23 Months: Big Boy Bed

Time is just flying along. The days are long and the months are short. I thought the days were just long in the newborn phase.....but it seems that the toddler phase also makes for long days. Owen will sleep 10-11 hours at night (good...though waking at 5:30), and 40-60 minutes during the day. All I want for a Christmas is more than an hour of 'break-time' from my toddler-constantly-seeking-independence during the day! On one hand, his schedule exhausts me. On the other hand, his ability to affect his environment does help us communicate, and I am fascinated by how quickly he is learning.

In other news.. we've transitioned to the big boy bed. At the very end of October, I put O in his crib for nap time. Then I went to change Amelia's diaper. The next thing I knew, Owen waltzed in to the nursery. WHAT?!?!. He's been in the big boy bed since. The first week was wonderful. He was so excited about his airplane sheets and extra space, etc. Then he figured out he could get out of his bed and did so repeatedly. So we had to re-sleep train in a sense. It started with an hour of all out crying behind the door at the loss of the ability to come join Mike and I in the family room. For 3 days (at least) straight, he fell asleep behind his door.

This post will be short on photos because I have used all of my allotted photo storage space, and I had to delete some from Picasa in order to upload more (like I have time to do all of that!) It takes 24 hours to effectively delete, so you'll just have to read more words this time around. So sorry.

Raking leaves with Daddy

 

Bring on the fall!

 

Airplane Sheets!

 

This is how he sleeps... backwards, butt in the air, etc.

This month we've been getting more in to arts & crafts. Here we are kneading our home made play dough.

And now we're making O's, snakes, and logs.

He also loves to color.

Like I said... we're worn out.

 

Our O is getting smarter by the day, counting to 10 (just the numbers, not actual objects), reciting colors & shapes constantly. The phrase of the month is ALL DONE, ALL DONE. It is screamed and often precedes a tantrum if you aren't quick enough to release him from whatever he is all done doing. He's very sweet with Amelia, LOVES to brush his teeth with his Cars "poo taste", and is very interested in the choice vehicle of the month: the dump truck.

One Month: Practically perfect in every way!

Miss Amelia has stolen our hearts. 

She's growing too!

 

Weight: 8lbs 12 oz (25-50%)

Length: 22 inches (75-90%)

Head Circumference: 14.24 inches (25-50%)

 

The following photos are my 'attempt' at newborn pictures. I don't know how the professionals do it. She was sleeping...until I started taking pictures.

 

 I brought blocks to the hospital hoping they could take a picture like this in black and white, but you could still tell that the colors didn't match.

 

This one is pretty sweet... but good enough for a birth announcement? Needless to say, I am no where near getting a birth announcement out.

 

Love those pursed lips.

Mom, I am so over this photo shoot.

 

She still loves to cuddle with her daddy.

 

She spends a decent amount (too much?) of time in this brown bouncy chair. From here, she watches Owen's antics, and I feel she is just a tad bit safer than on the floor! Placing her in here is also like pressing the 'snooze' button.. it knocks her out (which is perfect at 2am when she is wide awake after eating).

 

She really likes to have that left arm up. She's also my kid that prefers to look left. I'm sure she was pleased with the election results this week =)

 

Turns out she actually boiled in this cute outfit and screamed the entire way home. Live and learn =)

 

My mom's arms have been priceless this last month. As you can see she is cradling a baby and instructing Owen to do something. Both jobs that I should be doing. I chose to take a picture instead.

Meeting Great Uncle Jay (my mom's brother)

 



...and Great Aunt Sharon (his lovely wife).

 

Millie's play time is closely attended by every living being in this house (sounds a lot like my showers, toileting, etc). Owen is pretty attentive and has started giving lots of kisses on her head. However, he also raised the foot of her onesie just now to wipe his nose. We are working on appropriate signs of affection.

Helping with tummy time. The size difference between the 2 of the amazes me.

Teaching her about tractors...

 



 On the way home from her 1 month appointment... already in her 0-3 months clothes.

 

More reasons why we love this princess dearly:

 

 

-She may look and act just like her daddy, but she has her mother's upper airways. She snorts. She grunts. She's VERY noisy. (In fact, I am going to move her from the cradle in our room to her crib as soon as we get it up in the nursery).

- She l.o.v.e.s to be held. Who wouldn't?

- She's tracking some, and her eyes are generally less crossed. Also..... I think they might turn out to be blue?!?! We shall see! 

- I love the her new baby smell

- She does have her fussy hour (usually starting between 6 and 8), but the 5S's work as well as standing next to a faucet of running water.

- I've been less persistent about her tummy time, but she's still getting the hang of head control.

- I reread Owen's one month blog post, and he was only sleeping 11 hours a day. Dear Lord, how did I make it? Miss Amelia, God bless her, sleeps considerably more. She's got herself in a great routine. Eat: 30 minutes, Play: 30 minutes, Sleep: 1hour. Repeat (give or take). At night she'll eat every 3-4 hours. I haven't calculated her total daily sleep, but it's more than 11 hours!

 

I'll be honest, the transition to 2 is tough, but thanks to 3 ladies named Jill, Lindsey, and Becky, and a Papa Cooper who drops by with lunch at least weekly... we are making it! We are SO glad to live by family. Have I mentioned that before?

 

 

 

 

Happy Halloween!

Well of course we celebrated Halloween in style this year. The Nieders were kind enough to invite us over for chili (and candy), and Owen couldn't wait to go trick or treating with Carson and Livi.

 

Here is Miss Arielle.

Getting ready for a big night of trick or treating.

 



Little Miss had some cuddle time with MiMa. Love the dark hair on that baby girl. I hope it stays! 

A MiMa and her littlest ones.

The oldest four. I tried to crop out Carson's friend in the lower left =) I promise they were more excited than I was able to capture.

 



I was trying to get different views of the costume. Highlighted here are the flippers. I made this costume in August/Sept as a project to keep myself occupied in the 3rd trimester. I was pleased with the way it turned out, but it took a loooooooooooooong time, so I can't promise I'll continue to make costumes in the future =)

He found the Butterfinger bowl and tried to carry as many as he could.. just like his matchbox cars.

The back.

I love this picture of him in the wagon. Mike took him out while I was in with Amelia. He says O got the hang of trick or treating pretty quickly, but they didn't stay out long.

Apparently we picked the right neighborhood in which to trick or treat...  O literally received a 'Giant' Hershey's candy bar.

But he picked the tootsie roll pop. How many licks does it take to get to the center of it?

 

Meanwhile, Ava was showing off her 'almost-walking' skills.

 



The loot.

Stupidly, I asked Carson how he 'made out'. He said, you mean with the pretty ladies? Clearly I am not the mother of an 8 year old, or I would choose different wording.