Life has become incredibly busy since Month 10 ... Katie turned 3, Cara turned 1, and we discovered that Julia will be joining our family in March 2013! The big girls had their annual wellness visit with our pediatrician where Katie measured 42 inches tall and weighed 42 pounds; no surprise she was in the 100th percentile for both. Cara measured 31 inches tall and weighed 21 pounds 7 ounces; she was also in the 100th percentile for height but only the 50th for weight. Both girls are completely healthy! We celebrated their birthday on September 1st with a huge gymnastics party. Over 25 friends, ranging in age from a few months to 8 years, all their parents, and many other favorite adults came to celebrate with us. The girls were blessed with so many wonderful presents it took me 2 months to get all the thank you notes completed! We hand delivered the last of the thank yous while Trick or Treating on Halloween night. Now to start planning for all our holiday season activities ...
Pregnancy with Julia has been WONDERFUL! I felt sick for a few weeks, but nothing eating couldn't remedy. She's healthy, moving all the time now, and at the moment I'm blissfully enjoying that 2nd trimester high! Still wearing most of my regular clothes, at week 20 I generally give in and pull out the box of maternity stuff ... and this time I'm discovering there's great value in the comfort of true maternity clothes. Both of her ultrasounds have been so much fun, and with the peace God has given me about this pregnancy on the whole it has been the most fun of the 3!
We have been so busy during the past 4 months that when I looked back over all the things we have done I was amazed that 2 growing seasons passed. We went to our favorite orchard for both peaches and apples since I last posted! The peaches were a huge hit with Katie again this year and Cara had just enough teeth (only 2) to get excited about the apples. We ate tons of fresh yummy peaches and apples, and I baked a couple apple pies. My pie baking is getting much better with practice, and it helps that I now have the properly proportioned recipe for my pie pans. We then moved into pumpkin season where the girls tried all sorts of new pumpkin items and seemed to really love them all! I think seasonal cooking and using the oven when the weather changes is one of the very best parts of fall. We ate pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie bagels from Panera, and I enjoyed both the much anticipated return of the pumpkin spice steamer at Starbucks and the pumpkin pie blizzard at Dairy Queen. Thankfully, in spite of all my eating, Julia was still right at the 50th percentile at our 20 week ultrasound appointment ... weighing just 11 ounces.
When September began Cara had just 2 little teeth, and my poor baby still was not sleeping though the night regularly. Big changes occurred during the months of September and October ... Cara went from just 2 little teeth to a mouthful of 10! My prayers have also been answered with a number of sleep-filled nights since all the crazy teething concluded. Little Caroline LOVES food! She will try anything and usually come back for a 2nd bite even if she isn't sure. She wants to feed herself and her interest in nursing has diminished significantly, much to my disappointment. On the subject of food we have seen great improvement in Katie. She much more readily eats her food using utensils and she is willing to try almost anything on her plate without crying. We have added all sorts of new foods to her list of likes and she even willingly ate all her broccoli on October 8th. We celebrated this victory with a cookie party; I left immediately for the bakery as she popped the last piece in her mouth and arrived just before closing. She also transitioned into using a new brand of sippy cup and we disposed of all the disgusting looking Dora ones - yay. Overall, meals in our household have become substantially more enjoyable!
Caroline gave up crawling completely on July 3rd; this was unfortunately the exact date of her 2nd crawling race at the ballpark. Since then she has discovered a love for climbing, dancing, and running! She is definitely a girl on the move, and she's so proud of herself. After walking for a month she decided to stop fighting us on wearing shoes and actually wanted to wear them inside the house. I think her hope was that if she had the shoes on we would eventually have to go outside - she's a smart girl! We moved her into a forward-facing carseat just days after her birthday and she absolutely delights in her new view and enhanced comfort while riding. Her attitude about car rides has improved dramatically. I don't think it has hurt any that we purchased a new vehicle with third row seating to accommodate our growing family. Cara seems to like riding in her new captains chair of our Mazda MPV!
Katelyn began preschool just days after her birthday and she really loves it! She attends preschool just 3 mornings per week for 3 hours. Having a big girl activity that is all for her, and getting out to do new exciting things is exactly what she needed. I struggled with the decision to let her attend preschool for months since I will be homeschooling and I am a stay-at-home mom; however, it became quite clear that this is exactly what Katie needed! We enrolled her in a wonderful private Christian school where they pray before snack and all the children have at least one part-time stay-at-home parent. I'm not entirely sure, but I think all the kids' parents are married to each other too! I've seen lots of mommies and daddies picking up their preschoolers together. It's wonderful to have found an environment where my daughter can learn and play with other children who are being raised in homes with values similar to ours!
We have witnessed substantial growth and so many wonderful changes in Katie over the past 4 months. She has become more independent; completing tasks like 12 and 24 piece puzzles all by herself. She can navigate the ipad without assistance and loves to play educational games. She is awesome at the board game Memory and has legitimately won the game against me. Her singing has improved as we have moved away from the medley of Dora tunes and onto worship music (thanks to VeggieTales) and songs about colors and fall from preschool. She taught herself how to open and close doors, which includes going into the refrigerator to get the milk (still her favorite), and she is completely undeterred by the child safety devices we installed on some of the door knobs! By the end of the summer she was putting on her own sandals and although the tongues of her gym shoes continue to get in the way she manages to get those on too now. Getting dressed is still a bit of work since it's a cooperative effort with me putting the shirt on top of her head for her to pull down and get her arms in, pants/skirts/shorts are hit or miss depending on the day, and socks are impossible. She is however a hard worker and very persistent and I know the day is coming when I'll be able to just tell her to get dressed and it'll all happen magically.
The area of greatest growth for Katie has been in language and social interaction. She has been working hard, very hard, on both. Preschool has contributed greatly to her success and she's learning how to be a friend. We celebrated birthdays for her friends Patrick, Bryston, and Xavi and we're looking forward to Madison's party later this month. Communication with peers continues to be a struggle for her; however, she is incredibly kind and gentle, sweet and cuddly, and other kids really like her! She has gone from speaking 2 word sentences with only an article and a noun to using a variety of phrases to express her desires. When September began she was just starting to use verbs and now this is no longer a specific struggle. She can verbalize her name and age and she knows she is a girl; all milestones that should be reached by a child's 3rd birthday. Sometimes she even calls me Mommy to get my attention and the first time this happened - yes, I did cry! She is getting so much better at using verbal language now the challenge is to get her to understand conversational/social language so that she can build those friendships. It is clear that she does prefer to be with other children and her relationship with Cara has improved greatly! We're thankful for all the improvements she has made and we know God has a plan for her ... I anticipate that someday I will look back at all my concern and worry and wonder - why?
Both girls are working hard at following multi-step directions and they have both mastered light switches. Katie delights in being able to turn the lights on and off at will. Cara is just so pleased to have me hold her next to the light switch so that she can flip it and get excited every single time. They have both also mastered unzipping zippers. Cara can unzip her little fleece vest, and Katie is able to take off her coat all by herself and remove her blanket sleeper pajamas too. They are both growing so fast and it's fun to see them accomplish similar tasks at the same time. Cara wants to be just like her big sister and you should see the way she looks at Katie! She loves to give Katie hugs, but she also equally enjoys pulling Katie's pigtails. Katie gives Cara the sweetest kisses; today she even pulled Cara's finger out of her mouth to clear the way for a real kiss on her lips. Their sweet sister moments are becoming too numerous to count! and that's just the way I like it!!!
This should catch us up on things; however, if you do not think this is comprehensive enough maybe you need to come by and visit. Yes, that is an invitation ... hope to see you soon! Happy belated Halloween and don't forget to check out my Facebook Page for photo updates too.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Month 10
We're just moving right along ... this year is going by way too fast! The girls went for their 2 3/4 year and 9 month pictures together, and Cara saw our pediatrician for her well-baby appointment. The pictures turned out to be adorable and little Cara is quite healthy. She is 30 inches tall (95%) and 20 pounds (75%); still averaging about 1 inch shorter and 3 pounds lighter than Katie at the same age. Thankfully, with the addition of just a few size 12 month t-shirts, she is just the right size to wear Katie's wardrobe from her first summer.
This was a month for racing. Katie participated in her first 1 mile race, and Cara competed in a baby crawling race. We are SO proud of both our girls! In order to maintain a "reasonable" pace, set by the race committee, Mommy ran and carried Katie for a small part of the race (a distance less than 1 full block), and Katie finished her mile in under 20 minutes! She was by far the youngest runner registered. She received a ribbon for participating and finished with a big grin on her face; asking for water at the finish line. Caroline competed in her baby crawling race as part of the pregame entertainment at a Minor League Baseball game. She was incredible! She was crawling before her knees hit the ground and got halfway to the finish line before Mommy could get to the other side and cheer her on. Cara WON the race, and received some much appreciated diapers as her reward.
Cara really became competent at walking this month. Early in the month she walked a record breaking 6 steps, and by the end of the month she was well on her way to becoming a true toddler! She also began climbing ... climbing on EVERYTHING! Caroline was found on top of a number of places during the month; the picnic table, our stairs, and the living room end table are the ones that stand out most. There are many pictures of Cara's climbing adventures.
Cara has refused all baby food; now that she's walking she believes it is time for grownup table food. In addition to not wanting baby food, she also believes that nobody else should feed her! Mommy set out on a mission to find acceptable finger foods for a person in possession of exactly 2 teeth. Caroline has an adventurous palate and she has enjoyed pretty much anything that has been placed on her highchair tray. So far she has devoured mashed potatoes, shredded cheese, chunks of banana, cooked carrots, overcooked macaroni noodles, pasta sauce, and Cheerios; using a fork or spoon whenever necessary and always refusing assistance! She does still like milk and nursing is about the only feeding activity she'll let Mommy participate in. She even likes it so much that she began consistently signing for "milk" - yay, two way communication with Caroline. (She has also begun clapping and waving "bye-bye", and she is working on the signs for "all done" and "more") Katie has finally begun to expand her palate adding peanut butter, strawberries, and plain ice cream cones to her list of accepted foods. Mealtimes in our household are becoming increasingly easier and much more enjoyable!
For one entire week, our family abstained from watching television at home, we turned the TV off and got creative with activities. Katie learned to pour water, paint with watercolors, drink from a cup, and operate her bubble blower alone. She also began to work on dressing herself and putting on her sandals without help. When the TV was turned back on the girls were introduced to VeggieTales and "The Ballad of Little Joe" became a fast favorite! We also started listening to the VeggieTales worship CD in the car. Katie is already learning many of the lyrics with "Hosanna" and "Your Grace is Enough" being some of her favorites. It brings me so much joy to hear my little girl singing praise songs to our God! It also warms my heart to find her snuggled up with her Bible when I go to cover and kiss her long after she has fallen asleep for the night. I often pray over both my girls that God will give them His heart and conform their will to His ... seeing Katie delight in His word lets me know that prayer is being answered! I am a proud Mommy of two delightfully sweet and beautiful little girls. I love them with all my heart and cannot wait to see what God has in store for them as they continue to grow!
This was a month for racing. Katie participated in her first 1 mile race, and Cara competed in a baby crawling race. We are SO proud of both our girls! In order to maintain a "reasonable" pace, set by the race committee, Mommy ran and carried Katie for a small part of the race (a distance less than 1 full block), and Katie finished her mile in under 20 minutes! She was by far the youngest runner registered. She received a ribbon for participating and finished with a big grin on her face; asking for water at the finish line. Caroline competed in her baby crawling race as part of the pregame entertainment at a Minor League Baseball game. She was incredible! She was crawling before her knees hit the ground and got halfway to the finish line before Mommy could get to the other side and cheer her on. Cara WON the race, and received some much appreciated diapers as her reward.
Cara really became competent at walking this month. Early in the month she walked a record breaking 6 steps, and by the end of the month she was well on her way to becoming a true toddler! She also began climbing ... climbing on EVERYTHING! Caroline was found on top of a number of places during the month; the picnic table, our stairs, and the living room end table are the ones that stand out most. There are many pictures of Cara's climbing adventures.
Cara has refused all baby food; now that she's walking she believes it is time for grownup table food. In addition to not wanting baby food, she also believes that nobody else should feed her! Mommy set out on a mission to find acceptable finger foods for a person in possession of exactly 2 teeth. Caroline has an adventurous palate and she has enjoyed pretty much anything that has been placed on her highchair tray. So far she has devoured mashed potatoes, shredded cheese, chunks of banana, cooked carrots, overcooked macaroni noodles, pasta sauce, and Cheerios; using a fork or spoon whenever necessary and always refusing assistance! She does still like milk and nursing is about the only feeding activity she'll let Mommy participate in. She even likes it so much that she began consistently signing for "milk" - yay, two way communication with Caroline. (She has also begun clapping and waving "bye-bye", and she is working on the signs for "all done" and "more") Katie has finally begun to expand her palate adding peanut butter, strawberries, and plain ice cream cones to her list of accepted foods. Mealtimes in our household are becoming increasingly easier and much more enjoyable!
For one entire week, our family abstained from watching television at home, we turned the TV off and got creative with activities. Katie learned to pour water, paint with watercolors, drink from a cup, and operate her bubble blower alone. She also began to work on dressing herself and putting on her sandals without help. When the TV was turned back on the girls were introduced to VeggieTales and "The Ballad of Little Joe" became a fast favorite! We also started listening to the VeggieTales worship CD in the car. Katie is already learning many of the lyrics with "Hosanna" and "Your Grace is Enough" being some of her favorites. It brings me so much joy to hear my little girl singing praise songs to our God! It also warms my heart to find her snuggled up with her Bible when I go to cover and kiss her long after she has fallen asleep for the night. I often pray over both my girls that God will give them His heart and conform their will to His ... seeing Katie delight in His word lets me know that prayer is being answered! I am a proud Mommy of two delightfully sweet and beautiful little girls. I love them with all my heart and cannot wait to see what God has in store for them as they continue to grow!
Friday, June 1, 2012
Month 9
We began the month with Joe still away from home on his motorcycle trip ... Cara had just gotten over Hand Foot and Mouth Disease and Katie was on antibiotics for the ear infection she developed the day Joe left on his trip. What a rough Spring this has been; unfortunately, it was a carryover from the rough Winter we had too! A couple days into the month Joe returned from his trip as Katie came down with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease including horribly painful blisters in her mouth. Watching my little girl in so much pain was awful! Praise God for the Maalox/Children's Benadryl mixture I was able to concoct and rub on her blisters - within 20 minutes she was feeling better and sound asleep. We are praying for a much healthier Summer!
This month, Katelyn's main area of advancement has been in the field of communication. Her speech has become more clear and she is getting so creative in her non-verbal communication. Case in point, on one particular day she repeated the phrase "a swimming pool" for hours and when that did not work in her favor she went and got all of our swimming suits and began following me around continuing to repeat "a swimming pool". She also came and told me, for the first time ever, once this month that she needed her dirty diaper changed ... I'm praying this means we're also headed into new potty training territory! Katie desperately wants to learn to write her A B C's. In fact, she's making me crazy wanting me to hold her hand with the pencil, crayon, chalk, or pen in it to write them over and over. I am very proud of her for having great perseverance and wanting to learn such an important skill! We have also begun working on her math skills. I cannot believe how incredibly bright she is. I completely stumbled on her beginning math skills while playing with her outside. Our one-on-one time has been really great for both of us! Cara also made advances in communication this month - for Mother's Day she learned to sign for "milk". Although she does not do it nearly as often as Katie did, it's obvious what she wants and absolutely adorable! She opens and closes her hand ever so slowly and carefully; watching it the entire time. I am truly amazed by my girls, and communicating with them in new fun ways makes me feel more connected to them both.
Caroline made major advances in movement again this month. On the 7th she crawled over to the sliding screen door, proceeded to open it herself, and crawled out onto the deck. She began standing unassisted for extended periods of time at the beginning of the month. Then she started using anything she could slide to walk across the floor; including my kitchen chairs. On the 22nd I turned around and found Cara sitting ON TOP of the end table in our living room! This began a series of photos taken over the next couple days of all the things Caroline figured out how to climb on top of. Then on the 25th Cara did it ... She took her 1st 3 steps - from the couch to Mommy's arms. We couldn't be more proud!!! As the month wrapped up she has begun stepping out into the middle of the room unassisted. She can walk anywhere from 2-5 steps unassisted and will reach for anyone or anything as her stabilizing point when moving. Katie is doing okay with Cara - not a huge fan of being a stabilizing point, but gentle enough not to hurt her baby sister. Poor Barkley has lost a few baby-sized fistfuls of fur and he tries to move away quickly if he sees her coming! Mommy and Daddy are always available with open arms if we see her headed our way. So, at 9 months old she is officially a toddler!
In other news regarding ourbaby ... Our little toddler has also figured out how to drink from a sippy cup ... most often it is the cup belonging to her big sister, but Katie doesn't seem to mind. Cara's hair finally grew long enough to clip a bow in it for the first time on the 19th! Our BIGGEST success in life this month has been in the sleep department! On the 12th FINALLY! Caroline slept from 9pm until just after 6am!!! She woke at 2am but
put herself back to sleep ... I got up and covered her when I realized I
wasn't going to have to feed her. At 8am she was still sleeping
after eating at 6am. Unfortunately we did not have a repeat performance for a Mother's Day gift. On the night of the 16th we tried the "cry it out" method with Caroline ... basically
from 2:45-4:15 Cara screamed, even throwing her paci on the floor in
frustration, and the ONLY thing learned from this experience is that
Cara can get MUCH louder than she usually does! EPIC FAIL!!! On the 17th Katie ended up napping because Cara had kept her up for a significant amount of time during the night - one of my biggest fears of letting her cry from the very beginning. On the 19th I
slept from 10pm-5am uninterrupted ... this means that Cara slept truly
through the night for the very 1st time 7:30pm - 6:15am! I felt so good that I took Barkley with me for a 2 mile run that morning. On the 27th & 28th Cara went to bed at 7:30pm and woke sometime around 5am to eat. We both returned to bed and slept until at least 7:30am both days! She has been taking just one real nap during the day usually mid-morning just before lunch time for 2-3 hours. Learning what will work has been quite challenging, but I am hopeful we are developing a real sleep schedule that allows this Mommy to rest at night.
My prayers for the upcoming season are for health, rest (especially at night), and the ability to create more fun family memories with our girls. They are growing so fast and I am fearful that I will look back at this time with a hazy sleep-deprived memory of exhaustion. We are doing more playdates, playing outside, and trying new things to keep life interesting. As always I am continuing to pray for their safety as they learn to navigate their way though this world. I dream of the days ahead when we will be able to do more "grown up"activities together but know I will miss these days too. So I am trying to embrace all the craziness of toddlerhood and not rush things along too quickly ... Cara seems to be doing that well enough on her own. The girls bring so much more joy than I ever expected and sometimes I just want to hold onto a moment and never let it end. Like when I am nursing Cara with her little eyes closed and tiny hand gripping my rolled up shirt, or when Katie crawls up into my lap with her blankets and I breathe in her sweet lavender scented baby shampooed head, or when I watch Katie give Cara unsolicited kisses in her own sweet special way. Photos and written memories are all I'll have one day and for now I'm just trying to capture as much as possible and "bottle it up" for later.
This month, Katelyn's main area of advancement has been in the field of communication. Her speech has become more clear and she is getting so creative in her non-verbal communication. Case in point, on one particular day she repeated the phrase "a swimming pool" for hours and when that did not work in her favor she went and got all of our swimming suits and began following me around continuing to repeat "a swimming pool". She also came and told me, for the first time ever, once this month that she needed her dirty diaper changed ... I'm praying this means we're also headed into new potty training territory! Katie desperately wants to learn to write her A B C's. In fact, she's making me crazy wanting me to hold her hand with the pencil, crayon, chalk, or pen in it to write them over and over. I am very proud of her for having great perseverance and wanting to learn such an important skill! We have also begun working on her math skills. I cannot believe how incredibly bright she is. I completely stumbled on her beginning math skills while playing with her outside. Our one-on-one time has been really great for both of us! Cara also made advances in communication this month - for Mother's Day she learned to sign for "milk". Although she does not do it nearly as often as Katie did, it's obvious what she wants and absolutely adorable! She opens and closes her hand ever so slowly and carefully; watching it the entire time. I am truly amazed by my girls, and communicating with them in new fun ways makes me feel more connected to them both.
Caroline made major advances in movement again this month. On the 7th she crawled over to the sliding screen door, proceeded to open it herself, and crawled out onto the deck. She began standing unassisted for extended periods of time at the beginning of the month. Then she started using anything she could slide to walk across the floor; including my kitchen chairs. On the 22nd I turned around and found Cara sitting ON TOP of the end table in our living room! This began a series of photos taken over the next couple days of all the things Caroline figured out how to climb on top of. Then on the 25th Cara did it ... She took her 1st 3 steps - from the couch to Mommy's arms. We couldn't be more proud!!! As the month wrapped up she has begun stepping out into the middle of the room unassisted. She can walk anywhere from 2-5 steps unassisted and will reach for anyone or anything as her stabilizing point when moving. Katie is doing okay with Cara - not a huge fan of being a stabilizing point, but gentle enough not to hurt her baby sister. Poor Barkley has lost a few baby-sized fistfuls of fur and he tries to move away quickly if he sees her coming! Mommy and Daddy are always available with open arms if we see her headed our way. So, at 9 months old she is officially a toddler!
In other news regarding our
My prayers for the upcoming season are for health, rest (especially at night), and the ability to create more fun family memories with our girls. They are growing so fast and I am fearful that I will look back at this time with a hazy sleep-deprived memory of exhaustion. We are doing more playdates, playing outside, and trying new things to keep life interesting. As always I am continuing to pray for their safety as they learn to navigate their way though this world. I dream of the days ahead when we will be able to do more "grown up"activities together but know I will miss these days too. So I am trying to embrace all the craziness of toddlerhood and not rush things along too quickly ... Cara seems to be doing that well enough on her own. The girls bring so much more joy than I ever expected and sometimes I just want to hold onto a moment and never let it end. Like when I am nursing Cara with her little eyes closed and tiny hand gripping my rolled up shirt, or when Katie crawls up into my lap with her blankets and I breathe in her sweet lavender scented baby shampooed head, or when I watch Katie give Cara unsolicited kisses in her own sweet special way. Photos and written memories are all I'll have one day and for now I'm just trying to capture as much as possible and "bottle it up" for later.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Month 8
The 1st day of the month brought back memories of finding out Katie's gender 3 years ago and going to Cara's ultrasound with the plan to wait and find out her gender at birth just 1 year ago. BOTH times I was elated to discover I had become the Mommy of a little girl ... I absolutely love having little girls! I truly enjoy spending time with each of them; they are so completely different from each other, yet each little girl is entirely pleasurable to be with. This month I began focusing on some serious one-on-one time with Katie. Instead of working through Cara's naps, or watching TV, Katie and I spend quality time doing something special together. She has begun riding her tricycle, coloring with sidewalk chalk, loving bubble blowing, stringing beads, completing more difficult puzzles, and playing outside as much as possible. This time has been really special for me!
About 3/4 of the way through the month Cara had her shot appointment at the pediatrician's office. She weighed 19 pounds 14 ounces and measured 28 inches long. At this exact same age Katie was weighing 2 pounds 9 ounces more and measuring 1 inch and 3/4 taller. Summer has come a bit early this year. At less than 20 pounds Cara is just barely wearing 12 month clothes, but most of Katie's hand-me-down summer clothes are 12-18 month. By the month's end Caroline had become the lucky recipient of some new summer clothes to supplement her wardrobe until she grows a little more.
The outstanding area of progress this month has been centered around eating. Katie began transitioning from her highchair to the table for meals. On the 14th Cara tried Gerber yogurt for the first time, and just like Katie, loved it! Then on the 16th our ENTIRE family ate the exact same meal for the 1st time - a dinner of split pea soup. Caroline got her very first tooth on the 17th and her second tooth on the 18th. My poor little girl has been suffering though some pretty intense teething - hope this gives her a break for a while! Funny story on the subject of teeth ... One evening while dining at a local restaurant Katelyn, obviously dissatisfied with her dinner, went looking for other options on the table. I discovered exactly what happened when she offered me a bite of the broken blue crayon. A look in her mouth revealed blue teeth covered in chunks of the waxy substance - Yuck! Hopefully she learned something from this experience. On the 25th Caroline successfully picked up a puff and put it into her own mouth for the first time. Cara and I were both pretty proud of this one!
Caroline has also been making advances in the area of locomotion. Cara has started slowly lowering herself to the floor instead of just falling and crying. It's a VERY slow process as she continues to hold onto whatever is holding her up, and generally I hold my breath hoping she doesn't smack her head on it. Thankfully Cara is getting much use out of the Playskool Walk n Ride we bought Katie a couple years ago, even though she was nearing the end for need when I purchased it. Caroline can walk anywhere she wants using that toy. On the 14th for the length of time it took me to repeat "you're doing it!" 3 times ... I let go and Caroline stood all by herself in the middle of the room. On the 18th Cara completed a six second free stand.
Now that Caroline is so mobile we've been met with a whole new set of challenges. As a result, Cara has begun the process of becoming disciplined. Giving a proper timeout to a 7 month old is difficult. Just getting her to stay in one place is really the challenge. During one of these events Katie sat about 6 feet away cracking up and repeating "NO! Time-out" in mimic of me. The payoff was when I told Cara she needed to say sorry, and from the other room I heard Katie say "Sorry Mommy" - the words I couldn't get her to say last month when we struggled through timeouts with her. I think we're back on track!
With Cara's latest advances in mobility the girls are learning how to share living space and toys in a whole new way. I love that my big girl shares ALL her toys with her little sister. As long as she's not using it (and sometimes if she is) Cara can play with whatever she wants! Katie's heart is so beautiful! Caroline has figured out how to be a little sister very quickly; she has a room with plenty of toys in it but every chance she gets she goes into Katie's room and plays with her toys! Caroline LOVES playing in her big sister's room ... Fortunately Katie is a wonderful big sister and shares her toys without any complaint EVER! I am so proud of the big sister my Katie is becoming. I pray that in the coming years both girls see each other as the blessing I know they both are!
This may have been the longest month ever ... Joe spent the past week away on a motorcycle trip and I have experienced life as a single parent of 2 small children. We are missing him terribly, but we have done a lot of fun stuff too. Grandma, my mom, came to visit and we had a little staycation of our own.
Here's some of the highlights from this month:
* We took a tour of the local fire department with our playdate group.
* Katie & Mommy had their 1st swim of the season in our backyard swimming pool!
* Our vegetable garden was prepped and planted with Katie's help.
* We went to gymnastics with our playdate group.
* Family playdate with the Abner Family.
* Easter egg hunt and party with our playdate group.
* Several parkdates including Herrin park & Turley park.
* Separate playdates with our friends: Joseph, Zoe, Lily, and Madyson
* Visited the St. Louis Zoo
* Spent time at our local library
* Bounced at the Cape Girardeau Le Bounce play center
* Picked fresh strawberries at Blueberry Hill Farm
* Bowled at SI Bowl as part of the Kids Bowl Free program
AND we spent many many many days this month once again fighting off illness and infection! I'd say as far as adventures go we had a very successful month.
About 3/4 of the way through the month Cara had her shot appointment at the pediatrician's office. She weighed 19 pounds 14 ounces and measured 28 inches long. At this exact same age Katie was weighing 2 pounds 9 ounces more and measuring 1 inch and 3/4 taller. Summer has come a bit early this year. At less than 20 pounds Cara is just barely wearing 12 month clothes, but most of Katie's hand-me-down summer clothes are 12-18 month. By the month's end Caroline had become the lucky recipient of some new summer clothes to supplement her wardrobe until she grows a little more.
The outstanding area of progress this month has been centered around eating. Katie began transitioning from her highchair to the table for meals. On the 14th Cara tried Gerber yogurt for the first time, and just like Katie, loved it! Then on the 16th our ENTIRE family ate the exact same meal for the 1st time - a dinner of split pea soup. Caroline got her very first tooth on the 17th and her second tooth on the 18th. My poor little girl has been suffering though some pretty intense teething - hope this gives her a break for a while! Funny story on the subject of teeth ... One evening while dining at a local restaurant Katelyn, obviously dissatisfied with her dinner, went looking for other options on the table. I discovered exactly what happened when she offered me a bite of the broken blue crayon. A look in her mouth revealed blue teeth covered in chunks of the waxy substance - Yuck! Hopefully she learned something from this experience. On the 25th Caroline successfully picked up a puff and put it into her own mouth for the first time. Cara and I were both pretty proud of this one!
Caroline has also been making advances in the area of locomotion. Cara has started slowly lowering herself to the floor instead of just falling and crying. It's a VERY slow process as she continues to hold onto whatever is holding her up, and generally I hold my breath hoping she doesn't smack her head on it. Thankfully Cara is getting much use out of the Playskool Walk n Ride we bought Katie a couple years ago, even though she was nearing the end for need when I purchased it. Caroline can walk anywhere she wants using that toy. On the 14th for the length of time it took me to repeat "you're doing it!" 3 times ... I let go and Caroline stood all by herself in the middle of the room. On the 18th Cara completed a six second free stand.
Now that Caroline is so mobile we've been met with a whole new set of challenges. As a result, Cara has begun the process of becoming disciplined. Giving a proper timeout to a 7 month old is difficult. Just getting her to stay in one place is really the challenge. During one of these events Katie sat about 6 feet away cracking up and repeating "NO! Time-out" in mimic of me. The payoff was when I told Cara she needed to say sorry, and from the other room I heard Katie say "Sorry Mommy" - the words I couldn't get her to say last month when we struggled through timeouts with her. I think we're back on track!
With Cara's latest advances in mobility the girls are learning how to share living space and toys in a whole new way. I love that my big girl shares ALL her toys with her little sister. As long as she's not using it (and sometimes if she is) Cara can play with whatever she wants! Katie's heart is so beautiful! Caroline has figured out how to be a little sister very quickly; she has a room with plenty of toys in it but every chance she gets she goes into Katie's room and plays with her toys! Caroline LOVES playing in her big sister's room ... Fortunately Katie is a wonderful big sister and shares her toys without any complaint EVER! I am so proud of the big sister my Katie is becoming. I pray that in the coming years both girls see each other as the blessing I know they both are!
This may have been the longest month ever ... Joe spent the past week away on a motorcycle trip and I have experienced life as a single parent of 2 small children. We are missing him terribly, but we have done a lot of fun stuff too. Grandma, my mom, came to visit and we had a little staycation of our own.
Here's some of the highlights from this month:
* We took a tour of the local fire department with our playdate group.
* Katie & Mommy had their 1st swim of the season in our backyard swimming pool!
* Our vegetable garden was prepped and planted with Katie's help.
* We went to gymnastics with our playdate group.
* Family playdate with the Abner Family.
* Easter egg hunt and party with our playdate group.
* Several parkdates including Herrin park & Turley park.
* Separate playdates with our friends: Joseph, Zoe, Lily, and Madyson
* Visited the St. Louis Zoo
* Spent time at our local library
* Bounced at the Cape Girardeau Le Bounce play center
* Picked fresh strawberries at Blueberry Hill Farm
* Bowled at SI Bowl as part of the Kids Bowl Free program
AND we spent many many many days this month once again fighting off illness and infection! I'd say as far as adventures go we had a very successful month.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Month 7
The month began with tornadic activity sweeping though our area. Leap day turned out to be a day of calling friends to confirm their safety and collecting supplies for the town of Harrisburg - not more than 45 minutes to our East where the tornadoes hit the worst. It wasn't the way we had planned to spend our day, but it was necessary. Thankfully we were able to celebrate the girls' half birthday on the 1st without any additional storms.
This was a big milestone month ... Katie turned 2 1/2 and Cara reached the 6 month mark. We celebrated with a banana themed day. The girls watched the Dora super-babies episode and Caroline began eating fruit. Everyone tried the banana baby food, but Katie was definitely much happier to eat a regular banana for dessert! The girls are growing by leaps and bounds. Caroline moved up into 12 month clothing - weighing 18 pounds 2.5 ounces and measuring 27.5 inches long in the middle of the month ... just an inch shorter than Katie on this same day 2 years ago! Near the end of the month I measured Katie and discovered that she had grown an inch and a half in the past 6 months - she now wears a size 5 in kids! No wonder she's so hungry all the time.
We've had significant changes in the food department this month. Katie tried and actually ate a complete portion of mashed potatoes and she ate her first sandwich without disassembling it! Caroline tried her 1st fast food this month - mashed potatoes from Kentucky Fried Chicken ... and yes, like almost all other foods she loved it! (We have determined that in fact Caroline does not like carrots.) At this same age Katie was still on a rice cereal and nursing exclusive diet - what a difference birth order makes.
Caroline is mobile! Yes completely mobile and getting into everything. This little girl became an official crawler, days later began pulling up, and has since become a cruiser ... all within this month! Cara pushes her activity table all over the room like a walker too! It's amazing how quickly she can get to things, and how not baby proofed our house really is. Caroline Josephine also began sitting up on her namesake's, my late grandmother Josephine, birthday! ... it was a special day.
Both girls had new developments in the area of sleep. Caroline's crib mattress was moved down to the middle setting - and not a moment too soon ... about a week later I walked into her room after nap time to find her STANDING! Katie got her big girl bed set up. Mommy finally let go of Katie's baby status and decided to try out the toddler bed. Night #1 was a little rough as Katie discovered she could play instead of sleeping most of the night, but night #2 was a completely different story. Katie quickly settled into her new bed and became a fan of taking her toys into her bed to play during the day. The biggest and best outcome of this change is that Katelyn at all of 2 1/2 years will put herself to bed when she gets tired! Shortly after setting up the toddler bed, influenza swept though our family taking us all down one-by-one ... Katie discovered she could take naps and get up when she felt better. She slept for days and days; taking tons of naps and putting herself to bed early at night! What a blessing this change has been.
In spite of the flu taking us out for over a week we managed to do a lot of activities this month.
*We went to feed the ducks at Campus Lake ... it wasn't easy to lure them to the shore; however, the memorable moment of the day was went Katie noticed what we were using as duck food, "a bread" she exclaimed snatching it out of my hand she devoured it!
*Grandma Gigi and Grandpa Dillard came over to celebrate a belated St. Patrick's Day once we were all healthy. We had corned beef and cabbage, potatoes and Irish soda bread. Katie liked the corned beef the best, and we were proud of her for trying the potatoes and eating a big piece of Irish soda bread. She's really getting much better about trying and eating new foods.
*Cara's new buddy Everett came to visit (with his parents) from California. This was Caroline's 1st real playdate. Our little Cara is quite the social baby and absolutely LOVED playing with her new friend! He's about 6 weeks older and doing ALL the same things she is ... They pulled up on everything together, chewed on toys, crawled together (even racing at times), and had the sweetest baby kiss. Our only regret is that Everett and his family don't live closer to us!
*Our playgroup friends from Book Club came over to read "Green Eggs and Ham"- we made shamrock leaf trees, ate green eggs and shamrock sugar cookies for snack. Katie has been working hard to memorize the book since our club meeting and she did a great job on her shamrock tree!
*As a family we managed to attend two community Easter Egg Hunts this month. In Carterville Katie proved herself as an egg hunting machine and Cara learned how to hunt ... they amassed a total of 30 eggs, the maximum allowed. Katie loved dancing in the bubbles being generated by a bubble machine and playing at the park after the hunt. The girls even managed to pick up an egg that had a token for a free bag of McDonald's French fries as the prize inside. In Carbondale they continued to refine their egg hunting skills; we came home with another load of eggs filled with candy. The highlight of this hunt was the bunny. Katie identified the bunny quickly and ran up to her, ran around her, and ran away ... this routine took place about 10 times and would have continued longer if we had allowed it to. She did eventually allow the bunny to hug her although she could barely contain her excitement!
*Katie has begun peddling her tricycle. She can move ever so slowly, but for very short periods of time she can do it by herself! We have watched the Sesame Street episode where Abby learns to ride her tricycle and I think this has helped inspire Katie. Now - I'd like to find a Dora or Elmo/Abby video about potty training for inspiration (smile).
Watching our girls grow is one of my greatest joys in life! I have been blessed with the chance to witness Katie's spiritual growth which warms my heart in a way I never expected. She has begun referring to her Bible as "Jesus book" she LOVES to look at the pages and "read" it. She will sit and listen to us read it to her for long spans of time. On the 18th I went into Katie's room just be with her while she was laying in bed and heard ... "Jesus ... Amen" so I asked her what she was saying and she responded, "Keep her safe ... Jesus ... Amen" - I think she's starting to get it. The words sounded pretty familiar to me! I feel blessed beyond words to have a child whose life God has so clearly touched and continues to work in daily! I love my Katie and I eagerly await the day I can see God working in Caroline too ... not just protecting and keeping her safe like he already does. Hearing my baby pray really makes me happy!
This was a big milestone month ... Katie turned 2 1/2 and Cara reached the 6 month mark. We celebrated with a banana themed day. The girls watched the Dora super-babies episode and Caroline began eating fruit. Everyone tried the banana baby food, but Katie was definitely much happier to eat a regular banana for dessert! The girls are growing by leaps and bounds. Caroline moved up into 12 month clothing - weighing 18 pounds 2.5 ounces and measuring 27.5 inches long in the middle of the month ... just an inch shorter than Katie on this same day 2 years ago! Near the end of the month I measured Katie and discovered that she had grown an inch and a half in the past 6 months - she now wears a size 5 in kids! No wonder she's so hungry all the time.
We've had significant changes in the food department this month. Katie tried and actually ate a complete portion of mashed potatoes and she ate her first sandwich without disassembling it! Caroline tried her 1st fast food this month - mashed potatoes from Kentucky Fried Chicken ... and yes, like almost all other foods she loved it! (We have determined that in fact Caroline does not like carrots.) At this same age Katie was still on a rice cereal and nursing exclusive diet - what a difference birth order makes.
Caroline is mobile! Yes completely mobile and getting into everything. This little girl became an official crawler, days later began pulling up, and has since become a cruiser ... all within this month! Cara pushes her activity table all over the room like a walker too! It's amazing how quickly she can get to things, and how not baby proofed our house really is. Caroline Josephine also began sitting up on her namesake's, my late grandmother Josephine, birthday! ... it was a special day.
Both girls had new developments in the area of sleep. Caroline's crib mattress was moved down to the middle setting - and not a moment too soon ... about a week later I walked into her room after nap time to find her STANDING! Katie got her big girl bed set up. Mommy finally let go of Katie's baby status and decided to try out the toddler bed. Night #1 was a little rough as Katie discovered she could play instead of sleeping most of the night, but night #2 was a completely different story. Katie quickly settled into her new bed and became a fan of taking her toys into her bed to play during the day. The biggest and best outcome of this change is that Katelyn at all of 2 1/2 years will put herself to bed when she gets tired! Shortly after setting up the toddler bed, influenza swept though our family taking us all down one-by-one ... Katie discovered she could take naps and get up when she felt better. She slept for days and days; taking tons of naps and putting herself to bed early at night! What a blessing this change has been.
In spite of the flu taking us out for over a week we managed to do a lot of activities this month.
*We went to feed the ducks at Campus Lake ... it wasn't easy to lure them to the shore; however, the memorable moment of the day was went Katie noticed what we were using as duck food, "a bread" she exclaimed snatching it out of my hand she devoured it!
*Grandma Gigi and Grandpa Dillard came over to celebrate a belated St. Patrick's Day once we were all healthy. We had corned beef and cabbage, potatoes and Irish soda bread. Katie liked the corned beef the best, and we were proud of her for trying the potatoes and eating a big piece of Irish soda bread. She's really getting much better about trying and eating new foods.
*Cara's new buddy Everett came to visit (with his parents) from California. This was Caroline's 1st real playdate. Our little Cara is quite the social baby and absolutely LOVED playing with her new friend! He's about 6 weeks older and doing ALL the same things she is ... They pulled up on everything together, chewed on toys, crawled together (even racing at times), and had the sweetest baby kiss. Our only regret is that Everett and his family don't live closer to us!
*Our playgroup friends from Book Club came over to read "Green Eggs and Ham"- we made shamrock leaf trees, ate green eggs and shamrock sugar cookies for snack. Katie has been working hard to memorize the book since our club meeting and she did a great job on her shamrock tree!
*As a family we managed to attend two community Easter Egg Hunts this month. In Carterville Katie proved herself as an egg hunting machine and Cara learned how to hunt ... they amassed a total of 30 eggs, the maximum allowed. Katie loved dancing in the bubbles being generated by a bubble machine and playing at the park after the hunt. The girls even managed to pick up an egg that had a token for a free bag of McDonald's French fries as the prize inside. In Carbondale they continued to refine their egg hunting skills; we came home with another load of eggs filled with candy. The highlight of this hunt was the bunny. Katie identified the bunny quickly and ran up to her, ran around her, and ran away ... this routine took place about 10 times and would have continued longer if we had allowed it to. She did eventually allow the bunny to hug her although she could barely contain her excitement!
*Katie has begun peddling her tricycle. She can move ever so slowly, but for very short periods of time she can do it by herself! We have watched the Sesame Street episode where Abby learns to ride her tricycle and I think this has helped inspire Katie. Now - I'd like to find a Dora or Elmo/Abby video about potty training for inspiration (smile).
Watching our girls grow is one of my greatest joys in life! I have been blessed with the chance to witness Katie's spiritual growth which warms my heart in a way I never expected. She has begun referring to her Bible as "Jesus book" she LOVES to look at the pages and "read" it. She will sit and listen to us read it to her for long spans of time. On the 18th I went into Katie's room just be with her while she was laying in bed and heard ... "Jesus ... Amen" so I asked her what she was saying and she responded, "Keep her safe ... Jesus ... Amen" - I think she's starting to get it. The words sounded pretty familiar to me! I feel blessed beyond words to have a child whose life God has so clearly touched and continues to work in daily! I love my Katie and I eagerly await the day I can see God working in Caroline too ... not just protecting and keeping her safe like he already does. Hearing my baby pray really makes me happy!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Month 6
Caroline began a new plan for nutrition at the beginning of this month; peas became a fast favorite for her. Katelyn, on the other hand, confirmed her hatred of peas when she tried a bite of Cara's food exclaiming, "oh, oh NO!" Lunchtime in our household became a lot more fun as Katie and Cara sat side-by-side in their highchairs. I accomplished some pretty intense couponing and exactly one week later Cara began squash, 4 days later green beans, 4 days after that sweet potatoes, more peas, and then the carrots. I'm not entirely sure she likes carrots, but she did eat them.
We celebrated Katie's 4th Miracle Day by thanking God for the amazing blessing he has given us! I couldn't be more thankful to be her Mommy, and I hope she knows that always! Six days later we celebrated Caroline's baby dedication with our church; standing before our church community and proclaiming that "our baby belongs to Jesus"!
The day before Valentine's Day the girls and I went and had Caroline's monthly pictures taken and we even managed to take a few Valentine themed ones with all 3 of us! Katie and I baked some pretty special heart-shaped sugar cookies together. A few days earlier Katie had made her 1st batch of cookies with me. She correctly identified an egg, helped stir the batter, and giggled every time we rolled a ball between her hand and mine. All the cookies we bake together are definitely made with love. The day after Valentines Day Joe and I celebrated TWENTY years since our 1st date.
Cara improved on her ability to sit propped up and crawling her legs forward as the month began ... and steadily progressed to moving her hands, although not quite officially crawling she did complete one full crawl (moving each hand and knee forward one time). By the conclusion of the month she was making her way around the room with a sort of half-crawl seal-like maneuver. Sitting also improved, but she's still a bit wobbly as she tries hard to stabilize. She made her 1st decision Mommy and Daddy cannot control ... she has chosen to sleep on her side. Although I am fearful and want her to sleep on her back, like all the "back to sleep" signs say to prevent SIDS, she is holding onto her decision ... even quite literally as she holds onto the bumper pads for support. Katie made a decision of her own regarding sleep this month - Naptimes are officially over! ... well, as long as she can control it; occasionally she does fall asleep without realizing.
I discovered a new found love of the park ... Katie sometimes falls asleep after some intense climbing, swinging, and sliding. As the weather is beginning to improve with a few unseasonably warm days we have begun walking through our neighborhood - this is working well for my weight loss plan (between the girls and the stroller I'm pushing 110+ pounds). I packed up Caroline's baby swing when I discovered that KATIE was getting more use out of it than Cara; when I wasn't looking of course. Katie spoke her 1st 4 word sentence when on TV the question was asked what an item was and she correctly responded, "That is a banana!" My girl definitely knows her favorite fruit!
Poor Katie had yet another ear infection which makes it sound like she gets them a lot when truthfully this is only number 4 for her lifetime. She does however HATE taking medicine so it's pretty traumatic for everyone involved ... usually, but this time she did GREAT - so proud of her once again! We've continued to battle illness, mostly common cold viruses, and struggled to complete a full night of sleep; but, all-in-all it has been a good month for our family! We have the two most amazing, talented, beautiful, and sweet girls - What more could a Mommy ask for?
We celebrated Katie's 4th Miracle Day by thanking God for the amazing blessing he has given us! I couldn't be more thankful to be her Mommy, and I hope she knows that always! Six days later we celebrated Caroline's baby dedication with our church; standing before our church community and proclaiming that "our baby belongs to Jesus"!
The day before Valentine's Day the girls and I went and had Caroline's monthly pictures taken and we even managed to take a few Valentine themed ones with all 3 of us! Katie and I baked some pretty special heart-shaped sugar cookies together. A few days earlier Katie had made her 1st batch of cookies with me. She correctly identified an egg, helped stir the batter, and giggled every time we rolled a ball between her hand and mine. All the cookies we bake together are definitely made with love. The day after Valentines Day Joe and I celebrated TWENTY years since our 1st date.
Cara improved on her ability to sit propped up and crawling her legs forward as the month began ... and steadily progressed to moving her hands, although not quite officially crawling she did complete one full crawl (moving each hand and knee forward one time). By the conclusion of the month she was making her way around the room with a sort of half-crawl seal-like maneuver. Sitting also improved, but she's still a bit wobbly as she tries hard to stabilize. She made her 1st decision Mommy and Daddy cannot control ... she has chosen to sleep on her side. Although I am fearful and want her to sleep on her back, like all the "back to sleep" signs say to prevent SIDS, she is holding onto her decision ... even quite literally as she holds onto the bumper pads for support. Katie made a decision of her own regarding sleep this month - Naptimes are officially over! ... well, as long as she can control it; occasionally she does fall asleep without realizing.
I discovered a new found love of the park ... Katie sometimes falls asleep after some intense climbing, swinging, and sliding. As the weather is beginning to improve with a few unseasonably warm days we have begun walking through our neighborhood - this is working well for my weight loss plan (between the girls and the stroller I'm pushing 110+ pounds). I packed up Caroline's baby swing when I discovered that KATIE was getting more use out of it than Cara; when I wasn't looking of course. Katie spoke her 1st 4 word sentence when on TV the question was asked what an item was and she correctly responded, "That is a banana!" My girl definitely knows her favorite fruit!
Poor Katie had yet another ear infection which makes it sound like she gets them a lot when truthfully this is only number 4 for her lifetime. She does however HATE taking medicine so it's pretty traumatic for everyone involved ... usually, but this time she did GREAT - so proud of her once again! We've continued to battle illness, mostly common cold viruses, and struggled to complete a full night of sleep; but, all-in-all it has been a good month for our family! We have the two most amazing, talented, beautiful, and sweet girls - What more could a Mommy ask for?
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Happy Valentines Day
I am feeling a little guilty about this ... it's my job to make sure this type of thing doesn't happen. We were at gymnastics, I had my back turned to Cara (helping Katie) ... she was sitting in her infant carrier safely protected from the commotion around us. A little boy just more than 1 year older than her leaned in, and as I turned around I caught him giving her the sweetest gentle kiss on her lips! She smiled back at him ... Caroline has already had her first kiss! At just 5 months of age (on February 10, 2012) ... hopefully this is not an indication of things to come. I thought I was going to lose my mind - I quickly ended the moment by having little 18 month old Levi back up so I could pick my daughter up! I guess these things happen, and although I feel a little guilty I do know it was innocent and sweet ... how precious that I was there to see it.
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