This and That

We had our neighborhood Halloween parade today. Camden had been looking forward to the parade since we told him about it last week. You see, Camden spends quite a bit of time in costume these days. Ever since we bought his Ninja Turtle costume in preparation for Halloween about a month ago, he's spent a good portion of each day dancing to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle theme song while in full costume. Lately, though, he's had a new request when dressing up: he wants Macey to be in her Minnie Mouse costume too. And he wants her in full costume-- including her black and red Minnie shoes. This morning, as we were scrambling to get ready for the parade, Macey took those Minnie shoes off about 15 times. Finally, I gave up and decided I would put them on her once we got to the parade. Camden, however, wasn't having any of that. He takes this costume stuff seriously. After several failed attempts to put her shoes back on himself, he came to me and said, "Mommy, I'm really worried about Macey's Minnie shoes. They need to be on." It was hilariously adorable. Thankfully, Macey was much more willing to comply with her brother's request once we were outside. Finally, seeing Macey in full costume, Camden could relax.

Matt stayed up late Saturday night working on this minion pumpkin. His dedication paid off; he took home the grand prize in the pumpkin carving contest at the neighborhood parade. He'd never admit it, but he was totally proud of this pumpkin.

 

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In other news (and at the risk of sounding like the most indecisive person on the planet), I am still enrolled in school. It's actually kind of funny-- I waited so long to drop the class I was taking this semester that when I went to meet with my advisor last week, he told me it was too late to withdraw from the course. So, my options were: fail the class and just be done with it or talk to my professor and try to catch up on the assignments I had missed when I stopped doing work after I decided to withdraw from school. It's strange; I actually felt relieved that I had missed the withdrawal deadline. It was like being given a second chance. I went home that night, emailed my professor, and caught up on all of the assignments I had missed (there were only two) before I even heard back from her. Thankfully, she is willing to work with me, and while it's doubtful that I'll get an A in the class due to the late work, I might still be able to pull off a B. The best part, though, is that I'm back on track. I still have some doubts and hesitations, but they're things I think I can work through (for example: I have zero desire to teach in my current county, but there's no reason I can't work in other counties). It all comes down to this for me: I will never regret getting my teaching licensure. I may find, after a couple of years of teaching, that it's not the right fit for me and that's fine. But I know I would regret never finishing my licensure. There's a reason, after all, that I keep coming back to this time and time again over the past ten years. I'm over halfway done; no more quitting for this girl.

 

 

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And finally, Macey and I are taking a road trip with my mom this weekend. One of my best friends from childhood is expecting her first child in December and her baby shower is on Saturday. Since Macey has never met my grandmother (something I've been feeling immensely guilty about!), Mom and I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to visit my grandmother on the way up to my hometown for the shower. I'll admit that I'm a little nervous about this trip; Macey isn't what I'd call an excellent car rider. She'll tolerate a 30 minute drive with no problem; anything more than that and she's over being restrained and ready to run around. This will be a 4 hour drive so it could get interesting. I'm also a tiny bit worried about how she'll do sleeping in a hotel room. She's such an awesome sleeper now that I dread doing anything that will mess up her routine. But I'm completely willing to risk a less than pleasant car ride and a sleepless night for Macey to meet her great-grandmother. Fingers crossed that it goes more smoothly than I'm expecting!

Raising Boys vs. Raising Girls

I remember so clearly sitting in the chair at my optometrist's office when I was about seven months pregnant with Macey. He was making small talk with me while examining my eyes. The conversation went something like this:

Eye Doc: So, do you know the gender yet?
Me: Yep. It's a girl.
Eye Doc: And what do you have at home already?
Me: A boy.
Eye Doc: Man, are you in for a world of difference. Girls are so much easier. It'll probably seem like a piece of cake to you this time around.

And then there were the people who, upon hearing that I was expecting a girl, would immediately say, "Uh oh-- get ready for the drama!"

Granted, we're far from the teenage years now (thank goodness), so it's quite possible that my view on parenting different genders will change down the road. But for now, I will say this: raising Macey has been easier. And it's been harder.

Yes, both. And here's why:

Camden had (has) a slow to warm up temperament. As a three-year-old, that manifests as a boy who asks for permission before engaging in a questionable activity and who feels most comfortable at his cousin's side in his preschool classroom. No big deal. As an infant and toddler, however, his temperament meant extreme stranger anxiety. There was actually a period of time when I would start to sweat and feel anxious when I knew it was time to head to the cash register at the grocery store with Camden in tow. Why? Because I knew that if the cashier dared to speak to him (and of course she always would-- his head full of white hair practically begged to be mentioned), he would scream. And cry. And scream some more. Public outings were an extremely stressful experience for both of us for at least a year.

Macey is my spirited child who has never met a stranger. Yesterday at the grocery store, Macey popped her pacifier out each time we passed another shopper so she could greet them with a very southern sounding, "Hiiiii". And then she'd pop her paci back in until we reached the next person. When we checked out, I was signing the receipt while Macey sat in the shopping cart a couple of feet away from me. A woman approached her and started talking to her: "Hi, pretty girl! How are you? Look at those eyes!" and on and on. I turned to look at Macey's face and wasn't the least bit surprised to see her crinkling up her nose and doing her "show off" smile for the woman. She's an entertainer, that one. She thrives on attention.

So, obviously, taking Macey out in public as both an infant and toddler is much less stressful due to the lack of severe stranger anxiety. In that way, I'd say she's easier.

But. Oh, yes, there's a but. Camden's my little rule follower, through and through. Always has been, probably (hopefully!) always will be. He's not rebellious, he rarely tests boundaries, and it's highly unusual for us to need to tell Camden something more than once. For this reason, I didn't need to do a lot of babyproofing when Camden first started toddling around. If he opened a cabinet I didn't want him playing in, I'd simply say no, and that was that. Every morning when I showered, I'd sit him on the bathroom floor with some toys and I'd take my time, knowing he was perfectly content as long as I was close by.

Macey is-- let's just say, not exactly a rule follower. She has been known to head towards a forbidden object or activity (touching the TV screen, feeding Maggie anything in sight, jumping on the couch, etc.) while staring at Matt or me and shaking her head no. Basically, she's telling us: I'm aware that you're not fond of the decision I'm about to make, but I just can't fight the urge. Our entire house is babyproofed to the max and that still doesn't always keep her out of forbidden cabinets (she's amazingly resourceful, I swear). Showering while Macey is awake is an impossibility. I could lock her in the bathroom with me, but it would take 2.3 seconds before she decided to dive head first into the tub. Or, perhaps she'd forego the tub and splash around in the toilet instead. One thing's for absolute certain: there would be no patiently waiting for me while sitting on the floor.

When it comes to rule following, I'd say Macey is harder.

I could go on forever-- the contrasts between Macey's temperament and Camden's temperament are stark and numerous. But you get the point: my optometrist was both right and wrong in his prediction. And those who swore I was in for a life full of drama once Macey arrived? Well, they were right on in some ways and completely wrong in others (although I'd swap out dramatic for another descriptive-- like wild or maybe spirited).

Know something else? I think very few (if any) of the differences between the two of them are related to their genders. You might've already guessed by my excessive use of the word, but in my opinion, it's all about temperament. I've got a Slow-to-warm-up Boy and a Spirited Girl, but it just as easily could've been the other way around. They both can be sweet; they both can be challenging; they both can be kind; they both can be frustrating; they both can be loving; they both can be moody; they both can be silly; they both can be serious. They're both mine. And they're both perfect.

Pumpkin Patchin'

We're in the midst of a not-so-great weather pattern here right now (read: we might as well move to Seattle, because I haven't seen the sun in over a week) and we're also in the middle of transitioning Macey to one nap. Combine these factors and you have the recipe for a less than ideal afternoon road trip, but we decided to brave it anyway and head to a pumpkin patch about 45 minutes from home. There are closer patches, of course, but this one had all of the bells and whistles in the form of hay rides, train rides, a corn pit, farm animals, pig races, and one giant tube slide that was undeniably the biggest hit of the day. Despite my initial misgivings, our pumpkin patch afternoon turned out to be a blast. (Also? Cool, overcast days make for smaller crowds, which was a huge plus. I made sure to make note of that for future reference.)

 

We fed goats...

 

 ...and ducks. Macey kept squealing with excitement about the "duhs!"

 

The aforementioned tube (pipe?) slide:

 

We all braved it, including Macey & Daddy.

 

Camden insisted he go solo, which surprised me. He couldn't get enough of this thing.

 

My butt is still sore, but I have to admit- it was pretty darn fun.

 

Time for a train ride. My parents and nephew came along to the patch with us.

 

The corn pit was a huge hit with Macey. I had to keep her paci in the entire time she was in there, though, to prevent her from taste-testing.

 

 Everyone enjoyed the corn pit; it was quite comfy in there!

 

Pumpkin selections are made, thus ending our successful trip.

13 Months of my Peanut

As evidenced by my title, Macey Jean is still a peanut-- I'm pretty sure she still hasn't hit the 17 pound mark. This afternoon, my dad (who hadn't seen Macey in a little over a week) said, "Well, I'd say you've grown, but I don't think you have!" While she might not be making leaps and bounds in the growth department, she is growing up in every other way imaginable.

Sleep:

Macey is still in limbo between one and two naps per day. The vast majority of days, she takes two. If she refuses her afternoon nap, though, I don't sweat it-- I just take her out of her crib after giving her about 30 minutes to fall asleep (she doesn't fuss or cry; she just walks around yelling and playing) and put her to bed earlier at night. I actually look forward to transitioning to one nap and having a more open schedule, but I'm also trying not to rush her and let her make the transition naturally.

At night, Macey sleeps anywhere from 10.5-12 hours straight. Thank you, Matt, my sleep training superhero.

Breastfeeding/Weaning:

Obviously, Macey is completely night weaned. During the day, she will nurse 3-4 times. I know she is capable of going without breastmilk-- yesterday, we were at the zoo all day and she never asked to nurse. So, she had gone 10 hours without nursing by the time we got home. If I keep her busy and active, she doesn't think about it. However, if we're home during the day, and especially if I'm sitting on the floor playing with her, she'll march right over and demand "boo". I am completely relaxed about this weaning process-- I have no deadline, I feel no pressure, and I'm just going with the flow. She takes a sippy cup like a champ and seems to enjoy whole milk, so I imagine we'll be done breastfeeding in a couple more months.

Physical Milestones:

We've reached the running phase. Gone are the days of the wobbly walk; now I hold my breath as she runs down the sidewalk outside. I can't count the number of times she's skinned her knees over the past couple of months. Guess how many times she's cried about it? Zero. This girl just gets right back up and keeps on going. She continues to be totally fearless-- well, except for one thing: swings. She is terrified of swinging! So far, swings are the one and only thing I've found that intimidate my tough girl.

Verbal milestones:

Macey is a talker. This, as you might remember, is an entirely different experience for me; Camden had a single word at 13 months old. Macey has nearly 20 and makes some animal sounds too. At 13 months old, her words include: Mama, Dada, Daddy, Nan, Pop, poop, eye, bye, ball, boo (for boobie), hi, go, hot, bug, duck, cat, and bat. She also neighs like a horse and meows like a cat. Yesterday at the zoo, she was meowing at the giraffes which was hilariously adorable.

Food:

Food is an area where I always struggle at this age. For me, it's always been tough to transition from the pureed baby food to healthy table foods that a picky toddler will actually eat. The foods that Macey will generally eat pretty reliably include: pancakes, muffins, yogurt, dry cereal, mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, graham crackers, crackers with peanut butter, various pasta dishes, any kind of diced chicken, green beans, peas, puffs, and Arrowroot cookies. I am determined to get her to eat bananas and avocados (two of Camden's favorites at this age and they continue to be two staples of his diet today) but so far, no luck. I think it's a texture thing; she picks them up with her hand, squishes them, and puts them back down. I'll keep trying.

Miscellaneous:

Macey is a little entertainer who has never met a stranger. If someone looks in her direction, she will smile and say, "Hiiii!" Just yesterday at the zoo, we were on a fairly crowded bus and Macey was sitting on my lap. I saw that she was smiling and scrunching up her nose at someone and I looked over to see a couple smiling and waving at her. She was enjoying being the center of attention and providing them with some bus ride entertainment.

Macey is also a little mischievous. It's not uncommon for us to look over and see her watching us while shaking her head no. She will then proceed to do whatever it is that she knows is a "no no"-- usually it involves scaling furniture of some sort. It's like she's telling us, "I know I'm not supposed to do this, but I just can't fight the urge."

This girl is airplane obsessed. Whenever we are outside, she will freeze the second she hears one overhead (we live near an airport, so there's a pretty steady stream of airplanes most of the time) and she'll point excitedly. Speaking of obsessions, her number one obsession is being outside. Anytime she hears the front or back door open, she will book it to the open door as fast as her tiny legs will carry her and will have a serious meltdown if she's not allowed outside. Needless to say, we spend a lot of time outside these days.

Macey and Camden are big buddies. I'm so glad for both of them that they have each other. They spend a lot of time every day chasing each other around the house, riding cars out back, and just laughing at each other. Witnessing their love for each other and watching their friendship develop is my favorite thing about being a mom of two.