River's 4th Birthday

Earlier this month we celebrated River's 4th birthday with a superhero party for 20 kids.  We might have gone a little over the top...

A little back story: we're usually in Las Vegas sometime during March and end up celebrating the plethora of March birthdays in our clan (Uncle Nelse, Thom, cousin Finn, me, River, among others...) with one or two large family gatherings.  This leaves us back in Cambridge celebrating the actual day with a simple dinner or fun day out. Since we didn't travel in March this year, I realized it was an opportune time to host a party for my boy, and with a few weeks to plan we shot for the stars.

We've also been in the process of re-decorating a few rooms in the house, the last of which was the kids' playroom in the basement.  The party was a good excuse to finish the work on that room, so in addition to sewing capes and baking cupcakes for the party, we out-fitted a tumble room with giant soft blocks and a huge mural.

If I accomplish half as much in as short a time for the rest of the year, I'll count it a win.

See more after the jump

Scenes from Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving at home this year; just our little group, including Megan.  We had a lovely, mostly mellow day.  Some of us are still recovering from colds and River has completely given up sleeping in his own bed - preferring instead to kick dad in the head and suffocate mom all night.  Lots of sleepless nights plus no outdoor time made River a wee bit manic, but we managed to corral him, play with Lila, and cook a 10-dish meal!  And we made it to the table only an hour and a half past our estimated dinner time!

  

River and I made these pumpkin centerpieces yesterday.  He did a great job arranging flowers and loved the cat tails.  I love that he's big enough to do these arts and crafts projects with me.

 

 After wrestling him out of his pajamas (around 3pm) he sullenly agreed to help set the table (by which, I mean he threw the place mats on the floor and let Megan and me set it).  Did I mention the kid hasn't slept in a week?

 Megan looking lovely with my little fox.

 Now here's someone who enjoyed the whole day.  My sweetie Lila.

 Yup.  The best group shot we could manage. 

 Lila needed a little cranberry fix before dinner.  After watching The Walking Dead, all I can think is BRAINS.

 My handsome chef.

 Ornery booger.

 Aaahhh!  Get the giant forks away from him!

 Our massive feast... for three adults, one preschooler, and a baby.  Even after taking part in so much of the cooking, River stuck with rolls for the night.  Thank goodness we love leftovers!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Doyles!  Hope your holiday was as fun and memorable as ours!

Lila News: Nine Months

Dear Lila Jae (and, yes, you should get used to hearing both names - it's a verbal tick none of us can help),


I need at least three more of these updates to fully describe all that has happened in the past four months, but we'll just have to manage with this.  METAMORPHOSIS!  You are a little butterfly, my beautiful girl, compared with the cute little caterpillar you were just back in May.  Then you were just learning to roll over.  Now?  You roll anywhichway, sit up, crawl, pull up, feed yourself, and run a little sports-book in the back of the house. 



You're still an epically good sleeper, but you don't do it nearly as often.  For the first six months you pretty much slept all the time with very short breaks to wake up, look around, be cute, and fall back into your natural state of slumber.  Then all of a sudden you WOKE UP.  You still manage to sleep through the night, and given the right conditions you still nap easily, but you decided that 10 naps a day was for wussies, you only needed 2 or 3.  At first we were so confused that our little angel baby was turning into such a fuss bucket - and then we just stopped forcing you into your crib and you stopped screaming at us.  Funny that.



It wasn't just that you stopped needing sleep, you really started engaging in the world.  You wanted to be in it - play with your brother, tackle the cats, show mama how clever you are.  You decided about 2 months ago that you wanted to crawl, and you just worked and worked and worked until you could do it.  You still entertain yourself most of the time (you go from toy to toy, investigate the kitchen or under the dining table - perfectly content), but you have to be moving.  In fact, your need to move is so strong that anything that slows you down gets the Lila Scream Treatment.  Diaper changes, dressing after bath, trimming your nails - all ridiculous tasks you want nothing to do with. And when I carry you, you are all business: what can I see? what can I reach?  where are we going?  There are no sweet snuggles into mommy's shoulder; I have to carry you face forward - arm across your chest and hand between your legs - so you have the view you want.



In fact, you have such a minimal need for affection that you weened yourself at 8 months.  By that point we were really only nursing a few times a day and you were so disinterested in the task, I stopped forcing it on you.  It definitely hurt my heart to think you weren't devastated by the loss of connection, but as Nanu recently pointed out, River probably nursed enough for both of you.  So, my body is my own again (for the first time in 4 years!) and you are thrilled to hold your own bottles.



I never imagined you would be so fiercely independent.  You are so easy going in so many ways, but when you set your sights on a goal you are relentless.  We struggled for months trying to feed you that icky glop of first foods (oatmeal and jarred fruit).  You wouldn't touch it.  You were obviously hungry, but you pushed the spoon away like a little rage-filled gremlim.  Finally out of desperation - even though I didn't think you were ready - I started trying more solid foods: chopped bananas, avocados, cooked carrots.  You LOVED them.  But you had to feed yourself.  You would reject any offer of help, and even if it took 12 pieces of cheerio falling into the cracks of your seat before one piece hit your mouth, you were determined to do it yourself.  We've since managed a kind of compromise; you get plenty of Lila-friendly bites and in return you grudgingly let me slip a spoonful or two of yogurt or pears in your mouth before you take the spoon and fling the contents around the room.  It works.




You have the sweetest krinkle-nose smile - made even cuter by the six teeth occupying your mouth.  You love to make people laugh and will do silly tricks or little pop-pops with your mouth to elicit a smile.  You love to blow raspberries and you say mum-mum-mum and dah-dah-dah. 

As for your brother, River is still the center of your world and when he's gone (as he will be much more often now that he's starting preschool), you get bored and fussy.  Where's my brother?  Where's the fun guy?  Thankfully he's dealing with your mobility well.  We try to distract you enough for him to finish any building projects (which he's usually making for you - his demolition crew), and he is great about finding things for you to play with or trading toys when you've got something he wants.  I love seeing you together. I love knowing you will have a relationship that no one can touch.  I love that he protects you and I love that you look up to him so much. 



It's been a busy summer full of travel and lots of firsts (ice cream! eating sand!), and through it all you just keep growing and asserting that amazing personality of yours.  You are still the zen master of the house, but under that calm exterior is a fierce little fireball lying in wait.



I love you my perfect little girl,
Mama

the many uses of avacado

facial moisturizer

hair conditioner and laundry booster

She really is a huge fan of the stuff, but I'm not sure whether she likes the eating or playing more. About half of the bites went from fist to back of head. After she rubbed that in nice and good, she'd pull her hand around to her face and rub cheeks, eyes and up the nose.

But she's got a lovely glow today.

Lila News: Five Months

Dear Lila,

Last week your Auntie Jenn visited us here in Cambridge and got to spend some quality snuggle time with you and your cheeks. She's simply in love with you and has vowed to only buy you pink frilly things. I'm happy to indulge her since, quite frankly, I love having a little girl to dress up. I mention your aunt because not only was she here when you turned five months old (AAAAAAHHHHH!!!! FIVE MONTHS!!!), but because she can attest to how different my experience of motherhood has been between you and your brother.


She saw me in my insane new-parent state when River was just a little older than you are now; she saw the hours and hours I spent sequestered in his room, singing and rocking and pleading with him to sleep. She saw me tip-toe out of his room, afraid to squeak the floorboards for fear he would wake; she saw me shush everyone near his room and watch his monitor with eagle eyes - dread on my face when that tale-tell squall eventually came letting us know we were doomed to spend ANOTHER half an hour locked behind closed doors trying to lull him to sleep.


And she has seen you. The first night she was in town we had just sat down to dinner and you gave a little whimper letting us know it was time for your nap. I went into your bedroom, laying you down and giving you a pacifier, and when I returned a minute or two later your Autie Jenn was wide-eyed with wonder. "That's it?" she said. "She's asleep?" And with more pride and gratefulness than I can possibly convey I said, "Yes. That's how Lila rolls."



In this past month you've started sleeping through the night, really sleeping through - from 9pm to 6 or 7am. In fact, at 3 years old your brother is now waking earlier and more often than you. You haven't taken any steps, you can't sit up on your own, and you're still working on rolling over, but when it comes to sleeping you've totally out-paced your brother.


As for River, you are totally in love. I've had to start nursing you in different rooms than him because if he's there you're too busy watching him to focus on eating. The love is mutual and he attacks you with hugs and kisses whenever you enter the room. When you're sad he strokes your head and says, "It's okay, Lila. It's okay." It's rare but there are moments of jealously, times when he wants us to leave you alone so I can keep playing with him. But as soon as you enter the room all is forgotten and you're back to basking in the light of his attention.


You are a little observer, watching the people around you so closely. Sometimes I feel guilty about how much you entertain yourself, chewing on a toy or keeping tabs on me or your dad, but I also feel good that I'm not constantly swinging a toy in your face or teaching you baby signs. In some ways River did (and still does) demand that kind of attention, but you seem perfectly content to watch the world most of the time. Your independence has allowed me to pick up sewing again much sooner than I imagined would be possible, and I spend lots of time working on new projects. You hang out on the playmate or bouncy seat while I make bibs or little shirts. It's an incredible gift to me - to feel like I have more to contribute than just motherhood, to allow me space to create and express myself. I can't thank you enough for that my little Lila Love.


As for milestones you are certainly hitting them. You're very sturdy - able to sit in the bumbo or carrier with nary a head wobble. I think you'll be sitting on your own soon, which will be very exciting for all of us. You grab at anything in front of you and we've had to instill a practice of keeping our drinks and plates out of your reach. You're rolling from back to side really well and a few times you've gotten from your belly to your back (an inelegant little flip flop was involved, but you did it!). You recognize your name and light up whenever I say it, and you've definitely started showing a preference for me over other caretakers. We just started you on solid food and while you seem happy to experiment with it, you are not yet a voracious eater.


Lila Jae, you are my little bumble-butt. You have made our home brighter and happier and you have made me a more mellow mom. There's a lovely balance between the extreme boy energy River brings and the sweet girl energy you have. You give us all the chance for cuddles, quiet reading, and silly-sweet bouncing games. I love you so much.


xoxo,
Mommy

first solids

Lila tasted her first solid food today, a bit of rice cereal, and seems to already have the knack for eating. She was thrilled to try something new and eagerly grabbed at the spoon to get more food to her mouth. I'm so proud of my little sweetie pie!

a note to the boy

Dear River,

Anytime you want to start eating dinner that would be great.

Love,
Mom

P.S. Thanks for going to bed so easily tonight. It was nice to hold you for three songs and not once hear you ask for daddy in my place.

hunger strike comes to an end

River has officially started eating again. Not only is he eating, he's eating like a teenage boy. We can't seem to shovel it in fast enough. So far today he has nursed twice, had one breakfast, an after-breakfast snack, second-breakfast, lunch, and an after-lunch snack.

At this rate, he'll be 200 lbs by the end of the week.

I guess I really don't need to worry about the toddler starvation diet--it all seems to even out in the end.

what kid looks this miserable after eating a cupcake?

A TODDLER WHO WILL NOT EAT!

What it comes down to is this:

-we cannot force him to eat
-cheerios, fruit leather, & rice cakes are still food
-he wants to nurse more? so be it.
-as long as he has pudge to squeeze I will be okay