Growing and wising up

On Sunday as we were walking through the streets of Milan, William surprised me: "Why do you take all our teeth?" He then went on to tell me that he would not leave his milk teeth out for the tooth fairy because Mummy and Daddy are the ones who take the teeth.  ( He hasn't lost any teeth yet, but I guess he's looking forward to it and receiving some coins...)

Next, he went on to say Santa Clause doesn't put the presents under the tree, so I asked "who does?" 

"you do that too" came the gleeful reply. He then called Emma over so she would confirm this to silly ol' me. "Right, Emma? Santa Clause doesn't put presents under the tree, Mummy & Daddy do!" And obligingly, she confirmed.

We've been unmasked! 

Oh well, he will be 6 in two weeks time...

The things about William

When asked about his name he will answer you "Jingle bells" or "Imam" because he can't yet pronounce the sound "W"  and because he likes being funny.

That's an improvement because he used to call himself "Ama"  - as in what he calls his sister. Come to think of it,  Emma speaks of herself in the third person when talking to him so I guess that's what confused him.

He is the most independent little boy in the world always saying "my do!" and is always running to wherever he needs to go to do whatever he needs to do -except if he is sick and then's it's more like "mummy carry me".

He is super enthusiastic but lacks the words to say things he wants to say so he mimicks and exclaims and waves his arms about like a stressed out trader at the stock-exchange or an Italian politician.

He is super sensitive and caring, immediately giving you a kiss and saying sorry if he knocks you or hears you say "ouch" asking "mummy betta?" and is sorry to tears if he breaks something or if someone screams at him.

He is stubborn as can be and never forgets the toy you promised he could play with the next morning or the book you need to return to the library even if you have.

At around 6 am, he puts the blinds up in his room - at the risk of setting the alarm off - to check if it is daylight enough to get out of bed.

He tells you to "go away" if he wants to open something on his own or play with Emma or be alone in the bathroom and seconds later will call out "holp me!"

He often says "my like my mummy, my papa, my Ama" although sometimes it's "my like my mummy, my no like my papa/Ama"

When he  is sick he will tell you "My no beta." "Tomonno my beta" or "my mummy buy syrop" in a way that melts your heart.

He tells me his tooth is also wobbly (like Emma's) and  pretends to be reading the cereal box after Emma has told him what it says.

He can laugh and cry within minutes of the other and has the greatest sense of humor.
He likes to charm the ladies and gives out kisses quite happily.

He has mastered the rudimentary basics of household economics: telling  me when there is no more milk/cereal/crackers and say "mummy buy shop".

He loves "buberries" and "black-buberries" with his cereal.

Darling boy, we are so happy to have you!

William's 2nd birthday

Today William turned 2. So he got 2 cakes (one to enjoy with his kindergarden friends and one with Emma and her friends as well as some Frenchies after school), 2 birthday songs and 2 presents (from us parents plus he got some others from extended family and friends). He also had 2 family members (Emma and me) to celebrate with as Daddy is traveling. 

It was a great day and I think he had a lot of fun. 

Here are some pics of this day when he turned 2. 

 

Emma and Will chilling out before dinner

While I was preparing dinner tonight, Emma, joined by William, sat by the window and chilled out by creatively singing her way around pictures in a book .

I'm beginning to think that William is going to be quite a chatterbox too!! Oh dear!

Who said I can't talk?

Mesmerized

Enthusiastic and hopeful

Concerned..?

Thoughtful

Smiling knowingly

Looking happy!

Pleasantly surprised

Oh, and these two mean "ouch!!!"




So young and yet so expressive!

Still alive and kicking... albeit sleepily

I've been away from the blogosphere - and from my Mac - for the past three weeks, mainly due to lack of time and when that was available, sleep, food or a peaceful moment in the shower or a caffé latte were my priority... So if you've sent me an email or a text and are still waiting for a reply please forgive me and consider this your update for now and know that we are alive and kicking.

It's been tough and it's not over.

Not that I want to over dramatize, but lack of sleep is a killer. A colicky second child is a killer. Add to that an attention seeker first born and Spring that is more like November than May and you get a flavor of my feeling of tired.

I cannot emphasize how grateful I am to have super hubs around and SO helpful with Emma and Will. As things stand, Steph takes Will after I have given him a last double feed at 8 and 9pm so I can catch some sleep. I take over again at mid-night or whenever Will wakes up. We'll try getting on to a E.A.S.Y routine when Will is over a month old.


Oh, and whether you have a super hubs or not, the single most essential thing to have when you've got a second child is a baby carrier so that your hands are free!!!

My view of Will in his babybjörn baby carrier

Other than that, Will is super cute, if resembling Don Camillo from the Panzani commercials (see below) with his bulging absolutely huge eyes and funny nose.

He seems very "here" for such a young one. His eyes seem to focus and he actually knocks his little bells on his pram.

Unfortunately, he sleeps like log in the night to the point of not wanting to eat for more than 10 minutes a pop and hence wakes me exceedingly often. I am so tired by morning I just want to hide under the covers and tell everyone and everything to just go away. On the positive side, during day time he mostly manages to sleep through Emma's singing, shouting, crying, pouncing, jumping, etc. and manages to sleep between feeds for up to 3,5 hours. If only he would do the same at night...

His first visit to the pediatrician last week went well and we were told he had put on 700gr in two weeks and now measured 57cm (what?! 6 cm in 2 weeks?! well, maybe her just stretches out more).

Emma is being very good, giving him a zillion kisses a day and always asking where he is as soon as she wakes up or comes in from the garden or park. Her absolute favorite is when I tell her Will needs changing and she gleefully shouts "C'mon Mummy, let's change Will!" and that he has (no doubt) made a huge caca!

She also quite enjoys bath time as she pours water over his belly or holds his foot to lessen the Moro reflex.
She does, admittedly ask for more cuddles from me and sometimes looks a bit put out when Will is yet again "eating from boobie" but generally she has grown accustomed to having him around. It will be another thing when he starts moving around and playing with toys.

Having gone through a short spell of finding it really hard to tell Emma I cannot run/jump/draw with her while I am feeding Will, I have found ways to do things with her during this time. A book can be read and a song can be sung (she now knows the ABC song!) and questions can be asked - although Emma's focus on answering them is not great - sort of like when I am driving.
The most annoying moments are when she tries to kiss him or do my hair while I am breastfeeding; Emma is the clumsiest, heaviest dinosaur of a little girl and inevitably hits me in the chin, knocks Will, falls over the both of us, knocks over the bottle of water, falls over her own feet, etc. It can be quite annoying when it happens 20 times a day I can assure you!

Actually, I get annoyed at hearing myself repeat "be careful", "gently", etc. over and over again.

Well, that's about it (it's taken me about 4 days to write the above!) - I'm going to attempt a catnap before Will wakes.

Welcome William

Well, here he is! Our perfect little boy, 51cm long and weighing 3420gr.

William was born at 4h05 this morning after 8 hours of labor. He was pretty quick to come once his head had descended and both the midwife Ulli and our Dr. K were great.

Some pics from the iPhone.

Now, I really hope that's my breakfast I hear coming 'cause I am absolutely starving!

Meanwhile, Will has already been breastfed and is sleeping peacefully...