With the craziness of our life and the last two months... I am really behind. Lately, I feel like I can't catch my breath - two birthdays, company from out of town, starting pre-k, a family vacation, running some tests while we investigate some issues with one kid, talking on the phone to doctors about issues and upcoming surgeries, sick kids, adding in extra therapies for Ellie (who already has a full schedule), steam cleaning my floors (it's what I do when I'm stressed or having an emotional day- my floors have never been so clean as they've been these last 3 weeks), trying to keep up with life in general... it's just been busy.
So - I completely let the ball drop on the birthday updates.
Oops.
Someday, when I get around to printing this thing out & my kids see it (at the rate I'm going, I'll be in a nursing home by then) I hope they forgive me for my tardiness. :)
Ellie at 12 months (8/17/2011):
Height: 27 3/4" (7%)
Weight: 18 lbs, 1 oz (4%)
(tiny thing)
She has 5 teeth. We think her snaggle tooth is very cute - very Lauren Hutton.
(By thirteen months, she had added 5 more. She's been busy lately. She has not been sleeping until this week.)
She rolls everywhere. She is fast and has figured out how to pivot her rolling somewhat to get toys.
She can sit up but not without assistance to get into the sit yet. She is so so so close to independently getting to a sit. (I can't wait! We've been working out those abs hard!)
She is right hand dominant.
She throws herself gently from a sit to rolling but gets frustrated when she wants to back in a sit.
She tolerates and sometimes enjoys standing in her walker toys or play gym.
She loves baby dolls and I often find her after a nap with her arms wrapped around a baby doll.
She likes a few dolls in bed with her along with a bunny and her pink gigi.
She does not like hair bows. I'm more of a teeny tiny hair clip kind of mama but she manages to get those little things out of her hair everytime. I have quite a collection in the console of my car - we rarely make it out of the carseat with the hair clip still in. How do you mamas of girls keep bows and clips in your baby's hair?
(However - yay that Ellie can get those out of her hair! With dislocated shoulders, reaching up is always a victory & manipulating her fingers with tiny clips?! Awesome!)
She takes two naps a day if she can. On therapy days, this isn't always possible but she's still good natured and does well making it til 2pm for her afternoon nap. Her morning nap is about an hour and her afternoon nap is 2-3 hours. She is a very content baby and doesn't seem to mind the irregular days due to therapies or Dallas trips. She is an awesome napper & goes down quickly and for a long time! I love nap time & am so thankful for two good nappers!
She goes to bed by 8:30 - usually.
She loves to eat. She will often eat Will's leftovers!
Ellie loves yogurt, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, peanut butter, birthday cake icing, pears, apples, cantaloupe, watermelon, turkey, ham, cheese, green beans, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, salmon, tilapia, mahi mahi, pork tenderloin, new potatoes, zucchini, crusty bread, macaroni, pasta, spaghetti, cherry tomatoes, oatmeal raisin cookies, and more
She tolerates but does not love and won't eat much of: asparagus, cheese that is not American or cheddar, russet potatoes, broccoli, oranges, grapes, kiwi, avocado
She loves to feed herself and was very easy to transition to table foods. (It seemed easier this time around. Maybe I've forgotten or maybe I just made things a big deal with Will. Maybe because I held off so long on introducing solid food so she was only it for a little while? Not sure but goodness this was easy.)
She nurses still 4-5 x/day. I love breastfeeding this baby & we have no intention of quitting anytime soon. People ask me lately how long I'll go for - not sure... but I don't see any reason to quit before the next birthday. It's a good experience for both of us - nothing better than seeing those precious blue eyes looking at me and the way she plays with my hair - or her own when she can't reach mine. She often gives herself a Bieber style by the time she is finished.
Ellie is a fast nurser and for our lifestyle, it's so convenient. So - yes, still happily nursing.:)
By 12 months, she will drink sips of water from a cup. She prefers a regular cup rather than a sippy or straw cup. (By 13 months, she will sip milk from a straw cup.)
She has hardly slept through the night since before the spica cast. Don't know what this is about - routine of cast care during spica season became a habit? Transition with moving? Teeth?
Don't know but it seems to be over and yay for better sleep!
She gives kisses and hugs. Love them.
She says "da da." She has also said "hi," "all done," & "doggie."
She babbles a lot - especially when her big brother is not around.
She has a very high pitched voice.
She squeals. Loudly!
She loves bathtime with her big brother.
She adores her big brother.
She loves to play catch.
She loves loves loves to be outside and in her swings.
She cracks us up with her funny faces.
She has lots of nicknames.
She bring us indescribable joy. We are thankful for every minute we get with our Ellie girl.
Will at age 4 (8/30/2011):
Height: 36" (2%)
Weight: 29 lbs (4%)
Yes, apparently I have tiny kids.
We are concerned about Will's growth - specifically his height - he is off the growth curves. We've actually been monitoring this for 3 years as we've seen some indicators of slow growth. We are running tests & investigating to figure out what is going on.
Back to the four year old:
He is very active. He loves running and soccer and baseball and climbing and bike riding (although technically that didn't happen til he turned four.)
He loves pretend play. He is most often playing the role of: Super Will, Batman, Superman, Cowboy Will, Pirate/Captain Will, & Ranger Will. However, he is sometimes a soldier, a doctor, Buzz Lightyear, or various animals.
When pretending, he takes his character very seriously - changing up his voice, his vocabulary, and his actions to match the character. It can be high drama in our house.
He loves to read and has mastered a lot of sight words. He is anxious to read entire books on his own. (He's memorized a few.)
He loves to be read to and he especially loves stories. Lately, he's been a bit dictatorial about what the made up stories should be about.
He takes a good nap daily - 2.5 hours. Ahhhhh - I love nap time. Mama needs a little bit of quiet every day.
Tantrums. Definitely saw more of these in the 3's than I ever did in the 2's. Thankfully, in the 4's it's looking better.
Tantrums. Definitely saw more of these in the 3's than I ever did in the 2's. Thankfully, in the 4's it's looking better.
He can play for hours on his own - setting up elaborate cities for his cars or superheroes. In fact, he spends most of his time setting up the scene. He also spends a great deal of time rearranging the scene and the characters as he plays.
He changes voices while playing different characters and his pretend conversations crack me up as I eavesdrop.
He has some opinions on clothes now. (Mostly because he thinks that his shirt might determine his pretend play for the day.)
He can dress himself except for the shirt.
When he is awake, he is talking or singing. He talks to himself. He talks to his toys. He talks to me. He talks a lot. I really like talking to him - he is actually a very good conversationalist.
(Admittedly, I do enjoy the pure quiet of naptime, however.)
He is very curious and has lots of questions. He says "why" a lot.
When he is awake, he is talking or singing. He talks to himself. He talks to his toys. He talks to me. He talks a lot. I really like talking to him - he is actually a very good conversationalist.
(Admittedly, I do enjoy the pure quiet of naptime, however.)
He is very curious and has lots of questions. He says "why" a lot.
He loves bathtime & tolerates his sister in the bath.
He loves people and gets excited when he can meet new people.
Still has curly blonde hair - I get nervous with every hair cut but it always comes back curly! Although it is less tight ringlet now and more big curls in the back and sides.
He has the most contagious laugh I have ever heard.
He loves music - especially his playlist on my ipod.
He sings all the time. All the time. He makes up songs and mostly they are really cute.
Recently, he was singing to Ellie while she was crying in the car - reassuring her that it was okay - he's beside her and he loves her... even though he doesn't get as much attention now that she is here. Yes, that was part of the song.
He still cuddles with me and I love it.
He eats to survive. Not a big eater (quantity) but he does love a good variety - crunch asparagus (roasted), green beans, sweet potatoes, new potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, pears, apples, salmon, catfish (yuck), tilapia, mahi mahi, pretzels, watermelon, slushies from Sonic, lemonade (not before nap or else I'll be changing sheets), mac and cheese, cookies, spaghetti, chocolate, ground turkey, and more.
The day he turned four, he got to try bubble gum for the first time. I went to the candy store and was so prepared for the big day with a variety of gum plus I pulled out a bubble gum machine I'd been saving for years and filled that up.
He hates gum.
He has had a lot of horrible growing pains this year. Since he is missing some bones to be able to flex feet, it's hard for him to work them out on his own... which means I'm up in the middle of the night with him as he sobs. It's heartbreaking. This has been a big year for growing pains it seems.
He loves to fly.
He loves his friends. He loves his family.
He dances a lot.
He loves Veggie Tales & Wild Kratz.
He gave up his bop.
He still knows a few Spanish words/phrases.
He sleeps with his gigi, his pirate baby sock monkey, his bunny, and an assortment of random stuffed animals, Wally the Green Monster, and a few cars or superheroes
He has a favorite corner of his gigi that he rubs as he falls asleep. He apparently has a favorite finger too as he recently informed me.
He too is very flexible with his routine (as long as he gets a nap somewhere.)
He prays alot out loud and it is precious - I love listening to his questions to God - usually about Heaven.
He asks a lot of questions about his differences.
He has an incredible memory.
He has memorized a lot of Bible verses (love our new church's preschool curriculum for Sunday School.)
He loves to play wrestle mania with his daddy.
He loves to cuddle his mommy.
No one has ever made me laugh as hard as he can.
I love this boy & still can't believe he is FOUR!
(ps- I did an interview with him on his birthday. But I lost it. So I'll try to find it soon in my pile of random papers I brought in from the car this weekend and post.)
(& now - back to life... but at least I've recorded at last where they were at on their birthdays. I'll hopefully be posting Ellie's 14 mt update soon - & she's changed a lot in the last 2 months.!)
3 thoughts:
Great updates!
I saw that Will likes talking about Heaven.
Have you ever seen this book?
http://www.amazon.com/Theres-Party-Heaven-Gary-Bower/dp/0970462182/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1318246540&sr=8-2
It's called "In Heaven". I received it as a gift at a special need Christian mom confrence I attended last year. It's got some really great lines. I was going to quote them and of course I can't find it now.
I shall return.
I found it. The book is actually titled "there's a party in Heaven". this is my favorite part
"there's no need for hearing aids, glasses, and such. We'll all have the healing we've longed for so much. i won't see one shot needle, wheelchair or crutch in Heaven"
It's taken for 1 Corinthians 15:43.
Pay no attention for the amount of time between posts. Or if you do, just believe that I was eating bonbons or something like that. It's not like I couldn't find the book or something like that.
Wow. I could be reading about my son here. He has a lot of same interests. My guy does the same elaborate scene set ups and lots of pretend play (he even had the neighbors convinced on day --they called the police because they heard a child pleading for help--he was pretending to be shot). He loves to pretend to be all characters since he can't find sidekicks and bad guys so he does lots of voices. At 4 my guy was also 36" and 29lb! At 6 he's 45" and 38lbs which people say is small but he looks so big! I'm short though so maybe it's just me.
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