Austin: 6 months

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

Let me pause to wipe away the tears....

Ok. I must admit I've had a hard time writing this letter. Not just because I can't believe how quickly it's all gone, but because I've been so busy taking care of you to write a letter to the future, virtual you. You've had a rough week, complete with your first late night trip to the ER What started as a cold turned into croup which turned into RSV. Which is where we are now. Unfortunately there's not much we can do for you other than run your humidifier and cuddle you. The good news, it that you are still the same happy kid and are pretty active and smiley in between the coughing fits.

The main downside to this whole sick thing has been your sleeping. We had started this month off by weaning your from your swaddling blanket and then trying to get you to sleep through the night again. However, with the illness all of the sleep training has gone out the window and I'm sure we'll have to start over again once your healthy. I'm ok with this. I'm happy to cuddle and feed you whenever you need it right now, anything to help you get better.

When we finally got you out of the swaddling blanket, I discovered yet another characteristic we have in common: we sleep the same way. You are most comfortable (and sleep the deepest) when you are on your side, with your giraffe between your arms and and one leg bent over. (picture an upside down 4 hugging a stuffed animal) It makes me smile. It's also quite handy to know just how to position you to calm you down when I need to get you back to sleep.

Though it seems a lot of this month revolved around your sleeping habits (or lack thereof), you also learned the important exciting skill of sitting up by yourself. I think this is one of my favorite baby stages; and, I love to sit on the floor with you and watch as you play with your toys. You favorite toys are the ones that either make a lot of noise (drums, singing flowers, snail) or things that you can easily grab and bang other toys to make noise (football). Then again you also love the remote, your stuffed animals and the teddy bear thingy that spins when you push the top. So, basically, you love toys. And you love to make noise. And bang on things.

Oh, such a boy you are.

You also still love to move. We bought you a walker toy for when we're outside playing with the neighborhood kids. It took you a little while to figure it out, but you've kinda figured out how to move now. It is hilarious.

Last month I wrote about out disastrous first attempt at rice cereal. Seeing as your almost six months, we tried again last week and I'm happy to report you are taking to it much better this time. In fact, you LOVE it. After a recent feeding, you got really mad for the first time. You really wanted more food, but for the sake of your sensitive tummy I wouldn't give it to you. There was a whole new kinda cry coming out of your mouth.*

Despite the rough patches this month, you've still been so much fun. This first six months has flown by, and I can't wait to see what's to come in the next six!

Love you,
Mommy

PS- At this point, I feel it is obligatory to mention your eyes are still blue. They are so blue, that they are the first thing people mention about you. Next is usually your smile.

* By the way, have I ever mentioned that when your hungry your cry sounds like MaMa? It's convenient because hearing you yell "Mmmmmaaah Maaahhh!" is a sure fire way to get me to give you whatever you want. You totally have me wrapped around your little finger.

A Sibling Moment

Before Austin was born, my Aunt Sandy gave Abby a pretty silver and purple bracelet that says "Big Sister."  It's a little big for her, so we only let her wear it around the house but she loves to pull it out and try it on from time to time.

This morning, while I was doing the breakfast dishes, Abby was entertaining Austin in his walker.  All of the sudden, she came running in the kitchen and got her bracelet.  She went over to Austin and said:

 "Austin, this is my big sister bracelet.  It is very special to me, because you are my best friend."

Austin responded by giving her a big smile, a happy yell and some jumping.

 It was a good thing I was doing dishes, because the running water masked my tears.

Rice Cereal- Round 2

We tried rice cereal with Austin a while back, but it resulted in much screaming and tummy issues. After three days, we stopped and decided to wait until he was six months. Well, that date is around the corner (HOLY CRAP! HOW IS MY KID ALMOST 6 MONTHS OLD!!!!) so we started again yesterday. Thankfully, so far, things seem to be going much better tummy wise.

However, Austin has developed an interesting eating method:

1) Open mouth for a bite of cereal.
2) Shove fist in mouth.
3) Suck on thumb.
4) Take hand out of mouth and rub spit and cereal all over head.
5) Bang said hand on the high chair tray with mouth open until Mom gives another bite.
6) Repeat.

I will spare you pictures, but trust me it is gross.

Sigh. Boys.

The Hug Signal

When Dan and I were dating, we came up with "The Hug Signal." I don't remember why or how it started but, basically, when one of us holds our arms open wide, the other is required to stop what they are doing and give the other a hug. We've used it when we we're arguing, when we're happy and Dan loves to use it when I'm happily sitting on the couch watching TV and he's all the way across the room. He thinks this is funny. Dan and I have been doing this for years, but have never mentioned it to Abby.

This morning Austin was napping and Abby was watching a movie since she's been sick this week. I was trying to use this short window of time when both kids were occupied to pick up a little. When I passed by Abby she had her arms out, but it looked like she was just dancing. (there was also some twirling going on) I continued past her to put things away. Abby then looked at me, opened her arms wide and said, "Hey!" I stopped and asked if she was giving the hug signal. She just smiled.

The Hug Signal is like the Bat Signal: you cannot ignore it. No matter how busy or mad.

So even though I had a whole lot of things to do and not a whole lot of time, I stopped. And I hugged. I pulled Abby on my lap and hugged. We stayed this way, watching Sleeping Beauty, for about 15 minutes before Austin woke up.

For 15 wonderful minutes, we just hugged. No talking, no cleaning, just hugging.

The Hug Signal has always been a big part of Dan and my relationship (my maid of honor even talked about it in her toast at our wedding) but it was really awesome to share it with Abby. Though all the craziness that life brings, she's seen her mom and dad stop what they were doing and hug, and she learned from watching.

We taught our daughter that sometimes, you just have to stop and hug. How cool is that?!?

The most magical place on Earth.

We've been back from Disney for a week now, and I think we're almost fully recovered. (We came back with two sick little ones- mostly from exhaustion.) Both kids did great on the car ride down, Abby watched a lot of movies, and both kids slept. (We left at 1pm and got there around midnight.)

In order to avoid the 9,000 questions, we chose not to tell Abby we were going to Disney. Instead we told her we were going to Orlando to visit her Aunt Linda. After last year, we made her a little photo album so she was familiar with the sights. On Sunday, we took her over to Downtown Disney to buy hats for the kids. When she rounded the corner and saw the statue of Sleeping Beauty, she stopped and yelled, "We're in DISNEY WORLD!" It was a great moment, reminiscent of the times my parents surprised my brother and sister with trips. I always knew since I was so much older, but my sister took a little longer and never figured it out until we were in line for Dumbo.
Monday morning we headed over to the Magic Kingdom, but got a bit of late start. I had also forgotten that everyone who goes to Disney starts with the Magic Kingdom, so it was SUPER crowded. As a result we didn't get much done beyond Dumbo, the Teacups and the Carousel. I was a tad bit disappointed, but Abby seemed happy.
Tuesday, however, we got to the park right as it opened and with a plan. We hightailed it over to Mickey then across the park to the Princesses. From there, it was 9:30 and I got in line for Rapunzel and Flynn with Austin. Turns out, we were one of the last people in line for the 11:15 meeting session. Since Austin needed to eat and nap, I hung out with a line of grandmothers while Dan and Abby went to the Buzz ride, more Teacups, the Carousel, and Small World. Though the line was long, it was totally worth it to see Abby dance with Flynn and Rapunzel. Around this time we were all getting tired, so went back to Linda's for a nap.Later that afternoon, we went back to do a few more rides and see the light parade. Abby will tell you that one of her favorite parts of the trip was blowing bubbles with the little girl sitting next to us on Main Street, but it was also where Austin experienced his favorite part of the trip. He was almost asleep, but woke right up at all the lights and music. He was mesmerized and stayed alert through the whole thing. (On a side note: We had gotten food for while we were waiting and Abby had asked for a lemonade. When she took a sip, she said "eeew! This lemonade is SPICY!" We looked at her funny and Dan took a sip. Turns out, it was Sprite. We've been laughing about spicy lemonade ever since.)

Tuesday was one of the most perfect days our family has had. It was full of great memories, a ton of laughter and a whole lot of fun. Dan and I couldn't get over how well it all went.

Wednesday, we went to Animal Kingdom with the rest of my family (Mom, Dad, Jordan and Kelsey). We had seen most of the key characters at the Magic Kingdom, but were missing Goofy, Pluto and Donald. We lucked out by starting our day with Pooh, Eeyore, Goofy and Pluto. We then headed over to Camp Mickey and saw Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Thumper and Chip and Dale. Characters = done. I was quite happy and could have almost* ended my day there. We did a few more rides and wrapped up our day around three.
The rest of our time there was spent hanging out with family and swimming. We had a BLAST. By the time it was over, we were all exhausted and a little cranky. The car ride home was a little rough, but we made it. After a few hours at home, the kids and I left Saturday night for Richmond. My dear friend is getting married in August and I went to his fiance's shower. I would HAVE not have done that for many other people on this Earth, but that's another story.

Whoosh! Disney was wonderful, but are so glad to be home.

* I say "almost" because I still had to ride the roller coaster with my brother. He has never been able to live down his fear of all things that drop. The last time we were at Disney together (15 years ago or so) he cried, pleaded, begged and even prayed the entire 45 minutes we waited for Splash Mountain. It was one of the most pathetic things you've ever seen. (sorry, bud!) Fast forward to now, he promised my sister and I that he would go on the coaster. He did, though he was very stone faced the entire time and gripped the lap bar with one hand and the front of the car with the other. He did it, though. I was proud, but not proud enough to ever let him live down the Splash Mountain tale.

Austin: 5 months

Austin,

Last month, I mentioned you would be rolling over any day now, and sure enough you did! In fact, the day after I posted the last update, you were playing on the floor at Grandma and Grandpa's and one second you were happily playing on your tummy and the next second you were on your back laughing at yourself. Grandpa and I made a big deal out of it (Grandma and Abby were in the basement) and put you back on your tummy. You then repeated your new trick 3 times, but as soon as I broke out the camera, you stopped. The next day you rolled 2 more times, but then we couldn't get you to do it again. That is, until yesterday. Without any help, you decided you'd had enough of being on your tummy and pushed yourself over, again laughing. You've repeated your trick a few more times, so hopefully it will stick around this time. Then again, you really love tummy time, so who knows?

In fact, when you are playing on your belly, you've figured out how to move around in a circle to reach all the toys on your playmat. A few times, you even figured out how to scoot forward. This particular skill has so far been reserved for your sister. Your toys aren't enough to get you scooting, but if Abby is showing you a toy or reading you a book, you try your hardest to go to her. This isn't too surprising, seeing as you LOVE your big sister. You will follow her around the room with your eyes and just a look from Abby can get you giggling. Your relationship is one of the things that makes me so happy to see!

Your other new trick this month, is blowing raspberries. It's very messy, but you are so proud and think it's hilarious. A few times, you've stopped in the middle of a feeding to look at me and spit. After a big smile and a laugh, you finish eating. We have also woken up to this joyous sound in the middle of the night.

Speaking of the middle of the night, we've seen a lot more of each other in the wee hours than we used to. I would like that to stop please. I love seeing your smile, but I would also like some more sleep. We tried a little bit of rice cereal hoping to get you to sleep longer, but you weren't quite ready for it. In fact, it had the opposite effect and you were up every 1 1/2h for a few nights with an upset tummy. We'll revisit food next month.

Of course, the biggest event this month was your first trip to Disney World! We took you on the carousal, The Pirates of the Caribbean, Small World and the Animal Safari at Animal Kingdom. You slept through most of them, but really enjoyed them when you were awake. Your favorite part by far, was the light parade at the Magic Kingdom. You were almost asleep when it started and your eyes got huge as the first big float passed by. For the rest of the parade, you held my hand and sat wide eyed. Whenever there was a break in floats, you'd look up and me and then start waving and kicking when you saw the next one. Overall the trip was wonderful, and you handled everything really well.

While in Orlando, you also got to meet your Great-Aunt Linda and go swimming in her pool. You really loved both of these things!

Gone are the days of infancy, and here are the days of baby-hood. You're trying to sit on your own and are quickly moving through your developmental stages. I can't believe how quickly it's all going!

You are SO much fun!

Love,
Mommy

P.S.- Not only do you have my blue eyes, fair skin and light hair, but you also seem to have a lot of my personality traits. It's so neat to see my own self reflected in you.

Success

I ran a mile today.

I, Caroline Salgado, RAN A MILE!!

A whole one. Outside. Without stopping, or even slowing down.

And you know what? It wasn't that bad.

Go me!