As mother predicted and we had come to conclude, it will be another little girl! (and to the person who guessed twins...thank the Lord, it appears you are wrong. :) ) E will love having a sister so close in age. The boy name was easier, and so we are still left with 5 solid names on our list for our newest little one. Hopefully we will not be as indecisive as we were with Elizabeth.
As David says, "Mommy, your tummy is getting bigger." It is, although often cannot be seen yet depending on what I wear. Here I am in a tighter shirt so the baby bump is pretty apparent.
So, Monday is the big day! We have gone back and forth about finding out, but we decided to see if baby will cooperate to reveal the gender. Any guesses?
She still does not say "mommy," but she definitely says the "mamama" sound when she is upset and crawling toward me.
She still sleeps well at night (about 11-12 hours) but not so well napping. It has been a bit better this month though if I get her down for a nap between 10:30 or 11:30. She may even nap for an hour or two. Unheard of for her!
I love the fact that she is getting more hair. It is not huge amounts but more than her brother had at the same age and definitely more than her Mama had, even at 2 years old!
Every toy goes in her mouth and she shows a strong preference for paper. ;) She also loves to chew on shoes. Yuck!
As my Mama always says, she shows that she is a girl in a few areas: one of which is staying a bit closer to home. While I think she may be my adventurous one, she is not roaming away from me nearly as much as D did.
She loves her brother so much! They now play together quite frequently...she even puts up with a little rough-housing as long as she is in a cheerful mood.
The biggest change this month began with her second tooth (the beginning of January) and my mom's visit. I think my mom was pretty shocked that I had been so lazy in feeding my baby. E has always been quite content with her bottle and pretty fussy with baby food. After my mom tackled the task of feeding E 2-3 meals a day for a couple of days, we are now feeding E regularly her 3 square meals a day! She still is not a huge eater and will generally only eat the equivalent of about one jar of stage two baby food a meal. She likes the fruit best, of course, but will eat most other food if alternated spoonfuls with something sweet. She still really does not like texture to her food (spitting it right back out) but we are working through that gradually. The only texture she will tolerate (in fact adores) is Cheerios. She is a cheerio hound and will happily eat cheerios at all meals! Crackers and goldfish are also another happy alternative. These feedings have slowed down her bottle intake to generally only about 24-28 ounces a day.
She is growing with all her meals and we have had to set aside all her 3-6 month clothing and half the 6 month clothes (although she still fits much of it) because she is too long, even though her waist is still tiny.
Little girl is growing up but still such a baby; hard to believe she is only 2 months shy of being one year old!
One quick story to tell on my sweet husband who has been so helpful this month. Notice anything about this picture other than a very cute baby?
How about now?
Or now? (and this was not the first time dear hubby put a shirt on E backward that week...testament to the fact that he actually was helping dress her!)
On that note, there have been immense leaps and bounds in his learning this past month. Even his teachers who had not seen him for 3 weeks over Christmas commented on that. He is so much more clearly verbal now. We can hold conversations with him. Some of his favorite phrases this month: "Mmm. tasty good." (said about his meals), "Mommy, that is my favorite song" (said about any music he hears as background music on the computer/radio/etc...), "my guys" (meaning "my friends at church"), as well as many vocal, sweet prayers unprompted throughout the day (often parroting back what I have prayed or chronicling like a journal his daily activities to the Lord.
David shows more comprehension of what is going on around him too. He is fascinated by time and is always running to look at the clock (cannot tell time yet) and asking what the clock says (especially right before he asks to go "pee-pee").
He has most obviously grown up in this area over the last month. Right around the end of last month, he went poo-poo in the potty for the first time. It has progressed with many times and some success in potty training. About 1/2-3/4 the time, he actually goes to the bathroom on his own and will pee or poop in it and keep his underwear or diapers dry, even when out of the house. We are still working on it although not pushing too hard.
A few more things to note: D loves his crocs!!! This kid could live in crocs if allowed. He also is quite fascinated with his new-to-him cowboy boots. He hates socks. He will wear them out but the second we get back in the house, off they come!!! He loves his noisiest toys (we have had to take several away when we can't stand it anymore). He fell out of a window of a playhouse at church and scraped up his face...leave it to my son to look at himself in the mirror and say, "Mommy, a golf club!" (his nose had a scab in the rough shape of a golf club!) He is less interested in golf this month though and more interested in unscrewing all the heads of his golf clubs and going around the house pretending his golf club shafts are either sniper rifles or swords. What a boy!!! He loves to pretend he is a puppy dog and will go around on all fours barking. His sister gets a kick out of this. He does love being a big brother and tries to play with Elizabeth constantly, often wrestling with her on the floor. Fortunately, she is pretty tough. His napping is now once every 2 weeks or so. We are trying to faithfully train him, and he has received many spankings. This month we are working on obeying quickly. Perhaps as an oldest child trait, but he is very inherently trustworthy in various areas though: ex. he will not sneak chips out of an open bag right on the table (even with Mommy across the room) when told to finish his sandwich first.
I pray that we will be able to train this little chappy to grow even more this month in the wisdom of the Lord. What a joy he is!
as my son comes over to kiss me and tells me he loves me. as he so sweetly and full of gratitude says "thank you" unprompted to some very small action in my part.
These declarations are the reminder to practice joy in the whining, screaming moments too. My children are a true gift from the Lord!
