I knew the kids would bond. I hoped the kids would be friends. Moriarty was so excited before she was born, but I’ve heard stories of that changing fast once the baby is stealing the attention. That is not happening. If anything, his obsession is growing. He wants me to feed her wherever he is. He wants to play with her on the floor. He tries to climb in her carseat to snuggle her. He stands on the dining room chairs so he can kiss her on the head when she’s in the bouncy chair on the table. He’s OBSESSED. It can be frustrating when I need to put her to sleep. It can slow us down when we’re trying to leave the house. It makes getting in/out of the car harder. But it also warms my heart. He wants to know when she can sleep in his room. Plans are being made! (not until she can sleep mostly through the night). Moriarty has needed a little more attention. He likes to be near us more and sleep near us. He started this when I was pregnant. So, he’s back on the couch several nights. He can even sleep vertical half on the floor (see pics, pass “mal”).
The kids started school a couple weeks ago. Moriarty started in a new class, with a new teacher, and his old best friend. He’s thrilled and thriving. Lorelei started in the infant class. Within 3 days she had a cold. We expected this but it is still hard. She has a stuffy nose so she can’t breathe. But she’s also doing well in school. She is rarely fussy. She doesn’t nap great, but enough. She is a happy baby, even when she’s away from us. I feel lucky.
There are typical milestone ranges for baby skills. Usually by 3 months, ish, they’re grabbing at things in front of them. Around 4 months front-to-back rolling starts, and closer to 5-6 months it’s back-to-front rolling. Officially, she’ll be 4 months next week. Only in the last couple days has she started grabbing her binkie or a kleenex I have to catch milk drips. Rarely, and it’s new. She’s discovered her hands and loves having them in her mouth! She’s even successfully put herself to sleep without a pacifier, using her hands to self soothe. That was awesome.
Where she’s kicking butt, though, is rolling. This week we started finding her on her stomach in her crib. Today she’s rolled back to front and back multiple times. She is rocking the gross motor skills but is kinda pathetic on fine motor skills. I put a toy lion in front of her this morning when she was on her tummy. She tried to scoot to it and bite it. Her legs are plenty strong but she can't lift her belly. It's adorable. Pip thinks she’ll be on the Olympic weightlifting team. She’ll be thick (not necessarily thicc, but she is a Lafleur).
Moriarty is also practicing rolling, and other gymnastic efforts. He’s taking circus arts class this fall. They’re learning things like tightrope walking, “angel” sticks (devil sticks to the rest of the world), juggling, plate spinning, etc. We had some devil sticks in the house and are playing with him here too. He’s having fun. I’m proud that my son is learning to be in the circus. He also practices slam dancing, though not in any official way. It’s always exciting in our house.