Ok, so this post is exactly two months late! But like the old saying, "better late than never"! That's more my style! So here it is!
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I've heard more than once that when you have more than one child, they start sharing nearly everything. For example, think about pictures! We have tons of pictures of Rebecca. Rebecca alone, Rebecca with Dan, Rebecca with me, Rebecca with both of us, Rebecca taking a bath, eating, sleeping, playing on the playground, etc! We basically have a picture (or usually multiple pics) of Rebecca doing anything. Now about Nico, I still try to take pics of him doing everything, but - it's only natural - we don't take as many pictures as we did with Rebecca! And it's more difficult to take pictures of him by himself or with just the two of us, his parents! We end up taking pics of Nico, plus Rebecca, at the same pic! Gotcha what I mean?
And I've just realized that I wrote the word "pictures" (or "pics") nine times! Eleven, if you count the last two in this line!
I know that some of you just read the paragraph again to count and confirm the number. =)
I'm sorry, But I do not have enough
english to make it fancy or to play with the grammar in order to avoid repeated words! Bear with me!
Well, all of this to explain why I called this post: "3 years and 6 months". Because this is a post about Rebecca turning 3 years and Nico turning 6 months old! In the old days I would write one post each, but I'm just too busy or tired nowadays! BUT I'm very happy, in case you are wondering! =)
So
baby Rebecca is 3 years old (actually, 3 years AND 2 months old)!!! I remember last year when I wrote her a post for her second birthday! And I will be plain honest with you guys! That time last year, it wasn't very easy for me to be all lovely and write nice things about her! I know, this is shocking! But the thing is, she was right in the middle of that well known phase brilliantly called "the terrible twos". Man, it was NOT easy!!!!! When I say she was in the middle of it, it's because she decided to enter the "terrible twos" at 18 months! Please, feel sorry for me!
BUT, that phase is now basically gone! Thank Goodness! But don't get me wrong. She still throws a lot of tantrums and can be really hard to manage sometimes, but now I know she understands us better, thus we dialogue more and fight less!
And besides, she has accomplished SO much in the last months that instead of thinking only about the hard time she gives me, I'm mostly so proud of her! Everyday when Dan gets home and I'm telling him about our day at home, I have something to say like this: "and you won't believe what our smart girl did today".
And she IS smart! My goodness! Dan and I are starting to wonder if she might be a genius! And this is not just us parents (or the rest of the family) talking! Every single person who has the opportunity to spend some time with her says the same things to us! I'm not going to lie, this is sweet music to my ears and maybe I care more about it than I should. Actually, I know I do.
And she just started MDO, that's somehow like going to school, twice a week! And she LOVES it!!! And she is doing so well at MDO! She never cries when we leave her there and we love her independent personality! Actually, the teachers just confirmed me that she is the only one that actually cries to leave the school! Every-single-time.
And talk about independence and strong character! She is full of emotions and she's pretty sure of what she likes and what she doesn't! And she will let you know all about it! =)
She is also getting a lot better at talking. Now she can repeat practically anything we say, in both languages, but she will speak - by her own - mainly english. She knows lots and lots of words. Combine two words often and can say some of three words sentences. I know that if you compare to most 3 years old, that is still little (talking-wise), but the norm for your child to be considered "normal" (talking-wise) is actually that a 2 years old should be able to speak 2 words sentences, as few as they might be, and three years old should be able to speak 3 words sentences, it doesn't actually matter how many sentences.
But like I said, she improved so much in a matter of few moths, that I'm in that stage that I get proud every time she says something new, instead of thinking how much more other toddlers can speak! And this my new posture is great!
She also learned how to use the potty in June this year, and it was also a matter of great proud for us!!! She was fully potty trained, day and night, in a very short time and has had very little accidents! The fact that she has a good bladder control helps a lot. She is usually more comfortable at home (who isn't?) but she can use the big potty anywhere, which also makes our life much easier when we are on the go.
And as for the rest, she is very friendly, energetic, and, well, cute! A true joy, even considering the tantrums and problems we have with her!
And Nico will be 8 months old in ten days! And he is such a cutie, OMG. I have to control myself not to eat him with kisses, specially when the
other one is near! Jealous, you know, nobody is jealous-free! I think.)
Not much to say about him though. No teeth yet, but I think we might spot one popping out in the next month. He is sitting up, and can prop himself up in certain cases, but not when he is totally lying down. (I once saw, with my own eyes, a 5 months old - soon to be 6, alright - propping himself up as in "lying on his back" to "sitting down upright"! That was impressive! But not my baby, nor future babies I must predict.) No crawling yet, either.
Nico still hates tummy time, but will endure it for a little time, specially if he doesn't see me around and has Rebecca to distract him. By the way, talking about sibling distraction, that's a blessing!!! That's the main reason why I tell anyone who would care to listen that I would rather have babies 18 months apart than longer. Rebecca and Nico are 30 months apart but I really wish they were much closer!
Anyway. What else? He already eats solids, but "eating solids" is much harder with him than it was with Rebecca. Rebecca used to love my homemade baby food (with meat, potatoes, carrots, peas, onion and parsley), but Nico doesn't like it! On the other side, Rebecca hated all fruits for a long time, and Nico loves bananas and avocado. But actually those are the only two things he likes to eat. Can a baby thrive on bananas? Cause I'm giving him two bananas a day!
And he is just a sweet baby! He loves his daddy (well, Rebecca adores him as well)! Every time Nico has a daddy time (daddy and Nico only, usually outside the house), he comes home and he is so much happier and talking-ish. It melts my heart! And he loves Dan's voice as well! Actually daddy singing and playing the guitar even works as a lullaby for him! Not with Rebecca. For her, it means "jamming time"!!! Energetic, remember?
And I'm start to think he is smart as well! Different kinds of smart, for sure! Nico and Rebecca have so different personalities! But both have my hands! My granddad's hand, who was an artist! I love to draw like my granny did and consider myself to be good at it! And I think my kids will be good at it too! They clearly have good fine motor skills, at least!
But look at me bragging about what I think my kids will be! I know it doesn't matter if they won't excel in math, or if they won't be an athlete. I know it won't be easy for me to realize, if that's the case, that my children aren't bright as I wanted them to be! But what really matters are manners (look at me rhyming)! And a good heart!
So finish here, asking God to please make me a better loving mother, a better educator, a more understanding and compassionate woman. Help me always be grateful to what we have, and be joyful. Be patient. Be forgiving! Be more self giving. Help me be worthy of what I have received, specially my husband and our two kids, and to help others too. Amen.
