Liv is officially boob only, just like her big brother was. We started giving her expressed breastmilk at about 3 weeks and were good about doing it once or twice a week up until a month ago. With our usual nightly ritual of getting dinner ready, eating, cleaning up, baths, bedtime routine, and tricking Liv into going to sleep - it’s hard to find time to thaw the milk, fix the bottle and heat it up (let alone spend the 30 minutes it takes for her to drink it) so I simply nurse her like usual (which only takes 5 minutes - tops). Therefore, she went 3 straight weeks with no bottle and now refuses it (ahh, brings back memories). Oh well, I guess she’s stuck with Mama for at least a year (I don’t mind, and I hope she doesn’t either). To be honest, I give bottle-feeding mama’s a ton of credit. It seems so much harder and time consuming to me than simply lifting my shirt when she’s hungry and pulling it down when she’s done. No pumping, or mixing, or preparing, or even washing - it’s so easy, and I can do it anywhere. I’m not going to get into the nursing/bottle debate (it’s every mama’s right to choose), but it is always nice when places provide a clean, quiet space to feed your baby. I refuse to nurse in a bathroom - can you say germs, and come on, do you really expect me to feed her on the toilet! I’m totally comfortable with nursing in public (with a blanket) but I know there are some people who get totally freaked out by it so I’ll try to find a private spot if there is one available. This is all it takes, and I wish more places would catch on (this pic is from the Cleveland Children’s Museum).

Liv has been desperately trying to suck her thumb, but her hands are just so little that her thumb doesn’t quite do the comforting job she longs for, so I spend the night popping the binky back in her mouth. Her personality has been coming out more and more, as you can see from the photo. She seems to be constantly smiling, cooing, and happy. I can honestly say that the only time she fusses is when hungry, tired, or wanting to be held. She would be perfectly content being held 24 hours a day, which is such a change from Kade who wanted to be left alone to go to sleep. I happily cradle her in my arms as much as possible because I know how fast time flies, and I would give anything to have Kade quietly snuggled back in my arms (I can hardly catch so much as a hug from him anymore - he’s always too busy).

Kade never ceases to amaze me. His imagination is way beyond his years and he sees things that creatively challenged people (like myself) are unable to see. He is always pointing out shapes that he sees within other objects or that are formed by other objects (it’s actually amazing). He has also been really into trying to make every possible shape with his fingers and hands, and it thankfully occupies a good chunk of time while he’s doing it. Here’s an example of his imagination at work. I took these out of my hair after my shower and he put them on the ledge and exclaimed, “It’s a butterfly and an ant mama.” Yep, my thoughts exactly…

This is a great picture of Kade that Kyle took on their trip to the park last Thursday. I think it captures his personality perfectly.

This is one of those moments that makes a Mama’s heart swell so large that it just about bursts. Nevermind that two seconds after this was taken Kade was running around the living room screaming his little head off.

That’s all for now… My next post will be about my decision to go “green.” No more disposable diapers, chemical cleaning supples, etc. We are going to start living and eating naturally in order to respect our environment, and to set an example for how our children should respect the world around them as well.