Let the comparisons begin

Levi had his two month check up today, complete with a full round of vaccines; he is wiped out. Not surprisingly he is huge! (Warning: statistics coming up) 95th percentile for length (25.25"); 90th percentile for weight (14 lbs 12 oz) and 80th percentile for head circumference (16.5")--not a pinhead!

Whereas I was brimming with pride with similar stats for Micah--I'm actually, in an odd way, saddened by Levi's development. He was meant to stay my little baby for longer. I was hoping for pipsqueak status, but alas, I have another big baby. Which--in these waning days of babyhood, and as Levi kicks and arches in the precurser to rolling over--prompts me to write about some things I hope never to forget about this precious and brief time (but I know I will because I forgot them temporarily from Micah's baby days, until Levi delighted me with the same sweet gestures and sounds--and added a few of his own):

The way he curls up, legs tucked in and back arching with bum sticking out, upon being picked up;
His toothless smile;
When he purses his lips, mimicking me, to make his own baby coos and ooohs;
The way he stops nursing to look up at me and smile;
The amazing discovery of his fist and the repeated action of examining it so closely it hits him in the eye--again and again;
The way he grabs at his curls above his ear while nursing;
His laugh.

Is it that I am enjoying my last week at home of maternity leave before a last hurrah vacation to Montana, then back to work in September that I am so sentimental? Perhaps. With children time just goes by so quickly. Woosh! I'm just riding the current, but wouldn't mind a peaceful eddy to get caught up in and idle for a spell.

bats need friends too

Micah gets creativity bonus points in the stalling at bedtime department. After his bath he was flitting around the house in his towel saying, "I'm a bat, I'm a bat!" After story time and lights out he resurfaced from his room to state, rather matter-of-factly, "I'm a bat; bats don't sleep at night." It is so hard to keep a straight face in those parenting moments.

Butterflies Alive!

I organized my first outing in my Meet Up group to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History for the Butterflies Alive exhibit. It was a lot of fun and a big hit with the kids...so was my plum and frangipane tart (thanks for the plums Nana!)

Most of the gang:
story time in the library:
Elijah & Micah
Digging for fossils:


Butterfly breakfast:


And good ideas for my house:

6am Spaz

6am Spaz, originally uploaded by amyalexis.

Levi has a lot of energy upon waking...I like the baby toe tap.

Images of a big brother

Micah is a GREAT big brother. Some examples include yesterday when he noticed the stroller start to roll away with Levi in it and stopping it, and stopping mid-run through the house to back track and get the swing rocking when lil' Levi starts crying. He spontaneously offers, "I like my baby brother," which melts my heart. Now when is the shoe going to drop?

milestones

Micah is 38 months old today. Tomorrow Levi will be 10 weeks.

Japan: pros & cons

Tonight at dinner we were eating stir fry when Micah remarked, "The rice with soy sauce is my favorite...and also edamame" which provoked me to suggest a visit to Japan where they have lots of his favorite things.

"No," Micah replied, "I don't want to go to Japan because in Japan they have the wicked oni."

Tee hee hee.

back

We're back in the VEC after a week-long sojourn in the Bay Area. Pictures will come soon. In the meantime, here are some highlights.

For Micah:
--a double baby shower for Stacey and Rachael
--seeing Uncle Justin, Nanny, Pop-pop, and G.G. (and the fish, and horses)
--seeing the T-rex skeleton--the expensive one at the Cal Academy of Sciences, not the free one at UC Berkeley's life-sciences building--we've yet to see that
--meeting babies Jai and Soren, and seeing an all-grown-up baby Noam

--pools!

--going on the "fast slide" with Annie
--hiking up Wildcat Peak in Tilden with Lisa, then visiting the animals at the Little Farm
--visiting Annie's house
--picking berries and apples with Mama, Pop-pop and Uncle Justin
--acquiring a plastic pelican
--sleeping upstairs in his own room, going pee in the middle of the night (in the toilet) by himself

For Levi:
--a great diversity of arms to hold him, and more patient ones at that

--nursing
--the daddy & son picnic


For Haile:
--not being left alone all week, at the expense of two long, miserable car rides
--revisiting her old haunts at Nanny and Pop-pop's, including the sweaters in the back of the closet;
--coming home to the mouse she brought in last week, that has been running amok all week in the house (eke!)