learned behavior

Between family gatherings and a summer school class, the housework, the blog, and the ministry I direct have been neglected. But I have lots of pictures from our weekends plus a very late 7 month, or maybe early 8 month, update to post, so hopefully that will get accomplished soon.

Before that, I have to write about my little girl and maybe get some feedback from my readers if I have any left. I've surrendered to the fact that Lydia is a "high needs" baby, and will probably always demand a bit more from me, though not actually need more, than Brett does. She tends to go about her day expecting me to meet her every desire for attention, not satisfied even for 10 minutes entertaining herself. But while I was in summer school, the various caregivers told me she was quite cooperative, and in particular, Bryan commented she is happy when I'm not around. I figured it was just circumstantial.

Until yesterday. Yesterday I had a meeting and Bryan stayed home with the kids. Lydia had a tantrum as I was leaving the house and it took a while for her to calm down. But after that, Bryan reports, she was happy and easygoing. When I got home, I opened the door to gleeful baby sounds while she was happily jumping in her jumper. Immediately when she realized I was home, she burst into a screaming fit and would not be soothed by anyone or anything but me.

While I'm not ready to use the term "manipulative" to describe a 7 months old's behavior, this is starting to seem like a learned behavior. So, I'm stuck! What am I supposed to do? Ignore her fussing and crying all day? I'll go nuts! Or is this just a phase that babies-except-for-Brett go through, and it will pass with time?

Any advice?

my kids' daddy

My kids' Daddy bathes and feeds and tickles his kids.

My kids' Daddy reads books and says good night prayers to his son every night.

My kids' Daddy works hard to provide 100% of the finances for his family.

My kids' Daddy gets up before 5am every weekday so he can be home from work by 4pm to spend time with his family.

My kids' Daddy doesn't want his son to go to Grandma's for 3 days because he'll miss him too much.

My kids' Daddy brings a smile and a giggle to his little girl's face.

My kids' Daddy spends a perfectly good Saturday afternoon at the "Eagle's Nest" indoor playground and enjoys it.

My kids' Daddy understands that Momma's day is busy, too, and helps out with the housework.

My kids' Daddy lives out his faith in Christ in front of his kids.

1.5

Brett is 1.5!

New words: "ball", "ice", "help me", and I think "papa" is "grandpa". He also makes the pig sound!

New skills: running, hopping, more and more climbing, flushing the toilet, pointing to a handful of body parts, learning to drink from a cup with lots of spills.

Interests: Loves to "help" - vacuum, sweep, water the flowers...mimics our behavior a lot. Pretends to read books out loud. Takes care of his sister - pretends to feed her, give her medicine, wipes her chin, rocks her car seat... Points out all the sounds around him - the phone, an airplane, bus, or motorcycle. Finds trouble...

6 months

Lydia is 6 months old! I think I have come to the realization that she's growing up, because I've started to linger and savor the snuggle time I have with her. While she still expects a lot of attention and still spits up continually, she has matured a lot in the last 3 months. She will usually go down for her naps without a fuss, and (crossing my fingers) has started to sleep through the night on occasion. She is starting to enjoy more activities and play time, yet her idea of a perfect world would be sitting in the rocking chair with mom and watching movies all day (hey, that sounds pretty good to me, too).

Lydia weighs 12 lbs 2 oz. and is 2 feet tall and is still wearing 0-3 and some 3-6 size! She can sit independently for a few seconds, but mostly still depends on some support. She is getting pretty good at maneuvering herself around the floor to get to where she wants to be.

I made my goal of nursing Lydia for 6 months. I'm nursing her half the time and formula feeding half the time. She is eating rice cereal and oatmeal, and starting to try applesauce and sweet potatoes.

Lydia enjoys going for walks and being out and about. She loves to play with and chew on tags and belts. She has recently discovered that it's fun to pull mom's hair. She also likes to take baths and sing songs. She is also a very chatty little girl!