J2 has been slower than his sister to master the skill of sitting independently and I had been sort of waiting for that to happen before we started in on the solids. I guess Gus had other ideas and bought a bunch of purees for the little man to try. Yes, we bought them. Don't judge. Little Miss J got all homemade pureed foods. The burden of being the second child. Sorry, J2.
Last weekend we started with winter squash. Took him a little bit to get used to the whole swallowing thing.
Look Ma, squash!
What! Huh?
But by this weekend, he was eating like a champ. He polished off an entire pouch of pears, peas and broccoli in one sitting. He was even getting feisty because I wasn't shoveling it in his mouth fast enough. And boy, you should have seen the big tears when I had to take a break to get the pasta off the stove.
So far, he's not such a fan of spinach purees or ones with rutabega. Can't really blame him on the rutabega though. I find it to be an acquired taste, as well. But anyway, looks like we lucked out with two good little eaters!
I am by no means complaining about the winter weather in Sacramento. Given how many tens of feet of snow I've seen from my Minnesota brethern via Facebook, I really shouldn't be as excited for the lovely weather as I am. But the warm sunny weather has somewhat helped to bring me out of my little funk. Last weekend we tried to spend lots of time outside.
And I finally updated the this little gem to include the littlest Chunglund. As you can see, I'm not sure how we'd fit any(one)(thing) else in so our family is for sure complete. No more room at the Chunglund inn (and by inn, I mean my uterus).
With the arrival of J2, you have had to share the blog spotlight and to be quite honest I think you've gotten the short end of the stick. I do, however, want you to know what an amazing little human you are becoming. I am so very proud of you and you are and will always be my most favorite girl EVER.
Over the past two months you have really turned into a very pleasant little girl. You now seem to have command of enough words to adequately describe and convey every thing your little heart could possibly want, which thankfully mitigates the whining and crying to some extent. I have particularly enjoyed talking with you lately. You have become just rational enough so that I don't lose my mind, but maintain enough of the kid perspective to make me laugh. It's truly the perfect combination. You have finally learned to not cry when you lose at Candyland. Win or lose you have become a good sport and will shake hands with your opponent (who is almost always your Appah because I have convinced you that I don't know how to play Candyland) and say "good game." You also really like to play "uno dos tres," more commonly known as Uno.
We are still working on the "not talking to strangers" concept. I explained that strangers were typically people that we don't know and that you shouldn't talk to them unless Umma or Appah (or another trusted grownup) tells you it is OK. Unfortunately, you seem to think you "know" everyone. Perhaps I need a different approach.
You do like to be the center of attention. At children's sermon you always seem to be the first one to raise your hand for anything, and your typical answer (regardless of the question) is that you are (1) going to Disney on Ice (which you aren't) or (2) wearing a Hello Kitty shirt or new shoes (which you probably are). Either way, I applaud (and am probably even a little bit jealous of) your confidence and lack of self-consciousness.
Appah is teaching you how to read and the words you know so far include, but are not limited to, "cat" and "tree." You are able to recognize your letters and can "spell" out words on your flashcards, which I'm pretty impressed with. You don't miss a whole lot and you have an excellent memory (just like me). We mentioned that you could go to Disneyland when you are 4 years old, and you have continued to remind us by asking how old you have to be to go to Disneyland. At this point, if we don't take you to Disneyland for your birthday I ,ay be persona non grata in your book.
Yesterday, I took you to see your first musical. We saw Suessical. My mom, your Grandma Jean, used to take me to musicals, and it made me a little teary eyed thinking about her as we settled into our seats and waited for the show to start. I am lucky to be able to continue that mother/daughter tradition with you.
I do not have words to express how happy I am with the little person you are becoming. You are equal parts sweet and sassy and you light up my life to no end.
5 months old and you continue to be a ROCK STAR baby. I simply cannot get enough of your little face. Don't get me wrong. I am still tired. So. Very. Tired. But even when you are awake in the middle of the night, you are a relatively pleasant little munchkin and I can almost always coax a smile out of you to make myself feel better.
You can sit up (sort of), but you really have no interest in doing so. You also do not have that much interest in solid food or independent movement aka crawling. I can't really complain, since it has meant I don't have to go through the effort of baby proofing the house quite yet. Your favorite thing to do is bounce in your exersaucer. You will jump in that thing for hours and end up pretty hot and sweaty after a good session.
Some of my favorite times with you are when you are snuggled on my chest getting ready to fall asleep. I have learned to do many things while having a baby laying on me including, but not limited to, checking my phone, messing around on the iPad, and even knitting. It is so hard to put you down, even when I know there are things that should be done around the house. Thank goodness for your Halmoni, who keeps us fed and our house in fairly good order. It means less laundry and dishes for me and more Umma time for you.
There was an episode of Grey's Anatomy last season where Meredith orders Karev to hold her baby because it would calm him down and make him feel better. You, my little friend, are that baby. In the midst of your sister's incessant chatter and the overwhelming stress of the normal workday, when I get home I really need to just sit with you and stare at your little face. Because as Bad English once said ... when I see you smile, I can face the world. I can do anything.
Little Miss J loves you so much, but lately you seem less than enthused by her chokeholds hugs. The other day the pained look on your face was enough to make your Appah and I crack up. But please know, she really does mean well. She is a much better big sister than I ever thought she was going to be - so it could be worse. Really.
I finally got some pictures of you framed and on our wall so now it looks like you are officially a member of the family.
You bring so much joy to each and every day of our lives. We love you to the moon and back, little J2!
