Really Growing Up... some things I remember from the last few weeks

Pepe and Polly are growing up so fast, and once again, mommy feels slightly bad for not archiving their milestones as conscientiously as she would like to. About a month ago, Pepe really surprised me when she promptly went back to sleep without so much as a whimper of protest after she discovered that I was not in the bedroom with her; papa only had to explain that mommy had work to do and would come in soon. What maturity, I thought with a smile.

Then there was the day I was doing some speed experimental baking of Milo muffins and mixing the batter. Pepe came in, looked at the batter, and said, "Wow, it looks like..." and just when I was all expecting her to say "delicious" as she had done several times before, she ended her sentence with "poo-poo." Yes, it was a busy day and I had chosen to make myself even more busy but that unexpected utterance, so honest and amusing, just brightened my day. And then there was this memorable conversation I had with Pepe in the car. It had just started to rain, so I sang "Rain, rain, go away, come again another day..." to which Pepe replied, "I think the rain cannot hear you." "Why?" I asked, and she said, "You're too soft. You must go..." :)

Pepe is quite the songstress-composer (innovating much of the time) these days as well, breaking into song ever so often, on just about anything and everything as it seems on certain days. A sample: "We are sisters, we are sisters, having fun, having fun, we're playing together, we're playing together, so... much... fun!" I must say I was impressed with her emphatic and well-timed ending. So was grandma.

This post wouldn't be quite complete, of course, without some mention of what little Polly has been up to these days. She actually pulled herself up to standing position with relative ease in the crib this evening and did so several times! That's a nice feat for a baby who is only just about to turn 8 months' old, I think. Pepe was certainly less advanced in terms of her psycho-motor skills at a similar age. Polly is also babbling a little more these days. Last week she uttered a clear "Mama" but it was a fluke. Still, enough to stop Pepe in her tracks and say, "Polly said 'Mama'." It's not happened again as yet, but at least we know she has the physical abilities to say it. It's also much more fun to play with Polly now. She cracks up, smiles this really big, contagious smile, and laughs this really cute laugh, again and again when she's feeling tickled (often just by seeing Pepe at her antics), or sometimes when we're playing peekaboo. Seeing her big sister on the potty also almost always guarantees a laugh, or at least a big grin.

I'll end off for now with a sleep update and a big praise of Polly our little growing one. Polly now likes to wake up every 2-4 hours at night for feeds. That's not so good for this SHM (School and Home Mom!), but it's good that she does not insist on being carried whenever she cries before it's time for one of those feeds (she simply needs to feel my hand--which is also a 'bad' habit, but better than needing to be picked up!). What made me feel really proud of her this past week was how she was able to stay cheerful and patient all the 12 hours she was with me in school for the fun fair held on Saturday 29 March. She's the only school baby who has successfully attempted this feat I think. Even my vice-principal was impressed by what a "good baby" she was. I for my part was really thankful for the strength the Lord gave me, His grace (we were both fine!), and the opportunity to spend so much time with Polly on a day I had thought would be spent mostly away from my kids. Pepe, Papa and Grandpa joined us for a couple of hours, and we had some fun, but Pepe didn't enjoy the fun fair as much as I had thought she might have--still too young after all to be able to brave the heat and crowds, or be courageous enough to enter into the bouncy castle she had talked so much about the day before.