Mieke's First Step!

It's official! Mieke has taken her first step...with no assistance. Only a bit of cajoling. Yesterday evening she was just standing around in the middle of the room, like you do when you're learning to use these leg things. I came over and sat next to her, but not to close. And she took a step in my direction. We tried to make her do it again so we could capture it on film, but she didn't repeat her stunt.

I'm thinking it will be a while before she's a full-on walker, but the first step is always exciting.

Teeth, Reading, and Walking

Alexander is losing his teeth, and Mieke finally has one - a little one poking up on the bottom.

The other big news in our family is that Alexander is now officially a reader. Yay!

He has been able to read simple books for a while now, but he never wanted to. Every time I tried to get him to read a word here or there, he would clam up and get all grumpy. But just the other day, he and Annabel were looking at books together, and she got him to read to her. Afterwards, he bounded over to me, saying, "Mom, I can read now!"

It finally clicked with him that he can do it. I'm still amazed at how Alexander learns big things. He did this with potty training and with riding a bike. He doesn't do it, doesn't do it, refuses, refuses, and then one day you turn around and he's doing it. Seemingly out of nowhere.

I just hope he doesn't do this with driving a car.

Oh, and Mieke is also walking behind a push-car. She puts on her proud little smile, sticks out her tongue, and walks along like she's been doing it for weeks. Any day now she'll take her first step. In the tenth month, just like big brother and sister.

Beach Trip

What a glorious long weekend at the beach! One house, my whole family, endless fun. The weather was perfect...as good as it is in the summer. The kids and big boys even jumped waves.

Standing, Legoing, and Writing

Oops! I actually composed the following three weeks ago and forgot to post it!

Tomorrow Mieke will be nine months old. Yikes! In September, on the 25th to be precise, she pulled herself up to standing for the first time. Now it's all she wants to do. She especially likes to crawl under the table and stand there. Won't be long before her head starts hitting.

She's still our Buddha baby with all her chubs and rolls, but now that she's a lot more mobile, I suspect she'll get leaner. She's getting into eating solid foods, but breast milk is still her go-to meal. No teeth yet.

Alexander and Michiel went to a Lego Expo up in Portland, which was amazing and wonderful, and they came home with tons of loot--a few minifigs, a game, etc, etc.

And our Annabel is learning so much in school. Already she's about a year ahead of Alexander at that age. Shhh, don't tell him. The other day she was writing letters and declared, "Look, I wrote Oma!" I started to give her some that's-very-nice-dear praise without really looking when I realized that she actually had written "Oma." Then she said, "I want to go visit Oma so I can show her what I wrote for her. Let's go today!"

Halloween

All of us dressed up this year. Jo came with us on the Goblin Walk in downtown Silverton. All the businesses give out candy in broad daylight so we get to see everyone's costumes. We usually meet a whole bunch of friends and end up forming our own little mob on the sidewalk.

 Annabel stole my minion eye, so I joined Jo in her Dia de los muertos makeup. I think we're going to do it again tomorrow.

 And Mieke, like all of our children, appeared as a gnome for her first Halloween.

 Alexander had the coolest costume in his tractor that had working headlights and a secret compartment for candy.

And I had fun with the makeup, but I much prefer painting other people's faces. It's a whole lot easier! Happy Halloween!

6 Month Update

As of July 16th, Mieke has been in this world for six months. Time for an update.

Stats: 23lbs and I don't know the length. She's a little chunk.

She's so proud of her tongue. The moment I start making happy noises to her, she'll stick out her tongue and wait for praise. "Look what I can do, Mom!"

She sits reliably. Doesn't have any teeth yet. Drools like mad. Sucks her thumb, or fingers, or whatever part will fit in her mouth. Yesterday, I found her sucking on her toes. And just in the last week she has started moving around, trying to crawl. She pushes up with her hands and scoots herself backward. Or she'll sit with one leg bent back and sort of pivot herself around. I can't leave the room for long without worrying that she'll find something too small for her.

But what a happy little girl! So easy-going. She really is our Buddha baby. When she wakes up in the morning, she doesn't cry or whine, she just looks around and smiles and waves her arms. She can be awake and entertaining herself for half an hour before she starts to fuss.

She is very attached to her Mama and Papa. Sometimes, we're the only ones who'll do.

The annoying thing is that she likes to pinch me while nursing. The back of my arm, my breast, my armpit. She'll take a pinch of skin between her fingers and roll it back and forth. I often pin her hands against her body, but she works them out again. And of course, this is the time of distracted nursing. If there's anything going on in the room, she'll be popping on and off and spraying herself in the face. Fun times.

Mieke sleeps sometimes in her crib in the kids' room, but often I put her to sleep on the floor in our room. Then she joins us in bed when she wakes up to nurse halfway through the night. Sometimes, when she's cuddled up with me, she'll straighten her legs and press her toes against my thighs. The other morning I woke up to find four little toe prints, round and perfect, adorning my thigh. They stayed for half the day!

Mieke loves to watch her siblings! They are the most interesting people. And they love her so much, though sometimes it gets a little too physical.

Her favorite song is Skidamarink a-dink a-dink. It almost always brings a laugh.

Papa Don't Breathe

We all do this. Mishear song lyrics. Who hasn't wondered about Blinded by the Light? "Wrapped up like a douche?"

But when kids do it, it can be especially delightful. I may have mentioned before that Alexander loves Guns and Roses. Welcome to the Jungle is one of the first songs he really rocked out to. A couple of months ago he was playing Paradise City, and I was singing along.

Take me down to the Paradise City

where the grass is green and the girls are pretty

Oh, won't you please take me home.

Alexander said, "Mom, I think he's trying to say 'where the girls are British.'"

"Oh," I said, "you think it's 'where the grass is green and the girls are British?'"

"Yup."

"I'm pretty sure it's 'where the grass is green and the girls are pretty.'"

Alexander looked at me like I was completely out of touch, and said, "Mom, girls are always pretty, everywhere."

* * * * *

And we've got one from Annabel too. We've been listening to some Madonna lately. Now, Annabel's a strange little creature in that she hardly ever sings along with music, but a few hours later or maybe even the next day or next week, she'll bust out with the lyrics of a song during normal conversation. She won't sing it; she'll just all of a sudden say, "Mariposa ole!" or "It's hard to be a woman." Often, it takes me a moment to trace her words back to the song they came from.

Once, she was sitting on Michiel's lap when she suddenly put her hands over his mouth and said, "Papa don't breathe."

He took her hands away and said he didn't like that, but she did it again. "Papa don't breathe."

This went back and forth and after a few more times, Michiel and I figured it out at the same time. "Papa Don't Preach!" We've got a little Madonna fan in the house.

Papa don't breathe, I'm in trouble deep

Papa don't breathe, I've been losing sleep

It kinda works.

The Question

Well, we got it. From Alexander. The question.

"But when you decide that you want one, where do you get a baby?"

Alexander is six years old, just finished kindergarten and will enter first grade at a new school next year. He would not be satisfied with, "the baby grows in mommy's belly, in her uterus."

"But how does the baby get there?"

For a moment, I freaked out. Had no idea what to say. I have a tendency to over-explain which makes kids (and my husband) zone out after a few minutes. I almost said, "Ask your father." But I stopped myself. I could do this. Just keep it simple.

So I told about a sperm from Papa and an egg from Mama getting together to form an embryo which grows into a fetus which grows into a baby in Mama's belly/uterus.

I bit my tongue to keep from explaining 'embryo' or 'fetus.' No way was I going to try 'sperm.' I waited for questions.

But Alexander just nodded, thoughtful for a moment, then went back to his book where fish were laying their eggs.

And that was that. The Question. Answered!

At least for now.

Annabel's Funny Sayings

Okay, I think it's time for another post about the funny things Annabel says. I've been saving these up for a while. A smattering of moments from the last six months:

Annabel likes to lay her hands on either side of my face, look into my eyes and say, "Mama, you're my sweetie-pie!"

***

Back when she was still trying to distinguish between boys and girls, somebody asked her, "Is Alana (baby cousin) a boy or a girl?"

Annabel thought for a moment then said, "She's a sweetie-pie!"

***

Cousin Alana has a red splotch birthmark on her hand. Months ago, at a family brunch, Annabel pointed to it and said, "That's Alana's bookmark."

***

Annabel:  We had a lovely day today.

Me:  Why was it lovely?

Annabel:  We went to the ice cream shop and saw purple ice cream and it was marionberry ice cream and that was lovely. Also, it was a gorgeous day."

***

Annabel's speech:
At 2.5 years she said 'w' in place of 'l.' Awana instead of Alana.
Sometimes, she said 's' for 'th.' "That's what I sink."
She also couldn't say v's at the beginning of a word. "We're going on a little wisit to grandma and grandpa's house," and "I am wery, wery angry right now!"

Now she's three, and the only sound she still has trouble with is that darn 'v.' One day while Annabel, Mieke, and I were taking a bath together...

"Mama, your cute little wagina is so pretty."

"Oh, thank you. Do you think it's little?"

Pause for thought. "Your cute big wagina is so pretty!"

"Thank you." I looked at Michiel, who was wrapping Mieke in a towel. "How come you never say that to me?"

"What? You want me to say you have a big vagina?"

When Annabel gets out of the bath and Michiel is drying her off, she likes to say, "Human body!" Just that. No full sentence. Just a declaration. We don't know why. And she only says it when Michiel gets her out of the bath, never for me.

***

At night Annabel likes to give kisses before  bed. Not only does she want to give hugs and kisses to everyone and their uncle, but she has a special kiss routine with me. First, she gives me a kiss on one cheek, then the lips, then the other cheek, the forehead, and the top of the head. Then she says, "Now you do me." And I have to kiss her in that same pattern.

Milestone

Tomorrow our little Mieke will be three months old. Yikes! Yesterday she rolled from back to front for the first time. Who knows what she'll do next!

Aside from that milestone, here's what's going on in the life of a three-month-old (in a random string of thoughts). She loves loves loves her siblings. Normally, she's rather stingy with her smiles, but when brother or sister comes roaring/giggling/squeaking into view she's all smiles. Both Alexander and Annabel love their sister and are very sweet with her...sometimes too sweet. There is such a thing as too many kisses.

Mieke is fond of sticking out her tongue, especially when she coaxes someone else into joining her. It's one of my favorite evening activities. When we lie her on her tummy, she does a pretty good job of holding up her head. It won't be long before I can carry her on my back. I'm really looking forward to that!

Mieke is looking more and more like herself, but if I have to compare I'd say she looks most like Alexander did when he was a baby.

She's still sleeping in bed with us, and although I sometimes get anxious to get her out of our bed, I so enjoy cuddling with my last little one. Neither Alexander nor Annabel slept with us for more than the first week or two, so this is a treat. Even if I often wake up sore from being in one position for too long.

It's hard to believe that this sweet, calm baby we have now was once the crying baby of doom every evening. Now she usually falls asleep shortly after the kids' bedtime and it is sometimes possible to get something done in the evenings. Like a blog post, for instance. Amazing.

Annabel's Birthday

And so I am finally getting around to writing about Annabel's birthday, which was on February 21st. She turned three! What a birthday! This little girl ruled the day. First she awoke to breakfast and presents in bed, a Nankman family tradition.

Next, we visited (wisited, as Annabel says) Grandma and Grandpa's house where she got birthday doughnuts, which she happily shared with her Auntie Jo Jo.

For her birthday, Annabel got a bunch of dress-up clothes. (Some of them are the same clothes Jo and Kev and I used for dress-up as kids). Here she is in her fairy princess outfit:

 And then, of course, there was the pizza party with Jo, Jennifer, and Lauren.

On the weekend, we celebrated with a fancy tea party, complete with hats, gloves, and fancy dresses. And her friends Willow, Gwyn, and Karis.

And don't forget the cake. (It's pink on the inside.)

And a lot more presents, most of them girly. Happy Birthday Annabel!

Mieke Grows

It wasn't exactly her birthday, but we celebrated one month anyway with muisje muffins (anise muffins) just like we did for Alexander when he was one month old.

Now, Mieke is six weeks old and she weighs 12 lbs. That's half a pound lighter than I weighed when I was six weeks old. We're pretty much assuming she'll be a fat baby. Already the rolls are starting to form.

And her personality is taking shape as well. Aside from evening bouts of fussiness, she's a calm and sweet baby. She greets the world with a look of awe and has ready smiles for her siblings. She loves to be naked. Not surprising in this family.

Already she has a strong reaction to music. When I sing to her, she opens her mouth and lets out a sound that she doesn't make at any other time. I call it her singing. It's super sweet, and it encourages me to sing, which I often forget to do.

Birthdays!

We've had two birthdays this month, so before the month is over I thought I'd better give the birthday report. We'll start with Alexander who turned six (6!) on Feb. 9th.

Let me take a moment to marvel at the fact that I have a six-year-old. Wow!

I remember being six. I remember getting on the bus to go to kindergarten. I remember being scared to be with so many other kids and not knowing what to do. I remember getting those little half pint cartons of milk at snack time and not knowing how to open mine until a boy next to me showed me how. I remember lying down on mats for nap time, sitting in a circle and passing letter-characters around, singing songs, clamoring for praise from my teacher Mrs. Gex. (I don't even know how to spell her name since I couldn't read at the time.) And I remember having a bright and vibrant internal world. It's amazing to me that my son has entered a period of life that I remember so vividly from my own childhood.

But enough about me. More about the birthday boy.

For his party, Alexander invited five friends (Sage, Sebastian, Leo, Nate, and Noah). Michiel took the boys to Northwest Kids Club for a morning of rambunctious play, while I stayed home and got the cupcakes ready. They returned for opening presents and a decorate-your-own-cupcake party. Lots of fun and not too difficult to manage.

The next day we had a second party with the Gerlits clan. I got to exercise a little creative energy on the cupcakes. (With Mieke as young as she is my artistic ventures are rather limited, but I had fun trying marzipan for the first time.) Alexander wanted an orange octopus, so here's what I came up with:

More presents for Alexander and a whole slew of Legos. He's been busy with them ever since.

I'll save Annabel's birthday for another post.

First Smile

Mieke gave us her first real smile today at five weeks old. This isn't it. But I wanted to include a picture since we didn't capture the actual smile.

I was holding her this morning, after a night of lots of crying. She looked into my eyes and her mouth widened to a big smile. All my exhaustion of the night before melted away. Mieke smiled at me! She's smiled lots of times before but always in her sleep or while looking at the wall, and those don't seem to count.

When I said, "Oooh, she's smiling," Alexander came over and she gave him a big smile too. Another for Annabel when she ran over. That's the moment I want to remember from today: three heads bent over a baby, inviting her to smile again.

A Rose By Any Other Name...

Yes! Our baby has a name! Introducing:

Mieke Emery Rose Nankman!

The story:

Each family member gave her part of her name. I've always liked the Dutch name Mieke.

Annabel has been insisting that her new baby sister be called "Rose Flower" for at least four months. Recently, she switched to "Rose Flower Rainbow Fairy Princess Butterfly Sparkly and Everysing Girly Nankman."  You'll be glad that we cut it down to "Rose."

Alexander wondered why he couldn't choose a name for the baby, and we thought, Why can't he? And so, he suggested "Emery." And so, our third child got two middle names, one from each of her siblings.

And Michiel, of course, contributed Nankman.

First Two Days

Our little girl is here! We're still working on the name, so stay tuned.

She was born at 2:31pm on January 16th, 2013
weighing in at 7lbs. 14oz
measuring 19.5 inches
and with a head circumference of 13.75 inches

Here are some impressions from the first two days:

She was amazingly calm from the moment she was born, only crying when manhandled.

She has more hair than Alexander or Annabel did at birth, and she was covered with an amazing amount of vernix. Annabel was with us here at home for her sister's birth, and when she saw the baby seconds after delivery, she said in a soft sweet voice, "Oh, the baby's here." Then she saw the vernix and her tone changed. "What's all that yucky stuff?"

She has big hands and long fingers that she kept flexing and stretching that first night. Also long toes. And long fingernails. Though she was very calm to first night, she squirmed a lot and made lots of little squeaking and sighing sounds, as if trying out her voice. She also had long periods of open-eyed alertness that night. At least, one eye was open. Tiny pirate. She makes all sorts of little-old-lady-who's-lost-her-dentures faces. It's pretty cute and funny looking.

She's got a strong sucking instinct and pretty much wants to do that every time she's awake.

And last, for now: Jolene was here for the birth and she was going to catch the baby, but the last bit happened so fast and surprised us all. Our little girl came out in one push and I got to catch my own baby! Pretty magical.

Expecting

We are two weeks away from the due date of our new baby and the excitement is mounting.

I'm feeling mostly ready, having gathered baby things from friends and family, put the house in better order, and finished all the important paperwork I had been neglecting. Of course, there are still endless tasks to do, but if I were to go into labor right now, I'd feel prepared. Mostly, now, I feel like we're waiting, joyfully anticipating what this new little being will be like.

Annabel is especially interested. She talks about her new baby sister all the time and always wants to "listen to the baby." She is really quite sweet and gives hugs and kisses to my belly throughout the day.

More and more I think about how this baby will change our family. Not just the whole roller coaster of having an infant in the house again, but the changes in the family dynamic. Annabel will go from the baby of the family (a position she relishes) to being a big sister, and the middle child. How will that change her?

We joke about how we've decided this baby will be our Buddha-baby, a child that brings peace and calm and enlightenment to our family, but who knows what she'll be like?

We're waiting to find out.

Waiting for...

There's much excitement in our household these days. Awaiting the new baby? Yeah, but that's old news. The latest excitement is Alexander's first loose tooth!

Technically, we first noticed a slight wiggle in said tooth over a month ago, but now it's flopping around all over the place. And the new tooth has already started to push up underneath. It has broken through the gum in a valiant effort to oust the old tooth. But the baby tooth hangs on.

We'll keep y'all posted on the next exciting developments.

Happy New Year!

A new year has begun and we're all excited about the changes 2013 will bring. A new baby at the end of this month. Hopefully a job for Michiel. Annabel will start school this year. And Alexander...well, everyone knows that six is soooo much older than five.

And here's our fun art project with sparklers. Michiel did the 2 and the 3. Annabel did the 1. Alexander did the 0, and I took the pictures. Joy and peace to you all in this new year!