Mayana is Five

My beautiful girl.

I can’t believe that you have been in our lives for five whole years. I somehow feel like I have always known you, but also that these last five years have gone by in the blink of an eye. How can it be that my wrinkly little 5lb 2oz baby is all of a sudden this great big girl, so clever and confident and beautiful, about to start school!

I’m so proud of you my girl. There are so many times each day that I look at you and my heart feels like it literally is swelling in my chest with how much I love you. You are seriously gorgeous, with your long blonde hair and your sparkling blue eyes. You have the most delightful smile, and your giggle never fails to bring a smile to my lips.

You are so kind, and you care so deeply for people. You are really invested into your relationships with friends and family, and people mean everything to you. You love to think of ways to include other people in the things that we do.

I love the kind of sister that you are. Sometimes your brother is awfully annoying, I know. He can be so rough with you, and he LOVES to touch your things, especially when you don’t want him to. Most of the time you are so patient with him, and you try to include him when you can. Just today, he was playing with your brand new stroller that Grandma Suki bought for your twins. You must have told him 200 times these last few days that you don’t really want him playing with it. Today, instead of yelling at him to put them back, you decided to involve him in your fabulous imagination instead, and invited him to babysit your girls while you were getting ready for the day, which he did ever so beautifully for you! You love to hold hands with him across the back seat when we are driving somewhere, and if he won’t give you a kiss and a cuddle when he first sees you in the morning, your heart is almost broken. You truly do adore him, and I hope and pray that you two will always love each other and be close. I can’t wait to see how this new more grown up version of yourself will be with your newborn baby brother when he arrives in a few more weeks!

I think one of the things that you are most known for Mayana, is your incredible imagination. I love how creative you are and how absorbed you can become in make-believe. Sometimes it frustrates you that other kids aren’t able to keep up with what’s going on in your games. You can’t fathom how they can possible not see the pretend baby you are asking them to hold, or why they are not passing you the lettuce so you can finish making your burger!! I love listening to you play with your toys, when you give everyone different voices and have them involved in complicated situations and conversations.

Your other big love is learning. You are genuinely very clever (and I’m not just saying that because I’m a proud Mama). You love to ask questions and figure out not only how things work but why. You like to know things from every angle, and you retain everything you’re told or hear. Sometimes I’m surprised at the things that you know! You particularly love letters, and the thing that you are most excited about with starting Prep this year, is learning to read. I think you’re under the impression that you’ll be an expert by the end of day one. You already can name all of the letters, and tell what sound they make, and have started to figure out how that relates to reading. I catch you sounding out words, or using the first few letters on a sign or book to figure out what the word says. You can write the names of everyone in our family, and you constantly ask me how to spell certain words so you can write stories  underneath the amazing pictures that you draw.

You are still a little girl in so many ways, thank goodness! You love fairies and princesses, and Peppa Pig, and Bananas in Pajamas and Playschool (actually pretty much any show on ABC4Kids is okay with you!). You still love being creative and doing any kind of artsy-crafty activity… especially painting. I don’t think a day goes by where you don’t at least have your drawing book and textas out – and your pictures are delightful! You love all the colours, but still have a soft spot for pink, and you like anything that’s girly – especially if it has a bit of bling or sparkle!

You also love Jesus, and have an unquestioning faith that is both humbling and inspiring. Your immediate response upon hearing that someone is sick or hurting or sad is to pray for them. When I told you on that morning last October that Oma had passed away during the night, you asked me why I was crying when I knew I would see her again in Heaven. There was no doubt in your mind of the fact, and I know that the way you comforted many of our grieving family members (including myself) with such compassion during the days around Oma’s funeral, was extremely touching and special to them. My sweet, kind girl.

Oh Mayana, I am going to MISS YOU when you start school next week. Next week! This has just arrived far too quickly, and I’m afraid I get a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes that spill over more often than not when I think about it too much! We have been the best of buddies for the past two years, and done so many things together and learned so much together. I still wish we could have done more! I know I’m going to be the kind of mum who relishes school holidays for the time I’ll get to spend with you, precious one.

I love you, my beautiful daughter. I’m so proud of you and the way you are growing up. I have loved getting to know you and watch you become your own person over the last five years, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for you! As you say to me, “I love you around the whole planets and back a hundred times”. I really do.

Love Mama.

You can view Mayana’s 5th Birthday Interview HERE:

Her 3rd birthday video is here. Prepare to melt from all the cuteness!!

Dear Reuben {one}

[Can you believe it is actually nearly a month since Reuben turned one! I’ve had this post sitting in my drafts for a month waiting for me to get time to add some photos to it, and here it is. A month late, but here is my letter to Reuben, aged one]

My beautiful boy! I can’t believe that it has been a whole year since that unexpected day when you joined our family. And yet at the same time, I can’t remember a time when you weren’t part of us.

Oh my beautiful boy. One minute you’re our tiny baby, with the sweet smile and the sneezes too big for your body, and now all of a sudden you’re practically a toddler! On the eve of your first birthday your sister came to me sadly and said, “Reuben won’t be our baby anymore tomorrow… when they turn one they become toddlers.”

You’re growing up Reubs. Over the last few weeks you’ve been practising your walking. I wouldn’t call you a walker just yet but it’s definitely not far off. It’s just the cutest thing, watching you take those halting steps with your arms outstretched… completely adorable. When you fall over you often lay with your head on the ground for a few moments, as if to imply that you meant to do that, you just wanted a rest.

You’re very communicative too. ‘Amen’ is your code word for ‘give me food now’, and you can say a fairly respectable ‘hello’, too. You call your sister ‘May-nah-nah’ (yes, you can say that but not our names), and love to yell out to her if you can’t see her in the room. You refer to me as Mama occasionally, but only when you’re upset. I think your most used word is ‘WOW!’ either exclaimed loudly or softly in an awe-filled whisper. If we have something you want you motion at it with your hands with that come here/give it to me action. You play peek-a-boo, and hide things behind your back, and have the cutest giggle of all time.

You love music, and bounce to anything with a decent bass line. You clap your hands and head bang to your favourite tunes. You love little nursery rhymes with actions, especially ones that involve clapping hands or putting your hands on your head.

Reubs you are just too beautiful, and I’m loving getting to know you and watching your personality unfold and develop. I feel genuinely blessed to be your Mama, the one charged with the responsibility of guiding you, teaching you, loving you and holding your hand as you walk the path of life. I love you forever beautiful Sunshine boy.

Happy birthday.

Love Mama

Dear Reuben {ten months}

Ten! Yes really. I had a minor heart palpitation when I realised that in two short months, you will be turning one! You are growing up so fast my darling boy, and I cannot believe that the first year of your life is drawing to a close.

Reuben, 1 day to 10 months

This month has been huge for you Reubs. I have noticed such a change in you. You are far less baby and I can see far more toddler in you. You just seem to have come alive somehow. You are so much more interactive and cheeky, you love to engage us in your games and ‘conversations’. You laugh at funny things and respond to games like peek-a-boo, and you so desperately try to play with the big kids at playgroup and other outings.

This month you have perfected your crawling style. No more army crawl for you mister, now you’re up off the ground, usually using one knee and one foot to get around. If the ground is uncomfortable or feels funny on your knees, you use both your feet and do some kind of hilarious crab crawl. You pull yourself to your feet at any opportunity, and enjoy it when we hold onto your hands so you can walk with us. You love walking along the furniture in the lounge room, but know that crawling is faster! You also do this hilarious dancing, where you bring yourself up onto your hands and feet and kind of head-bang and bounce at the same time. That’s your favourite way to move to music.

In the last week or so you’ve figured out how to clap. You were watching me sing ‘If you’re happy and you know it clap you hands’, and you focused carefully on what my hands were doing. Next thing you held up your right hand very still, then slowly started flapping your left hand to hit it. You grinned the hugest grin as if to say, “I’m doing it!!!!” and have hardly stopped clapping since. When you are happy you clap your hands and yell out ‘Raaaaayyy!!’ which I’m guessing is a mimick of the way we ‘hooray’ you when you do something clever.

The first time Reuben clapped his hands….

You are such a dream baby Reubs. You eat well, you sleep well, and you’re generally a very happy boy. The only downer is your puking, but we’re working on that. You really do love your food, and sometimes out-eat your sister… already. I sometimes am shocked by the amount of food you can put away! You’re very tactile with your food and sooooo much messier than your sister ever was. Must be a boy thing. Even when we feed you, you still somehow end up covered in food. You love, for example, to take a spoonful of wheetbix out of your mouth and rub it through your hair. And when you’ve had enough food, instead of just refusing to eat anymore, you let us pop it in your mouth, then take it out with your hand and throw it onto the floor. You’re so cheeky sometimes boy-o!

You still absolutely adore your sister. No one can make you light up the way that she does. People often comment on it. She’s so patient with you too, even when you pull out handfuls of her hair, or mess up the shelves in the toy room that she’s just tidied. I hope you guys always feel about each other the way that you do now.

Another new skill of yours is waving. You’ve been working on this one for quite a while, but you get it now. When someone arrives at home, or is leaving, you quickly sit up straight and begin to wave. You especially love waving hello and goodbye to Papa when he leaves or comes home from work. You get so excited when Papa gets home, and if he doesn’t pick you up for a cuddle straight away, you yell crossly until he does. The two of you are great buddies, and he seems to have a calming influence on you. You love to sit and chill with Papa, but you cannot be still with me!!

You have four teeth now, and I think in the last few days you have been beginning to work on a few more. You have the two front top and bottom. Your top teeth look so huge in your little mouth, and they have the cutest gap between them. I’m kind of hoping they come together as your other teeth come in, because a braces bill at the end of all this won’t be so cute. You surprise yourself by chomping too hard on your fingers sometimes, and look at me as if to say, “What was that!!!?” The other day you slipped in the bath and managed to put one of your teeth through your lip – your first real accident with real blood. Of course it would be in the bath, where the water makes it look worse! You had a fat lip for a few days but you’re all better now.
When those teeth poke through your cheeky grin… it just gets me every time..

Can you see the teeth??

I love you my little buddy. I love this phase of you growing into a little boy, who knows what he likes and doesn’t and is beginning to be able to communicate that with us. You’re just the cutest, and I love having you in our family.

Love, Mama xx

Dear Reuben {seven months}

letter to Reuben.. seven months. I just realised as I started to write his eight month letter that I hadn’t published this one! Oops!

Hey Little Mister!

Seven months already! We’re on the slippery slope to you leaving babyhood behind forever. It’s bittersweet… I’ll miss bubba-you, but every day you just get to be more fun!

You do so much now! You can sit up for hours on end – though you haven’t quite worked out how to get from lying down to sitting up just yet. You very intentionally can get yourself back to the lying position though – it’s essential for your newest trick… you my boy are on the move!! I wouldn’t call what you do crawling just at this point, but you’ve advanced beyond the army crawl and do this sort of caterpillar/floor-swimming thing. You're having great fun exploring the house, and so far have discovered the playroom (your sister is fast learning to pick up after herself, you have a penchant for putting things in your mouth!) and the garage.. we got you out of there quick-smart! You tried to follow Papa into the bathroom tonight, but got distracted when you found yourself under the dining room table. You occupied yourself under there for quite some time, until you somehow got yourself caught between the legs of some chairs and the foot of the table! In the last few days you’ve been starting to get your knees in on the action, and your speed has increased dramatically.

You’ve also started to pull yourself up on things. If you can just plant those little feet of yours, and grasp something that’s steady enough, up you go. It’s hard work for you, but I guess it gives you a different perception of your world… but you just seem too little to be doing things like that!

Mind you, you are getting bigger. At your last weigh-in you were 6.6kg – though that was with your clothes on. You are small for your age, but so much bigger than your sister was… you actually have meat on your bones, and your thighs have rolls! You are even starting to get into some 00 clothes. I’m fairly sure Mayana didn’t get into that size until she was nearly one!!

It’s no wonder that you’re turning into a fatty-boom though, the way you pack your food away. I foresee big grocery bills in my future! At seven months old Mr Reuben, you are eating two wheetbix for breakfast… that’s the same amount as Mama! Plus, you still cry for your pieces of toast or cruskit afterwards too! You’ve started eating meat these days, but you still don’t like your food too lumpy. I’m not sure if it’s linked to your refluxy issues but you seem to have a super-sensitive gag reflex. That’s all well and good but because of your refluxy issues, a gag generally equates to a puke…. and we’re over puke in this house, so purees for you for a little while longer I think! Mind you, you do enjoy sandwiches and cruskits with vegemite on them, so you are having a go at a few more ‘solid’ foods. These days you have a breastfeed in the morning, wheetbix and toast for breakfast, a bottle for morning tea, fruit or vegies for lunch, a bottle for afternoon tea, vegies, rice and meat for dinner and usually a breastfeed, sometimes a bottle, and sometimes you want nothing (!) before bed. You are content, and you are growing, and that’s what matters.

You love to be tickled, and it’s the one thing that will always make you laugh. Sometimes you do this squealy crocodile noise before you get the giggles, and everyone thinks it’s so funny. You also do this hilarious growly voice, that sounds a little like a Batman voice. Oh and you can pull off a pretty good Chewbacca too! You still love to blow raspberries, and are almost always covered in drool (which is better than puke!) Your newest ‘word’ is Mama!! I think you are actually associating it to me now. Whenever I come and get you out of your casrseat you grin at me and say ‘Mama Mama Mama’. You also yell it at me when I’m taking too long to get one or another of your meals ready!

You are also starting to laugh at things people do… like if they talk to you in a funny voice, or play peek-a-boo with you. Your laugh is just so cute Reubs, I never tire of it! You have quite a big voice compared to your sister, and are very good at getting people’s attention.

We’ve been picking Papa up from work lately, because he broke his bike, and when we get there you scan the room until you spot him and then yell out at him until he comes and takes you. You love your Papa, he can always make you happy. I think Mayana is still your favourite though. You are mesmerised by her… and is she is in your sight you are smiling. She loves to cuddle you and tries to pick you up… but considering you are probably more than half her weight she struggles with this! She loves to make you laugh by blowing raspberries or roaring at you. Her roaring used to make you cry but now you think it is just hilarious! You kick your legs and squeal and laugh in delight – even if seconds ago you were mid scream with tears dripping down your cheeks.

Your sleeping is going well. I always feel it is such a risk writing about this because whenever I do something changes. But at this point in time you are having two good, solid day naps, and sleeping through the night from 7pm-6.30am (ish… sometimes earlier sometimes later). Now if only we could get your sister to figure out how to go to the toilet by herself through the night, Mama and Papa might be able to sleep through the night too!

You’re much more interested in toys now, and Mayana is learning that she needs to share with you. You particularly like her wooden blocks and her duplo.

I’m glad that she’s mostly got toys that can be played with by both of you, although she does have some special things that are just for her. She is mostly patient with you, and knows that if she can give you something to put in your mouth you’ll leave her alone for the most part. You’ve even discovered the ipad! We have a baby app, and when you touch the screen coloured shapes come up and sing and talk to you. You think it’s great fun, and it’s a good way for me to distract you if you are having a moment.

You’re growing up fast my boy, and I love these baby months with you.

Love you darling,

Mama.

Dear Reuben {five months}

My littlest darling…

Five months already.. and let’s be honest, we’re almost half way to six! Mama’s been busy, and you especially have been keeping me that way!

I’m loving this age, the way that you’re that much more interactive now. You recognise me and your Papa and are starting to reach out for us and snuggle. Oh how we love it! You’re trying to copy the sounds that we make, and Papa, Mayana and I are engaged in a fierce battle to get you saying Papa, Na-na or Mama first. You've found your tongue and you love to blow raspberries and poke it out at us.. and dribble.. boy do you dribble!

There’s a couple of little white dots sitting on those swollen gums of yours, and I’m willing those little toothy-pegs to just do their thing and break through to ease your obvious discomfort. Everything goes into your mouth.. you always have to be chewing on something!

You love your jolly-jumper.. especially since Kami bought you the musical mat to go underneath it. It makes you so happy! I think it’s a lot to do with the fact that you’re upright in it. You’re not so much a fan of laying on your back these days. You roll around and end up in all sorts of crazy positions far from where I left you. You can sit up with just a little bit of help for when you overbalance when you get excited. When you’re excited you flap those little arms of your like you’re going to take off! It’s so funny.

You’ve also finally figured out how to work your giggle. You especially like when Mama blows raspberries on your neck or pretends to eat you all up. I love it so much!

You’re eating so well. Now that your reflux is under control you’re gaining weight far more steadily. You have two solids meals a day and it’s not going to be long before you move to three. You eat fruit and farex for breakfast, and veggies for dinner. You love sweet potato, and also eat carrot, pumpkin, zucchini, cauliflower, potato, apple, pears, peas and corn. You’ve also started munching on a few arrowroot biscuits and think you’re very clever. The only food you’ve refused so far is avocado. You’re not a fan at all.. you spit it all out and gag and carry on… We might wait until you’re a bit older and can have it on sandwiches or something.

I love you Reubsy-cubes. A little more each day.

Love Mama

Four Months

Mister Reuben..

Four months seems so big! You are no longer my squishy newborn… you’re getting bigger and learning new things every day. More of that personality of yours is starting to shine through, and I’m beginning to figure out who you are and what you like and what you don’t like.

 

This month we have had a few firsts… like your first solids for example! So far you’ve tasted pear, pumpkin, apple, sweet potato, avocado, cauliflower, carrot and of course farex. You love the fruits, and are getting a bit better with some of the veggies. The other day we went away for the day, so I brought an organic apple and mango puree from Aldi for you. You went berserk for it! I couldn’t fill up the spoon quick enough! I think you’d eat that every day if you could, but I don’t want you getting a sweet tooth too early on. Plus, I want you to eat the food I’ve made you!

You also had your first chiropractic visit. Your vomiting was getting to a stage where Mama just couldn’t cope any more. We went out to your sister’s dance concert one evening after you’d eaten pumpkin, and you vomited bright orange vomit the whole time. Literally filled two ‘pukey cloths’.. and then some. The next day after your feeds you vomited huge puddles all over my floors (thank God they’re wooden!) every time. You have vomited like this since pretty much the day you were born, and of course the more you’re wanting to eat, the bigger the vomits. That day though, I had just had enough. On the verge of tears I rang to make an appointment with the Chiropractor – a lovely man who goes to church with us. I know that chiropractic can be a little controversial, but at this point I was willing to try anything. The session went well, he made a few adjustments to your spine and we were on our way. I also got some advice from my doctor-uncle that afternoon, and he suggested trying a few different things including cutting down the volume of your feeds a little and trying out some infant gaviscon. I’m a very bad scientist and changed too many variables at once, so I can’t be sure what the determining factor is… but the good news is SOMETHING IS WORKING! At the very least I’m confident that the chiropractic has helped your sleep. You’re so much more settled, much easier to get to sleep and having beautiful long naps through the day with no fuss at all, and no waking between sleep cycles. At this point I’m only giving you a half dose of gaviscon and only in your bottles… which is only two out of five or six feeds a day. And these days, you’re lucky to do maybe two or three tiny possits after each feed… which is SUCH a nice change from the massive puddles of vomits that you were literally doing constantly all day long… even hours after you’d fed!

I feel like our life has changed! I’m no longer scared to give you to other people to hold, and I don’t have to have a terry cloth draped over every outfit, you no longer need three changes of clothes a day, and best of all… I no longer smell of puke!

You’re getting stronger every day little man. You can quite easily roll from your tummy to your back, and with a little help you have no worries going from your back to your tummy. Today, I watched you do that all by yourself for the very first time! You haven’t repeated it for Papa to see yet though.. cheeky boy. You love to be upright, and like to stand up on our laps while we hold your hands. I don’t think that sitting will be too far off for you. When you are on your tummy you push yourself right off the ground, and you manage to wiggle yourself halfway around the lounge room when I lay you on your sheepskin! You’re also enjoying the new experience of using the Jolly Jumper!

Your nights are going well, we are down to one wakeup a night now, with the occasional night sleeping right through (oh how I wish they were more often). Your Papa now will often give you a bottle in the night, he loves the time to snuggle you. I think he misses you a lot, and he’s finding it a little hard not being with you all the time when he was so hands on and always there when Mayana was born.

You’re still drooling like a mad thing, and those teeth are just there… little white dots all along your gums. You LOVE chewing on my fingers, and I can tell you that sometimes it hurts, and I’m not necessarily looking forward to the extra pain that will accompany those little pearly whites of yours.

You’re beginning to really recognise people Reubs, and when you see someone that you love.. especially your sister or your Papa, you flap your arms and legs and grin so big your face nearly splits in half. I love the way you flap your arms about when you’re excited, it’s super cute. You still adore your sister, and she is the one who can calm you down best. The other day you woke up from your nap in a really bad funk. You screamed until your throat was hoarse and nothing I did would calm you down. I was just about beside myself, until your sister walked up to you and began to sing you a song. Two words into the song you stopped crying and by the end of it you were grinning at her. Amazing she is, I’m so glad to have her around!

You’re far more chatty this month, we hear lots of cooing and grunting from you. You are so close to giggling, especially if I tickle your ribs. You kind of make this big “Ha!” sound, just on the edge of a chuckle but not quite there. I can’t wait.

I love you Reuben, you’re my favourite ray of sunshine and I love your guts.

Love, Mama

{3 Months}

My darling Reuben

I can hardly believe that three months has gone already. You are such a part of our lives sweet boy, that it’s hard to imagine that you’ve only been around for thirteen weeks.

This months it feels like you have ‘grown up’ so much. You no longer live by a cycle of eat-poop-sleep. You have lots of happy awake time now, and you are learning new things every day. You smile a lot. Especially at strangers. You are such a flirt when we are out and about, and I even have shopkeepers asking for cuddles!!

You are getting bigger, slowly but surely. You are a bit over 4.5kg now, not too far from doubling your birth weight. When I look back at your sister’s weight records, she was nearly a full kilo lighter at this age than you… so people who give me a hard time about how small you are don’t know what small is!

Baby Maysi

Baby Reuben..

You’ve put yourself into a bit of routine lately. It’s quite flexible – it has to be because unfortunately our days cannot always revolve around you! However you are happy to have your sleeps in the pram, car or sling (oh how you love the sling!), and even if we’re out you still follow your little routine to a degree.

You had been almost sleeping through the night, but over the last week you have reverted to waking a few times (last night was more than a few times *yawn*) to feed. Our lovely child health nurse, Alison, assures me that you are right on schedule for a growth spurt, and that you are busy working on increasing my milk supply. I hope you’re done with that soon!

Another fun thing you have learned this month is that you can control your hands! You think they’re just great, and you delight in getting various fingers and/or thumbs into your mouth and having a good old chew and suck. Sometimes you get a bit over zealous and stab yourself in your gums with your nails, or make yourself gag but shoving your hands too far inside your mouth. When this happens you look at me as if it were my fault!

You also like to grab things with your hands. Sometimes it’s my hands (or Papa’s or whoever happens to be holding onto you), and they also tend to go straight into your mouth for a munch. Just in the last few days you’ve shown a lot more interest in your toys, and you like to hit or grab them or, of course, put them in your mouth.

Playing with your toys in the car…

You are drooling like crazy, and when I had a look in your mouth the other day I spotted two tiny white teeth under the surface of your lower gum. Mayana cut her first teeth at around four months, I wonder if you will beat her, or if those teeth will sit there taunting us for a few more months!

While you smile freely and often, you still haven’t figured out how to laugh yet, and I am so looking forward to the day when you do. You like to make happy coos every now and again, but you’re not much of a chatterbox just yet (give you time, I’m sure!)

Mayana is still one of your favourite people in the world. She makes you so happy, and you give huge gummy grins whenever she enters your line of vision. You seem to miss her when she has her days at kindy, and when she gets home you will not let her out of your sight. You love it when she sings to you, and watching her play is your new favourite  pastime. I know you just can’t wait to be able to get down there and join in! We have been putting you in the bumbo occasionally, and that gives you the opportunity to get a little bit more involved in your big sister’s games – or at least a little closer to them!

Your sister loves to sing to you..

Another favourite activity of yours is bathtime. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in the tub or the shower, you just love being in the water. We have a little towel bath stand that we lay you in in the bath, and you grin and squirm and kick like crazy. If your sister happens to be in the bath with you, you look so happy you could just about bust! In the shower you snuggle into me or Papa, and when we let the water run over your back and head you close your eyes and enjoy the sensation.

Reuben, I just love your guts buddy, and I am enjoying getting to know you. I know that this next month is when you will really start to become super alive and alert, and I’m looking forward to learning more about your personality.

I love you, my precious Sunshine.

Mama