7 1/2 months

What a month-ish it's been...not our most elegant but blessed none the less.  

There were some ups but many frustrating downs.  Again, I believe sleep is behind much of our angst.  We, inclusive of all family members, just need to get more of it.  The good news is that we've been working hard on it, trying to work through each of the girls hangups and are making head way.  This week, we have had successful nights which has led to happier days.  So the plan is to keep the focus on and get more and more sleep.

Eva's quickly figured out rolling last month (like 2 or 3 days of practice).  It was something the pediatrician encouraged last visit.  He wasn't worried because she was sitting well but wanted to get the other motions going.  Although I must say that hanging out on her stomach is still not preferred.

Most recently, she's been working on going from a seated position to hands and knees.  She'll rock or reach on hands and knees and then go back to seated.  So I'm guessing that crawling is not far off.  I think once she has the muscle strength to carry her robust self, she'll be fully mobile.

We had a quick visit with the pediatrician this month for a vaccine.  While there, we did a quick weigh in.  She's growing at a pretty steady 1lb/month.  This month she was just over 19lbs.

In other great news...Eva's closed tear duct finally opened.  The week we were scheduled to meet with Dr's to consider a probing procedure to open the duct, all the eye goop we'd been living with cleared up.  Funny how life works like that...even for babies :)

 

Playing in the rain

Got to enjoy some splashing in the puddles with grandma today. . . is there anything better than puddles???

Port Huron

We had a great long weekend at the Weitzel cottage this weekend.  Highlights included watching an artist blow glass, the lighthouse boat and some time down town Lexington.  Ellie and daddy took the kayak down the river.  We even found time to pick "flowers " and make smores.  Dandelions never looked so pretty.

Gemini Love

Ellie's preschool hosted a Gemini Concert yesterday.  The group Gemini (twin brothers) started putting on concerts for kids when Braden and I were kids.  So they have been doing it for a longggg time. 

I've been wanting to take Ellie to see one of their performances so I was tickled when they were "coming to us". 

They lived up to everything I've heard!  They were excellent performers and everyone loved bopping along to their fun songs.  What a special treat to have seen them in such a small venue (ohhh how my life has changed ;) )

Paci's be gone!

Ellie did it!  (And so did we)  It's been 3 weeks since Ellie's last pull on a pacifier.  We knew that Ellie could manage without one (she did it all the time outside the home).  We used the Utah trip as our week of withdrawal.  We told her that pacifiers weren't allowed in Utah.  The only side effect has been more than normal wakeups in the middle of the night.  But it's a small price to pay to be past the pacifier usage.

We've celebrated with the purchase of a purple giraffe from the Salt Lake City zoo and providing unlimited amounts of gum to chew.

This ends our chapter with pacifiers.  The last time we tried giving one to Eva, she literally spit it out and sent it flying across the room.  I guess it's one of the bittersweet things of watching children grow.  Pacifiers have been such a big thing for Ellie, and therefore us, and now it's just gone, over, finito.

Bye, bye pacifier.

Cactus Love...or not!

We're back from a week's visit to the great state of Utah.  B's family has been skiing there for decades and his parents now have a home in Park City and his brother lives in Salt Lake City.  So it's an amazing opportunity to spend time with family and also see a beautiful part of the country.

The week zoomed by and it was time to pack.  Trying to get some wiggles out, B took Ellie behind the houses for a hike in the hills above.  A game of hide and seek ensued.  Ellie dashed behind some bushes and proceeded to sit down...on a cactus!  Realizing the pain of the little prickers on her butt, she put her hands down to lift her body.  Only to cover her hands in more prickers!!

It was a painful 2 hours for all of us.  Poor Ellie cried in frustration as each little pricker had to be removed with tweezers (they were small, fiberglass like prickers that just so happened to blend with her skin hairs...super fun).  She just kept saying "Bad Cactus!", "Mean Cactus!" because there was nothing else for her to do.

And we were left pinning her little body still so the prickers (trying to miss hair and skin) could be removed.  I don't know who wanted to cry more.

Fortunately, we all survived and were treated to cookies and ice cream afterwards.

The best part was the picture Ellie drew that night.  It depicts the hill they played on and the many cactus that live there.  I bet she always looks where she sits from now on!

Eva's 6 months!

What what!  We've made it to 6 months with our newest peanut.  Little Eva's blossomed this month.  She's sits, reaches, GRABS and has opinions about things.  I love the daytime interactions now that we can "play".  But nighttime is wearing me down.  By this point, Ellie was weened and well into solids.  With Eva, we've had to take solids slower due to an unfortunately timed stomach virus (she had the runs for weeks).  So we're just gearing up to try them again.  As for liquids, she's still 100% nursing.  B and I talked this morning about starting sippy cups (and just skipping bottles all together).  I hope the next month brings more sleep.

She's up to 18lbs, 27.25ins with a head circumference of 17.25ins.  She's catching up to Ellie in size comparatively. Her height broke the 90th percentile this month.  Weight and head are in the 80th percentiles.


Thanks to a very talented Aunt Amber Schiavone, we have amazing pictures to celebrate our milestone.  It was special getting to see Uncle Cortny, Aunt Amber and especially cousin Sophia.  There was instant love between the two of them!

 Cousin Sophia makes an appearance!

We have mastered sitting.

Exec Management Training

Sometimes we feel Ellie is figuring out the world far faster than we can keep pace with.  This morning B and her were talking and he offered a solution to a problem.  Her response "That's a good idea. But I'm looking for a better one."

Seriously...is that preschool teaching reading, writing, and executive management skills or what? 

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Eva sits!

But only when she's watching her big sister being silly.  Otherwise, it's fall over-rama.

5 Months Down, 7 Months to Go

Little Eva turns 5 months this week.  Last week was the week the switch flipped and she started interacting with the world.  She started smiling to solicit connection and reaction from people.  She started to grab for all and anything new and interesting.  She started grabbing her little feet and toes and rocking back and forth in the happy baby yoga pose.  We started rice cereal.  She started laughing and being ticklish. It was a big week.

With all this new awareness, comes great parenting rewards.  I love going to get her from a nap or in the morning because her whole little body shivers with excitement.  When I talk to her, she really focuses and I feel like we're starting to connect in more than just a baby and nursing mother kind of way.  I see her starting to reach out to connect with others (literally...she'll swing her little arm towards someones face to touch their cheek or grab their nose).

On the down side, sleep has been challenging recently.  She continues to wake and immediately fall back asleep once fed or comforted so that's not the problem.  It's the frequency of times she's waking at night.  We were down to twice a night but the number started to creep back up to 4-ish times.  And unlike my sleeping baby, it takes me longer to turn my adult brain off and head back to sleep.

This stage is so frustrating for these issues.  Is it the lack of schedule we just haven't been able to keep recently?  Is it that she's ready for more food and that she's just not getting enough from nursing?  Is it teething pains?  Is it all these new skills and awareness of the world?  Sigh.  I'll just never know and just have to find a way to get thru the phase.  (While remembering to "enjoy" it because it goes fast...as I'm frequently reminded)

As for Ellie, she's 3 1/2 this month.  Half way thru the "crazy" year.  We feel like we live with Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.  Her emotional roller coasters were really tough at first.  But with much counseling and coaching from family, friends and teachers, we've learned to embrace the craziness and just to have fun.  Because when Ellie is happy, there is nothing better.

I've got moves

Eva's had a big week.  She's found her toes.  She's started to laugh and be ticklish.  She's just looking and being more of a baby.


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Eva update

All's well in Eva land.  She's a happy 4 month old now.  She talks up a storm.  Loves to be in the mix and is sitting in a chair like things (exersaucer, highchairs, etc).  She's locking her little hands together and gnawing like crazy on those things.  Toes and legs are also interesting when diaper's being changed.

Sleep is so-so...no consistent napping or bed times.  But she continues to only wake for feedings and then is back off to the land of nod.  I feel much more refreshed these days.

As for special talents, she seems to really like books.  She likes to grasp for the pages and try to turn them.  She also seems drawn to toys that have some kind of turning element (like tumblers).  She's gotten really good at getting them to spin.

Her personality is still pretty chill and patient.  She'll let us know if she has any really strong opinions but that's pretty far and few between.

Latest stats from the Dr include, 16lbs (80% percentile), 25" (65% percentile) and head circumference 16.5ins (80% percentile).

Wrestling

I really appreciate when Ellie's preschool teachers give us personal notes about the time Ellie spends with them.  We're always so curious to know what she's like for others.  Fortunately or unfortunately, we seem to get "special" treatment like whining, tantrums,etc so it's neat to "see" Ellie the way the world sees her.  I'm sharing today's note because it's a good record of how others see her and of who she is at this point of her little life.

Hi Braden and Ann Marie,

In my previous email, I told you that Ellie has been playing with some different children than she usually chooses.  Well, today is proof! :)  The boys in our group were very interested in rough-and-tumble play ("wrestling").  The only time we allow this type of play at school is when a teacher can be supervising the wrestling AT ALL TIMES, without distraction to make sure it is continuously safe.  The children also need to be on the mats in the big basement.  As the boys were wrestling, Ellie was watching them and then came to me and said, "I want a turn!"  I told her the rules (i.e. no hitting/kicking/pulling clothes/etc.), and she chose to wrestle with Jonah.  I also warn the children that if they choose to wrestle, they could get hurt.  Attached is a picture of her cheering on the other children, as well as two pictures of Ellie wrestling with Jonah!  I think she might have some of daddy in her. :)  This was a great risk-taking opportunity for Ellie to participate in!  She was all smiles the whole time and wanted lots of turns. :)

Lots of parents have commented to me about how friendly and happy Ellie is.  She is one of the most social, kind, helpful, loving children I know!  On Monday in the bookroom, Ellie noticed a book with pages torn out.  She went and got blue masking tape and scissors to fix it. Bless her heart! :)  I explained that we should find clear tape so we could still see the pictures.  What a great problem-solver she is! :D

Soooo sleepy

Eva is getting so big that she is struggling to get comfortable in anyone's arms.  Lately she has taken to burrowing into my elbow and supporting her head on my arm.  Looks uncomfortable to me - but at least she can breathe :-)

Little Eva isn't so Little

What a great month we've had!  Eva started sleeping through the night in 6-8hr stretches.  Well rested parenting is so much more fun than the sleep deprived, caffeine

driven parenting :)  It's been a long time (including uncomfortable pregnancy sleeping) that I've been able to sleep 6-8hrs!!!!  I'm in love ;)

It's been great fun watching the family unit start to form.  Ellie loves her little sister.  She's always so excited to see little Eva and responds with hugs, kisses and lots of affection.  I'm still a wreck most of the time though.  Ellie's like Bam-Bam and just doesn't know her own strength.  Her hugs end up being neck squeezes or full body assaults.  But most of the time, Eva responds with coos and smiles for her sister.  It's still an amazing process for me to observe.  Kids respond to and watch other children differently than they do adults.

Other fun Eva facts from this month.  She's just recently started to grasp at objects.  When we nurse, her little feet and toes play with the arms of chairs (versus just dangling).  When she wakes up, she just started "talking" with sweet coos and sounds instead of crying.  (It's such a nicer way to be woken up in the middle of the night)  She weighed 13lbs on Jan 3 (76% percentile) and moved up to size 2 diapers and some 9 month clothes.  She's rubbed off a patch of hair on the back of her head.  But more, blonder hair is growing in all over.  She can now sit in her excersaucer and paw at the toys.  We made it through a round of colds really well!!!  She still doesn't like pacifiers or bottles or formula :(

3 months

Weekend up north

Had a great weekend up north.  It was Eva's first!!  Although it rained most of Saturday, we still found time to ride snowmobiles, hike, snowshoe and build a snow-fort.

Baby it's cold outside

Literally -9 deg f today and Ellie insisted on going outside. . . without pants.  Uncle Travis used to call daddy a polar bear - looks like Ellie got the same blood.

I've got a "Mom"

I was tickling Ellie's back while she was catching up on her Wild Kratts.  When I finished, she handed me her scribble pad....with the word Mom on it...how cool and validating.  It's Ellie's love language.  She's not snuggly but very thoughtful.

Side note...she's been totally into breaking down words into letters.  It feels like the beginning of reading...although it's been a longggg time since I learned to read so who knows.  ;-)


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