Let's Swing

We are having some amazing weather this week, which has allowed Jillian to enjoy playing on the play set out back. Matt decided Adrienne should be included in the fun, so he bought a baby swing for her. He put it up this evening, and she loved every second of her first ride on a swing.

I could not get enough of her infectious grin as she soaked up this new form of fun. Absolute baby bliss.

Emerging Companions

I am starting to get glimpses of just how much fun it will be to watch these two girls grow into true companions. Jillian often asks to play with Adrienne, adding that she promises to "play nicely", and Adrienne clearly LOVES any attention Jillian throws her way. I had a couple of joyful moments over the weekend where I thought to myself, "this is what my mom must have experienced with us girls". I try to remember sweet moments like these on the days when our house is full of chaos and crankiness.

First, Adrienne has now officially graduated to the "big girl bathtub" and on most days, takes a bath with Jillian. This delights them both, and really makes for an easy transition upstairs at night. Adrienne literally squeals with joy as she frantically crawls toward the tub--apparently her excitement over a big girl bath outweighs her dislike for crawling bare-kneed on the tile floor. This girl loves to splash! I love how Jillian persists in asking Adrienne a question, despite the lack of answer. She is certainly not afraid to fill any silence with her voice.

Jillian asked to feed Adrienne lunch yesterday, and the two had a great time with the activity. I could tell that Jillian felt so helpful and proud to be entrusted with the task, and Adrienne ate up her yogurt in no time. It was extra messy...but also extra fun!

Adrienne must understand some beauty benefit of yogurt, as she didn't seem to mind this face mask

The Answers

Jillian has all the answers these days, and typically answers her own questions. She re-asks most any question many times, and just waits for you to change your original answer in the slightest so that she can then correct you. It is of no use for me to try and correct any incorrect assumptions, so mostly I just go along with her assertions. A good friend of mine recently sent me an article about raising strong willed children and one of its many valid points was "you don't have to attend every argument your child invites you to".  I am doing my best to decline unnecessary invitations. In that light, Jillian went to school with her shoes on the wrong feet last week (and they were still on incorrectly when I picked her up), and frequently can be found wearing summer clothing (while complaining she is cold) around the house. Her hair is usually undone, and outfits are unmatched (from my point of view). As best I have always tried to offer choices, sometimes it is painfully clear just how natural it is for me to assert control over everything. It is subconscious for this type A personality of mine. I am trying to lighten up and let her explore her desires so long as they do not cause her to hurt herself or someone else (i.e. we had to put a stop to her attempt to enlist Adrienne in the dance party she was having with Matt last week, as she picked her up around her middle and promptly flipped her over and dropped her on her face. Thankfully, though quite sensitive, Adrienne is pretty robust!)
Anyhow, the point of this post is really to share a sampling of what I've heard come out of Jillian's mouth in the last few days. Sometimes I get a little off-topic as I process my experiences as a mom...I cannot keep up with this kid.

-I am already receiving fashion advice from her, and got an unsolicited opinion when I walked into the kitchen last week: "Mom, your slippers do not match those pajamas". I wasn't aware they were supposed to...

-"Here Mom, I drew you a picture of a Little By Pony". Me: "Oh, you mean a My Little Pony?" J: "No, Mom, that's not right.  It is called a Little By Pony!"

-J: "Mom, what's a weddin'?"
Me: "It's when two people get married"
J: "Oh, well I'm too short to get married".
Her dad hopes she uses that line of reasoning for at least the next 25 years.

Me: "What was your Bible story about today?"
J: (in an exasperated tone) "Oh, it was about blind again"
Me: "Huh? You mean someone who was blind? Who was blind?"
J: "It's a real tricky name, Mom".
Later I looked up the info on her newsletter and saw that the story was about Bartimaeus, the blind man Jesus healed...a tricky name, indeed!

Lastly, my favorite phrase of late is one Jillian uses when she is done doing something or doesn't like it--"Mom, I'm real tired about that". Add in her now ever-present hand gestures, and you have a recipe for a three year old who acts and talks like a teenager.  I'm not sure whether I should laugh or cry.

Oh, and did I mention she can also belt out pop music? Here is her cover of Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain", sung casually and spontaneously while coloring after dinner.

Moving Right Along

Adrienne continues to move right along, in the literal sense. It was a pretty big day of accomplishments for her. To begin, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and spontaneously waved at her sweet reflection. Later, when I got her up from her nap, I scooped her up and enthusiastically said, "hi" (which really sounded more like "hi-ee"). She grinned, waved, and said "ha-ahhh" in clear attempt to imitate me. That is melt-your-heart adorableness right there.
We spent some time playing downstairs before supper, and I looked over to see Adrienne cruising. Definitely another first. She had pulled up on Jillian's toddler trampoline and was casually taking some steps to move toward the front of the equipment. I was too late with the camera to catch that one. I did, however, catch this little shenanigan just before bath time. I can always count on Matt to scoot these girls right along, developmentally. Maybe he should have been the OT!

11.75

That is how many hours my wonderful baby slept last night! Sort of. She cried around her usual 10:30 time for about 15 minutes while I lay in bed reminding myself that she did not need to eat, and that I have done nothing but reinforce this wake up time by hurriedly rushing to her. I take full responsibility for always doing what is easiest and what will prevent Jillian from waking unnecessarily. She made a few peeps soft peeps around 2:15, and again at 4--nothing that required attention or made me think she was truly awake and starving. At 5:30, I heard one whimper and prepared to get up since she was surely hungry and had already accomplished the "sleeping all night" goal I had at that point. Plus, as I am used to feeding her twice in the night, I was about to burst. I drifted back to sleep and woke when Jillian came downstairs at 6:30. Adrienne didn't wake until 6:45, which was just shy of 12 hours after I put her to bed. This stirs up a whole crazy level of excitement in my sleep deprived world, and strengthens my resolve to persist until this becomes her norm. It is time, sweet Adrienne, it is time!
 A well-rested baby is a happy baby who magically appears even cuter to her mother than she did the night before!

Under the Table and Scheming? A bit of a twist on the title for any Dave Matthews fans.

Turning Wheels

Sometimes I'm not quite sure how Jillian's train of thought rolls from one topic to the next, but roll it does. The wheels are always turning in our house for sure. In the short span of a few minutes, she initiated conversation around the following subjects:

"Mom, let's buy a train. I want to ride a locomotive!" (what??)
"Is this shirt for Secret Patches Day?" (took me a second to realize that she was talking about St Patrick's Day--ha!)
"My favorite thing at the Big Mall is where you ride the animals. You know, the Miracle Round." (ah yes, the Merry-Go-Round)

Speaking of things that roll, Adrienne made a discovery the other day that kept her engaged for quite some time.

8 Months Old

My little bitty baby is now two-thirds of a year old. Adrienne is really changing quickly, and seems like such a big girl these days. Her daddy recently taught her how to show us just how big she is.

If you re-watch that clip, you can also observe two of Adrienne's trademarks: the "shy face" (where she dips her head down and sheepishly grins), and her ear piercing squeal. She really has turned on the personality this month, and we love her curiosity, determination, and social nature.

Just a few facts to record about our 8 month old....

Adrienne can't seem to get her act together in the night sleep department. Either that, or her mother can't bear to do what must be done. It is never fun to be the bad guy, and it seems Adrienne isn't going to learn to sleep all night unless I become more intentional about teaching her to do so. She is consistently up at least twice per night to eat, despite markedly upping her intake of solids.

Speaking of eating, the little lady enjoys a good feast. About a week before we left for Hawaii, she had a yucky cold and suddenly stopped eating solids. Since we've returned, she can't seem to eat enough of them. In fact today she ate a bowl of oat cereal with a jar of mango-pear mixed in for breakfast, a large jar of sweet potatoes and a whole container of yo-baby yogurt for lunch, and a large container of broccoli-apple puree and a half a container of carrot-apple puree for dinner. New foods she has tried this month include: pureed blueberries, broccoli, pumpkin, spinach, yogurt, avocado, and mango. She also enjoys finger feeding with puffs and diced bananas, and does well drinking water from a sippy cup. I can't remember the last time she's had a bottle, and at this late point in her first year, I'm not inclined to get her started.

Adrienne is driven to move. The girl is busy, and reminds me so much of Jillian at this age in her curious exploration. The childcare worker at Bible study summed her up pretty well in her comment to me this morning: "Adrienne is the only baby here who can keep the baby swing moving all by herself, long after we've turned it off!" I am not surprised. She can crawl incredibly fast, and is usually headed in the direction you prefer she avoid. She is masterful at finding cords, outlets you thought you covered, and the tiniest dangerous object somehow left on the floor. Changing her diaper is next to impossible, as she just sits straight up (as if she was doing a true sit up) and dives forward to grab whatever she can find on the changing table. To say she is a wiggle worm is a gross understatement. The kid is persistent and requires nearly all of my strength to get her changed. Adrienne now pulls to stand frequently--on laundry baskets, the dishwasher door, the baby gate, her activity table, and when she is really desperate, she attempts (unsuccessfully, so far) to pull up on my pant leg. Earlier this week, I walked into her room when she woke from her nap and saw this

Interestingly, I got a similar shot of Jillian doing this very thing during the exact same week of development (and in the same sleep sack even!)

The deja vu I experience with these girls is crazy sometimes. If nothing else, they are pretty consistent! Matt promptly lowered the crib to the toddler setting, so Adrienne appears safe. For now.

I am sure we are in for even bigger developmental changes this month as she tests her new abilities and pushes the limits of safe exploration in the house--all while certainly wearing her big, toothy, charming, adorable grin.

I could eat this baby up. Seriously.