My little ham...

I just wanted a little smile before work.

ONE

Any resemblance?

This is Remick.This is my grandmother, Cynthia (Chita) Cate Beal.

What do you think?

Six Months Young

I did a little photo shoot of my little guy today since he is SIX MONTHS OLD!!! These are a few of my favorites. I can't believe how fast time has flown with this mini-man in my life. Just yesterday I was big as a house driving stakes into the garden. I can't believe it's December already.

This guy is growing and changing so fast! Yesterday I put him to bed in our bed and was playing trucks with Makili in the other room. I thought I heard him a few times, but he wasn't crying so I figured he was okay. Then I hear a big thud! He crawled/rolled/scooted off the bed! Thankfully we have a low bed now, but seriously I had no idea he could do that! Which of course brings sweeping changes into our little house soon! Makili has to move into a BIG bed so that Remick can have a crib, which means that Raph and I can't sleep on the futon in Makili's room any more because it won't be there, which means we might actually get to sleep in a bed together again without a baby! Here's to hoping anyway!

Remick has been sleeping better recently. We've actually started letting him sleep on his belly which seems to have made a tremendous difference. I mean, we're still up a few times a night, but not every 45 minutes!!! I'm thankful! I can actually stay up past eight getting things done because I can count on a little more sleep!

Remick continues to be a pretty mellow guy. He is so quick to smile and laugh, loves activity, music, and charms people so easily. He puts things in his mouth sometimes, but certainly not like some other babies, though that might be because he hasn't been given any solid food yet. He goes to the doctor next week, but I'm pretty sure he will weigh in on the heavy side again (see thighs above.)

I feel like part of a real family unit lately and feel very blessed to be surrounded by such great guys.

Cranky!!

Cankles and...?

Remick definitely has some major cankles (no difference between calf and ankles, mom, sine I know you'll ask me later what that means), but Tamara pointed out last night that he doesn't have any knees. They're like little dimples instead. Is there a name for that? Thalves? Any ideas? (Yes, sleep deprivation is contributing to this post.)

Portrait of Some Serious Cheeks

My Big Guy

My guy is five months today. I've not been so good about doing updates for him like I was for Makili. I feel badly about that, but in all honesty, there are plenty of days it is a miracle I can post anything at all. So let me fill you in on where Remick's is at.

He is big. At his last appointment a month ago he weighed over 18 pounds and was over 25 inches long. And he still has a big head, though not as big as his brother. A good portion of his weight seems to be concentrated in his thighs and his cheeks, which seem to stand out with chubb.

He's got the gross motor thing figured out. He's been sitting for almost six weeks. He is far more willing than Makili was at this age to be on his belly, and seriously makes me think he might crawl soon. He also has been threatening to roll over lately. He did it once to get a really shiny bag, but otherwise just sort of does it halfway. He also likes to stand and in particular bounce. He would probably love one of those doorway bouncer things - maybe I'll see if I can find a cheap one somewhere...

As for fine motor, he's definitely still working on that. He is SUPER grabby and spends most of his day grabbing stuff (like my hair - ouch!), but isn't super good at tracking something that he is holding, though he is getting better every day. He sticks his hands in his mouth constantly, and occasionally will stick an object in his mouth, but definitely doesn't do this as a rule. I'm hopeful that he'll be like Makili and not be too into putting things in his mouth.

He still sleeps like crap, waking up every 45 minutes to 2 hours all night. Raph and I typically take shifts putting his plug (pacifier) back in, since most of the time that is all that he wants. He doesn't like a dirty diaper at night either though, so sometimes that is the cause of the fuss. During the day, he is a reliable napper, and most days I can get him to nap at the same time as Makili so that I can have a few minutes to get dinner made or blog.

He LOVES music. We noticed this from birth, but now that he goes with us to Makili's music class it is even more evident. He is completely transfixed for much of music class, though he often shrieks with excitement and flaps his arms. He flaps his arms a lot actually, when he's excited or mad. When he is really unhappy, we can often turn music on and he'll calm down. He doesn't like loud noises or being yelled at (like when Makili yells at him to stop crying in the car). Typically these things make him cry or cry harder. Sometimes he cries if Makili is crying.

Between his cat naps, Remick is a pretty happy guy. He smiles at everyone and is generally very amiable. He LOVES his brother and sometimes his whole face will light up when he hasn't seen him in a while. Makili gives Remick LOTS of attention. I probably say "space in the face" a hundred times a day. But Remick handles it quite well. Most of the time he likes it in fact.

All of sudden, Remick has been needing constant entertainment. He wants to be on the go all the time. Putting him on the floor with toys is out of the question sometimes. I wonder what has changed in his brain.

We've become pretty cozy in our little family unit. I feel very fortunate to be home with my boys and watch them grow, even if I also feel frazzled and stressed a lot of the time too. It is a hard job to be a stay-at-home mom. I like it though, and feel lucky to have the chance to play this role.

3 Months Blowing By.

My little guy turned 3 month old two days ago and it's taken me this long to get to this post. Life is busy!!! But good busy. Full. Kids, friends, gardening, work. That is about it! If only we could get sleep to figure a bit more prominently into that list, we'd be set.At 3 months, this guys is pretty sweet. He LOVES me! He spends endless amounts of time cooing and smiling at me. He is SO verbal. He will talk to himself in the back seat of the car for like 1/2 hour straight. He is generally an easy baby EXCEPT for sleeping. We had gotten to a good place where he'd sleep for 4-6 hours streches, but now we're back to waking every hour or more! Ouch. Not so much for nursing, just because he wakes up. And the thing about Remick is that though he's smily and cute half the time, he tends to be a wailing siren the rest. He wants things a specific way and won't stop wailing till you figure out that he wants to be swaddled, with a pacifier, left in the swing with the white noise on. Any variation on that recipe and he wails. So needless to say it takes a while sometimes to figure out what that recipe is, as it changes.
Remick very steadily holds his own head and likes to be sitting up (or standing) most of the time. He gets bored and likes to have new scenery (unless of course he's looking at me). He spends so much time looking at faces and taking things in, which is so different from Makili. I think Remick is going to be an earlier talker than Makili. I was telling Raph the other day that I think I could start signing to Remick now and he'd be signing back at 6 months.

Remick is in the heat of learning to use his hands. We picked up an exersaucer yesterday from Nadine's pre-yardsale and he's been digging the short periods of time he spends in there. And I don't think that I'm going to be as lucky with Remick and I was with Makili in terms of not putting things in his mouth. He already likes to have his hands in his mouth all the time, and yesterday he got a plastic bag in his hand when I was changing Makili's diaper and it went straight to his mouth. Uh Oh.

He still likes music and is generally soothed by listening to music, both at home and in the car.

He still tolerates his big brother's incessant doting admirably. I can't wait to see how thier relationship develops...

My big little guy.

This kid is growing so fast.
He's already
working
so hard trying to get his little hands
onto objects that he sees. It is fun
to watch
his knitted brow
concentrate
on an object as his little fingers
spastically grab.

He learned to get those little fists into his mouth.
He love
things in his mouth.
My arm. My hand.
His hand.
And to rub his eyes when he's tired.

He smiles so BIG and fully.
I am the center of his universe. Scary, huh.
For so long. He smiles at me for so long.
Big and full and sweeping
that smile.

He likes to be swaddled for sleep.
In the swing.
He grunts
and fidgets, but most nights sleeps pretty well.

He's getting hair!
A soft fur.

He likes it when you tickle his cheek.
Sing songs.
Walk around.
Rock.
This kid likes to move.
We should have know when we chose a name with the initials
RPM.

I'm smitten.

Big So Fast

With all due respect, SCREW the chiropractor

After several sessions of chiropractic care for Remick who pretty much never slept soundly, and barely slept at all unless being held, the chiropractor said he needed to keep coming back even though any improvement was marginal. Pshaw. Apparently all that was needed was a SWING! I have just gotten the two best nights of sleep in seven weeks thanks to a $20 swing from the children's resale shop! And I got all sorts of things done yesterday while he took a nap! I don't want to jinx anything by saying we're through the storm, but it is certainly a huge improvment! I mean the kid went to bed around nine, slept till one, and then again till 5:15. There were months (and I'm sure those are coming) when Makili didn't do that well! And he went back to sleep! I got to go for a run, take a shower and post this before my babies woke up today! Miracle!

ALREADY?

Here he is pretending to take a nap with his brother. This sort of thing never lasts long.

A month already? Yikes. That is scary. Remick is already one month old today. We're still getting to know him and learning to live together.

He's a mellow fellow sometimes. When he is awake, he is very awake. He stares around the room so alertly, smiles at me frequently, and is generally pretty enjoyable. He likes to be sitting up, holding his own head up. This week he started to enjoy standing. You can tell how intensely he is working when he is standing, as he spasms and grunts and thrusts his little fists out in the air. It is pretty cute. He likes to be held at all times pretty much, though occasionally he will permit us to lay him on his back to look around. These times seem to be more infrequent lately, however.

He likes to be swaddled and held in the nursing position to fall asleep, though he has definitely had more squawky periods lately where he is difficult to console. As an added bonus, he also decided riding in the car is for the birds and screams like a banshee which also brings Makili into the crying arena, screaming, "no baby no baby no baby." But we've done a few longer trips recently (like the two hour trip to Boston and back to drop of my parents) where he does verey well for a LONG time.

Remick also likes to be held sleeping at all times. This is getting quite old. Raph and I ordered a new bed this week, and are hopeful we might actually sleep in it together sometime in the next year. Right now, Raph has been sleeping on the couch, and we take turns getting sleep all night, which inevitably means neither of us sleep a whole lot. Yesterday he took his first nap laying down in the bed, which a pretty big milestone for all of us. He also doesn't sleep soundly like at all. My midwife recommended taking him to the chiropractor, where they will hang him by his toes and tell him he had better straighten out and sleep better. So sure enough we're going to try it. (Literally they hang the babies from their toes. I have no idea if this will actually make him sleep better, but I'm willing to try. Apparently babies dig it. I'll report.)

Remick has been sporting some serious baby acne for the last two weeks making his pictures less than becoming. I go back and forth about whether or not he looks like Makili. He definitely shares some facial traits, like that brow, but his head shape is certainly different, not being as round. And he has these chubby jowls that hang down.

Remick continues to receive quite a bit of attention from his big brother. Makili enjoys laying on Remick's face until he tries to nurse on Makili's cheek. Makili will then turn to me gleaming saying, "baby gave wet kiss!" I think Remick is going to be a Makili fan in the not-too-distant future. He already tolerates his doting admirably.

Remick also continues to grow quickly. He already weighed 11 pounds 2 ounzes at his doctor's appointment this week, and is outgrowing 0-3 month clothes. Boohoo. Big already. I can't believe it! We're excited to learn more about our little peanut and can't wait to see him grow more...