6, er 7 months

She likes books and gets read to pretty much every day, but often she is just "read to" by virtue of sitting on my lap while I read to Mr. Lo.  I have a goal to read to her individually as well, but those sessions usually turn into book EATING rather than READING. 

Poor neglected non-firstborn child.  Miss Ro had her entire 6 month post get left out!  But at least I took her to the doctor on schedule for her 6 month well-baby visit last month.  Now don't ask me where I put those stats.  All I recall is that she was something like 16-17 lbs. and in high percentiles for height/weight but she seems to have only moderate amounts of chub.  Nothing excessive.  :)  

Almost to the day, as soon as she turned 6 months she could magically sit up.  We did the pillow cushion for awhile, as shown in this photo.  Though of course now in month 7 she is done needing those pillows.  She can currently CRAWL, people.  Which has wrecked havoc on her relationship with her older brother.  ;)

She mostly has a lot of Blue in her life.  She plays with her brother's toys because we are too frugal to buy her proper baby toys (though I've started scanning Craigslist again and just today scored a good buy on a baby toy). She also sticks out her tongue a lot (as shown in the photo).  So cute!

Let the solids begin!  I waited until the week she turned 6 months, and ever since then have haphazardly handed her most of what I eat.  I know, risky for the allergens watch.  I need to slow down and pace myself on new food introductions.  But that requires organization and planning...And isn't it interesting about the new AAP recommendations? 

She gets about 5 baths per day, once after each time she eats, and another one at bedtime with her brother in the big tub.  Still need to get a photo of that latter charming event, but usually I'm too busy keeping her from drowning.  And did I mention I do bedtime routines by myself these days.  I basically feel like supermom most of the time, but the real story is that I have to let this baby cry sometimes while I focus on keeping her brother's bedtime on track.  I hate it.  And so I am inconsistent with the "let cry" approach.  Which is a recipe for disaster.  My son is the most well-adjusted sleeper, even waking at night to go potty and takes himself right back to bed.  I attribute his great sleeping to the fact that I was consistent; I consistently nursed him to sleep.  For years.  At age 2 he started sleeping in his own bed with a happy attitude, and at age 2.5 years he started sleeping in his own room with only minor protests, but a baby monitor camera helped reassure him we were watching over him and he adjusted fine.  I am pretty thoroughly happy with what happened with his sleep situation, though there were bumps in the road along the way.  Mainly those were confidence issues more than anything.

But I worry about this poor little Miss Ro.  Her naps are often "on the run," in her carseat or stroller while I go places for her older sibling's benefit.  She acts tired a lot.  If only I could force my personality to match my circumstances.  I don't think I was ever cut out to be any variation of a "single mom."  It has been a game-changer sometimes when I can stay home with my napping baby while Jerry takes Mr. Lo to preschool.  Those are great days.  But they don't happen often.  Anyway, here's a tribute to Ro Ro, the darling of the Tams.  She gets doted on by all the neighborhood.  They are Spanish-speaking people, and call her, "Bonita (Bonito?) and Gordita (isn't that a taco bell menu item?)...I know next-to-nothing in Spanish.  But I love that these people love my baby.  They all want to cuddle her and kiss her all day long.  The kids knock on the door asking to play with Mr. Lo, but really they just want an excuse to get to see the baby. 

JELIC Education

I always intended to do Montessori-type activities with my child at home, and every once in awhile hit gold. But I have a feeling it will take a formal school setting to get my child to achieve his highest learning potential. I have a few good friends who have loved homeschooling. But it sort of seems like I don't have the personality for it. Anyway, we have plowed forward with preschool plans for this wonderful 3-yr-old to supplement whatever good activities I can come up with for the homefront.

Uncooked Spaghetti Strands + Cheerios + playdough base = Intensely Focused, Happy Child

Last week Mr. Lo switched preschools (his other one ended for the summer, so we have him enrolled in one that continues through the summer).  The current preschool is a Mandarin/English bilingual Christian JELIC-based education system.  JELIC is sort of like Montessori I think??  I'm pretty happy with it. Lo goes just 2 half-days per week.  Anyway, I adore the head teacher, and she sent us a sweet update after Lo's first day.

Dear Jerry and Courtney:
 
Your son has a great start today!
He is such an independent, obedient, helpful and joyful boy!  What amazed me the most was when he poured a good-sized jar of milk into the small cup I gave to him!  he did it a few times with great confidence : )   I admire the way you train him and you really trained him well : )
He did a very good job in JELIC, too!  The box of this hands-on brain-development curriculum was a bit challenging for him at the beginning, yet he was very patient in following instructions.  In the end, he was more and more confident and finished that box really well!!  You would be very proud of him if you were here : )
It was a joy to have him in our class today and I am very much looking forward to having him again this Thursday!
Good night and God bless,

Esther
Yes, We are proud parents. What a great little boy God has given us. And I think Jerry and I have parenting styles and philosophies that complement each other well--we are a good mix. We have imperfect moments every day, but overall we Tams are a happy family. And I am thankful to God for making us this way.

Camera Hog

Recently we tried to get some spontaneous shots of this little Ro:Only to have the camera hijacked by this Mr. Lo:

And that was a couple weeks ago.  Ever since, he has been addicted to self-portraits.  He gets a turn with the camera almost every time I bring it out these days.  I'm looking forward to having another cameraman in the house.  :)