Camera Free Zone

I take pictures of the kids almost every day.  It is how I record their milestones, track our activities, and I show Homestead Mama the story of the kids' lives each night when she gets home so she can be a part of their daily lives even while she is away at work.  My camera is in the shop for about two weeks, and I sorely miss it.  In two days, we've done things that I would certainly have recorded.  Pequita and Monito had their first Japanese food and mango bubble tea.  Monito then threw up his meal onto my foot through the large-bore straw that comes with the bubble tea; I don't think it had as much to do with the food as it did the jostling and jouncing he was receiving from a friend.  Today, I bought a toddler bed for Pequita and found a little bicycle with training wheels that almost fits her at the same store.  She has been zooming around the house on her bike, only allowing Monito to join her if he sits behind her.  She also loves her 'big girl' bed, and wants to play getting in & getting out over and over and over again.  Each time we have to cover her up with a blanket and kiss her and tuck her in; she waits a few seconds before bouncing up signing the 'wake up' sign and giggling madly.  It was nice to read stories to the kids in the actual nursery where the bookshelves are amongst the kid stuff instead of in our bed.  The only babies that have slept in our nursery are visiting guests.  I am really looking forward to shifting our kids to sleeping in there while in the same breath I will sorely miss having Monito's warm little body folded into mine as he sleeps deeply, rolling to meet me if I shift in the night.  I won't miss the other times where I only doze for hours at a time as he kicks, kneads my skin like a kitten, or insists on nursing several times a night.  As always, both kids are in a sleep regression right now.  Pequita was awake last night from 2 am until about 4ish; I can't sleep when that kind of thing is happening. 

Pequita is also very interested in the Olympics.  She wants very much to be the one swimming or doing gymnastics.  She is quite keen on the uneven bars and floor routines, and spends the whole duration of a gymnast's routine gesturing madly at the TV and then at her chest saying, "Mah, mah, mah!" which is her way of saying I want that.  Since she's been watching the games, she is doing more lifting and dangling, hanging off jungle gym equipment until I am sure she will slip and fall.  I caught her doing a modified iron cross on her Learning Tower this morning.  She is an amazing little bundle of muscle.  It will be a treat to see her develop.  This season a gymnastics class seems like a good investment for her, if I can work it out with Monito tagging along.

Our neighbor who watched our pets while we were on vacation brought over blackberry/blueberry pie tonight and frolicked with the naked, snuggly and freshly bathed babies for a while.  I'm off to tuck into a nice big slice.