Early December

What a busy few weeks it has been! The girls and I flew to Nana and Papa's house in North Carolina on December 1. They did great on the plane, at least that's how I remember it since it was so many days ago. Oh wait, Emma was a bit difficult and didn't want to stay in her seat, but it was direct and not awful overall. Since we've been here, we have been hanging out mostly, playing with cousins and aunts and uncles (and of course Nana and Papa). Emma has officially learned to walk while we've been here (Dec 10) and now walks mostly, unless she's in her slippery footed PJs. She is also up to twelve teeth now! The missing bottom right lateral incisor decided to come in, so she's only missing her two year molars and canines. She has a really goofy smile with all those teeth! Emma has also really come into trouble making. At this same age, Lilah was a really good listener. I only had to ask her once to leave something alone. Emma seems to hear "no" as a challenge word. If I direct her away from one thing she's not supposed to touch, she goes right over to another thing, or just goes right on back to the first, over and over and over. The bookshelf on the kitchen island is especially tempting, and Emma won't take no for an answer. After moving her away over and over, then she'll get mad and throw herself on the floor. I can't help but laugh, but her scream is getting quite loud. What happened to my oh-so-quiet baby??

(New words over the last few weeks- Emma, Nana, Papa, bye-bye, backpack (Lilah's Christmas wish, she hears that word a lot), 'ba! ba!' (the sound Charlie makes).)

Lilah and Papa have been keeping each other very busy. She is so very happy outside, helping Papa around the house. A few days this month, she was able to attend Aunt Michelle's preschool class on the the BeeBee Bus. She LOVED it! And after only the second day, she started counting to thirty! I was pretty surprised. While she makes me crazy some days, she makes me laugh a lot too. Just last night she was asking for something that we didn't have and she said, "Oh man, what a shame!" That's got to be a Nana phrase.

Jonas joins us tomorrow, along with Uncle John and his family. Lilah is SO excited to see her daddy! And I am pretty excited to see him too!

Home Improvement

Jonas and I have been working on putting crown molding in the rooms downstairs. We finished the den about two weeks ago, and with the long Thanksgiving weekend decided to do the kitchen and kitchen table room (whatever it's called). I am so happy with how it's turned out!
And we got a new lamp and new chicken to decorate. I'm a sucker for ceramic chickens. Cute!

And our new chicken!

More Lilah

Sometimes the things she says are just so strange. Yesterday Lilah and Emma were standing at the window looking out. Lilah says, "shhh Emma, I think I hear a puma outside!"

Thanksgiving

These are a bit out of order, but I thought of a funny story I need to remember. We had our Thanksgiving meal with our new neighbors this year. I asked if we could do the turkey, since Jonas does such a great job cooking it in the smoker, and it also frees up valuable space in the oven. I bought a big twenty pounder because our neighbor Megan was also having her parents come up, along with her sister and her family. Jonas and I were expecting the turkey to cook for a long time since it was so large, so we put it on about midnight the night before. (All the things we had read estimated a ten pound bird would take approximately 10 hours). We slept in since I was called off of work that morning, and went down to check the bird about 9am. Jonas came in and said, um..... the turkey's done. It was already at 190F! We have a nice thermometer that goes in the meat and tells us without having to open the smoker the current temp of the meat, so we went out and opened up the smoker to see the disaster that awaited us.

It looked even worse than the picture. It was dry and hard, I couldn't even chew up the piece of breast meat I tried. We were scheduled to eat dinner at five, and it was only about 9:30am, so Jonas headed to the store, in a hurry. The only fresh turkeys left on Thanksgiving morning were more twenty pound birds. We wanted to smoke it first for a bit, and then finish it in the oven since we had a good bit of time until dinner. Once we got the new turkey going, Jonas kept checking the probe temp to see how it was coming along. We set the temperature pretty low (225F) and expected it to take a long time. The temperature kept climbing though, and the new turkey was done at 3pm! We were scared to look at it, but the new bird was beautiful (and done, we checked the temp in so many places!). No way we should have been able to cook a twenty pound turkey at 225F in less than five hours. It was a Thanksgiving miracle!

Small Steps

A little video of Emma taking a few steps. She's gotten a little more bold in the last few days, but is still too unsure to try without being tricked. I like that she is tempted by a tube of A&D ointment. More to come when she is walking more and in a better lit environment.

A Lilah First

The girls were at the table tonight starting on dinner while Jonas and I were in the kitchen getting our plates together. They were eating black beans (among other things) and we were having yummy leftovers. Not more than a few minutes after they had been seated, Lilah walks up to me and tells me she shoved a bean up her nose. Really? Yeah, I shoved it way far away.

We tried several times to get her to blow it out, then we tried sucking it out with a bulb syringe, then we tried plugging her good nare while I covered her mouth with mine and blew. No luck. I kept asking her, did you really put a bean up your nose or are you just joking? "I'm just joking momma", You're just joking? "Yeah, just joking." Where did you put the bean, Lilah? "Up my nose, way far away". Dang. I called the triage nurse at our doctor's office, and she said if we didn't have success with our attempts then we'd have to take her in to the Emergency Department (due to risk of aspiration). Shoot.

Jonas stayed home with Emma since it was near bedtime and Lilah and I took a trip to the hospital. We got right in (a perk of my employment?) and the PA confirmed there was indeed a bean in her nose. He pulled out the coolest little contraption for just the occasion. It looked like a teeny foley catheter attached to a syringe, so once it was inserted above the bean, he inflated a tiny balloon and pulled both of them out. Pretty incredible. We were in and out in ten minutes.

Lilah was really great and really brave during the visit, so as a reward we went to get a scoop of ice cream afterwards. What a crazy girl.

Lilah Meets Santa

We had some time to waste before meeting up with Jonas the other day, so the girls and I were wandering through the mall. We have only just introduced the idea of Santa to Lilah, and she has run with it. When I saw his big set-up in the middle of the mall with no line, I thought she'd get a kick out of meeting him. I wheeled the stroller up and pointed to him - "Look who it is, Lilah!" I wish I'd had my camera for the look on her face. I told her that she could go talk to him if she wanted, to tell him what she wants for Christmas. It took her a second to build up the courage, but after she climbed out of the stroller, she ran across the carpet and lept into his arms. It was really cute. She was really excited to see him, but just kept saying 'Dora backpack, Dora backpack' the whole time. (I would have taken her hat and coat off if I had thought about it in advance, oh well).

From Seven to Eleven!

Poor Emma just can't seem to catch a break. She's had a cold since before the beginning of this month, which included ear infections and a run with hand, foot, and mouth. She never really got better after the antibiotic for her ears, and then earlier this week started running a fever again! It was in the upper 102s, and I was afraid it was her ears again and needed a stronger antibiotic. Plus, we have our trip to NC coming up next week, and I really don't want to travel with a sick baby. So, I took her back into the doctor's office (our FIFTH visit in six weeks). She has hand, foot and mouth again (a different version), this time it is presenting as a red, sore-covered throat. Poor kid. The doctor also informed me that she has four molars that weren't there when we saw him ten days ago. How about that! (bringing her total to eleven). As of Wednesday morn, her fever is gone and seems to be on the mend. Her nose isn't even running as much. Let's hope Lilah stays healthy now!

Emma Update!

Since we learned last week that cousin Aude (not even one year old) is walking all over, we've (okay, I've) been trying to get her more interested in practicing. She still laughs when standing for some reason. She's way more steady on two feet, and has even started taking a few steps, as of a week ago. She took one step on Wednesday, two on Thursday, and four on Friday. Since then, she has expressed zero interest in walking further, despite many discussions on the importance of walking. She is surprisingly steady when she does take steps though, so I just have to figure out how to boost her confidence. Or, I could just let her figure it out on her own in time. I can wait... a little while longer at least.

In other news, we have a few new words to add in the past week: "all done" (English and ASL, yep, she's that advanced - I'm going to have my own bilingual baby, by golly),"that" accompanied by a tiny pointer finger pointing in the direction of whatever she wants, "down", "bath" and "hello" (usually said two or three times in a row).

Emma also likes to induce a bit of stress when we go to Target. I don't know what's different about the Target carts, but she will not face the right direction. It's so easy for her to spin around, no matter how tightly she's buckled. Instead, she likes to look forward and make Lilah laugh and laugh. I had to get a picture.

ps- On a side note, yes, she wore her PJs to Target. We had to rush out of the house to make a MD appointment and she was a fussy sick baby, so I let her stay comfy.

pps-She was diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth right before this photo was taken at said doctor's appointment. Therefore, always wipe down your shopping carts!!! My kid could have just been in it!

Catalogs!

When I was a kid, I remember pouring over the Penny's catalog in the weeks before Christmas checking out all the toys. As the holiday season is approaching, we are getting several shopping catalogs in the mail per day, most of them toy catalogs. Lilah LOVES looking at these. It's pretty cute. She was pointing to a toy the other day that she wanted, and I told her that we actually already have that toy upstairs (in our mess of a bonus room). I went to get it and she played with it for a long time. Then she went back to the catalog and found another toys that looked like fun. "Go get this one from upstairs, mom". When I explained that we didn't have that toy upstairs, she moved to the next, well, go get this one, then. Nope, we don't have that one either. This one? Nope. This one? And on and on...

More Lilah

Lilah has been such a goof ball lately. I can't remember what I told her this morning that she didn't want to hear. "Look at my face mom," she said, "see I not happy?"

Aunt Katie sent Lilah a bunch of Halloween temporary tattoos for her birthday. We've been putting a couple on every few days for the past few weeks. The morning of the first set, we were at playgroup. She walked up to one of the moms, holding her arms out, "Look at my tits!"

This morning she was asking for another tattoo, but was calling it a stamp. It took me a minute to figure out what stamps she was asking for. When I said, 'Oh, a tattoo?!" she said, "yeah, that's I talking about, mom." I had a total flash forward twelve years, because her tone was the same as an exasperated teen, frustrated with her mom not understanding. Already?

On the same topic, Lilah has also changed to calling us Mom and Dad. Jonas is really working to fix it, but it comes so easily to her. I hope she changes back!

Lilah's Well-Check

We had Lilah's three-year well-visit today. She was really excited to see her doctor - she really adores him. She is 34 lbs now (80%) and 39 inches (85%). Lilah got her flu vaccine via mist this year, and was a total champ. She had been talking all morning how she wanted a dinosaur like her friends Nick and Asher, so we headed to Target after to get one (along with a good girl Icee, too). And wouldn't you know, the only dinosaur we found was a cute plush pink one!

First Illness

I should be pretty happy that Emma made it to thirteen months before her first fever. Pretty impressed, actually. Especially considering she has an older sister and sucks on the same toys as all the other little kids in playgroup. Sunday night she slept from 8pm to 11am, which was awesome. She started acting pretty fussy on Monday (couldn't be from lack of sleep) and felt a little warm (101F). On Tuesday she was hot when she woke up (102.6F) and super fussy and didn't want me to put her down. And then this morning, she was hotter still (103.2F). Conveniently, we had Lilah's well-check scheduled today (Wed) and Emma was supposed to get her second flu and her MMR so she was on the schedule too. So we scrapped the immunizations, and set her up to see the good doctor today too. Turns out, my poor baby has infections in both ears and a red and irritated throat. What a way to kick off your first real illness, baby Emma! She is the saddest sick kid I've ever seen. She is just a grumpy, clingy, thumb-sucking, snotty, hot baby. We started antibiotics tonight, so I'm hoping she'll come around quickly. Although I enjoying my snugly baby, I'm ready to have my smiley girl back!

Silly Emma

Lilah went to bed before Emma tonight, so we had a little alone time downstairs. She was being super silly and sweet, so I snapped a few phone pictures of our goofy baby.

Emma's kissy face

Emma's adaptation of pee-a-boo

Sweet girl!

ps- New word last week! "Night-night"

Lilah's 3rd Birthday!!!

Lilah turned three this past Wednesday! We had a fun family party on Wednesday night after Jonas got home from work. I asked her all day what she would like to eat special for her birthday dinner, and all she gave me was broccoli. I tried to make fun suggestions, but she just wanted broccoli. I'm not a big fan of broccoli, but the broccoli mac and cheese was a winner. Lilah thought so too. She loved opening her presents and received a lot of really neat gifts (we had Mimi/Papa and Nana/Papa presents too).

Princess Rapunzel drawing on her new easel


Dancing with Daddy!

We had her birthday party with her friends yesterday. It was fun, and Lilah really enjoyed it.

We have Lilah's well-check next week, so I'll have numbers and stats then for weight and height.

Lilah is a sweet girl. She is very independent. She loves her sister most times of most days, but does not like the attention Emma receives. (Sometimes, while it's hard to believe, this causes her to make poor decisions in behavior - we're working on it). She is learning to write her name, and gets better every day. She can get 60% of the letters without help as of this morning. She tries to read things now too, which is pretty neat ("What's that name?" for 'what does that say?') She's still asking why a good bit, but is now asking how. My favorite recently, asking a lady at our moms meeting how she got her new baby. That's a conversation for a later day! She learned to pedal a trike while Papa was here, something we had never tried before. Thanks, Papa! She can make it to the mailbox and back pretty quickly now, which is nearly half a mile. She is still crazy about turtles, and will play with her stuffed animals (and strawberry) for hours.

What a treat she has been for us to watch learn and grow over the past three years! We love you, Lilah Mae!

More Lilah

The girls and I went to the grocery store yesterday. As we were walking in, Lilah says, "I don't feel so good, Momma. I need to go to the dentist office". I asked her how she was feeling and she said, "I feel frustrated". Funny girl!

Around the House

Most of the time, all I am trying to get is a single decent picture of both girls together. There were wearing their matching halloween PJs, but I was unsuccessful, as you can see.

Lilah set up the nicest tea party picnic with her Wonderpet friends.

Looks like Emma's walking, but she's not. Just a funny-timed picture.

Another attempt at a good picture with both girls in their matching outfits. They NEVER look at the same time!


But Lilah is very cooperative, and easy to photograph.

Emma's Baby

There's a baby doll that I've been eyeballing for years, thinking it'd be so cute if one of the girls toted it around as their favorite item. I never bought one though, because I thought it was too expensive for a tiny doll. Well, Nana got one for Emma for her birthday, and she loves it! The moment she saw it, she clutched it to her chest. She sleeps with it every day and often won't put it down when she is first getting up. So cute!! So, I thought I would take some pictures.

I sort of got a picture of Emma's top chompers. She grinds them together so loudly every once in a while, and it makes my skin crawl. She has a new tooth now too, the bottom left lateral incisor. Just peaked in one day and there it was. How about that!

Some Photos

We had a few photo sessions here at home just for fun the other night. I wanted to get a picture of both girls together, but I didn't have much success. Lilah was very cooperative though, with the promise of a dum-dum for good behavior. Here are some of the winners and some of the out-takes.

And the winners are.......

Emma's 1st Birthday!

Emma had her first birthday at the end of last month! Nana and Papa were in town for the occasion, so it was extra special. We had a little party with just family on her birthday, and then a friends party the Saturday after. Nana bought her a birthday cupcake to have on her special day, and Emma wasn't impressed. She enjoyed making a bit of a mess out of it, but turned her nose up to it once she tasted the icing. She got a lot of gifts that she loves to play with, when her sister allows her to. Emma had her one-year well-check the day after her birthday. She was not happy to see her doctor at all, even though she isn't afraid of strangers. I think she remembers him from past visits (and shots). She weighs 20lbs 14oz, and is 29 inches long. She got four shots and was super cranky all weekend from them. She cut another tooth over that weekend too, giving her six! Four on top and two beneath. She crawls with lightning speed everywhere, and has brief moments of standing alone. When she catches herself standing without holding on, she starts laughing and then squats to the floor. Emma loves Lilah from a distance. She follows her everywhere, but does not like the attention Lilah gives her most of the time. Emma just prefers to do things by herself and to be left alone. Since she gave up her bottle several weeks ago, she is finally drinking water/apple juice but still won't touch milk. The pediatrician suggested we not give her anything to drink except milk, and she will eventually cave. So I asked, well, what about in a few days when she hasn't had anything to drink and still refuses milk? He said, she'll give in. Well, maybe it was my weakness too, but three days later, I couldn't wait any longer for her to discover her love for milk. With every sip, she was gagging and throwing the cup across the room. When I tried to hand it back, she would just scream and shake her head no. (Which she is getting really good at). So, water and apple juice it is.

She says Mama, Dada, Lilah, Nana, no, go, and kitty cat very well. She loves to walk around while holding your hands and is into everything. She is still a great sleeper, and is even taking after Lilah with her ability to play for long periods of time in her crib. Emma played for 90 minutes before going to bed tonight. And she only had a tiny doll and blanket in her bed. Way to go, Emma! I can't believe a year has passed!

Going to the Beach

Mimi and Papa's last weekend out West was this past weekend. So sad! To end out the fantastic summer we had with them, we went to Cannon Beach, Oregon. It was so amazing! It was the first time the girls and I had seen the Pacific, and it was quite the introduction. The water was freezing, but that didn't stop Emma from really enjoying getting her feet wet. Lilah loved the giant sandbox, even in the rain and cold we had one of our days. We stayed in the most awesome house, where we could wake up and have breakfast together, and stay up late talking after the girls were in bed. We even watched Goonies the last night to celebrate the location (Goonies was filmed there). By far the most beautiful beach I've ever seen. Thank you Mimi and Papa for an awesome weekend! We are so very sad to see you go!

Lilah was her happiest digging in the sand.

Coming home from a cold morning on the beach in the drizzle. Didn't stop her from getting totally covered in sand.

Growing Up

Nearly two weeks ago, Emma decided that she was finished with the bottle. She had one for breakfast, one mid-day, and then refused that night's bottle. That was twelve days ago. I'm okay with her giving it up, but she has also been refusing every other beverage from all sort of cups and sources. I have been pumping her full of pureed foods that have lots of water, and yogurt for her calcium, but overall her intake hasn't been that great. Way to stress out momma, baby! Today however, I think she finally gets it. Over the past few days she has taken an ounce or two out of a particular sippy cup we have, and today she's had over seven ounces already. Finally! She still screams when I try to give her milk, but I'll settle for a little apple juice and water. We'll work on milk...
Emma has a new tooth also, her left lateral incisor. She looks so goofy with so many teeth. I miss that gummy baby smile, but she's still cute with a toothy grin. She's cruising all over and letting go for brief periods. She will walk with a push toy but prefers to crawl. She is quite bossy now, and pitches a little fit when she doesn't get her way right away. SO very different to the Emma of a few months ago. I can't believe her birthday is this week!

Even More Lilah

Seems like I just posted that last entry too soon.
Tonight while I was feeding Emma, Lilah went to the bathroom. After a minute or two, I hear her talking about cleaning up with toilet paper. I asked her, what are you cleaning up, Lilah? "Pee pee, all over the floor". I headed into the bathroom, and indeed, there was pee all over the floor. I asked her what happened? Lilah says, "I want to go pee pee like Daddy do's". Time to have a little talk, I guess...

Just after she went to the bathroom, we headed to Target to buy a birthday gift for Lilah's friend's party tomorrow. We were in the middle of the toy section where we had been looking for a good while, when I said to Lilah, I just don't know what to get! Lilah's response - "Damn it!!" Sure caught me off guard!
Side note- It has been a rough week with Jonas gone. I said that particular phrase ONCE (a day earlier) when Lilah was really driving me nuts and interupted Emma's feeding time for the fifteenth time, when Emma would no longer finish her bottle. It had been a long day... I learned an important lesson today!

Most importantly, Jonas is home!!! He had a great week and brought home 8 Coho salmon. Yum! It is SO nice to have him home!

More Lilah

Yesterday after Lilah went to the bathroom, I heard her in there washing her hands. I was on the phone with Momma, so I wasn't thinking about how long she was in there until after I got off the phone. When she came out her shirt was all wet. Lilah said, "I'm smoking wet!"

As we were leaving blueberry picking on Wednesday, Lilah bit Emma's fingers while I was waiting to pay. On the way home, we were talking about why we had to skip the playground because she wasn't listening earlier in the day, and that she bit her sister. Lilah says, "I was just really, really hungry momma. I wanted to eat Emma's fingers...".

Gate Time!

So the gate went up today. She's just too darn fast, and fell off the bottom step twice when I was in the process of going to get her from falling down the stairs. She was pretty upset at first, but then was more upset that I was holding her and keeping her from climbing the stairs. Her little personality has really started to come through the last several weeks. No longer my quiet, sweet baby, content to sit and watch. Bummer.
Jonas is fishing this week. He left Sunday complaining of a stuffy nose, and today Lilah and I have runny noses. Double bummer. Emma is clear so far, but it's only a matter of time. It has been a really tough week, and its only Tuesday. Jonas comes back Friday though, so only three more days. I've been watering all the plants and trees outside twice a day so they look great when he gets back. (He is the one that does all of that when he's home). We'll see if the hard work pays off. Lilah's been particularly tough. She insists on doing EVERYTHING herself. Drives me crazy. Everything from getting dressed to buckling herself into the car. It just takes SO much longer. God's way of teaching me patience I guess, but it sure does make me frustrated when we are short on time. Got to get an earlier start I suppose. I am sure ready to have Jonas home!!

More News

Last week, we discovered we had a stair climber! We haven't put a gate back at the bottom of the steps since we took it down a year or so ago, but I'm thinking now we need to again. Bummer. Before last week, Emma would just stand at the bottom and do nothing. Well, last week she climbed all the way to the top, in record time! Jonas was right behind her, but it didn't take her long to figure it out. Too bad!

Emma's upper central incisors have also broken though in the past two days, the left one day ahead of the right. She's been quite a fussy baby, and I thought that the lateral incisors were going to come through first, but I guess not. They aren't far behind though. Poor baby.

Emma's New Tricks

Calling for Lilah

New this week, Emma helps call for Lilah.

Emma's Baptism

Sweet Emma was baptized on Sunday. She was a super star during the ceremony, and even sat through the rest of the service well-behaved. It was our new Pastor's first baptism in her new church, so it was special for all of us. Pastor Cheryl really wanted Lilah to be present and participate in the service, although I suggested that that might not be the best idea. Lilah couldn't have been less interested in the proceedings, but when Pastor Cheryl took Emma into her arms, she started paying attention. Some of my favorite Lilah moments, aside from lying down on the steps to the pulpit and then trying to sit on the altar railing, was during the actual baptism. "Oh.... Emma getting all wet..... Poor Emma....." And then when the Pastor carried Emma down the aisle to present her to the congregation, Lilah said, "Hey! Where Emma's going? Where Emma going??? That's my sister"!
She had all of us laughing. Funny girl.

What a sweet baby!!!

Emma's first curl. I wonder if she'll have hair like her big sis??

Things to Remember

Emma is learning a few more tricks over the past few weeks. She is pulling up to standing now and sometimes forgets how to get back down to her bottom without falling. Jonas and I are remembering how it was with Lilah at this age, as we are having to slowly move all off-limit coffee table items to the very center of the table, and therefore out of reach. I had totally forgotten those days of my coffee resting in the center of our big square table. It's all coming back to me, bit by bit. She says mama and dada. Mama mostly, especially when she's upset in bed and needing a rescue. She did turn to Jonas this past weekend, cocked her head to the side, and sweetly said "dada" while looking at him adoringly. He was pretty happy. Today she said a mangled version of Lilah after we were calling and calling for her, and has even started signing for "more". The kid is crazy for goldfish, and gets quite angry if you don't share with her. She used to be just a sit quietly, do nothing kid, but now she is very vocal and gets frustrated often. She doesn't hesitate to let me know when big sister is bugging her, which is just about all the time. I think Lilah gets quite a kick out of hearing Emma scream. Oh, the years I have to look forward to. I feel this is just the beginning.
Still no new teeth since the first two, but she has both upper lateral incisors about to bust through. She's still an excellent sleeper though, and I am thankful for it!




Lilah Mae is a wonderful example of an easily potty trained child. She passed her dry at night test and we added the toddler rail to her crib. She was so happy she played in her room/bed most of the day. It has been a week now, and she is still accident free and stays in her bed all night. She only gets out after we go in her room in the morning to get her. Pretty amazing. She is talking more and more all the time, and is really hitting "WHY?" really hard the last LONG while. My favorite tonight- Lilah: why? Me: Just because. Lilah: But why just because?
Even in songs, "Why no take my sunshine away?" Because he loves his sunshine and it's sad. "Why's it sad?" Pretty exhausting.
I think she's pretty smart though, and keeps me on my toes. She loves playing with her friends, can spot a playground within a quarter mile, and loves collecting eggs from the chickens. (Which each of the six lay one a day most days of the week - we have a lot of eggs!)

Overall, we are having a great summer. Mimi and Papa Johnson are in town for two months! We are really enjoying having grandparents in town (as are the girls), but it is passing by way to quickly. More to come!

Dry girl!

We are about a week and a half now celebrating 'no diapers around the clock' with Lilah. She has been waking up dry pretty randomly, but nothing consistent. The other day she was talking about how much she wanted to sleep in a big girl bed, "like Guillaume do's". I told her that if she can wake up dry for two weeks, she can move into a big girl bed. She is so very excited! We made a chart that she puts stickers on every morning. Sometimes now I give her an extra sticker for her naps too, because two weeks now seems like a long time. She is doing great and hasn't had a single accident. Every morning she says, "I'm getting closer to my big girl bed! I'm so excited about that!"
Looks like it may be the end of the weekend when she makes the move. Not sure if I'm ready!

Literal Lilah

Lilah's friend came over to play while Lilah was asleep. When Lilah woke up, her friend was downstairs.
Me:Hey Lilah, did you have a good nap?
Lilah: Yeah
Me: Guess who's downstairs, here to play with you??
Lilah: Who?
Me: Guess
Lilah: Guess?!?!?! Yay!!!



Lilah slipped going down the stairs yesterday. She landed on her belly, superman style (on wood stairs) and was crying pretty hard when Jonas picked her up. I met him at the bottom to soothe her, and said to Jonas, did you hear the wind get knocked out of her? (she made a sound when she fell that gave me that idea). She instantly stopped crying, looked around the foyer wildly, and then sadly declared, "the wind knocked me down the stairs! "
Funny girl!

Quickly...

I know I'm behind. In June and some of July we went home to NC. Some quick milestones so I don't forget...
-Emma started crawling
-Emma got two new teeth
Okay, I guess there are not as many as I thought. I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

New Talents

Emma started clapping and babbling yesterday for the first time. We were chatting today and got both on a little video. What a sweet baby voice!

Up on Three!

Just looking at this picture gives me a feeling of anxiety in the center of my chest. A little teary at the same time. What a big girl!

Big Girl!

Emma is beginning to put two and two together and is trying her best to become mobile. She is beginning to want to stand a lot, but is still very unsteady on her feet. (Thankfully). She loves pulling to standing while you hold her hands and has the most proud smile on her face when she does it. When hanging out on the floor, she is finding new, creative ways to move her legs and learning balance in various positions. I can tell she is trying more manuevers and becoming more daring, because she falls over more often on her brave days.

She has also switched herself to two naps a day from three, and is trying new foods all the time. She is getting better at eating puffs, and no longer acts as though I am poisoning her when I give them to her. Emma is the cutest chewer!







Sweet sisters!!

Potty Trained?

We officially started training on April 26, one month ago. Since then, we've had two pee accidents and three poop accidents, but no accidents in the last two weeks. Not too bad, right? We still have a little struggle getting her to poop in the potty, but she still does it. She just gripes about it beforehand. I was really thinking it was going to be more difficult, and I'm thinking it normally is, and I just lucked out. Let's hope it's this easy with Emma, too!

Time Out!

We have had a few days recently where Lilah has really been testing the boundaries and my patience. A frustrating morning ended with Lilah in her room for a big time out. She screamed it out and came out a more well-behaved little girl on the other side.
After nap, we took a walk to the mailbox and back (a half mile round trip). She really wanted to run around and play with her friends instead, but I had to get back inside, so I told her we were only going to the mailbox and then back inside. As we were walking back from the mailbox, she was running a little ways ahead. I nicely reminded her that we couldn't play when we got back home, that we had to go right back inside. I think the time out earlier worked because she shouted over her shoulder, "Yeah! Okay, Mom! Yes, ma'am! Thank you!" Funny girl!

Sunny Days

The sun has FINALLY started to make a regular appearance after too many months of rainy days. It was been SO nice to get outdoors! Lilah and the chickens have been bonding, and Lilah tries hard to keep them supplied with worms. Emma just enjoys sitting outside, taking it all in. Yay for sun!