2.07.2014

7QT: What We've Been Up To

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1.) Transition phases with little kids are rough. In November and December, Claire was having a tough time with life. Besides adjusting to being a big sister, she was really frustrated with her lack of verbal communication skills. But, then, all of a sudden she could talk! Since then, things have been a million times better. She has just been so happy and easy-going lately. Out of nowhere, she's developed the ability to play independently for long chunks of time. She is all about building towers, mothering her dolls, and reading books these days. We signed her up for a little gymnastics class through the community center and she had her first session last Saturday morning. Adam took her (while Maggie and I stayed home to do chores) and said that she loved it so far.

2.) I think the girls got together and decided it's now Maggie's turn to have a rough go of things. I really feel like I shouldn't complain because she's still really a happy, easy-going baby. She's just had a lot more trouble settling down to sleep these days. She rolled over once last week (mostly because we somehow set up her in the exact right position to get leverage during tummy time) and I think she's been trying to figure out how to do it again ever since. I remember Claire going through the same type of grumpiness from about three to six months. Once she figured out how to roll over, sit up, and get on a predictable sleep schedule she was extra happy again. I feel like Maggie's hitting that same stage. 

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3.) Claire and Maggie love each other so much already! It just makes my heart so happy. You know how when you just have one little baby and you wonder how you're supposed to entertain them all day? Claire totally takes care of that problem. Maggie loves to check out whatever Claire's up to. She sometimes starts crying when Claire dashes off to another room for a second and calms down again as soon as she returns. No matter what we try, we can't get Maggie to laugh the way Claire does! Claire loves taking baths with Maggie and is always eager to help her little sister by grabbing a burp cloth, trying to give her a pacifier, or throwing away a diaper. When she wakes up in the morning or from a nap, she always asks where Maggie is first thing and if Maggie's with me, Claire insists on her little sister joining her in the crib for a cuddle. 

4.) This week flew by, which is really saying something because it's the first time since I've been on my own with the girls that the week hasn't dragged and dragged. I feel like we're really starting to settle into a good routine. We're pretty on top of all the basic things needed to keep the household running. Dinner gets made, laundry gets done, and Adam's even been bringing his lunch to work almost every day. If you knew how fancy his work cafeteria was, you'd be really impressed with that last fact. We joined him for lunch one day this week (a great perk of a ten-minute commute!) and got to see for ourselves. There was a gourmet hot chocolate bar, people. 

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5.) But, we don't really have time for much else besides ensuring we're all clothed, fed, and living in a relatively clean environment. Try as I might to synchronize the girls' nap schedules, I only seem to get lucky about once or twice a week. And in the evenings, we just have an hour of free time before we need to head to bed. This week we have spent our nightly leisure time watching the finale of Sherlock, researching washer and dryers for our big move, and working on a secret project for Claire's birthday. 

6.) Fueled by Grace's post on baby names, we also spent one whole evening just discussing those and having fun with Nymbler, which lets you put in your children's names and then suggests sibling ideas based on those. We're big on saint names and family names, but we also have this crazy dream that maybe far off in the future we could take our kids to visit the birth places of their patron saints. Hopefully one day we'll get to visit Assisi and Edinburgh with Claire and Maggie. Where else, though? We'd love to go back to Provence at some point (where we studied abroad) so I think a Provencal saint is in order. These pesky c-sections mean we've got plenty of time to make up our minds before we have to settle on another name, though. 

7.) This whole rarely-aligning-naps thing is not my favorite. As cute as these little girls are, it is really hard taking care of them for the ten hours Adam's commuting/working without a break! Even a break to just use the bathroom alone. But I'm learning to work with what I've got and do something for myself each afternoon. If Claire skips her nap, we'll got out for a nice long walk or to browse at a fun store. And if Maggie is awake during Claire's nap, I watch a favorite show. I just discovered that House Hunters is on Amazon Prime and I may perhaps be a little addicted...

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Go see Jenn for more quick takes!

2 comments:

  1. I don't know what I'd do without aligning naps! I shudder to think. My husband leaves the house at 5:45 am and comes home at 6:30 or later! Naps are a NECESSITY. haha!

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  2. I'll have to check out Nymbler! That sounds like great fun.

    Also I like your idea of doing something fun when the naps don't line up - I'll have to remember that as Finninan moves out of the always-asleep-newborn-phase.

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You are awesome.