Words and Teeth and Measurements, Oh MY!

Nora is 9 months old (and some change).  Holy smokes.  Time's flying, and I'm trying to start her birthday party planning because I know it's going to creep up on me.


Nora's favorite things:
- finger foods; she is not very interested in purees
- cords, and outlets, and small choking hazzards
- pulling Joseph's hair
- patty cake
- being tossed in the air
- YELLING LOUDLY

New and exciting things:

- Dada and Mama: Nora started saying Dada last week and meant it!  And she started saying Mama yesterday.  Woo hoo!  It's freaking adorable (even at 2am)

- Teeth!  She's sort of up to 6 (one was out but I think it swelled back in - poor baby!)  She has 4 on top and 2 on the bottom

- Crawling - yes, I did document the day, but she's quite proficient now and can go where she needs to.  Last week she was getting stuck under the couch and such by pushing herself backwards, but she seems to be able to maneuver now

- Pediatrician: We had her 9mo appointment, and she's looking great!  here are the stats:

Weight: 16lb 4oz (10%)
Height: 27.75" (50%)
Head Circ: 44cm (50%)

She's started doing this "party time" wake up at night, which is NOT CUTE.  Neither of my babies have ever been stellar at staying asleep at night, but at least Joseph always went right back to sleep after nursing.  Ever since Nora learned to sit up by herself, she will wake up and want to have a dance party.  The only way to get her back to sleep is if she is actively nursing.  I'm all for night time parenting, but even I draw the line at nursing for 7 hours straight.  Sorry kid.  So we've had some long nights lately and I'm ready to figure this out.  I might try motrin tonight in case it's teething related.

Photo:

She's got, Personality!

Wow, this week Nora really has turned on the charm!  She's started making these super-adorable baby girl noises. (I remember them from my mom's group baby girls - I was always amazed at their sweet little voices!)  She's sitting up safely now, and loves to lunge for stuff already.  I'm nervous that my baby "golden age" is going to be short this time around!  We went out to dinner tonight and she sat in the high chair by herself, and last week she rode in the grocery cart for the first time!  I can't believe how she's growing.

Joseph seems to have turned a corner the last few days, too (knock on wood).  Tonight he went to Nora and gave her a hug and kiss - on his own.  For no reason.  Multiple times.  Baffling.  And wonderful.  I hoe this lasts for at least a few days.  Ha!

By the way, Joseph's manners are improving, too.  He's doing a lot better with not whining while asking for things, uses please and thank you without prompting often now, and was super well behaved out at dinner.  We've never had too much trouble with him, but I can really see the improvement in his behavior after the last few weeks of horribleness!

<3 my babies!

Sitting Up!

Nora started sitting on her own for a few seconds 2 days ago, but I thought it was a fluke so I didn't post anything about it.  Well, she's done it a few times every day now - for just 3-5 seconds - but that's how it starts!  She hasn't done a "tripod" yet, so I'm not sure what that means... can't remember if that comes later or not.  She doesn't seem to have the affinity for keeping her arms up and out like Joseph did, prefering to rely upon sheer brute core strength, I guess!

I'll try to get a pic/video this weekend when I have another set of adult hands.  It's not a one-man operation yet.

Goodness Me, Joseph is Three!

Yes, my little man is THREE!  This is the first "holiday" he's really understood, and I owe that to preschool.  Several of the kids have had their birthdays in the last 2 months, so Joseph was VERY excited to be the one getting sung to and getting to hand out his gifts to his friends (play doh).

We started out the morning by going in to Joseph's room to sing happy birthday when he woke up.  He got out of bed and crawled under it while we sang!  I guess we weren't that great.

Then he had the first of many temper tantrums about Nora "being loud".  It's a major issue in our household as of late.  Unfortunately, I can't make a baby be quiet, and I apparently can't keep Joseph from dissolving into tears, either!  Sometimes Mama can't win.

Anyway, we'd forgotten one of Joseph's presents at Christmas (it was hiding a little TOO well in a closet) so we had that out for him when he got downstairs.  He was pretty excited to see "big Thomas".

He also got to open a few presents we'd received by mail before school, which was very exciting for him.  He loved them

After school, it was time for more tantrums (yey!), lunch, and a nap.  While he slept, we brought up his toy kitchen from the basement (that I bought on craigslist and painted "stainless" and brown from pastels!) and I put a bunch of the accessories in (to avoid having MORE presents to wrap up - Ha!  Note the present wrapped in Christmas paper... that was all me.

Joseph luckily woke up in a better mood, and loved his kitchen.  Made all the work worth it.  We had TJ's parents, Godparents, and Grandma over for pizza and cupcakes, and Joseph loved being the center of attention.  He was amazed when I turned out the lights and brought out his cake with 3 candles lighting the way!

It was a pretty wonderful day all around.  Joseph's becoming more articulate every day, and says all sorts of funny things.  He uses a lot of big words, mostly adjectives like "wonderful", "properly", "beautiful", and more I can't think of in my exhausted haze.  He's a sensitive, caring, and well mannered little guy, and we're so so lucky to have him.

She Moves, She moves!

Oh Ricky Martin, you are so right.

Nora started rolling the other day!  I put it on Facebook, but I need to get better about keeping up here - as this is "permanent". 

You can see her in action here

She can scoot around on her back pretty well, too apparently.  I put her under her baby gym - and this is where she was when I looked back a few minutes later:

Also note sock and toy placement. :)

After I uploaded the pic she'd made it all the way to the hardwoods.  Crazy girl.

Her 4mo appointment is coming up on Friday - get excited!  Ha!

Our first "conversation"

Yesterday, Joseph woke up from his nap and Nora was still asleep.  Joseph has been waking up pretty grouchy lately, and likes to snuggle for a while, so I took him into my bed.  We snuggled and I started asking him about school.  He never really says much about it, but this time I took a "what happened next" tactic starting from when he took his coat off.  He told me about several things that he did in his day that way!  It was the first "conversation" I think we've ever had.  Sure, he talks a lot and we say things to each other, but this was back-and-forth sustained talking.  It made me so happy!

Oh, and Nora is *almost* laughing now - I took her to her first baby storytime during preschool yesterday morning which she seemed to enjoy well enough, and we read a book together and did some songs last night while T.J. and Joseph played upstairs.  It was fun to be in the "baby" stage again for that short while.

I'm feeling very lucky lately!

Nora is 3 months old!

Well, 4 days ago.  Never fear, dear readers - I did in fact get pictures of her on the exact day!

Notable things about this time of Nora's life:

- She's got a loose "bedtime" around 9:30 I've been putting her in her cosleeper upstairs with mixed success (about 50/50 now).  She usually tanks up before then (nursing up to 2-3 hours straight) and then sleeps until 4am.  Best.baby.ever.  It probably helps that the girl has to live on catnaps between errands and Joseph's banshee-like behavior when he's awake and not at school!

- Reaching for objects.  She can grab, hold, and put things into her mouth, now!  On her actual 3mo "birthday" she started grabbing for toys and holding them for a second.  Over the last four days the skill has exploded and today she grabbed, held, and then brought a toy to her mouth for exploration!  (Video to come - check out smugmug.)

- She also often leads with her mouth, though.  It's so hilarious to watch her try to suck whatever she sees in without her hands!  Today it was her hat.

- Interacting with Joseph: Goodness those two already love each other dearly!  Joseph tries (and succeeds) to make her smile all the time.  They love to look at each other.  I cannot wait for her to become more interactive with him!

- Strong preference for Mama.  Unfortunately for me!  I did get a double-electric pump, and I'm trying to get committed to using it so that I could... you know... go somewhere ALONE (or even with my husband) for more than 1.5 hours.  But right now she cries for about an hour of that time anyway, so I'm trying to accept my lot.  At least I know it's not forever this time, since Joseph is a blooming independent!

- Super slobber.  I don't see any sign of teeth (how could we be talking about teeth already?!?  Where does the time go?) but goodness she's a drool machine.

Without further adieu, here's Nora!

Sometimes, no news is good news

Even the first born milestones take a back seat if they don't make a big show about it...

Joseph got all of his molars!  I did notice several months ago that one was starting to come in, but after that I'd only sort of half-heartedly look for them (it's not that easy to peek that far back in a toddler's mouth - and I'd hate to waste the cooperative time without a toothbrush in there!).  Well, tonight I asked Daddy to count, and he has all 20 teeth!  Either they came in easy, or we attributed the problems to something else.  I do remember him having a fever once (maybe right after Nora was born?)... but that's about it!

We're done with baby teeth for a month or so, and then we can start the process again! Ha!

Molars

Last night while brushing Joseph's teeth, I discovered the tip of one of his 2-year molars!  He's been drooling for months, and I've been watching for them, but no dice until now.  The other three are still in hiding, but I'm sure at least the other bottom tooth will come through relatively shortly.

Not sure if this explains some of his behavior lately... there is so much going on with the new baby, his teeth, moving stress (which he doesn't understand but I'm sure he picks up on) and general 2-year-old-ness, that it's just impossible to pick out what the problem is most days.  He usually has anywhere from 1-5 meltdowns in a day that are mostly inexplicable.  He'll never tell me what is wrong, which makes me think that he doesn't know!  We just wait it out and after a few minutes of crying he generally comes for a hug and says that he's all done.  Poor little guy.

Maybe once the molars are in at least he won't have physical pain along with all of this emotional growth to deal with.

The Owl Goes Hoo Hoo!

T.J. reported that Joseph woke up speaking in full sentences today (I wouldn't know - since he woke up FOUR times last night I was completely spent by morning). The big winner of the first full sentence award goes to:

The owl goes hoo hoo.

::golf clap::

Officially 2nd Trimester!

Can you believe that I almost missed it? I just looked at the ticker.

Second babies are funny. I do think about the fact that I'm pregnant a lot (the burgeoning belly is a constant reminder), and about the baby itself, but the "milestones" are kind of a blip on the radar.

I think it's going to start feeling more "real" soon, though. I've been feeling weird sensations in my belly the last few days. I'm not a big believer that you can feel something that weighs an ounce, but it kind of feels like there is a bunch of water sloshing around. Which, well, there is. And the baby is the one sloshing. No kicks yet, though.

1, 2, 3...

After two years of carrying Joseph up and down the two flights of stairs to our apartment, I realized that at some point I have to let him practice so he can get up and down it himself in a timely manner. If anyone has practiced such a thing, you know that it takes for-e-ver to get a toddler up a flight of stairs, much less two. In order to hasten the activity, I thought maybe if I counted the steps it'd entice him to keep going.

Well, it sort of worked, and it turns out that he can count to 10! When did that happen? We've been reading lots of counting books, lately, but he generally doesn't say the numbers (besides maybe one, two, and three) so as we got up to 8 and 9 I was truly amazed!

It's fun to be surprised by him.

Weaned

Well, Joseph weaned himself yesterday. I'm pretty sure it's for good - he looked at me like I'd grown a second head when I offered yesterday and today!

I'm a little sad, but mostly OK with it. I was going through some phases where I felt a bit "rejected" by the whole process, but he obviously still loves and needs his mama, so there is nothing to be upset about. It's just the last little shred of his babyhood.

He is two now, and we got through another winter without getting sick, so there is pretty much nothing to regret. I'm also happy for him that he was able to wean on his own time and I didn't have to force it on him. I know lots of women find that difficult.

Goodbye baby, hello big boy!

Joseph is 2!

And he likes it!

We had a nice party for him with a few of his friends yesterday, and opened presents last night with just the three of us. We had so much fun playing with the ones he got from family that we forgot to bust out his big present - a balance bike! So we showed him this morning, and he was stoked until he fell over. Now he is "all done" when he sees it. Figures, eh? I'm letting him get used to it in his own time.

Notable notes at this 2 year mark:
- I did cry putting him to bed the night before his birthday
- He says a lot of things and I understand most of it, so long as he is talking about something I can see.
- He sleeps all night (woo hoo!); about 10-11 hours.
- He does not pee in the potty (boo hoo!)
- He has all of his teeth except his 2 year molars (which are coming - he's a drool machine)
- He's super well mannered, and fun to play with
- He's had about 11-billionty hair cuts
- He loves to sing and dance and play with his new instruments
- The only veggies he eats are peas and carrots. Thank goodness for gummy vitamins
- He's self-weaning and is down to nursing for a few minutes when he wakes up. I think he'll be done in the next week.
- He's so handsome in his sweater vests - totally pulls it off. ;)

Here are some photos of the day:

One giant leap for Momkind

Can I even tell you how awesome the last week has been? Not only is my child sleeping past 6am, he's been hovering closer to 7am!!! This is the equivalent to being able to sleep in till noon in my house.

And the words! Every day we get one, two, three or more new ones! Yesterday he just started repeating words I'd tell him (mouse, orange). Explosion. Awesome. Really.

I'm pretty sure the sleep thing is related to the word thing. The last time we had a huge sleep leap forward was when he started walking. He's very sensitive to developmental milestones, I suppose.

Oh, and he got a hair cut, too.

Deuce!

#2 - in the toilet!

One less diaper to wash out. Oh my, I am so happy. Yey Joseph for going on the potty!

Chatter

Words are starting to come fast and furious! I've added a little area on the right of the blog to help keep track. I'll update there when I can.

More Words!

Joseph had been "taking a break" from words and sounds the last couple of months, but he's been making some strides the last couple of days. I guess he was just busy learning to run and misbehave. Ha!

He's been making a lot more different (unintelligible) sounds lately, and today he said "more" for the first time!

He also used his "all done" sign at the playground today when he was done swinging - the first time I've seen him use it in a non-highchair situation.

Very proud of my little bear!

Understanding Language

Joseph just *gets* so much lately. He can put his shoes away and bring them to me to put on for him, he also gets my shoes if I'm taking too long! He passed me his water the other day in the car because I forgot mine. What a sweetie! He (generally) will come over when I have a clean diaper for him, and sometimes will make a "tssss" sound when we change the diaper. I hope that's the first step toward potty learning. Haha!

He's also a reasonable listener. He will generally stop if I ask him to when we're out and about. Not that I trust him. But it's still cool. And he seems to understand that he can either hold my hand in parking lots or be carried. He doesn't usually like holding my hand unless he wants help up and down curbs, but he submits to it when I remind him of the options.

He can point to his nose, eyes, mouth, belly, and toes now. He loves to wink and look at you from the corners of his eyes.

He doesn't say too much, but he sure does know a lot! Time to start watching my words!

Words!

Joseph's language is really starting to develop! Here are all the "words" he uses (I use the term word pretty loosely):

Hi
Yeah
Da da
Ma ma
Ball (comes out Bah-ah)
Dog (oof-oof)
Cat (mwaow)
Sheep (ba)
Duck (duh)
No (only used once, thank goodness!)

Apparently sounds count for animals, which is why I am counting all of those! He doesn't always use his words, but I'm certain he's used all of these at some point or another in the last few weeks! TEN words... I'm so proud! He only had one word at his 15 month appointment a couple of months ago.