Life with 2 (Mostly) Happy Kids Aged 2 and Under

Life has become much happier in our household, with many thanks towards Ruth's much more content attitude.  In fact over the last month or so I have found that I actually have to remind myself that I can take Ruth places.  When she was so fussy all the time I just couldn't bear the thought of having her scream the entire time we were out.  That meant that no matter how appealing trips to the library or shopping (or the parks as the weather got better) sounded, I had no desire to drag a screaming infant with me.

So now our weeks are filled with trips to the library, walks to the park and fearless trips shopping.  I say fearless because despite having a fussy baby I still sometimes had to go shop and that was just no fun.  Now all these activities are generally fun (other than the expected problems that arise when you have a 9 months old and a 2 year old).

We try to go to the library 2-3 times a week and with their summer programming starting soon, that very well might become more frequent.  On some of the really hot days we've already had I have had no desire to sit at a park and roast with them, so a pre-naptime trip the library is just about perfect.  Then we often round out the evenings with walks around the block, I might wear Ruth or we might push her, while Samuel roams the sidewalks looking for anthills to destroy.

Trips to the park generally involve me trying to run.  I say trying to run because I have exercise induced asthma and have barely ran since before Samuel was born, so I am working from square zero.  That means I run as much as I feel able to without my lungs exploding and walk the rest.  I try to at least keep my walking pace up at least and so far my running will not be winning me any trophies, except for maybe a good effort one.

Lately it has just been quite entertaining to watch those two kids interact.  Samuel adores his sister and she in turn adores him.  Of course with him being 2, their playing together sometimes involves things that end with Ruth crying...  That's just how it goes!  But also with Samuel being 2 things sometimes end with him scraping his knee, so at least I know he isn't just causing trouble for his sister!

It has also been fun to watch their very different personalities and paths of development unfold.  For example, from the first day we started Samuel on solids (and we started earlier than I intended to just because he seemed eager for them) he would devour almost everything in his path.  He has always loved to eat.  Ruth on the other hand refused to eat solids for quite a while.  She simply had no interest and would only fuss about us trying to feed her if we persisted and didn't take her hint.  Well, last week I tried to feed her solids again and this time, she loved it!  Over the last week we have been slowly increasing the amount and types of food we feed her.  So far she loves butternut squash and bananas and really loves to self-feed (something Samuel outright refused to do until after his smash cake).

Ruth also got her first two teeth mid-May at about 8.5 months old.  She'll be 9 months old tomorrow, so it is about time she got teeth and started eating solids!  :-)

Our family with Grandma at a cousin's wedding in Nebraska.