Wednesday, August 23, 2017

13 Months Old!

Sweet Eloise Jane, today yesterday you were 13 months old!

In the past month you have officially started the transition from baby to toddler. You want to be independent and do things by yourself, which includes strong protests and tantrums when there is something you do NOT want to do (sitting on the potty, getting dressed, diaper changes, getting in your car seat, sitting in a high chair, having your face wiped, etc).

Here are your official 13 month updates!

How old? 13 months today yesterday!


Sleep? The big change in the past week has been that your morning naps have pushed back by an hour. Now it is rare for you to fall asleep before 10am, so naps tend to be 10-11:30ish, and again 2:30-4. On several days of the week we have to pick up Iyla AT 2:30, so you don't go down until at least 3pm and sleep until 4:30 or so. We still start bedtime around 7, but often you don't fall asleep until between 7:30-8pm- sometimes even later on your late afternoon nap days.

Food? The only consistent foods you appear NOT to like are strawberries and broccoli- everything else is still readily tried and enjoyed! You nurse 4-5x/day and get a bottle of milk before bed.


Teeth? We just had an unusual few days where you were having (ahem) diarrhea and being very very fussy and clingy. No fever, but google told me that those symptoms can be indicative of teething as all the extra saliva can cause the looser stools. And sure enough: this morning you had a brand new tooth that had cut through on your lower right side, and the lower left looks to be right behind it! So: 7 teeth total now.

Words? I honestly haven't been keeping track as you have so many you attempt to say! You are working on signing "please"- which I implemented out of desperation due to your toddler-esque shouting demands when you want something.

Movement?

*You are full on walking now! You are getting more and more steady on your feet, though daily wipeouts are still the (unfortunate) norm.

*You have finally learned to pull to stand on your own! This happened first in your crib (where you run around and party before every sleep), and in the past couple of days you are pulling yourself up on your toys and on furniture as well.

Nap time?

*You can get down to seated from standing, and are getting more adept at crawling.

*You have started trying to climb stairs and will sit on the bottom stair to play. I have to stay SUPER close as you inevitably end up tumbling over and down. Gates are on their way!

*The one thing you don't yet have down is crouching. To pick something up off of the floor you will bend from the waist with completely stick straight legs and balance yourself as you scoop to retrieve the item you wanted.


New skills?

*Brushing your teeth and hair (you don't REALLY do this efficiently, but you LOVE to try and definitely know the names of these objects and what they are meant to do). You also try to help brush Iyla's hair in the morning (much to her chagrin as you are more likely to bang her head with the brush or yank her hair in your hands/in the brush). A for effort!

*Shaking your head NO. I don't know that you actually do this to communicate "no," but the head shaking is a new thing this month!

*Blowing kisses. This is the CUTEST and you will walk around the house kissing your dolls and blowing kisses goodnight or goodbye to anyone present.

Here you are kissing your dolly

And here you are shaking your head and blowing kisses

*Following instructions. Your level of comprehension has grown immensely and you now can understand and follow basic instructions, such as "go put the magnet on the fridge." "Go give Papa a kiss." "Go put your shoes back."

*Starting to climb stairs- that's a new one this month!

*Snuggling! We can ask you to snuggle and you'll nestle your little head onto our chest. You also will lay down on top of Iyla and give her full body snuggles, which is just about the cutest thing in the world.


*Singing along. Often when I sing you songs before naps or bed you will try to sign along with me!

*Cleaning. This one is pretty hilarious! You love walking around with your broom and trying to help "sweep" up. You also had an accidental poo on the floor while naked last week, and watched me wipe it up. You then proceeded to take a washcloth and walk around the bathroom bending over (in the buff no less) and wiping the floor, all with your stick straight legs.

Sweeping the floors

*Wiping up after you eat. You haven't QUITE got this one down, as you usually wipe the top and back of your head when most of the mess is on your hands, mouth, and tray. We'll work on that!


Favorite things?

*Magnets! You LOVE to collect a pile of magnets from the fridge and walk around with them. You are also fond of hiding them inside the fridge and washing machine.


*The washing machine. You love to watch it in action, and also love to throw things in there when it's open and empty! After having accidentally sent your water bottle and a shoe through a wash cycle, I've learned to thoroughly check it before starting a new load.

*Sunglasses. You LOVE your sunglasses and love to wear them on the top of your head.


*Shoes. You love your silver Mary Jane shoes and are constantly bringing them to us to help you put on.

*Fridge. You love playing with magnets on the outside, and observing all the contents on the inside!

*Being outside. Always your happy place! It's still God awful hot here, so our time with this is extremely limited.

*Playing the Where's Weezie? or Get Weezie! games. This equates to us calling out "Where's Weezie?" when you walk away or out of sight, and you coming out with a huge shriek! You also love to be chased.

*Getting into your sister's things. Right now you are INTENT on getting her art supplies! If you get your hands on a crayon or marker you will run away from me with it, knowing you have illegal contraband. I also saw you already trying to draw on the wall with a crayon! Naughty.

"Nothing to see here Mama."

Here are a few more photos from your past month- including your first trip to the Children's Museum!


And in closing, here's a cute video of you and your sister singing Happy Birthday to your Mimi:

 


We love you so much sweet Eloise Jane! Happy 13 months to you.



Monday, August 21, 2017

First Day of School 2017/2018 for Iyla Grace!

Iyla started her first official day of school today, and her last year of Pre-K! I cannot believe she will be in kindergarten next year and is turning 5 in just a few short months.

She was super excited to get back to her beloved Montessori school, and picked out a yellow tutu dress as her "back to school" outfit.

Here's to another great year for my sweet girl!