Five Random Thoughts

1. My key to weight loss: Chewing gum.
2. My new goal to make my house cleaner (In no way should this be construed to mean CLEAN. CleanER.): Do a minimum of one chore per day. That is, above and beyond what is necessary to sustain my sanity.
3. In the past few days, I think I have heard both of my children say "Mama". I know that neither of them is yet cognitively aware enough to derive meaning out of these two sweetest of syllables, but it is still gratifying and exciting and fun and heart-melting to hear them. Of course, I could just be imagining things. But still...
4. You should have seen little Boo in his walker for the first time ever today in Physical Therapy! Holy Run-for-your-lives - Here he comes! He is also starting to kneel without kneeling against anything.
5. A note on my children's relationship: Boo is so funny with Cee-Cee - he always wants to be wherever she is (or wherever I am, depending on his mood - he even follows me all the way up the stairs!). He "gives" her many kisses (aka he puts his head on her head/torso for HER to give HIM a kiss while I make a kissing sound) and he loves to just be near her and touch her clothes and the top of her head. He is very interested in her toys and the things she is interested in. They also both feel a great deal of empathy one towards another, as when one cries the other is quick to join! They are so stinkin cute.

My Babies - The Latest

Boo:

• Laughs so hard at so many things, including CeeCee
• Sleeps like a champ at night (12+ hours)
• Great traveler and shopping partner
• Blows kisses from his eye
• Crawls backwards super fast (and forwards, for that matter)
• Signs "more" and "help", usually in succession
• "Washes his hands" when we use Germ-X
• Comes to visit and climb up on us when he wants to be played with or needs a little attention
• Does tummy time with CeeCee (they face each other)
• Colors pictures and then throws the crayons, all while I sing "Pop Goes the Weasel"
• "Eats" breakfast with Mom (=watches Mom eat while sitting on her lap and unwittingly touching her food)
• Sings songs when he wakes up and throughout the day
• Pounds on his crib happily when he is ready to get out of bed -don't get him out too soon though!
• Carries his toys (including his ride-on car!), balls, and Mom's pans to throw them under the desk, down the stairs, in the garage, outside, etc.
• Closes the doors when asked (and any other time), but cries after he closes the outside doors. He also loves to open and close any kind of door (particularly cupboards), and pound on them with his feet.
• Has many a hiding place for his balls, including under the desk, behind the printer, under our cars, outside, in the cupboards, in the drawer under the oven, under the recliner, and probably more places I haven't discovered yet!
• Is ticklish, especially on his neck
• Has lost 2 hats now, after throwing them out of the stroller, catching Mom unawares (although I am usually NOT unawares, as I have grown used to picking up his hat off the sidewalk....argh!)
• Loves Baby Signing Time and his music class
• Almost always turns the pages correctly when reading books
• Has been letting some other people hold him
• Can sit up just fine, but wishes we wouldn't make him do that!
• Could tell when the carpet got cleaned and didn't want to touch it for awhile
• Loves to watch the cars go by on walks, and finds it particularly amusing to see cars go in reverse
• Sits up and hangs out of his stroller
• Likes the park, mainly the baby swings
• Finds some way to keep the rhythm to any number of songs (ie. clapping, kicking, rolling a ball, coughing, hitting his head or some other object, etc)
• Plays "Peek-a-Boo" by covering his face with his hands or some item of clothing and laughs hysterically while we search high and low for him
• Provides entertainment in the form of his crazy crawling and banging on things during church for all those who might be bored, and rarely gets upset during all three hours!
• Laughs when CeeCee sits on his tummy or when he gets to hold her
• Can push himself backwards on his Lightning McQueen ride-on car
• Goes up and down the stairs frequently and independently (he has only fallen down them 3 times, and that was a long time ago!)
• Is back to doing everything that he did pre-surgery, including pulling himself up to standing against the furniture
• Does not need oxygen during the day or night for about a month now! (Notice the empty space by the couch where the oxygen equipment once resided)
• Loves balls more than any other toy by far, and he will play with them endlessly
• Is starting to enjoy being chased
• Sucks his thumb, but NOTHING else!
• Likes to touch CeeCee's head softly (usually...) and immediately run away, as though she were a hot potato

CeeCee:

• smiles really big when she wakes up
• Loves to be told she is pretty and a "lady" (I call her my Lady of the Morning)
• Coordinates her kicking and arm movements
• Holds her head up and sits up very well, especially on a lap or in her bumbo seat
• Still doesn't like tummy time much, but tolerates it well for a minute or two.
• Loves to be sang to.
• Is not a big eater, but is growing well
• Sleeps like a champ at night (8+ hours)
• Loves to sit on her brother's tummy and be held by him
• Loves her swing and frequently naps in it
• Would be glad to watch TV if Mom would let her
• Loves her toys and keeps a death grip on them, particularly on her activity mat - she has been known to lift the whole thing up if she is holding on to it when we pick her up!
• Likes to be carried while on walks
• Usually has a bow in her hair
• Is called "Fisty" because she eats her fists
• Loves her brother and frequently smiles at him, unsolicited even
• Tries to sit up while laying down and successfully gets her head and shoulders off the ground!
• Sleeps during church
• Mainly just wants to be held on a lap all day long
• Loves to be entertained and most definitely knows when she is not getting the attention she merits!
• Has a shy smile at times
• Is a homebody, and definitely does not prefer shopping in spite of what her onesie might declare...

Could there be anything better than being a mom??? I submit there could not. I just love these two.