3 Years old!

Emily turned THREE years old on April 23rd.  It's amazing how quickly time goes by.  I think she's officially crossed over from "toddler" title to the "preschooler" title!

Weight/Height- We have your 3 year appointment next week, but at home you weight in at about 33 lbs.  Not exactly sure how tall you are, but will try to update after your appointment!
Update:  At your doctor's appointment you measured in at 39 1/4 inches tall and 34 lbs... in the 92% for height and 76% for weight.  =)

Eating- When you're hungry, you can definitely put the food away (some mornings you'll eat 3 pancakes!), but you can also be a picky little goober and eat like a bird.  You enjoy all things peanut butter, cereal and applesauce... and chocolate.

Sleep-You used to sleep SOO well.  Now it's a fight to get you to go to/stay in bed.  Bedtime starts around 8, and you're usually asleep around 9:30 after making several trips in and out of bed.  You're kind of driving us nuts.  You also seem to have a hard time staying asleep at night and often crawl into bed with us in the wee morning hours.  Sometimes I don't even know that you're there until Sam cries... other times you come in and smack me to get me to scoot over! lol 

 Clothes- 3T and moving up to 4T.  You are tall and skinny.  Your clothes are too short, but sometimes it's a challenge to keep your pants up!

Personality- You can be so sweet and caring.  You can be really polite, a great sharer and a fantastic help.  Notice I say "can"?  You definitely have a bit of an attitude sometimes and can also be pretty obstinate either directly refusing to do something, or pretending that you do hear us, or hiding your face thinking that, if you can't see us, we must not be able to see you either.  ;)  For the most part, though, he are a pretty cool little kid and are constantly surprising us with your wit and intelligence!

Likes/Dislikes-

• You like your brother... a lot.  He's YOUR baby and I don't think I've really experienced any jealousy issues.
• You like your "shows"... Daniel Tiger, My Little Ponies, Magic School Bus, Curious George to name a few.
• You like watching music videos... and you LOVE to dance!  Thinking about signing you up for a hip hop class as we think that you'd really love it!
• You like being outside playing with bugs and digging in dirt.
• You like wearing dresses and skirts and seeing how they twirl.  
• You like to talk... a lot.  A LOT.
• You like to clean.  That trait must have skipped a generation.  lol  Tonight you had a spray bottle and a towel scrubbing the kitchen floor.

•  You don't like going to bed.  It's a constant struggle.
• You don't like "dinner"... I don't know what it is about the evening meal, but you tend to through a bit of a fit when it's time to eat (unless you're really hungry, and then you chow down).
• I think that's all I've got in terms of the don't likes... aside from listening/doing something that you don't want to do.

Milestones-

• You can count to 10.
• Your vocabulary is huge and you use it... a lot. lol  You are quite the little talker!
• You are potty trained!  Just this week you went 3 nights with a dry pull up so your dad decided to risk it on night 4 and you had another dry night in just undies!
• You know pretty much all of your colors (though you get black and white confused), and you know most shapes.  You can pick out a few letters, too.
•  You are now a big sister... and you love it!  =)  And Sam loves you... a lot! 

Adventures in Sleep Training an Infant with a Sick Toddler in the Next Room

The title kind of sums up my weekend.

Sam is 5 months old... and was waking up regularly every 2-3 hours throughout the night.  I would nurse him, but it was obvious that he wasn't really eating anything.  For the last couple of weeks I have just been waiting for a mellow weekend with no plans so that we could dedicate some time to sleep training/night weaning.  I just wasn't sure how to do it with a toddler in the next room...

The plan that Jacob and I came up with was that we'd put everyone to bed as normal around 8:00 (Sam goes to bed just fine, it's the waking up that's the problem).  If/when Sam woke Emily up, the plan was to move her to the couch in the living room at the end of the hall, hoping that would distance her enough from the noise and she could get some sleep.  Here's what actually occurred:

8:00 - Sam goes to bed with a little bit of whining, but is out within 5 minutes.
8:15 - Emily goes to bed... and by "goes to bed", I mean that I leave her room and close the door... we never really know what she's going to do in there.
8:45 - Emily comes up crying that she fell out of her bed.  I put her back to bed and tuck her in.
9:30 - I hear coughing, and then crying.  Jacob goes to check on Emily, sure enough she's puked all over her room.
9:32- Jacob takes Emily into the bathtub for a quick spray down while I try to clean partially digested hot dog out of a white shag rug.
9:40- Jacob bundles Emily up in a blanket and helps me with clean up.
10:00 - Put Emily back to bed, and tell her that, if she needs to throw up again, the toilet is an excellent place to do so.
11:00 - I can't keep my eyes open any more... Sam should be up soon, but I'm fading fast.  Jacob agrees to take the first "shift".  I go to bed.
11:45 - I hear Sam crying and Jacob going in to him... then I hear more coughing and crying... then I hear Jacob scurrying around... then I hear Sam crying... then I decide to get up and help.
12:00 - Sam's gone back to sleep, I'm tucking Emily and Jacob in on the couch in the living room with a big bowl next to her head (Jacob decided to sleep on the couch with her in case she got sick again).  This last time she threw up she must have heaved a few times... and ultimately ended up in the toilet (she listened!  Just too bad she threw up twice on the way there.. lol).
5:30 - Sam wakes up, I go in to feed him, he goes back to bed.
7:30 - The day begins.

Annnnddd... it just occurred to me that these were the events of Saturday night... we actually started on Friday. lol  See?  I'm exhausted!  So... back tracking to Friday... I went to bed and Jacob did everything.  He stays up super late any way, so he took care of "progressive waiting" until 2:30 when he came to bed... and it wasn't that bad.  I think Sam was ready for it just as much as we were.  He did wake Emily up, and she did end up sleeping on the couch.

Sunday Sam slept until 3:30 and then decided that he didn't want to be asleep... or awake for that matter.  He was just whining in his crib with his eye closed.  I think it probably took about half an hour for him to fall back asleep, though, he was not really crying... just the whining.

Monday morning I woke up feeling a little "off".  My stomach was bothering me.  I dropped the kids off at day care and then came home with the expectation that I'd work from home... that didn't happen.  By 11:00 I was back in bed (between visits to the bathroom) and didn't really get horizontal again until Jacob and the kids got home around 6.  Yay for day care germs.  =(

When Emily got home, though, she did ask me if I wanted a stuffed animal and then played a "song" on the piano to make me "feel happy".  =)

A Poop in the Hand is Worth...?

Having two kids has been an adjustment... especially one being an infant and the other a 2 year old.  They both have their own challenges!  Several people have asked me if it's harder having two kids than one.  I don't think that it's "harder" necessarily, but just requires more of you, your time and patience.

I would compare it to getting a new, large, responsibility at work.  It doesn't exactly make the job itself harder, but you have to re-prioritize in order to get everything done and you have to figure out what's the most important thing to focus on at any given time... and then you go home and drink a big glass of wine.  ;)

Case and point... my life today as a mom of two while Jacob's at work:

11:20... After sitting in a quiet room having an hour-long power struggle with an obstinate toddler who refuses to put away her play dough (baby is napping at this point), I decided that it's probably a good time to make lunch as I know that baby will be waking up soon.  So, I clean up the play dough, put it away on a high shelf letting Emily know that she won't be able to play with it tomorrow either as she refused to put it away today.  Then I make PB&J for Emily and I (with toasted frozen bread as, apparently, the stuff that's been out on the counter is now moldy).

Sandwiches are made, half of mine is eaten, Sam starts to scream.  I go into the nursery and feed him, leaving Emily alone in the dining room to finish her lunch.  After feeding Sam (who hasn't been feeling well and has been spitting up more than normal), I realize that he smells kind of gross and decide to give him a bath.  I fill up his tub, get him undressed and into it, and give him a quick wipe down.  Emily comes in with her face and hands covered in peanut butter and jelly.  I tell her to go wash her hands and face with WATER (not just the dry napkin that she's holding).  She goes into the other bathroom and, presumably, washes up (I have yet to check out that bathroom).

By the time she's done there, I'm getting a screaming Sam out of the tub.  She decides that she wants to take a bath so, I empty out Sam's tub and fill up the bath tub for her to play around in.  I take Sam into his room to get a diaper on and get him dressed (yelling questions to Emily so that, by her responses, I'll know that she hasn't drowned... I'm paranoid).  Sam's still screaming.  I think he's tired again, so I put him in his crib and swaddle him.  He's still screaming, but sleepily so I leave to go check on Emily. 

Sam falls asleep.  I take the opportunity to grab my pump.  Since Sam hasn't been feeling well, he hasn't been eating as much, which means that I've been a little, um, "full".  I set up shop outside the bathroom door so I can keep an eye/ear on Emily and start to pump.  I get a couple of ounces in when, almost simultaneously, I hear:

Sam:  SCREAMING

Emily:  Mom, I pooped in the bathtub!  See??!

I quickly disconnect myself from the pump and make a quick assessment of the situation... screaming child or child in bathtub who is HOLDING her own feces.  Hmm.  Tough one?  No. 

I grab toilet paper, take the offending log out of her hand and put it in the toilet.  Lift her up and put her on the potty so that she can finish, empty out the bathtub, grab some Clorox wipes to wipe down the interior and exterior of the tub (it got everywhere since she was passing it between both hands and then touching things), grab some paper towels so that she can wipe her hands off.  Wipe her butt when she's done, take her to the sink so she can wash her hands with soap and then sanitize.  The whole time Sam is screaming from his crib.

Once I'm pretty sure that all fecal matter has been addressed, I go in to get Sam and Emily heads to her room to get dressed.

Sam is pretty much inconsolable by this point so I'm walking, bouncing, shushing, anything that I can think of.  I go into the dining room to get his vibrating bouncer chair and see my lunch sitting on the table.  Oh yeah.  I was eating lunch, wasn't I?

I take Sam and his chair into the master bedroom and manage to calm him down so that I can finish pumping.  Emily comes in, all dressed.  She sees a bottle of lotion on my nightstand and decides that she needs some.  It's the pump bottle variety so, of course, it sprays the wall when she pushes down on it.  I tell her to go grab a towel.  She goes into the bathroom and comes back with a Clorox wipe.  Oh yeah, I forgot to put those away.  She takes the wipe and affixes it to the wall by means of lotion.  And turns around to leave it there.  I manage, somehow, to continue to rock Sam with my foot, while balancing my pumping bottles on my legs so they don't get detached, and reach over with one free hand to wipe off the wall and hand the wipe to Emily to throw away.

Pumping done, I manage to get myself detached, ask Emily to play with Sam for a minute and put the milk in the fridge.   I think come back into the bedroom and have a few quiet moments with Emily and Sam before naptime.  Phew. 

Then it's time for Emily's nap... which coincides with Sam needing to eat.  So, again, Sam's screaming and Emily needs to get down for a nap.  Sam goes into his bouncer once again (getting red in the face and pretty pissed off) while I try to get Emily into bed.  We get the correct water cup, and the correct blanket and try to go potty and FINALLY get her in bed.  I grab Sam, go into the living room, feed him, and manage to get him to fall asleep, too.

1:30... I finish my lunch.

New Rooms!

Finally "finished" the new nursery up last weekend (it still needs some decorative stuff, but, for the most part it's ready to go). 

We ended up doing some switch-a-roo-ing to make "everything" fit in terms of rooms of our house.  Jacob's office was downsized and was moved to a section of our TV room (I was worried that it was going to be too crowded, but it actually turned out ok).  Emily was moved from her nursery to a new "big girl room" that was Jacob's office, and the new baby will reside in the nursery that's been updated slightly since Emily's departure.

For those of you who have been reading my blog since Emily's arrival (and for those of you who haven't), here's a reminder of what the nursery looked like when it was her's.  The main differences now is a new rug, new curtains (we actually got even NEWER curtains since the below photos were taken--they are all navy now) and some different wall decorations:

Emily's new "big girl room" is where most of my energy was spent.  She already had her toddler bed, but needed a dresser, bookshelves/case, some organizational stuff, and some kind of seating... so I got to go shopping.  =)  We kept the curtains from her nursery, just moved them over, and reused the same rug.  I found a great little dresser on a FB sales group and the bookcase from IKEA.  I even got to pick out a new paint color for the walls!  I wasn't sure what to do about seating, but was able to find a slipcover that worked for the chair that was in there when it was still Jacob's office.  So that worked out, too!  We did all of the painting and most of the furniture stuff back in August when Emily spent a week with her grandparents, and then we moved her in a couple of weeks later.

I think my kids have some pretty cute, comfy, cozy rooms if I do say so myself.  ;)  Now it's time to change up my own! lol

I Left My Heart in Portland

I'm out of town for the first few days of this week at a conference for work.  A conference that I really wanted to go to, and had to fight for.  I've been looking forward to it for months.  But then the day came and I didn't want to leave.

I realize that I'm a mom now and leaving my kid and husband is REALLY hard.  I had to do my best not to tear up because I didn't want Emily to get the wrong impression... but, I'm telling you, it was really difficult, and I know that my voice cracked a few times.  Especially when I told her that I was going to go "bye bye for a few days" and she said, "I'm fine.  Mommies come back".

She's been watching "Daniel Tiger" recently and that's one of the songs/themes "Grownups come back"

She melts my heart.  I love her so much.

And, of course, I'm missing Jacob, too.  ;) 

The Darndest Things

Emily's vocabulary has been skyrocketing these last few months.  It's really been funny/entertaining to hear the things that come out of her mouth.  I also know that she's starting to repeat things that we say... without really understanding the social context (i.e. that she can sound kind of rude. lol).  Some of my favorites words/phrases that she's using so far:

"Friends":  I'm sooo excited that she's learning this one... and that she has so many friends to talk about.  =)

"Just a minute":  This is obviously something that she's repeating from adults in her life, and it can be frustrating to no end if we're in a hurry, but it's still pretty cute.

"No Thank You":  Generally it is great to hear her being so polite, however when it's in response to a request such as "Come help me clean up your room" it can get a little irritating.  ;)

"I'm fine":  Often in response to trying to get her to eat more dinner or try to use the potty.

"Wake up daddy":  She says this to get Jacob out of bed... but also in the car (when he's not driving).  We think he has a reputation.   ;)

"Ex-scuse me":  After she passes gas... which is often.  She takes after her dad.  And then she says, "That's me!"

"My [fill in the blank]":  Usually reserved for people such as "my mom", "my dad", "my [friend's name]".  It puts a smile on me face when I pick her up from daycare and hear her say "My mommy!" with a giant smile on her face.

It really is so great that she's able to communicate with us better now.  She can tell us when she wants/needs something ("mommy, I need chocolate chips"), and when she doesn't want something.  She can tell us when she has an owie, and she can have mini conversations with us about things that happen at day care.  (She bit a kid the other day, and we were able to talk about it several hours later with her understanding that her actions were wrong).  She also "sings" to us in the car sometimes.  =)  I'm loving this stage.  Each new stage gets more and more interesting.  =)

Boot Camp: Day Four!

Yesterday was the last day of potty training boot camp... and it went just as well as the other three days.  =) 

Emily had one number 2 accident, but I think it was a fart turned wrong and she surprised herself as much as us!  I also took a risk and chose not to put her in a diaper for her nap (since she'd been dry the last two days during nap and went potty right beforehand)... but it was a Murphy's Law situation and she wet the bed.  Oh well.  No harm, no foul.  =)

We also ventured out of the house again, went to a splash pad to cool off and then went to Target to buy some more little underwear (apparently I didn't have as many on hand as I thought I did). 

She still isn't really TELLING us when she needs to go, but if we mention it to her, and she needs to go, she will (otherwise she says "no potty" and we move on).  I'm hoping that this will get better and she'll start doing it herself and/or vocalizing the need to us more.

Today I dropped her off at daycare with a couple extra sets of clothes, a sticker potty chart, stickers and some treats.  I felt bad dropping her off in underwear when she's not 100% reliable yet, but I have to remind myself that her daycare provider has much more experience at potty training than we do! lol  Sounds like she had another number 2 accident today, but otherwise used the little potty at daycare.  After dinner tonight she went into the bathroom to (I thought) wash her hands and face (our routine), but soon I hear "Mommy potty!" so I go in there and she's sitting on her little potty with a smile on her face pointing between her legs. lol  Sure enough, she'd gone potty without prompting!

Next weekend we're going camping, so that will be interesting.  =)  On the advice of some other moms, we just ordered a Potette Plus potty.  It won't be here in time for this trip, but I think it will be useful to have something to easily travel with.

Over all, I think our potty training boot camp was a success.  And I'm really looking forward to that last diaper!  =)

Boot Camp: Day Three

Day three of potty training boot camp started at 9:30!  Emily was up late watching the fireworks last night, and actually slept in!  Though, I think the fact that she's still not feeling 100% probably added to that (did I mention, she's been taking 2.5 hour naps these last few days?  That's, like, an hour longer than I usually get out of her!).

With today's training, we added underwear.  We've been reading this book a lot about a "big sister" and the differences between her and the new baby in her family (in preparation of Em's baby brother coming), but it also talks about how big girls wear underpants, so, I was able to relate back to the story to explain them to her when she kept calling them "shorts" and didn't understand why she'd put another pair of pants on over them. lol

After getting up and getting breakfast, Emily and I went to the farmer's market.  She told me once that she needed to use the potty, so I we made a bee line to the porta-potty.  I got her up on the seat and she said "done".  I think I've got a potty snob on my hands.  ;)

I've also been a little concerned about her as she hasn't been eating much the last few days and hasn't yet pooped.  I've been urging her to try to go number 2 a lot, and I think that I may have been over doing it.  She held EVERYTHING for about 8 hours.  Right around the 6 hour mark I told myself that I wasn't going to say anything else to her and, if she had an accident, then she had an accident.  Wouldn't be the end of the world.

We went to the park and played for awhile (I was hoping to run the poop out of her. lol), and then we headed back home to cool off and make dinner.  We went outside to water the garden, and she did, indeed have a (wet) accident.  I had her take off her shorts and underwear, hosed down the area where she peed, and then asked if she had to finish up on the potty.  She said yes and went inside.  I finished up with the watering and went to check on her.  She was sitting on the potty going number 2.  =)  It's amazing how much a little poop can make a mom feel better about things! lol

Tomorrow is the final potty training boot camp day, and I'm feeling pretty good about it.  I'm going to try to lay off on the potty nagging and see how well she does on her own.  I've been really proud of my little girl (and excited to give up diapers for awhile!**).


**Still doing diapers and nap and bedtime, but the past two days she has been dry after her nap, so may pull that diaper here soon as well!

Boot Camp: Day Two

(Posting late!  Went out to celebrate the 4th last night and just getting around to finishing this one!)

Day two started much earlier than expected. Emily was pretty violently crying at 1am. I went in to check on her, thinking that she'd had a nightmare. I picked her up, sat down in our glider and BAM! She heaved a mixture of hot dog and watermelon all over my bare back. Let me tell you, I was wide awake at that point! 

After getting Jacob's attention, I was able to hand off the kid and go jump in the shower to rinse off.

Emily had a fever, so we gave her some Tylenol and everyone tried to go back to bed... But that's when baby decided he most wanted to practice his amnio-aerobics, so I was up for a bit longer dealing with that and stressing about potty training while sick.

Em woke up at about 7:30, still with a fever. But, by 8:30 the fever had broken and she'd gotten her first potty sticker of the day, so, decided to venture on! She'd been complaining about her teeth yesterday, so I'm hoping it's teething issues and not some bug!

Today was pants (but no underwear day), and it went well!  Day 2 of no accidents!  Also, day 2 of no number 2... curious how that's going to pan out. lol

I've been asking Emily every couple of hours or so if she needs to go potty.  When she tells me "no" I listen.  For the most part, she's been pretty good about going when she needs to when I ask her, but she hasn't yet initiated it on her own.

This evening we went to my in-laws place for a big Fourth of July BBQ event and to watch the fireworks from their houseboat.  Emily hasn't been eating much today (which wasn't a surprise to me if she did have some stomach something or other), and dinner was the same.  She ate some pretzels, but that was about it.  She also started to look kind of queasy during dinner and had a bit of a fever, so, after eating my share of the awesome food, and giving her another dose of Tylenol, I excused us and went back to sit in the house.   She fell asleep for about an hour or so.  Woke up, went potty, played for a little bit, and then was looking exhausted again.  When I asked if she wanted to put on jammies, she pretty much jumped at the chance.  And, after jammies were on, she grabbed a blanket and curled up in bed.  So, I left her sleep.  She probably slept for another 30 minutes or so and then was awake.  Since she's had such a late nap, we decided to let her try to stay up for the fireworks and play with her cousins.

I was a bit nervous about having her out of the house during potty training, but she did really really well.  And, like I said, no accidents!  So far I've been really happy with the experiences.  She's doing such a great job!  (And she's really digging the stickers! lol)

Boot Camp: Day One

No, I'm not participating in a 6 AM exercise regimen... I'm doing something just a little more scary... potty training a toddler... in four days. ;)

I've known for months that this weekend was going to be potty training boot camp weekend... put it on the calendar and everything.  Our daycare was closed today and tomorrow for the holiday, so I have a 4-day weekend home with Emily.  Since I knew that I was going to have such a great block of time to focus on it, I decided to give "Independence Day" weekend a new meaning.  ;)

Last night after work I stopped by the Dollar Tree and picked up some stickers and cookies.  After Emily went to bed, I made up a sticker potty chart to put in the bathroom.  After reading up on potty training methods over the last few months, I came up with a plan: day one = naked day, day 2 = clothing (no undies) day, day three (and four): clothing with undies days!  

*Side note: I'm not planning to attack potty training during sleeping hours quite yet... just when awake.  I'll still put her in pull ups/diapers for naps and bed until I start to see some dry nights/naps and then I'll reassess.

Emily has always done pretty well at avoiding accidents when she's naked, so I wasn't too concerned about today.  And she did really well!  (Though, pregnant me peed about 3 times to each of her single trips. lol).  She went "pee pee" in her potty three times today... and added a sticker to her chart for each successful trip.  =)

 

The reward plan is that for every 5 "pee pees" she'll get a cookie, and every time she goes "poo poo" in the potty she'll get a cookie.  She's two stickers away from her first incentive.  =)

She's in bed now, I'm feeling pretty relieved at her first no-accident day, but still a little on edge about tomorrow. lol  She never actually TOLD me today that she had to go... it was all on my urging (bribing), so, I'm just hoping that tomorrow she'll take a little more initiative.  But, I'm going to have several pairs of shorts ready just in case.  =)

Potty Time!

Me: **sneeze**
Emily (from somewhere in the house): Bless You!
Me: Thank you!
Emily (still hidden): Welcome!
Me (confused/concerned): Where are you?
Emily: Potty!

When I went into the bathroom I found her on her little potty... Going number 2!! Lol. Proud mommy moment and a great indication that next weekend's potty training "bootcamp" will be a success!  =)

That's right, this long, holiday weekend we are focusing on potty training.  Wish me luck!  I'll be sure to post on our progress.

Any tips?  I'm planning to stock up on cookies and stickers.  ;)

My Girl

I remember when I went back to work when Emily was about 8 weeks old.  I had conversations with other moms about how much it sucked to leave them right when they are getting to a "fun" age where they can interact with you.  Emily also hit a "fun" age at about 6 months when she was crawling all over the place, and at 9 months when she started walking (and subsequently running)... and at 12 months... and 18 months....

The point I'm trying to make is that I have discovered that one "fun" age is followed, almost immediately by another.

Emily turned 2 just over a month ago.  Everyone has heard of the "terrible twos", and, for about a week, I thought someone had flipped some baby banshee switch on us, but the last month has been awesome.  I SO much enjoy having a little person who has some personality and independence.  Who can dress herself, and play alone for awhile, and TELL ME WHAT SHE WANTS. 

I love that I can let her outside in the backyard to play while I make dinner and she "checks in" with me every few minutes by piggy-pressing her nose up against the screen door.  I love that she no longer cries to be let out of her room when she wakes up, but rather yells "Mama!" or, simply, knocks on her bedroom door.

I love that I can set her clothes out for her, and she will put them on herself!  I love that, after a meal, I can tell her to go wash her hands and she can go into the bathroom, climb up on her stool and "wash" her hands (even if she needs a second pass at it with an adult to get all the sticky off).

I love that I can tell her to get me a spoon and she'll open the drawer and grab a spoon for me.  I love that I can ask her to get me the green box of crackers and she does! 

I love that she UNDERSTANDS me when I'm not being very clear.  For example, trying to get a garden tool outside the other day... I asked her to bring me that "thing" with the "green handle" that she likes to "pound in the rocks"... and she found and brought me exactly what I was asking for me!

I love that I can ask her about her day and she tells me that it was "good" and lists off the people that she played with.

I love that she wants to spend time with me, and "help" whenever she can (I know that stage won't last for long!)

I love that she says "Bless You" when I sneeze, and pats me on the back when I cough (and sometimes asks me if I need some water).  I love that she asks me "All done?" before she tries to drag me away from the dinner table to play with her.

I love that she has so much love inside of her.  She is going to be an amazing big sister, and an awesome kid.  I can't wait to experience the next "fun" ages with her.  It really feels like life gets more and more wonderful and fulfilling with each new day.

TWO Year Photos!

Thanks to a sweet deal through Velour Photography, we got some beautiful photos taken to commemorate Emily turning two years old!  =)  These were taken one rainy day at Laurelhurst Park, here in Portland.

It took Emily a little time to warm up, but once she was allowed to stop posing, and start running, she was all smiles.  =)

24 Months!

I am SOO behind in my blogging!  I have SOO much to share from the last few weeks... will do as much as I can as soon as I can!

Emily turned TWO years old on April 23rd.  I can't believe it!  Here's her 24 month post (this will be her final "monthly" update).

Weight/Length- It was a bit difficult to get your height and weight at the doctor, you were too scared/remembered the shots... though you didn't have to get any vaccines this time.  You weighed in at just over 27 llbs. and measured 36 inches tall.  You hit the 50th percentile for weight and 95th (!) for height.  You are, so far, your mother's daughter.  =)

Eating- You're not snacking as much as you were before.  Sometimes you can actually go between meals without a snack.  Though, when you're hungry, you let me know.  The other day you grabbed a box full of brownie mix and brought it to me in another room. lol  I don't think you knew what it was exactly, but it was in the "snack" cupboard, so it must be good, right?  ;)

Teeth- No sign of those 2-year molars yet.

Sleep- You sleep from about 8 pm to somewhere between 7 and 8 am on average... and take about a 1.5-2 hour nap after lunch. 

 Clothes- 24/2T clothes, about a size 7/8 toddler shoe.  Problem is, you're too skinny so your pants tend to sag.  I wish I could find some baby drawstring pants.  =)

Personality- You are so friendly and so loving.  You're starting to get a bit of an attitude and are testing your limits, but I LOVE your "BIG hugs!" and your kisses.  You smile constantly and love to run around and jump and play.  You are also REALLY independent.  You have to do so many things yourself, including getting your pajamas on... which includes your diaper.  I've had to start putting your diaper together and then giving it to you so that you slide it on like a pull up. lol  Once I figured out that trick (and bought you some non-footie jammes) the bedtime routine got so much easier!

Likes/Dislikes-

• You like to name the things that you see and ask for mom or dad to identify things that you don't know the words to yet, and then repeat them back to us.  =)
• You love books and reading.  Sometimes you'll even "read" your books to yourself.  I'll hear you "moo"ing and "roar"ing to yourself while you read your animal books.  ;)
• As has been the same for a few months now, you also love Curious George and Elmo.
• You love being outside.  The last couple of days you have asked to go out and play in the backyard... it's been great to let you out there while I'm cooking dinner or resting a bit after a long day at work and you play by yourself on the back patio and occasionally "talk" to me while I cook.  =)
• You like going to Daddy's futsal games and kicking your ball around and playing with your friend.

•  You don't like going to the doctor apparently!  You threw quite the fit with the nurses this month!
• You don't like foods that you liked yesterday.  For some reason one day you'll love something, and the next day you want nothing to do with it.  You're a fickled little kid.  =)

Milestones-

• You went on a ferry for the first time!  And a taxi!  We went on vacation (need to blog about that, too!) to Catalina Island in Southern California and you got to do both for the first time... and a golf cart!  And you saw a buffalo!  It was a fun trip, more to come!  =)
• You had your "first" birthday.  I'm saying your "first" because I think that this was the first one that you actually understood/cared about.  Gotta blog about that, too!  Geez... I've got my work cut out for me.  ;)
• You are putting up to three to four words together to form small sentences.  Things like "Daddy, where are you?" and "more ____, please!"  You can also "count" to 10... from 6. lol  You used to be able to count "1, 2, 3"... now you count "1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10".  not really sure what happened to 2-5!

23 Months!

Weight/Length- Still no idea.  I totally forget to check.  We'll know next month at your 2 YEAR doctor's appointment though!

Eating- You snack... a lot.  And you'll eat large amounts of things that you really like (macaroni and cheese and applesauce) and not much of other things.

Teeth- No sign of those 2-year molars yet.

Sleep- You sleep like a champ (knock on wood), though I wish your afternoon nap was a bit longer (you only nap for about 90 minutes in the middle of the day).

 Clothes-Same problem as last month... you're too tall and too skinny for pants to fit you right.  For the most part you are wearing 24 month/2T sizes.  And, either I'm really back up with the laundry (which could very well be the case), or we don't have as many pants in that size as I thought.  May be time to make a trip to the consignment store again.  =)

Personality- So so smart.  And such a sweet heart.  You love your friends at day care, "talk" about them constantly, and give them hugs and kisses when we pick you up in the afternoon.  You are definitely a social creature.

Likes/Dislikes-

• You like to play with dolls.  You'll cuddle with them, get their shoes on, and, I've been told by day care, even change their diapers.  =)
• You like to go outside.  We've had a couple nice days of weather and you love to be outside playing in your sand box and the garden. You also like to color with sidewalk chalk and chase bubbles that mommy blows.
• You like looking out windows and observing things.
• You like pretending to talk on the phone... even if you don't say much.  =)

•  You don't like being told "no"... but I think that's kind of a given for a toddler, right?  ;)
• You don't like daddy waking you up in the morning for day care.  You roll over and pull the blanket over your head.  lol 
• You don't like eating with your fork... you prefer one of mom or dad's big forks.  You're too big for the baby fork I guess.  ;)

Milestones-

• Oh my gosh!  I can't think of any!  This month was pretty mellow... aside from your vocabulary increasing daily, I can't think of any other significant milestones.  Some things you like to say this month are:
• "Come" (when you want us to follow you somewhere)
• "Go" (while pulling on the door knob... generally when you have your shoes and coat on in the morning and dad and I are still trying to get ready).
• "Hi _____" (you'll say hi to mommy, daddy, your day care friends, the kitty, etc... ditto with "bye".
• "Airplane" (your kind of obsessed.... you can see/hear them when they are really far away! lol)
• Thought of a milestone!  You can open your snack cupboard by yourself... uh oh!  You remove the hair-tie child-proofer, open the cupboard, grab the crackers, close the cupboard, and put the hair-tie back over the knobs. lol  

22 Months!

Finally getting a moment to sit down and get this thing written!

Weight/Length-No idea... tall and skinny.  Does that work?  =)

Eating- You eat a lot and often.  Mostly during the day.  I think you are pretty stuffed by the time you get home and you don't usually eat much of a dinner.  You have the reputation of being the kid at daycare who is always eating though... and who doesn't like to share her food (I think you get that one from your mom).  =)  You love all things carb-y.... crackers, bread, toast, pizza, tortillas, etc, etc.  Also, you could LIVE on applesauce.  I honestly don't know how your digestive system is not completely out of whack with the amount of applesauce that you consume.

Teeth- Same as last month.  No sign of those 2-year molars yet.

Sleep- Sleeping is pretty much the same.  Though, it's getting more and more difficult to get you to settle down long enough to get your pajamas on at night... but you never really put up a fight for the actual bed/sleeping part.

 Clothes-Mostly wearing 24 month/2T sizes... but the problem is that you are two skinny for the pants, so all of your pants either sag, or continue to be too short (18 month sizes).

Personality- You are o smart.  You are trying to talk a lot now, and sometimes we don't understand what you are saying, but you are awesome at "showing" us what it is that you want and/or getting it yourself.  You are also a little daredevil.  Your favorite thing to do now is jump off of things.  You are going to be the kid that injures yourself jumping off the top bunk one day.  Hopefully the amount of time we spend reading to you about the five little monkeys that jump on the bed will help deter you from that specific stunt!

Likes/Dislikes-

• Curious George.  I feel like I could begin and end this category with Curious George! lol
• You also like sitting at the dinner table in a "regular" chair.  You rarely, rarely sit in your booster anymore.  You much prefer to be up on your knees in a big chair.
• You love tending to your stuffed animals.  Whether that is sitting them at the table with you to color, making sure they have a bowl of cereal for breakfast, too, or helping them learn how to use the potty... you are a great little caregiver.  =)
• You like to bring us items to help us get ready to leave the house in the morning.  If you are ready to go, you feel like we should be, too.  So you'll bring our shoes, coats, and bags and then go and try to open the front door... all the time shouting 'Go! Go!' =)

•  You dislike t when we can't understand what you are saying.  You can get pretty frustrated with us.  I don't blame you, it's got to be pretty frustrating to know what you want to get across and not have the ability yet to do it.  I feel really  bad sometimes and so try hard to encourage you to "show" us (though, I will admit, I think your Daddy is better at figuring out what you are saying that I am... not sure how he got that gift, but I'm glad that he has it!)
• Sourdough toast... tried to switch it in for the honey wheat stuff you usually get because we had a loaf that we needed to eat... you took one bite and threw it at us. lol  You definitely have your dad's "adventurous" pallet.  ;)

Milestones-

• You started "gymnastics" classes!  I'm so impressed at how good you are at sitting still and following the teacher's directions!  So much better than some of the other little kids in your class!
• You learned the chicken dance. You're all set for community dancing at festival this year.  ;)
• You spent the night on a houseboat! (Nana and Papa's new house)  I don't even know that I've done that yet!
• You are putting more and more words/mini sentences together.  Such as:
• "Mom cook dinner"
• "More Pizza"
• "More Applesauce"
• "More crackers"  (See?  You love to eat!)
• "Up please"
• "Love you"
• "Nigh' Nigh'"
• "Get this"
• "Bye Silas" (her daycare friend)
• "Got it"

21 Months!

(Almost a week late... I need to get better at this. lol)

Weight/Length- Yup... still going to hold off on this as I can never remember to weigh/measure you.  You're tall enough to pull things off the kitchen counter... so, yeah, we're in trouble.  =)

Eating- You love food.  You eat frequently.  Camden's mom at day care says that you are eating every time she's there! lol  You used to really like these breakfast bar things, but then you got a stomach bug and they came back up... and after that you weren't interested any more. lol

Teeth- Same as last month.  No sign of those 2-year molars yet.

Sleep- Sleeping like a champ.  Bed at 8, wake up between 7-8 and down for one nap of anywhere from 1-3 hours (most likely 60-90 minutes).

 Clothes-Same as last month.  Slowly starting to take out the 18 month size from your wardrobe as I realize that the pants are now capris and the shirts show off your belly.  =)

Personality- You are a giant sweet heart.  You say "thank you" frequently (even when it's not really an appropriate time for it. lol) and you like to say "goodbye" to everyone/everything and given kisses.  Every now and then you'll come up to me and say "hug" and then go about playing after you get a little lovin'.  =)  You are definitely a momma's girl right now.  After Christmas your daddy and I switched up the bedtime routine so that now he reads you stories and I put your pajamas on.  We did this so that you could get some cuddly time with dad... as you only seem to want mom right now.  We wanted to make sure that you could also see Dad as someone to provide comfort.

You are also getting a lot better at leaving day care.  You used to not be much of a happy camper when it was time to go, but now you get your own shoes and socks on and are saying goodbye to everyone before I can even manage to get your coat on... the you open the door and start walking out to the car as I'm trying to grab your diaper bag and rush out with you!  =)

Likes/Dislikes-

• In addition to Elmo, you are now a big Curious George fan.  You'll say "George" and lead us tot he TV after dinner. lol
• You like doing your puzzles and playing with your legos.
• You like working with playdoh and flubber.
• You like getting piggy back rides... especially if mom or dad is moving really quickly.  =)
• You like looking at photos around the house and pointing out different people:
•  
  

•  You dislike sharing your toys.  You have learned the word "mine".  I'm not a big fan of that one.
• You dislike not having mom's attention all to yourself.  It's getting more and more challenging to cook with one hand.
• You dislike riding in a shopping cart.  I worry that this may be a direct link to the "baby wearing" that your dad and I did with you... now you just want to be carried everywhere.  (Or, in the case of the shopping cart, push it or climb on to the front and hang off of it as we go up and down the aisles).

Milestones-

• You threw up for the first time... and second... and third.  Ick!
• You started art "classes".  Really just a free-for-all 30 minutes of art fun.  =)
• Your vocabulary is constantly expanding.  And you are getting really good and repeating back words that we say (we have to start being careful, now!)
• You're tall enough/stable enough now that you can play in the shallow end of the pool at the community center without mom/dad having to hover over you.  You like to sit in the water and/or jump from standing to sitting and splash everywhere.  And you love to go down the slides!  =) 
• You said "grandma" and "GG" (great grandma) for the first time... and in their presence!  =)

Attitude

My daughter is a 14 year old trapped in an almost 2 year old body. Case and point:

Normal wake-up time is around 7. This morning Emily woke up at 6:30. I was in the shower and Jacob was still in bed. Jacob invited her up to cuddle/play on the big bed, but she just screamed at the bathroom door (she wanted in/to see me). Here's what happened next...

Jacob: You have two choices, you can either come play on the bed with me, or you can go back to your room.

Emily: Room. *grabbed her blanket, returned to her room, closed the door, turned off the light, and crawled back into bed*.

By the time I got out of the bathroom, she was already back to sleep. Lol

Little Miss 'Tude at Day Care. lol

The Year of the Parent

Last year (2012) was definitely the year of the baby.  We were figuring out how to function with a new little person in our house.  This year, however, the "function" part was old news... suddenly what took precedence was the parenting aspect of the arrangement.  What would she eat, when would she go to bed, what activities were free expression and what would lead to a firm "no"?  Just how much whining could we ignore before we went absolutely batty?  I can definitely say that we made it out of this year alive... but the battle is not over yet. lol

Amongst all of the questions about our growing parenting styles, we also had so so SO much enjoyment watching Emily grow, learn, express and explore.  From walking to kicking to running to dancing to jumping to climbing... she's all over the place.  From crying to showing to words that we can understanding... she's communicating.  She's getting herself "dressed" (socks, shoes and hats) and, with that, comes her own sense of style.  She has a favorite TV show, a favorite blanket, favorite books.  She FINALLY likes to cuddle and will give hugs and kisses unprompted.  How much love I feel for my small little person is unreal.

2013 has been a good year.  And I am very excited to see what 2014 has to bring!

20 Months!

(About a week late... oops!)

Weight/Length- No idea.  I'm not that great about remembering to weigh/measure you while you're awake, and and the only time I have to write these posts are when you're asleep.  So... this category may have to wait until your 2-year appointment!

Eating- I am having a really hard time getting you to eat fruits and veggies (unless it's apple sauce or bananas).  I need to try some more "healthy" types of things.  You like breads (crackers, etc.) but not much else.  I think I need to experiment a bit.  Last month your favorite word was "snack", this month it's "cook".  You continuously are telling me to "cook" when you're hungry.  Which is, like, every 2 hours.  You snack a LOT!

Teeth- Still have 16!  We were thinking that one of your 2-year molars were coming in, but I don't know that it ever did.

Sleep- Down to one nap!  Sometimes it's hard for you to stay awake long enough to eat lunch.  I try not to put you down before noon, because I know that you won't take another nap and be super cranky if you go down to early, but this week it was a bit difficult some days!  One day I actually asked you if you wanted to take a nap and you crawled into bed and laid down.  =)  Speaking of beds, you have a brand new toddler bed now!  We switched it out on Christmas Eve.

 Clothes-24 month/2T clothes, size 4 diapers and size 8 shoes (girl... 7 in boys).  I swear that you skipped a shoe size. I think you went straight from 6s to 8s!

Personality- We're starting to see a bit more of the "Terrible Twos" more regularly now... and, honestly, it's hard not to laugh at you sometimes when you're throwing a tantrum.  You were pitching a fit in a restaurant the other day and a noticed some of the other patrons laughing at you, too.  You are just so obviously dramatic with your fits.  Not to say I'm wanting to laugh ALL the time!  That's for sure.  You have also started to be quite "shy" and will hide your face around new people and/or shut your eyes REALLY tight like, if you can't see them, they can't see you.  Also, you are a bit of a neat freak.  You are quick to point out a "mess" and you get a little upset every time you get food or something on your hands.  You MUST wipe them off.  =)  You also love to sweep and wipe things up.

Likes/Dislikes-

• You LOVE Elmo... commercialism at work!
• You love swimming and the big water slide at the community center.
• You like using the potty... even though you don't use it all the time, you still get pretty excited about using it.
• You like your new bed and pillows.  I think you like the freedom of putting yourself to bed... though you don't ever really get out of it on your own (after waking up, that is).
• You like wearing hats.  You have a couple of stocking caps that you like to put on your head and walk around the house with... even if it's the only thing you're wearing.

•  You dislike being told "no"... I have a feeling that this is going to be a big one for the next year or so.

Milestones-

• You pooped in the potty!  Woo hoo!!!  =)
• You really got into opening presents for the first time.  You opened all of your own, and then got mad when I wouldn't let you open everyone else's, too!
• You got a new toddler bed.  The transition was a lot easier than I was expecting.
• You are learning a lot of new words and can repeat the alphabet letter by letter.  You are starting to recognize a few colors, and can count 2/3rds of the way to 3... (I saw one, you say two and three).