15 Months ~Amelia~

Summer is in full swing and we are enjoying every minute before it slips away all too fast.  There have been fireworks and lake trips and picnics and tons of outdoor play time and we have enjoyed  it all.   

Growth:
Amelia’s 15 Month Check-Up Stats
Weight:  21 lbs 13 oz (38^th percentile)
Height:  31 1/4” (82^nd percentile)
Head Circumference: 45.5 cm (55^th percentile)

A teacher at daycare made the comment that you can really tell how tall she is when she is in the next room up full of older children and she is just as tall if not taller than most of them.    

She is in 12-18 month and 18 month items.  Diapers are size 4 and shoes are size 4-5. 

Mobility/Coordination:  Amelia’s new favorite activity: climbing onto the coffee table.  Once she discovered she could do this, we slid the coffee table tight to the couch to reduce the likelihood of her falling between the couch and the coffee table.  We try to deter her and play the game of her climbing up, us taking her off, her climbing up, us taking her off.  She thinks it is hilarious even when she is sternly told no and put in time out.  Otherwise, this month has been pretty much the same as last… lots of exploring, on the verge of running, and going full blast every waking minute of every day. 

   

Language/Communication:  Her sign language skills are still the same: eat, more, please, all done, milk and thank you.  She still loves saying “hi” and we are now hearing her attempt to say Grant which comes out more like “Get.”  When you take her picture and tell her “say cheese,” she gets her scrunchy smile in place and says “shhh.”  I was looking back at Grant’s blog posts trying to see where he was at with language at this point because we always had concerns about his speech or lack thereof.  It seems she is a smidge behind what he was at this age.  We know she hears us and understands us but still doesn’t have the words to communicate back. 

Personality/Amelia-isms:  Amelia’s biting has continued and increased in frequency unfortunately.  She rarely bites at home and if she attempts and we catch her and say “no bite” she won’t continue the action.  However, it seems at daycare that she targets the smaller children and the teachers can’t always catch her before it happens.  Other times it happens when another child sticks their finger in her mouth or invades her space.  It’s like deja vu with her and Grant at this age/stage.

Amelia still has her sassy side and when you tell her no, she shakes her head and blows raspberries.  The silly times definitely outweigh the sassy though.  At Kelli’s shower a couple weeks ago, she was putting on quite the show prancing around and cheesing with her big squinty grin.  The cheesy grin/scrunch face now comes in several forms... the smile scrunch, the I don’t want that scrunch, the mischievous scrunch.  She loves walking around with books and sweats like her brother! 

Sleep:  Again, no changes on the sleep front:  2 naps a day (she still isn’t ready to drop that morning nap completely) and bed by 7:00. 

Eating:  Amelia’s appetite has still been about the same lately as well.  It’s hit and miss with meals but milk is usually chugged and then her cup is chucked to the ground. 

Teeth:  The tooth drought is over.  Amelia’s upper L and R 1 year old molars made an appearance on the same day followed by the long awaited lower right lateral incisor 3 days later to even things out on bottom. 

Illnesses/Owies:  There have been no illnesses this month but she had yet another busted lip (this time on the corner of coffee table).

Brother/Sister Moment(s):   The typical brother and sister antics have continued.  Amelia is Grant’s shadow and picking up on both his good and bad behaviors

Firsts:  Fond du Lac bike races ~ campfire and s’mores ~ trip to the fair and ride on the ferris wheel ~ fireworks show (which she LOVED)  She never sits still.  Ever.  But she literally sat on my lap and never moved during the entire show   

 

At the bike races with Papa George

Snuggling during the fireworks

First ferris wheel ride!

Likes:  corn on the cob ~ giving high fives ~ milk ~ balls ~ bouncing ~ swinging ~ blankets ~ sucking her thumb ~ sitting on laps

Yummy Corn!!

Dislikes:  wearing a hair clip (even though I am so excited we can finally get one in) ~ being told no ~

Toddler Moment(s):  I’d say the biggest toddler obstacle we are dealing with right now is the biting.  It seems we have recently made some headway but I don’t think it is completely behind us just yet.

Grant ~Winter & Spring 2014~

Talk about slacking?!?  This post is a combo Winter and Spring post (posted almost halfway through summer).  As most of you know, we’ve had a really busy beginning to 2014.    

Size at his 3 year check in January:

Height:  37 1/2”  (49^th percentile)
Weight:  31 lbs  (41^st percentile)
BP:  88/60  (this was a first for him and he didn’t mind it at all and actually thought it was pretty neat)

Approximate size now:

Height:  39”
Weight:  33 lbs

Potty training:

We are accident free all day long 99% of the time.  The thing Grant still struggles with is staying dry at nap and bed time.  He is staying dry more frequently at those times but I think part of his problem is he is such a heavy sleeper and once he is asleep, he is out. 

Month:  January

Favorite words, sayings and/or things:

One of the silly things that Grant often does is add syllables to words.  For example, yeah = ya-ah and good = gah-ood.  Some other cute ways he says things… instructions = constructions and lincoln logs = flinkin’ logs.  Grant loves to tell us he “runs faster like a cheetah.” 

Funnies/Grant-isms:

Grant still loves green everything.  One night I was explaining to him one day his baby teeth will fall out and he will get new, adult teeth.   He then told me, “Maybe I'll get green teeth when I get my new teeth.”  There was one night when we had put Grant to bed and heard a bid thud.  Matt and I go racing upstairs to find Grant crying because he fell out of bed.  When we asked what he was doing, his reply... "I was doing my exercises!"  Cue bursting out in tears again.  On his birthday, after he blew out the candle he pulled the candle out of the cupcake and bit the bottom off of it.  This is a good one… Grant likes checking for lint between our toes!  There was one night where I plucked his socks off and pointed out the lint between his toes and from that moment on he will check for lint between his and our toes!

Observations: 

Grant has been expressing more interest in lying in bed with us or having us lay with him.  I usually cave on the weekends and snuggle with him in our bed until he falls asleep.   He absolutely loves board games and has recently received hi-ho cherry-o, don’t break the ice, and duck duck goose and we play constantly!  One of the teachers at daycare stopped me in the hallway one afternoon and was giggling and she told me Grant is so much fun, he says the funniest things and is so entertaining.  “He’s like a 17 year old trapped in a kid’s body.”  Grant loves having a bath time fun buddy… Amelia. 

Firsts/Adventures: 

We celebrated Grant's 3rd Birthday complete with a construction theme.  We purchased a beginner snowboard for Grant and he loves it!  His balance is surprisingly very good.  He naturally bends his knees and puts his arms out. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February

Favorite words, sayings and/or things:

It doesn’t matter what it is but when you ask Grant when something happened he will say, “It happened on Thursday.”  He will ask, “What's your thang chicken wang?”  He calls Amelia “A-mewl-da.”  He loves measuring things with his tape measure and it doesn’t matter what he measures it is always 28.5"  Grant randomly tells us he slipped and fell on the ice anytime he is “hurt” or wants extra attention.   

Funnies/Grant-isms:

More and more frequently Grant is singing along to songs on the radio or singing randomly.  It’s so cute to hear what he thinks the words are.  For instance, he was singing “I'm so heavy, so very heavy” when the words really are “I’m so happy, so very happy.  I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart.”  Grant does this really weird scrunchy eye thing… sometimes it is when he is mad or frustrated and other times he does it being silly. 

Observations: 

Grant’s imagination is growing!  It is so entertaining listening to some of the stories he comes up with.  He likes to get our attention and say “mommy/daddy I have to tell you something… Last Thursday I dunked my head in the toilet.”  To our knowledge this has never actually happened but he says it constantly and giggles each and everytime.  When he eats a dessert or sweet, he savors every bite and eats slowly.  He can get completely snow ready by himself as well as now get a shirt on by himself. 

March

Favorite words, sayings and/or things:

Grant says I love you a lot… over and over.  I will never get sick of him saying it and taking my face between his hands, squishing my cheeks and saying “I love you mommy.”  He loves wearing sweatshirts with a hood.  He also loves dolphin and brings him everywhere.   He doesn’t like “red things” in reference to tomatoes.   

 

Funnies/Grant-isms:

Grant came to me with a broken piece of one of his new toys and said "someone broke it."   I asked who and he said Addie and I told him Addie hasn't played with these toys yet are you sure that is what happened.  He said oh and then I asked if he broke it and he said yeah.  One night at dinner we asked Grant if he knew where pork chops come from.  Without hesitation he said, “Mmm hmmm!  Apple seeds!!!”

Observations: 

Grant has begun to express interest in having privacy when he goes to the bathroom.

Firsts/Adventures: 

We moved Grant to the next car seat which is a convertible to booster but still with 5 point harness.  We needed his current car seat for Amelia to move up.

Illness: 

In the beginning of the month, Grant popped up with a low grade fever and a croup cough which only lasted for one night but was very bad.  Luckily, we have a breathing machine and did a treatment and some oils and the next day he was ok. 
 

 

April

Favorite words, sayings and/or things:

He has told us, “When I'm bigger, I'll get to put someone in time out.”

Funnies/Grant-isms:

Matt was trying to stay up to watch the 10 o’ clock news one night and dozed off on the couch.  When he woke up at midnight, Grant was sitting next to him on the couch wide awake watching whatever was on TV. 

Observations:

There are times when Grant will be whiny for no reason and we ask why.  His reply almost always is “Because I miss A-mewl-da” (when she is literally sitting next to him).  Grant can do a perfect frontward somersault

Firsts/Adventures: 

He didn’t have his first dentist appointment (that was almost 2 years ago) but he did allow the hygienist to perform a full cleaning at this visit.  We also had Amelia’s birthday, the kitchen renovation, and a whole lot of crazy busyness!

 

 

 

May

Favorite words, sayings and/or things:

Grant still loves dolphin and wants to take him everywhere.  He is also adamant about the fact that he is “dolphin’s mommy” not his daddy but he is “just pretending.”  After hearing Matt say it one time, one of Grant’s new favorite sayings is “I love you like a fly on stink.” 

Funnies/Grant-isms:

Grant is M&M obsessed and he doesn’t even eat them that often.  He will use M&M interchangeable when he is happy/silly or mad.  We’ve heard anything from “I’m a little M&M short and small” or “see you later M&M’s” to “mommy you’re an M&M” when he gets mad and doesn’t get his way.  It’s hard to keep a straight face with a 3 year old throwing insults like that at you. 

 

Grant loves trying to identify smells.  If he smells something unique he will say, “what’s that smell.”  We then have to go through the what, why’s and how’s of the smell. 

Observations:

It has been a very difficult month filled with many moments in which Grant is extremely defiant, angry, and upset.  When he doesn’t get his way, he will occasionally clench his fists and stomp his foot and say “I don’t like you mommy/daddy.”  There was one day at school in which he spit at the teacher!  That only happened on one occasion I believe but he then resorted to saying “spit” when he is angry instead of actually spitting.  I am happy to say that by the end of this month we saw these issues less.  He spent many minutes in timeout or afternoons without riding his gator or sleeping with dolphin in his bed.  He even earned a couple swift swats with the paddle on occasion. 

I am pretty sure Grant also experienced and remembered his first dream this month.  In the middle of the night, he was crying and saying “Mommy I'm scared.”  When I got to his room, I told him it was ok and he said “but you're not on the boat anymore?  You’re leaving without me?"  He loves riding his big boy bike with training wheels and is getting better at doing so.  He has a hard time pedaling back up the driveway however. 

Firsts/Adventures:

We attended Addison and Ari's birthday parties, the Memorial Day parade and had our first “boat day” of the season this month.  We also took a trip to the Dells with my parents while they were here for Amelia’s birthday party.  Grant loves all the waterslides and is absolutely fearless when it comes to going down even the big ones. 

 

 

Illness:  On 5/19 woke up with a croup sounding cough.  We did a breathing treatment and peppermint oil on his chest with thieves on his feet and sent him back to bed.  There was no lingering cough or return of the croup the following night.  

14 Months ~Amelia~

Following in mommy's footsteps?!?

Luckily this month has slowed down slightly.  Work has still be crazy but we’ve been so lucky that Matt has been working close to home still and we haven’t been as busy on the weekends.  Both kids have been thoroughly enjoying the warmer weather.  Every afternoon when we get home we unload and spend some time outside playing.  Grant likes playing baseball and riding his bike and gator and Amelia is never very far behind like a little shadow.

Growth:

Amelia’s monthly estimates…

Weight:  22 lbs

Height:  32.5”

She is in 12-18 month and 18 month items.  Diapers are size 4 and shoes are size 4. 

Mobility/Coordination:  The last month has been a month of building and fine tuning her mobility and coordination.  Her latest favorite activity is climbing… on the toy box, on the fire place, on small inanimate objects.  She enjoys playing outside and dancing by twirling in circles.  She has also shown more interest in coloring and scribbling. 

Language/Communication:  Amelia’s communication has really grown over the last month.  She understands more and more simple commands/requests such as come eat, find your shoe, put that away, etc.  She points at objects (with her middle finger) she wants and says “da.”  She knows the sign for “please” and says “Hi!”  There was also one day when Matt was leaving for work and clear as day she said “Bye da da.”  And if anyone is wondering, she still hasn’t said “ma-ma.”  Although, she will occasionally babble “Mmmm” so that “m” sound is in there somewhere! 

Personality/Amelia-isms:  Amelia can still be a little fireball and will let you know when she isn’t happy.  She walks around squealing and still sports the scrunchy smile quite frequently and it is absolutely adorable.  She has unfortunately started to occasionally follow in her brother’s footsteps and become a biter.  This week has been a good week but the last couple of weeks she has come home with at least 3-4 incident reports a week for biting at daycare.

She is one smart cookie too I tell ya.  Last week Amelia came into the kitchen while I was preparing supper and grabbed a towel off the oven door.  She walked back into the dining room with it so I followed her.  Low and behold she had gotten the dog food scoop out of the dog food, dunked it in the dog water, dumped the water on the floor, and came to get the towel to wipe up the mess. 

Sleep:  Amelia’s sleeping habits are all still about the same.  She is hanging on to that morning 30-60 minute nap, an afternoon nap and bed around 6:30-7:00 on most nights.  She normally only sucks her thumb when she is relaxing or falling asleep.  Lately it never fails that when we check on her before we go to bed her feet/legs are through the crib slots.

The biggest sleep related change we have noticed is that when we lay her down for the night for bed she cries.  We’ll pop back in, check on her, pick her up and cuddle her then lay her back down and she will cry again briefly.  It seems she is suffering from a little separation anxiety and it only takes a minute or so and she settles down and falls right to sleep.   

Eating:  Amelia’s appetite has been very hit and miss lately.  Breakfast is usually a breeze and she eats well but her appetite seems to diminish through the day.  She still enjoys chugging her cup of milk right away.  She’ll throw it on the ground the minute it is empty and then nibble on her food and cry and sign for "more milk."  We usually limit her milk intake to one refill and then water.  When she gets her cup back with water, she’ll usually take one sip and throw it on the floor again. 

Teeth:  We have officially hit 5 months without the emergence of a new tooth.  I will say that it appears her lower right lateral incisor is finally about to cut through.  Give it the next couple of weeks and she’ll have at least that tooth if not more. 

Check out those chompers!

Illnesses/Owies:  Amelia took a pretty bad spill in the kitchen just as we were walking out the door.  She was being silly and walking around with a blanket over her head.  She tripped and fell and couldn’t break her fall.  Her lip tie that holds your lip to gumline ripped all the way up and I thought for sure she’d end up with some loose or deadened tooth nerves from it but she didn’t.   

She also had a bout with hand, foot and mouth this month as well.  We got a call on a Monday saying she had a fever.  Matt picked her up and that night we noticed she had some ear drainage so we thought for sure it was an ear infection.  She stayed home Tuesday and was back to normal and at daycare Wednesday.  That afternoon at pick up we were notified 3 kids had HFM in her room.  I immediately ramped up the essential oil usage (Thieves, Oregano, and Purification).  She went to daycare on Thursday with no spots/blisters and we got a call by lunch saying she had one on her thumb and a couple on her feet.  That was the extent of Amelia’s case.  We were very surprised because the teachers had indicated it seemed like a pretty bad strain based on how severely some of the kids were breaking out. 

Brother/Sister Moment(s):  Anytime Amelia is corrected on her behavior (sit down or don't do this) Grant is always sure to point out the fact the he is sitting or behaving appropriately when she isn't.  Amelia is Grant’s shadow.  She loves to follow him and play with him and it is so much fun to see them learning to interact and play together.    

Firsts:  Amelia got her first chance to meander around breakfast on the farm.  She loved the baby goats and petting zoo area as well as baby cows.  The breakfast itself was a hit and she inhaled some eggs, sausage, watermelon, cheese, and milk.    

Likes:  shaking the  clapper ~ throwing things away ~ carrying around a blanket ~ sitting in Grant’s gator ~ putting her cup in a cup holder ~ opening the DVD player ~ turning her baby monitor light on ~ Reading books and turning the pages (big change from previous months where she wouldn’t sit still long enough to read even a very short book)

Stealing a seat on Grant's gator when he isn't looking :)

Dislikes:  pineapple ~ an empty sippee cup

Toddler Moment(s):  We are definitely seeing Amelia’s desire for independence grow which means tantrums and more of them.  She wants what she wants when she wants it and she wants it now.  When she is done eating at dinner she will cry/whine until we let her out but we often make her wait until we are done.  If her sippee cup is empty, she slings it onto the floor.  If we put water in her cup and she wants milk, she slings the cup on the floor.