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.