A few things Natalie has been saying lately so that I don't forget...
* it's not working - she uses this for everything...the other day we gave her half of a small cup of milkshake and she was tipping the cup so that nothing was going in the straw and kept saying "it's not working". Too cute! Other things that don't work: if she's having trouble with a buckle, a toy that is out of battery, a lid she can't get off, blocks that won't go together, etc.
* stuck in there - she also uses this for everything! When putting on her pants, her legs get "stuck in there" if she has trouble getting her foot all the way thru. Same thing with arms & shirts. Snacks in her snack cup that won't come out. A blankie that is snagged on something. A book under the pile of toys that she can't quite reach.
I swear she learns and repeats new things everyday! She is starting to learn all about Christmas and it's fun to watch her reaction. She's discovered Christmas lights and points them out everytime she sees some. She learned Santa at this weekend's parades (more on that later). I can't wait for the rest of the season's activities!
Her rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star:
Twinkle, Twinkle, a star
How I wonder, you are
Up above
World so high
Like diamond
In the sky
Twinkle, Twinkle, a star. Yay!
I've been singing little parts of Christmas songs to her this week and tonight she was singing "Jingle Bells"..
On a slightly sad note, my maternity leave is officially over :(. Tomorrow I start back to work part-time. Rhys will rotate days home with David and I, and she will go to daycare once a week for now. Ease her into it, and hopefully avoid some germs!
I have mixed feelings about going back. I'm excited to interact with adults, take back my responsibilities with my clients and have some balance in my life. BUT, I will certainly miss my baby girl, well both of them. It's hard to be a working mom!
The transition ought to be interesting. Rhys needs to learn to take a bottle. She did fine around 5 or 6 weeks when we tried, so we didn't really focus on it much and then around 10 or 12 weeks, she decided she didn't want a bottle, at all. It is madness any time we try, so I figured it'll just have to be a rough few days and she will decide she is hungry and maybe a bottle isn't so bad. At least that is the plan. Tomorrow night might be rough, but I'm going to try to hold out and make her take a bottle. It should be interesting...!
11.30.2011
11.28.2011
Rhys @ 4 months
Rhys is 4 months old! (I promise, I wrote this post on the 27th, but it has taken me a full day to upload a few pictures..so many other things to do!)
She is starting to get into her 3 hour routine pretty well and we are starting to read her cues easily. When she's been up for a while (about an hour / hour & half) and starts to fuss, she is tired and wants to sleep. She usually goes down without much fuss. She cries when she wakes up and is usually hungry.
She's eating every 2.5 - 3 hours. I was hoping that by feeding her more during the day she would sleep better at night, but so far that's not working too well. She was in a great pattern of waking once a night around 5, but lately she's been more on the 2am and 5am kick.
She is pretty happy when she is awake. We get lots of smiles from her...just not when we take pictures, apparently!
A picture of my "helper" who wanted to be in the pictures but didn't want to put down her juice cup. She also didn't want to hold the backdrop and kept stepping on it. Oh well!
This past weekend we were home for Thanksgiving and she was really good about letting people hold her! So glad that she wasn't as clingy this visit.
She still hasn't rolled over, but I don't think it's too far off. She really arches her back on the changing table and tries to twist around on her activity mat. She really likes the exersaucer too; she spins herself around playing with all of the toys.
She and Natalie have been good at sharing a room. They don't seem to bother each other when one wakes up. (lately Natalie has been doing her fair share of waking...her 2 yr bottom molars are coming in).
We borrowed Tania's Bumbo since ours is still at daycare. Rhys likes to sit there for short periods, but then she starts arching her back and wants out. Someday I'm sure she will love it.
Natalie wanted Rhys to wear a "hat" Aka Orange Juicer. Looks like a mini sombrero!
Overall she is a pretty easy going baby. Well, except for the fact that she still won't take a bottle!! That has to end this week because I'm starting back to work part-time and she will be staying with daddy and then going to daycare 1 day/wk. Rhys is still more cuddly than Natalie was and loves to be near her mama.
We go to the Dr next week, but here's this month's stats:
Height: approx 23 inches
Weight: 15 lbs 12 oz
Diapers: we are working our way into 3s. 2s are starting to leak quite a bit.
Clothes: 3-6 mo
The 4 month pictures wouldn't be complete without a comparison shot. Natalie had so much more hair than Rhys; I was already having to clip it back out of her face for pictures.
She is starting to get into her 3 hour routine pretty well and we are starting to read her cues easily. When she's been up for a while (about an hour / hour & half) and starts to fuss, she is tired and wants to sleep. She usually goes down without much fuss. She cries when she wakes up and is usually hungry.
She's eating every 2.5 - 3 hours. I was hoping that by feeding her more during the day she would sleep better at night, but so far that's not working too well. She was in a great pattern of waking once a night around 5, but lately she's been more on the 2am and 5am kick.
She is pretty happy when she is awake. We get lots of smiles from her...just not when we take pictures, apparently!
A picture of my "helper" who wanted to be in the pictures but didn't want to put down her juice cup. She also didn't want to hold the backdrop and kept stepping on it. Oh well!
This past weekend we were home for Thanksgiving and she was really good about letting people hold her! So glad that she wasn't as clingy this visit.
She still hasn't rolled over, but I don't think it's too far off. She really arches her back on the changing table and tries to twist around on her activity mat. She really likes the exersaucer too; she spins herself around playing with all of the toys.
She and Natalie have been good at sharing a room. They don't seem to bother each other when one wakes up. (lately Natalie has been doing her fair share of waking...her 2 yr bottom molars are coming in).
We borrowed Tania's Bumbo since ours is still at daycare. Rhys likes to sit there for short periods, but then she starts arching her back and wants out. Someday I'm sure she will love it.
Natalie wanted Rhys to wear a "hat" Aka Orange Juicer. Looks like a mini sombrero!
Overall she is a pretty easy going baby. Well, except for the fact that she still won't take a bottle!! That has to end this week because I'm starting back to work part-time and she will be staying with daddy and then going to daycare 1 day/wk. Rhys is still more cuddly than Natalie was and loves to be near her mama.
We go to the Dr next week, but here's this month's stats:
Height: approx 23 inches
Weight: 15 lbs 12 oz
Diapers: we are working our way into 3s. 2s are starting to leak quite a bit.
Clothes: 3-6 mo
The 4 month pictures wouldn't be complete without a comparison shot. Natalie had so much more hair than Rhys; I was already having to clip it back out of her face for pictures.
11.21.2011
Potty training day 3
When I started writing this (around 4pm), I would have said Day 3 was a Fail. However, a little break, less pressure, and we are still having success!
It's Monday, so David was back at work. Daycare is closed this week, so I had both girls home and the plan was to continue the potty training.
By 9 am we had already had two accidents. She turned it around and had 3 pees in the potty, but then came "naptime". I put that in quotes, because we are supposed to nap, but Natalie rarely naps at home these days.
I put Rhys down in the crib and Natalie proceeded to run around her room getting out books, jump on her bed, climb the changing table (which we took out of her room tonight to stop her spiderman antics), stand on her head, etc. Then she woke up Rhys, and then she had 3 consecutive accidents, even with me reminding her. So frustrating.
The part that put me over the top is the next time we were standing 12 inches from the potty, I reminded her we go pee in the potty. She said "no, I don't want it" and then she peed all over the floor.
Anyone who was at her birthday party knows when she doesn't want to do something, she doesn't want to do it. Pretty sure she was just beyond tired at this point, and I was tired of cleaning the floor. So pull-up pants it was.
This gave us both a break. I didn't feel like I needed to be her shadow, and she had a little freedom to run around.
And guess what?
She told me the next 3 times she needed to potty and went without me hounding her!
So maybe she does get it.
Pretty sure we'll be doing pull-ups at nap & nighttime for now. I plan to keep her in underwear and keep working with her, but when we need to, we'll use pull-ups.
I wouldn't say she is "potty trained", but we are definitely in full-swing training mode and she is doing really well for starting from scratch and in such a short time frame. Something I read online said this 3 day method works 97% of the time, but I'm not sure of their definition for "trained", and it doesn't really say if it's just the 3 day period or if it takes longer on average.
I wanted to write this process down so I remember how tough it was when it is Rhys' turn. Keeping a two year old busy in the kitchen for 3 days is no easy task. We colored, used mess-free markers, mess-free paint, stickers, puzzles, books, Playdoh, made cookies, made "juice" (Crystal light), cleaned cabinets, played with the farm, played blocks, and watched cartoons on the 7" inch kitchen TV.
It was definitely hard, but I think it was the jumpstart that we needed.
We will keep it up and check back in next week. I hope I can report that things have only gotten better!
It's Monday, so David was back at work. Daycare is closed this week, so I had both girls home and the plan was to continue the potty training.
By 9 am we had already had two accidents. She turned it around and had 3 pees in the potty, but then came "naptime". I put that in quotes, because we are supposed to nap, but Natalie rarely naps at home these days.
I put Rhys down in the crib and Natalie proceeded to run around her room getting out books, jump on her bed, climb the changing table (which we took out of her room tonight to stop her spiderman antics), stand on her head, etc. Then she woke up Rhys, and then she had 3 consecutive accidents, even with me reminding her. So frustrating.
The part that put me over the top is the next time we were standing 12 inches from the potty, I reminded her we go pee in the potty. She said "no, I don't want it" and then she peed all over the floor.
Anyone who was at her birthday party knows when she doesn't want to do something, she doesn't want to do it. Pretty sure she was just beyond tired at this point, and I was tired of cleaning the floor. So pull-up pants it was.
This gave us both a break. I didn't feel like I needed to be her shadow, and she had a little freedom to run around.
And guess what?
She told me the next 3 times she needed to potty and went without me hounding her!
So maybe she does get it.
Pretty sure we'll be doing pull-ups at nap & nighttime for now. I plan to keep her in underwear and keep working with her, but when we need to, we'll use pull-ups.
I wouldn't say she is "potty trained", but we are definitely in full-swing training mode and she is doing really well for starting from scratch and in such a short time frame. Something I read online said this 3 day method works 97% of the time, but I'm not sure of their definition for "trained", and it doesn't really say if it's just the 3 day period or if it takes longer on average.
I wanted to write this process down so I remember how tough it was when it is Rhys' turn. Keeping a two year old busy in the kitchen for 3 days is no easy task. We colored, used mess-free markers, mess-free paint, stickers, puzzles, books, Playdoh, made cookies, made "juice" (Crystal light), cleaned cabinets, played with the farm, played blocks, and watched cartoons on the 7" inch kitchen TV.
It was definitely hard, but I think it was the jumpstart that we needed.
We will keep it up and check back in next week. I hope I can report that things have only gotten better!
Sisters
Cute picture from last weekend as we were leaving for Olivier & Mason's birthday party!
Funny story: We've apparently trained Natalie that when she "holds" her sister, we need to take a picture. Grandma & Grandpa were babysitting the girls and Natalie said she wanted to hold Rhys. I propped her up next to Natalie and she put her arm around Rhys and said "picture!" She waited until Grandma got her camera and took one, and then she was done, jumped down and ran off. Silly girl.
11.20.2011
Potty training day 2
Today was another long day hanging out in the kitchen, but we've made some progress, I think!
Our day started at 7:30. Natalie was definitely not dry when she woke and didn't have to potty for a while. She completely missed the first time.
But it did get better from then on. For the day, we had a complete miss, a partial miss and THREE perfect-in-the-potty pees! I'll call that 80% for the day. Which is not bad considering we were at 0% yesterday morning.
Still working on poop. She told us several times, but hasn't sat still long enough for the cheer party.
She couldn't settle down enough to take a nap today, so that made for a sensitive Natalie tonight. No fun for anyone! It's hard being cooped up in the house all day.
Hoping to see continued improvement tomorrow.
Our day started at 7:30. Natalie was definitely not dry when she woke and didn't have to potty for a while. She completely missed the first time.
But it did get better from then on. For the day, we had a complete miss, a partial miss and THREE perfect-in-the-potty pees! I'll call that 80% for the day. Which is not bad considering we were at 0% yesterday morning.
Still working on poop. She told us several times, but hasn't sat still long enough for the cheer party.
She couldn't settle down enough to take a nap today, so that made for a sensitive Natalie tonight. No fun for anyone! It's hard being cooped up in the house all day.
Hoping to see continued improvement tomorrow.
11.19.2011
Potty training day 1
We designated this weekend: Potty Training Bootcamp. Today was Day 1.
I've heard good things about the 3 Day Potty Training book and read thru the book. I made David read it too, because the method basically involves you pumping the child full of liquid and then watching them like a hawk until they either go potty or say they need to. At that point you run like mad to the potty. The 1:1 supervision for three days is super difficult with a 3 month old that also needs their mama.
We got up, had breakfast, got dressed and put away the rugs. We took Natalie to her room and put on her Big Girl Undies!
The next step is to have the child throw away all of their diapers. We had her throw them in a plastic bag in the trash but rescued them during naptime. Diapers = Money. Who throws away money? Besides, what if this doesn't work?? Plus, We can always use them for Rhys! The book's theory is that if you throw away the diapers, you can't revert back to them...which was super tempting after a few hours, let me tell you!
I started jotting down the potty times, but gave that up after countless accidents. By naptime we hadn't had even one successful trip to the potty! Ugh!
Natalie was frustrated and overtired, and we all needed a break. She finally fell asleep around 3:30, so we had to wake her up from her nap so we'd have normal dinner & bedtimes. She was not a happy camper, but she was DRY!!
Took her immediately to the bathroom and she cried. She hates to be woken up. So we got her down, went to the kitchen to get a snack and she announced she needed to potty and started going. I snatched her up and put her on the potty and she went!! First time ever!! We were all so excited! I had some Halloween Candy saved for her, so she got to have some.
She stayed dry for another 3 hours and then started dancing around, so I got her back on the potty and she went!!
Several times she tells us she needs to go, but then won't do anything on the potty..she waits until she is off to go. We are hoping now that she has gone a few times that tomorrow will be better.
We chickened out at bedtime. We put her in a pull-up. She wouldn't go potty before bed, and she almost never wakes up dry. We'll still try the nighttime plan in the book, but at least we won't be changing the sheets multiple times tonight. Remember, we just moved Rhys into the room too, so the last thing we need is to wake them both. If tonight goes well, we can always try tomorrow night.
Very long day. We are hoping tomorrow is smoother. And then I have the girls by myself Monday, so I'm really hoping we make some progress tomorrow.
I've heard good things about the 3 Day Potty Training book and read thru the book. I made David read it too, because the method basically involves you pumping the child full of liquid and then watching them like a hawk until they either go potty or say they need to. At that point you run like mad to the potty. The 1:1 supervision for three days is super difficult with a 3 month old that also needs their mama.
We got up, had breakfast, got dressed and put away the rugs. We took Natalie to her room and put on her Big Girl Undies!
The next step is to have the child throw away all of their diapers. We had her throw them in a plastic bag in the trash but rescued them during naptime. Diapers = Money. Who throws away money? Besides, what if this doesn't work?? Plus, We can always use them for Rhys! The book's theory is that if you throw away the diapers, you can't revert back to them...which was super tempting after a few hours, let me tell you!
I started jotting down the potty times, but gave that up after countless accidents. By naptime we hadn't had even one successful trip to the potty! Ugh!
Natalie was frustrated and overtired, and we all needed a break. She finally fell asleep around 3:30, so we had to wake her up from her nap so we'd have normal dinner & bedtimes. She was not a happy camper, but she was DRY!!
Took her immediately to the bathroom and she cried. She hates to be woken up. So we got her down, went to the kitchen to get a snack and she announced she needed to potty and started going. I snatched her up and put her on the potty and she went!! First time ever!! We were all so excited! I had some Halloween Candy saved for her, so she got to have some.
She stayed dry for another 3 hours and then started dancing around, so I got her back on the potty and she went!!
Several times she tells us she needs to go, but then won't do anything on the potty..she waits until she is off to go. We are hoping now that she has gone a few times that tomorrow will be better.
We chickened out at bedtime. We put her in a pull-up. She wouldn't go potty before bed, and she almost never wakes up dry. We'll still try the nighttime plan in the book, but at least we won't be changing the sheets multiple times tonight. Remember, we just moved Rhys into the room too, so the last thing we need is to wake them both. If tonight goes well, we can always try tomorrow night.
Very long day. We are hoping tomorrow is smoother. And then I have the girls by myself Monday, so I'm really hoping we make some progress tomorrow.
Children's Museum
A couple of weeks ago, we took the girls to the children's museum. David won free tickets from the radio station awhile back, and we had been meaning to go for awhile.
Playing with the trains..
Rhys' first time facing outward in the carrier. She was really good.
Waving "hi" to dad..
Natalie had a blast. I think it's safe to say we will be going back someday. There was so much to play with and take in. We were there 2 hours and didn't even play with everything. Great outlet for the kids..you don't have to say "no" or "don't touch"!
11.18.2011
The Room
Here's where Natalie sleeps...
And here's where Rhys sleeps...!
The girls have been sharing a room for the last 4 nights, and so far, so good! I put them both down at the same time last night; Rhys fell asleep right away, and Natalie played the "I need water, I need milk, I need the potty game" for a while, but it didn't seem to bother Rhys! And Rhys waking up at 5 (or 12 and 1 and 3 or whatever her crazy schedule was last night) didn't bother Natalie. I find that pretty amazing that they don't disturb each other.
Natalie also thinks it's pretty fun that Rhys sleeps in her room. She runs and looks in the crib first thing in the morning.
My co-worker painted the letters for the girls. I love how they go above their beds. And I found the fun wall decals at Target. Wish they had green too, but pink & brown work.
And a shot of their full closet.
Some day they'll probably need their own closets and rooms, but for now I think they are happy to share.
Behind their door is a very cluttered shelf with books & toys...no one needs to see that mess..!
And a cute shot of my little helper sitting in the Bumbo.
And here's where Rhys sleeps...!
The girls have been sharing a room for the last 4 nights, and so far, so good! I put them both down at the same time last night; Rhys fell asleep right away, and Natalie played the "I need water, I need milk, I need the potty game" for a while, but it didn't seem to bother Rhys! And Rhys waking up at 5 (or 12 and 1 and 3 or whatever her crazy schedule was last night) didn't bother Natalie. I find that pretty amazing that they don't disturb each other.
Natalie also thinks it's pretty fun that Rhys sleeps in her room. She runs and looks in the crib first thing in the morning.
My co-worker painted the letters for the girls. I love how they go above their beds. And I found the fun wall decals at Target. Wish they had green too, but pink & brown work.
And a shot of their full closet.
Some day they'll probably need their own closets and rooms, but for now I think they are happy to share.
Behind their door is a very cluttered shelf with books & toys...no one needs to see that mess..!
And a cute shot of my little helper sitting in the Bumbo.
11.16.2011
The Park
Yesterday I took the girls to the park. Natalie did a quick run through the "baby" jungle gym and then headed straight to the "big kids" side. Such a little monkey!
(surprised me, but she can actually climb all the way up this ladder..it's a good 8ft climb to the landing)
I did manage to convince her to sit in the baby swings...
Rhys mostly napped while we were there.
Fun day with my girls!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
(surprised me, but she can actually climb all the way up this ladder..it's a good 8ft climb to the landing)
I did manage to convince her to sit in the baby swings...
Rhys mostly napped while we were there.
Fun day with my girls!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
11.10.2011
Rhys Talking
Here's a video for the Grandparents...and those of you who haven't seen Rhys in a while. She is quite the talker after she eats, but so far this is the only video I've gotten. She usually gets distracted and just stares at the camera, so this one is pretty good, considering..!
11.05.2011
Let's talk about sleep
Last night Miss Rhys slept for nearly 12 hours! How nice of her to pick a Saturday to sleep in. We all woke up around 8.
I was kind of avoiding posting about her good sleep habits, because I thought I would jinx it. Things always go awry after I write them down!
She had been waking up twice a night - around 2 and 5. So, starting at 3 months, we moved Rhys and her cradle to the spare room. The first night was about the same, but then she started skipping the 2 am wakeup. We had a week or so where she slept from 7 or 8 at night until 5 ish, which felt pretty darn good! Then we had a few fussy nights. I've been feeling a cold come on, so I'm guessing she is getting it too.
Naptime had also been pretty consistent. She's up about 1-1.5 hrs and then takes 1-1.5hrs of a nap and we repeat throughout the day. Except Thursday she fussed off and on all day (and night) and only slept about 40min at a time.
And then last night we put her down around 8:15 and she slept right on thru! (I did feed her around 10 before I went to bed, but she didn't wake).
So let's all keep our fingers crossed this wasn't a fluke and she will keep it up!
Random thoughts:
* I wonder if we were disturbing her sleep? Maybe we should have moved her out sooner!
* it's kind of nice that she doesn't want her pacifier. She goes down without it, but I catch her using her thumb instead. Nice for us - we don't have to get up 10 x's a night to replace it - and we'll just have to deal with that habit later.
* several people have told me their kids didn't sleep thru the night until 8, 10 or even 12 months and I just keep hoping we don't get one of those. I can't imagine being a zombie that long!
* the Dr told me if Rhys isn't sleeping better before her next visit (Dec 5) that we'd have to discuss cereal & solids. I'm not ready for that, so I hope we get into a good routine soon.
* the kids are both currently napping in the SAME room at the SAME time for the first time ever! Rhys fell asleep immediately, but Natalie took some convincing. We've had an entire hour of quiet time. Amazing!
* once Rhys is a little more consistent during the night, we plan to move her into the crib and share a bedroom with Natalie. I think we are getting closer!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I was kind of avoiding posting about her good sleep habits, because I thought I would jinx it. Things always go awry after I write them down!
She had been waking up twice a night - around 2 and 5. So, starting at 3 months, we moved Rhys and her cradle to the spare room. The first night was about the same, but then she started skipping the 2 am wakeup. We had a week or so where she slept from 7 or 8 at night until 5 ish, which felt pretty darn good! Then we had a few fussy nights. I've been feeling a cold come on, so I'm guessing she is getting it too.
Naptime had also been pretty consistent. She's up about 1-1.5 hrs and then takes 1-1.5hrs of a nap and we repeat throughout the day. Except Thursday she fussed off and on all day (and night) and only slept about 40min at a time.
And then last night we put her down around 8:15 and she slept right on thru! (I did feed her around 10 before I went to bed, but she didn't wake).
So let's all keep our fingers crossed this wasn't a fluke and she will keep it up!
Random thoughts:
* I wonder if we were disturbing her sleep? Maybe we should have moved her out sooner!
* it's kind of nice that she doesn't want her pacifier. She goes down without it, but I catch her using her thumb instead. Nice for us - we don't have to get up 10 x's a night to replace it - and we'll just have to deal with that habit later.
* several people have told me their kids didn't sleep thru the night until 8, 10 or even 12 months and I just keep hoping we don't get one of those. I can't imagine being a zombie that long!
* the Dr told me if Rhys isn't sleeping better before her next visit (Dec 5) that we'd have to discuss cereal & solids. I'm not ready for that, so I hope we get into a good routine soon.
* the kids are both currently napping in the SAME room at the SAME time for the first time ever! Rhys fell asleep immediately, but Natalie took some convincing. We've had an entire hour of quiet time. Amazing!
* once Rhys is a little more consistent during the night, we plan to move her into the crib and share a bedroom with Natalie. I think we are getting closer!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
11.01.2011
Halloween Sugar High
Natalie had a little too much candy (and she really didn't have that much. I'm thinking it was like 5 pieces from about 4 - 7pm??). She's running around saying "Trick me". Take a look at how hyper she was...
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