Happy Valentine's Day

So, we spent a quiet day and night in for Valentines this year. Grandma Poppy sent the kids Valentine cards in the mail and visited. Maleah was excited to get one and to give one to the babies. She carried both around with her for the rest of the day. Papa doorbell ditched and left Valentine treats on our doorstep, then came back to visit a bit later. Rex brought home a rotissery chicken and salad and Valentine balloons for Maleah. Not just run of the mill balloons, but giant red and white ones with Xs and Os. Both she and babies were impressed :)
After dinner, Rex built a fire in our fireplace (I still love having a woodburning fireplace) and we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. This was when Papa was here and this is the purpose of this blog entry . . . :)
Miss Hannah was a big fan of the bright fire - watching intently, the jumping flames. She would fuss if Rex turned her away from it. Papa was holding Javen on the couch when Rex handed Papa a s'more . . . to interject here - Javen has been intrigued by Maleah eating things for months now . . . apparently Javen was hungry. He intently watched Papa take the s'more from Rex and then take a bite. Javen instantly started fussing. With each bite it got worse. Then I got up to take him, to try and settle him down. He lifted his little fisted arm to point at Papa, scrunched his face, and made an exasperated sound - apparently he is a s'more fan :)I wish I had words - or even better - a video - to show his little tantrum. So cute!
A quick update on the little ones -
Javen laughed for the first time on January 31. We got video of it

He is getting stronger with his neck and back. During "tummy time" he holds his head up and scans the room, usually hoping for Maleah to be dancing around. In the bouncer seat, he kicks and moves his arms to bounce and hit the toys on the toy bar. He catches your eye and smiles at you whenever he can. At the last A family birthday party, he smiled big when Grandma Lucette got there (I think they are both starting to recognize people) He is still a very content kid, getting a bit more demanding, but still pretty chill. He and Hannah both have decided they don't appreciate formula. They will take it if starving, but pull faces and spit it out, then gnaw on their hand to show they are hungry . . . working on getting my milk supply up, so I don't need formula . . . but it is a battle. He currently has a cold - seems similar to what Maleah had last week - yucky cough, congested sinuses, etc. Hopefully he is on the mend. It is really hard to listed to him cough and struggle to breathe - especially when he is trying to sleep or eat. He blows lots of bubbles with his mouth and says "goo" when telling me stories.
Hannah is my little social girl. She couldn't care less about toys - prefers to talk to people instead. When she tells stories, she squeals and screams - very expressive. One morning I had them downstairs and Maleah came down to play on the computer, thinking we were still upstairs. When I said good morning to her, she came over and said, "I heard Hannah squeaking, and I thought you were upstairs". Squeaker could easily be her nickname :) While not as strong as Javen during "tummy time", she does well to hold her head up for a bit, then usually chooses to lay down and fall asleep. She has always preferred her tummy to sleep. Her reflux seems to be getting better - whether from Chiropractic adjustments, just getting older, or reducing the amount of formula she consumes, whatever it is, it is working. She can sleep on her back now - no boppy pillow. Her ailment now is eczema! I hope I have found the cream to keep it at bay, but she scratches her poor head when she gets tired or frustrated. The cream is A+D ointment - meant for bum cream, but works wonders to keep her skin not inflamed and moisturized. I also read about a study that found a bath with 1 tsp. bleach to 1 gal. of water 2 times a week can help. I just hope she grows out of this, too. Though she is the fiestier of the two, she is still a sweet baby. She seems to be mellowing out, becoming more patient. When she smiles, her whole face sparkles. First time in the jummper a few days ago and she is in love. I think she likes the freedom to turn and bounce. Both babies try to pull themselves up to do crunches when they are propped on a pillow. They definitely like to be part of the action. They both seem to really enjoy hanging out it Maleah's room and adore smiles and attention from Maleah.
Maleah is still just a hoot to talk to! She tells stories ("once aponce a time"), has "ideals" ("hey, I have an ideal!" - an idea, usually to get something she wants) and loves to play Wii and computer games. She teaches herself to play the games, with minimal help from Rex or me. She adores the babies and would love on them 24/7 if she could. A couple of times now, I have let Hannah stay in Maleah's room while I take a quick shower. Maleah builds block castles for Hannah and dances around and gives her loves. She is quick to come get me if Hannah fusses (which has only happened once - I think Hannah really enjoys the sister time)She is quite the singer - she makes up songs to familiar tunes to express her self and to help settle the babies. She loves to "spin like a princess" - I get dizzy so easily, but she doesn't seem to. She can spin and spin and spin and spin for what seems like forever! Fun story from the cold she is just getting over - during the first few nights, she would have coughing fits. After one of those, Rex heard her say, "Cough, I don't like you! I don't want you anymore!" This story just reminded me of a story from November. I was at the hospital with the babies and Aunt Meggie was in town. She made dinner for everyone at my house. Maleah refused to eat, so Rex sent her to her room until she was ready to finish dinner. She had a mouthful of meat from dinner in her mouth. When Rex went up to check on her, she was saying, "I hate you, meat! I am not going to eat you!"
I just adore my kids :) So fun to be able to say kids - plural. The best thing about being a mom, is get to know each child - they are each distinct and individual. I am so blessed!