Lots of updates

Second tooth arrived last week. Rip's list of foods is getting too numerous to count, but includes: avocado, sweet potato, green beans, asparagus, carrots, broccoli, peas, pears, applesauce, plums, peach, mango, banana, yogurt, bread, pancake. Very liquidy foods are mixed with baby cereal or instant mashed potato flakes. Guinevere has been making most of these pureed foods herself and freezing them in ice-cube trays. Portion size has increased from one cube to four over the past couple of months - Rip loves to eat. He is getting very excited about hand-held food in addition to the spoon-feeding. He also loves drinking from a cup, and wants sips of water periodically during his meals. I'm very excited because this means I can give him breastmilk in a container he finds acceptable.

Rip can also reliably sit up by himself for extended periods of time. I'm still not going to leave him sitting somewhere he can tip over and bump his head, but the falling over is getting less frequent.

The boys are now sleeping in the same room and going to bed at the same time. We dismantled the bassinet in our room (so much more space now!). Nighttime routine involves reading a book to Rip, then he and Guinevere go into our bedroom for breastfeeding while I read stories to Jolly. Then we put the boys in bed and sing songs, then we leave the room and they babble for a bit and go to sleep. (Frequently there is a lot of toddler whining involved also.) Rip will sometimes wake up again and eat more before we go to bed, then the milk bar is closed until morning. (on the rare occasions when he wakes up in the middle of the night, one of us will comfort him, but no feeding, then he goes back to sleep.) He sleeps until somewhere between 5 and 7, and Jolly usually wakes up around 7.

Next up: moving Rip's crib to the lower level, and taking the side off Jolly's crib to make it a toddler bed. Jolly has yet to be convinced that the latter is a good idea, but we are getting worried about his climbing ability, so it needs to happen soon.