Rhiannon 5-7 months: How embarassing!

No updates from 5-7 months and 6 months seems so pivotal! For shame...I have all kinds of mommy guilt for the things that I did for Joaquin that I have not done for her. What a different life stage now with interviewing and being the boss here at work. I think I was just as busy with school and Joaquin, but that business was on the computer and staying a bit longer to post pics or put up a blog post made sense. Now I am out and about and if I finish up 30 minutes early, I'm in the car and heading home.

Rhiannon had a big 2 months. It started off with sitting at 5 months, which we had no idea she could do. As we were scheduling her 6 month photos, the photographer asked if she was sitting and we tried it that weekend. Lo and behold, up and relatively steady! This seems to fit her MO...she is definitely a mover. Starting at 6 months, she's army crawling and 6.5 months crawling backwards. She loves to push herself up to standing and has balanced on the coffee table a few times. It's usually to get something though and she promptly lets go once she's got whatever she would like. Whenever she does something like this she looks around the room at whoever is there and expects a big whopping dollop of praise, for which we are rewarded with a big (and still toothless!) grin.

She also started eating table food just after 5 months. She kept reaching and reaching and 6 months just seemed like such an arbitrary number. Her first food was banana followed by avocado, but her favorite foods by far are pear and orange. This might be because she doesn't really have much interest in eating per se, but more chewing and teething on some chunk of something. I think the pear and orange give her enough of that flavor but are soft enough to dissolve in her mouth. She seems to eat anything though-over the past 2 weeks she's even munched on lettuce and limes.

Her language is back and forth between people, but she prefers roaring, which we all think is hilarious since she is a Leo. She does make babbling noises and has said bye-bye, daddy, and as of yesterday when she is mad at me mo-mo-mo-mo-mo! No intentional language yet, but there are some bizarre coincidences like when we pulled out a library book and she said "I like that book." Craziness.

Still a very happy baby and one that is close to having some teeth, speaking some words, and moving around as she pleases. People ask me if I see big differences in her personality vs Joaquin's for this age and the biggest difference seems to be that this little girl is certain about what she wants. Gotta love that...

First day back at work

I have a little under an hour of my first day back at work. Overall, going back was easier this time although I certainly wouldn't call it easy. It was inevitably helped by the fact that Gideon did the drop off in the morning. It is much easier for my brain to trick itself when I left little one smiling with her daddy than asleep in a crib or in the arms of a teacher and hopefully she will get used to school and have a routine before I have to do the drop off in 2 weeks.

The hard part is three fold: first, it is hard knowing that she is going to have a hard time establishing a routine and getting happy. My biggest worry here is her sleep habits-she likes to be held constantly during her sleep. I received a little blessing last night though as she climbed over to her sleeper-something she never does-and dosed off by herself-another thing she never does. It was like someone reaching down to let me know that everything was going to be alright. Second, she is more awake and active now and it is hard to give up watching her discover all the time. Third, and probably the most profound for me, is how boring and meaningless it feels to be at work. I remember feeling this when I came back with Joaquin too-like this is all there is? I think-and hope-that says more about the work than it does about working.

Rhiannon's first Christmas

Rhiannon's first Christmas was equally as lovely and very Californian. On the 23rd, we went to the beach and on the 24th, the mountains for their first snow. Joaquin had a hard time at first with all those clothes and snow getting in various places, but we got his gear figured out and then he had a great time. It was very peaceful and we had a patch all to ourselves.

We did stockings and dinner on the 24th and slept in on the 25th. Presents in the late morning and then we hosted the Bunag Christmas in the evening. Rhiannon receive a staggering amount of clothes and Joaquin a staggering amount of toys. If last Christmas was the first that he really 'got it,' he really got it this year and started requesting trucks very early. I don't know how the parents of multiple children in multiple age groups do it. I feel we are bursting at the seems with all our stuff!

2011 has been a great year for us and 2012 promises alot of change. Feeling blessed and anxious at the same time :)

Our world travelers at 3.5 yrs and mos.

The past 2 months have been a whirlwind. We started in early November going to Birmingham and visiting my Dad and Grandma. My Grandma has gotten sick and it is sad to see someone you love in that state-forgetful, frail. She still has her sense of humor though and it was fun to get little insights like finding the candy she had stashed in her bedside drawer.

We had a few weeks home and then Thanksgiving. Rhiannon's first Thanksgiving was full of love and family as we went to my mom's house and she saw her first movie (Happy Feet 2, which Joaquin deemed "scary") and then lunch with the family and Amy. We did dinner with Gideon's family and it was a late night, but a good one.

Rhiannon turned 4 months old just after Thanksgiving and the day before we took off for Thailand and the Philippines. In that month, she got especially adept at rolling around-her favorite is (still) to try and barrel role off her chairs. Joaquin got his first real haircut-quite the adventure as he seemed totally ok with it until he was actually called to the chair which led to a complete panic. A woman in the shop had to hold Rhiannon for me so that we could actually cut his hair. But it was going to be hot, so off it came and off we went.



We had a great time in Thailand and saw so many incredible things. We spent most of our time in Chiang Mai and went to the Elephant preserve, the temple, the Queen's gardens, a snake show, night market, indigenous village. The real highlight of the trip though was traveling with my old roommate Heidi and her kids, ages 5, 4, and 3. It was so fun for us to see Joaquin really interact with kids his age and I'm sure we saw so much more than we would have on our own. A group that age can make anything fun when they get along together! I am also so blessed to have friends that seem to grow in step with me. Heidi and I haven't seen each other in 6 or so years and it was like not a second had gone by-we just had all these kids with us now!

The Philippines was a bit more difficult with Joaquin and visiting the older folks. He is not around older people very often and he was a bit scared. It's also hard because we stay at a very 'no touch' house and go to alot of adult restaurants. We had quite the scenario with him when we left and that it is always hard-you want people to see your kids the way you see them and when they act out like that it is a little heart wrenching.

Joaquin turned 3.5 years in Thailand and has only grown a half inch in the past year. His 2 big things right now are telling me that he's scared or afraid and that something will be too hard for him. We are working on getting more yes's, so his other thing that is picking up is "Well, I guess I can try." A few growing pains, but other kinks have worked themselves out. We don't get nearly as much backlash about going to school for instance.

Rhiannon turns 5 months tomorrow and she just seems to want to grow up really fast. She is putting everything in her mouth like Joaquin, but instead of sitting she wants to go right to walking and likes when we help her practice. She also seems very interested in eating and specifically goes for food to get into her mouth. We've also noticed that she is a little more particular about what she wants than Joaquin was at this age. She's been traveling pretty well, but we had a rough time on our last 6 hour flight from Korea to Thailand. If that had been Joaquin, I would have been able to breastfeed him back to happiness no problem. She is not so easily fooled. She is very even tempered until she wants something and then she will really let you know. If I am late getting to her she will even finish her complaint before getting what she needs.

Rhiannon at 3 months

Rhiannon turned 3 months on Friday and it's been a big month for her. Besides her first car accident and her first laugh, she has also figured out how to grab things, talks quite a bit more, and is definitely a mover. We never strapped Joaquin into anything because he never moved enough to worry about it. The other night, I left Rhiannon in her chair (which rocks) and she had rocked herself down so only her shoulders and head remained on the chair. She can also lift her head and shoulders from a lying down position. She's also begun teething...or at least sucking...all the time.

Joaquin's speech continues to grow with leaps and bounds; he is such a great communicator. His favorite colors are blue, green, and pink and he is obsessed with all things construction. He can tell you a backhoe from an excavator to a digger and, right now, he wants a street sweeper for Christmas.

My favorite thing between them right now happens when Rhiannon is upset. Joaquin will come to her in a super syrupy voice and say, "Aw, what's wrong baby girl? Nothing?" The sing-songey tone he uses to say nothing is hilarious.

First laugh/first car accident

Not on the same day, but blessingly close together. First laugh on Monday, 10/17 at 2.5 months old, courtesy of Daddy's tickles:




The car accident happened the day before and she actually slept through it. Thankfully, none of us were hurt although it had the potential to be very, very bad. It definitely makes things like first laughs that much sweeter.

Joaquin is a bit obsessed with car crashes now and talks about them in the car quite a bit. It is so hard to see your child that fearful over something so serious. Beyond that, Joaquin is in another language phase, picking up all kinds of words and playing with them. He said an idea was fabulous and that I loved him verier mucher.

Rhiannon at 2 months

Rhiannon turned 2 months on Wed and like her brother, we celebrated with her first plane ride. Hers was to Portland for a wedding and she did very well. Not quite as invisible as her brother, but happy for both rides. At 2 months, Rhiannon still likes to sleep alot, but we're also getting alot more smiles and talking. I remember Joaquin would make noises that sounded like 'I love you.' Hers sound like 'good' when she is happy. In Portland, we also took her first trip to the beach, which I thought was ironic given her LA birthplace.

Joaquin is doing really well now. We have definitely turned a corner and our sweet little boy is back. He loves his baby sister.