Maverick is 5 months old

We discovered that Maverick knew how to sit up on his 5 month birthday to the date! He can also move around in a circle when he's on his belly to get things he needs.

-He is starting to experiment with language. "Momma" is his first word and there is no doubt that he is saying it and not just babbling. He says it when he reaches for me, when he is crying in his crib (more on that later), and when he is with someone else and looking for me. He has also said a few other words a handful of times..."Lila", "Bahmp" (a derivative of "Bahmpa" which is the name that Liliana used to call her Grandpa when she was a baby and has since taken up calling him again and even shortened it to just "Bahmp"), "gamma", and "Da-da". He doesn't use these words regularly, but he has definitely said them before and used them in ways that there is no doubt that it was just a babbling coincidence. Even when he is not saying intelligible words, he is always "talking". He is a noisy little guy who loves the sound of his own voice. When he is having a lot of fun he does a high pitch squeal that is very cute.

-It is hard to complain when it comes to Mr. Maverick because he is truly such a sweet, happy baby who doesn't cry...but he is a HORRIBLE sleeper. I have tried so many things to get him on track--being strict about not letting him sleep with me (which I hate), being good about him having all of his naps at home for over a week (which is near impossible when you have a big kid who is always on the go), starting the bedtime routine earlier and making it last longer so that he is calm before bed, trying to make him self soothe instead of rocking and nursing him to sleep (aka "cry it out" which is painful for me). None of these methods have been the ticket. He has some "good" naps (an hour to an hour and a half), but most are 30-45 minutes. He occasionally sleeps "okay" at night (only waking 3-4 times) but usually he is up every 2 hours and takes a while to go back down in between. I am obsessed with his sleep not just because I am tired (which I am, but I am also frighteningly used to the sleep derivation at this point), but more because I am worried about his health and know that sleep is good for him! He has had a chronic cough and a bout with RSV since he was 6 weeks old. I want him to sleep so that he can be healthy.

-Maverick started solids this month. When he got sick with RSV he also got a double ear infection. From what I hear, they often go hand in hand. We had to put him on antibiotics this time (he was so sick that I didn't want to risk it and take the time to try to cure it homeopathically like I did last time) and the medicine made his stomach upset and gave him diarrhea. I had planned on waiting to give him solids until 6 months, but I was looking for something to bind his tummy and not make his poops so watery and I thought that solids might help. Not sure if they really did, but he really likes food! So far he has had oatmeal, rice cereal, broccoli, avocados, apples, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Sweet potatoes are by far his favorite. He also likes to snack on Mum-Mums and drink water.

Christmas in Yuma

We celebrated Christmas in Yuma this year. Everyone had a great time and Liliana and Reagan played so well together. Their age gap is feeling smaller every year and I know that as they grow they will become closer and closer. Kris and Doc SPOILED the kids and us this year...AGAIN! 

Driving to see Candy Cane Lane...

Christmas Jammies...

 Headed home. She always holds her brother's hand in the car. Such a sweet big Sis...

Southern California trip

The kids and I flew to Southern California to spend some time with friends and family before heading to Yuma for Christmas. It was my first flight alone with the 2 kids and they did really well. Nicole helped me by picking them up from the airport in OC so that I didn't have to deal with renting the car with the kids and all of our luggage/car seats/stroller in tow. It worked out perfectly.

We spent our first night at the Reynold's and were lucky enough to have Aunty Shelley, Aunty Barb and Uncle Steve, and the Gale family over to have dinner with us also. It was so good to see everyone and see get kids together.

The next day we woke up and hit the road early to meet the Tollack girls at Disneyland! We stayed at a hotel right across the street from the park and it was AWESOME! One of my top 3 Disney dates ever. It was an early celebration of the girl's annual birthday trip. This year (after much debate) they decided to be Tianna and both got fancied up at the BBB. We did some rides, watched the Christmas parade, and had a lovely lunch at the private Club 333 which I had never been to before. We headed back to the hotel room so that the girls could nap, but they were too excited to sleep so we all just rested a little before heading back out to the park for some night rides and to watch the firework show and have it snow on us. I LOVE Disneyland at Christmas! The kids were so wiped from their big day that they all fell asleep as we were exiting the park. Katie and I took advantage of this time and headed to the outdoor wine bar in Downtown Disney. Then we did a little Christmas shopping and Liliana woke up around midnight and reminded me that I promised her she could pick something out at the Disney store with the Disney gift card that Aunty Barb and Uncle Steve gave her. So, we let her in on our midnight shopping spree and because she is the best big sis ever, she chose a Mickey shirt for her brother before she chose anything for herself. :) We quickly headed back to the hotel and went right to sleep. The next morning we had a character breakfast at the Disneyland hotel and it was amazing. The girls chatted the ears off of every character there and monopolized all of their time. They were total hams and loved every minute of it. They even got to see Santa.

After Disneyland the kids and I continued our SoCal tour and headed to Pines park to meet up with the Gendreaus and the Heinilas. We drove by our old house which made me sad and made Liliana mad, "UGH! Get out of our house!" she yelled out the window with tears in her eyes as we drove by. She was really excited to see her old park though and was even more excited to see her friends.
After a fun play date we headed to Taryn's where the kids played together and we had dinner and relaxed and spent the night. It was nice to catch up and Liliana and Ashlyn had a lot of fun together.

The next morning we were up early again and back in the car to pick Adam up at the airport and meet The Riese girls at  Pretend City. Stella and Liliana giggled SO much together. It was very cute to see them reunited. We got sushi for lunch and then went to the Riese's to nap, hot tub, have dinner and spend the night. It was the perfect end to our SoCal trip.

The next morning Krissy picked us up and we headed to Yuma to celebrate the holidays with family.

Pre-Holiday Fun

Christmas shopping with my cutie elf

Oakland Zoo's Light Festival
We went to the Oakland Zoo for some holiday fun. They had lots of Christmas lights, hot cider, rides, and a Santa. The highlight for Liliana (and us) was seeing Santa and telling him her holiday wishes. This was her first Santa of the season so we got to hear her Christmas wishes for the first time. She told Santa that she wanted a REAL living Cinderella to come to her house on Christmas with a suitcase full of toys that she would share with her. Then she told him that she wanted Cinderella to spend the night and cuddle her in bed and that she could go home in the morning. She said all of this in a loud, rushed, confident voice with a HUGE grin on her face. Santa started cracking up, gave her a hug and looked at us and said, "wow...I think I need a...hot chocolate!" We laughed and told him that we drink a lot of those around our house. :) 

Cookie Decorating with Schaffers
Our new friends from Liliana's class invited us over for lunch and cookie decorating. Kayla (who is in her class) and Liliana have so much fun together. 

"Family Wonderland" at Oakwood Health Club
Our health club did a winter festival filled with treats, games, face painting and a Santa. Uncle Colin came and Liliana ran into one of her friends there and they had a blast together making art projects for each other and jumping in the bounce house. My babies had on super-cute matching reindeer outfits that my mom got for them. 

 Anthony Family Christmas
It was my first Christmas being away from my parents. My brother and B went to Chicago, my parents went to Costa Rica, and we went to Yuma. So, we all celebrated together early. Liliana and Maverick were spoiled with love, attention, and gifts. My dad and Adam have been playing a lot of racquetball at the club together so my mom got them new rackets. Some funny pics of them below. Liliana gets so silly with them--silliness is in her blood. 

 Union Square
We went to Union Square with the Walters to see Santa at Macy's, have lunch, and go ice skating. We took Bart over and when we got off of Bart on Market Street (where there happens to be a lot of homeless and it can be a little stinky), Liliana took a deep breath and said, "I love the smell of San Francisco. I love the taxis and the shops. It is so fancy here!" She is turning into quite the little city slicker. :) 
We had the best time with the kids! Liliana and Paxton laughed together all day and ran around like crazy in the St. Francis looking at the decorations and the huge gingerbread house and making all kinds of friends. Liliana gave this Santa the same run down on her Christmas wish even though I have tried telling her that Santa cannot give actual humans as gifts and that Cinderella needs to be with her family on Christmas.

Our skating adventure was short and sweet, but Liliana loved it. It was drizzling and a lot of work for me to keep her between my legs, but she smiled the whole way and begged me to go faster and stop taking breaks at every turn. It was a success and I will definitely take her once more (maybe in Tahoe) this winter. Check out how cute her tiny little skates were.