Halloween 2012

The Princess and the Giraffe

We have a sitter!

Such a big girl she is. Olivia is officially an independent sitter. She gets tired after about 2 minutes, but she has so much fun being able to see like we do.

Sisters

My girls are such good sisters. Avery has been shying away from taking photos lately, but the other day she climbed up on the bed with Olivia and said, "My picture us, Mama!" and gave me this cheesy smile.

Princess Pee Pee in the Potty girl

Avery is a big girl now. A couple weeks ago we decided it was time to try potty training Avery. She had shown interest for a few months but I was hesitant to start before Olivia was born for fear of regression once seeing baby sister in diapers So Monday night we went to the store and stocked up on supplies. We already had a little potty, but we got a potty seat for the big potty, some fruit snacks (Avery's most favorite "prize") and about 20 pairs of tiny little underwear.

Tuesday morning we woke up and Avery helped me throw away all her diapers we could find. We were jumping in feet first and not holding on to any lifelines. It's all or nothing.

Tuesday was a huge success. She only had 3 accidents, one of which was Justin's fault for locking the bathroom door when he was in there. She even made it through her first nap diaper-free without so much as a drop! That night she went to bed late and woke up early, but stayed dry the whole night.

The next two days we had a couple accidents, but by the end of day 3 she was fully using the potty for every time. On day 4 we visited Aunt Stacy at work for our first public-potty trial since it's someplace she was familiar with. She used the potty there like a champ. The next day she used the travel potty I bought for the car while we were at the park. By day 6 I concluded she was 100% fully a potty-using big girl. I couldn't be more proud! And grateful not to change as many diapers.

Food!

Since Olivia was about 4 1/2 months old she has been trying to snatch food off our plates or out of our hands. Since she turned 6 months old yesterday we decided to give her a taste of solid food. Just like with Avery we started with avocado, but unlike her big sister she actually seemed to enjoy it. She mostly just smashed it around, but she seemed to like the taste and had a lot of fun playing around with it.

Olivia's first swing!

Olivia rode on her very first swing at a part today. She absolutely loved it and laughed the entire time. It was so fun to watch.

Olivia: 6 months!

Weight: 17lbs 9.5oz
Height: 26.9 in
Head circ.: 17.2 in

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY:

• improve her fine motor skills and begin to feel and turn around small objects in her hands Olivia is so good at this! She especially loves to pick up her paci, turn it around to the right direction and then put it in her mouth. She is so proud when she gets it right!
• say vowel-consonant combinations She just loves talking to herself and blowing raspberries. 
• express unhappiness when a toy is taken away Oh yes. Sister has gotten the wrath of an unhappy Olivia several times. I think it is helping with Avery's sharing because Olivia can express her displeasure when Avery snatches something away. It's really cute because now Avery will usually give it back or give her another toy to play with instead.
• discover herself and "talk" to herself in a mirror We don't really have too many mirrors at baby level, but when she sees herself in our bathroom mirror while we do bathtime she is so fascinated.
• separation anxiety: understand that she’s a separate being and thus develop anxiety when she’s apart from you Luckily I haven't noticed any. She is totally okay with other people holding her or when I leave the room.
• learn to soothe herself by sucking a thumb or using a pacifier Both! She uses her paci if she can find it or her whole hand.
• explore her environment by putting everything into her mouth (since a baby's mouth has more nerve endings and is thus more sensitive than any other part of her body, she uses it to learn more about the world around her) Anything and everything. With a toddler we have to be very diligent in making sure the smaller pieces to Avery's toys are not near Olivia.

Olivia: 25 weeks!

MONTH: 6
WEEK: 25
WEIGHT: 16lbs +
LENGTH: 25in +
HEAD: 42cm +
MILESTONES: Olivia got to swing on her first park swing this week. She LOVES it.
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: Olivia was not too cooperative this week, but she is cute as always.
EATING: This is the last week Olivia is going to be exclusively breastfed. Next week starts real food (in addition, of course)
VISITS/OUTINGS: We have been hitting lots of new parks in town. Olivia and Avery both love it!
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Olivia loves swinging on the swing in the backyard or on the swings at the park with mommy or in the baby swing all by herself.
MOMMY FEELS: Like time is going too fast.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Starting real, big people food!

Month in Photos: September 2012

Olivia: 24 weeks!

MONTH: 6
WEEK: 24
WEIGHT: 16lbs +
LENGTH: 25in +
HEAD: 42cm +
MILESTONES: Nothing major this week
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: Every photo was adorable, but I really liked this one. It's really indicative of her personality. She is very laid back and easy to make laugh.
EATING: Olivia must mean "chow hound" in some other language.
VISITS/OUTINGS: We went to gymnastics for Avery and Olivia loved all the colors of the mats. She even showed off her rolling skills on the soft floor.
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Eating. She loves it.
MOMMY FEELS: blessed. We are so lucky to have two healthy, happy kids and I try not to forget it.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Halloween!

Leavin' on a jet plane...

Last week Avery, Olivia and I took a "vacation". I use the word vacation lightly because who am I kidding? Traveling alone with two kids is no vacation. It would have been easier if Justin could have made the trip with us, but he had to work the days we were going.

For our adventure we traveled by plane to San Diego to watch my little brother, Thomas, graduate boot camp and become a United States Marine. We were able to stay with my sister, Amanda, and her little family. I was even able to finally meet my niece, Penny.

Justin dropped us off at the airport, but after he left us at the tram we had a little trouble getting through security that included a meltdown by Avery and all of our carry on luggage being taken apart, but that's a story for another day. Once we got on the plane both girls were so well behaved and Avery loved the plane. She sat in her carseat next the the window, ate snacks and watched her DVD's like a big girl. She even had some airplane pretzels and said thank you to the flight attendant without being prompted. (My polite little girl!)

Once we arrived Amanda picked us up at the airport and we got all three kids in the car. Good thing she just got a new SUV or we would not have fit! While we were there Avery loved helping Aunt Mandy make dinner and play with her sister and cousin. 

 

On Thursday we were able to go to the depot where Thomas had spent the last 13 weeks and after what seemed like forever we were finally able to see and talk to him. I may have cried. Luckily I rented a stroller because it was so hot none of the kids wanted to walk or even stand while we waited for hours for the drill instructors to release the recruits to their families. As you can see Olivia fell asleep and Avery stole Sophie the Giraffe. I swear that thing can keep even her entertained. Once we got to see Thomas I was so amazing to see how much he had changed, but that he was still the same Thommy we had been missing.

On Friday we attended his graduation where he officially became a Marine. What was normally a 20 minute car ride took us 2 hours and all the kids had meltdowns on the way (Avery worst of all, naturally) but once we got there we got settled in and at least the bleachers were in the shade. It was seriously hot (like 90+ at 10am) but the girls did relatively well. Avery was fascinated with the marching band and tried to march back and forth on the bleachers like they did. Unfortunately there wasn't much room because they were packed! Luckily the ceremony was only about an hour and then we were free to take Thomas with us!

After all that we went to lunch and a miracle occurred. On the 10 minute car ride to the restaurant both my kids fell asleep. I successfully transferred them, still sleeping, to the stroller where they slept for the entire lunch. Luckily Penny was so well behaved in the big girl high chair I was actually able to eat a hot meal and have an adult conversation. It was a amazing.

One of my favorite things was finally getting to meet Penny. Seeing her on Skype is just not the same as snuggling that little peanut in my mommy nook and feeling that full head of hair brush against my cheek when she leans on my shoulder for a baby hug. It was amazing seeing all three cousins play together and the way she and Olivia interacted was just adorable.

All in all it was a stressful "vacation" but one I am glad I took. I wouldn't have missed Thomas's graduation for the world and seeing my sister, meeting Penny and making those memories are a few things I wouldn't have gotten had I not taken the girls. They even got their very first set of wings which are now in their baby books.