Seven

Moving right along through Pippa's life... For anyone who is wondering if I still think two kids is hard, yes!!!  Things have slowly become easier as Pippa has acquired small amounts of independence.  But I'm still drowning.  Often I feel like we're just "surviving" over here.  Getting through one-day at a time, accomplishing nothing more than the basics: eating, sleeping, bathing, cleaning.  How do you "live?"  I haven't quite figured out how to add in the fun stuff like going to the library or even a park that isn't across the street.  It's not so much having two-kids, as it is having a baby dependent upon naps.  A baby that will only sleep (unless very very very desperate) in a bed.  And that's where the guilt comes in, again.  Feeling guilty that Ro is stuck at home "surviving" with me.  It is no wonder why he loves Wyatt so much.  Ro gets to do all the fun stuff with Wyatt because on Wyatt's days off, he isn't busy feeding, bathing, cleaning.  Oh, to be a dad!

Comparison between Ro and Pippa at six-months

Pippa had her picture professionally taken three-times this month.  I'm sure she was wondering why the heck we did it three times.  The first session went okay, except the gal didn't totally listen to my requests and the backdrop was not to my satisfaction.  (I was trying to duplicate the same seamless white background from Ro's six-month baby picture.)  So I took Pippa to a different location to have the pictures taken again (on my dime).  And after I complained about the first session, I was invited to return for a complimentary sitting.  So we did...  Funny how after three tries I still didn't get a picture that I think is perfect.  It's not Pippa, she's perfect.  I just had very specific expectations.  And as most of the world knows, taking pictures of a baby is really hard to do.

We stuck Ro in the picture with Pippa on the second photoshoot.  That kid is so stink'n shy!!!  He would not look at the lady, nor the camera.  He wouldn't even budge when I tried to adjust his pose.  Just a statue.  An emotionless statue.  Pippa wasn't much better.  She also wasn't in the mode for posing.  Except when the photographer stepped out to help another customer.  The two of them were having the time of their life!  Ro was dancing around laughing and making Pippa laugh!  And then as soon as the photographer returned, statues.   Funny kids.

Oh, and between photoshoot No.1 and No.3, Pippa grew a third tooth!  I'm amused.  It's like it is her way of calling me out to the world.  Notifying everyone that these pictures were not taken all at once.

I was surprised to see her third little tooth.  I was expecting her next tooth/teeth to come through on the top.  But no, she's a non-traditionalist.  Number three came in on the bottom.  And (!) it poked through on her first trip to the dentist (Wyatt).  Yeah, we made an official visit to see Wyatt since our current insurance plan required us to pay for dental insurance for the kids.  50 bucks a month.  So, Wyatt's office will bill the insurance and the insurance will pay Wyatt.  We'll still be in a deficit but at least we can salvage some money.  Her dental exam lasted two whole minutes, if that.  A peek inside, a quick brush, and a little fluoride.

We took a trip to Oregon at the beginning of the month to visit Wyatt's family.  Two of his sister's and their families were in town.  We enjoyed the Fourth with a few friends and at one point in the day, Ro got to spray a real fire hose!  He seemed to meet the task very seriously.  And there was a lot of excitement when we broke out the sparklers at night!

We drove to Rockaway Beach the day after to spend a few days there.  Ro displayed the upmost enthusiasm the entire trip!  Playing in the sand on the beach.  Playing with his cousins.  Eating corndogs at the local Pronto Pup (Rockaway claims they are the originators of the corndog...along with a few other US towns).  Eating ice cream at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  And the highlight of the trip was the TRAIN!!!!  The tracks ran along behind our rental, so we'd run outside the four times it passed by each day.  Finally the day before our last, we got our turn on the train!  Ro was sooooooo excited!  He still talks about it to this day.  That's something I love about being a mom, experiencing the world through my children.  So, so fun!

Pippa was spoiled rotten with attention.  All the cousins loved her and wanted to hold her.  The aunties too.  Mya was Pippa's best friend because she'd feed her yummy things like peach cobbler and ice cream.  Of course, we had to see how she measured up to her cousin Cannon, who is three-months older.  Pippa is still a chunk.  I think they are tied.

Ro, Pippa, and I stayed behind in Oregon while Wyatt returned home to work.  Wa, wa, wa.  Oh, to be a dad.  Touché!  My dear friend was so kind to open her home to us.  She really was the hostess with the mostess!  Everyone felt totally comfortable taking over her home.  Even shy Ro didn't slow down.  He loved playing with her kids and jumping on their trampoline!  And Pippa wasn't short on attention either.  We also were able to catch-up with other friends and spend some time at my beloved, and deeply missed, Swim Park.

And then after our two-and-a-half weeks of traveling (between Colorado and Oregon) we returned home for the rest of the summer...sort of.  We did take a very fast trip down to Oregon at the end of the month.  The "Colorado Wilsons" happened to be visiting Grandy and Goombaw, so Ro got to spend some time with them.  Ro warmed-up to them all very quickly, especially the youngest, Moses (who is six(?)), they became very fast friends.  In spite of a whirlwind trip, it was worth the effort!  Ruthanna loved Pippa and was happy to accompany her at every opportunity.  

I decided to wait until the last possible moment to introduce solid foods to Pippa.  Well, to make it a part of our everyday routine.  I think Pippa was a little disappointed on that front.  Annoyed that her lazy mama didn't want to give her what she really wanted.  Truly, it seemed like she'd dive for our food at times.  Or stare it down with hungry eyes.  She's a good eater...at least for now.  I'm really hoping she remains our good eater.  We need it.  Ro is so stink'n picky it drives me crazy!!!  I guess it's what I deserve since I was, and still am to an extent, a picky eater.  (The kid would only eat bread/carbs if I left it up to him.  Oh, and meat and cheese.  ZERO fruits, veggies, or water.  So, really, he's just like his Nichols uncles...)  

I was hoping Pippa would sleep through the night with her new diet.  Nope.  She still wakes regularly around 3am.  I try to give her time to see if she'll go back to sleep.  Nope.  She's hungry.  I can literally hear her gulping down her milk.  I was surprised to learn at her six-month wellness check (at seven-months) that she's starting to slowly shrink.  Not in an alarming way, hardly.  Just that her growth curve is slowly going down instead of moving up or plateauing.  

And to be totally honest, it's not Pippa that is keeping me up at night.  It's Ro.  Ro who has developed the habit of migrating to our room at 2:30am every night.  Ro who has tantrums in his sleep, complete with flailing arms and legs.  Ro who sleeps horizontally.  It is not uncommon to be woken abruptly...and then remain awake for two-hours.  This is a regular occurrence in my night-life.  I am so tired.  I don't know how people with more than two-kids do this.  

We've been doing more bike-riding this summer.  It's all been in our driveway - thank goodness for a long private driveway!  Ro's really got the hang of riding his balance bike (no peddles) and loves to ride it now!  It's quite impressive to watch him ride, too.  I feel like it kinda happened over night that it clicked, and he's been going ever since.  Pippa has had her try at bicycling too.  She's been riding in the seat on mine and Wyatt's bike (in the driveway).  She appears to like it since she's always smiling when we do it.  It does get a little tricky when I'm riding my bike with Pippa and Ro is riding his bike...and then crashes.  I can't exactly "jump" off my bike to rescue him.  Instead I have to get off my bike, take Pippa out of her seat, then address Ro's injuries.  Otherwise, I'd have two hurt kiddos.  I should look into a center kick stand.  

Ro still loves the neighbor kids!  They love him too.  It has been a major blessing to live next door to them.  The whole family is really good to us.  It's been nice as Ro has gotten older that I can feel comfortable letting him play outside with them (only if the older 11yo is present) while I do whatever I need to do inside.  Always something boring like feed a baby or cook dinner or do the laundry.  Like I said, we're only "surviving" over here.  I don't know what I'm going to do when I don't have the neighbor kids to lean on anymore.  I guess I'll have to succumb to having the television raise my child.  

Wyatt and I celebrated our nine-year anniversary on June 30th.  Conveniently, the local ADA chapter hosted a night with the Mariners the same night.  So Wyatt reserved tickets for us, plus Ro.  I mean this with all sincerity, I was thrilled to go to the game!  I love baseball games.  It's one of my favorite summer activities...which I rarely get to do.  The game was in the evening, so we left Pippa at home with a sitter.  We enjoyed complimentary food and had pretty nice seats too.  Ro doesn't share my same sentiments about summer baseball games.  He announced he was ready to go at the top of the fourth inning.  Wyatt also doesn't share my sentiments...so being outnumbered, we left.  I was bummed.  Sure wish we learned about the playground at Safeco fields before the game!

And now, some random pictures...

Trying to keep Sunday "Sunday" by visiting the temple grounds.  Wyatt didn't share my enthusiasm, so we'll probably never attempt that Sunday activity again.  

Ro helping himself to the Dove soaps.  This reminds me so much of the story of my brother Jeremy, who, as the story goes, loved the smell of Dove soap and would open the boxes just to smell it.  I think Ro just likes to play with them, regardless of the smell.

Pippa wearing Uncle Harold's nightgown.  My mom and Grandma Huggins made it when my mom was expecting Harold.  They thought/guessed he would be a girl.  Nope.  So the nightgown went unworn for 47-years until Pippa inherited it.  Not sure why my mom didn't have my sister or I wear it.  The picture doesn't do the nightgown justice.  Upon closer look, you'd see the fine craftsmanship and detail.  Both my mom and grandmother are/were skillful seamstresses.  It's a treasured heirloom.  

My adventure to the city with the kids.  I met-up with a friend at a "park."  Which, literally, was a 15x15-foot slab of concrete with a tiny jungle gym and some other random new-age play ball structure.  It left more to be desired.  Poor Ro.  He finally gets out of the house only to discover disappointment.  Oh, and it was cool that day and I forgot his jacket!  Ro, who is usually sweating, was cold!  I am failing at every junction.  

We finally decided to do some bed rearranging at our house.  We moved Ro's toddler bed to Pippa's room and converted it back to a crib.  Then we moved the queen guest bed into Ro's room.  Yeah, Ro "sleeps" in a queen bed (see previous comments about his middle-of-the-night migration).  I thought Pippa would love her roomy new bed.  Nope.  I guess after seven-months she preferred her sardine can lifestyle.  She cried and cried and cried the first few nights.  Luckily we left her old bed in her room, so we let her sleep in there at bedtime.  I'd put her in her crib for nap time...and slowly over time she warmed-up to her new bed.  Apparently I'm not the only one that hates change.  So glad Pippa gets me (and me her).  

Everyone loves Dad!  As long as it is up to me to run a household and enforce rules, I will forever be in his shadow.  At least they have one fun parent...