7 months!

Ross turned 7 months this past week! He is on the move more now and although he's not crawling, he can sure get around by rolling, turning, and wiggling. He loves getting into Madeleine's toys and having a good chew on them if she's not looking. He's starting to eat more solids and has been pretty good at trying just about anything. Unlike Madeleine, he really likes being spoon-fed, so this time we'll likely do more of a mix of spoon and finger foods. 

He is still such a laid-back little guy, and is busy taking in the world around him. I can see two little teeth starting to push through on his bottom gum, and I think (and hope) that's the reason for some unpredictable napping lately.

Tomorrow we take Grammie to the airport, after a wonderful month with her here. I have a lot more pictures from her camera, so will put more up soon.

One last picture, of Madeleine telling Ross "it's okay baby, it's okay" as he squirms and tries to wriggle out of her arms...

Grammie Time

We are just over halfway through my mom's visit here, and already I can tell how much Madeleine (and I!) will miss her when she leaves. I have rarely seen Madeleine so happy to spend a whole day inside, just following Grammie around, helping her with everything possible. She loves to "sit on the couch in the sun" with Grammie, each with a cup of "tea" and a snack. She gives Grammie big hugs and kisses and if my mom leaves the room, Madeleine immediately asks "where Grammie going?" I'm relieved that when we say good bye this time, it will only be for a couple of months, since we are planning a trip to Canada in October. 

Ross also loves the extra attention and cuddles from Grammie, and especially loved being part of the roll-the-ball game this afternoon (although he was quite serious and intent on holding onto the ball).

Ross is 6.5 months now and loves joining in on meal times... he's tried a huge variety of things from lamb to pineapple to zucchini, and is slowly getting better at getting the food into his mouth and not just onto the floor.

Madeleine recently discovered my shell collection and has lots of fun sorting through them all. I feel so justified in hanging onto that collection over the past three moves we've done.

Steve is putting in long hours of thesis-writing, which makes both kids even more excited to see him in the evenings when he comes home for dinner. Neither one can get enough of Daddy, and I think we'll all be glad when the thesis is submitted in October. 

Here is a rare family photo of us all! Three out of four of us looking at the camera is as good as it got... maybe next time I'll put some pants on Ross and make sure I don't have food in my teeth.

6 months!

At six months, Ross is turning into our little bean pole! He's so much leaner than Madeleine was at this age, and this week weighed in at just under 18lb.

He is starting to sit on his own for longer periods, and is still constantly watching Madeleine wherever she goes.

Madeleine still loves to hold and 'burp' Ross, but it's getting a bit more awkward now that he is getting bigger.

She gives him lots of nice kisses and thinks it's hilarious when he gives her a slobbery kiss back.

Ross is much more fair in skin tone than Madeleine and his eyes have stayed blue. When I'm out with them both, people often comment on how similar they look, and yet I don't think they look definitively like either me or Steve.

This week we look forward to picking Grammie up at the airport! My Mom is graciously coming back to stay with us for a month, to help me out with the kids and enable Steve to work even longer hours. Steve is in the writing stage of his PhD, and with this coming month of intense effort, we are hoping he will be able to submit his thesis by October.

Happy Canada Day!

I felt pretty patriotic today: I dressed Madeleine in red and white and Ross in his "Canada" shirt (I completely forgot to take a picture, of course), I sang Oh Canada to Madeleine this morning, I tried to teach her how to say "ca-na-da", and I even read our "Canada ABCs" book to them.  But when she saw the page with x-country skis and snow and said "boat! water!", I knew maybe my efforts were futile. 

Here are some pictures of them from a couple of days ago. 

Madeleine's patience with posing for pictures is limited to about 5 seconds... I think I asked her to smile "just one more time" and this was her answer.

Ross, on the other hand, is still easy to capture.

Madeleine quickly took up the task of making Ross laugh and smile for me.

He had his 5 month immunizations last week, and weighed in at 17lb 8oz, and 68cm long. I think so far, he is roughly the same weight as Madeleine was at any given age, but he is a lot longer so not as chubby. He is still a wonderfully laid-back little boy. He sleeps well, with at least one longish (1.5-2h) nap a day and a couple of short ones, and falls asleep by himself, and wakes once or twice overnight to eat. He is starting to make more noises, and we're practicing his sitting, but he's still pretty wobbly. We've not started him on solid foods yet, but he is watching us with great interest as we eat, and it will be fun to see what he thinks of food in a few more weeks.

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...

Citizenship and Feijoas

We finally got around to getting some photos taken for Ross' Canadian citizenship application. We went to the same photographer who did Madeleine's photos. She was a couple months younger than Ross, and far less photogenic (see July 2011 post entitled "Our Week" for a reminder). Ross was incredibly calm and cooperative for the photo shoot. Thankfully he was more interested in the camera and lights than his crying sister hanging onto my leg. He looks like a little boy ready for his first day of school! He certainly is growing up quickly - he started rolling over this week and weighed in at 16lb 12oz. Although who knows how much of that weight is poo, considering he hasn't gone in 16 days now. Shocking, I know, but a good conversation for Mommy-types. He's pretty happy in spite of it, so I'm not too concerned; I just really hope I'm home when he does finally go.

It's feijoa season here in New Zealand. Feijoas are a fruit I had never heard of until moving here. They are a bit odd (Steve thinks they're awful) - very aromatic and a bit gritty in texture. But lots of people have feijoa trees in their yards, and we often end up being given big bags of them. Fortunately, I have come to love them and Madeleine likes them too.

You cut them in half and then scoop out the flesh to eat it....

... just like this!