At the park...

There is a park just a couple of blocks away from us called Pukatea Park, and it is one of our most regular destinations. It's close enough that Madeleine can walk the whole way there and it's right along the walkway by the water, so we get some lovely views. Lately we've been going in the early evening before dinner, and there have been some beautiful sunsets. I finally remembered to bring the camera one day last week, to capture Madeleine and all her Pukatea Park moments.

She has gone from absolutely hating swings to loving them so much that she would swing for hours if Ross and I had the patience. She says "big push" over and over, even as I'm pushing her.

Climbing up to the slide, stopping to see what the view from up high reveals.

Pointing to baby Ross...

Climbing up to the top of the logs...

And just when I thought "she treats her dolls so well, I must be modelling such wonderful mothering skills to her"... she decides to squish her beloved dolly into a plastic container and put the lid on.

On another occasion, Dolly and the plastic container were put in the drawer for an entire day! I think we both forgot about poor Dolly and I admit, I did get a bit of a fright when I opened the drawer later that day.

Thankfully she doesn't try to squish Ross into any boxes, but she does like to give him really big hugs.

Our sweet girl, looking so grown-up to us these days...

5 months!

Ross is 5 months old now! The months are definitely passing more quickly with him, and I can't believe he will be starting on real food in another month or so. He won't have a check up and weigh until next week, so again, the stats will have to wait. He was scheduled to go in tomorrow for his 5 month immunizations, but he and Madeleine have both come down with a cold, so I decided to postpone his injections.

He is still a very easy going and happy little guy, who loves cuddles and watching his big sister. His hiatus from pooping ended after 25 days, and since then he's stuck to a more "regular" schedule of going every 8-10 days.

He's awake for longer stretches now and is so interested in the world around him. Unfortunately, this means that when we head out to playgroups or even just the nearby playground, it's a lot harder for him to fall asleep. He naps lovely long stretches of up to 2-3hrs if we're at home, but when we're out and about he generally only sleeps 40 min at a time. He would much rather be cuddled by anyone willing to hold him. At night, he is still waking up 1-2 times, which I find quite tiring, but he does seem genuinely hungry.

He still loves his baths, and the picture above was right after his bath the other night.

Although she doesn't always like holding him for more than a few seconds (or even long enough for a picture), Madeleine is still very affectionate towards Ross and likes to help me look after him. She consoles him when he's crying by patting him, shusshing, and saying "It's okay, mommy's coming". She takes him toys, and of course decides which ones he can and can't have. She also initiates changing his nappy - she has the removal of the old nappy figured out, but then she says it's "Mommy's turn".  It is so fun to see them make each other laugh, and recently Madeleine has started choosing Ross over me - if I'm going to another room and I ask her if she wants to come, she'll say "no, I stay with baby".  More Madeleine pictures to come soon...