Where to begin? So much went on this past weekend that it felt like a blur. Let's just get right to it, shall we?
Mommy B had the day off on Friday, and I "worked from home" (the last one for a long time), so we decided it was time to put the toddler rail on Alli's bed - transforming it from a "crib" into a "big-girl bed". While Alli was at school, I took the front off Alli's crib and replaced it with a toddler rail that only runs halfway across the length of the bed and only goes up about 8 inches. This means that she is free to enter and exit the bed at any time she chooses. We figured that since she sleeps on a cot for her naps at school each day, this wouldn't be much of a change for her.
And thank goodness we were right. We walked her down to her room after her bath and she took one look at her crib and said "Bed!" It was like she could tell what we did to it and she knew what she was supposed to do. She climbed on up and snuggled into her Pooh Bear blanket as if she'd done it a thousand times. Mommy B and I left the room, and waited for the tell-tale signs of her exiting her bed and going to play with the toys we left in her room. No such noise. We checked on her about 20 minutes later and found her flopped over on her back with Pooh covering her face... just like always. Whew! That was easy...
Saturday afternoon presented us with our next challenge - nap time. She's usually tired at night, so falling asleep then is much smoother than nap time. But to keep things consistent, we walked her into her room for her afternoon nap and placed her in bed just like we always do, and closed the door behind us. We heard her talking for a little while, but nothing that would cause us to worry that she was getting into trouble. However, Mommy B went back into her room about 30 minutes later to a little bit of a surprise. She came back down and said "You have to come see this." I walked up stairs expecting the worst... There she was, in the middle of the bed, face-down and passed out (like normal) - but she was surrounded by ALL her stuffed animals! I looked at Mommy B and asked "Did you put them all in there?" She looked back and said, "Nope."
This means that Alli had climbed out of bed, went across the room and grabbed all her stuffed animals (probably 2-3 trips worth) and brought them back into bed with her. So not only did she bring them back into bed, but she them climbed back into bed and fell asleep - as if nothing had ever happened! It was one of those moments as a parent where you're not sure if you should laugh uncontrollably or beam with pride... because I think I did both. I laughed at the sight of her sleeping with all her stuffed animals surrounding her, and that she got out of bed just to go get them. But then I felt overwhelmed with pride that my little girl climbed back into bed and fell asleep without any one's help. She was just doing her own thing, as they say these days.
Saturday night came and went without any issue, as she fell asleep without even getting out of bed. Sunday afternoon and evening was more of the same - uneventful. This was such a relief to Mommy B and I, as we've heard horror stories of parents trying the toddler rail for the first time and it not going so well. We both understand that it's early still and there is plenty of time for her to get out and get into trouble - but we're off to a great start and are proud of our "big girl" and how independent she has become.
To celebrate Alli's accomplishments, on Sunday Mommy B changed her earrings (that she's had in since she was 5 months old) for some new ones that Grandma C sent down. She also painted Alli's toes for the first time ever! Of course, being the rough and tumble kid of mine that she is, she scraped some of it off when we went to the pool later that morning. Go figure. Alli has always adapted very well to everything we've thrown at her. Whether it's a new bedroom with a new crib, new schedule, new sibling, you name it - she's taken it in stride.
Thank goodness too, because we also started letting Aiden "cry it out" this weekend...
Monday, August 20, 2012
Aiden is 4 months old!
Our lil peanut turned four months old this weekend. I wanted to wait to post an update until we'd gone to his doctor's visit this morning. What a visit it was! Besides getting 3 shots, a medicine by mouth, and ticked off by the doctor looking in his ears and doing his full body assessment, we also talked a lot about our concerns related to his reflux. On top of that, we also have some new things to worry about. So, here's where we start. During his assessment, Dr. Kelly noticed he has some spots of eczema. No big deal, Alli had it too and it went away, or when she does get little flair ups once in awhile, we have some cream we put on and it's gone the next day or so. So, we got a refill on the cream, we'll use it on him as well, and she suggested we get Aveeno bath soap and lotions and put that lotion on him at least twice a day.
The reflux issue is still sticking around. It seemed to get better for a little while, but all in all, he still spits up quite a bit. However, it doesn't seem to bother him. He'll literally spit up while he's smiling. But, needless to say, it's hard on us to have vomit on every shoulder of every shirt we own... and we just can't wash the burp cloths fast enough. So, she added Prevacid, another anti-reflux medication, and she said it was really up to me if I wanted to start using it as well. With the Prevacid, it's a solu-tab type medication, which you mix with some milk and give to him 15 minutes before his first meal of the day. The Zantac will then be switched to around noon time and then before bedtime meal. She said some people see a difference with the Prevacid, and some don't. So, it's really up to us. If it doesn't seem to bother him, this is the height/age of spitting up/reflux issues... so we may just stick it out until he grows out of it. It'll be something Eric and I need to discuss further and see what we think. She does think that he may be having too much volume at a time since he's now eating 6 oz. with each feeding, and she mentioned adding rice cereal to his bottles or twice a day and see how he does with that as well. We'll see how it goes!
Dr. Kelly also seemed a little concerned about Aiden's head control and that it may not be where it should be. He isn't rolling over yet, and she thinks we need to work hard on more tummy time and getting his neck/back/head muscles stronger. She even mentioned a possible need for physical therapy if things don't get better... she wants me to keep an eye on him and see if I think he's improving with his head control and strength. Of course, this worries me and freaks me out... but hopefully we'll just work with him a lot and things will get better. I talked with one of my best friends about it already... and she thinks, as bad as it seems, it may be because he's the 2nd child and doesn't get as much attention as Alli got during this stage/age. When Alli was young, all we had to do was concentrate on her, push her to sit up in the Bumbo, etc... while the other one of us cooked dinner, etc. Now, we have to tag team... one paying attention to Alli, one making dinner, and a lot of times, Aiden may get the shaft of just hanging out in his bouncy chair while we're trying to get a million other things done too. That will change, now. I want my baby boy to be just as smart and strong as Alli.
On a happy note though, Aiden has to be the smiliest little man we've ever seen. He smiles and talks SO much. The talking has increased so much this past week or so... he just babbles all the time! He is so happy and content most of the time... although he has really found out how loud he can be and when he's mad about being tired or hungry, you'll know about it. He is happy to sit in the chair, chew on his hands, and watch his sister run around like a crazy person. He splashes and kicks in the bath... I was totally soaked after last night's bathtime adventures.
The Stats:
Weight: 14 lbs (31st percentile)
Height: 26 & 1/2 inches (93rd percentile)
Head: 16 & 1/2 inches (40th percentile)
Diaper Size: 1's
Clothing Size: 3-6 months, lots of 6 months now just because of his length!
The reflux issue is still sticking around. It seemed to get better for a little while, but all in all, he still spits up quite a bit. However, it doesn't seem to bother him. He'll literally spit up while he's smiling. But, needless to say, it's hard on us to have vomit on every shoulder of every shirt we own... and we just can't wash the burp cloths fast enough. So, she added Prevacid, another anti-reflux medication, and she said it was really up to me if I wanted to start using it as well. With the Prevacid, it's a solu-tab type medication, which you mix with some milk and give to him 15 minutes before his first meal of the day. The Zantac will then be switched to around noon time and then before bedtime meal. She said some people see a difference with the Prevacid, and some don't. So, it's really up to us. If it doesn't seem to bother him, this is the height/age of spitting up/reflux issues... so we may just stick it out until he grows out of it. It'll be something Eric and I need to discuss further and see what we think. She does think that he may be having too much volume at a time since he's now eating 6 oz. with each feeding, and she mentioned adding rice cereal to his bottles or twice a day and see how he does with that as well. We'll see how it goes!
Dr. Kelly also seemed a little concerned about Aiden's head control and that it may not be where it should be. He isn't rolling over yet, and she thinks we need to work hard on more tummy time and getting his neck/back/head muscles stronger. She even mentioned a possible need for physical therapy if things don't get better... she wants me to keep an eye on him and see if I think he's improving with his head control and strength. Of course, this worries me and freaks me out... but hopefully we'll just work with him a lot and things will get better. I talked with one of my best friends about it already... and she thinks, as bad as it seems, it may be because he's the 2nd child and doesn't get as much attention as Alli got during this stage/age. When Alli was young, all we had to do was concentrate on her, push her to sit up in the Bumbo, etc... while the other one of us cooked dinner, etc. Now, we have to tag team... one paying attention to Alli, one making dinner, and a lot of times, Aiden may get the shaft of just hanging out in his bouncy chair while we're trying to get a million other things done too. That will change, now. I want my baby boy to be just as smart and strong as Alli.
On a happy note though, Aiden has to be the smiliest little man we've ever seen. He smiles and talks SO much. The talking has increased so much this past week or so... he just babbles all the time! He is so happy and content most of the time... although he has really found out how loud he can be and when he's mad about being tired or hungry, you'll know about it. He is happy to sit in the chair, chew on his hands, and watch his sister run around like a crazy person. He splashes and kicks in the bath... I was totally soaked after last night's bathtime adventures.
The Stats:
Weight: 14 lbs (31st percentile)
Height: 26 & 1/2 inches (93rd percentile)
Head: 16 & 1/2 inches (40th percentile)
Diaper Size: 1's
Clothing Size: 3-6 months, lots of 6 months now just because of his length!
Shoe Size: No shoes yet, just baby socks
Food: All mommy milk, up to about 6 oz. every 3 hours or so
Naps: He is starting to fall into the routine of 9-10:30am nap, then 1-3ish nap, and another quick snooze around 4:30-5ish
Sleep: Asleep for the night by 7ish, waking up a few times but we're doing the cry it out method right now... work in progress... up at 5:30-6ish
Teeth: 0
Sounds: Lots of cooing, babbling, ooo's and aaaa's, and giggling for daddy & Aunt Katie!
Play: Bouncy chair, attempting more and more tummy time, playing on the mat and swatting at toys, watching his sister... he's quite the observer.
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| Mommy & lil A |
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| Superman practicing his tummy time! |
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| Kisses from big sis <3 |
We Live Where You Vacation....
There are obvious perks to living in Charleston. We wouldn't be down here away from our families and friends if there weren't things that kept us happy here. One of those main things is the beach. We absolutely love being this close to the beach, taking weekends with the kiddos to the beach, and having "day-cations" of just Eric and I to the beach while the kiddos spend time with their friends at daycare.
Another positive of having the beach this close is having visitors! We obviously live in a vacation destination... and our family and friends come to visit quite often. One of Eric's old college roommate and groomsman, Dallas, and his future wife came to come visit a few weeks ago. It was so great to see them... and they actually love Charleston so much that they are getting married here next year (which is great for Eric since he's a groomsman as well, we won't have to travel for it!) My Uncle Tom came for a long weekend last week, which was great fun too. He got to meet Aiden for the first time, and see what a ham Alli has turned into. In a few more weeks, my mom will be coming back down for a week long trip. I'm so excited to have her see how much Aiden and Alli have both grown, and for her to get a chance to relax on the beach, too.
As much as I miss so many of my family members and friends up north, I'm glad we live in such a beautiful city close to the ocean. When are you planning your trip down to come see us??
Another positive of having the beach this close is having visitors! We obviously live in a vacation destination... and our family and friends come to visit quite often. One of Eric's old college roommate and groomsman, Dallas, and his future wife came to come visit a few weeks ago. It was so great to see them... and they actually love Charleston so much that they are getting married here next year (which is great for Eric since he's a groomsman as well, we won't have to travel for it!) My Uncle Tom came for a long weekend last week, which was great fun too. He got to meet Aiden for the first time, and see what a ham Alli has turned into. In a few more weeks, my mom will be coming back down for a week long trip. I'm so excited to have her see how much Aiden and Alli have both grown, and for her to get a chance to relax on the beach, too.
As much as I miss so many of my family members and friends up north, I'm glad we live in such a beautiful city close to the ocean. When are you planning your trip down to come see us??
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| Great Uncle Tom & Aiden |
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| It's not vacation, it's just a Saturday... |
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| Work hard, play harder. |
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Congratulations Aiden!
I know I'm going to jinx it as I type this, but congratulations are in order for my boy! Last night, Aiden slept completely through the night. Followers may recall the discussion I had when Alli first slept through the night and what the true definition of "sleeping through the night" really was. Is it 6 hours? 8 hours? 10? I'm sure that definition varies for each parent - which is why I typically give new parents the side-eye when they brag about how their newborn already sleeps through the night. Listen newbie, I got news for ya - if you have to get up (even once) to feed your child and are able to go back to sleep before you have to get yourself up for the day (and get your @$$ to work)... that's NOT considered sleeping through the night. At least not in my book, anyway.
We put Aiden down at 7pm last night and didn't hear a peep from him until 5:30am this morning. That's 10 1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep! Well, for him, at least.
Mommy B and I hit the sheets at around 9 - but only made it until 3am. We didn't know this when we purchased the house, but apparently there is an unwritten rule that the batteries in the smoke detectors only die between 2 and 3am. Even though they are all hard-wired together, when the battery dies it makes a loud, short chirp noise every minute. As of this morning, I have now successfully changed the batteries in all 7 smoke detectors in our house - and they all took place in the wee hours of the morning. The funny part was this last one was located in Alli's room - and she didn't even wake up when it started chirping. We didn't hear it either, and it wasn't until our faithful Golden jumped on our bed (which she never does when we're in it) shaking in fear of the high-pitched noise. The sound annoys the crap out of me, so I'm sure it was torture for her. So there I was at 3am - kitchen chair hauled upstairs so I could disconnect the smoke detector and take it down to replace the battery. Then Mommy B and I had the lovely task of trying to calm the dog down enough so we could go back to sleep. It's always something...
Anyway, 5:30am rolled around and Aiden finally started waking up. Mommy B fed him and I walked him around for a while to get his burps out. Believe it or not, he fell back asleep on me at 6 and stayed out until just after 7:15! This gave us time to get Alli up and ready for the day before they headed off to school and myself off to work (Mommy B had the day off). We actually had to wake him up so we could get him changed and in the car seat.
I don't know if last night was a fluke, or if we're onto something good here - but either way it was nice having the (briefly interrupted) sleep that we had. I'm so proud of my little man, he's grown up so much in the last two weeks! His head control is amazing, and he actually prefers to hold his head up rather than lie it on my shoulder now. He's also really close to rolling over. I just know it's going to happen really soon, I can tell he's been working on it while at school. And the kid smiles... all the time. Any time we look at him and smile while we talk to him, he smiles and coo's back at us. I don't remember Alli smiling this much when she was that age, but all I know is that this kid really seems to react to facial stimuli very easily.
Oh, and he's putting his big sister to shame in the eating department. When Alli started going to school, we took in 4-5 bottles, each with 3oz in them. After a few weeks we moved up to 4 bottles each with 4 oz in them. Aiden is already taking 4 bottles with 6oz each! And we've moved him up to the medium flow nipples at his teacher's suggestion. She said he'd been pulling on them so hard that not only would the nipple collapse, but the sides of the bottle were folding in. It's ironic because all his teachers would talk about was how much his big sister Alli loved to eat. Each one recalled their favorite stories about how Alli would just eat and eat and eat - well watch out y'all, here comes little brother (who may not be "little" for much longer if he keeps this up.) Good thing Aiden's 4-month doctor's appointment is coming up soon, because I think this guy is going to want (and need) some rice cereal added to his bottle STAT.
We put Aiden down at 7pm last night and didn't hear a peep from him until 5:30am this morning. That's 10 1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep! Well, for him, at least.
Mommy B and I hit the sheets at around 9 - but only made it until 3am. We didn't know this when we purchased the house, but apparently there is an unwritten rule that the batteries in the smoke detectors only die between 2 and 3am. Even though they are all hard-wired together, when the battery dies it makes a loud, short chirp noise every minute. As of this morning, I have now successfully changed the batteries in all 7 smoke detectors in our house - and they all took place in the wee hours of the morning. The funny part was this last one was located in Alli's room - and she didn't even wake up when it started chirping. We didn't hear it either, and it wasn't until our faithful Golden jumped on our bed (which she never does when we're in it) shaking in fear of the high-pitched noise. The sound annoys the crap out of me, so I'm sure it was torture for her. So there I was at 3am - kitchen chair hauled upstairs so I could disconnect the smoke detector and take it down to replace the battery. Then Mommy B and I had the lovely task of trying to calm the dog down enough so we could go back to sleep. It's always something...
Anyway, 5:30am rolled around and Aiden finally started waking up. Mommy B fed him and I walked him around for a while to get his burps out. Believe it or not, he fell back asleep on me at 6 and stayed out until just after 7:15! This gave us time to get Alli up and ready for the day before they headed off to school and myself off to work (Mommy B had the day off). We actually had to wake him up so we could get him changed and in the car seat.
I don't know if last night was a fluke, or if we're onto something good here - but either way it was nice having the (briefly interrupted) sleep that we had. I'm so proud of my little man, he's grown up so much in the last two weeks! His head control is amazing, and he actually prefers to hold his head up rather than lie it on my shoulder now. He's also really close to rolling over. I just know it's going to happen really soon, I can tell he's been working on it while at school. And the kid smiles... all the time. Any time we look at him and smile while we talk to him, he smiles and coo's back at us. I don't remember Alli smiling this much when she was that age, but all I know is that this kid really seems to react to facial stimuli very easily.
Oh, and he's putting his big sister to shame in the eating department. When Alli started going to school, we took in 4-5 bottles, each with 3oz in them. After a few weeks we moved up to 4 bottles each with 4 oz in them. Aiden is already taking 4 bottles with 6oz each! And we've moved him up to the medium flow nipples at his teacher's suggestion. She said he'd been pulling on them so hard that not only would the nipple collapse, but the sides of the bottle were folding in. It's ironic because all his teachers would talk about was how much his big sister Alli loved to eat. Each one recalled their favorite stories about how Alli would just eat and eat and eat - well watch out y'all, here comes little brother (who may not be "little" for much longer if he keeps this up.) Good thing Aiden's 4-month doctor's appointment is coming up soon, because I think this guy is going to want (and need) some rice cereal added to his bottle STAT.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Mr. Smiles
Aiden just literally melts my heart. I have missed him dearly since I've gone back to work (yes, of course I miss Alli too!), but I feel like my time home with Aiden truly flew by, a lot more so than with Alli. And, a lot of my time home with Aiden was just plain hard, and frustrating, and full of tears (from both of us!). So now that he's a truly happy baby, it makes me sad that I can't hang out with him all day. That's so typical. As soon as he gets "fun", happy, more playful and starting to do more things, it's time to go back to work. But, I definitely cherish all the moments, smiles and "conversations" I get to have with him when I get home, putting him to bed, and waking up that one time through the night. (Yes, he still wakes up at night, but, it's only once... and... I kind of enjoy the time together. That seems crazy when all I wanted before was just to get some sleep! Trust me, I still love my sleep, but, I do love hanging out with my boy too.)
He is just SO smiley, Eric & I can't get over it. We really don't remember Alli being as smiley, content and talkative as he is. He could literally sit in his chair and just smile and coo and squeak for the longest time. He loves to observe and watch us, watch his big sister run around like a crazy person, and he seems to just be "taking it all in." Sounds a lot like Eric when he was young, and he's still kind of like that as an adult. And speaking of him being like Eric... I really wish you all could see Eric's baby pictures. You'd be shocked at how much Aiden looks like Eric's baby pictures. It's almost creepy! No wonder I think Aiden is so adorable, I've always had a thing for his daddy too... and how adorable he's always been.
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He is just SO smiley, Eric & I can't get over it. We really don't remember Alli being as smiley, content and talkative as he is. He could literally sit in his chair and just smile and coo and squeak for the longest time. He loves to observe and watch us, watch his big sister run around like a crazy person, and he seems to just be "taking it all in." Sounds a lot like Eric when he was young, and he's still kind of like that as an adult. And speaking of him being like Eric... I really wish you all could see Eric's baby pictures. You'd be shocked at how much Aiden looks like Eric's baby pictures. It's almost creepy! No wonder I think Aiden is so adorable, I've always had a thing for his daddy too... and how adorable he's always been.
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Friday, July 27, 2012
Cheers! Happy 21st!
Miss Alli Ru "turned" 21 months old... and she truly amazes us more each day. We are in awe of her... watching her learn and grow has been such a joy. I wish I could just bottle up a day of hanging out with her and post it on here for all of you to see! But, that's not possible, so, I'll try my best to mention some of the adorable, smart, funny things she does.
Alli LOVES coloring. But mainly these days, that just consists of taking her crayons out and naming each color as she sets the crayon down on the paper. Or, she'll color just a little with each crayon as she says the color... "Blue!!! Hi blue!!" She knows so many colors... even her teacher Miss Cathy was impressed at her knowledge and memory of each color. Each morning when she sees us, she tells us what color we are wearing, and what color Aiden is wearing.
Alli also loves anything to do with her "baby bo". As we've mentioned previously, she is very attached and protective of him. The entire drive to school each day, she just stares at him in his car seat, since hers is facing forward and his is facing backward, and when he coo's and squeaks to her, she mimics him and "talks" back to him. She gives him a huge kiss goodbye each morning (even though she's right next door in her own classroom!), and each night before bed she kisses and hugs him, and says "bye guys!" as she walks into her bedroom.
She's still quite obsessed with Elmo... and I'm thinking that her 2nd birthday is going to have to be Elmo/Sesame Street themed. We'll see, I've already found a lot of great ideas that I love. But, one thing I do not love is the fact that I'm even having to think about her 2nd birthday already! Holy cow. Anyway, she calls my car "Elmo Car" since I have the DVD player with Elmo movies in it... and she knows to grab the remote and head over to the TV to get us to play a DVR'ed Sesame Street episode. She loves saying "forrrr you" like Elmo does, and she sings along with "that's Elmo's song!" She's also taken quite a liking to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse as she gets to watch it most mornings with Eric while getting ready for school. However, she calls Mickey Mouse "Hot Dog" because they do the "Hot Dog Dance" at the end of each episode... so, I think she thinks Mickey's name is Hot Dog. It's pretty funny.
She's amazing at stacking blocks, and becomes so focused and deep in concentration. She can stack them SO high, I'm definitely impressed. Aunt Bacon was too when she came to visit!
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Alli's also quite an amazing swimmer. Most people that see her at the pool ask us how old she is and are very impressed at her "swimming skills" at such a young age. She kicks and uses her arms and is able to balance in the pool very well. She just LOVES the water. Recently, we've been taking both Alli & Aiden to the pool in the early morning hours on the weekends and we've had the pool to ourselves. She loves to swim with baby bo, even though he usually just falls asleep as soon as he gets in the water with me.
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Alli LOVES coloring. But mainly these days, that just consists of taking her crayons out and naming each color as she sets the crayon down on the paper. Or, she'll color just a little with each crayon as she says the color... "Blue!!! Hi blue!!" She knows so many colors... even her teacher Miss Cathy was impressed at her knowledge and memory of each color. Each morning when she sees us, she tells us what color we are wearing, and what color Aiden is wearing.
Alli also loves anything to do with her "baby bo". As we've mentioned previously, she is very attached and protective of him. The entire drive to school each day, she just stares at him in his car seat, since hers is facing forward and his is facing backward, and when he coo's and squeaks to her, she mimics him and "talks" back to him. She gives him a huge kiss goodbye each morning (even though she's right next door in her own classroom!), and each night before bed she kisses and hugs him, and says "bye guys!" as she walks into her bedroom.
She's still quite obsessed with Elmo... and I'm thinking that her 2nd birthday is going to have to be Elmo/Sesame Street themed. We'll see, I've already found a lot of great ideas that I love. But, one thing I do not love is the fact that I'm even having to think about her 2nd birthday already! Holy cow. Anyway, she calls my car "Elmo Car" since I have the DVD player with Elmo movies in it... and she knows to grab the remote and head over to the TV to get us to play a DVR'ed Sesame Street episode. She loves saying "forrrr you" like Elmo does, and she sings along with "that's Elmo's song!" She's also taken quite a liking to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse as she gets to watch it most mornings with Eric while getting ready for school. However, she calls Mickey Mouse "Hot Dog" because they do the "Hot Dog Dance" at the end of each episode... so, I think she thinks Mickey's name is Hot Dog. It's pretty funny.
She's amazing at stacking blocks, and becomes so focused and deep in concentration. She can stack them SO high, I'm definitely impressed. Aunt Bacon was too when she came to visit!
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Alli's also quite an amazing swimmer. Most people that see her at the pool ask us how old she is and are very impressed at her "swimming skills" at such a young age. She kicks and uses her arms and is able to balance in the pool very well. She just LOVES the water. Recently, we've been taking both Alli & Aiden to the pool in the early morning hours on the weekends and we've had the pool to ourselves. She loves to swim with baby bo, even though he usually just falls asleep as soon as he gets in the water with me.
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She talks ALL the time these days as well. I can't even begin to list everything she says, she basically says anything you say to her. She makes us laugh every day by goofy things she says or does. I really need to start writing them down. Most days, when she does something so cute or funny, Eric and I will say to each other, "Oh! That's blog post worthy!"... and then, we forget what we were going to write about. Typical.
So, instead of getting a drink on her 21st, especially because it's only her 21st month, she got a great spagetti dinner, which she absolutely devoured. Also typical. The kid loves to eat.
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Monday, July 23, 2012
"Baby... baby!!!"
It has become very clear to Mommy B and I over the last couple weeks that Alli really loves her little brother. Ever since we brought him home from the hospital, he's always been "baby" to her. As Aiden battles through his reflux, she often refers to him as "baby sad" - because we try to explain to her that when he's crying it means he's sad. Being the smart little lady that she is, this name as stuck pretty well with her. In an attempt to curb this so he's not forever known as "baby sad", we've corrected her by saying "baby bro". So now whenever she sees him, it's now "baby bo" (she's still working on her R pronunciation).
Followers might recall that Alli had a mini-meltdown when we took Scarlett in to get her nails trimmed a couple weekends ago. The sight of a stranger taking her doggy away was just too much and the flood gates opened up. I can't imagine how it's going to be when they take Scarlett away to that big dog park in the sky...
Anyway, last week I was getting them both out of the car to take them into school when one of Aiden's teachers walked by and offered to carry him in since he was still in his carrier. Having my hands full anyway, I kindly accepted her offer while I got their bags and whatnot out of the car. Alli started freaking out when she saw Ms. Velma walking away with her little brother. She started welling up, yelling "Baby! Baby!" and pointing to him as they walked away. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen!
First, Alli had the same teacher back when she started school - so it's not like Ms. Velma was a total stranger. Although, Alli was really young when she had her as a teacher, so she probably doesn't remember much from the blob-days... so I'll give her credit on that one. But we were walking in right after them, maybe 10 feet behind - and Alli was still having a fit. We walked in the front doors and there her brother was, safe and sound and at her eye-level, and she still cried. She cried all the way into his room until she saw me put him down and start unloading his things. Once she realized everything was OK, the water works stopped and she was set for the day.
Yesterday, Aiden woke from his nap a little grumpy... rightfully so being that his nose was filled with snot from his first bout of "daycare crud". Needless to say, this woke Alli up from her nap too - luckily it was about time for her to wake up anyway. As I was downstairs tending to the snot-factory, Mommy B was upstairs retrieving Alli from her room. When she walked in, Alli was standing in her crib, facing the door with a very concerned look on her face and started saying "Baby? Baby?!" Mommy B could tell she was genuinely worried about her little brother who was crying downstairs. Once she brought Alli down and she saw that Aiden was OK, she calmed down and settled in for an afternoon with Elmo in Grouchland on DVD.
This morning was no different. Aiden was throwing a little post-snot-sucking fit as I was putting Alli in the car. As I buckled her in, she realized that her little brother wasn't in the car next to her and she said "Baby? Baby?" as if to ask, "Isn't baby coming with us?" I told her that I had to run back inside to get him and that he'd be joining her shortly. She started to sob a little, but luckily I returned to the car with Aiden in hand before she had another meltdown. As soon as I buckled him in and climbed in the car, she was all giggles as she put on her cool-girl shades and began talking to her little brother.
Even though she's a girl, she's still the "big" sister and he'll always be her "little" brother. I can only hope that she'll continue to love her "baby bo" this much as they grow up.
Followers might recall that Alli had a mini-meltdown when we took Scarlett in to get her nails trimmed a couple weekends ago. The sight of a stranger taking her doggy away was just too much and the flood gates opened up. I can't imagine how it's going to be when they take Scarlett away to that big dog park in the sky...
Anyway, last week I was getting them both out of the car to take them into school when one of Aiden's teachers walked by and offered to carry him in since he was still in his carrier. Having my hands full anyway, I kindly accepted her offer while I got their bags and whatnot out of the car. Alli started freaking out when she saw Ms. Velma walking away with her little brother. She started welling up, yelling "Baby! Baby!" and pointing to him as they walked away. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen!
First, Alli had the same teacher back when she started school - so it's not like Ms. Velma was a total stranger. Although, Alli was really young when she had her as a teacher, so she probably doesn't remember much from the blob-days... so I'll give her credit on that one. But we were walking in right after them, maybe 10 feet behind - and Alli was still having a fit. We walked in the front doors and there her brother was, safe and sound and at her eye-level, and she still cried. She cried all the way into his room until she saw me put him down and start unloading his things. Once she realized everything was OK, the water works stopped and she was set for the day.
Yesterday, Aiden woke from his nap a little grumpy... rightfully so being that his nose was filled with snot from his first bout of "daycare crud". Needless to say, this woke Alli up from her nap too - luckily it was about time for her to wake up anyway. As I was downstairs tending to the snot-factory, Mommy B was upstairs retrieving Alli from her room. When she walked in, Alli was standing in her crib, facing the door with a very concerned look on her face and started saying "Baby? Baby?!" Mommy B could tell she was genuinely worried about her little brother who was crying downstairs. Once she brought Alli down and she saw that Aiden was OK, she calmed down and settled in for an afternoon with Elmo in Grouchland on DVD.
This morning was no different. Aiden was throwing a little post-snot-sucking fit as I was putting Alli in the car. As I buckled her in, she realized that her little brother wasn't in the car next to her and she said "Baby? Baby?" as if to ask, "Isn't baby coming with us?" I told her that I had to run back inside to get him and that he'd be joining her shortly. She started to sob a little, but luckily I returned to the car with Aiden in hand before she had another meltdown. As soon as I buckled him in and climbed in the car, she was all giggles as she put on her cool-girl shades and began talking to her little brother.
Even though she's a girl, she's still the "big" sister and he'll always be her "little" brother. I can only hope that she'll continue to love her "baby bo" this much as they grow up.
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