July Randoms

A wrap up of our month:

July 2 - A playdate at the Bulverde park with Grace and Jacob.  The little splash pad was big fun!


The last swim lesson at Aqua Tots!  It was a lot of fun, but we decided to take a break for awhile.


July 4 - For our trip to Dallas, I got each kid a book (Frozen for Claire and a dragon guide to How to Train Your Dragon for Will) along with the Dragon movie.  Will immediately became obsessed with the book and can now recite the entire thing from memory - and it's a Level 2, so it's not short.


July 15 - We got a lot of rain today, and when I got home from picking up the kids from their summer fun program, I noticed that all 3 of our garbage cans had rolled down the hill.  Fortunately a service truck at the neighbor's house stopped them from going all the way down the street!


July 26 - We are getting ready to have the interior of our house repainted, so Claire and I found some bedding that we both liked before we repaint.  We are both excited to see the final result soon.


July 29 - This evening I let the kids play with their new water guns.  Will really liked spraying himself - silly kid!


July 30 - We went up to Bulverde this morning to drop off some meals for a fellow MOPS member who just had a baby, so it was a good chance for us to play at the splash pad at the local park.  Claire and Will had so much fun in the water - beautiful day!

Bye Bye Baby Teeth!

Last summer Claire had her first lost tooth and lost another one shortly after, but she hadn't had any more loose teeth until last week.  Last Monday night (June 21st), she told me one was loose, so we'd started keeping an eye on it.  When I picked her up from summer program on Tuesday, she told me it was really loose.  I said "Do you want me to try to pull it for you?"  She said "I'll try it.  Oh!  There it is!"


The matching one on the other side came out a few days later.

Robert and I had been talking about setting up a consultation with another dentist to check her two front top teeth.  They've always been small, and since her bottom two permanent teeth came in last year, they'd really worn down the two top ones.  Then yesterday she got a funny look on her face and told me she had another loose tooth.  I checked, and both of her front teeth were wiggling.  Finally!

Today she couldn't stop wiggling one of them.  I checked this morning, and it wasn't budging easily, so I suggested leaving it alone for awhile.  That advice was ignored.  :)  The kids went over to my parents house for a couple of hours this afternoon while I took care of some volunteer stuff, and on our way home, she told me she was going to pull it.  I was driving and couldn't stop her - I heard "Ow! Ow! Ow!  There it is!"  She may be little, but she is tough and brave!


Three teeth gone in 8 days.  I love her little Jack O Lantern grin!

Diaper Free!

If you don't have kids or aren't comfortable with preschooler bathroom stuff, feel free to skip this post.  :)

Will is potty trained!  There are no more diapers in our house!

In early May, I started putting him in Pull Ups to practice pulling pants up and down and sitting on the potty, and one day I realized that he was dry almost every time I took him to try.  After a few more days of keeping the Pull Up mostly dry, we tried underwear...



...and he did great!  We rarely had more than a couple of accidents a day that first week, and then he quickly got it - mostly.  It took another 5-6 weeks to get comfortable with the "#2" part of potty training, but we kept at it, and he figured it out - and finally got the promised bowl of ice cream.



Since then, it has been smooth sailing.  He rarely has accidents, and it was so much better than I was expecting!  A couple of weeks ago I realized I hadn't changed a diaper in almost two months, so I gathered up every diaper I could find and gave them away.  He still wears a Pull Up at night (and usually wakes up dry, but I plan to keep him in them until he can use go to the bathroom without assistance), but other than that, he is totally in underwear.  Way to go Will!!!

Claire's Graduation

My poor neglected blog!  I'm making public my goal to be totally caught up by the end of this month!

Claire's school held a graduation ceremony on May 17th for all the kids who will be starting Kindergarten this fall.  Claire started at this school right before her first birthday, so we have been with some of these teachers and other families for over 4 years.  I didn't think it would be a big deal, but I got a little emotional watching my not-so-little girl walk/run across the yard to grab her certificate.

Ready for the graduates


Claire with about half of her classmates


Getting her certificate from Ms. Susan


Our little graduate!


Will entertaining himself with my flower from Claire


Obligatory family shot with, as usual, 3 of 4 looking at the camera

First sleepover

My parents recently got a bed for Claire and Will so that they could stay over sometimes, and Claire got to try it out for the first time a couple of weeks ago.  She was SO excited.  Robert and I are currently taking a parenting class at our church on Sunday evenings, so we dropped the kids off at Mom & Dad's, and they played and had their baths while we were in class.  We went back over to make sure Claire was doing okay, tell her good night, and pick up Will.  When we were driving away, Will starting saying "Claire? Claire? Claire!!!" in an increasingly insistent voice.  We realized that he thought we had accidentally left her, and it took a few minutes, but we were able to convince him that we intended for her to say at Nana & Granddaddy's.

Mom & Dad reported that it took her a little longer than usual to fall asleep, so Mom ended up sleeping on the trundle, which made Claire happy.  She slept great, and when I picked her up the next morning, she asked if she could stay there again that night.  So, it was definitely a success.  :)  We are planning for her to have another sleepover soon.







The next morning, Will enjoyed some alone time and felt like big stuff sitting in Claire's chair, something she doesn't usually let him get away with.

The Big Boy Bed

Robert and I had been discussing moving Will to a toddler bed for a few weeks, and in mid-September, we took the plunge.  I was a little nervous - he was only 22 months old, but he had come close to crawling out of his crib several times, giving us a few scares.  Dad and Robert bolted down the furniture, and we converted the crib to a toddler bed.  Turns out my fears were unfounded - he did great!  The first night, our kid who had been regularly waking up at 5:20 stayed in bed until 7.  We had a few difficult days with naps, and I felt like one of his distractions was a loose crib slat that he liked to kick.  We got him a true toddler bed a few days later, and he loved it.  He quickly got back on his normal nap schedule, and overall is still sleeping later than he had been - woo hoo!  This weekend was our first to travel since he was out of the crib, and he did so good on his air mattress.  The crib was donated to our church's garage sale, and we're putting the pack & play back into the storage closet.  Big steps for our not quite 2 year old!

First night with no crib front

First night in the toddler bed - ready to try it out!

Claire getting in on the action

At naptime last week - sleeping so peacefully

Flowers from Claire

We spent a couple of hours playing outside Monday afternoon - I'm trying to take advantage of this great weather since I know it won't be long before it is miserably hot.  My sweet Claire brought me these little flowers - "Mommy, I picked these for you."  Loved it!


The kids enjoyed playing with some new sand toys that we got from Costco that morning. (Check out Will's haircut - he looks like such a big boy now!)


Will did a lot of exploring.


And...Will learned how to climb up the playset stairs by himself.  Now he just has to get comfortable sliding down.   :)

Will's Words

At 14 months, Will is so much more verbal than Claire was at this age.  I wanted to start recording the words he is saying regularly now:

Ball
Throw
Apple
Banana (sounds like "Nay-nay")
No
Mama
Da ("Daddy")
Claire (sounds like "Caire")
Uh-oh
Up
More
Bottle
This
Hi
Bye-bye
Mine
Sock
Dora, map, & backpack (from "Dora the Explorer")
Blue (as in "Blue's Clues)

New Year, New Career

In September, Robert and I had some uninterrupted time together during a quick trip to Dallas for a friend's wedding, and we were able to really talk for the first time in a long time.  One of the things that came out of that conversation was the struggle I'd been having in my mind - should I keep working or stay home with the kids?  We both took a couple of months to think through things, set expectations, etc., and right before Thanksgiving, I gave notice at my job that I would be leaving.  My boss and co-workers were very supportive and understanding, and I stayed for a few weeks to help with some big projects that were underway.  My last day was in mid-December, and my new career as a stay at home mom began with the new year.

So far, it has been terrific.  The kids still go to school two days a week (they really enjoy it, and we feel like the curriculum and social interaction are good for them), so I have plenty of time to run non-kid friendly errands, clean the house, etc.  We've been filling our days easily with play dates, library story times, errands, and lots of play.  I'm surprised how quickly the days go by, and we are adjusting well to our new schedules.  I know we are bound to run into a few struggles and days that don't go as smoothly, but I have no doubt that it was the right decision and am loving the extra time to focus on our family.

Project Life: Week 49

December 5 - 11

Tuesday, December 6

One of Claire's favorite things to do is draw and practice her letters on her white boards.  Today I asked her what she was drawing, and she said "a cow".  I came over to look, and for the first time, I could actually recognize what she drew.  So proud!

Claire giving Will wagon rides in the playroom.  It usually ends with someone upset, but it's always fun for awhile.  :)

Saturday, December 10

We met up with Grandmommy last night for dinner, and the kids got their first Christmas presents.  Claire got a Leapster Explorer, which she loves, and Will got a little play kitchen.  We took it out of the box this morning, and both kids had a great time playing with it.  

Will - One on 11.11.11

"Whooosh!"

That was the sound of the past year flying by.  :)  How is it possible that my baby is 1 - and really, less of a baby and more of a toddler?  Although it has flown by, it's kind of hard to remember life without Will.  He has brought so much fun, laughter, and joy to our little family.  The price of lost sleep has been worth it!

A few things about Will at age 1:

• At his one year appointment, he weighed 24 lbs, 12 ounces (75th percentile) and measured 31.5 inches tall (90th percentile).  Quite a difference from his petite sister (see Claire's one year stats here).
• Will LOVES his big sister, and she adores him, too - except when one of them has something the other one wants.  Taking something away from Will is about the only thing that really sets him off (other than generally being hungry, tired, etc.), and Claire is a pro at getting that type of reaction.  Most of the time they play well together and love each others company.

• He likes to eat and will try anything.  What he doesn't like gets immediately spit out and thrown on the floor.
• When Will is done eating, he wants his plate/high chair tray completely cleaned off.  If you don't get to it before he does, he will take care of it for you by throwing food and waving his hands over the tray until everything is gone.  We're working on that.  :)
• He loves to hold a spoon or fork even when he's not eating.  He's quite independent and already wants to feed himself.  He's getting good at it really quickly.
• Will is still taking formula in bottles.  Last week was supposed to be "bottle boot camp" when we switched from formula to milk, reduced number of ounces, and switched all (at least day time) bottles to sippy cups.  That plan was interrupted by a nasty double ear infection, so we will try again soon.
• He is not walking yet, but cruises around and will occasionally stand on his own for a few seconds.  I'm in no rush!
• Will is transitioning to the next class at school and is quickly adapting to the new teachers and new routine.  They take naps on mats rather than cribs - such a big boy!
• Like his sister at this age, he has lots of teeth - 6 on bottom, 4 completely in on top, and his upper one year molars are about halfway through.  The canines are already starting to work their way up, too.
• We are getting there on sleep - he sleeps through the night (7 pm to 5 or 6 am) most nights, and he will usually take a bottle and go back to sleep for another hour or so.  It's been a long road, but we're finally making some good progress!
• Will is saying several words that we can understand - "throw", "ball", "uh oh", and "up" are the most often heard, and we'll occasionally get a "da" for Robert and a "maaaa-ma" for me, but I'm not adding it to the "official" list yet.  He can follow simple instructions - "Come to Mama", "Drop your spoon in the sink", etc. so we know he is understanding a lot.
• Going by his words, it shouldn't be surprising to know that some of his favorite toys are balls or other things he can throw.  He also really likes the play kitchen, spoons, and digging around in drawers and cabinets.

• He laughs easily, smiles easily, loves to cuddle, and is a happy little guy who is very loved!

Will at 10 Months

On September 11th, Will turned 10 months old!




Big milestones for Will this month included crawling, learning to pull up on everything in sight, and getting his first taste of ice cream.  :)

Will at Nine Months

On August 11th, Will turned 9 months old!

He had a well baby check this week, and stats were:

Weight: 22 lbs., 13 oz. (80th percentile)
Height: 29.5 inches (85th percentile)
Head: 18.5 inches (85th percentile)

For comparision, here is Claire's 9 month info. At her appointment, she was 15.5 lbs and 26 inches - so different! Our big boy dropped a little in the percentiles, but is still proportional and growing like he should. The doctor reviewed a development assessment that I filled out (the Ages and Stages Questionaire) and said that he is perfect (which we already knew!). We're starting to move out of the 12 month clothes into size 18 month, depending on the brand, but this move seems to be happening more slowly than the previous ones. It's so nice to not have to continue buying him a completely new wardrobe every two months!

He started crawling this week - he finally figured out how to get those legs positioned so he could take off! He'd figured out awhile ago how to get from laying to sitting to all fours and back again without any trouble, but he would just rock back and forth or scoot himself around. Once he did it a couple of times, he started taking off. We all still get excited when he gets going, especially Claire. In the most excited voice, she'll exclaim "He's crawling! Will crawling! Good job, Will!" I know I'm biased, but it really is the cutest thing, ever.

Will is a great eater. His fine motor skills have really developed, and he loves feeding himself. Besides the usual puffs and Cheerios, he eats waffles, pancakes, some apple plum bars I baked this weekend, mixed vegetables, bananas coated in wheat germ (makes it easier to pick up). Basically, he'll eat anything soft that I cut or tear into soft pieces. He's also still eating some purees, and we started yogurt this week. I have no worries about him eating properly. :)

We're still working on consistently sleeping through the night. He started going from 7-7:30 to 5 or later a couple of weeks before he turned 9 months old, but then he got off again the night after his check-up, waking once during the night. We had one night since when he slept through, so I haven't given up hope that this is just a minor regression!

The sleep issue is easier to handle since he is the easiest baby in all other respects. Robert and I were talking the other night about how rarely he cries. Will is so happy, and he loves his family. We gives us the biggest smiles and giggles, but Claire definitely gets the most laughs. They already have so much fun playing together, and it's fun to watch their relationship develop.

Will, you are truly a blessing to our family. We love you so much!

Teeth!

Robert's eagle eyes spotted Will's first two teeth tonight! I swear I just checked a couple of days ago during his bath and didn't see anything, so they must have popped through either yesterday or today. He's been acting pretty normally, so I'm hoping that he will end up being a good teether like his sister. Our baby is growing so fast! (Sniff, sniff!) I'm on a mission to get a picture of these two tiny teeth...

Will's First Bites

Our pediatrician gave us the go ahead to start Will on solid foods at his 4 month check -up. We decided to wait a few more weeks and eventually gave Will his first taste of anything other than milk/formula on April 10th, one day before his 5 month birthday.

We had Nana wield the spoon. He seemed ready to begin!

Not so sure about it at first...




What was that?!?!



Ready to try again


All smiles!

Not surprisingly, he quickly figured out what to do. Since then, he has had carrots, peas, apples and squash. I bought some of the jars of Stage 1 Earth's Best baby food, and from the beginning I had to mix them with cereal since he needed something with more texture. We're moving on to Stage 2 and homemade foods now. Looks like we will be fortunate to have another good eater!