Kite Flying

We went kite flying earlier this week. It was a blast! Mom and dad took turns running with the kite behind them and I held the kite once it was hoovering up in the sky. I can't wait to try it again!

Rice Cereal

Last week mom started me on some rice cereal. I'm still not sold on this. I find it more intuitive to latch my lips around something and suck. Now mom is putting me in a high chair and asking me to "open up." Eventually I smile and she thrusts a spoon into my mouth.

The taste is interesting and I do eat some, but all things being equal, I'd take my thumb over a spoon of cereal any day.

4 Months Old and Dr's Check-Up

I am 4 months and 3 days old today. On Thursday I went to the doctor for my check-up. He found me to be healthy and happy. I'm 14lbs 3.5oz which makes me the same size as an average 5 1/2 month old! Mom and dad better break out the 6-9mo clothes.

The doc also said I was extremely verbal and expressive for my age. Mom already knew that. She loves the fact that I'm already ticklish and she can get me to giggle just about any time.

Autumn Fun

I had a very busy weekend, but all these fall fun photos are from last weekend.

Saturday was filled with my standard class at Little Gym. Afterward I ate brunch with my grandparents and then went to the bookstore where grandma read to me.

After nap, mom and dad took me to a big field where I flew my very first kite. It was a blast and I have lots of photos but I'll write more about that in a later entry.

Then one of my friends and his baby sister came to visit me at my house. We pasted feathers onto a turkey, made cookies, and had a very good time playing with my kitchen.

Today I went on my first play date. A friend of mine and I went to an indoor playground. They had a big bouncy castle, a sandbox, bumper cars, and a fun little roller coaster. Then we had lunch and I was so tired I fell asleep on the way home (a rare occurrence for me).

Stand Up and Sing

I have two new skills I love to practice: Standing and singing.

Standing is an exciting position. Mom tries to set me up in a sitting pose, but I'd much rather spend time standing up; and I only need someone to provide a little balance.

But singing is even better. I sing when people come and smile at me. I sing when I'm by myself and playing. Last night I spent quite a bit of time at about 2am singing to myself rather than going back to sleep. Good thing mom and dad don't really need sleep.

Halloween Nap

My sister was very busy last week working with a bunch of blue paint and fabric. On Friday she was very excited about wearing her crazy project.

That night, mom put a pair of cat ears on my head at kept answering the door by handing out candy.

I quickly tired of this silliness and took a nap through most of the evening but here is a photo of me dressed as a cat (and licking my paw) and another of me quizzically looking at a very excited sister.

Trick or Treat

I really enjoyed this Halloween. Between going to the Zoo Boo with visiting family, attending Gary the Happy Pirate concerts at Wegmans, and the Costume Parade at school, I got my fill of dressing up, collecting candy, and enjoying the October holiday.

For quite a while, I wanted to dress up as a pink puppy dog. Then I went through a brief spell of wanting to be a dinosaur. I finally settled on a blue frog. Considering my current love of jumping, a frog is apropos.

I picked out all the pieces to make the costume and decorated the shirt myself with blue puffy paint polka dots. I even added the irises to my big white eyeballs.

Here are photos of me posing all decked out, me enjoying a little pre-trick-or-treating chocolate kiss, and my class at school with (almost) all of us in costume.

Increasingly Inseparable

Mom is becoming increasingly cautious with the two of us because we're becoming increasingly attached at the hip. S's voice always draws A's attention and A is S's favorite "play thing." We have a large set of photos of us, mostly of the two of us, laying side by side, and holding hands.

Once, mom was quite taken aback to come into the room and find that A was sitting on S's lap. Both of us were happy, but mom does not leave us alone any more.

Smiles and Giggles

I love to smile and giggle. Mom is trying to capture a recording of me giggling. Then I can star in my first video.
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More Jumping Photos

Here are a few more photos of me having fun jumping from the arm of the sofa.

Perhaps it is all the time I have spent running, jumping, and playing at my Little Gym classes, but I do so enjoy this activity. Even more amazing, mom and dad do not generally try to stop me.

Jumping Off the Sofa

Just a quick photo of me jumping from the arm onto the cusions of the sofa. I have lots of energy.

Less-Meat (Not Meatless) a Growing Trend

Thanks for the comments and ideas on my move to less meat. I'm hoping to connect to more organic and free range meat sources too. Maybe our local Wegmans will start carrying some... although I don't see any sign of it happening soon.

In the meantime, one of my co-workers sent me to this article

http://www.newsweek.com/id/161559

Three Letter Question

I have a new favorite word.

After spending a significant portion of the last year increasing my vocabulary by leaps and bounds, I now use a single word over and over and over, to the increasing exasperation of my parents. I've successfully seen mom break down and made dad answer with a simple, "because dad says so."

Little did I realize the power of a three letter question.

Tuesdays with Mom

Mom is trying out something new. She is staying home with us girls on Tuesdays. This is the first week we're all home together.

We like staying home with her, but were taken aback by the idea that dad would go to work but we didn't go to school this morning.

So far, mom has finished another load and put away three loads of laundry, gone shopping with us, and we all sat down together for breakfast, lunch, and (most importantly) some nice playtime.

What's so Funny?

When mom dropped me off at school yesterday I joined the other kids at the breakfast table with my cereal, juice, and fruit.

One of the other girls at the table was laughing uncontrollably. My teacher asked her, "What's so funny?" but she just cracked up again and replied, "That was sooo funny!"

Mom started chortling and asked me, "What is she laughing at." As the girl continued with her breakfast table hysterics, I just gave my mom a look and said, "It wasn't funny."

Suddenly both my mom and teacher were laughing. I just don't understand adults.

Rolled Over

Today I rolled over for the first time! I was at school so neither mom or dad saw it, but I've come close to rolling over for them as well.

I'm also becoming quite the talker. I love chatting and giggling.

My favorite game, though, is trying to see how long I can keep the adults around me smiling. It seems that all I have to do is give them a big toothless grin and maybe a little coo and any adult within earshot is smiling too.

2 Month Check-Up

Last week Monday I had my 2 Month check-up. I'm happy, healthy, and growing. They weighed me at exactly 12lbs (above average for my age) and my mom has transitioned my cloths from the 0-3mo size to 3-6mo.

Vegetarian Dinners

I've decided to try to eat less meat. This doesn't mean I'm a vegetarian since my goal is to back down to 2-3 meals a week with meat. I'm not even trying to be a semi-vegetarian or "flexitarian" because when I do eat meat I tend to choose beef first. That beef-first approach may contradict the reason for less meat, but I have low iron... and beef really is much more tasty than poultry!

My motives are mostly green-based. The environmental impact of raising animals is not marginal. Many are sensitive to the costs of feed but there is also the effect of the antibacterial drugs fed to these animals. I was shocked when I learned about the quantity of antibacterial drugs used and I must assume that farm animals contribute heavily to the drug-resistant strains we now see cropping up.

How am I doing this? Mostly through selecting vegetarian options at lunch and when eating dinner out combined with taking the initiative to cook a vegetarian dinner at home once a week. Then M and other meals prepared by friends etc can be a meat-filled as they wish and I minimize my impact on other's food preparations.

So what can I cook at home that a husband and 2yr old will eat? That is where I've turned to the Moosewood Cookbooks. M and I use to eat at the Moosewood Restaurant a lot when we were dating so I'm hoping to find a few recipies in there that he will like. Last night I tried a North African recipie for stuffed peppers with a feta cheese sauce. S liked the rice covered in cheese although the flavors were very subtle. I'm not sure it will be part of my standard rotation, but we'll see.

Crazy Sock Day

School had Crazy Sock Day and I borrowed some of mom's old Elmo socks. I was quite excited about it.

Video of an Artist

Please enjoy the following video highlighting my recent creative endeavor.

Favorite Things

These are a few of my favorite things...

• Eating
• Sleeping
  
• A warm washcloth wiping me off right before getting a clean diaper
• Kicking the duck chime, a stuffed animal, a friendly hand... anything
• The sound of my mom's voice
• My dad during tummy time
• My sister all the time
• Attention, especially from a smiling face
  

Lounging Poolside

My sister seems to think splashing in the pool is a great thing to do. Last weekend she went swimming three times and still wanted more! Her favorite activities seemed to include spraying her nephew with a water shooter.

After a while, she wrapped this big clunky vest around herself and she loved it even more. It looked like the adults all backed off her just a little and she reveled in that little bit of independence.

Then she found the garden hose and it's small trickle of (very cold) water pouring into the pool. All the adults, especially her aunt, gave a big reaction every time S splashed the hose in their direction, which, of course, just encouraged her further.

Her final activity was to jump into the water. This seemed to be fun too, although it looked like S was enjoying the freedom of getting in and out of the pool more than the actual act of jumping into the water.

Through all of this, I just enjoyed hanging out at the side of the pool.

New Blog Feature

Note that I just added a feature that lets you subscribe to this blog (look on the right side of this page just below the "Intro to the Family"). Now you can learn about updates instantly.

School Adjustments

This was a draining week.

A is doing great in the infant room. On Tuesday, we were still trying to use a rather funky bottle system (award winning for evil plastic chemicals but not a very practical design) and she didn't take to the new caregiver giving her a bottle, but since we changed over to a more traditional bottle system (that still lacks most of the evil chemicals) she's been great. Now I just have to learn how much she wants to drink (she keeps draining every bottle dry!).

S isn't handling the transition as well, though. Both the kids and the teachers are mostly the same but the room is different and her favorite teacher moved out as well. We've had a couple of difficult evenings this week. Yesterday morning was a very dramatic drop-off. And last night she didn't sleep well.

Everyone asks me how the baby is doing with the changes and if she is letting me sleep, yet it is the toddler I feel I need to focus on and has me up at night requiring extra TLC.

But this morning's drop-off was pretty smooth so I'm hoping for brighter skies next week.

Potty Successes

I've made it a full week without an accident now!

Survived

Mom arrived at my side early this afternoon and found me happily napping surrounded by toys. She had no reason to fret.

First Day

S is now at her first day in the yellow room (a room for the oldest toddlers, just before entering preschool).

A is now at her first day in the young infant room.

and I survived my first dual-drop-off and made it into work without letting a tear escape.

Bonding with Daddy

I spent three days home alone with dad this week and after six weeks of being very mommy-centric I've decided that dad isn't all that bad. After all, I didn't realize that someone else could feed me (and I love my food)!

Potty Training

Mom is quite excited. On the 18th, mom started sending me to school without diapers. I did pretty well last week ending in great success by making it through the entire weekend without an accident! And this is including trips to the store, to my aunt's house, and to various other places that I like visiting and therefore become distracted.

This week is week two and I'm well on my way to making it through another weekend accident free.

I've wanted to dive into the potty experience for quite some time now, but mom kept holding me back. At first it was because she was expecting A to arrive in just a few weeks. I showed enough interest for her to finally pick up some underwear for me, but then she was "too tired" and they were put in my dresser drawer. Finally, during a trip to the zoo a few weeks ago, I had a dry diaper and asked to go to the bathroom. I took care of my business and made it through the rest of the zoo trip without soiling my diaper.

With that, mom finally decided that perhaps she was holding me back too much.

So, here I am, wearing my favorite blue Hello Kitty's under my pants and running around as if I'm an expert.

To Make Everything OK

Sometimes you just need to finish the night in mom and dad's bed so the world will be OK in the morning.

Dr's Check-Up

I had my one month doctor's check-up yesterday and am a happy, healthy, growing baby. I measured at just under 22 inches (75% for height) and weighed in at 10lbs 13.5oz (that is the 90% for weight).

One Month Old

I am one month old today. This must be significant because my big sister spent the afternoon making cupcake with my mom. She even put a candle in one and blew it out for me.

I thought it would be a very good idea to stay up late enough to see the actual moment I was born so here it is 11:40 and I am still awake.

Sisters

Everyone says we look alike. Here are photos of us both at about one month of age.

Related? You tell us... BTW, S is the top and A is the bottom photo.

Sleeping Princesses

My only comment is what am I doing taking pictures when I should be taking a nap too?!

Bath and Bottle

I've survived another bath. This time I almost enjoyed it. I think my mom's favorite part was the fact that this time I didn't poop in the tub or pee on her.

I enjoyed the warm water and gentle rubbing, but it was just mom and I so I missed having my big sister help. I've become quite attached to S. I'm very good at tracking her movements as she races around the house and brings toys to share with me.

In other news, I also tried my first bottle today. Actually, I tried the bottle three times today. I never had any milk but I did try it.

Imaginary Friends

I'm collecting a menagerie of friends. I started out with elephants. Now I also have snakes and snails of all different colors. They can be snatched out of thin air and I generally hold them in the palm of my hands.

Sometimes at meals I feed them. Other times I set them up with some of my books or most prized toys. Often I just hand them to mom or dad to hold, and then I yell at them if they hold their hands in a manner that implies they might have dropped them. Keeping an eye on those two is hard work!

Silly Chicken

Dad told me a joke last night. It was my first joke and I found the concept rather interesting. Dad suggested that I tell the joke to mom in the morning.

So this morning, in the middle of breakfast, I turned to mom and informed her, "That chicken is silly." Mom laughed and asked why the chicken was silly so I explained, "Because it crossed the road. It is a joke. It is silly." She definitely laughed so I must have a talent for joke telling.

Bath Time

I had another bath last Tuesday. Current bath count is 3: one at the hospital with dad and the nurse, one sponge bath at home with mom, my big sister, and my grandma g, and this bath with mom, S, and my dad.
I'm still not quite sure what to make of them. Each bathing experience was unique. About the only consistent parts of each bath is that it involves water and somehow during the process I end up pooping at least twice and peeing all over mom.

Four Person Zoo Trip

Mom and dad took me an A to the zoo. A slept almost the entire time so I think she barely counts, but mom and dad seemed to think it was a big deal for all four of us to have a successful outing together.I had a very good time. The elephants were in their splash pool. The keepers were feeding the sea lions just as we arrived. The tortoises were very active as we walked by. It was pretty fun.

Now I have 2 pet elephants at home. They have their own books and spend most of the day sitting on the ottoman in the livingroom.

2 Weeks Old

I'm now 2 weeks old (as of 9min ago). What have I learned in this time?

I've learned how important a good meal of warm fresh milk is. I love it so much I'll often eat with a passion that leads to drinking more quickly than I can swallow.

I've learned how lovely a long nap is. Even better than just a long nap is a nap while curled up on the belly of my mom or dad.

I've learned how much my sister likes to play with me. She likes holding me for short periods of time and putting her finger in my hand so I can hold it. Best of all, she is very good at saying comforting words while stroking my back, petting my head, or rubbing my belly.

Realizations of a Second Time Mom

As A reaches 2 weeks of age, I find myself reflecting on my eldest daughter's maturity. At the hospital after spending the night caring for A, S was heavy to pick up and strong to wrestle. Now I look at her and see a small child with a precocious opinion about what and how to do everything. She wants to wear panties. She wants to make cupcakes. She wants to hold A. And she doesn't want help.

My first born is no longer my little baby.

Cupcakes

I was very interested in making cupcakes this week so on Friday mom and I went to the store for some funfetti cake mix and frosting. Then mom took out the food coloring and we experimented with mixing yellow and blue, red and blue, and red and yellow. I'm very proud of the colorful array of cupcakes we ended up with.