Frijolitos: Twenty-six and Two Months

I was running errands the other day and happened to walk by a t-shirt store that focuses on Latin American themes. I peeked inside as I a strolled by and happened to catch a glimpse of some itty bitty t-shirts: one in pink and one in brown that had "Frijolito" with an image of a cartoon bean dressed up in either a bow, gloves, and big lashes, or a simple T. I quickly ran in there to take a closer look and I had a hard time resisting to purchase one for each of my frijolitos. How appropriate, I thought. :)

Time never ceases to surprise me with it's ability to move so quickly. As a write this, Sebastian is close to being 10 weeks old. As a person looking from the outside, I would think ten weeks seems like a long time, but from where I stand, ten weeks is just the other day, just a little guy in my arms, just my "newborn" baby. But, there isn't a doubt that he is definitely getting bigger and that the days are flying by. Amélie is also changing SO much every single day. Sometimes I just sit there looking at her and think how much of a big girl she is becoming. She's stringing words together and surprising us with how much she knows. She's got a bubbly, sweet, and happy personality. We really are very lucky parents.

So, before another day/week/month goes by before I have time to write, I thought I'd make a quick list of where my kiddies are today.

Amélie

• loves pink
• is currently learning her colors and can correctly identify them about 80 percent of the time
• likes to repeat everything!
• very interested in shoes. The brighter/shinier/girlier; the better. 
• let's me style her hair every morning
• knows all her body parts in Spanish and English
• loves her baby brother, "astian."
• gives the best kisses
• really likes to point out people's noses
• likes to sing
• knows to ask for her sunglasses when the sun is in her eyes
• actually enjoys riding in the car now
• really loves coloring
• can translate from Spanish to English and vice versa
• is very girlie
• the swings at the park are her favorite
• has a contagious little girl laugh
• can play with bubbles any time of day
• doesn't like having her hair washed
• likes going to the library
• loves reading books, especially Curious George, Thomas the Train, and Clifford
• knows who Elmo is
• makes us laugh all the time
• loves to dance
• can be shy when it comes to making new friends
• prefers sitting in her chair at the kitchen counter than sitting at the kitchen table
• LOVES anything having to do with water
• could eat a "hog gog"(hot dog), burger, pizza, pancakes, and "shnackies"(snacks) all day and every day
• talks all day
• is 26 pounds

Sebastian

• has the best baby smile
• loves to smile at anyone that will talk to him
• really likes being snuggled
• talks a lot
• totally rocks at tummy time
• is really strong and can hold his head up really well
• is constantly moving his legs and arms
• can eat all day
• likes to watch his sister move
• doesn't like being in the car/car seat
• has approved the use of a lovey for bedtime snuggling
• is finally using the pacifier to soothe himself
• sleeps really well at night
• is starting to create his schedule
• can sleep from 7pm to 6am and wake up twice
• is starting to go down for his naps much faster and easier
• still won't put himself to sleep without mommy help 
• sleeps swaddled but usually wakes up with one arm out
• will fall asleep in the ergo every time
• makes the cutest little pouty face
• has brown eyes and light brown hair
• loves bath time
• likes being warm
• likes to hit the toys hanging from his play mat thing
• is 10 pounds, 12 ounces

Mimi and Kiki

By the title you could believe that this is about individuals by the names of Mimi and Kiki, but they are in fact two things we never leave the house without- Amélie's special blankie (mimi) and her binky (kiki).

I wanted to write about this because one day I'll be able to look back and enjoy all the little or not so little things that were a part of our lives with these two babies. These two objects have certainly become a big part of our lives in the last several months.

For a while now, as long as we've been tucking Amélie into bed at night, she's always had her blankie. As part our routine we lay her blankets on top of her and then wish her a goodnight and give her a kiss before we walk out the door. Well, somehow along the way, Amélie decided her blankie was mimi. Since I was a child, I've always referred to bedtime/sleeping as mimi. I think it's just a nickname for dormir, which means to sleep in Spanish. It's not something I made up. My parents used the term and I've heard other people use it as well. Anyways, since then we've called her blankie, mimi. There was a time period of about two months a while back where Amélie wanted her mimi to go with us everywhere and we were fine with it. The doctor even said it was a good thing she was attached to an object as her security item and not a human. He said it was perfectly normal. We thought it was cute. She got over taking it with her everywhere, but it still remained part of bedtime.

Mimi's helping me eat my special pink! cupcake. 

This girl is in love with pink(how ironic) due to Pinkalicious books. 

Fast forward to about two months before Sebastian arrived and Amélie started asking to take mimi (oh, and we think it's a "she." ie. "Where's mimi? Where did you leave her?") with us everywhere. We were okay with it again, but it slowly progressed and now is at a serious obsessive level for her. We can convince her to leave mimi home for certain things or put her down for activities, but we almost never leave home without her because it.can.be.bad! The thing doesn't leave her sight at home, too. We probably hear her asking for mimi no less that 4 times in an hour. If she's(mimi) in the other room and we can't get it to Amélie THAT second she will go into hysterics while repeatedly asking for mimi and kiki. Imagine this happening while we're out and mimi is at home? Help.

Color without mimi and kiki by my side? Heck no, Joe. 

Mimi on the chair, kiki on the counter. 

Mimi used to get dragged on the floor and you can imagine this thing got filthy! There were a few times where I tried to convince her to take another blankie, but nope. That's not mimi! We even found a fleece with Curious George, whom she LOVES, on it at Joann's that I made into a little lovey blankie with the hopes of it taking the place of mimi, but that did not work for a minute. I was seriously embarrassed of my little girl walking around with her dirty blankie she didn't want to give up and so I cut her in half. That way I can wash one half while she has the other. Thank goodness she didn't notice.

I think along with the sense of security that she gets from mimi, she also feels the same way about kiki. Her binky has always just been part of her sleep routine. We'd give it to her right before we walked out and sometime throughout the night she's spit it out and that was that. It wouldn't be seen or talked about until the next sleep session. But again, about two months before Sebastian arrived (noticing a pattern??) she started using her binky all the time! Ugh, I hate that darn pacifier. Right before she started asking for it all the time, I was at the point where I was thinking about putting the binky away somewhere and never seeing it again because she's a big girl and I felt it was time for it to be gone.

If she's got mimi, kiki is right there too- in her mouth,  in her hand, or by her side. I'm always asking her to give it up and she usually will, but unless she's happily and busily preoccupied, she'll ask for it again. Although, even during any meal time she wants to have kiki right next to her plate. It's ridiculous.

Playing the keyboard? Can't do it without kiki and mimi(on the chair)!

At her two year well-visit we brought it up with her doctor and he told us not to worry about it because he thinks is a phase that she'll grow out of soon enough. I'm fairly certain it has something to do with a certain little addition to our household. It totally drives us crazy right now because we seriously cannot leave the house without these two things and we have to know where they are at all times as if they are our third and fourth children, but I'm sure it'll be something we look back on and tease Amélie about when she's grown. I'm really hoping that comes sooner than later. =)

Little brother; I'm the big girl with my mimi and my kiki in hand! 

Gosh, I love that girl and baby boy!

Do any of your kids have a security item they can't live without?

The Challenge

It's time! I'm feeling almost completely like my former self physically, and at seven weeks post-partum, I think it's safe that I begin to workout. Woo. I'm excited. I really enjoy working up a sweat and getting some results.

Since the beginning of September coincides with my ability to workout, I've decided do to a fitness challenge of sorts. I've actually convinced the hubby to do it as well. We are going to be doing the  "One Hundred Pushups" training program. I'm going to be adding running to my routine since that's my thing and it also happens to be one of the few workouts I can do with both of the kids. I've got the double jogger ready to go! The thing I also like about the pushups program is that there is a timeline and ending date. It'll give me a chance to compare now to then and it doesn't seem like that long of a time period. Also, my goal has been to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight and shape by three months post-partum. I'm only 5 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy, but my shape is another story. We'll see.

I was hoping to really begin in earnest this week, but our household has come down with a cold. First it was me, then Sebastian, followed by Eric (who's the biggest baby of all), and today Amélie's been displaying symptoms. I'm also waiting on my carseat adapter to arrive in the mail since Sebastian really prefers riding in the carseat as opposed to the actual stroller seat at this point. It's supposed to get here this week. That means I'll start running as soon as it arrives and that Eric and I will probably complete the initial push-up test this coming weekend and start the plan on Monday.

Of course, here are my dreaded before pictures. I took some showing my actual belly, buuuuut, I don't think I'm ready for the interwebs to see that just yet.

Eek! I can't believe I've added these. As you can see in the top picture, there is a pooch in the lower portion of my belly. Lucky for me, at this point my natural waist and upper torso seem to be back to the shape I was before. My skirts, dresses, and higher waisted pants fit just fine. But, most of my jeans are definitely snug(read: muffin toppin') around that darn pooch and I can grab the extra skin. I'm going to include my measurements because that'll give a better idea. Bust: 38 inches. Natural waist: 29.5 inches. Hips 37 inches. Gah. Oh yeah....my weight. Today I'm at 130lbs. Before baby I was between 120 and 125. I'm happy at 125, but will be more than happy to be at a constant 120. 

Alrighty, so here's hoping that six weeks from Monday I'll be down five (or more!) pounds and looking more fit! 

Oh, I've also been trying to be consistent about using my "Lose It!" app. This last holiday weekend was a bust, but I'm back on this week. Wish us luck! =)

If anyone wants to join in on the fun, it would be awesome to see some before and after results as well.