait.

Bubeaner also continues to amaze us with his personality.  We do not spank in our household as a rule.  Though, we do believe there are occasions when a spanking has been, and will be, necessary.  Most of the time our approach to discipline revolves around the Love and Logic method (there are consequences for every action) which really means time outs for Bubeaner.  The catch phrases we use are "That's not acceptable behavior" and "That's so sad."  One of the keys is to always appear in control of your emotions.  So these phrases are said in a normal soft tone of voice, never in anger. 

Today Bubeaner was coloring with his crayons when he decided to start taking the wrappers apart and coloring on the cabinets in the play room.  All Momma did was say "that's so sad" and put the crayons away.  When we turned around Bubeaner was not to be found.  He had gone to his room and put himself in time out!  So we timed him (2 minutes) and then let him off when the time was up.  He went back to playing without a problem.  WOW! 

A Little Bruise...Or Two

Ah, we used to tell other parents how lucky we were that Bubeaner had no interest in climbing.  It was true until a few weeks ago.  Then suddenly, things changed.  He is climbing on everything: the beds, the couches, the chairs.  In fact, he will climb on any little thing that can give him a few more inches in height.  This means that he is also into everything.  Counter tops are no longer out of reach.  And it also means an increase in falls and bruises.  Almost every day he has a new bruise, usually on the head (a draw back from being top heavy), or scrape/cut.

Dad watching the pre-game show with his babies.

Sunday Bubeaner fell from his little blue chair while trying to show off for his godfather.  Uncle Jeff tried comforting him as a nice, big bruise (and bump) appeared on Bubeaner's forehead.  Yesterday, he fell on his bottom.  And this evening he tripped while running around the bedroom and bit his tongue.  Sigh.  We used to joke about getting him a helmet for protection.  Now we wonder if we should wrap him up in bubble wrap.  We are convinced these scares are giving us gray hairs.

He did not appreciate us interrupting his reading time.

Bubeaner has also made great strides in talking in both English and Spanish.  He's turned into a little parrot mimicking every word/sound we say.  He particularly loves to repeat everything, E V E R Y T H I N G, Dad says.  Dad had to be VERY careful while watching the Cowboys game.  Bubeaner is still a little shy about talking in front of other people but even Meme'Licia and aunt Pau have heard some of his new words.

Enjoying a good brunch after church.

Morning is the only time he eats well sometimes having 2 morning meals. 

And the shyness has turned into separation anxiety in regards to people.  Bubeaner was pretty open to strangers despite being shy mainly because of his NICU stay and being exposed to a lot of people through church and friend groups.  But suddenly something changed.  He had no problem being dropped off the first time at the church nursery.  He didn't even want to leave at the end of mass.  But the second time we left him, this time at our old church, he cried a little then settled down.  The third time it was a little worse and so on.  Today he even cried when going into gym class.  And it took him almost 10 minutes to settle down during his swimming lesson.  It no longer helps if he can see Momma.  He wants to be within touching distance.  Even at home, Bubeaner will cry if Momma steps outside without him.  We are at a loss as to how to help him through this.

Finally getting some swimming done with coach Morgan 

As to Bubita, she continues to grow and thrive.  She simply adores her big brother.  She smiles the moment he comes into her line of vision.  She's even reaching out to touch him now, which he loves.  Yes, Bubita is now reaching out to grab things.  And she's getting better at actually making contact.  Of course, it helps if it is a large object.  We love watching her.  Bubita will look at an object then get this look on her face (we call it determination) and then her little hand will start making it's way to the object.  And when Bubita makes contact, good luck trying to pry it out of her little fingers.  The girl has quite a strong grip.  Meme'Licia and Momma have lost some hair to her as of late.

Having a heated conversation with the flying bear.

 (She looks like Bubeaner's twin in this shot.) 

She is also turning out to be a talker like her brother.  Well, Bubita doesn't suffer from the Talking Disease that runs in our families; she's a little more discriminating.  But she does have some long conversations nowadays.  And she's making more sounds than just goo and coo.  We love the intense look she gets when she's talking with us.  Her eyes get so big and excited.  Half of her conversation is through the expression in her eyes.

Enjoying a pre-dinner conversation with Momma.  

She's still having some reflux.  We still struggle emotionally with giving her medication.  Of course, it does not help that it's extremely frustrating to get her to ingest the medication.  We tried multiple styles of bottles and nipples and even using breast milk versus formula.  We even attempted to entice her by adding dark Karo syrup to her bottle.  Nothing worked.  Most of the medication usually ended up being spit up or remained on the bottle.  We finally had to give up and give it to her using our fingers feeding her immediately afterwards.  It's the only way we found to make her take it.  Sigh.  On the bright side, her BMs look a lot better and she is still able to go without a bib most days.  It took us a while to get to this stage with Bubeaner.

Our Summer Garden

Good luck finding a prettier little blossom. 

 
Bubita also continues to sleep through the night.  Lately she's been sleeping almost 12 hours going to sleep sometime between 645p and waking up at 6a.  She's pretty consistent on her wake up time of 6a just like Bubeaner.  She wakes up in a good mood too smiling and cooing.  But, unlike Bubeaner, she goes back to sleep until 9-930a.  She's still eats every 2 hours with a little bit of a cluster feed right before bedtime.  The last few days Bubita has been even taking a long afternoon nap of 3-4 hours.  We are optimistic this means she is settling into a more "regular" routine.

We just adore how she looks in bright colors.