First Bite

April 6, 2011 (5 months old)

The general recommendations that you hear from the doctor has changed in the past 8 1/2 years.  Back when Rebecca was a baby, the doctor recommended starting solid foods between 4 and 6 months.  Now with Ruth, the recommendation is to wait until 6 months before introducing solids.  I was excited about this.  Feeding a baby takes time and effort, so waiting a little longer seemed nice to me!

Ruth, however, was very interested in trying some more grown up fare.  She wanted to be at the table with us.  She would watch intently as we ate.  She would open her mouth and reach for our food.  So after we got things settled from her milk reaction, I decided to let her try some yummy rice cereal.

She loved it.  Normally the first bite comes out just as fast as it went in.  Not with Ruth.  She opened wide for the next bite.  She loved eating. 

The next day when I got out the box of cereal and started mixing it, she stared intently at me and started opening her mouth for some food.  Boy was she ready!

Soft or Loudly?

Tonight we took the kids out to dinner.  While Rebecca was looking over the menu, she asked me if a soft drink was the same as pop.  I told her that it was. 

A few minutes later, Rebecca asked if she could order a soft drink.

Joseph then piped up, "I want a loudly drink!"

Miriam Turns Seven

 Miriam was so excited to be able to pick somewhere fun to go for her birthday.  This last summer, she was invited to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese, and that is where she wanted to go for her birthday as well. 

 Miriam likes to play with the boys in her class, so she told me several kids she wanted to invite, boys as well as girls.  I am not a mom to invite the whole class to a birthday party, so we decided to invite all the girls in her class.  Since we had her party on her actual birthday (the Monday of Spring Break) it worked out just right with 6 girls from her class coming.

 The kids all had a great time playing the games.  A couple boys from Rebecca's class were there with their sisters, so she had someone to play with as well. 

 I was really impressed with how well the party was planned out (I guess parties are what they do, so they are good at it) and how special Miriam felt.  I'd say that is a successful birthday!

Of course, the batteries on the camera died before the over-sized mouse made his appearance... :(

Poor 4th Child

I always heard about how the more children you have, the fewer pictures you take.  I, being the 4th child, personally know about this.  So I feel bad for my poor sweet girl who has so few pictures taken of her.  I tried to do better this day!  (March 3, 2011, 4 months old)

Mummified

February 16, 2011 3 months old

My greatest fear at having another baby was not sleeping.  I need my 8 hours of sleep, and with a newborn and three other children, sleep is something that you don't get a whole lot of.  So before Ruth was born, I read several books on getting your newborn to sleep (none of which were super helpful...).

The best suggestion I found was to swaddle your baby.  I never swaddled the other kids.  Since they were all so little, when the nurses in the hospital brought me my swaddled baby, I would unwrap her and put her against my chest.  Once we got home, I just never thought that swaddling would make any difference.  I think maybe I was torturing myself!

My friend gave me this swaddling blanket.  It is so much better at keeping the baby swaddled than just a regular blanket.  It has Velcro tabs to keep the baby securely wrapped.  It was amazing the difference in little Ruth's sleep once I started swaddling her.  Within a few weeks, she was up to sleeping 10 hours straight at night!  Miraculous for this mama!  (And then she got sick, and so much for my sleep, but that's a whole other story...)

One day Ruth was in her bassinet and woke up from her nap.  Miriam (who was studying ancient Egypt in school) heard her fussing and excitedly asked me, "Mom, can I un-mummify Ruth?  I know how!"

Rebecca Turns Nine

 For Rebecca's ninth birthday, she wanted to go to Skate City and use her new skates she got for Christmas.  She, along with a few friends and her brother and sisters, had a fabulous time.  It is so amazing to think that my little baby is nine years old!

College Bound?

Last night on the news, there was a piece about high school students going to college.

Jack asked Miriam, who had watched the piece, if she was going to college.

Miriam, in a seven-going-on-16 tone of voice said, "No, Dad.  I still need to get to second grade!"