I'm supposed to be planning a Birthday Party?

How? How? How is it already time for this?? 

Poor second child syndrome for B. I don't have nearly as many ducks in a row for her Birthday, but I'm sticking to the same theme I used to J's first birthday, so I can't be THAT far behind, right? 

I have so much going on lately and feel so behind, but that doesn't stop our precious Chunk-A-Monk from growing and learning and approaching her First Birthday at the speed of light!
 

She is talking more and more and making some of the most fun noises that I can't help but laugh at and then laugh at myself when I completely fail at my attempt to replicate those noises!
Her vocabulary now consists of:
Hi
Bye Bye
Baby
DooDoo
Doggy
Peppa [I think I win Mommy of the Year with this one!]
Dada
Mama [VERY rare]
Ow
Day Do [Thank You]
 
B is wearing 9 and 12 month clothes, along with 18 month white onesies because that's all we have. Again, poor second child syndrome.
She is still in size 3 diapers and sporting her bottom two teeth only.
She loves to walk while holding your hands, but the second you let go, she either stops her feet and her upper body falls forward, or she squats down and crawls.
 
B loves dancing to music and playing with her big sis. The feeling I get when the two of them are laughing and playing together is indescribable. It is the best thing ever!
 
She's an incredibly happy baby, but is still very attached to her mama! I don't mind a bit!
Her sleep schedule has remained the same....waking up between 6 and 7, nap around 9 or 10 for about an hour and a half, nap again around 2 or 3 for about 40 minutes, and then bedtime around 7.
 
As the weeks go by, my supply is getting harder and harder to maintain. I still pump three times a day at work - 8am, 11am, and 2pm. I'm hoping to make it to next Friday [she'll be 11.5 months] and then I'll start introducing a little bit of goats milk to supplement. I don't have even the slightest concern that she won't take to it. She has already managed to steal several sips of her sissy's milk when it's left lying around. From there, I think my plan will be to drop my 2pm pumping session at work and then drop the 11am session next. When that next will be is still TBD. I am so anxious for the freedom, but at the same time, I don't want to rush it. B is still so baby to me that I'm not ready to stop as soon as I did with J. One thing is for sure though.....everything will fall into place. It always does. So I'm trying not to stress about it. 
This girl LOVES her some green smoothies, almost as much as she loves her milk!

Aside from her milk intake, which is at three bottles of 6 ounces while I'm at work, she still does great eating solid food. Her vegetable intake has slowed as she has found more of what she really likes to taste, but she is still a great eater overall and even know how to blow on her food when it is hot.

I love the mischievousness of a newly mobile toddler. I find her in some of the most random places and it makes me laugh and then contemplate how I'm going to keep her from ever doing it again!

B is such a gentle natured and sensitive one and I love every bit about that. When she lays her head on my shoulder or shys away from people and buries he face in my chest, I melt. I wish she would stay like that forever. 

Even though it's amazing to me that she's almost a year old, I can't wait to see the beautiful little girl that she becomes. Sass and all =o)

We love you Brynnlee Bear! Enjoy your last month before your First Birthday!

33 Months

There is never a dull moment with this spunky gal of ours! 

Between the sass and the cuddles, the laughter and the tears, she's a ball full of love and tenderness. 

The past month was a tough one for me. Bobby spent 11 days in China and my mom kept telling me that kids tend to act out when one parent is away for an extended period of time. I was SO looking forward to Bobby coming home and getting my sweet, obedient, love bug back. But of course, that didn't happen. The button pushing. The whining. The complaining. The refusal to do what I asked her to do. The tantrums. It was bad. It pushed me to my limit. A few times. So even though it did not subside when Bobby got home, I sure was glad to have backup!

On top of the behavioral issues, her use of the potty went down the drain! [At least something was going down there!] There was "accident" after accident. Number one and number two. Nighttime accidents. Daytime accidents. Accidents at the dinner table. Accidents behind the Fisher-Price playhouse. Loads and loads of laundry were being done to keep up. I even threatened to go back to diapers, it got so bad.
 

In hindsight, as J was sprawled across my lap in hysterical laughter the other night, I spotted something. Her last two molars had come through and now it all makes sense! Or maybe I'm just looking for something to blame it on. Either way, it made me feel better. 

In the midst of it all, I made her a Good Job Jar. Something that I'm hoping will drive home more positive reinforcement on behavior and use of the potty. When she fills the jar halfway, she gets to pick out a new toy and when she fills it completely, she gets to go to Build A Bear.

So far, it hasn't been too effective. I'm not sure if it's because she's gotten treats in the past for going potty, or because the nanny started bringing Disney Animal Cookies as potty incentives [ughhhhh - way to kill my strategy!], but more times than not, J wants nothing to do with putting a cork in her jar. [Yes, I'm using wine corks to fill the jar. I'm klassy like that!]

Her sass has dwindled to a minimum and her accidents have cut back a bit, but the jar isn't something she's stoked on just yet. 

Her sleep patterns are still the same, although her nap seems to be inching later and later and she now goes down around 2.

Meal times are a struggle more often than not, lately, but I'm starting to find that she loves eating off of B's tray. Maybe I'll just start making one BIG plate for B and letting them both have at it! ;o)

J is wearing more and more 3T and 4T clothes, but I still come home to see her squeezed into a 24 month or 2T shirt. Poor thing. 

I haven't tried any of her new shoes on her since she's spent the summer in her flip flops and sandals, but I think we might be in luck with them come fall.

J's obsessions as of late include:

the song Beat It by Michael Jackson

watching Max and Ruby

watching Peppa Pig

her little stuffed zebra [aka ZZ]

her stuffed dinosaur [aka Rex]

watching toy product reviews on You Tube [who's child is this??]

eating popscicles made of fruit and spinach

playing outside

playing with Play-Doh

 I keep hearing that age three is even tougher than age two and as J approaches that three year mark, I keep praying that I'm taking the right steps now to lead her down the right path. I know parenthood isn't easy, but hopefully we can set her and us up for success from the get go!

32 Months

Thirty Two Months.

I'm a little late on this one, but not too bad. 

In the past month I have noticed a huge influx of questions. 

What does that mean? 

Why?

Why?

But Why?

But what does that mean?

Why does it mean that?

Huh?

Huh?

But why?

It really is quite comical!

The other night, I was putting J to bed and she was getting a little sassy because I would not let her listen to "song" ONE.MORE.TIME. and our conversation went something like this...

Me: Listen, you're not running the roost here!

J: What's roost, mommy? What's roost mean?

Me: Ummmm, it's kind of like...

J: Chicken roost?

Me (completely shocked): YES! You're exactly right! How did you know that?

J (laughing): Chicken roost! Chicken roost!

Helping Dada and Uncle Seann

Another night, as I was putting her to bed [are you seeing the same trend I am here?], I asked her to cooperate with me, to which she replied, "Mommy, what does ku-op-er-ate mean?"

 I love all the inquisitiveness and even more so, the fact that she isn't just asking. She really wants to learn and understand and will even apply her learnings in future situations. 

Swimming with cousin Bella

 She's still going strong in a size 6 shoe...and yes, I still have a shload of size 6s waiting patiently for her!

I jumped up to some 4T stuff, but it's mainly Old Navy and their clothes shrink up pretty good, so I bought the stuff on the bigger side. At the same time, she is still rocking some of her 2T stuff and of course her 3T stuff as well. 

J's nap and sleep schedule has not changed at all. She might go to bed a tad later than she used to, but that's mainly because it's Bobby's responsibility to put her down when he's home and I think he enjoys the one on one time with her before he puts her to bed. When he isn't home, I get B down and then put J down, so she's up playing on the iPad or watching a cartoon for an extra 20 to 30 minutes. Healthy, I know!

She loves talking about her Birthday party and says that she's going to have cuhcakes and ice creams and presents and a jumpy and balloons.....she's going to have it ALL! I better get to work!

Dress up at Grandma's

She gets just as excited as we do to see B doing new things. The other day, B was pulling up on something and eventually got to a standing position and J started yelling, "Great job, Bwinnlee Bear! You did it!"

While that's about as cute as it comes, she also likes to scold her. Maria taught her how to set up her own little picnic on the playroom floor and she was doing that one day. B saw what was going on and made a beeline for it. She was seconds away from ruining the whole thing. J stuck out her arm and said, "Bwinnlee Ewayne, I told you NO!"

I DIED! D.I.E.D. Died. 

Never a dull moment. Never!

A couple weekends ago, I got a wild hair up my butt and decided that J's room needed a face lift. Ever since we converted her crib to a toddler bed, her room has been empty and bare. On top of that, I've had a room darkening curtain behind her blinds in her window since she started sleeping in her crib.

It needed to come down. That room needed some light.

So I took it down. Her bed also used to be angled in the corner, so I straightened that out, moved a couple other things around, put her canvas boxes back in her little cubby shelf and put out some books.

The first time she saw it, she was blown away.

She started giggling and asking, "How'd you do dat, mommy?"

And for about a week after the "remodel", she would walk into her room, spin around in circles with her hands out to the sides and say, "It's bootiful, mommy! My room is bootiful!"

Her best reaction though, was when I put her down for a nap that day and went to walk out of the room. She stopped me and said, "Turn off the lights, mommy!"

Haha! "The lights ARE off, sweetpea!"

I'm glad she loves her "new" room and can get some new enjoyment out of it's rejuvenation that didn't cost us a penny!

Another Month In the Books

It makes my head spin to think that our first born will be turning THREE in less than five months. Three going on thirteen. 

This past month was full of even more laughs than normal with J. I don't even know how that's possible. I feel like I repeat the same thing in every update post, but the whit that this girl has is unreal. It is so fun to see as she grows and learns and takes in every bit of life that she can on a daily basis. 

She is starting to use her Spanish more and more without prompting and it makes me smile every time I hear it. Her accent is better than mine...but that's not saying much!

She loves playing with her water table in the backyard, with her Little People (especially Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - and she can name them all), and her bed is starting to get a little cramped with her stuffed animal collection that she "must" sleep with. She started with just Monk Monk, her monkey. Then she got a lady bug Dream Lite for Christmas and that hangs out at the foot of her bed and must have the pink light on. Next to join the crew were Tom and Jerry that Grandpa and Memaw gave her when we went to Kentucky. And lastly, Dada brought her a Donald Duck from Orlando on his last business trip. When I got her up from her nap today, she was sitting on her bed, tucking them all in under her blanket and making sure they were nice and comfy. So sweet. 

She's still going strong with her hour nap a day, if not a little longer and she's in bed around 7, sometimes not falling asleep till after 7:30, and wakes up between 6 and 7. 

Potty Training is going great!! About 80% of the times that she uses the potty are prompted by us, but the other 20% is her saying, "I think I have to go poooootty!" with a little smirk on her face. It's hard to tell if she's just playing or not, but we take her anyway and she goes, so we're not complaining. About two weeks ago, we stopped waking her up to take her before we went to bed and she hasn't wet the bed since! I'm so proud of her :)

She's wearing 3T and 4T clothes depending on the brand and I still cannot believe that she's been in a size 6 shoe since I can remember. I have about four or five pair of the cutest shoes in size 7 just waaaaaaiting for her to wear and every time I try them out, they're still HUGE. I'm afraid she's going to blow right past size 7 and jump to 8s when her feet do decide to grow. 

We're still waiting on her last two molars to come through on the top and I don't even want to think about the hellion she'll be when those puppies starting making their way out. I keep hoping that I'm going to look in her mouth one day and they'll just be there.....

Just in the past couple weeks I'm really able to hold conversations with her. My favorite is talking about bad behavior. I feel like she's understanding a bit more and can answer me when I ask why she was put in time out. I don't know if this really helps her to not act out again or not, but it helps me feel like she knows what she did wrong. 

I have heard quite a few parents say that three is even harder than two, so I cringe to see what three brings us, but for now, I'll soak up every bit of this little love that gets smarter and smarter by the second, is full of laughter, smiles, hugs, and kisses, is persistent, and is the best big sister a little sister could ask for. 

We love you thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much Jordo! Thank you for being you!

Eight Months!

These last couple months have made me realize how much I love this stage of babyhood. From about 6 to 9 months is my favorite. This little munchkin is so aware of her surroundings, is so fun to interact with, is so loveable, and is still so dependent on me, but yet she doesn't talk back and she isn't mobile! It's the best of both worlds really. 

She's still only moving backwards when she's left on her belly and will only momentarily pull her legs into get up on her knees. 

Her reaction to me when I have been away from her for an extended period of time makes my heart skip a beat. She gets so excited and gives a little pouty face and whines till I pick her up. Her separation anxiety has really picked up though as well. If I set her down to play so I can make dinner, do laundry, clean up, etc. she throws a little fit as I walk away. A lot of the time she'll get over it after a minute or two, but sometimes she wont calm down until I tend to her. 

B is eating lots of different foods now. I touched on purees for a bit, but have since moved into anything she can gnaw on and break down on her own. It's been so much easier and she has taken to it really well. Some new foods that she has tried are shredded cheese, green beans, black beans, pinto beans, baked beans, toast, hummus, apple, and red bell pepper. She has enjoyed all of these foods, but is always very cautious when taking her first bite of anything.
Her pincer grasp has improved greatly over the past couple weeks as well. I love watching her little hands and fingers working so hard to grab a tiny piece of food and then attempt to find their way into her mouth. Usually after the entire fist has been shoved inside. 

I've been working on getting her to say Mama, but Dada is still winning the race and takes credit for both of her shout outs...dadada and bobobob. 

B has turned into quite the chomper when she gets bored while nursing and if it weren't for the ridiculously adorable smile she beams up at me after she does it, I think I may have taken the boob away from her by now! {Note to self: teach her not to bite before she gets any teeth!}

She is starting to leave a couple ounces in her last bottle when I'm at work, so I'm thinking about cutting back on the amount of milk I'm leaving since she is now eating three meals a day. I've been keeping up with her intake pretty well and am pleased with the volume of my freezer stash, but cutting back on a couple ounces a day would help even more. I'm still pumping three times a day at work, unless I get scheduled in a meeting that conflicts with my pumping time and I haven't been pumping before bed since we went on vacation, but I plan to pick that back up soon. 

That pesky cradle cap is still hanging on strong. I haven't been diligent about using the coconut oil or trying any other remedies and I know I need to.
Whether we do bath before bed or not, I am thoroughly enjoying the special time that we have together, just the two of us, as I put on her jams and get her ready for bed. Her mirrored closet doors make for such fun pictures and I love smooching on her and enjoying every bit of who she is in that moment. Taking in all of her rolls, smiles, her smell, and her soft skin.  

Her sleep is still the same aside from her wake up time getting earlier and earlier. It's not rare for her to be awake before I head to work at 6:30 or shortly after.

Naps are still crappy at about 20 to 40 minutes and it never seems to fail that she will take a long nap (anything over an hour) when I'm expecting her to wake up so we can go somewhere or do something. 

I look forward to B learning to crawl and do new things, but I'm in no hurry. I truly, truly love this stage!!

My sweet and sensitive Brynnlee Bear, 

Words cannot describe the love that I feel for you. Watching you take in the world around you is amazing and so rewarding to me. I wouldn't mind one bit if you could slow your roll toward your first birthday. I can wait awhile, I promise. Keep sharing your infectious smile with everyone you meet and your loving, tender heart will be admired by all. 

I love you THIIIIIIIIS much, sweet pea! 

7 Months

 I swear I hit the baby lottery. We had our rough patch with the sleeping bit, but really, I know it wasn't that rough. I know that there are babies out there that sleep much less than B ever did. And now that she's sleeping??? This girl is so mellow. So easy going. So...dare I say it...EASY! I feel like I've had two easy babes in a row and I don't even want to think about what a third would be like. We're due for a wild ride, huh? 

Aside from that, B has been up to a lot in the past month. She's sitting up by herself so well now and has even graduated to sitting in shopping carts! This mama is LOVING it! Random shopping trips are so much easier now. 

Hey, mama! I have a secret...

I blew out my diaper in the shopping cart!!

Just in the past few days, she started making progress with crawling. I call this the Millimeter Worm (Instead of the Inch Worm, get it?) Ok, enough bad jokes for one post.
 

We haven't made much movement in her clothes. Mainly because I don't really have any footy jams for her in 9 month, it's still not warm enough to go without, and she pulls her socks off in the middle of the night.

She has now experienced the taste of avocado, lima beans, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, zucchini, banana, and I got her these organic puffs that are kale, broccoli, and cheddar and she goes to town on those.

 
 Her overall feeling about the taste of food is not very enthusiastic. Her first taste of everything elicits a response like this..

  

I mixed some avocado and banana the other night and after giving me the face, she was whining for more. And more. And more. Guess she liked that!
After moving to solids, I noticed that she was having more trouble pooping for a while, so I also introduced her to a sippy cup with water. While a good portion of the water ends up on her clothes, she thoroughly enjoys it and does a great job handling the cup on her own.
 

She has also managed to perfect her timing with sneezing while she's eating. Mama looooves getting sprayed with food! Grrrr!

You know what else mama loves? Cleaning up puke at 1 in the morning. I am actually surprised this hadn't happened sooner. Like, with J. However, I can honestly say that this being my first experience with a baby throwing up in their crib, it wasn't too horrible. The smell was the worst part. Sorry for the TMI. Other than that, I could tell she was feeling fine (must have been a fluke??) and I enjoyed getting to comfort her, bathe her, and enjoy that sweet little face in the middle of the night with no other distractions, but knowing we both needed to get back to bed.

Hey, mama, these middle of the night parties are a blast!

Another first came this past month and B came down with a virus called Roseola. The nanny had texted me while I was on my way home from work the Thursday before Easter and said she had a fever of 100.2. When I got home, she was very warm and I could tell she didn't feel well. I got a cold rag to put on her forehead and got comfy on the couch with her and let her nurse herself to sleep. She took about an hour nap and seemed a bit better, but was still warm. We went about our night as usual and she slept just fine. Luckily, I had Good Friday off, and she woke up acting completely normal, but as the morning went on, I could tell she was still droopy eyed and not her normal self. The fever was gone, but she he had periods of agitation, where you could tell something was really bugging her, and then she would go back to normal. Saturday was spent in La Jolla watching my cousin Georgie play soccer and as the day went on, B was getting more and more irritable. My mom pointed out some red splotches on the back of her neck and I thought nothing of it. I've seen that before after she's been in her carseat or laying down. A bit later, it seemed as if it was spread across her forehead, into her scalp, and a little below her eyes. I finally decided not to worry myself any longer and we packed up and decided to head to the doctor. I called on our way and they had just closed for the day, so I left a message for the on call nurse to call me back. When she had heard B's symptoms, there was no hesitation at all and she said it sounded like Roseola. There is nothing that can be or needs to be done. The rash just has to run its course. She welcomed me to come in the next morning, but she assured me that it really wasn't necessary unless B was having trouble breathing or if her temp spiked again. So, we rode it out and when she woke up Sunday, she was still not 100%, but was close to it. By Monday, the rash was completely gone and I had my happy baby back!

Oh and Mother of the Year Award....that goes to me. Not because I took great care of my sick babe, but because we sat out in overcast weather without sunscreen or hats and SHOCKER, both girls got sun burnt. J's wasn't so bad, just some pink cheeks, but when B woke up Sunday morning, the edge of her scalp was all bubbled up and oozing. Ughhh, I still feel horrible about it. 

Her poor head a few days in. A lot of healing had already taken place.

After she had fully recovered from being sick, I got her back sleeping through the night (had a few nights of feedings around midnight) and she's sleeping from about 7 pm to 7 or 8 am. She will still wake on occasion, but she puts herself back to sleep.  For naps we seem to be getting one long-ish nap - and by long-ish, I'm talking an hour - and one or two 30 to 45 minute naps. 

In the past month she has started using me as a teether while she's nursing and it drives me nuts! She will nurse, nurse, nurse and then decide it's play time and chew, chew, chew! Mama don't play that!

Speaking of nursing...aside from the pure excitement and joy that she shows me when I get home from work, she also wants to nurse right away. Not a full meal, but she gets a little snack in and then she's golden.

When J was about this age, we used to sing the ABC's to her to calm her down. With B, she likes BINGO. She will go from crying and upset to wide eyed and smiley the second she hears me start singing it.

These hotel beds are amazeballs, mom!

Sun bathing beauty

You stay away from my milk stash, ya hear?

Lovin' the new wheels, mom!

I'm too sexy for my clothes. Too sexy for my clothes...